Happy Memorial Day...

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend...


We had the pleasure of spending it with my dad, who has supper at our house every night.


Dad proudly served our beautiful country in WWII and wears his Timberwolf cap everywhere... I've been with him when people have actually stopped him and thanked him for his service in WWII. I don't know if they realize just how much that means to him. Thank you to all who take the time to shake his hand or thank him.


Thank you, Dad. I love you and I'm so proud of you...

Donna

And then there were two...

Found years apart, but meant to be paired...


I first found this small framed pink rose needlepoint several years ago in a second hand store in Somerville, MA.


Earlier this year I came across this framed floral needlepoint. (What's scary is that even though I found this one more recently, I cannot remember where I got it!!)

Lovingly crafted by different hands, stitched in different colors, and mounted in different frames; but somehow they were meant to find each other and live happily ever after on the narrow strip of wall between the bathroom door and linen closet of our little cottage. Thank you to the two lovely crafters who put their hearts and souls into these two vintage needlepoints.
They are lovely and I cherish them!

Be sure to stop and see Cindy at My Romantic Home for a list of all the Show and Tell bloggers participating this week, and to see Cindy's special Show & Tell post!

P.S. It hit a high of 97 degrees Tueday. Wilting weather for sure! Mid 70's are forecast for the rest of the week... Heaven!

Donna

Double Duty Flower Box...

The flower box mounted outside our dining room window ....


...isn't really a flower box at all.

It's actually the screen feeder that we use to feed a variety of our bird and animal friends during the cold New England winter months....

But come May, I reclaim it for the flowers! Of course since it's a screen feeder, I can't put any potting soil in it. So I just set the plants, in their 6-packs, right on top of the feeder.

Last year I set out pink double impatiens, which were gorgeous! This year I decided to try blue and coral Calibrachoa in hopes of attracting hummingbirds!

I'm happy to report that our little female hummer was at the Calibrachoa this afternoon! Mission accomplished!

For more Show and Tell blogposts, please visity Cindy's My Romantic Home to see her gorgeous beachy coffee table vignette and a list of all the other bloggers participating!

Donna

Dusk....

... my favorite time of the day to sit down and relax in the back yard (it's really too soon to call it a garden... soo many things still to be done! But it's getting there!)


The birds are very active at dusk. This little wren, on top of the girls' old swingset, has some straw in her beak and has been busy building a nest. (You may have to enlarge the photo to even see her! Wrens are just so sweet, and what lovely, loud singing voices they have for such tiny ittle birds!)


A mourning dove landed on top of the birdhouse before flying down to one of the birdbaths in the backyard. Poor birdhouse. It was a cheapy from The Christmas Tree Shop within the last year or two. You get what you pay for, that's for sure. I'll see if I can spruce it up and get a few more years out of it before it warps and falls apart completely...


And here are my first shots of the female hummer that arrived yesterday. She definitely likes the feeder down by the patio, which is where I was sitting.

Here she is on another trip to the feeder, as it was getting darker. Of course that's when the mosquitos started coming out. Are there any parts of the U.S. that do not have mosquitos? I think that's where I would like to retire some day!

On my way back to the house I spotted one of our Chips. It was very unusual to see him that late in the evening. They're usually in bed a good hour before sundown; or at least they're not coming around for peanuts during our last hour in the yard so I assume they're bedded down for the night.

So I tossed Chip a few peanuts before heading in for the night. We're working on a project that I'll share with you soon, hence the pile of lumber in front of the shed. I think Chip is going to miss it when it's gone. He was enjoying being king of the mountain!

It's POURING buckets here right now, and tomorrow is supposed to be off-and-on showers, so I'm not sure how soon this project will be completed, but I'll share it with you soon I hope!Wishing you all a lovely week!

Donna

Yoo hooooo... Where are you???

For weeks now the hummingbird feeders have been filled and hung, just waiting for the arrival of our garden's tiniest visitors.


