Buttonbush for the Polinators and Milkweed Caterpillars

This is the first year my Buttonbush has bloomed. I planted it three or four years ago from three bare rooted native plants the Land Trust was giving away. It wasn't my first choice but I got there late. A friend recommended this as it would attract bees and butterflies. I babied the "sticks" and it took a couple of years before they looked like an actual shrub. This is the first year and the bush got buds that finally bloomed and it's glorious. It turned out to be my favorite plant and I am so glad I was late to the event. I had never heard of Buttonbush and now it is thriving in my yard. 

There are only a couple of blooms in this photo but now it is absolutely covered with them.

I have been enjoying the monarch caterpillars on my milkweed plants too. They seem to grow overnight. This is a fat one.

I photographed this rabbit on Saturday morning happily eating weeds in my driveway. It froze and let me photograph it and didn't move until I started walking. Friends with vegetable gardens don't like them but they don't bother me and they are welcome to my weeds. We have had more rain this year that any summer I can remember so the weeds have really taken over. I'll get them hacked down and mowed eventually.

Have a great week. 

xo, Rosemary

New Thrifted Bookcase for My Living Room

Don't you love this heavy iron bookcase I found recently? I thought I would hang it on a wall somewhere in my cottage but couldn't find a place plus it is very heavy and I would have had a hard time securing it to my plaster walls. Thankfully it was freestanding and fit perfectly on a tilt-top table in a corner formed by my fireplace. I Then I couldn't what to display on it until I remembered these leather bound books in my attic. They turned out to be perfect and I couldn't be happier. 

As I mentioned earlier, I am active once again on Instagram and you can follow my daily postings there. I'll try to post something on my blog every Sunday. 

https://www.instagram.com/contentinacottagerosemarybeck/

See you in a week. xo, Rosemary

I am posting again on INSTAGRAM

 https://www.instagram.com/contentinacottagerosemarybeck/

STAY IN TOUCH WITH ME ON A DAILY BASIS ON INSTAGRAM

click on the link below.

contentinacottagerosemarybeck

See you there. 

Many of you have already reconnected with me there.

xo, Rosemary

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2024

One of my favorite Jessie Willcox Smith images.

Cranberry muffins I made long ago when my mom was still 

with me. My favorite trivet is standing in the background.

I was up super early this morning on a rainy Thanksgiving Day. I think it will stop before my dinner with friends at 3:30 this afternoon.

I copied these images from some of my older posts about Thanksgiving HERE. Click on the link if you want a trip down memory lane. Enjoy!

xo, Rosemary

Summer Day When A Bear Visited My Cottage

 On June 10, 2024 I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth and happened to look out my window. I saw a big black blob moving in the far rear of my back yard and thought it was a bear. I grabbed my iPhone a ran out on my balcony and filmed it. At one point I almost dropped my phone when I moved closer to the edge to watch him go out of sight. Look closely when he gets near my bird house and you will see a bird sticking his head out the hole. He flew out and it didn't faze the young bear at all. I was unable to post this video because it is too long but I made screenshots.

Bear getting closer to my house having come from the "way back".

There was a bird in the box that had already flown out. Photo is farther down -- sorry it's out of order. 

Wondering what this box on a stick is?

Strolling past the birdbath.

This is out of order but look closely, there is a bird inside getting ready to fly out. The bear seemed very uninterested in harming anything. He is just a youngster out on his own just taking a walk.

After he passed my house he turned right and went into the deep woods.

This one is out of order too. It was just before the one above showing the corner of my balcony railing. I had just moved to the edge and he heard me but didn't know I was way above him. He never saw me. The flag is a survey stake showing my property line.

Finishing this post on Friday night at 8:45 pm. Have a great weekend. I don't like the way my posts are being emailed the next day instead when I post them but that's out of my control. 

Goodbye August! Why did you fly by so fast? xo

New Thrifted Artwork for My Bedroom

I purchased this framed poster several weeks ago on the third day of an estate sale. I couldn't believe my luck. I have always admired this artist and I have been living with a blank wall in my bedroom since 2004. It was very heavy (20 pounds) and I didn't get up the nerve to hang it until yesterday. I am beyond thrilled.

Here's a horizontal view showing how it lines up with my window. I got the placement right on the first try. Actual hanging it was a little tricky because the wire kept getting stuck on the hanger instead of the hook. After some tricky maneuvers I finally got it on the hook. I used to do custom framing and had a space in an antiques center where I hung my antique prints so I know how to measure the placement of hanging hooks.

Mine is, of course, a reproduction and that's fine with me. An original sold in 2007 at Christie's in London for 12,500 British pounds. Alphonse Mucha is the Czech artist, painter, illustrator and graphic artist living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period. This delightful  artwork was used as the cover for a promotional copy of a British literary magazine THE WEST END REVIEW in 1898. 

Thank you to those of you who have emailed me to see where I've been. It's nice to be missed. There are some things I'm supposed to be doing to my blog that I cannot figure out. I decided today to just keep doing what I know how and hope for the best. xo, Rosemary

Three Indoor Painted Tin Planters Thrifted for My Cottage

Painted and decorated tin planter #1 sits on top of my tin box on stand looking out my living room window. Could the fit be more perfect? I had to bring geraniums indoors again so I could enjoy the planter box right away. All of my blooming geraniums have been planted in outside urns and they look stunning.

Here's #2 (one of a pair). This one is residing on the left side of my sofa flanking my French doors that look out on my rear yard.

The mate #3 is on the right side of the sofa. All three are very French and two are pretty fancy but I think they look nice in my cottage and they cover my clay pots for a new look. They have liners so they won't leak water on the furniture. I filled them with gravel to elevate the pots.

Now you can see the whole arrangement in one photo. I hadn't planned on having any plants inside but then what would I have done with the planters? I couldn't possibly wait until cold weather! My new real estate office is near my favorite charity shop and we have office meetings every 2 weeks. I'm thrilled because it used to be a special trip to shop there and now I can go twice a month. 

Now that my geraniums are all planted in their summer homes I can concentrate on cutting my grass. I did part of the back but the front looks like a jungle. I have this problem every year. I should have started earlier but I didn't. But it always gets done eventually. I will post outside photos of the blooming geraniums soon. xo

Another Fable: The Hen and the Apple Tree

Indeed, It is always difficult to pose as something that one is not!

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I went to an Open House today for Realtors Only not far from my house and I was entranced by all the fabulous antique furnishings in a modern mid-century house on a large lovely property. I loved EVERYTHING. 

I can't remember when I have seen any antique chalkware animals and was thrilled to see a cabinet full of them today. It's spring and there are open houses to attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays and public ones on the weekends. Happy times for me as you can well imagine.

Goodbye April and Hello May. Enjoy getting your gardens ready. xo