garden — Page 156

Morning, Flowers, Henry & Endeavor

July 13, 2016 at 9:32 am by Claudia

Morning at the cottage. The only ‘staging’ involved was pulling the pile of my husband’s clean underwear out of the shot.

I’m sure you appreciate that. And you’re welcome.

I have several succulents on the kitchen table. Succulents and I have to learn how to work together for the good of all. I think I overwatered one of mine – even though I was being pretty careful on that front – and it’s not doing well. The others are okay. Perhaps it’s time to buy a book about succulents and learn more about them?

7-13 orchiddaylily

These daylilies are growing in the garden bed on the far side of the cottage. They grow big and tall and have the most beautiful pink/lavender petals with a dash of bright yellow in the middle. I had to hold this flower to get the shot because, for some reason, the flowers are facing away from the sun. Go figure.

7-13 browneyedsusan

I love the way brown-eyed susans look before they bloom. The petals look as if they are covering up the center, almost as if they’re embarrassed to be seen. I have a lot of these now as they’ve self-seeded in another part of the big garden bed.

7-13 flowers in wire

I bought a bag of mulch yesterday and mulched the beds in the Memorial Garden. I watched the bunnies dine. I tried to determine if there are two Henrys…I think there are. A seemingly smaller Henry was dining right in front of our living room window the other day. And then I saw another Henry later in the day, dining near the shed. So I’m not sure if it’s the change in perspective that makes that Henry look bigger. Or if there are indeed two Henrys. Don isn’t sure, either. There were no babies this year as far as I can tell. We would have seen them scampering about near the shed.

My next door neighbor tells me she has groundhogs living under her shed, as well.

Then, late in the day, we sat on the porch and rocked on the glider.

Do any of you watch Endeavor on PBS? Each season has only four episodes and Sunday’s was a cliffhanger! Now we have to wait another year to see what happens. Don tells me they are currently filming the next and final season. And the final season of Inspector Lewis starts in a week or so.

Sob.

Happy Wednesday.

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Sadness, Lists, Flowers and Rain

July 9, 2016 at 9:54 am by Claudia

What a terrible week it has been. Last night, watching the news, I saw the photos of the policemen who were murdered in Dallas, each of them there to protect those who were peacefully protesting. And now they’re gone. I can’t wrap my mind around all of it. Innocent men all – and that includes the two men who were murdered by officers in Minnesota and Louisiana. All of it such a waste of life. I’m reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me. If you want to get a sense of what it’s like to grow up as a black male in our country, I’d urge you to read it. It’s beautifully and poetically written; it’s also raw and unsparing. The winner of The National Book Award, it is sometimes difficult and uncomfortable for me to read because that world is so different than the world I grew up in as a white girl living in suburbia. Oh, but let me tell you, that reaction tells me I need to read it.

There is much that needs to be done to bridge the divide.

7-9 anotherdaylily

It’s been so unbelievably humid here that it feels like walking around in a thick soup. And each day there are thunderstorms and torrential rains that smash down my hollyhocks and hydrangeas. More today and then, fingers crossed, we’ll get a break.

Don and I went out and tied up the hollyhocks for some support while we’re in the midst of these storms.

This daylily is in the flower bed that is right next to the porch.

7-9 beeincatmint

I remember that it was just a week or so ago when I was complaining about the lack of rain.

The joke’s on me!

7-9 beebalm

The night before last, All the President’s Men was on TCM. Don and I love that movie. In fact, it’s one of those movies that, should we happen upon it, everything else is immediately dropped. Whether it’s mid-story or almost over – no matter. We watch it.

There are others (this is my list):

Any Fred Astaire movie
Any Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movie
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Big Country
The Music Man
On the Waterfront
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Hannah and Her Sisters
The Awful Truth
Dinner at Eight
Most any Screwball Comedy
Most any Frank Capra movie
Stagecoach
Red River
Alien and Aliens
Charade
You’ve Got Mail
Any Hitchcock movie

I’m sure there are more, but this list is what immediately comes to mind. (You know me, I’ll probably be editing and adding to it as the day goes on!)

Do you have a list like that? I bet you do.

7-9 eggcuproses2

I got so mad at those dreaded Japanese Beetles that I ran in the house, grabbed my clippers, and snipped off all the buds that that were in danger of being eaten. Take that, Japanese Beetles!

I suppose more reading is on the docket for today. I miss working in the garden and, gosh darn it, I’d love to mow the lawn.

I’ll stop complaining. Our rivers are getting higher and our well is getting fuller. All good.

Happy Saturday.

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Playing

July 7, 2016 at 9:22 am by Claudia

We are in the middle of a heat wave here. Both Don and I were feeling blue yesterday and the heat, which kept us indoors much of the day, didn’t help. I did go out twice to water the newish plants. I think I’ll water them three times today – the relentless heat and sun is hard on them.

I’ll admit to feeling at sixes and sevens since I presented the TSP/Studio to Don on his birthday. I miss moving minis around! I miss playing ‘house.’ I know I need to dive into my next project (building the Fairfield) but I find I’m not quite ready for that. Soon, very soon…but in the meantime, I pulled out The Loft that I got from Target and played.

7-7 playingwithloft

Taken late yesterday afternoon with the afternoon sun pouring in the windows of our office.

7-7 playingwithloft2

Taken this morning.

The chair, if you remember, was a purchase from AlicesMiniatures on Etsy. The red table was a Michael’s find. The pottery was a gift from Barbara from ValueARTifacts on Etsy. The books were in my stash, and the artwork on the wall was a gift from Brae.

I don’t have a lot of minis stored away in a stash (wish I did!) like many other miniaturists. In time, in time! But I wanted to create a scene with what I do have. Gabrielle, who made the sofa for the TSP, is in the process of finishing another one that I commissioned – this time in red! That will go rather nicely in this scene, don’t you think?

If I was to do more with the Loft, I’d paper the walls. The wood grain on the walls is so out of scale! The floor is fine, but the walls have a real-sized wood grain. Perhaps I’ll do more with The Loft while I get ready to start my half-scale build. In the meantime, it’s fun to play!

7-7 purpleconeflower1

Hurrah! My favorites, the purple coneflowers, are starting to bloom.

7-7 blurrybee

I know this photo is blurry and normally I wouldn’t use it. It was very breezy yesterday and I couldn’t capture this flower during a still moment, but I wanted you to see this teeny-tiny bee that was crawling around on the coneflower. Microscopic, almost!

7-7 ruffledaylilies

Beautiful ruffled daylilies.

You know, Don will be in one episode of Mr. Robot this season. I had a feeling that some of you thought he wouldn’t be in it at all. He has a nice scene with his daughter. Fingers crossed it doesn’t end up on the cutting room floor. That happened last season. (Can you tell I’m feeling a bit cynical about the whole thing right now?)

Happy Thursday.

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Morning, Flowers, Henry & Endeavor

Sadness, Lists, Flowers and Rain

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