Blue Spruce Looking Blue

I just posted this on Instagram with a copy to Twitter. I just figured out a way to show you too by taking a screen shot with my phone. The new growth on this tree that I planted about 22 years ago looks really blue, doesn't it. I moved a number of trees to my cottage from my former house where I had a farm assessment and over 300 trees planted as saplings. Have a great weekend. xo

Peonies Nearing End of Their Season

Lovely Monet quote.

My drooping peonies after Sunday's hard rain. I cut back the ones that were beyond saving and this is what was left.

The white ones are singles and they weathered the storm much better than the pink mop heads.

I keep replacing the blooms one by one when they start to shrivel. They really are nice in the house when they get too heavy outside. How does your garden grow?

Good Morning from My Cottage

My pink peonies have too many petals to stand up to a hard rain like we had late Sunday. I pruned back all the ones that couldn't be saved yesterday. The singles in white held up pretty well. The singles in red did not.

My outside chore this week is hand-pulling weeds from my driveway. Not fun. I like doing it really late in the day since I'm not fond of direct sun. It is very pleasant outside today and I haven't had my central air on for quite a while. Now I'm off to see what kind of breakfast I can whip up. xo

History of Queen Elizabeth's Eight-Decade Love of Corgis

Ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth and her corgi Dookie at 145 Piccadilly, her childhood home in London, 1936. By Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Getty Images.

The Queen has kept corgis even longer than she has known her husband of 69 years, Prince Philip. In 1933, her parents, the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mum), acquired the royal family’s first corgi, named Dookie. On her 18th birthday, in 1944, Princess Elizabeth received a corgi of her own, named Susan, who tagged along on her honeymoon, three years later.
There is a delightful slideshow and more corgi history at Vanity Fair. I was quite surprised to learn that nobody else inherited her love for this breed. Others find them annoying to say the least.

Peonies in My Garden Before The Rain

The red ones and the white peonies are singles and can handle the rain pretty well.

The pink ones with more petals get very heavy when their heads fill up with water and they droop to the ground. The rain hasn't stopped yet and luckily I picked a big bouquet of pinks early this morning and they look lovely in the house. The lamb's-ears pictured here are volunteers that planted themselves. I like the contrast of their silver-gray foliage against the deep, dark green leaves of the peonies.

I've had a very enjoyable day being pretty lazy and it felt really good. I never feel guilty when I have an easy day, do you? I earned it! I just checked and there's absolutely nothing on TV tonight. I hope I can find something interesting to watch that I have saved to my DVR. I don't have any DVD discs from the library either. I'm sure I'll find something. Enjoy your evening. xo

My Peonies Are Amazing 2016

My peonies have never been taller or more beautiful.

It rained overnight and this morning the raindrops on the petals were quite lovely.

Shark Day at My Cottage

Did the title of this post get your attention? A few days ago, I washed and cleaned all the filters and the canister on my Shark Bagless Vacuum Cleaner and it was like new again. Yesterday, I decided to use it instead of my upright Hoover. Here is the end result in my living room. I have a hard time doing inside housework in the summer, do you? It's a necessary evil though! It was somehow quite satisfying to see all the dirt and dust I collected. I did a really thorough job in my living room and kitchen (moving furniture) but only gave a lick and a promise to the 2 bedrooms, bath, and entrance vestibule on my main floor. I had to empty the canister 3 times! My windows are all open and the outside dust is on its way inside but I don't care. I like being clean as a whistle once again. Doesn't it look nice? xo

Pansy Photo Turned Into An Etching

My pansies are still hanging in there in spite of the really hot weather we had recently. I even broke down and turned on my central air, and this is rare for me in May. Now it's pleasant again and I have gone back to open windows. I haven't used my iPhone app called Etchings lately but I enjoyed playing around with it this morning. I love the way the pansies turned out, don't you? I think the app turned my photo into an old hand colored engraving. xo