Greetings lovely friends & readers
We had a week of -1 degree frosts last week & I picked these hydrangeas before they became all blackened & frost bitten. I just adore the colours of them 💗
Today is rainy, dull & gloomy outside - the maple trees are changing colour & their leaves are falling ... this is taken looking out my Lounge window.
Remember in this post when I took my friend Carolyn on a surprise outing to Splashy & we painted ceramic dishes? They arrived by post last week having been fired in their kiln - they are certainly brighter looking now. The "finger bowl" was a gift to Carolyn ... Splashy do this when it's your birthday so you have a momento of your visit there. We both had to put our painted fingerprint on the bowl.
Sid played soccer last Saturday over in Hamilton & was delighted when he was chosen as Player of the Day. He received a certificate, a Trophy which gets returned next weekend, & a McDonalds voucher.
Just yesterday I finished an Order for 3 lavender/lace coathangers for my dear friend Shirley - I just have to scent them with lavender oil before she collects them.
I also finished an Order for a dozen bags of my Cottage Garden mix Potpourri ... these are waiting for me to take to the Post Shop. They are scented with Rose/Geranium Oils & smell wonderful.
Slooooowly as time & energy allows, I am getting the mulch onto my gardens. I have done one & a half piles so far - I like to put it on really thickly so it takes me ages. First I have to weed & clear the area ... I found all my rusty hens underneath the flaxes when I cut them back ... they must've gone roaming 😉
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These 3 above are newer & are still turning rusty - the rain & weather makes the corten steel gradually rust over time. One of them had a wobbly leg so I managed to wire it up so the hen didn't fall face first into the mulch.
I found this wooden box in The Mr's shed so I stole borrowed it to make a "hen house" & sat the nesting hen on some hay tucked into the box. Maybe she'll lay some eggs for me ...............
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It wasn't long before Little One came along to investigate what I was doing ...............
Yesterday he got drenched (funnily enough standing in the pouring rain will do this). He seems to like it when I towel him dry & he starts to purr. He ended up on my bed - as you can see I put down a sheet & a towel but he - of course - had other ideas (!!)
Also yesterday Blackie decided to take up residence in the clothes dryer because of course there are No Comfy Sleeping Spots in the entire house !!! 😐
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| (From motherinthenorthernlands on Instagram) |
I saw this verse on Instagram & really liked it. I would like to print it off & put it on my fridge.
Thank you as always dear friends, for your welcome visits here today,
With much love & friendship to you all,
Nice winter looking hydrangeas. Go SID....you are a proud granny no doubt! Funny photo of Blackie in the dryer, perhaps Little One should have gone there after getting drenched in the rain? Our Simon also loved a good dry down with a towel when wet. I think that hen will lay some eggs :) I like the morning verse, although I would add don't look at your phone until later in the day. Quilty hugs from the north.
ReplyDeleteAnother nice chatty post, Julie. Always interesting to see the seasons change, with the autumn colour and the cold. We've warmed a little today, with some rain changing it up a bit. Well done to Sid in his game of football. Your ceramic dishes came up well, and I can imagine your pot pourri and coathangers smell delicious! The morning verse sounds like a good start to the day :-)
ReplyDeleteYour dishes have fired up beautifully and I love the little finger bowl, what a lovely idea. I do love a bit of rust and your hens are looking great, you are doing well with your mulch. Sid di well too! xx
ReplyDeleteI like the gentle reminders - good thinking.
ReplyDeleteYour pottery is lovely - the bright colours are so cheerful.
Blackie in the tumble dryer looks very comfortable. Years ago, one of our cats got into the dryer and that was the end of Herbert, poor boy. Now, I check all the machines every time I use them.
Another great blog , love the painted pottery , well done to Sid .
ReplyDeleteYour bog is always full of wonderful ideas and I love every thing .
I wish I lived near by , you are like a wonder woman , keep the good work up , you are so inspiring .
Hugs June.
You certainly have been busy Julie - love your rusty hens!! Little One is like my boy, always near me when I am in the garden, but thankfully he generally does stay on the towel on my bed.
ReplyDeleteYour photo of Blackie in the drier reminds me of one I took of my teen DGD last week, head and shoulders in the drier to experience the residual warmth... and of course there are no comfortable spots in the house!!
Your crafts look beautiful - loving the covered hangers! Lavender is my favourite herb/scent/oil! I use it repeatedly ... I am sure my grandies will always associate lavender with me :)
It's been a lovely visit
Blessings
Maxine
Oh I adore your hydrangeas color to Julie, beautiful purple, your ceramics turned out wonderful, and well done to Sid.
