Monday, July 13, 2009

Sequim Lavender Farms

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On the shores of the Strait of Juan De Fuca is the Dungeness Valley
of Washington's beautiful Olympic Penninsula. Therein lies the little town of
Sequim (pronounced 'Squim'), the Lavender Capital of America.
The 3rd weekend of every July, the Sequim Lavender Growers Association
hold their annual Lavender Festival.
I have attended several times, but Gentleman Farmer and I have other plans
for this next weekend (we'll be celebrating our 37th Wedding Anniversary).
We went this past weekend to several of the farms
and avoided the festival crowds.
Here are some pictures of our day.
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Our journey begins with a two hour drive up the beautiful Hood Canal
and takes us past the little hamlet of Gardener. We take a detour
down the old highway to check in on the "Troll Haven Farm."
The fence seems 'normal' at first glance....
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but upon closer inspection
you realize these are not your average fence posts!
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The estate is guarded by this fellow!
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The cattle feeding shed is supported on all four corners by
these cheery gents! (Each corner is held up by a different troll.)
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Even their neighbors are a little 'odd'!
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Cy seems to think we need to continue on our quest,
so we oblige!
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On to the Lavender Farms!
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Our first stop was Oliver's Lavender Farm.
This is one little farm I have not been to before.
The parking area is right in front of their lovely home garden.
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(Sorry, Blogger insists this photo is better turned on it's side!)
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When we entered the little gift shop, I could hear the most peculiar sound. When I inquired
about it, the owner explained that it was a Quail that was perched atop the gazebo.
I should have known as there was a metal sign just outside the door that said "Quail Run".
That bird looked just like a little weather vane on top of the gazebo
but he had jumped down to the roof
before I could get a shot of him at the top.
Can you spot him with his jaunty little top knot?
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The perfect spot for some sweet tea or lemonade!
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I can't resist taking pictures of old barns!
Perhaps, because Grandpa's barn was my playground growing up!
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As we were driving out the driveway, Gentleman Farmer spotted a
mama Killdeer and her two tiny babies.
He got a photo of one of the wee ones, not much bigger than a golf ball on toothpicks!
Squint ~ maybe you can see him!
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Next, we visited Jardin du Soleil.
After our stroll through the gardens and gift shop
we ate our lunch, all the while inhaling the delicious fragrance of
sun warmed lavender.
Mmmmmm..... Divine!
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At the far end of the lavender field, there were some
honey bee hives!
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Look closely and you can see all the busy bees coming and going.
I thought all hives needed to be white, but obviously they like lavender.
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Yep! Bees like lavender!
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Lastly, we visited Purple Haze.
(Love the name! And, no, I didn't see Jimmy Hendrix there! :~D )
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So ends our visit to the Sequim Lavender Farms for this year.
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I love lavender and love making many different things with it;
soap, wreaths, eye pillows and sachets.
(And grilled pork roast is "out of this world" with a rub of Herbs de Provence!)
Be sure to come back tomorrow and I will show you how to make something
beautiful using fresh lavender.
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"Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these."
Matthew 6:28,29

11 comments:

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I love it..even the bee homes are lavender! How beautiful it must look and smell! Years ago when I lived in Washington we visited Sequim. There was an animal farm that we went to. It is a beautiful part of our country. I would love to visit again. Of course, this time I would go to the lavendar fields. I remember La Push being stunning as well.

The Watts Family said...

Wow Thanks for sharing your wondeful day~I loved all the pictures.....The Lavender is beautiful I think I will try and grow some in a pot since I do not have a yard. I loved all the interesting statues lol! I bet it smelled really good! ~Blessings

Lori said...

I just love it when you and the Gentleman Farmer go on these little trips! It's like I was there too. :) Love the pictures...those trolls are cute! :) I can't imagine the heavenly scent of all that lavender!!
Thanks for sharing your pictures.
PS - When are we....um, I mean y'all...going again????? LOL!

Sharon said...

Oh Lady Farmer :)

I was hoping that you would post about the Lavender Farms :) Absolutely breath-taking! I thank you so much for sharing, I wish that we had a place like that here :) Just beautiful! I love old barns as well. I look for ward to your next post :)

Love,
Sharon

Thanks again for sharing your lovely day with us and have a glorious day in the Lord!

Marqueta (Mar-kee-ta) G. said...

Dear Lady Farmer,

Oh my! I love the trolls and their friends! But the lavender farms, I had no idea there were such things in the U.S.! I would trade "famous potatoes" for "famous lavender" in a heartbeat.

Thank you so much for culturally edifying me today. We just might have to make a visit to your neck of the woods someday!

Love,

Marqueta

Nadine said...

Dear Lady Farmer,

How wonderful! I have never been to any of the lavender farms over there, but now you have inticed me to maybe take a trip over!
I think the kids would get a kick out of the trolls!!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos with us!

Blessings!
~Nadine

Mama B said...

I think this is my very favorite event of the year! I NEVER get tired of the fragrance of lavender! And looking out over the fields is just food for the soul.

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

This post is filled with magnificent photo's! I don't think I have ever seen a more lovely sight!

Ivory Spring said...

Raeann,

What loveliness!!!! The lavender is amazing. Happy Anniversary to you and Gentleman Farmer - may the Lord's blessing continue to abide with you.

Simply Heart And Home said...

What a lovely visit. Thank you so much for sharing your pictures with us. I can almost smell the lavender.

Those statues are a bit scary for me. I wouldn't want to get too close.

Happy Anniversary this weekend to you. Mine was last weekend. July is a very good month to get married!

Blessings,

Gina

Lavinia said...

Are you kidding me. I could live the rest of my life here!!!