MeerKerk in Autumn

In our first weekend at the cabin with no Pergola/Garden work to do, I wanted to plan an “old-fashioned” weekend on the island for us.  That meant a daytime adventure or two. 

Papa Jim was on the island for a teardrop trailer get-together, so he and Daisy came by.  After our required Pergola homage, we gathered neighbor Abigail and we all set off for Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens and Nature Trails. 

Every time we walk up do this little bit of loveliness, Dwayne has to listen to me whine “Why don’t I have one of these?”  He usually doesn’t hear me, as he is whining the same thing.

Look at these beauties!

The kids amused themselves by making pine cone fairies and fairy houses while the adults went around a nature loop. 

It was a beautiful day on the water and I was reminded why we invested in Whidbey Island in the first place, more than 6 y ears ago!

Cabin Project: Really, truly ALMOST done!

Last weekend, we finished the pergola (and added adorable lights—Denise’s contribution). 

I like how the picture makes it seem that it just grew there, but we had help.  A shout out to my amazing hubby, and Matt and Keith, who are very useful engineers, problem solvers and builders!  And Keith’s miter saw saved the day when ours coughed and died dramatically after years of loving abuse.

Dwayne and I feel like we’ve pretty much mastered the “Northwest Elegant” look, and good hardware is our secret sauce. 

This weekend, I finally got to start my garden.  With the addition of my dry rock stream and Spice Island, the area went from this:

to this:

I had been collecting from the McLendon’s clearance section for a while….

Then someone I hadn’t met before stopped by to compliment us on the project and gave us, what I think he called a Japanese Lizard Tree/Shrub.  

It’s so soft and scaly at the same time, and when you turn it over, it’s a beautiful white and green lace pattern.  I couldn’t find out more on the internet, but I love this guy!

But doing the garden meant that Dwayne was doing the stone facing on the pillars on his own.  It’s a truth about masonry, 2 people can go 3-4 times as fast as 1 person.  I pitched in towards the end of the day, but too late to make our goal for the weekend.

So we only got two pillars completed in those two days.  I love working with Dwayne, but that feeling’s mostly cancelled out by doing it in the rain.