Scout — Page 71

Memo to Rain: Please Leave

June 13, 2013 at 8:38 am by Claudia

thurs-sky

I’m leading with this shot of the beautiful, fluffy cloud-filled sky I took yesterday because today we are getting heavy rain.

Again.

All day.

All night.

thurs-creek

(the creek across the street from our cottage)

I’m sick of it. Our overloaded creeks and rivers are sick of it. My peonies, who have been rudely snipped, taken from their home and brought inside because of the rain are sick of it. My catalpa that keeps losing flowers because of the heavy downpours is sick of it. Scout, who has to have her paws wiped every time she comes in from the rain, is sick of it. And mostly, the ceiling in our bedroom, where there is a leak, is sick of it.

Okay. I got that out. Now if I can just scream a few times, I’ll feel better. But Don’s still sleeping, so that’s a no-no.

We mowed yesterday in anticipation of the coming rain.

thurs-agirl&herdad

Here’s Scout greeting her dad after watching him mow through the openings in the porch railing.

Most of the time she likes the porch. But when she is there alone and we are on the other side of the railing doing something or other, well, that’s another story. She barks.

thurs-bark

Outraged barks. I mean, why would we even consider doing something without including her?

thurs-cutie

She’s thinking: maybe I should use my abundant charm…

daylily

My first batch of daylilies has opened. This particular plant always blooms first. Lots of blooms for a day or two, then nothing else the rest of the summer.

Thurs-daylilies

Our little kissing boy and girl seem to be hiding behind the plants, hoping they can’t be seen.

Thurs-rose

thurs-newdawnbud

Is that a New Dawn rose bud I see? Only one of the buds has opened and I decided not to include it in a post. Why? Because it opened during another in a series of torrential downpours. It wasn’t as pretty as it was meant to be.

Rain, rain, go away. Don’t come again another day.

So, it’s dark and gloomy and here we be. I suppose I can get through two acts of Much Ado today. Might as well take advantage of being stuck inside.

What’s the weather like where you live? And if it’s sunny and beautiful, please be kind.

Happy Thursday.

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A Bit of Everything

June 5, 2013 at 9:47 am by Claudia

wildrose

Wild roses are everywhere on this property. Normally, they are a pain in the tush because they grow with abandon and have thorns. Normally, I curse them. But for a week or two in the spring, they bloom and everywhere I look there are billowy tufts of tiny white flowers. And for that week or two, I bless them.

Delicate. Beautiful.

Yesterday was simply gorgeous with temperatures in the seventies and a gentle breeze. I was a bit down, still am, so I comforted myself with time on the porch and the funky patio. I listened to the sound of the birds – I so wish I could identify all the different chirps and calls – and watched them flit and fly all over the property. I heard a woodpecker up in the catalpa. In fact, I hear him now. But every time I tiptoed to the tree, that little bugger took off. He knew I wanted a photo of him.

I heard the cicadas, but only for about 30 seconds here and there. Cicadas have to compete with the noise of traffic on our busy country road. I am still finding some newly emerged cicadas here and there on the property.

housefrombackforty

A view of the house from the back forty.

backforty

Part of the back forty.

I sat on the porch glider and looked at my gardening journal. I don’t keep it up like I did when I first established this garden seven years ago, but reading it helps me to realize how far the gardens have come. I am reminded about the plants that thrived here and the plants that mysteriously failed or simply disappeared. More on that in another post. I read my current Deborah Crombie mystery. And this girl kept me company:

scoutexploring

She spends an awful lot of time sniffing here and there. Her nose reminds me that other critters pass through this porch: cats, chipmunks, squirrels, bunnies, mice.

prettygirl

That face. I absolutely adore that face.

By now I think you know that I am more than a bit uncomfortable with the whole idea of tooting my own horn. Fortunately, I don’t suffer from that little malady when it comes to my husband. I briefly mentioned yesterday that his new album is available for download on his website. Don has a website that covers both his acting career and his music. I have a website for my professional work. (And you thought you knew everything about me!) Anyway. His new album, Out Beyond the Breakers, was recorded in our friend Rob’s incredible studio while Don was working in San Diego earlier this year. It consists of 14 new songs. If you’re interested, you can download them individually or as an album.

Some of my favorites?

Don’t Tell Me Heart
I’ve Got a Love (makes me cry)
Adios New York
Say It Twice
Guess I Still Get Crazy
She Saves Me

No pressure. Since many of you have told me how much you like his music, I thought I’d share this with you. If you’re interested, click on the link and then click on Music/Shop on his homepage. While you’re there you can see some photos of him in various acting roles and read a bit more about him. He’s an interesting guy, that husband of mine.

This is shaping up to be a long post! Since they are here for such a short time, more peony photos:

peonymania

antonpeony

pinkbeauty

Love to you all on this Wednesday.

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The Porch and Peonies

June 4, 2013 at 8:55 am by Claudia

maple&shed

A view from the porch. Some much anticipated porch sitting has been happening around these parts. Oh, how I love this wrap-around porch with its bluestone floor.

wroughtironthingy

I know that impatiens are iffy this year. They’ve been struck by a fungus, which explains why the impatiens in our barrels suddenly up and died last summer. I couldn’t figure it out at the time – it almost seemed as if some animal had lopped off all the flowers. I didn’t learn about the fungus until I had already purchased a flat. So I compromised by not planting them in the barrels, just in pots on the porch. If they succumb, I’ll just replant using something else. The fungus only affects impatiens, so nothing else is in danger.

A couple of years ago, Don bought a cot from a yard sale. At the time, I had plans to use it on the porch, but I never got around to it. Yesterday, I pulled it out of the shed.

cot

I threw an old sheet and some pillows on it. Ideally, I’d like to get some indoor-outdoor fabric and make a foam pad for it. In the meantime, this little arrangement cost me nothing. I can’t get all fancy here; this porch is open to the elements.

prettyporch

Don came home later in the day and offered to test it out. I see some snoozing ahead.

thegreenhouse

This bench faces the entrance to the porch. I found the greenhouse sign about 5 years ago in an antique shop.

We have a picnic table, two benches without backs and two with backs. The set was purchased from a neighbor just down the road for $25. I can’t imagine the porch without them.

bench

plantsonbench

Last year, late in the summer, I looked into a pot on the porch and I saw this frog. It was hidden away, surrounded by lots of plant leaves. I excitedly called Don out to the porch to show him. “Oh that,” said he, “that’s just a wooden frog I stuck in the plant when you were away. I forgot all about it.”

Wooden? I had been absolutely sure it was real. Though now that it’s been freed from the plant I can’t believe I ever thought that. Oh boy.

Wait, who do I see?

scoutiethroughdoor

None other than Miss Scout, watching my every move.

It’s the first week of June. Like clockwork, late spring or not, my little babies have appeared:

peony1

peony2

Love, love, love, love peonies. The scent is heavenly.

I have two bushes. This bush is in full sun. The other has blooms like the one below.

prettypeony

Interestingly, this bush is at the base of a shag hickory tree. That tree was very young when we moved in, but in the past 8 years it has really grown. This is the first year that I’ve only seen a few buds on that particular bush and I’m pretty sure it’s due to the increasing shade provided by the hickory. Peonies like the sun.

I’m hesitant to transplant it. But I would really miss seeing this particular peony. Isn’t it pretty? What to do?

While I ponder that, I will wish you a happy Tuesday.

Oh, by the way, Don’s new album, Out Beyond the Breakers, is available for download on his website. If you’re interested, click on this link, then click on Music/Shop.

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Memo to Rain: Please Leave

A Bit of Everything

The Porch and Peonies

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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