Yesterday, I started clearing out an area right below the kitchen window to make another garden bed. Yes, I know. I need the care of yet another bed like a hole in the head, but it’s an area that is always full of weeds and is right next to the entrance to the secret garden. It suddenly struck me that, instead of ignoring it, I could plant a shade garden there.

So I started pulling the weeds (there’s a lot of work ahead) and found the inevitable plastic bags buried beneath the ground, along with some nylons and some socks. Just how much trash is buried on our property?

I found part of a china plate. The gold design is raised. I have no idea how old it is and it’s in pretty good condition because it was inside the bag. No markings. Any idea about the pattern?

Don would like me to discover a bag of cash. Preferably a stack of $100 dollar bills  Somehow, given the humbleness of our abode, I don’t think that’s going to happen. But today I’ll start digging, so wish me luck!

The annabelle hydrangea is just about to turn white.

This plant grows on the far side of the house. It returns every year, and I’ve grown to like it. Is it a weed? I wonder, because it hasn’t spread and I don’t see it anywhere else on the property.

Those flowers will turn white soon.

It’s getting quite tall. Does anyone out there have any idea what this is? I’d sure love to know.

That being said, I’ve tried to be patient, but I’m starting to think my butterfly bush didn’t make it through the winter. I see a few leaves near the bottom, but I’m not sure whether they have anything to do with the actual bush. Do I yank it and buy another one? I would miss seeing all the butterflies who congregate there.

Questions, questions.

Happy Friday.

My favorite natural food shop makes these Whoopie Pies. I especially love the chocolate filling but yesterday’s vegan choice was strawberry. Goodness, it was tasty! I always put them in the refrigerator before eating – somehow it makes them even better.

This particular shop is a bit of a trek, so I have to have an excuse to go there. Happily, I did.

As I said on IG, I prefer to think that because it’s vegan, it’s not fattening. Let me remain in my delusional state, okay?

If you didn’t see the update in yesterday’s comment section, here’s the latest. Reader Michele somehow found out the manufacturer and pattern for this plate. I don’t know how she did it, but I am so, so grateful! It was made by Enoch Wood & Sons and it’s part of their Belzoni series. Belzoni was an Egyptologist and traveler who had an exhibition in London in 1821. The series has various designs depicting “ancient architectural elements with an exotic locale” – this sort of thing was part of the Romantic movement.

It was made in the 1830s! Oh my gosh! What a treasure!

The quote is from an auction site. Here is the link to a black platter in the same pattern as this smaller plate. Once I read Michele’s comment, I started researching like a madwoman! I sure hope we come across more pieces.

Thank you again, Michele, for your stellar detective work!

I was focusing on this coneflower when a big fat bee obligingly landed there.

This may be my favorite of the day lilies on the property. The ruffly edges are too perfect.

Cloudy today and much cooler around these parts.

Did you know that it was sunny and beautiful for every one of the ten days it took to drive across the country? Amazing.

Happy Tuesday.

It’s raining today and it looks to be an all day long rain. I have some little projects to take care of here and this weather is a good excuse to take care of them.

There’s something about the shape of a coneflower that just makes me happy. I think of them as one of the best flowers for a country garden.

A slightly ruffled edge on this day lily. Old-fashioned and romantic.

The endless summer hydrangea in the memorial garden.

If you follow along with me on Instagram, you’re aware of this story, but for those of you who don’t, let me share it with you.

We live in a house that was built in 1891 and from evidence around the property, it was a farmhouse. Many years ago, it was routine to bury trash on the property as there was no other way to dispose of it. Over the almost-twelve years we’ve lived here, I’ve encountered all sorts of things, among them a tea cup handle, part of a Homer Laughlin Harlequin plate, bones, paper wrapping, hose nozzles, a handle for a plastic toy phone, etc. After some time – because of erosion or rain or whatever – things rise to the surface.

A day or so after I got home, I was walking in the corral – I must have just finished mowing – and I saw the edge of a piece of pottery protruding from the ground. I pulled it out and quickly discovered two other large pieces and a couple of very small ones.

This is what I found:

Red transferware. I oohed and aahed and shared my discovery with Don and placed them on the kitchen windowsill.

Yesterday, I tried to piece them together, not knowing if they were random pieces or belonged together.

They fit. I also have that smaller pieces that is missing from the bottom left. I’d say this is a salad plate/bread and butter plate, given the size. Isn’t it beautiful?

Well, I got online and spent hours looking at transferware patterns and, so far, I haven’t found this particular pattern.

Don and I were so intrigued that we went back to the same area and dug a bit. In addition to a chain and some old paper, we found one more small piece of the plate and a couple of pieces that turned out to fill what were shallow chips on the bottom of the plate. I haven’t found a piece that has a marking on it. And darn it, I know they’re there! But they could be anywhere in the corral. However, since these pieces were next to each other in the ground, I am led to believe more are nearby.

This must be what an archaeologist feels like. Sort of. There is a ‘dig’ going on in the corral.

I’ve sent a message to Nancy of Nancy’s Daily Dish – a blog/website that focuses on her extensive collection of transferware – maybe she might know the pattern.

Does it look familiar to any of you?

I love a mystery and I am so intrigued by this one. How old is it? What owner, long ago, used it? Is it in the trash because it broke one day? Are there more pieces out there and where are they???

Happy Monday.