Missy is Back. Weekend visitor.

Missy is so calm and polite. I am in the process of mixing her breakfast kibble with hot water in this photo and she's not jumping around, drooling, or whining with excitement. She's just calmly waiting! She gobbled it right down though. She arrived on Friday morning and will probably stay until Monday morning. Have a great weekend and Happy May First. xo

HOME is where the ❤️is.

Vintage House Plans - House with A Sleeping Porch

United States, 1929: Design for an Eight Room House A 1.5-story house with a library, washroom on the main floor, and sleeping porch For Home Lovers by National Lumber Manufacturers Association, 1929. (St. Paul, MN, USA)  Images found here.

Home is where the heart is.

A Garden in Bunny Mellon's Compound at Oak Spring Garden

So Pretty! Found on Instagram.

Home Page

New Acquisition with 16 Drawers

There are no words that can express the turmoil of the last two days buying and arranging pick up and delivery of this 7'4" wide oak piece with 16 drawers and wonderful original brass pulls. But I did it thanks to two good friends; one with  with big truck and a trailer and both with strong arms. I had the perfect wall down on my lower level where my mother lived until 2012. I have just been using that entire lower level where she lived as storage but buying this piece is giving new life to that area. I have enjoyed being down there because I can walk out of this particular room and be on ground the level with my nesting bluebirds. 

It's cooler down there too and I think I will enjoy it immensely this summer. These tired bones are ready for bed now. xo

The quality of the antique brass drawer pulls is unsurpassed. They are very thick and even the screws are beautiful. This piece was originally in a science lab in a New England girls' college.

New Pitcher for My Collection with Hound Handle

I added a new pitcher to my collection, the one on the right. I took this photo with the overhead light on and it's not the best but I wanted to share. I bought from a delightful couple who live in an 18th century house and they used it for lemonade. So meet my new (old) lemonade pitcher.

See this old post for the other pitchers in my collection and another older post for the story of my copper pots on the top shelf.

Home Page with Latest Post and Updates.

Lady's Mantle This Morning with Raindrops

Early spring is my favorite time for Lady's Mantle as you can see from the photo I took this morning. We had a much-needed overnight rain that quit way too soon. You can click to enlarge this photograph for an up close look at the fringed leaves and trapped raindrops. Enjoy your Sunday.

I just finished a wonderful series on Acorn TV called The Hour and I loved it. It's an old BBC production that has been likened to Mad Men. The acting was wonderful as was the entire cast. I have loved Romola Gairi since "I Capture the Castle". xo

Home Page with Latest Post

Portrait Sketch of Prince Philip 1961

This wonderful portrait of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh was found on @thewindsorfamily on Instagram. It was drawn from life at Buckingham Palace by Dr. Stephen Ward at a sitting especially granted to The Illustrated London News for their front cover published on June 24, 1961. I think this amateur artist captured his essence perfectly. See all posts by The Windsor Family here.

Home Page with Latest Post

Cornbread on My Counter

I will do anything to keep from going grocery shopping until I am out of everything and I am almost to that point, but not quite. I added a can of drained whole kernel corn to the mix this week and it is delicious. The cocktail tomatoes on the vine are just for making this photo a little more exciting and colorful. They will make for a delicious sandwich later. Happy Friday. xo

Home Page

Mini Daffodils at My Cottage

These mini daffodils have been so lovely this year. This photo doesn't include all of the clumps that are to the right of the corner with my hellebore in my front walled garden. They were a gift from a realtor who was conducting an open house and every year I thank her for them. I thought this was the greatest present ever that keeps on giving. I have already started dividing the three original clumps and now there are six.  It was below freezing last night and I brought my potted geraniums inside for the next couple of days and nights. We are having a very dry April so I guess the April showers are being pushed back to May. 

HAPPY EARTH DAY. xo

HOME

My Mom Anna's Daffodils at My Cottage

I am so happy I dug up these daffodils my mother planted, from a spot I couldn't see without going outside, to a spot I can see from my kitchen window. Last spring was their first year and this year I do believe they have already multiplied. They are a later booming variety too and I like that. The daffs I transplanted in an area close by with a sundial have already almost bloomed out.

How does your garden grow? I am having such a good time outside this time of year. I have been organizing my barn/garage too, no easy feat! xo

Home Page w/ Newest Post

A House with Curb Appeal

This house certainly has everything going for it, doesn't it? It's close to the street yet still manages a curved walkway. I love it! via

Home Page for Latest Post

Great Books Recently Purchased

I was out and about one day last week and I found the three red leather bound books with wonderful decoration on the spines to go with with set I already had in black. I love the sporting themes. They were in a very unlikely place in a resale shop that sells mostly clothes and accessories. I am thrilled with these antiquarian books to add to my collection.

