First Fall Touches

Well, Hello There ...

Didn't mean to be away so long.

I've been having problems with being able to upload photos to my blog.  Since I'm not fond of blog posts with no photos, this was beyond frustrating.  My tech skills are very limited.  I tried my usual methods ( restart, turn off, unplug, etc.) to no avail.  Since I wasn't even sure what the problem was, I wasn't sure how to even "google it".  Today I made a stab at it and am feeling quite happy with myself that I somehow made it work.  Not sure if I just got lucky or what, but it's good to be back to it.

The weather here has been delightful.

The cooler temperatures and shorter days have inspired me to clip some hydrangeas for fall decor.

I rounded up several vases and filled them with some of my clippings.  Once the water evaporates, they should be dried and ready for adding to the various baskets and pitchers around my home.

While rounding up the vases, I went through my collection and sent most of them to new homes at the local thrift shops.  Lately I have been in the mood to declutter anything and everything around here.

Since retiring, I am looking at things with a fresh perspective and trying to organize our home (and garage) to align better with this new phase of life.

These limelight hydrangeas were picked a few weeks ago and have dried nicely.  I love how they pair well with my collection of brown transferware dishes.

Starting to sneak a few fall touches into the built ins.

While the calendar is still showing summer, the weather is hinting at fall which always puts me in the mood for nesting.

🍁🍂🍁

It's Getting a Little Chilly Around Here

This bud on my hibiscus plant is contemplating whether or not it will open fully.  The warm temperatures that it prefers have vanished this week.  Tonight they are saying we might even see a touch of frost.

Because I'm not ready to take the chance of frost jeopardizing that bloom, we've pulled all of the tender potted plants onto the covered patio for the night.  Before I go to bed, I'll drape a sheet over them and hope they will be protected from frost damage.  

The houseplants that spent the summer on the patio are having a sleepover in the garage tonight.  In a week or two they will be moved back into the house.  After tonight the temperatures are supposed to be well above the freezing mark.  To be on the safe side we will be monitoring the weather closely in case something changes and we need to protect them again.

This morning we had all of the windows washed and believe me, they needed it.

After the job was done, I was going around putting things back together and dusting off the window sills.  It was a sweet surprise to see this vivid blue hydrangea in bloom outside the window next to the bathtub.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that old Jack Frost keeps his hands off the hydrangeas.  This blue one barely bloomed all summer.  It now has several blooms and buds eager to do their thing.  I hope they are successful as I'd love to be able to cut one last bouquet.

The mums on the front porch don't mind the chilly temperatures.

I think it will help them last longer than if it was very warm like it often is at this time of year.

🍁🍁🍁

Has frost visited your garden yet?

Summertime ~ Hydrangea Time

Since I last posted it has officially become summer.

I hope yours is off to a good start.

Here the hydrangeas are coming into bloom which is always a highly anticipated event.

I especially like how it only takes a few blossoms to make a good sized bouquet.

This one has been on the table for over two weeks.

While the hydrangeas are thriving, the roses are struggling.

The Japanese Beetles have moved in and set up a smorgasbord.

(you might see one of the little buggers on the bottom left rose).

I have been going out there morning and evening to shake them off into a bucket of soapy water.  I am seeing more blossoms now, but the foliage looks bad.  From past experience, they eventually move on or expire and the plants rebound.  Looking forward to that day.

In other news:

My eye doctor appointment last week revealed changes that resulted in an urgent visit to a retinal specialist.  It seems I now have macular degeneration.  I received an eye injection and will be receiving them monthly.  The day after the injection the doctor advised no tv, computer or reading time.  I was a bit surprised by how often I felt the urge to pick up my phone and check all those things I check each day.  I tried to think of what I did all day before the internet and social media took over.  I often miss those days.  Back then I was raising kids and busy with all that was required for that.

It was kind of a fun challenge to find other things to keep me busy.

Drawers are being decluttered, ovens cleaned, carpets vacuumed and new recipes being tried.

So, now that I can return to my normal daily life, I think it best to greatly reduce my time spent on the computer.  Did you know that when we are on computers and devices we don't blink as often as we should?  That isn't a good thing for dry eye (which is another thing I'm dealing with).  The eye doctor told me that they are seeing a much higher amount of children with dry eye.  He said that was rare in children before electronic devices became such a part of daily life.

