Goodbye July 2016

G O O D B Y E   J U L Y

Where did it go? My Limelight Hydrangea is blooming. It is almost time for me to start putting the house to bed so I can watch some Sunday Nite TV in my bedroom. I am recording 'Dancing on the Edge' and 'The Tunnel' on PBS. On CBS, my DVR is recording 'Brain Dead'. Are you watching any of these programs? Have a good evening. xo

Barn for All Seasons

I showed an 1840 house in Mendham NJ on Friday. I stayed behind after my customers left to take some photos of the barn. The one with the Halloween Witch was already on my camera roll and has been on my blog.

I enlarged this photo to show the pig weathervane on the cupola in the shade of an old black walnut tree. We have rain on this Sunday morning. I'm so glad I showed this property on a nice day. xo

Covered Patio in a Barn

I showed a house today that had a barn with a patio inside. One whole side was open. This was in back of this house, not attached. It's always good to have a covered place for eating outside and grilling. So nice. A rolling picnic table and benches were stored in the other part of the barn. Have a great weekend. xo

A. Hays Town. Louisiana Architect

If this is his tool shed, what can his house be like? Find out here. Swoon!

I haven't been posting my recent Instagram photos on my blog of late. If you are curious to see what you have missed, see them here. xo

Pets Napping

This is too cute. I love photos of pet families spooning and napping. via

Office Under the Stairs

This is a better use of a space the usually becomes a closet, isn't it? via

A Raspberry Tart

I got a big surprise this morning and it's delicious. A friend picked wild raspberries with her two small sons and they baked some tarts. Mine was delicious. via

We had a thunder storm 🌩 🌨 🌩

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We had a thunder storm that brought the temperature down 20° from 93° and that's a good thing. 🌩 🌨 🌩
#thunder #lightening #rain #storm #cooler #hotday #relief #sohappy #ig

A Fiddlehead and A Fledgling

This is a great photo, isn't it? Wish I had been the one who took it. Tis the season for birds spreading their wings and leaving behind an empty nest. via Many fledglings spend 3 to 5 days on the ground when they first depart the next and are often mistaken for injured birds. Here's a great website for determining if you have discovered a bird trying to fledge. 

Clouds Change So Much in One Hour

I took this cloudscape from my balcony last night at 7:41. I mowed the back of my property a little over a week ago. My front lawn is an embarrassment it's so long. I am waiting for the perfect weather that hasn't happened yet. I plan to wait until this heat wave is over before using my walk-behind mower.

I took this big sky photo at 8:42. I guess all of the humidity we had during the day went into cloud making. 

I turned off my central air last night and it was so nice to hear the chirping insects that sang and chirped me to sleep. Open windows at night in the summer are the best. So far, there hasn't been one night that I slept with the A/C on. So happy. Enjoy your Sunday and stay cool. xo

An Amazing Vestibule

This has got to be one of the best entrance vestibule I have ever seen. I can't stop looking at the photo either. Is that a tile floor? I love the thin herringbone design! Love the door.

Hope you are staying cool. We have had three of the hottest days of the year with at least five more to follow before it gets down to 88° I am fine with my stack of DVDs to watch and my central air. I have it set pretty high so the house isn't like a walk-in cooler, but comfortable. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. xo photo source

My lacecap hydrangea

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My lacecap hydrangea did not bloom this year because of the late frost. They bloom on last year's growth. I cut it back to the ground and now have a big bush with lovely green leaves. All was not lost.🍃 🌿 🍃  Have a great weekend. xo

#hydrangea #lacecap #gardening #landscaping #goodtoknow #ig #flowerpower

Fifty shades of green. 🍃🌿🍃

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Fifty shades of green leaves around my cottage.🍃🌿🍃

#fiftyshadesofgreen #leaves #iphone6splus #instagoodnature #ig

Welcome to my world 🍃 🌿 🍃

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Welcome to my world 🍃 🌿 🍃 I live in the best area with lots of open space. So lucky!

