The Abandoned: garden

Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

Friday, May 10, 2019

Garden Mailbox

This old mailbox perches atop the trunk of the little old cherry tree. It's fragrant blossoms graced my childhood. In my mind's eye, I often saw fairies there--and would play games and dream of their life in Mumsie's Garden.

I think this is a wonderful use of that old tree. I fancy if I open that mail box I would find those lovely childhood memories waiting there...

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Mama's Garden

Now that the chill of winter is here, I've chosen to share a picture of Mumsie's beautiful garden. She is like Mother Nature--the flowers and plants love her and grow for her.

I love Mom's Garden--I hope you like it too!

Monday, April 30, 2018

Whimsical Homeplace

I love Mumsie's yard. It is such a beautiful place. One can almost imagine fairies tiptoing through the Whimsical Garden where Mumsie loves to work.

Mum's little patch of land is all that is left of the Abandoned and of the Forests of my childhood. The birds love it there--they throng in from everywhere--they seem to know it is all that is left for them. What a beautiful beautiful place.

Have a lovely week--it is Springtime!

Friday, January 8, 2016

Mama's Garden

This is a picture I took of Mumsie's garden last Summer. It is so beautiful.

I was visiting there a few days ago, and you would not believe the construction that is going on where The Abandoned once stood. There are houses everywhere! Those houses weren't there the last time I visited just before Christmas.

I call them Mushroom Houses, because they pop up like a flock of shrooms. It is almost frightening how quickly these houses are being built. And they are HUGE homes. The next time I visit, I'll take a picture to show the incredible progress they've made. It is abandoned no longer.

Have a lovely day, sweet Friends!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Heart in the Trees - Guest Heart Thursday

Across the street from The Abandoned is my parent's home. In my Mother's garden I found this wondrous shining heart of rainbows. Sometimes the magic of The Abandoned spills over to the places surrounding it!

For more wonderful heart art, photography and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday.

WARNING: Anyone wishing to visit The Abandoned, must have permission from the owners.

The Abandoned

Years ago, I dedicated this blog to The Abandoned, a huge complex of abandoned buildings in rural Oregon.

Surrounded by wetlands and old growth timber, The Callahan Center was built in the 1970's by the State of Oregon as a rehabilitation center for people recovering from injuries on the job.

In 1992, the property was bought by a mega church. However, the Living Enrichment Center closed in 2004, amidst financial scandal and the property was abandoned.

The buildings stood empty for many years. Over that span the property was vandalized and looted. Yet the beauty of its rare architecture shone through the shambles of abuse and disrepair.

In the summer of 2013, the complex was completely demolished. We were all sad to see the buildings go, but because of trespassers and vandals, it was necessary to take them down.

The area where The Abandoned once stood is filled with $500,000 mushroom houses (homes built so fast they pop up like mushrooms) built on postage stamp lots. There are sidewalks and tall lamps where I once watched the foxes of the field leaping above the grass, hunting rodents.

The surrounding woodlands still survive. It is my prayer the wetlands and forests with their pristine creeks, native trees and flowers, as well as the wildlife which shelter there, will be protected.