SERENDIPITY: the faculty for making desirable discoveries by accident.

Sister Renée found these glass jar lids somewhere near Cathlamet.  Her husband spotted a sign for an estate sale and they went for a look. There she found a box full of the lids that I have been looking for. I had mentioned that I have a number of old wire bale type canning jars without lids when we were in an antique shop at Klipsan Beach. She paid five dollars (!) for the lot of them and they became a treasured and appreciated birthday gift. For the time being, I have laid them out in a display table in the living room to admire them for awhile before putting them to use. Aren’t they beautiful?

CROW UPDATE: So far, nine days after crafting and planting plant tags to thwart removal by crows, the new tag holders are successful! Only one pulled out of the ground. Hurray!

Last Wednesday was strawberry day. I had purchased a flat of Skagit Valley grown strawberries from Sakuma Brothers Farm on Tuesday Last year and this, West Seattle Thriftway has carried their beautiful fruit at a reasonable cost. I made Strawberry Preserves with balsamic vinegar. Last year the few half-pints that I put up went quickly. This year I canned ten half-pints. We’ll see how far they go.

I LOVE LILIES. And I have lots of them planted around the yard. They smell divine and look elegant swaying in a little breeze. This is Golden Eagle, about five feet tall.

Dainty Martagon lily.

Combined with hazy blue  eryngium alpinum. These lilies with recurved petals remind me of fluttering ballet skirts.

These beautiful lilies are Orienpet ‘Red Hot’.

Tomorrow we are off to Lake Chelan to visit a friend for a few days and maybe get in a couple of hikes in the Icicle Creek area near Leavenworth on our way.