Photo Edits on My Phone

I tried a great feature on my new iPhone. I was just playing around to see what it would do when I hard pressed on a photo, copied, and saved to my photos. This is the first one I tried. I was thrilled that it did an exact outline of this urn, the stand, and the geranium without the background.

Here is the full photo!

I have my phone on DARK MODE to conserve battery power.

I had to do a screenshot of the first photo to preserve the black background. So I can also have a white background on the first photo but the black is more dramatic since the urn is white.

I love learning new things when I get a new device. I always dig deep(ly) and find out things some people never learn. 

This feature will bring new life to old photos that have distinct outlines like this poppy from two or three summers ago! I bought a packet of seeds to sow in late winter or very early spring so I will have them again next summer. I adore their crepe paper petals.

This portrait of one of my cast iron roosters is fresh out of the camera. I snapped him on my way out the door for my early evening walk down to the wayback. The camera was on portrait mode with studio lighting. He looks very proud, doesn't he? That's all folks.

xo

Door Knocker and Green Kale

I finally have a door knocker on my front door.

This was another job for my handyman on Saturday. It is the original antique door knocker that came on my old front door stored in my garage. It is solid and doesn't have a window. I saved all the old hardware and this antique door knocker and 21 years later it is finally back where it belongs. I polished it with stove polish and I absolutely love it. Two holes had to be drilled through the door and there were no bolts to attach on the other side. I was able to find the perfect ones that fit and completely covered the handmade screws after I wrapped them with teflon dental floss to make them a little fatter. I am so thankful I purchased various coffee cans and cigar boxes full of assorted hardware that have come to my aid so very often in home repairs. I am thrilled with this knocker and it's really loud. A friend stopped by today and I was in the far side of my house and I was able to hear her knocking so clearly. Another item checked off my TO DO LIST!

This green ornamental kale has a lovely white center. I bought 2 green ones and the other is in an urn I can see from my balcony and back kitchen window. I love this color too. Temps going down to 36° tonight. I still have things to do before the ground freezes like dig up the dahlias. They are still too pretty to do it before I absolutely have to.

xo

UPDATE: TWO PHOTOS BELOW SHOWING THE TWO PLASTIC NUTS TO ATTACH THE BOLTS TO THE INTERIOR SIDE OF MY DOOR.

When I paint these plastic "nuts" that hold on the bolts that are wrapped in Glide Dental Floss they will blend in with the door and be almost invisible.

I found two loose plastic nuts in my stash. I still have several of these complete nut and bolt sets in case I ever need them for another project. I have no idea what they were designed for. I'm just glad I had them here at home and did not have to go to the hardware store. 

I adored Rube Goldberg cartoons in the Sunday paper when I was growing up. I studied them carefully and now I figure out how to do things with what I've got. xo

Very Formal Bathroom

No detail was overlooked in the design of this very formal bathroom. I like the hand-held shower fixture in the built-in bathtub. The tub looks vintage and probably has claw feet that might have been too casual for the fine woodwork. I like the framed butterfly collection. The urn over the door and the presentation is worthy of a museum. The arched tunnel for the vanity is another nice touch. It's a masterpiece in every way! via

Urn Topiary in France

 Jardins du Bâtiment, Thiré Vendée, France by Denis

This urn within an urn is beautiful.

Favorite Vintage Watering Can

The marks on my favorite vintage watering can shown in next photo. It was made in Germany, marked Schneiderkanne. I found a similar one online with the same maker’s mark, only in a larger size, that sold for $160. I found mine at an estate sale along with a lot of other gardening items for not much money. If I had paid a lot, I would have remembered. 

Watering can mentioned above. The urn is filled with lovely African daisies now. 

I can see this urn filled with Gazanias or African Daisies. I can see this particular urn from the window in this photo. The desk in my pantry fits perfectly under this window and is my favorite looking-out spot.

Container Gardening at My Cottage

I bought some plants on Sunday at the local farm market that sells farm fresh food items too. I pick up groceries there every week. I grabbed these African Daisies thinking they were Gerbera Daisies. After I planted them in three containers (only two shown here) I read the tag and learned they are called GAZANIA, Strawberry Shortcake Mix. They are perennials down south in zones 9-11 but I will enjoy and love them as annuals.

Here, I am looking down on the third container. So far, the blooms are closing up late in the day. I don't know if this will continue when the weather gets really hot. They are supposed to spread and bloom continually from spring until frost. Doesn't that sound wonderful? They are supposed to be great in rock gardens and border fronts and make a great ground cover. I probably shouldn't have planted them in containers but I can thin them as they get crowed and replant elsewhere. I guess it pays to read before planting. Anyway, I love them up high where I can see them from inside the house.

My potted geraniums survived the winter indoors and look nice flanking my front door.

The third white concrete urn near the rooster is planted with basil, curly parsley, and broad leaf parsley. It is close to the front door and near the kitchen for clipping while cooking. There is another large basket-weave terra cotta planter to the left filled with the same herb plants.

My peonies are tall and filled with buds that get larger every day. They are swaying to and fro in the fierce winds we are having today. That's about it for today. See you another day. xo

Enlarging My New Garden

I put this photo taken yesterday late in the afternoon on Instagram too. I moved my antique iron urn to this spot that started out as a large clump of my mother's daffodils. They have bloomed out now and this garden with no plan is telling me what to do. I planted my large rosemary that was wintering over in my pantry in the urn and I love it. To the left of the urn is a giant mullein i found growing wild against my foundation that I transplanted. 