#favorites #natureloversgallery #aroundme #newjerseyphotographer #iphone6splus #ig

A Tale of Two Whippets

I want to thank all of you for your constant thoughts about my dogless condition. I recently stumbled on a blog that will break your heart (in a good way). It's about a very talented florist in England who lost her shop dog.

You should probably get out your tissues before reading this saddest of sad blog posts.

Can you guess the happy news in this adorable photo?

Miss Pickering hasn't added any new posts to her blog in a long time but you can find her on Instagram. She is very busy and Instagram is fast and easy. Look for her there. Her pup has grown quite a bit and I wish she would post more photos of her shop helper. Hopefully she will read this and blog more about her new love. The new pup has his own Instagram account. @valentinewhippet

My limelight hydrangea has set its buds for midsummer blooms.

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My limelight hydrangea has set its buds for midsummer blooms. Love them. They bloom on this year's growth. I prune mine in February. They are very hardy and reliable bloomers. 🌿 

#limelighthydrangea #perennial #latebloomer #paniculata #deciduous #hardy #hydrangea #ig

Fabulous Soaking Tub

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Fabulous soaking tub photographed at a broker open house today. The basketweave tile under the tub is so beautiful.  🔹 🔹 🔹 

#luxuryrealestate #soakingtub #masterbath #openhouse #luxurybathroom #interiordetails #ig

My wild raspberries are ripe.

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My wild raspberries are ripe but I almost never get there first. ♦️

#wildfruit #raspberries #njwoods #freefood #sodelicious #ig

Cat's eye.

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Cat's eye. Tin cutout with marble eyes -- detail.

#marble #catseye #refraction #refracted #iphone6splus #viewfrommyfrontdoor #happymonday #ig

A Green Glass Flycatcher

I have never used this to catch flying insects because I don't have too many in the house and I prefer to swat them when I do. But I love having this little item hanging in my kitchen anyway. Stay cool, it's going to be a scorcher here today and I'm prepared for it. They say the humidity will make it feel like 100° so I'm going to the library and the post office this morning and will enjoy my central air when I return. Enjoy your Monday. xo

I saved this photo to my phone

I can't wait to use this photo when someone sends me a text with a request I must put off for a while.

Heart shaped swarm of ants

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Heart shaped swarm of ants on my front walk trying to make me love them. 

#epicfail #foundheart #ants #mycottageinstincts #saturdaythings #ig #iphoneonly

Another beautiful sunset sky with a tiny moon.🔹

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Another beautiful sunset sky with a tiny moon.

Really LOVE This Bathroom

I have never seen a copper farm sink used in a powder room. I love this mirror with a luggage rack on top too. It's perfect for towels. Maybe it's a nautical item. I love the window and the pocket door too. Tour this seaside cottage on the Rivera designed as a houseboat here.

Gardens behind High Hedges

How gorgeous is this? I love that there are only three colors. Green, white and blue. The hedges are beyond fabulous and quite impossible but fun to see. Have a great Friday, the gateway to the weekend. via

It's a good day for having a good day.🔹

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It's a good day for having a good day. Photographed at a realtor open house yesterday. 

#summerpleasures #rattanchair #lawnfurniture #classicstyle #easyliving #socomfortable #luxuryrealestate #ig

Blurred lines. Yesterday evening at 7:30 🔹

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Blurred lines. Yesterday evening at 7:30🔹 I have the best sky!!!

#lookupmoments #clouds #altocumulus #bigskycountry #everchanging #njwoods #ig

Vintage toile wallpaper in a 1920s estate cottage bathroom. Photographed today at a broker open house. #luxuryrealestate #toile #wallpaper #classicdesign #openhouse #interiordetails

via Instagram http://ift.tt/29UloVB Vintage toile wallpaper in a 1920s estate cottage bathroom. Photographed today at a broker open house. #luxuryrealestate #toile #wallpaper #classicdesign #openhouse #ig #interiordetails

Sun and Shade

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Soon the sun will cast the shadow of the house on the balcony and there will be shade. I don't like sitting in the sun for any length of time. 