Anyhow, the reason I am sharing this with you is that if you don't see new posts here or comments from me on your blogs, you will know why.  I'm not ready to totally give up on blogging, just prioritizing things.

Wishing you all a wonderful summer!

Documenting October

October has been such a lovely month here this year.  One sunny day seems to follow the next bringing with it the highly anticipated autumn leaf color change.

It occurred to me this morning that I haven't done a single post to document the month.  By this time next week we'll be into November.

So, before the last few days slip away, a few notes to remember October...

I don't do much in the way of Halloween decorating, but this small display houses the pieces I have held onto through the years.  The little ghosts are Gurley candles that were from Brett's childhood.  The others were things I bought when my own boys were kids.  Looking at them brings happy memories.

The other day I went looking for a few hydrangeas to dry.

Most of them looked well past their prime.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a few on the backside of one plant.  They were at the bottom and pressed up against the house.  Once I wrangled them out of there, I was rewarded with four large blooms sporting pretty autumn colors.  They are now on display on the foyer table.

While I was out there I took a look at all of the plants.

Another nice surprise was a few raspberries ripening.

Somehow knowing that the frost will be coming anytime now makes these berries even more precious to me.  I will be watching them closely as they ripen in hopes of eating them before the birds find them.

When we brought the lemon tree back to the patio in April it had five green lemons on it.  They have only recently turned yellow.

Soon it will return to it's winter home in the garage.  This time it will have 8 green lemons and many blossoms.

The last of the furniture arrived this week.

It will be so nice to all be able to sit at the table for the holidays.

In celebration I made cauliflower ham soup and a batch of pumpkin muffins.  Brett and I gave it a test drive and declared it all good.

Ready to head into November and the holiday season.

 

Treat Night

With only two of us in the house, I find I don't bake cookies nearly as often as I once did.  Consequently, when I do bake them it seems like a lot more work than it once was.  Which is probably a good thing as we both have trouble with willpower when it comes to freshly baked cookies.

The other day Brett mentioned that he could really go for a chocolate chip cookie.  Sounded like a good idea to me so, I got to work in the kitchen.

When I was in elementary school, my mom deemed Friday night as treat night.  She would bake a special treat to signal the start to the weekend.  I think back then we would share it while watching tv together as a family.  While baking my cookies, I thought back to that little tradition.  A simple idea that soon became a much anticipated event.  

At this age I'm not sure it would be a good idea to make treat night a weekly event, but once in a while it might be rather nice.

All those years ago the tv shows I looked forward to the most were That Girl and Bewitched.  Now we're binge watching our way through Grantchester and enjoying it immensely.

It's a beautiful morning here today.  I plan to spend as much time outdoors as possible.  Next week we are heading into the 90s with a couple of days predicted at 97.  Ugh!  Way too hot.  I won't think of it today.  Instead I'll enjoy the fresh, cooler air knowing at the end of the day treat night awaits.

Are you looking forward to anything as the weekend draws near?

                                                                  

Happiness is a Hydrangea or Two . . . or Nine

~ Summer Crush Hydrangea ~

One of my favorite garden moments has arrived.

After watching the buds form, watering when the temperatures were soaring and picking off yellowed leaves and dead wooden stems,  I am being rewarded with beautiful hydrangeas.

Oh Happy, Happy Day!!

~ Echo Mini Penny Hydrangea ~

Yesterday it rained

and rained

and rained.

All.Day.Long

After the lawn dried a bit this morning I went to check on the welfare of my beloved hydrangeas.

They responded very well to all of that rain.

Hip Hip Hooray!!

~ Little Lime Hydrangea ~

In my last garden I grew several of the Limelight variety.

I adore them, but they grow very BIG.  Way too big for this garden.

In order to still enjoy limelights we recently planted two of the Little Lime variety.  They are supposed to grow to a height of 3-5 feet which is much better suited to our current needs.  They are just starting to form little buds so I shall try to remain patient while waiting to welcome them into the world.

~ Annabelle Hydrangea ~

The Annabelle hydrangea is getting ready to put on it's spectacular show.  It never disappoints.  It is a bit large for it's location, but I don't mind one single bit as it sits right outside my office window.  It is such a beautiful sight to gaze at while doing my work.