One hangs from the oak tree right next to our deck.


Another hangs in the backyard patio.


A third hangs in the corner of our backyard from a mulberry tree branch.

And yet another hangs from the Hoppa Crab tree in the front yard. The Adirondack chairs we bought last year provide the perfect viewing area!

We're ready.... where are you????

Update: Shortly after posting this, we had our first two hummers! A male and a female, just minutes apart! Think they read my post and felt bad for me?

Donna

Mother's Day continued...

On Mother's Day, we split our time between Harvard Sq. in Cambridge and The Public Garden in Boston...

(click any photos to enlarge)

While walking around the streets of Cambridge I snapped this beautiful bouquet to share with you...


And this was the view from the 4th level of the parking garage ... a cute little outdoor cafe beneath a boutique...


...and beautiful row houses...



The girls had fun in front of this mirrored window....

And I had fun snapping them!

A foxy door knocker....

... and a marker in front of the John Hicks house...

... so beautiful... so New England!

We stopped for dessert and coffee in Cambridge... My iced mocha was 2-die-4!

And yes, I ate the whole thing.

After Cambridge it was time to visit The Public Garden. In my last post I shared the Make Way for Ducklings statues.

The swan boats were not running on Sunday...

Perhaps because it was soooo windy... Or maybe they don't run on Mother's Day? I'm not sure.

But we had fun strolling through the gardens, seeing all the beautiful sites...

...and stopping to listen to a street musician who was braving the chilly weather.

It was so much fun to be able to spend time together, and my girls spoiled me with heartfelt cards. Amanda even painted a portrait for me of my beautiful Casper, the great dane I adopted long before my girls came along...

It's supposed to be much warmer this weekend - and less windy - so hopefully we'll get a lot accomplished out in the backyard!

Donna

Make way for ducklings...

After Saturday's torrential downpours, Sunday was clear and dry, albeit windy and more than a bit chilly! But all things considered, it was a perfect day to head into Boston to spend Mother's Day with the girls!


One of our stops was the Boston Public Garden and, since it was Mother's Day, we thought it would be fun to stop and see Mrs. Mallard and all of her babies from Robert McCloskey's "Make Way for Ducklings."


You might remember that I recently shared this photo of the girls, taken 20 years ago, sitting on Mama Duck.


Well, the girls were kind enough to humor me with a reenactment of that delightful day!!

They may not be Kings of the World, but they are definitely Princesses of the Ducks!

A good time was had by all, even Mrs. Mallard....

And on our way out of the park, we spotted a real life Mrs. Mallard with her ducklings! I'm sure it was one of her ancestors who inspired this 1941 classic children's book!

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day! I'll share more photos of our Mother's Day in a future post.

Happy birthday and Mother's Day, Mom.. I love you and miss you!!

Donna

Spring has sprung!

Spring is finally in full bloom here in New England!


And after the LONG winter we just went through, we are welcoming it with open arms!


Here in the backyard the white bleeding hearts are in bloom....


... as are the red & white columbine.


I hope the hummingbirds arrive before they stop blooming!


We have so much work to do in our little backyard area. This past weekend we got all the furniture out and set up the patio. Then I put a little picket fence around the perennials we planted last year. Within the next week or two we will be getting a load of bark mulch to spread around.


I got up into the girls' old treehouse to take this photo of the front yard. The hoppa crab tree was in full bloom when I took this photo last week.


Let's go through the gate and see what's in bloom out front...

A closeup of the apple blossoms...

And one of my favorite plants, my pink bleeding heart.

Once this little plant pops through the ground in the spring, it grows leaps and bounds...

It's going to be so much fun watching all the perennials come into bloom over the next few months! I think I'll be planting one of these in the backyard as well.. I just love them!

Please visit Cindy at My Romantic Home to see the incredible roses from her garden, and to find a list of everybody else participating in Show & Tell Friday!

I hope you are all enjoying beautiful weather wherever you are!

Donna