A man of many faces....

We had a couple of days this past week where it was blistering hot but thankfully those days are gone and upon us is one of the most beautiful days. On these days Dylan dog likes to nap under the big Maples we have in our front yard where he’s in the shade and catching the breeze wafting through. Poor baby I woke him up simply to take a picture…this is his “WHY DID YOU WAKE ME UP” look. Actually Dylan looks kind of sad, I promise to never wake my baby up again just for a picture.

 

This is Dylan’s happy face he often looks this way when hanging out with his Dad. Truth be told this is pretty much his normal look, he happy and he’s hanging face. But have you ever seen a dog laugh. I don’t mean just a bigger grin but a face that says I’m laughin’?

He's telling Dad to do it, go for that spot that sends him over the moon.

Wait for it....

There you go a dog that laughs. Mister man is rubbing Dylan’s shoulders and that boy sure does love it. If this picture doesn’t put a big ole smile on your face today nothing will.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend and first week of summer. This time of year I’m always beyond busy but it’s about to get even busier. Mister man’s birthday is the Fourth of July and we’ve got some celebrating to do. How about you any special plans?

From Mister man, Dylan dog and myself I wish you all a wonderful week!

XX

~Debra~

Birds & Bees

 

Hi everyone…I know it has been two weeks since I last posted but hey things get super busy around this place the minute it warms up. Grass needs cutting, things need mulching, shrubs and flowers to go in and unfortunately while I was busy outside I managed to pull a muscle or two in my back. If you have never done this may I say take very good care of your back because it’s freaking hurts! While mister man and I have been busy about our yard others who live around here have been busy building their homes.

 

I wanted to hang this shutter that was newly painted but while it was leaning up against the house a couple of birds moved in and set up camp. This nest is so cool it’s built with mud and moss, you can see the small hunks of mud dripping down my NEWLY PAINTED SHUTTER! As of yesterday the parents flew off with their two new babies in tow and once I make sure they aren’t coming back then I’ll move the nest. It’ll be coming inside once I’m sure there aren’t any bugs and such and it has time to air out.

 

We’ve been decorating the outside with a few architectural zinc features….

 

While Mother Nature has been busy starting her show. Our Mock Orange shrubs are in bloom and the flower scent is heaven sent!

 

Our Spirea shrubs in front have blossomed and in case you noticed we do have bronze screens, it’s an antique house so we’ve tried to stay somewhat true to it. I highly recommend Spirea shrubs to everyone they have three season interest and are low to no maintenance.

 

There’s a bee on that middle flower quickly gathering his pollen.

 

Looks like we’re going to get a bumper crop of blueberries.

 

I just hope we beat the black bear that destroyed our bird feeder to them.

 

Our stonecrop is quickly spreading over the stonewalls and steps and is in full bloom right now. This is a type of Sedum that easily plants up in cervices of any kind and is no maintenance.

While I was walking across the yard I happen to see this guy just in time before I stepped on him. Isn’t his house amazing?

 

We have many varieties of ferns that naturally pop up everywhere to help decorate our yard.

Yesterday morning mister man and Dylan dog brought me home a little gift from their hike, three turkey eggs! These are so cool and as soon as I figure out how to sanitize/make sure they don’t have any bugs these will be joining my collection I showed you in my previous post.

So that’s a little of what has been going on around our home the last two weeks, things are coming alive and I couldn’t be happier. We’re going up to ninety degrees for two days this week and I’ll be hiding inside so I’ll be about a bit more this week. Has anyone found anything wonderful in their yard lately? Trust me I do know how lucky I am to live where there’s so much beauty in our surroundings.

Have a fabulous week everyone and be well!

XX

~Debra~

Treasures from Nature

 

We’re lucky enough to live in a place where we're surrounded by gifts from nature in their natural forms. This first piece, while not made by animal or insect, is something Mister Man found one day when poking around in our old barn area.

 

We call it our old barn area because there used to be a huge animal barn behind our house but was struck by lightening the turn of the last century burning it to the ground. There are still a lot of relics to be unearthed and luckily the husband found one. This is a small zinc-copper handle still attached to the original wood. The metal is somewhat soft and I love its patina, the shape of the worn wood and the small bit of brown moss still stuck to the surface.

 

We noticed a paper wasp nest being built last weekend up in the eaves but thanks so a very strong thunderstorm and high winds this past week it was sent down to the ground. It was either that or Mister man was going to spray it but now I have a beautifully shaped treasure.  I love the light gray color and the white band around it. I guess we aren't the only ones who like to decorate our homes.

 

The nest split open when it hit the ground revealing the inside brood cells that would have held the young. The nests are made out of plant and wood fibers and mixed with saliva and chewed into a papier-mâché like material. Look how thin the paper is you can almost see through it.

 

My next couple of treasures is a whole knot from a tree and the beginnings of a knot.

 

This one was just beginning to form into a tree knot but fell out before it was fully formed. I found this bit of information on google how a knot is formed….

During the development of a tree, the lower limbs often die, but may persist for a time. Subsequent layers of growth of the attaching stem are no longer intimately joined with the dead limb, but are grown around it.  Dead branches produce knots that are not attached to the tree.

You can see on this half formed knot how other layers grew around the dead branch.

Here’s my whole tree knot! This was really a wonderful find but to be honest we didn’t find it in the forest. We found it in the dirt under Mister man’s workshop when we were starting the renovations on our carriage barn a couple of years ago. It must have dried out and fallen out of one of the whole trees used as the floor joists.  

 

I love this Grouse feather and picked it up for its delicate coloring, it has kind of an ikat design feel to it. The male birds like to sit up in our woods drumming away to mark their territory.

 

Mister man and Dylan dog were out hiking one morning when something blew across their way, a small birds nest and they carried it home to give me. Look at the delicate bits of pine needles used around the top.

While I don’t know what kind of bird who built this nest I do know it’s small. The paper wasp nest is slightly smaller then a golf ball and you can see how small and deep the nest is next to it.  

I love my little treasures and it’s making a wonderful collection. Have any of you found anything lately in the great outdoors?

We’re in for a week of rain so time for this girl to get outside and get something done. I hope you all are enjoying your weekend and have a fabulous week!

XX

~Debra~