I have been working furiously outside while the weather is still cool and enjoying everything about the hard work except for the ticks. I will soon be down to nothing but mowing with much less danger. I put up another bluebird box far away from the one near my house to hopefully attract another family with no competition from the nesting couple already in residence. 

See you later. xo

Home Page with Latest Posts/Updates

Absolutely Beautiful Kitchen

Too beautiful for words.

This looks like a painting.

Extreme kitchen love ❤️

via

Home Page

The Bluebird Man - Video

I watched this PBS Documentary about Al Larson and it is simply wonderful. It's 30 minutes long and there is a lot of archival footage. I know you will enjoy his complete single-handed devotion to enlarging the bluebird population in Southern Idaho after he retired and beyond.

Read this article first and you will be encouraged to watch the video.

Meet the 96-Year-Old Man Who Turned Southern Idaho Into a Bluebird Haven

Al Larson is responsible for bringing 27,000 bluebirds into his hand-made nest boxes he nailed up on his ranch and along the numerous trails in the area. At least I think that was the figure mentioned in the documentary. Be prepared to fall in love with him. I know I did! 

Tomorrow I will update this post and put in a video about his wife.

A Memorial to Al Larson's wife Hilda.

Home Page with Lastest Post with Updates

Bluebird Family Coming Soon

I am very excited that this bluebird and his mate are building a nest in my bluebird box for the first time in about three years. The Carolina wrens have always beat them to it. I made a few changes to the surrounding area that might have made a difference. I moved my bird feeder from my balcony to a spot near this nesting box and the bluebirds are enjoying perching atop the tall shepherd's hook to look for insects. I took this photo from inside the house with my telephoto lens on my Nikon. They perch here also looking for insects to eat themselves and feed their young after they hatch,

I also moved this tall chicken planter to the flower bed in front of the bluebird box where my poppies were last year. The female bluebird pulled a lot of the Spanish moss out from under this clay hen to "feather" her nest and I thought that was a good sign she was moving in and would soon lay her blue eggs. Fingers crossed for baby bluebirds once again. You know I love them so! Bluebirds are also perching all over this fancy wire plant stand to look for insects in the grass.

I took down this birdhouse and replaced it with the one with a copper roof. This is one of my bluebirds on an older post. I always thought this birdhouse was too small but I still have it and plan to put it up again in a different location on my property.

This is one of my bluebird photos from a post in 2009. As you can see, I sometimes add more photos to an existing post rather than make a totally new one. I started out with bluebirds last night and this morning they are still on my mind.

Listen to the birdsong of the Eastern Bluebird on YouTube.

My dog friend Missy is staying with me for three days and she settled right in. This is her second long weekend with me and the weather is perfect for our walks. I honestly don't know how people with dogs managed during the long winter with two feet of snow on the ground for so long. I guess I must be fair-weather dog person. 

Hone Page with Newest Post and Comments

Perfect Country Kitchen

I found a great article about someone who found an old school house and converted it into a delightful home. I love this country kitchen so much. 

Home Page with Newest Post and Updates

Eider Duck: Absolutely Waterproof

Just rolling off: You’ve probably heard the expression “like water off a duck’s back.” Here's where that idiom comes from. The spectacled eider’s feathers are so waterproof that the water just beads up and rolls off. This image of the near-threatened species, which breeds on the coasts of Alaska and Siberia, attracted nearly a million Instagram likes. Nat Geo Explorer Tim Laman photographed this male at the Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Connecticut, which maintains genetic diversity of rare and endangered species. 

The National Geographic Society has funded Laman’s work documenting rare and endangered birds. Photo by ©Tim Laman 

I am so happy to see this bird since I sleep under an Eiderdown comforter almost every night. I don't think I have ever seen a photo of an Eider and I'm sure I would have remembered such an unusual looking waterfowl.

Home Page with New Posts & Updates

Happiest Kitten Expression Ever

If this kitty doesn't make you smile, nothing will. I wonder what she's looking at to evoke such a wonderful reaction? via

Home Page with Latest Posts + Updates

Freshly Picked Daffodils

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet, 

She wore her greenest gown; 

She turned to the south wind

And curtsied up and down. 

She turned to the sunlight

And shook her yellow head, 

And whispered to her neighbour: 

“Winter is dead.” 

 ~Daffodowndilly” A.A. Milne.

I love everything about this. Found here.

Don't you love flower-gathering baskets full of daffodils? Photo found here.

Home Page with Newest Post & Updates

Brown and White Kitten

I have posted a photo of brown and white kittens before and just found this one. I adore this color combination and have never seen it in real life. Photo source here.

Latest Post Here

 

Watering the Plants: Carl Larsson

A delightful painting by Carl Larsson found on Instagram @carllarssongarden Don't you love this large window garden lined with plants in clay pots?

Link for Latest Posts