The backyard is humming with activity...

 The Lucifer Crocosmia is in full bloom right now and the hummingbird activity in the backyard has been non-stop...

We definitely have some new little visitors in addition to our regulars.

A friend stopped over the other day and we both took our cameras out back to see what we could capture. Some of these videos were taken that day.

I also went out this evening to see if I could capture any more to share. The following are some short snippets of male and female ruby throat hummers visiting the lucifer crocosmia and honeysuckle. I wish I could make these movies larger without them getting 'fuzzy.'

One hummer was feeding when another arrived, and the chase was on!

After visiting the crocosmia, this little guy visited the fuchsias that hang from the tent over the patio where I was sitting.

I was on the swing set deck patio next to the honeysuckle when I watched this little female start at the honeysuckle and then zip on over to the crocosmia.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer.

It's been brutally hot here in New England. I'm filling my more popular bird baths two, and sometimes three times a day to keep up with everyone's drinking and bathing.

Hoping for a break in this high temp, high humidity weather soon!

This week I'm joining Claudia, Mockingbird Hill Cottage for A Favorite Thing Saturday,
Cindy, My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday,

and the Cottage Garden Party Tracie's Fishtail Cottage

Stay cool, everyone!

Donna

A Fuchsia Sunset...

The last few hours before the sun sets are my absolute favorite.

This is the view when I'm sitting on the patio down in the backyard...

I usually sit on the settee in the center because it's easy to see both of my hummingbird feeders from there, and the hours before sunset are the most active for these little jeweled birds!

I can see the feeder that hangs from the mulberry tree...

(being visited by the female hummer here)...

.. and the one that hangs from the swingset deck sitting area next to the honeysuckle vine

(being visited by the male hummer here).

The patio becomes an almost magical place to sit and unwind as the sun starts to set...

The fuchsia plants that hang from the tent over the patio are brilliant as the sun streams through the blossoms.

I'm always amazed that the hummingbirds pay little attention to the fuchsias. They occasionally visit them, but definitely seem to prefer the feeders and the honeysuckle vine.

I tried planting cardinal climber from seed last year, but they hadn't even flowered by the time the hummingbirds left in September...

... so this year I bought well-established plants to climb the small twig obelisk we made last year. I certainly hope these flower long before the hummers leave in September!

My beautiful irises put on a spectacular show this year.

These photos were taken at the very end of May, when they were at their peak.

Their bloom time has now come to an end. I desperately need to plant more perennials that bloom later in the season. Other than some annuals and my honeysuckle vine that give summer-long color, it seems that most of the perennials I've planted are early bloomers. But all in good time...

After all, it was only 5 to 6 years ago that the backyard looked like this. We were left with a large crater after taking down our old above ground pool.

So rather than focus on how much still needs to be done, I think I'd rather reflect on how much we've accomplished over the past several years, transforming the "Roswell crater" into a little garden oasis that attracts a wide variety of birds and little critters (my beloved "Sammy" Squirrels and "Chip"munks!). The fact that they all make their homes in our garden and/or visit us on a regular basis makes me oh-so-happy!

Wishing you all a beautiful week...

I'm joining Claudia, Mockingbird Hill Cottage for A Favorite Thing Saturday,

Brenda, Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday.

Tracie, Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Garden Party
and Cindy, My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna

Whitewashing the birdhouse...

 Our poor old birdhouse really needed some freshening up.

 It was inexpensive to start with, and has fallen apart over the years, but I love the shape of it and am willing to glue, screw, and repaint to keep it going for many more years!

This is what it looked like last spring after a very rough winter where high winds had blown it off its post. Hubby spent a lot of time putting the pieces back together again.

Hubby built a new, strong base for it so it wouldn't blow off anymore. But, boy oh boy, did it need a new paint job.

To be honest, I actually like the rustic, weathered look.

But I also want the wood to last a l-o-n-g time...

... so I got out my white paint and gave it a fresh coat of paint..

Hopefully that will keep the wood from rotting any more than it already has. Don't you just love all our landscape fabric? We desperately need more plants and more bark mulch back here. Hopefully soon.

These photos were taken just last Thursday.

Look at the difference in our flowering cherry tree, just 7 days later!

It won't be long before the salvia at the base of the birdhouse is blooming and the vinca vines are once again cascading out the birdhouse windows. I can't wait!

And take look at the difference in our honeysuckle vine. Again, the photo on the left was taken one week ago, and the photo on the right was taken today. It is getting soooo green and there are buds galore. I've decided to plant two more honeysuckle vines to climb the front posts of the swingset.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We're looking forward to more beautiful weather. We're on a roll here in New England!

Donna

All the King's Horses and all the King's Men...

... couldn't put the birdhouse together again. 

But we did!!!

When planning our little backyard garden, I wanted the three gravel paths to lead to a focal point; in this case, a decorative birdhouse on a pole.

And although we had a fairy mild winter here in New England,

we had one particularly windy storm that blew the birdhouse off the pole.

This is what we were left with in the center of the garden.

Not a pretty sight.

And when the old, distressed wood birdhouse hit the rock solid frozen ground below,

it broke in almost every place it could, and then some. It looked like a goner.

I salvaged what I could of the pieces and after staring at the bare pole for six months, 

hubby and I finally decided to tackle this project last weekend.

Now this was a VERY inexpensive birdhouse to start with, but I just loved the look of it

with the windows and door on all four sides and the decorative cupola.

Hubby wasn't so sure it was worth saving, but I assured him that the rustic,

distressed look would be just fine with me!

And so here it is, in all its weathered glory.

With L brackets, screws, a nail gun and glue holding it together from the inside.

Once again standing proud in the center of the garden, just in time for the blooming salvia that I planted around its base several years ago. I also tucked a little vinca vine pot inside each window and door. By summer's end, it will be touching the ground for sure.

Maybe next year we'll have a bit of extra money for the additional bark mulch

the garden sorely needs!

But that minor detail isn't stopping us from enjoying our little garden!

Hubby and I enjoyed feeding our little Chips last week and I'll share photos 

and a short video of that very soon!

 Summer 2007

 I still can't get over the transformation in our little backyard over the past 5 years. Our above ground pool once sat in this section of the yard, right off the deck so I could easily watch the girls when they were young. But by 2007 they had outgrown the pool. It was hardly ever used, so we took it down. It was at that point that I dubbed our backyard "Roswell" because it looked like a flying saucer had paid us a visit!

Summer 2012

Fast forward five years, and here's a pic of old Roswell as it looks now, taken from the same vantage point up on the deck. What a difference!

I hope you're all enjoying summer in your neck of the woods!

This week I'm linking up to:
 White Wednesday at Faded Charm
Cottage Garden Party at Fishtail Cottage

Donna

Serenity...

"Leave room in your garden for angels to dance."

... and bunnies to frolic...

... and flowers to bloom...

 

Amen.

I'll be linking up to Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.
Wishing you all a lovely week,  Donna