Snow Day????? Not Really❄️

Remember these show shovels I left leaning on the wall last fall? They are working to scare the snow away, just as I hoped they would! Now if I could just devise something to deter the high winds coming later. I have a friend in the Berkshires of Massachusetts who's getting two feet. Be safe if you live in such an area. I always remember getting real winter weather in March, just when spring is right around the corner.

xo

Beatrix Potter ♡ Four Illustrations Today ♡

We have a little garden,
A garden of our own.

Female rabbit entering her burrow.

Gentlemen came every day,
Till Cecily Parsley ran away.

... And this pig has none.

Illustrations from: 

Cecily Parsley's nursery rhymes

found here

Enjoy! xo

1916 Silver Trophy Cup: Dog Show

I love old sterling presentation cups with unique engraving.

This one is dated 1916 and was won by a Scottish Terrier.

She was a good dog!

Maybe this post will encourage me to polish some silver.

I'll do it along with my spring cleaning.

I did my bedroom yesterday, all but the dusting.

It was still dark this morning at 7am.

Have a great Sunday.

xo

MORNING SMOOTHIE or "HOW I EAT MY GREENS"

My Oster blender has an additional container for smoothies and it works wonderfully. I filled it about half full with soy milk but you can use the liquid of your choice. I add 1/2 a banana, sliced. Then I put in some leftover beets, some leftover crushed pineapple, and two really big handfuls, tightly packed, of raw collard greens. I buy them in a large bag already washed and torn into small pieces and they last me at least a week. Raw collard greens are the best greens you can eat for your eyes and I can honestly say my vision has improved in only two weeks of making these smoothies. I vary the ingredients but the banana and collards are always included as is the soy milk.

This is a closeup before my first sip.

I ordered these stainless straws with an adjustable sipper and cleaning brush recently because a standard straw is too short for my Oster container. They are made by OXO (see link HERE) and there is a carrying case for travel. These are life changing and I love them. What do you think of My Breakfast of Champions? I was having an awful time eating my greens in other ways so this has solved my problem completely. If I somehow miss it at breakfast time, I will have it for my dinner. I add berries too, just didn't this morning. I always have frozen blueberries on hand. Each one has been delicious and the greens don't impart much of a taste but the banana does! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Here is my complete Oster package.

Maybe you have the same one hiding in your cabinet like I did.

xo

Please Don't Eat The Snowdrops

This must be in England because I have snowdrops everywhere and nothing has ever eaten them. It's an adorable photo though, isn't it? Happy Friday! It's raining at my cottage and will continue all night into Saturday. Have a great weekend no matter the weather. via

xo 

I searched Google Lens for source of original photo and found this. 

The rabbit is eating snowdrops in a meadow in Germany.

My Entrance Vestibule

My vestibule, photographed with the wide-angle lens. The front door is on the left. Door opening into my kitchen is on the right. Behind me is a coat closet with door. Each wall flanking closet has coat hooks and there is a tray for wet boots on the floor with a bootjack for easy removal. This area was a covered porch when I bought my cottage and the front door was on the wall where the chair is located. I could never have gotten my furniture in the house without my current setup. The outside of my cottage looks as if it has always been this way. That's always a good sign of a thoughtful restoration. I'm meeting two girlfriends later for an early dinner.

xo

Another View Inside My Pantry/Office

Does everybody like this new template? 

This is my pantry/office wall to the right of the front window.

So you can see it really does function for office work.

Let me. know if you like my blog this way.

https://contentinacottage.blogspot.com

It's as close to the look of my original blog as I can get.

Fingers crossed.

If you like it, thank Tara Dillard.

She sent me an email explaining her problems.

Tara, Do you like it now?

We shall wait for her reply.

xo

Snow Day From My Windows

It snowed overnight and I wasn't expecting to wake up to this scene from my kitchen window.

Another kitchen window looks out to my weathervane.

View from my pantry window showing the road is black.

My front walk is already melting. 

That's the nice thing about March snows; they don't last long.

Have a great Tuesday.

Thank you for stopping by. I know some of you are upset by my new look but try to remember it's still me behind the keyboard and camera. 

Rosemary

I post daily photos on Pinterest HERE and they link to daily blog posts. This is another way to scroll thru CONTENT IN A COTTAGE.

xo

 

Weekend Pics Around My Cottage, Inside & Out

This is the second year for these snowdrops that were transplanted and they are loaded with flower heads.

Wild raspberry hoops swaying in a gentle breeze.

The beginning of a walk to the way back to pick up sticks.

Heading back home. I like to keep my property stick free and it's easy to do every day when I go out on stick patrol. 

Everybody likes this little room off my kitchen. It was once a screened-in porch. I love sitting here with my computer, looking out the front window with the tin cat figure. A geranium is wintering over at the back window. 

Another view showing more of the floor space.

Happy Monday. Hope you are having a nice day.

xo

NEW BIRD PHOTOS

Mourning Dove looking to the right,

Here she is looking to the left with her tail feathers in the water.

Male cardinal feeding from the ground.

The sun was at the perfect angle to capture this male cardinal's true color. He wears his red feathers proudly, doesn't he?