I forgot to bookmark the location of this photograph of a clump of giant mullein growing in a beautiful garden. I found it on Google Images. My single giant will be probably overpower its small garden space but for now it is a free plant I rescued because I have always admired these wildflowers (or weeds) that must be in the lamb's ear family with their gray green fuzzy leaves. 

Stay safe, stay home, and enjoy the first Sunday in May. xo

Plants Wintering Over Downstairs

I brought in the geranium and the flowering nasturtiums over a week ago and they are both very happy downstairs looking out of the sliding glass door that gets the morning sun. I dug up the geranium that was planted in a large metal urn. The nasturtiums were grown from seeds in the center pot while the pot on the far right contains nasturtium plants I dug out of pots in my front garden on Sunday. They are still in recovery mode. I have never tried overwintering annuals but I read online that nasturtiums are a good plant to try. We shall see.

These pots are too large to display anywhere else in my cottage. Every available spot is already taken on my main floor and in the attic with smaller pots of rosemary, thyme, geraniums, lavender, and more nasturtiums. I like indoor gardening and tending plants rather than leaving them outside to freeze and die. They are very beneficial for the indoor air quality too. 

I have been very busy washing all my sweaters and mending tiny holes here and there. I started out washing two by hand in the kitchen sink. Then I noticed for the first time there was a setting for knits on my 15 year old front loading washer. I decided to try it with 4 dark sweaters turned inside out. I was thrilled with the results. My washer spins everything almost dry and the sweaters dried quickly on drying racks in my furnace room. The mending is another story. I'm so glad I have so much thread but none of it is wool. I matched the colors perfectly and took little made-up darning stitches and mended the holes almost invisibly. Nobody else will even notice and I will have a fresh wardrobe of my favorite sweaters looking brand new in a few more days.

I posted these two photos on Instagram this morning. I usually don't blog using the same pics but they will be new to those of you who don't do social media.

xo

Beautiful Architectural Urns

I have genuine urn envy. The classical architecture and the wonderful landscaping are simply stupendous. via

Antique Garden Urn with Tulips

Could anything be lovelier? I think not. via

Lovely Signed Bookplate

I have been fascinated by bookplates forever. They are tiny works of art that reflect the taste of the owner of the book. I love this miniature bucolic landscape with trees and clouds and a garden urn. Found in a 1931 second edition of 'The Scented Garden'. Signed lower right by bookplate artist and designer Bank B. Gordon. Bookplate collectors will know this name. Shell added for interest.

I think the heat wave has broken today. Fingers crossed. My heart goes out to those affected by the flooding in Louisiana. Mother Nature can be very cruel. I am so fortunate to live in a somewhat protected area. I understand we are all in for a very bad hurricane season. Oh dear!

My car has been in the shop for a couple of days in the hands of a new mechanic I discovered. Nothing was wrong with it, but it was time for a tuneup and a once over to get it ready for fall and winter. I even vacuumed it with the shop vac before taking it in. It's going to be ready today. So excited. xo

Large antique zinc architectural urn.

via Instagram http://ift.tt/28PShy6

Large antique zinc architectural urn. Was once on the dormer of a grand building in Newark New Jersey. 

#antique #architectural #salvage #zinc #urn #mine #historicalbuilding #ig #njhistory

Another Beautiful Antique Garden Urn

The patina on this urn is wonderful. This would be quite a statement piece in any garden, especially mine. via

Cast Iron Urn Detail with Dog Handles

I love old iron gardening pieces with animal designs in the casting, especially dogs. via

Concrete Urn Detail

This old planter has weathered very nicely in its lifetime. It is very heavy and I don't move it very often, especially since it's up high. This detail was photographed at eye level.

Most of the leaves fell off the chestnut tree overnight. It's very mild on this rainy day on the first day of November. It's supposed to reach 72º today and I won't have to turn on my heat. I see a final day of mowing in my future, maybe Monday. And lots of raking after ALL of the leaves fall. my photos

Architectural Artifact from My Collection

This zinc urn was once on a dormer in Newark NJ. A gentleman nearby said his father got it from a building that was being demolished. It was just sitting in a junk pile in his back yard. One day on my way to the post office, I stopped and knocked on his door to ask if I could buy it. He said yes and it's been in my junk pile ever since. Not really, it's in a boxwood garden. my iPhone photo

Autumn Harvest

The big crates of local and New York State apples are one of my favorite things about fall. We had our first frost last night and at 8am it was 34 degrees outside my bedroom window. Thankfully, I brought in my geraniums and put a cover on cast iron urn that is by the front door. I have to dig those plants up and repot them. Have a great weekend. See you later. 

American Silver Nutmeg Grater

I've never seen an antique American Silver nutmeg grater in this classical urn form. From the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Details here. 

Peacock On Stone Garden Urn

I love this photograph of a peacock roosting on a fabulous antique stone garden urn on a weathered pedestal. Have a great weekend.
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Antique Tilt Top Tea Table

I had amazing luck at an estate sale just around the corner this past weekend. On the second day, somewhat late in the day I spotted and bought this early 19th century tilt-top tea table with a square top and cut corners. Doesn't it look perfect between my two early armchairs? Luckily I had already negotiated a better price before I started looking at it more closely, flipping up the top, turning it over to examine the base, vase-turned shaft, snake feet, etc. because there suddenly appeared in the wings a lady asking for second right of refusal. Poor table, rejected for a whole day and a half before being discovered by me to be loved again. Webster (behind chair) loves it too. My friend Jill gave me the flowers she arranged so beautifully right from her garden. I even had a small square black plate to put under her urn in case it leaks. The roses are shedding their petals but everything else is still going strong.