Parsley, sage, rosemary, & thyme (and Baby)...

One or two nights have been cold enough that I was concerned about losing 

the herbs potted outside on the deck.

I didn't plant sage or rosemary this year...

... but I did plant lemon thyme and parsley, combined in the urn pictured above.

Baby wanted to be part of the photo shoot (as always), so she became the focus in the first photo, with the herbs taking center stage in the second photo.

Of course Baby prefers to be the only focus, with the plants put off to the side.

The Spicy Globe Basil sits on another table in the family room. I use this in my salads, so I didn't want to lose it to an overnight frost.  This plastic planter is immense, so I think I might try to replant it into something a tad smaller (and prettier). I also think that next year I'm going to go back to the large leaf basil.

Nothing to do with herbs, but I thought I'd show you this rustic old plant stand I found at a local barn sale a few weeks ago. The Wandering Jew I bought at a Woodstock yard sale (during our road trip) is now making itself at home on it.

I also brought in some perennial ground covers that we had not yet planted because I thought they'd be fun to have inside the house over the winter.

Turns out, not so much.

First of all, just look at poor Baby and how sad she looks...

As a lot of you know, the jelly cupboard is one of her favorite places to hang out...

... So much so that we eventually removed everything from the top of the cupboard so that she could sprawl out to her heart's content...

... rather than having to perch precariously on the outermost edge.

So this huge planter was just not meeting with Baby's approval at all. But in addition to Baby's nose being out of joint, they also proved to be just too hard to water.I didn't have a watertight container large enough to hold all of the groundcovers, and the pans I had inside this old wood crate just didn't do the trick.

So they were moved back outside (much to Baby's delight) and planted alongside the fence yesterday.  I will attempt to keep this small, flowering plant inside over the winter, but not atop Baby's jelly cupboard.

So that's about all that's new around here this week.

I hope you're all enjoying lovely fall weather, just as we are here in the Northeast!

This week I'm joining My Romantic Home's Show & Tell Friday.

Donna

Destination: Woodstock

 The road trip that Amanda and I took in September led us to Woodstock, New York...

The Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, in particular.

Claudia, you were spot on when you said this looked just like the book shop in Woodstock (the Golden Notebook)! I can't believe we were only 20 minutes away from you, but since you were working in Hartford that weekend a get together would never have worked. We will definitely plan to met up in the spring or summer when we go back for another visit!

Apparently Amanda has wanted to visit this Animal Sanctuary for years, so when she asked (on a Thursday in September) if we could go on a road trip (that Saturday) I said, "Heck, yeah!" It meant an almost 4 hour drive - each way - so we got off to a very early start that Saturday morning!

The (unofficial) greeter was this sweet Tiger cat, who led us from the parking lot to the sanctuary.

 Now I know you are not supposed to have favorites, but Diane, a former pack mule from the Grand Canyon, stole our hearts.

Diane bonded with Amanda, following her around...

... and even waiting for us outside the guest center door while we used the rest room.

This picture says it all.

Amanda even snapped a photo of me with Diane while we were in the barn.

(Look how old school I am. Everyone else was taking photos with their Smart phones, 

which I don't have, so I've got my little Canon Power Shot clutched in my hand!)

The 'farewell, I will see you in the spring' photos.

I loved this "group shot" of Amanda with Diane, Tim Turkey and one of the many goats.

In the background you can see Tim's mate resting as well as some pigs in their pen.

Tim was quite a character. He also followed us around...

(Don't you love the goat on the bench under the umbrella in the background?)

Speaking of goats...

I swear every animal at this sanctuary actually smiles! I mean human-like smiles!

They are all rescues who knew a hard life before coming to the sanctuary. The fact that they are now all loved and respected and kept safe, shows in their beautiful faces.

There were so many different breeds of goats.

All so beautiful! I love the guy on the top left, giving me a toothy grin!

Amanda said this picture reminds her so much of her strip to Switzerland, the landscape and the animals. Again, would you look at the expression of pure bliss on this sweet guy's face?

Did you know that pigs also smile? Just LOOK at this happy snout!

And this guy was in 7th heaven, sunning himself and getting a belly rub from Amanda.

Just like with the goats, there were so, so many different breeds of pigs! Some had upright ears, others had floppy ears. Some had the stereotypical curly-Q tails, others had straight tails. The one thing they had in common is that they were all so beautiful!

This guy had a cute, non-symmetrical smile. His left lip curled up more than the right.

Beautiful, gentle sheep.

One of Amanda's favorite animals are cows. Here she is visiting with one of the beautiful bovines at the sanctuary.

What a handsome couple!

We were very surprised to find a tree full of pigeons above the duck pond area. We never get pigeons in our yard, yet there are tons in our little town center, as well as in every major city I've ever been in. So these birds being in the country looked so out of place to me!

There were also the domestic friends to be made, like this adorable little bob-tailed cat.

And dogs? Well, dogs absolutely love Amanda (and the feeling is mutual!). This little guy couldn't get enough of her in the guest center.

And this older fellow was also loving the attention he was getting from her.

This beautiful mosaic hangs outside of 'Diane's' barn.

I highly recommend visiting this beautiful sanctuary in Woodstock. It's a wonderful day or weekend trip! And take one of the guided tours. They are so informative. Oh - and the very reasonable entrance fee is tax deductible. How many places can you visit where your money goes to a great cause and you get to interact with animals all day long? It's definitely a win-win situation!

After leaving the sanctuary, we made a quick stop in Woodstock center. We were starving...

...and the Animal Sanctuary had recommended The Garden Cafe so that's where we headed. It did NOT disappoint. We were so hungry by that point that I completely forgot to take a photo of our meals, which were beautiful as well as delicious!

After eating and visiting the Woodstock book store, we got some ice cream to go and enjoyed strolling around...

... before heading back home. It was already late afternoon and we had an almost 4 hour ride ahead of us, and since I wanted to be on the highway before dark we bid farewell to Woodstock, knowing that this would not be our last visit.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Donna

Road trip!

A couple of weekends ago Amanda and I embarked on an impromptu road trip.

The views, coming and going, were spectacular!

At times the skies were filled ...

... with layers of clouds.

At other times, the vast blue sky was only dotted with fluffy white clouds.

We meandered through quiet country roads....

...and worked our way through busy streets...

... and highways.
There were times when we wondered if this was the best day for our trip...

...  since the skies looked pretty threatening on more than one occasion,
and our plans included being outside all day.

But there was no need to worry. It ended up being the most perfect day ever...

... with moderate to mild temperatures and no humidity. 

We ended up on Route 66 for a stretch on our way home. Not the Route 66, but it was pretty cool just the same!

In my next post I'll share where we went and what we did.

Suffice to say, if there is a book store in whatever town we visit, Amanda is in 7th heaven!

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.

Donna