By the dawn's early light...

I couldn't get back to sleep after waking up at 5 a.m. so after tossing and turning for what seemed like forever, I decided to get up.

I should get up at this time more often. Dawn and dusk are my favorite times of day (except in the winter, when I'd like dawn to arrive much earlier and dusk to arrive much later).

Actually, these photos were taken a bit later than dawn. It was probably a bit closer to 6:30 when I thought of snapping some photos. As you can see, my poor window box screenfeeder isn't looking as spiffy as it once did. The lavender is now well past its prime.

But that didn't stop Baby and I from enjoying the view.

 I think she's watching for Mr. Hummingbird, who's been spending a lot of time at the feeder lately.

Of course he's never on the feeder when I have my camera handy. Some day I'll be ready when he visits. 

 In  anticipation of the colder weather that will be arriving all too soon, the squirrels are busy building their tree top nests (as evidenced by all the leaves and small branches dropping to the ground on a daily basis).

I hope you all have a beautiful week.

I'm joining Tracie at the beautiful Fishtail Cottage for her Cottage Garden Party this week!

Donna

Rainy days and Mondays...

I love that song, but I must say that rainy days and Mondays don't get me down.

I couldn't resist doing a second post today in order to share our wet weather
(which the robins will LOVE!).

I woke to the rumble of thunder this morning so I quickly jumped out of bed, not wanting to miss a minute of the approaching storm. I get that from my mom, who loved rain and thunder.

I rolled in the patio cover over the deck (in case of high winds), threw some peanuts out to the few Sammy's, Chip's, and Blue Jays who hadn't sought shelter yet, and then waited.

Within minutes the skies opened and the rain came down in turrents, accompanied by winds so strong that the rain blew horizontally...

... which, in turn, made for some beautiful patterns on the screens, completely obstructing the view outside.

And almost as quickly as it started, it stopped, bringing the outside back into focus.

My poor sun catcher. Several years ago I dropped it and it shattered. I repaired it with clear packing tape because I couldn't bear to part with it.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful week, whether rainy or sunny!

Comment Update: Hi Sharon! The thunder started sometime after 9 a.m. this morning with the rain following shortly thereafter!

Donna

Easy Peasy Flower Box

It's finally warm enough to plant and put out annuals here in New England!

I love window boxes. Unfortunately our house doesn't have any.

But what it does have is a screen feeder mounted to the dining room window.

And while it holds seed during the winter months for our feathered friends....

and Sammy Squirrels...

... come springtime I reclaim the screen feeder as a window box!

This year I thought it might be nice to have the scent of lavender wafting through the windows...

 So I placed lavender closest to the window and surrounded it with 

the most hardy of my summer friends, impatiens.

 As long as they are watered daily, I've had wonderful luck with just placing 

six-packs and garden containers right on the screen feeder.

(Look at the clematis buds on top of the arbor! They'll be putting on their show soon!)

This was 2011's screen feeder with nothing but impatiens.

 The year before, in 2010, I put calibrachoa on the feeder.

And in 2009, our first summer with the screen feeder, I plopped down 6 packs of double impatiens.

So time will tell how I like the lavender and impatiens combination. So far, so good. I know I can count on the impatiens to flourish as they are the EASIEST annual for me (no dead-heading & no fertilizing - just once a day watering). Hopefully the lavender will be equally easy to care for in this unique "window box" setting.

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

Donna

COMMENT UPDATE:
I've given a more detailed description of this method in this DIY post, if you are interested in trying it yourself:
 DIY Screen Feeder - Flower Box

I'm linking to a Cottage Garden Party at Fishtail Cottage

I'm also linking to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.

Coming clean..... the good and the bad

I love windows... I just hate cleaning them!

The Dining Area

(click any photos to enlarge)

Back in the early 90's, our dining area was 'windowless' (just like our current kitchen and bathroom)...


Instead of natural sunlight and a view to the side yard, we had just a solid wall. One of the best improvements we ever made to our little cottage was knocking a hole in the wall to have this little bay window put in.


And after it was installed I got to have fun decorating it with a Battenburg lace valance, prisms, and silverware windchimes.


But man, oh man, can windows get grungy and dirty! I was having a hard time seeing all the beautiful fall colors outside, so a couple of weeks ago I grabbed my Windex, Pledge, and paper towels and went to town...


Unlike all the other windows in our house, the dining room and living room windows tilt in for easy cleaning. (I know... tilt-ins negate my right to complain about cleaning windows!)


Before Photo (the bad): "Hello, shed!!! Are you still out there??? I can barely see you......"


After Photo (the good): "Oh, you are still there! You look so much better through clean windows!" See what I mean about how BAD the 'before' windows were??

The Living Room

October 22, 2009

And remember the living room window I shared with you last week, with the gorgeous yellow maple tree out front?

November 4, 2009

Well, here it is now. All of the brilliant yellow leaves have turned rusty brown and are dropping from the tree at an alarming rate...


Pretty soon, Spotty won't have any falling leaves to watch from his kitty cushion...


But whatever he watches, he'll at least have a sparkling view!! (At least until they get dirty again... but unless we have some incredibly warm weather throughout our New England winter, this is the last window cleaning til spring!!)

Thank you to Cielo at The House in the Roses for hosting Show off your cottage Monday!! Please visit Cielo to see her cottage post and to find a list of others participating in "Show off your Cottage Monday."

Have a wonderful week, everyone!!

Donna