bottling up summer

We took out the last of the summer flowers over the weekend, which marks the official end of my fresh, flower-filled vases and my cheery bedside decor. Don't get me wrong, I love Autumn, but I'm going to miss going outside and picking a fresh bouquet every few days. If only I could figure out a way to bottle up a little bit of that summer sunshine and those gorgeous flowers to enjoy over the upcoming winter months. I did manage to bottle a little bit with this new photo technique I tried today. I've been practicing using the double exposure setting on my camera, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. The above photo was actually one photo of two different things... a little hard to explain, but fun to do. I'll be posting a few more pics like this in the not-so-distant future. Happy Monday.

it's that week

There is a week, every spring, that I devote 100% to my yard. I prune, plant, dig, trim, and fertilize everything in sight. During this week, things like my blog, house cleaning, shopping, reading, socializing, etc. get put on hold. Needless to say, this has been that week. While I have managed to take a few pictures along the way, pretty much everything else in my life has been put on the back burner. Monday should bring a clean house, a re-stocked refrigerator and a week's worth of new blog posts. Until then.... I could sure use a hot, relaxing bubble bath:)  

fall frenzy

I've been buzzing around all day today pulling out my beautiful summer flowers, and replacing them with a few Autumnish things to get in the spirit of the season. Although I hate to see the flowers go, the beautiful fall palette looks great in my yard. And, I'm loving the cooler temps outside. Don't even get me started on that crisp, cool air.... delightful!!

final pickins'

I arrived home this weekend from a wonderful, relaxing vacation. This morning I took a little turn about the garden. It is overflowing with the last ripe tomatoes of the season, overgrown cucumbers, delightful gourds for autumn decorating and bushy green vines growing up the walls. It's definitely time for the final harvest. My garden has done especially well this summer, and I attribute it to the changes we made to the sprinkler system. It was such a huge project, but so worth it. But, now it's time to pull the garden out. Strangely enough, I love pulling it out as much as I love planting it. Next up...the flower beds. 

my summer is complete!

They're here!! My beautiful black-eyed susans.
I wait all summer for them to bloom and fill my vases inside. Something about them just fills me with joy. Their yellow color is to die for and looks so good in every room of my home. And now, my summer is complete:)

Never Can Say Goodbye

I have this Japanese Maple tree

outside my office window.

It sustained some damage 

over the past few years

from extreme heat in the summer

and freezes in the winter.

We've had to prune quite a few branches

off the south-facing side of the tree.

For the past few springs,

I have kicked around the idea

of replacing it with something new.

This year I decided to finally do it.

I've been to nurseries

looking at possible replacements.

Nothing has stood out.

I talked to a landscape designer

and got her suggestions....

none of them appealed to me.

A couple of weeks ago, 

the tree pruners were supposed to chop

the Japanese Maple down.

I wasn't ready.

Today I walked into my office 

and saw what I see every day

around 2 o'clock p.m.

That beautiful red tree

against the beautiful blue sky.

That's it.

It's settled.

The Japanese Maple is staying.

I just can't let it go.

Uneven, or not,

it's still so pretty.

Just A Trim Please

I love this time of year.

Everything is starting to turn green,

the tulips are in their full glory

and the trees are finally leafing out.

The only hard thing about it is

all of the work that has to be done

to get ready for summer.

Things like 

putting mulch in the flower beds,

fertilizing the lawn,

cleaning out the rain gutters,

spraying off the patio furniture

and pruning all of the trees.

I really needed to get my trees 

pruned by a professional this year.

We have three little-leaf lindens

in the backyard

that have gotten too big to do ourselves.

I asked around for a recommendation

and settled on "Ben" who came

recommended by a couple of people.

I met Ben last week

as he came out to give me a bid on the job.

I walked him around the yard 

and he got a general idea 

of what needed to be done.

We were doing great...

"just a little clean up," he said...

until we got to the three linden trees.

"Oh..........". 

(ten minute pause)

I waited...

"What?" I finally asked.

He went on to explain to me 

that while lindens 

are one of his favorite trees,

they do have some negative characteristics

that have to be death with early on.

Early, as in within the first two years.

Now that is a problem 

since my trees are twelve years old.

He talked to me about 

what it would take to fix the issues,

and then went on to outline

future prunings that would need to be done.

Now, keep in mind these trees 

are Bob's favorite trees.

He purposely planted them

to have a canopy effect.

We had planned on 

hanging a hammock in them this summer,

and the last thing he told me

before I had Ben come was

"do anything you want, just don't 

mess with those three trees."

My heart sunk.

What to do?

After talking some more with Ben,

he convinced me that in the long run

it really would be best 

to fix the issues now.

I took his advise and scheduled the service.

Since then,I have done nothing but stew 

about my decision.

I've gone back and forth

about calling and cancelling my appointment.

 In fact, Ben didn't show up yesterday,

 as he had planned.

I wondered if it was a sign.

