the hills are alive with the sound of.....

clicking cameras



still at the ohme gardens.  not only are their hillsides, pools, resting stops and flowers but meadows too.  a popular place to get married could you imagine that?

tranquil

in the Ohme gardens there are many ponds, waterfalls and secluded spots throughout.  with benches made of rocks one could sit and ponder for hours.

 

soft wispher

some of the flowers in the Ohme gardens are very pretty I had to play with this one a little but below it is the original picture




straight out of the camera the shot looks like this:




not sure I will make it to link up with kim's texture tuesday since i am posting to my blog in advance and I am away for a few days but just in case I can here is her site.  check it out anyway lots of good stuff here:

If the Ohme garden was never planted these hillsides is what it would look like.  this is a view from the garden.  barren hills.  It took a lot of hard work to build this garden in a time when there was little more then bare hands, backs and some mules to do it. You have to respect that type of dedication.

looking down onto wenatchee

garden delight

i loved all the colors and shadow play in this shot.  I believe this was from the succulent garden section



not super happy with this shot but showing you anyhow because this was all over the place and so colorful

ohme - oh my!!!

the next couple of days I am going to take you to this wonderful little gem of a place nestled in the hills of wenatchee.  Ohme gardens pronounced Oh Me is a wonderful place with a great history.  isn't the little sign cute.  I thought it stood out so much from the little shady spot it sat at.

Below was taken from the websit for Ohme gardens :  http://www.ohmegardens.com/

In 1929 Herman Ohme and his bride Ruth purchased forty acres of land for an orchard. Included was a craggy, dry, desolate, rock-strewn bluff with a breathtaking view of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains and the shimmering Columbia River valley. The Ohmes loved to stand on the bluff and dream of flourishing alpine meadows, shimmering pools and shady evergreen pathways where the hot, relentless summer sun allowed only sage and scrub desert growth. They set their minds on achieving that dream.


Small evergreens were transplanted from the nearby Cascade Mountains, native stone was hauled to form paths and borders, desert sage gave way to low-growing ground cover, and pools took shape adjacent to massive natural rock formations. It was hard work, done mostly by hand, and truly a labor of love. In the beginning, sustaining the Gardens meant hauling water in five gallon buckets from the river valley below, but eventually the Ohmes constructed an elaborate irrigation system that pumped water to the site.

Initially intended as a private family retreat, the interest of friends and community members prompted the Ohmes to open the Gardens to public visitations. The Ohmes continued to perfect the Gardens for 42 years, until 1971 when Mr. Ohme died at the age of 80. The couple’s son Gordon and his family then assumed responsibility for the Gardens, and in 1991 Washington State Parks and Recreation purchased the Gardens and surrounding property; it is managed by Chelan County.

peaceful

recently in wenatche it was so quiet and peaceful  on my walk. 

golden grass

wheat the golden grass. well not quite golden yet but getting there.

the fields in eastern Washington produce great colorful seas of grass. If you ever get a chance get out of the car and stand close to a wheat field.

first : listen for the slight sound as the wind moves the wheat. the rustle is a beautiful sound. second: get down close and look at the unusual looking plant amazing this could feed so many. it is not somethign you would think you could ever eat.

lastly: stand up and watch the winds gently push the blades and it looks like a sea of waving back at you.

this is america!!!!

who said farm land isn't beautiful?

coming up hope to make a day trip to another beautiful place like this and more from Zion and a few other surprises along the way.

thanks to all my viewers both through a blog viewer and those that open the page up. it keeps me going with practicing my hobby learning from my mistakes.

horsepower

while visiting the rocky reach dam I saw this mural in the visitors center. I just fell in love with it. from above you can see the wall is curved to depict a dam and you can see dark and white horses in the mural depicting the water flowing over and the power or horsepower that is created from that water. took a while to find more information on it but HERE is more information on a blog I found which is how I found out the painter was walter Graham.

a close up of the work.

More on the dam later I just had to reserve this spot to honor this painter.