We added five new hydrangeas to the garden this year.

Now nine of these beauties mingle with the existing hollies to make a pretty hedge along the side of the house.

With our hot summers, most hydrangeas prefer morning sun with a chance to cool off during the afternoon (sounds a bit like me).

They should be very content in their new home.

There are so many reasons that I love them.

One of my favorite is that it only takes a few blossoms to make a pretty bouquet.  Cut, strip the leaves and plop in the vase.  

My kind of flower arranging.

Do you grow hydrangeas too?

                                                                                

Summer Garden Notes

                                                 

Before summer comes to an end, it seems a good time to take a few garden notes.  

Last fall we relocated the Annabelle hydrangea.  It's original home was too sunny which caused poor performance.  It now receives morning sun only and is expressing it's new location happiness in the form of profuse blooms.

When selecting it's new location, I thought placing it outside my office/laundry room window might be nice.  I am happy to report that it has made for a pleasurable work day to see the flowers along with the bees and butterflies that come to visit.  The Japanese Beetles were frequent visitors too.  Thankfully they are long gone now.

When I set up this grouping on the kitchen counter I envisioned the day I could fill the Ball jars with hydrangeas.  It doesn't take many to make a sizable bouquet.

A few more paired with Black-Eyed Susans made a cheerful centerpiece for the dining table.

The potatoes that were planted in pots here did very well.

We harvested them in June and they were delicious.

Our favorite way to prepare them was boiled until tender.  A bit of butter and plenty of fresh chopped chives sprinkled on top.

Yum!

As for that squash...

When we purchased our two tomato plants in the spring I noticed a little vine coming out of one of them.  I figured it was either a cucumber or some type of squash.  It's been fun to wait and see what little surprise was in store.  So far we've harvested 5 yellow crookneck squash.  

The bees have been enjoying the purple coneflowers all summer.

Now the goldfinches are beginning to enjoy the seedheads.

For that reason I won't be clipping them off.

You can't beat the return on your investment with a pack of zinnia seeds.  One packet provided two bigs pots of colorful cheer on the patio.  They have provided countless little bouquets around the house and the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds are frequent visitors.

At this point the foliage is looking a bit rough.  The hummers aren't bothered by that so, as long as they continue to visit, I will keep watering them.

A few in a vase along with a snip of coleus.

Another way to brighten the workday ; ).

🎕🎕🎕

This is the time of year when some people are hanging onto summer for all it's worth while others can't wait for autumn's arrival.

Do you have any thoughts on the matter??

Have a wonderful week.

                                                                 

Late Winter Garden Notes

Saturday's arrival brought blue, sunny skies.  

Oh my, what a welcome sight!

Our long stretch of cold, gray gloom was beginning to take a toll.

With nothing on the day's schedule, I promptly decided it was going to be an outside gardening day.  At first glance it may seem early for any gardening, but I knew there were a few early chores to be accomplished.  Before I began I just sat on the patio enjoying the sun on my face and the chance to breathe in the fresh cool air.  In the distance the sound of birdsong made me know that despite what the weather might be saying, springtime is just around the corner. 

Late winter is the time I cut back the ornamental grasses.  Trimming away last year's dry foliage to make way for fresh new green shoots always feels hopeful.

The one above is liriope (aka:  monkey grass).  There are five of them around the backyard water feature and five in the front yard.

     

I found a pair of scissors worked best to give them all a haircut.

Once done, things were looking much tidier.

This twiggy looking thing is my Annabelle Hydrangea.

Not too impressive right now, but come summer it should be filled with big white blossoms.  

In an effort to ensure that happening I cut it back to within 6-10" from the ground before it breaks dormancy.

 

Once the work was done I strolled the garden looking for signs of new life.  In the herb garden I noticed fresh green chives popping out.

Last fall I had a few crocus bulbs left over and stuck them into a patio pot.  We're expecting a few days in the 60s this week which I imagine will coax them into bloom.

My three little blueberry plants are filling up with buds.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a healthy harvest come summer.

Although most of my spring bulbs have poked out of the ground, the only bloom to be found is this one lone snowdrop.  A sign of things to come.   I can hardly wait for the show to begin.