What Happens in the Courtyard

When we created this courtyard patio space, we planted jasmine at the base of the trellis and watched it grow and fill in nicely.  Just what we had in mind to offer privacy from our close proximity neighbor :).

This is how it looked last summer.

A late winter freeze threatened to do it in.  In fact when spring rolled around it was totally brown.  It was a bit devastating to lose it after watching it thrive for a few years.  Brett was set to dig it up until I noticed a few green leaves at the base of each plant.  Rather than surrender it just yet, we decided to see if in time it would rebound.

Knowing that it wouldn't look too impressive this season, I planted a row of morning glory and moonflower seeds along the base of the trellis.  For some reason only the seed on each end germinated.

As summer has evolved we have been watching these vines climb up the trellis.  Not quite as pretty as the jasmine, but at least it's green and growing.

Since they haven't bloomed, I'm not sure which flower to expect.

The other evening I went to see if there were any buds yet and was surprised to see this:

~ Ipomoea Alba ~

One big beautiful moonflower.

For a relatively small patio situated so close to the next house, a lot goes on out there if one is paying attention.  In the spring this cardinal was a daily visitor.  Flying from window to window banging his beak into the window, it was easy to tell when he was here.  Oftentimes his mate would be out there with him.

This sweet little chipmunk has discovered the bird feeder.

I enjoy watching him along with the birds while drinking my morning coffee in the living room.

Apparently someone else is visiting the patio during the night.

On a recent morning the feeder had been knocked to the ground and I spied the little chipmunk wondering where his food source had gone.

Standing on his tippy toes for a closer look.

Behind him grow our two tomato plants.

Upon closer inspection I found the night visitor had helped himself to several tomatoes along with the bird food.

This visitor is my least favorite.

You have to really be paying attention to spot him there hiding between the patio and the siding on the house.

I know that snakes have their place.  I just wish it was nowhere near my place.  One day I was stepping onto the patio from the house to water my plants and nearly set my foot down on him or one of his many, many relatives.  EEK, I'm not sure who ran/slithered away faster from that close encounter.

🐍

Summer. . . So Far

This week my grandson will be heading back to school which has made me realize that despite the soaring temperatures outside, summer is beginning to wind down.  Before it's gone for good I thought I'd take a moment to document some of the highlights.  Like, for instance, finishing my first 2000 piece puzzle :D.  It was a challenge that was well suited for those summer days when the heat and humidity made being indoors much more desirable.

In July we travelled to Michigan to meet the newest member of the family.  Our nephew's first child is such a happy little guy.  We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him.

With family spread around the country, it makes seeing one another a bit more challenging.  When my sister and brother-in-law organized this family reunion, we couldn't wait to go.

My brother and sister-in-law flew in from California for a few days.

Not the best picture, but apparently the only one I took.

As a child our summer vacations were often spent in Ontario, Canada.  My Dad was born there and although the family moved to Michigan when he was very young, he had many cousins still living there.  Crossing the border via the Blue Water Bridge always seemed a bit adventurous to me back then.

One day we drove to Port Huron as my son wanted to see one of the great lakes while in Michigan.  Port Huron is located on the Michigan side of the US/Canadian border and runs along the St. Clair River.  Here you can see the Blue Water Bridge in the distance.

The St. Clair River connects to Lake Huron here which provided an opportunity to walk along the beach and listen to the waves hitting the shore.  I was transported back to childhood days of enjoying long summer days in that water.

We enjoyed a long walk along the river enjoying the sights and the periodic signs and statues providing historical information.  Apparently Port Huron is the boyhood home of Thomas Edison.

Soon after returning home from Michigan our Florida family came for a visit.  Brett's brother and our sister-in-law joined us for dinner one evening.   One day Jaxson made an innocent observation about my aging neck which prompted a conversation among the ladies about what the heck happens to our necks during/after menopause.  Ha Ha!  This would explain why we are using his arms to camouflage our necklines.  :D

Here the timer feature captured all of us bare necks and all.

***

During much of this time I wasn't checking in much with blogging.

When I took the time to catch up on things, I was so sorry to learn of a great loss to our blogging community.  Vee of A Haven for Vee was well known to many of us.  She was one of the first to leave a comment on my blog many years ago and has been a faithful commenter ever since.  Her blog was one I always enjoyed reading.  She had a love for home and family and was gifted with putting her thoughts into words in such an interesting way.  

While I don't think the blog world can ever be the same without her in it, I know that she is now at peace and reunited with her dear husband, John and, if blog reading still happens in heaven, I send my love and thanks to you dear Vee for your friendship through the years.  You will be missed.

💕

A Row of Roses

Hello

I'm dusting off the blog (once again :) today.

Are you enjoying your summer?  Is it hot where you live?

Last week I was back in my home state of Michigan where the weather was delightful and such a welcome reprieve from our high heat and humidity.

Before vacation and before the heat set in, we tackled a little garden project.

It involved roses...Drift Roses to be exact.

Just when I had come to the conclusion that there would be no room for roses in my garden, the drift variety presented itself.

I didn't know much about them until reading an article on their special attributes, in particular disease resistance and maintaining a small size.  In fact, they are considered ground cover roses.

