You're a Grand Old Flag...

Happy Flag Day, everyone!

I'm sharing some of my favorite photos (taken in our yard, on the Cape, and at my mom & dad's grave), as well as some Old Glory quotations in honor of the day.

"If anyone, then, asks me the meaning of our flag, I say to him - it means just what Concord and Lexington meant; what Bunker Hill meant; which was, in short, the rising up of a valiant young people against an old tyranny to establish the most momentous doctrine that the world had ever known - the right of men to their own selves and to their liberties." 

(Henry Ward Beecher)

"Show the flag and let it wave, As a symbol of the brave;

Let it float upon the breeze, As a sign for each who sees

That beneath it, where it rides, Loyalty today abides.

Show the flag and signify, That it wasn't born to die;

Let its colors speak for you, That you still are standing true,

True in sight of God and man, To the work that flag began."

(Edgar Guest)

"Oh, it's home again and home again, America for me!

I want a ship that's westward bound to plough the rolling sea

To the blessed land of Room Enough beyond the ocean bars,

Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars."

(Henry Van Dyke)

"We have room in this country for but one flag, the Stars and Stripes. 

We have room for but one loyalty, loyalty to the United States."

(Theodore Roosevelt.)

"I name thee Old Glory."

(Captain William Driver)

Wishing you all a beautiful week!

This week I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna

Shadow play...

 The window in my new studio office faces west...

... and as the late afternoon/early evening sun streams in, it creates beautiful shadows.

In this case, the beautiful vintage parakeet lamp that Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage helped me find casts beautiful shadows on the wall.

The sun moves so quickly that the shadows fade away very quickly.

The rooter that hangs in this window with the sun streaming behind it...

... casts its own fleeting shadows...

... on the wall and door of the studio.

The bedroom is on the other side of the house...

... so it's the morning sun that creates window pane shadows on the sheer curtains in this room.

We are expecting gray skies and rain, so there will be no shadows for several days. Wishing you all a beautiful week, whether it is filled with sunny skies or gentle spring rains.

I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday this week.

Donna

Outdoor flower decor...

 Ahhh, sweet spring!

This photo was taken two days ago through the dining room bay window.

The same view, exactly three months ago in early March. 

The summer view is soooooo much more appealing!

This is the view looking in the opposite direction through the bay window. The Major Wheeler honeysuckle vine we planted last year has now climbed to the top of the arbor!

It was only a couple of feet tall when we planted it last summer.

I'm so happy it took off. I wasn't sure if it would, because this isn't a very sunny spot.

But despite all odds, it is growing and budding, just as I'd hoped it would.

One more place for our hungry hummers to visit while visiting our yard!

We also planted a small Major Wheeler honeysuckle on both sides of the swingset deck last summer. It has climbed to the top of the framework, so hopefully we'll be surrounded by hummers when we sit out in the Adirondack chairs this summer!

I mean between the honeysuckle and the feeders, how can our tiny feathered friends resist stopping for a visit?

The vines are loaded with blossoms ...

...that are just starting to open!

Another beacon for our little hummer friends - the Calibrachoa on the plant stand on the deck. 

I finally got around to planting impatiens in the shed's window boxes. I'm really off to a slow start this year with my planting.

Out in the front yard, a hanging basket gets 'plopped' down in the whiskey barrel, as it does every year.

The irises are blooming in the rock garden next to the whiskey barrel...

... and the clematis has started blooming by the light post.

(the view from my studio office window)

It's so wonderful to welcome spring after the long New England winters (especially this past one!), even on rainy days like today!

I hope you all have a beautiful week!

Donna