Weekend Work

This old hand-crank
pump was the impetus.

Richard and I have been busy in the yard. He wanted a water feature in the back yard to entice the birds. More birds. Apparently there aren't enough. 


So what the heck. I made it quite clear that I am not willing to pull grass in a flower bed that we had abandoned years ago. 








Richard: But everyone can see it (the abandoned flower bed) from the patio.
Me: Why does that matter? Look at the yucky mess the birds made ON the patio.  (They throw seed on the bricks. Some they eat; the rest sprout. Or rot.)
Rich: I'm going to clean that up. 

Water, water everywhere.

Me: I think that sounds familiar. And I am the one who power washes the bricks. When it (the pressure washer) works!
Rich: I am going to fix that power washer.
Me: Hmm.
Rich: Okay, so here's the plan. 
I sat down.

Thirty minutes later I was still sitting in my retirement chair. (The rocking chair given to me at the retirement party.) And he was still making his argument, telling his plan, and otherwise keeping me from going into the studio. 

Plenty of flowers and shrubs for the birds and hummers to enjoy.

In the end, he won. Of course, it wasn't much of a fight since I may have wanted the same thing as he did. I just wanted the work completed on my timeline--fix the pressure washer, clean the patio and move the bird feeder, clean the flower beds we already have, build the water feature. That order is important.

The Knock-out Roses he planed on the side.

My thinking is that if he runs out of steam and quits, at least the work that has to be done will be done. He wanted a water feature.

Kale and Swiss chard from my sister, Laura.
 I like mixing veggies in the flowers.

Milly running around with Duke.
We do enjoy the yard.

Pin It Weekly #239

Just pins this week. . .

Happy Easter!

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: BIRD HOUSE

Today we spent much of the afternoon at the Louisiana Nursery Festival in Forest Hill, a very small town that has probably 50 to 60 garden nurseries. It's the place to go if you want or need bedding plants, trees, seeds, or unusual, tropical plants. Everything in the way of green is in a small town with fewer than 1,000 residents. 

The population nearly doubled after people discovered the advantage of having many nurseries in the same town. Most of those new residents are hard-working immigrant workers, who are always pleasant and willing to go beyond expectations to please the customer. I've seen this time and again at the festival and when shopping in the nurseries. (But I don't have time to express my political opinions, so we'll move on.)


The festival is a typical Louisiana festival with high temps (85 today), carnival rides, festival food, craft booths and, in this case, plants. Many, many plants. 


While shopping we saw a booth with some very interesting bird houses. 


Richard flatly refused to buy a bird house, "made of scrap lumber and rusty metal." There's no reasoning with him, especially when I agree that the price was rather steep.


That helped me decide on tonight's inspiration post. Let's see what we can find.

Finding quilts with a bird house or two on them shouldn't be very difficult!

I don't know which I want more: to have Rich make a couple of bird houses for the yard, or to make bird houses myself out of fabric, maybe even on a quilt. Definitely I'll be adding some bird houses and bird house quilts to my Pinterest boards.  
Have a quilty week, everyone!

Spring? Summer? Winter? WHAT?

These amaryllis are standing in
a camelia shrub, so I have to
untangle them from the limbs.

We have the zaniest weather. Earlier in the week I needed a coat while on school duty. The wind was cold, the air damp, and the temps just above freezing.  

This little guy was trying to decide on a color for his coat.

Slowly we warmed up to a point of wearing pants and long sleeves, not unusual around St. Patty's.

more amaryllis

 The azalea bloomed back before the crazy
weather turned cold again. But I can't leave them out.

Lady Banks rose...barely blooming
but growing in other ways.

Today? Hot. You know, spelled out, H-O-T, hot. The air conditioner is running, and I need a fan in the studio. Bees are buzzing in the wisteria: I know this because one chased me. I saw the first Eastern Bluebird in the bird house. Richard and Adam planted the garden. Neighbors are catching fish in their pond. There are flowers in bloom all over the yard. Check it out.

Wisteria have way more blooms now.
You can smell them anywhere in the back yard.

pyracantha

Pyracantha, which are huge shrubs now

The last of the spirea flowers

The swamp on one side of the house. A favorite view while walking.

The back yard (taken from the front yard) 

One of my favorite places in the yard. I love the trees and the shade.
Oh, and the quiet.

The driveway and side yard. Yes, Richard has already cut the grass.