End of Summer

It's September already.  How did this happen?  That means that Christmas is just around the corner!  Yikes!

The new grandson requires his own stocking, so I am (now) hard at work on providing a suitable receptacle for his surprises from Santa.  His big sister got the one with the mouse.  Reid is getting the squirrel.  There will be much beading.  I'm having fun with this.

 Even if I didn't have a calendar, I'd know it was going on autumn.  The spiders give it all away.  I had one the other morning in my kitchen sink that was big enough to have set off the motion sensor light out back.  (Hmmmm, wonder if I slept through it's arrival?

 This morning I went to breakfast with a friend and we almost walked into this huge web (with busy resident, I might add) that was just at face level near the back gate.  That would not have been a good start to the morning.

I would be able to tell that autumn was fast approaching by just looking at the hydrangeas.  They have their faded colors on now, their beautiful "I'm almost ready to leave" colors.  I have been falling more in love with hydrangeas every year.  That makes me officially old, I guess, but oh, well!

My pots out on the deck are lush and full.  Quite lovely, this year, they are.  But soon...ah, soon I'll have to pull out all the summer plants and get them ready for winter.  I'll plant daffodils and tulips and other little bulbs, cover their tops with a sheet of moss (sourced from my own trees at the cabin) and bid them adieu until spring.

I'll miss my beautiful pots of glorious color.  And my little blue table and chairs that are in the shady part of the garden out back---I love to sit there and have an iced tea and enjoy the bird song and the peace.  And the summer heat.  Alas, that's fast disappearing, too.

 Better go sort out my sweaters and make sure I'm ready for the change in the weather.  I can smell autumn coming on.  Can you?

Summer Snapshots at the Cabin

I had a lovely weekend at the cabin.  The weather was perfect...sunny but not too warm.  Just right.

My bedroom at the cabin is so comfy, and is especially appealing to me when the sun streams in the windows.  Something sweet is blooming outside the front window, which makes sleep that much more pleasant.

detail of the old quilt, an antique market find, at the foot of my bed

I love bluebirds and have them all over the cabin on plates and cups, wall hangings and embroidered on all sorts of linens.  Why did bluebirds go out of fashion?  They are so cheerful and they delight me so.

I, frankly, just like birds!
 

Here's my favorite reading nook in the "library."  My DH made the wall of bookshelves for me when I first moved in, way back in 1999.

view out the front door

Over the years, mowing of the native grasses has given me quite a nice lawn, easy care.  It only gets a haircut about three times a year.  There are daisies, Sweet William, California poppy and other wildflowers that bloom amid the grasses.  It is pretty to view and judging from the critters living there, healthy and good for the environment.  (The garter snakes are fat---and sassy.  )

Right now the Buddleia and the hydrangeas are vying for the most vivid bloom color.

All the repairs that were necessary when my reverse osmosis unit leaked all over the kitchen and dining room in the winter have been made, the painting is done and I just got the new carpet to go under the table.  I like the new look and it no longer just reminds me of the mess, but looks like I redecorated.  It's nice to feel the house whole and healthy again.  I didn't realize how sad the robbery a few years ago and the mess from the leak had made me and how it had tainted my love for the cabin.  All is well now.

I found another, smaller dhurrie for the living room while I was in Long Beach.  I like how it compliments the new dining room rug.  It looks planned, not a repair job, even though that is exactly what it was!

I'll be back up there next weekend and I'm really looking forward to it.

And, yes, the hydrangeas are coming along

Alas, the peonies are truly only a lovely memory now, as even the large planting of pale pink ones at the cabin are finished for this year.  But as I mentioned in a recent post, they hydrangeas are coming along nicely!

Since it is only early July, we haven't had any real summer weather yet.  Oh, a day here and an afternoon there, but in the Pacific Northwest, it's been Junuary as usual.

We traditionally never really have summer begin until after the 4th of July.  We might just get lucky this year....maybe summer will start on the FIFTH?  Wouldn't that be a treat?

In the meantime,  while I'm waiting for the start of summer, I'm just going to enjoy how the hydrangeas brighten up even the darkest corner of the garden.

Peony Time

Everywhere I go, everywhere I look, peonies are blooming.  They are everywhere at our Saturday Market.  In my yard they are blooming like mad.

I have three different peonies blooming in my yard right now.  Two pinks and a dark red.  Next year I should have blooms from the yellow peony I added this spring.

I love how they look like cups made of velvet when they first open.

They resemble fluffy pompoms, full of edges and softness and fluff.

I have peonies in vases all over the house.  I'm going to be really sad when their season for this year is over.  I'll miss their exuberance and lushness, and their bright yellow stamens.

Of course, the hydrangeas are coming on nicely....

Beautiful Blooming Nantucket

Nantucket is the prettiest place I think I have ever been.  All the gray shingled houses, most with white trim and the beautifully manicured gardens make for wonderful walks.  Everywhere you look there is another gorgeous hydrangea in full bloom or a window box with eye-popping combinations I would never have thought to use together.

So many of the houses (and many of the shops, too) have window boxes.  They all look so wonderful it makes me wonder why more of us don't use them?

Even at your feet on the sidewalks, things are growing and blooming----and beautiful.

 If you look closely into the center of the white Rose of Sharon in the picture above you'll see a fat and pollen-covered bumble bee.

I love the shape of the window above.  The lush, over flowing window box just adds to the charm.

How's this for curb appeal?

I am definitely going to be planting more hydrangeas when I get home!!!

Anacortes Art Festival

Nonie and I ventured north last Saturday and had a lovely day in Anacortes. It was the weekend of the Anacortes Art Festival. Several blocks along the north end of Commercial Street were blocked off and there were a variety of vendors, selling everything from soap and candles, to jewelry and table clothes. I recognized a few old friends from the Edmonds Arts Festival but many were new to me, which made for lots of surprises. The weather was perfect. There were lots and lots of people there and it seemed like the sales were pretty good. Nonie bought several things, including an especially fine blown glass jellyfish. I will be interested to see how it looks in her home. I know it'll be stunning

We had a delicious lunch at a restaurant new to both of us called Adrift. I had a lovely Vietnamese sandwich, a bahn mi, with marinaded tofu instead of the traditional pork. Yummy! We sat at the luncheon counter and it was great fun to watch the kitchen staff in action. They danced around each other, efficient and graceful, and turned out one spectacular looking plate after another. I must go back and try some of the other yummy-looking menu items. The wait staff were happy, friendly and fast and proficient. It seemed like a place where everyone enjoyed their work and each other and the vibe was really welcoming and high energy. If you are in Anacortes I would strongly recommend a visit! If you go, be sure to check out the fishing rod/order ticket device they have installed in the kitchen----it's fun and it works well.

Even the iced tea was especially tasty.

Elsewhere, Anacortes sported many beautiful flowers but it was the hydrangeas, those late summer stunners, that caught my eye. Even my hydrangeas at Grant Creek are beautiful this year. (It's only taken about eight years for them to really get established and to start blooming profusely.)

Hydrangeas always remind me of my first trip to Japan, back in (I believe) 1983. We stayed a night way up in the mountains, near Fujiyama, and the hydrangeas were everywhere and the most heavenly shade of blue. I've never forgotten that little village although the name of it now escapes me. It took three or four different trains to get there, the last one a cog railroad line. I wonder what it was called???? Hmmmm....getting old!