Wooden Shoe Farms tulip fields

My mom was home for a short visit a few weeks ago, and I wanted to do something fun together, so I suggested a trip to the tulip festival in nearby Woodburn, Oregon.  I always love to go down there to take photos, and we both love flowers.  She said she’d never been, even though she’s lived here for over forty years, so that sealed the deal!  My niece didn’t have school that day, so we picked her up and brought her along, too.

The cost of the tulip festival is just $10/carload, so it’s not too expensive, and the more the merrier!  The day we went was cloudy and cool, but the tulip fields were as bright and full as I’ve ever seen them.  The tulip stars must have aligned perfectly this year!  It was hard for me to stop taking photos, of the tulips and of my mama!  My niece got a fantastic picture of the two of us, too.  It was great to share that time and the beautiful flowers with people I love.

Photo of me with my mom. My niece Elizabeth, who is a budding young photographer, took this one!

I have a cousin who lives in Seattle and her youngest daughter has leukemia.  Recently she took all her girls to the tulip fields up near Seattle and she said this about their trip.  “This year, we are on ‘no regrets’ time.  The five girls and I headed up to see the tulips last weekend, and made a memory.  We wasted precious gas, ate junk food, sang juvenile songs (yes, I am hopelessly immature) and came home covered in mud.  I can’t exactly say we seized the day, but we seized the tulips!  And it was worth every minute.”

These beautiful dark purple tulips are some of my favorites. I think they are called Queen of the Night.

The beauty of the flowers we saw is fleeting, but the memories we made, the memories my cousin and her girls made, the memories any of us make in our travels, whether we go places near or far, are long lasting and enrich our lives in so many ways.  It’s good to take time to remember this.

I love the long lines of the tulip fields. I’m pretty sure these are called Apricot Impression

Here’s a challenge for you:  think of one thing you can do this week or this weekend to seize the tulips.  It doesn’t have to be a big thing, just something that brings you joy.  Write your idea down in the comments, and we’ll check in with you to see if you followed through.  We’re looking forward to hearing about what you come up with!

Enjoy your week or your weekend!

The fields were bursting this year.

My beautiful mama!

I love how crisp these tulips look. I believe these are the variety Leen van der Mark.

Wooden Shoe Farms tulip fields.

Spring is in the air! I think this is the Dynasty tulip. And I love the lone white one here!