Want more/ Visit Anna (Flutter and Hum).

Always intrigued by the “rocks” arrayed in this park in NE Portland, I finally gave in and parked the car on Stanton between Vancouver and Williams (in case you want to check it out yourself).

Each monolith bears a memory relating to the neighborhood.

The words are arranged differently on each one.

They are clustered near the Vancouver entrance to the park. Here you can see the domed pavilion in the distance. On this sunny day, many people were brown bagging it or just soaking up some rays. Anna (Flutter and Hum) hosts the weekly Wednesday Vignette: always visually striking and often (this week, for sure) including some thought-provoking commentary.

Anna (Flutter and Hum) puts out a visionary vignette each Wednesday and invites you to join in with one of your own.

Going back to summer’s end and the last of the tomatoes, these were still mostly green with a slight blush on the outside. Sliced, they were as beautiful as any flower. What to do with them? I breaded and fried them, then used them as a substitute for the eggplant in eggplant parmesan. I also like hard little truly green tomatoes diced in omelettes. It stretches the season at both ends, when impatience rules at the beginning and remorse sets in at the end. See Anna (Flutter and Hum) for her weekly vignette and links to others.

I’ve never been big on Hellebores but I do understand the mania. It’s the only thing going on out there for the longest time.

If I had a wall where I could walk by and look up at them, they would no doubt be faves of mine too. Their nodding habit makes them disappointing in a garden where I look down on them (in more ways than one). Lots of people float the flowers in a bowl, where their beauty can be appreciated.

I haven’t enough of them for that approach, so I picked a couple of the first stems and one leaf (it is the foliage that wormed its way into my garden). The cute little bottle was once filled with balsamic vinegar, now repurposed as a kind of bud vase. There is a pony wall around the stairs in our dining room so I could place the little arrangement where, when seated, we could look up into the heart of the flower. Cathy (Rambling in the Garden) has used Hellebores in a much more flamboyant way you won’t want to miss.

A little reminder of home (yes, this sunflower took root in the gutter of our gracious host, Anna (Flutter and Hum) and I was lucky enough to be visiting to snap this photo). Be sure to click through to see her fab photos from Sweden.

The title of Anna’s (Flutter and Hum) Wednesday Vignette this week is In Pursuit of Grey. We were wandering around downtown the other day, when I was moved to take some shots that celebrate grey. The above gnarly tree roots bordered by cement on all sides is in NW Portland near Fish Sauce restaurant (which, unfortunately, was closed between lunch and happy hour but it’s a favorite of my son).

We parked across the street (anticipating a yummy late lunch that was fated not to be) where I spied this pebbly wall criss-crossed by climbing Hydrangea vines.

There was evidence of leafy goodness to come, but in the meantime I was charmed by the symphony in grey.

Phlomus russeliana

At every stage of life (and death). Phlomus russeliana entertains. This may be my favorite phase…at least until the new flowering stalks show up with their amusing pom poms crowned by a pair of leafy ears. Anna (Flutter and Hum) is winging her way to Sweden, camera in hand. Her first vignette of the trip is a stunner.

Dreaming of a White Christmas? I’ve experienced only one in my lifetime. It was not too long ago, so here’s a photo. It’s the closest I will get this year.

Please join Anna (Flutter and Hum) for more vignettes than you can shake a candy stick at.