ReplyDeleteHydrangeas do fade beautifully, don't they? They remind me of the colours of old velvet. You have been busy making and I am sure the recipients will be delighted. Sid did well too - good for him! I like the new home for the hen - she looks very happy there. Once they get used to it, cats seem to like being dried. Little One has certainly got a wonderful home now.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely week
Best wishes
Ellie
HaHa! Bless...Blackie...Your a scally~wag...Just going
ReplyDeleteon a quick 'spin' are you...You won't find any bunny
rabbits in there...HeHe!x
Oh! I do like the Cottage Garden mix Potpourri .....and
scented with Rose/Geranium Oils...I bet they smell
wonderful...one behind each ear would be nice...! :).
And....well done Sid...coming on in his football, winning
a trophy, certificate and voucher...a budding Lionel Messi
for sure..! :).
HaHa! Had to laugh at the chickens Julie...guess there past
there sell by date, think the only thing there going to lay, is
'down'....and 'out'....Bless!
Why did the chicken cross the football field?
Because it was a fowl...! :0).
'Gentle Reminders For Better Mornings'
Yep! I can tick all five of those off...as l always say..
"Every Day Above Ground Is A Good Day"..Bless! :O)
💥🔥🎇🧨🕛🥳🎉💥🔥🎆🧨🕛🥳💥🔥🎆💥🔥🎇🧨
"
Ha, I like it! Easy way to have chickens, just ones that don't need corralling or extra chicken feed. No rooster crowing all day long either. The ceramics really pop now they have been fired. Great colors you both used. Precious is with Blackie on staying warm and dry. I think Little One was born 200 years too late. He'd have made a great ship's cat since he does not mind the wet. Or is it he just wants the extra attention, lol. We still run the furnace in the morns and still having inches of rain per week. Surprised the farmers got in the beans and corn and they are sprouted. I have iris blooming and the lilac is finished. Fighting slugs as always as they eat all my seedlings and the iris. I salt them every day, I am so cruel. Hope you get some sunny days to enjoy the chicken coop. Lynn and Precious XX
ReplyDeleteArrrrrrrrrh! :(( No! No! Not the salt....
DeleteI remember growing up, and watching Mum, running
up the garden path with the Cerebos salt cylinder,
pouring salt onto the slugs...it's affected me to this day..
Here's a few suggestion to help.....
Ferns. Low maintenance, incredibly hardy and well down the
slug and snail menu; ferns make an attractive, hassle-free
addition to the garden...
Hydrangeas...
Euphorbias...
Lavender...
Rosemary...
Geraniums...
Japanese Anemone...
I like your little sign on gentle reminders for the morning. I think I will go along with your idea and print it out for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for leaving me your sweet kind comment Ellen. I have printed the verse off today & it is hanging on my fridge with a magnet 💗 xx
DeleteI love the gentle reminders for better mornings. I think pussycats should be on the list too.
ReplyDeleteI just love coming to read your blog Julie & seeing what you've been up to. I love the hen & the box. Silly cat being out in the rain. Not sure the dryer is a good place to be Blackie. My silly Bengal insists that she be outside but they aren't allowed to be. She kept yodelling yesterday wanting out so i told her if she really wanted out then i would hold her out into the rain whilst i stood under cover. I don't think she was keen on that. Well i wasn't wanting to get wet just so the silly cat could go for a walk. She gets walked on a leash. Love the gentle reminders.
ReplyDeleteOf course the furry ones pick the places they want to sleep in. Blackie looks quite at home in the dryer. The hen in the box is such a great idea.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
My hydrangeas are a sad and sorry lot. Your autumnal hydrangeas look lovely in the sweet pitcher, Julie. If I was Little One, I would sleep on gorgeous lace pretties, too. Yes, it's the time for a lot of work in the garden, isn't it?? Lots of mulching here, too. Those rusty hens are sweet. How nice to have pretty coat hangers on which to hang clothes. The ones you fashioned are pretty. I always think your home must smell divine after a batch of potpourri making. Oh ....and to save the best for last ...well done Sid on his Player of the Day. He looks as pleased as punch!
ReplyDeleteLovely visit today. I must try and make some of your rosy potpourri. Well done Sid. Be Man of the Match next! They grow up too quickly. Xx
ReplyDeletekiwikid has left a new comment on your post "These Busy May Days .......................................":
ReplyDeleteWonderful post Julie, you are as creative as ever. Mulching is a huge job isn't it! I need to do heaps here!! Your cats always give me a smile/giggle, they find the strangest places to be and of course Little One would settle on your bed rather than the towel!! Well done Sid, he looks so happy!