The Grandma Bushnell Rose

This rose belonged to my husband PKR's Great Grandma Bushnell. Her son Wayne had it in his yard, then PKR's Aunt Susie got a cutting for her yard here in Kellogg.

When Aunt Susie and Uncle Ralph moved this spring, we were fortunate enough to get to take the rose and transplant in our front yard flower bed next to the house.This rose is blooming for the first time this week. If someone from Meridian is reading this, could you please make sure Susie sees this post so she can see the pictures of the rose in bloom.

This rose is a symbol of the uniting of PKR's family and my own. Our families started way before we were married.

My Grandma Woolum lived in a duplex here in Kellogg, and next door Mrs. Bushnell lived with her children Wayne and Naydeen. (Naydeen is PKR's grandma). I would say this was sometime in the late 1920's or early 1930's.

I remember Grandma Woolum telling me stories after PKR and I were dating about remembering PKR's Grandpa Paul Taylor "courting" Naydeen on the front porch of the duplex. My Grandma spoke fondly of Mrs. Bushnell, and I think enjoyed being her neighbor.

Another connection before PKR and I were married was Uncle Wayne and my dad. For many years they both worked at the Bunker Hill Zinc Plant together, and Wayne would pick Dad up for work every morning around 7 a.m.

Wayne's wife Charlotte was a teacher, and I had her for seventh grade English at Kellogg Junior High School.

And now we have this rose to remind us of the wonderful connections that have been made over the years here in the Silver Valley.

I Finally Get To Spend Some Time In My Yard...YEAH!!!

I found this beautiful, joyful jonquil in my yard today. There was a whole patch of them, in fact. What a wonderful surprise.

PKR got the sprinkler system up and going today, and Sadie loved trying to catch the drops of water in her mouth. This picture doesn't quite do the whole experience justice. She was so darn cute.

PKR's aunt and uncle are moving away in about a month, and his Aunt Susie offered this rose bush to us. It is a very special rose bush. It comes from PKR's Great Grandma's yard. Here is the story as Susie shared it with us in an email.

I have a little rose bush…more of a sprig…that we transplanted from Aunt Charlotte’s when she sold her home. It is a climbing rose, red, but has not really flourished at our house. I was praying that this year would be the year. Now that we are moving…but we’ll be in a rental….I wondered if you would like the little sprig.

The sentimental meaning behind this little sprig is that the bush was originally planted by Grandma Nancy Bushnell. Uncle Wayne transplanted it to his house when she died. No other family member…on either Taylor or Bushnell side…has a piece of this rose.

Would you be interested it moving it to your property? I think it would like to stay in Kellogg. (And Uncle Wayne would be proud that Pert Woolum’s daughter now is watching over the plant)

Ah, a mighty task, but I am up to the challenge, and plan to take good care of it.

But I did check out a couple of our roses, and they aren't looking too good. This is our "Lynx" rose. Planted in honor of our cat Lynx who died in 1996.

This is the "Mikey" rose. Mikey was our cat who found us when we moved back to Kellogg. He died of cancer in 2003. We have a rose for each cat we have lost since we have been married. Our "Jessie" rose is flourishing.

Here a one of two columbine's we also received from Aunt Susie's yard.

I was checking out the front flower bed, and realized these beautiful hyacynths were being choked by all the overgrown grass in the flower bed.

I made substantial progress on the bed. Still have some grass to pull, though. And the hyacynths don't get enough sun over here. Neither do the irises coming up behind them. So I may be doing some bulb transplanting soon.

But that will be another day. I'm just glad I finally got to spend some time in our yard and get some stuff done.

Barefoot Tour of My Backyard

I toured my backyard today in my bare feet. Oh, the grass feels good!! So soft and warm. What a beautiful day today.

I wanted to see what progress was happening around the yard. And I wasn't disappointed.


I saw some daffodils about ready to bloom. They have come up among the Bishop's Weed, which will soon take over the flower bed with their green and yellow variegated leaves. Maybe the daffodils will open in time for Easter on Sunday. That would be very appropriate. I love yellow flowers. They are so happy and sunny and give you such a boost. Thank you, Lord, for these beautful flower in my backyard.



There are also some irises coming up among the Bishop's Weed and the holly. I think I may have to dig up my iris bulbs this year and transplant them to a sunnier place. It seems like last summer they didn't bloom very well because they are under the shade of some trees and bushes and didn't get much sun. I'll keep an eye on them this summer and see how they do, and maybe get them in some more sun this fall.

H-m-m. What is this? Some kind of rare white spring bloom? Ah, just a dirty sock found out in the flower bed. My two younger daughters like to jump on the trampoline barefoot, so this is a common occurance once trampoline season comes, finding discarded socks close by that have been forgotten by the jumpers. They have been gone this week for spring break, and just finding that small sock made we wish they were home. I can't wait to see them all tomorrow. I'm getting very lonely.

Here is one of my lavender bushes that is growing in the flower bed next to the house. Lavender is my favorite flower. I can't wait until they bloom. Lavendar does okay here in Kellogg, but when I lived in Meridian, I had so much lavender, because that arid desert is just right for lavender. Oh, I can't wait to see those beautiful purple blooms.



My sister, Inland Empire Girl, planted a flower garden beneath my clematis last spring as a housewarming gift. I see some new growth on some of the perrenials she planted. This garden is full of beautiful blue and purple flowers to match the clematis that watches over it all summer. I can't wait until they all bloom again.




Even my rose bushes are starting to see some growth. This is my "Jessie Rose", because our cat Jessie is buried underneath it. We have three different rose bushes for three cats that we have lost over the years. There is a Lynx rose, and a Mikey rose. This rose garden is a very special place to honor the pets we have loved and lost, and as they bring us beauty each summer, it reminds us of the beauty these friends brought to our lives when they were here.

Ah, the raspberry canes are also beginning to bud. I love to pick raspberries when the berries are warm and juicy and sit and eat them one after another. Picking raspberries and eating them tastes like summer to me. Yum! Yum!

Thanks for joining me on this barefoot tour through my backyard to check out the progress. I'll give you updates from time to time as the garden comes to life so you can check enjoy the beautiful flowers as much as I do. We moved in this house a little over a year ago, and were blessed with a lovely, established yard with beautiful plants, trees, bushes and flowers, as well as bringing some of our own.

My backyard is a very special place, and I look forward to enjoying it and sharing it with you.