We purchased four of the Peach Drift roses and planted them in a bed behind the house.  This spot receives full blaring sun all day which is something these roses will thrive on.

Between the roses I planted a lavender plant.

I received it for Christmas a few years ago and didn't have high hopes that it would survive in our climate.  It was a pleasant surprise to see it blooming this spring.

With plenty of room to fill in I think these roses will be ideal for completing this bed.  Originally there were hydrangeas planted here.

They were receiving way too much sun and have since been relocated to the side of the house where they are much happier.

Behind the roses is a row of Otto Luyken Laurels and under the window is a purple clematis.  Once everything is established and in bloom, I foresee a beautiful combination of colors.

A real bonus is that the roses also have a lovely rose scent.

A Productive Weekend

Now that the pollen has settled, it was time to take action to make the patio a more desirable place to relax.

Here you see a pile of pollen that I swept from behind the patio chairs in preparation for power washing time.  

Brett in action.

He power washed the patios, all of the patio furniture, the screens and here he is blasting the rocks in the fountain.  They get coated with a black film during the winter.  That is all gone now and everything is looking so fresh and clean.

While he was doing all that, I was inside cleaning.

Dusting, vacuuming, washing floors, laundering and tidying.

Sounds like a fun weekend, doesn't it?  ;D

To lessen the drudgery I started by cutting a little bouquet for the kitchen.  My hydrangeas are just coming into bloom along with the coneflowers.

Before the work began we visited the farmer's market.

The local strawberries are still in season so we purchased a quart along with a delicious cantaloupe.  

I was able to pick a small bowl of blueberries from the garden and snipped a sprig of spearmint while I was out there.

It all came together for a colorful fruit salad.

While at the farmer's market we also purchased a tomato pie.

Filled with eggs, cheese, tomatoes, onion and basil.  Yum!

It paired nicely with the fruit and was a fairly effortless dinner at the end of  a busy day.

The pie was loaded with tomatoes and soooo tasty.

It seems to me that a meal tastes especially good after a productive day, particularly if most of the ingredients are fresh and seasonal.

In The May Garden

The azaleas in my garden have come and gone with nary a picture taken to document them.  I suppose that had to do with lacking energy while they were in their prime.  The past week has been fairly productive on the gardening front and a few times the camera came out.  It's nice to have documentation here on the blog so that I can compare from year to year what bloomed when.

Here the clematis are still putting out blooms, although they will soon be done.

While I wish I could say this basket of strawberries came from my garden, the truth is they were the first of the locally grown berries from the farmer's market.  The day we bought them our son was coming for dinner.  We picked up an angel food cake and whipped cream and had a delicious seasonal dessert.  Brett and I went on to enjoy that dessert every evening until the cake was gone.  Our rationale was that after waiting all winter for the local strawberries to arrive, we have to take full advantage while the season lasts.

I love how the garden centers offer these drop in planters.  

I think they did such a nice job with this color combination of coleus.

They should be well suited to the mostly shade situation on the patio.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I can keep them looking this lovely all summer.

One of my favorite places to be at this time of year is the garden centers and nurseries.  Looking at all of the beautiful plants is so enjoyable and it seems like people are in good spirits as they plan their gardens and landscapes.

I couldn't resist this mushroom to add a bit of whimsy to the pot of impatiens on the patio dining table.

Our weather today calls for rain most of the day, yet the sun is shining.  I hope there will be at least one good soaking so that I don't have to drag out the hose to water the seeds that have been planted here and there.  We did receive a lot of April showers.  Since my seeds weren't planted then, there will be no May flowers unless I keep them watered.

🥀🥀

Saturday's Stormy Start

Long before I was planning to get up this past Saturday morning, a large clap of thunder boomed and jolted me into wakefulness. Trying to sort out what just woke me up so suddenly, I could hear the rain coming down in buckets and realized the source of this unwelcome alarm clock.

Moments later an emergency vehicle raced down the street with sirens blaring and red lights flashing.

Not the sounds one wants to wake up to.

Later in the day the reason for that early morning siren was revealed.

This home is located at the other end of our street.

It is rumored to have been struck by lightening that hit a gas line.

Fortunately it was unoccupied at the time.

Thanks to the prompt response by our local fire fighters, the fire was extinguished before it could spread to the house next door.  

In the afternoon the sun came out and all was calm.  In fact it was so pleasant that I had to wonder if this was just a bad dream.

Each time we come and go from the neighborhood, the house serves as a sad reminder of how things can change drastically in an instant.

Another Year Older & Feeling Better

My 65th birthday will be memorable for two reasons.

1.  Medicare

2.  Covid

Boy, birthdays hold a lot of excitement in the senior years.

Ha Ha Ha!!!

Despite the above, it was still a very nice day.  The weather was beautiful.  There was cake, flowers, cards, gifts, calls, emails and texts. The only thing lacking was my energy, which I'm happy to say has now returned.  Hooray!

Thank you for your kind comments in my previous post.  Fortunately none of my family members caught it.

April seems to be flying by and I am finding it hard to believe that we are in the last week of this month.  I need to get busy in the garden.

Feeling a bit behind on that front.  Our sunny days with mild temperatures should be ideal for getting out there and digging in the dirt.

What are your plans for this final week of April?