I spent a lot of time right here this weekend. The weather was so gorgeous on Saturday and Sunday that I much preferred being outdoors. I sat on the glider and read. I swept and cleaned up the porch. I potted some plants. I did some tweaking to the Funky Patio. I added some hanging baskets.

This little girl spent some time with me on the porch. But she only lasts so long out there. She gets antsy. She has to ‘take care of business.’ She feels a push/pull. She always wants to go out there, but then she finds herself wanting to go back in the house.

But she does enjoy gazing out at the world.

This is one of the yellow flowers that I planted in the galvanized bucket that lives on the Funky Patio. I can’t remember the name, I’ll have to check on that. I fell for the look of the flowers and the silvery stems and leaves.

And one of the pink flowers in that same bucket – Gomphrena. There’s also some Sweet Potato Vine in there.

I’m going to try to get some shots of the patio and the porch this week. They’re looking pretty spiffy and are about as ‘done’ as they’re going to get. I tend to be very simple and somewhat spare with those spaces. A planter here, some potted plants, a splash of color, a couple of hanging baskets, some old cushions on the rusty glider. The star of the porch is the bluestone floor and the view of the gardens, so I let them take center stage. The Funky Patio is just that: cobbled together with some pavers, two wonderful chairs we found several years ago at a local antique shop, a wooden bench, the birdbath and some plants in barrels – funky.

I don’t have the budget to buy lots of pots and plants and garden decorations. I use what I have and am very frugal with what I buy. The fact is, after 8 years of gardening with perennials, I really don’t have to add anything to the garden beds. They, except for the ever-present weeding, take care of themselves.

I love this place. It’s never prettier than in the Spring, with lush green everywhere and gardens full of perennials. Yesterday, Don and I walked around the gardens and gazed at the plants and the trees and felt gratitude. Gratitude that we are here. Gratitude for nature’s bounty. Very, very grateful.

This morning I was opening the kitchen shades and saw the mama bunny with one of her little ones. That answers that question: the babies have been born. The little baby was sticking close to mom, getting tangled up in her legs, looking to her for guidance; so reminiscent to me of fledgling birds and their moms. Mom, however, was having none of it. I think it must be ‘find your own way’ time. I grabbed the camera but I only managed to get this one shot of the baby.

She’s no more than 4 inches long, about the size of a chipmunk. Later on, I saw her running across the grass outside the kitchen window, disappearing into the growth near the the nest – just a flash of her little white cottontail.

Adorable. No more weed wacking in that area for a couple of weeks, I think. I’ll have to research how long it takes for the babies to become full-grown.

See? Grateful.

Happy Monday.