#sunandshade #mybalcony #niceclouds #ig

💛 D A I S Y 💛

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💛 D A I S Y 💛

Mushroom as big as a dinner plate.

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Mushroom as big as a dinner plate. I put three small wildflowers on top for scale. The purple one is a clover blossom. Photographed on my evening walk tonight. xo

#mushroom #fungus #wildnature #wildnewjersey #goodnight #watchingPBStonight #tv #ig

The Sunday morning line up. 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

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The Sunday morning line up. 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 I picked up these deck chairs a few doors down when the owners put them out at the curb for trash pickup. A new coat of stain and they are as good as new. So happy.

#mybalcony #happysunday #deckchairs #summer #morning #shadows #ig

Raindrops resting on a finely woven spiderweb.

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Raindrops resting on a finely woven spiderweb on my boxwood this rainy Saturday. I can hardly believe my weather went from air conditioning yesterday to 66° this morning. It feels fabulous and we need the rain!

Cloudz.

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Cloudz. One of my favorite things to photograph. They can change the same location so very dramatically as in the last three pics from my balcony. 

#clouds #sky #njisbeautiful #mycottage #ig

Deer Sighting Out Back

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I got pretty close with my iPhone on my walk out back. He posed for me.

Weeds can be beautiful too.

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Weeds can be beautiful too. 🔶🔶🔶  These look like little orchids.

#weeds #wildflowers #yellow #orchids #inmylawn #ig

Enjoying The Hammock

Jessie Willcox Smith is one of my favorite illustrator. Isn't this adorable? I don't recall ever having seen this one before. via

We are having a hot week in New Jersey but it cools off at night enough to turn off the central air and open bedroom windows. I can tolerate air conditioning during the day but dislike being sealed at night. I miss the sounds of outside too much. This arrangement works for me and I love waking up to birdsong in the morning. Stay cool. xo

Portrait of a fern in my woods🔹🔹🔹

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Portrait of a fern in my woods, on my walk.🔹🔹🔹
#fern #native #njwoods #nofilter #nature_nj #shadeplants #ig

I need to do another short mowing.

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I need to do another short mowing like this soon. But will wait until after the heat wave. My cottage looks so big from the back. It is 1-1/2 stories high from the front and a full 3 stories from the back because it's a bank house, built into a slope.

#mowing #mycottage #longview #ig

Vintage mid-century pool.

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Vintage mid-century pool with an endless view. Photographed at a recent broker open house on a cloudless day.

#luxuryrealestate #infinity #view #pool #preservedfarmland #openspace #openhouse #ig

Cloud cover this morning.

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Cloud cover this morning. Rained all night. "Enough blue to patch a sailor's pants."
#clouds #sky #viewfrommybalcony #quote #ig

Happy Independence Day🇺🇸

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Happy Independence Day from the cottage.
#july4th #flag #mycottage #beautifulday #ig

Flags Over Fifth Avenue July 4, 1916

Childe Hassam July 4, 1916

The Fourth of July, 1916. The Greatest Display of the American Flag Ever Seen in New York. This painting was inspired by the climax of the Preparedness Parade in May of that year. It must have been a wonderful sight to behold. Thankfully, we have this world-famous painting to document the historic World War I parade down Fifth Avenue. It's the 100-year anniversary of this great painting.

Enjoy your fireworks tonight!

Happy Sunday July 3rd.

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Happy Sunday July 3rd. Bed in 4 corners @countrylivingmag, George Washington calligraphy @americanantiquarian, center humor @mount_vernon. Geranium photos are mine.
#photosharing #july4th #holidayweekend #ig

Wonderful Built-in Bed

Don't you just love this? What a great place to sleep. Yes, it would be a pain to change the linens and make up the bed but worth it. via

Pink sky at night

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Pink sky at night, sailor's delight. Nice sky on my evening walk!
#sunset #dusk #eveningwalk #saturdaynight #pink #ig