An empty nest

We missed the first of the three baby robins leaving the nest, but the second one just wasn't quite ready to fly and made his way to a spot under a tree where mama and papa tended him/her

I kept missing the best pictures of course......like the feeding.....

They sure grow up fast!

 

The last one........gone now as I write this post.

Poor little robin....walkin', walkin', walkin' to Missourri.....remember that song? LOL, I'm dating myself! Can you see that tiny little robin making his way across the grass? That little dot?

Off he went and stayed at the edge of the flower bed for about an hour....when I next checked, he was gone, probably to the back of the yard in the bit of bush, hiding in the underbrush until he could use his little wings. I could hear mama and papa, chirping at him over the course of the day and evening.

While we're at the flower bed, a few pictures for you.

The heat and humidity we've had lately and rain on and off have really pushed the blooms!

The sad thing is, then we will be on the downward side of summer!

I was very happy with the way the flowers planted in those big plastic swans spread and really made a very colorful display.

I will definitely plant these low bushy zinnias again next year. They have really been looking good. You can see some yellow ones in one of the pictures above this one. They are great!

SORRY, if I haven't been visiting, I really miss dropping by to your blogs and seeing what you've all been up to. I will catch up one of these days, meanwhile, I'll at least try to keep on posting!

Where is that little chair I put in the flowerbed?

Do you see that shabby little vintage child's adirondack chair in the middle of my flowerbed? I know, you can hardly see it..This is a picture taken in summer 2008........I place that little chair usually somewhere in the flowerbed . Most times it ends up almost hidden by the end of July!

As I was working away planting my flowers this morning, I remembered I had to leave a space for that little chair.

Which made me go searching for it. I thought I'd stored it in the little red barn storage shed......no...not there!

Well, I remember putting it somewhere where it would be protected from the elements, maybe under the deck..........

aack! what a mess!

Waaaay too much stuff in there piled up, alot we never use, and just store, just in case, you know......

Husband had been wanting to get at some bits of lumber way at the back and some other things and started shuffling things around.........

Well, at least I found it! See it? ...underneath and behind all that STUFF!

It's going to take me half an hour to move all matter of things outside the door so I can get at it!

Too hot and sticky today........maybe tonight? I'll take a good picture of it when I get it dug out of there.

Well, I have the camera out so will take a couple of shots of work in progress.

You know, I never plan my flowerbed. I just buy what I like, keeping in mind short and tall, and then just start plunking them in wherever!  I love a mixture of color! I'm never disappointed.

Hoping that in another month it will have filled out and bloomed enough to make it look as happy as my 2008 flowers.

 

Or my 2009 flowerbed.......

Meanwhile, at the back of the yard........needs some tidying there too....always wanted to do something with this old iron bed........have the head and foot of it.....have you ever seen a flower "bed" .....I'd need the space in the veggie garden to do it up proper......

What's this doing just laying on the ground?....Have to get it propped up and do something creative with it.

A patch of ornamental grass, it's finally amounting to something pretty! Don't ever plant in the flower bed without containing it.....it is like a very BAD weed once it gets going!

This little guy never stops working! I plunked those chives in there a couple of years ago and he just keeps on pushing them around in his wheelbarrow! In the shade and seldom, actually closer to never...watered, those chives still survive! I've been trying to rid my flower bed of them for the last few years and I still get them coming up there too!
Well,enough of a break for me, I should really go back to the greenhouse for a couple of things so I'll be ready to get back at it after supper when it cools off a bit.
Have a great day, no matter what you're doing!

My feet are sore!

Things have been hectic since last week. The garage sale, then on Sunday I had the kids and grandkids for a weeny and corn roast, complete with fireworks! I had neglected the garden so it's been catch-up time!
The laundry and ironing is next....oh what an exciting life I have!

Today I was pickling all day and evening and my feet hurt! Took a break this afternoon for a quick trip to visit mom.
They were having a little gathering for residents of the month! Got to enjoy a nice visit with mom and a few of the other residents at the same table, and a lovely cuppa coffee and some delicious cake!

I bought a new camera!! Last week I went to look at one on sale and ended up with something else......... a deal I couldn't turn down. I had planned on using my garage sale money to get a badly needed new camera and wanted something that took good closeups as well as having a nice long zoom.......mine is 12x.

Just a couple of point and shoot pictures of flowers taken at Mona's. CLICK TO ENLARGE, the detail is pretty darn good and the camera was not expensive.
Can't wait to play with it!

What a beautiful setting for our garage sale!

You can click to enlarge any of the pictures in the posts. The pictures are quite big when you do so,... I think I'd better re-set my camera!
Well, tomorrow I'll be up bright and early and headed to my friend Mona's for the big garage sale. I went there this afternoon to set up and only took a few pictures inside, it was still kind of cluttered up, so I'll get a few more pictures tomorrow.
Meanwhile.............Mona has one of the greenest thumbs around and her yard is just gorgeous! I took a few pictures of her flowers, will try and get more tomorrow too, she has some great displays in other parts of her yard.

This side bed would have been at its peak a couple of weeks ago, but it has a lovely mix of perennials and annuals to keep it going into the fall.

A planter Mona had custom made, it is made of rebar (spelling?), you know that heavy metal bumpy rod they put in with concrete for roads, driveways, etc?....Parsley and geraniums, an unusual but stunning combination.

Beautiful lilies!

This planter is HUGE, and always brimming with an assortment of colors.

A little piece of her deck, that's her own handpainting on the bench and the old boiler underneath.

She sure knows how to put together the colors and textures.

CLICK TO ENLARGE, just a few odd pics, more when I catch up in the next couple of days.

My froggy friend

One of my froggy friends. This sweet frog/toad was acquired a number of years ago and despite his broken leg, manages to look quite happy sitting in the birdbath surveying my flower garden and yard. He starts out on a rock below the birdbath, but when he starts to be hidden by the spreading pansies or petunias, he gets moved up to his main summer residence. Isn't he cute?

I took the picture last week on a very cloudy overcast day. Cloudy days are supposed to be great for outside picture taking. No shadows!

Hey that's me! The Hurrier I go the Behinder I Get, or so it seems!! Cute little sampler I'm listing on Ebay today.

Today is really lousy as far as the weather. Drizzle right now and it's not very warm either. I have to get into the garden regardless and check on the cukes. I know I've lost alot of raspberries this weekend. They ripen and fall to the ground! It's been to rainy, except for last evening when of course the sun came out for the last couple of hours of the day but so did the mosquitoes. I was busy right then anyway. When I get some time I'll show you some pictures of what I was up to. It has something to do with a HULA HOOP!