But, he showed up this morning,

chain saw in hand,

and a smile on his face.

I took a deep breath 

and led him to the backyard.

I told him I had to leave for an hour

to go see a friend.

I thought it was probably best 

if I didn't watch.

I asked him before I left 

if he would please try to make sure

they looked as good as possible

when he was finished.

He assured me he would.

An hour later, I came down the street

to this huge pile in my front yard.

It doesn't look that significant

in this photo,

but it looks a lot bigger in real life.

My neighbor asked me when I walked by

if I was cutting down all of my trees.

Yikes!

My heart was beating fast.

I walked into the backyard

and saw my slightly thinner lindens,

looking all perky and cute.

Whew!! What a relief!

I was very happy with what I saw.

Ben assured me 

that they will fill in more 

throughout the summer.

He also said 

we have probably added

many years to their lives.

We may have to put off the hammock

for a year or two,

but it will be worth it.

I am so happy with all of the trees

that were pruned.

And the best part....

Ben had to leave for a few hours

to assist on another job.

He scheduled a chipper to come back

and remove all of the limbs from my yard.

I wanted to pay him before he left,

but he wouldn't hear of it.

"Not until every last twig is picked up,"

he said, promising to be back 

in an hour or two.

Ahhhh..... the sweet smell of integrity.

It's been a while since I have smelled that

from a company.

Anybody need a good, reputable arborist?

Give me a call.

Waking Up To A Nightmare

I woke up this morning 

to a beautiful blue sky 

with just a touch of pink and yellow.

The birds were chirping 

and the air was crisp and cool.

I walked to the kitchen 

with a smile on my face.

"It's going to be a beautiful day",

I thought.

I reached over to open my blinds 

so I could let 

some of that beautiful sunshine in.

And then, 

I saw this.

My lawn was covered with pipes

and trenches

and pipes in trenches.

There was spray paint on the grass

equipement everywhere

sprinkler parts

a broken shovel

and flags of all colors.

Some of my perennials have been moved,

roots have been chopped,

and dirt has been dug away 

from the concrete edging.

It does appear 

that a little progress has been made though.

Today, 

we actually have a new valve box.

I have seen more plumber's crack

in the past week

than one person should see in a lifetime.

I would document it with pictures,

but I don't want to put anyone else

through the agony.

So, Im just going to close my eyes 

for the next few weeks

and pretend it is all just a dream...

...a very very bad dream.

In Like A Lion

I was planning on doing my 

March Monthly Health Challenge today 

but when I woke up, 

and looked outside

WOW. . . .

I couldn't resist just one more "winter" photo shoot.

March has definitely come in like a lion.

It's hard to believe 

that Spring is less than 3 weeks away.

What a beautiful sight though.

This year, I have really come to appreciate 

the beauties of winter.

The snow is great today.

Get out and there and sled,

or take some photos. . . .

or both!

Living In A Snow Globe

I looked out the window tonight 

and saw a beautiful sight.

It was bright and sunny,

but snowing at the same time.

The flakes were just little flurries,

but they sparkled in the sunlight.

Brooke said it looked like an outdoor snow globe.

I agree.

I'm also lovin' the sun flare.

I love winter!

Winter. . .Still

Nature is full of genius,               full of the divinity;             so that not a snowflake            escapes its fashioning hand.             – Henry David Thoreau –              I awoke this morning               to snowflakes falling     gently to the ground outside my window,         reminding me that it really is                  still winter.     Something that has been easy to forget            over the past few weeks.                  It was beautiful.         I thought I was ready for spring              but mornings like this           make me content with winter.

All In A Day's Work

 I tended Tate for a couple of hours today.

It was such a beautiful day outside. 

I just couldn't resist taking him out to play.

I decided to rake up all of the leaves 

that had fallen while we were away for Thanksgiving.

It didn't look like much from inside the house,

but when I got outside there was a lot more than I thought. 

Tate started out just playing with his mower

while I was raking.

Then he found some dirt . . .

 some rocks (he tried to lift them). . .

and some berries from the trees.

he tried to eat them.

When grandma said "no, no". . .

 

. . . he just gave me that charming little smile of his.

                 

Next up were his animals.

He had fun standing them up on all of the big rocks.

He went into the garden . . .

and checked out the empty beds.

He even went in the front yard . . .

and checked out grandpa's Christmas lights.

Such a busy body!

He watched the birdies and the airplanes.

About an hour in,

 he grabbed my rake and started "helping" grammie.

My piles had little trails through them 

where Tate decided to "relocate" some of the leaves.

He thought it was so funny 

when grammie put him in the garbage can 

with the leaves.

How did I know he would toss the leaves out?

The highlight of the day 

was when he heard the garbage truck

coming down the street.

He raced to see it go by.

Grammie raced to get the can to the curb 

before the truck was on our side of the street.

He was absolutely giddy when the truck picked up our can

and dumped all of the leaves in the back of the truck.

He watched the truck the rest of the way down the street.

What a little nugget!