Enjoy this lovely Sunday.

xo

Good Morning Sun

Sunday morning coffee time in front of the tv watching Antiques Roadshow from Palm Springs on PBS. I haven's raised my other shade yet.

My view from the front window looking at my across-the-street neighbor's red barn. The blue sky and the bright morning sun are so very welcoming.

I hope your Sunday is lovely too.

xo

Snowdrops are for Sharing

I discovered some rogue snowdrops on a bank where I threw some weeds from one of my beds with snowdrops and daffodils. It's impossible to weed those areas and not pull up snowdrop bulbs so I am careful to dispose of the weeds in a designated area. Each spring I have blooming bulbs to share with friends. I took these two pots to a friend who lost her mom recently and told her to plant them where she can see them. They always bloom in February and will be the start of her memory garden.

Have a great weekend.

xo

Two Great Alphabets to Clip & Save

I found these vintage alphabets and the scissors when I was looking at some of my old posts. My new template made it so easy for me to share these large photos without having to struggle so much to resize them for you and this makes me so happy. These alphabets would be great to print, clip and paste the individual letters for one-of-a-kind cards for any occasion. Click to enlarge the images.

Happy Friday

xo

Snow Scene: Tapping the Sugar Maple Trees

This antique oil painting is one of my favorite things and I look at it between my living room windows daily. It cools me in the summer and warms me in the winter. It is signed but I need to take it off the wall and adjust the canvas because it has slipped a bit and the whole signature isn't showing. That's a project for another day. It has a picture light above it so it's not that easy and will I have to move furniture. There is dense fog outside this morning and most of my snow has melted on the driveway with no shoveling on my part at all and that pleases me immensely. Have a great day!

xo

FABLE: THE HEN AND THE APPLE TREE + HELLO MARCH

THE HEN AND THE APPLE TREE 

One October day, a Hen looked out her window. She saw an apple tree growing in her backyard.

 

"Now that is odd," said the Hen. "I am certain that there was no tree standing in that spot yesterday."

 

"There are some of us that grow fast," said the tree.

 

The Hen looked at the bottom of the tree. 

"I have never seen a tree," she said, "that has ten furry toes."

 

"There are some of us that do," said the tree. "Hen, come outside and enjoy the cool shade of my leafy branches."

 

The Hen looked at the top of the tree. "I have never seen a tree," she said, "that has two long, pointed ears." 

"There are some of us that have." ' said the tree. "Hen, come outside and eat one of my delicious apples."

 

"Come to think of it," said the Hen, "I have never heard a tree speak from a mouth that is full of sharp teeth."

 

"There are some of us that can." said the tree. "Hen, come outside and rest your back against the bark of my trunk."

 

"I have heard," said the Hen, "that some of you trees lose all of your leaves at this time of the year."

 

"Oh, yes, " said the tree, "there are some of us that will." The tree began to quiver and shake. All of its leaves quickly dropped off.

 

The Hen was not surprised to see a large Wolf in the place where an apple tree had been standing just a moment before. She locked her shutters and slammed her window closed.

 

The Wolf knew that he had been outsmarted. He stormed away in a hungry rage. 

It is always difficult to pose as something that one is not.

March came in like a LAMB at my house.

Here's hoping it doesn't go out like a LION at the end.

I have posted this engraving and poem many times and still love it.

Spring is definitely in the air with snow on the ground.

The sun is bright and the sky is blue.

19th century engraving by Walter Crane.

Poem by his daughter Bernice Crane.

xo

Snow Day on Tuesday

Outside my front pantry/home office window.

View from the window over my kitchen sink.

View from my front vestibule door. Walk not shoveled.

Feeding frenzy. 

How many times will I have to refill the feeder?

Bought navel oranges yesteday.

I ate the missing one in middle tier.

It was delicious.

View from my living room overlooking balcony and rear property.

It's not bad at all. I didn't even move my car to the front. I have nowhere to go and did my grocery shopping yesterday. By noon, the temperature will be above freezing and the melting will begin. The snow is very beautiful from the inside looking out. My road is black and cars are whizzing by but I am staying put until Mother Nature helps me out with her snow melting capability. Stay snug. 

xo

Blue Skies Reflected in My Birdbath

The slight shimmer of the water when nothing else is moving is amazing to me. I am still exploring the magic of live photos converted to GIFs. You never know how they are going to turn out. If you want to get good ones, just be sure to make multiple photos and delete the ones that didn't work out. That's what I have been doing with my bird photos. I have a busy Monday morning ahead of me. Snow is coming and I have to get more birdseed in addition to ingredients for my morning smoothie. More about those later. Stay snug.

xo

Determined Red-bellied Woodpecker

I watched this red-bellied woodpecker for quite a while. He was determined to get all the hidden seeds from beneath this concrete ball. He is a male and I know that because of his red crown. The female's head is white on top but she does have red going up the back of her head.

 He looks as if he's sharpening his bill but he's throwing the sunflower seed shells. Look closely and you'll see them bouncing off the ground.

I hope you aren't geeting tired of watching these animated live photos called GIFs. I can't get enough of this beautiful fellow; he's one of my favorites. Every now and then I look out my window and see snow flurries. But when I look again they've stopped. Enjoy the last weekend in February and stay warm if it's cold at your house too. 

xo