Monday, January 27, 2014

Girl Blew West Diary: The Lavender Fields of Sequim and Washington State Cider Love

Sipping on my Jardin du Soleil lavender Earl Grey tea this morning, I was transported back to the lavender fields of Sequim, Washington. I've dreamt (and still do) of the lavender fields of France, but now think warmly of the fields of Washington state. In addition to visiting Jardin du Soleil, we stopped by a few other farms including Purple Haze Lavender Farm and Victor's Lavender

Lavender is one of my favorite scents. No expensive man made perfume can rival it for me. Our bedroom came painted with a soothing lavender color, and I feel calm just walking into the room.

We were making our way back to Seattle, but I want to linger in the lavender fields and breathe in the aromas. I feel like I can smell it just looking at these photos.


I go outside each morning to fill my bird feeder, whose visitors reward me with their birdsong, and put the compost in the bin, but that's the only moment I'm on my patio. I'm imaging my garden this spring and summer, for this harsh winter of "polar vortexes" and "arctic airs" will come to an end.

"Urban Garden" - by J.J. Brown, from the poetry collection Natural Supernatural Love.


"scratching the packed earth
in the abandoned garden
I rake and dig and hope
urban creatures hear me
and they watch and wait
scoffing or aloof or shy
but then while I sleep
the scent of lavender roots
calls each of them to visit
and imagine a garden
and in the early morning
songs emerge from memory."
 
 
 
 
 
 
I am not a beer drinker, but enjoy hard ciders as an alternative. We loved finnriver Farm and Cidery. If I lived nearby I'd be here regularly.


We did a cider tasting. Lavender black currant cider.


Apple brandy in flavors of black currant and pear. As much as I can in this life, I want to breathe in, drink and eat from the garden and savor Mother Nature's gifts to us.


They were having an event for the June weekend, so they had food for sale. A garlic greens hand pie with kale, sweet onion, fresh garlic, herb d'Provence and grapefruit butter, enjoyed with their cider on a picnic bench.

 

 
They were inspired by the monk Dom Perignon's quote in 1688, "Come quickly, I am tasting stars!"


Consideration for the environment and salmon. Why doesn't everyone have this respect for our precious life-giving watersheds?



We also stopped by Eaglemount Wine and Cider. I loved all the interesting flavors of cider here too like ginger. My favorite was their rhubarb cider. We bought a bottle to take to our last destination, an urban farmlette in Seattle, where we found more garden and farm love.

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