greetings from our garden

I love our garden and our backyard. I enjoy sitting at the patio table outside and working. We’ve lived in our home almost 31 years and it has evolved and grown.

The backyard is peaceful and calming unless a lawn crew next door or across the street. But lawn crews are here briefly, except for Saturday morning, but I am usually out of the house volunteering at the food pantry. The birds nor the flowers seem to mind.

hydrangeas on the south side of the house

This morning Fern and I woke before six and we spent our morning routine outside on the deck. The birds chirped, mostly house sparrows and cardinals, but I have seen American robins, black capped chickadees, house finches, and an occasional American goldfinch at the feeders. And the hummingbirds, occasionally I’ll hear a buzz to my left and look up to watch a hummingbird move in for a drink.

Fern keeps an eye out for the bunnies and the squirrels, but I began adding a pepper sauce to the feed that discourages the squirrels from scavenging the feeders.

Fern with a background of black-eyed Susans

In the gardens the black-eyed Susans are in bloom and will dominate the summer garden in August through early September. We used to have coneflowers, but I think the black-eyed Susans overcrowd them. In the fall, my wife removes small sections of the black-eyed Susans, but they are persistent.

My wife plants zinnias and some other annuals adding a splash of color from mid -June until fall arrives.

I enjoy the green of the Hosta and hydrangea blooms. Above all, I enjoy being outside feeling the light breeze listening to the gentle rustle of the tree leaves. It’s an excellent place to spend the morning, afternoon, or late evening. Or all three.

It is day 70 of summer break. Yesterday I went to school to incoming sixth graders break the code of a combination lock and gain access to their lockers. It was fun, energizing, and exhausting. There are three more days after today of summer break and I plan to make each of them count. Today is going to be an amazing day, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the days count, one day at a time, slowing down to smell the flowers, so I can speed up when I need to.

What do you enjoy most about summer or your home? Or both?

6 thoughts on “greetings from our garden

  1. Pepper sauce to keep squirrels away.? You need to hand out that recipe to ‘squirrel owners’ worldwide. When we lived in the UK, even our squirrel-prooved feeders were raided and emptied AND destroyed by those charming but also dominating rascals!
    I love zinnias. We can buy them directly from the field where there is a honesty box. And sunflowers and much more.
    Here the coneflowers take over not the other way around!
    Fern is so beautiful! Care to share. I’m sure she would like Switzerland ….

    1. Kiki, the pepper sauce is purchased – it’s called Cole’s Flaming Squirrel Seed Sauce. My daughter got it for me as an Easter gift and it works. You just have to be carefully when you are mixing it and wash your hands and the utensils well afterwards! the zinnias are my wife’s I just have to keep them watered. Have a fabulous Sunday, thank you for your patience.

    1. I would love to sit by a bird feeder in Britain, that would be lovely. Lately, I feel as though I am feeding ALL of the house sparrows in the neighborhood. Soon they will be migrating to their winter homes. Some stay, but most fly south. For everything under the sun, there is a season. I wish you a fabulous weekend.

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