My favorite way to do that is to take an empty windowbox and put some peastone or gravel in the bottom of it, then take the purchased annuals (still in their flower pots) and set them inside the window box. Pack them as tightly as possible, and then fill in around the pots with cedar mulch. My grandmother taught me this method when I went up to the farm to visit her in the summertime, and every time I prepare the window boxes I am reminded of the good times I had with my grandparents on the farm. This method is quick and easy to do, and by swapping out the annuals as they fade I can keep the porch looking pretty for a very long time.

Just now I was realizing that as much as I’ve been admiring the blossoms, I don’t think I have ever smelled the fragrance of a wisteria. I’m going to have to rectify that soon! I hope that they smell yummy!

One drawback to having so much rain is that mildew and fungus are flourishing. My yard has several different types of mushrooms sprouting in different places. I doubt that any of these mushrooms are edible, but I have never really done any research on mushrooms. I wonder if there are any good online sources to find out about the different types of mushrooms and which ones are edible?

So, I never wanted fruit trees in my yard.  That was before we saw some peach trees in bloom at our local Wal-Mart.  They were on display at the front door, and they are gorgeous!  We bought two of them.  I hope we can put the fruit to use!  I DO like peaches, but I don’t know if we are going to have to spray them or anything to do with caring for them!  I just know that the flowers were breathtaking to look at! 

I love going to the zoo and going to museums of Natural History.  I love looking at bodies of water, and looking at mountain ranges.  Being around nature renews my soul.

But I do NOT like ticks, mosquitoes, or any bug that bites or stings. That is where I draw the line. Don’t get me wrong, if a bee buzzes around my head I don’t try to dodge it and run away, I just stay still and let it go away on its own (it usually does.) But since their stings and bites, etc cause pain, and I don’t like pain, I do not like them. I am not into pain.

It’s really nice that our family has agreed to keep the cottage in the family for as long as we have been able to keep it. There are lots of good memories associated with summers there. Many crab feasts have been served on the sturdy wood picnic tables on the side porch. My favorite picnic table is the one that has the tree growing up through the middle of it. The tree even goes through the porch roof!

Many ghost stories have been told around the camp fires while the children roasted marshmallows on their sticks and then took the marshmallows to the adults that were sitting nearby on the park benches for the adults to squish them between the graham crackers and Hershey’s chocolate bars pieces. I hope that future generations of our family will enjoy the cottage as much as we have.

I was looking though the photographs of last year’s flower show and trying to find the picture of the landscaping scene that had a bamboo fence surrounding the design. I can remember that there was a path that went through the garden, there was a pond with a pretty little waterfall that cascaded down some realistic looking  fake rocks and fed into a small stream that wound through the display. I can remember that when I saw that display that I was thinking that it would look great in the north-east corner of our property.

The folks on the Yahoo groups that I belong to are frequently writing about how they keep a small flock of backyard chickens to help keep the ticks at bay. In addition they say that they enjoy all of the fresh eggs that they could possibly want. From time to time they offer up some chickens for sale and my hubby and I discuss the ins and outs of owning chickens. My biggest concerns involve predators and who would care for them if we went on vacation. I really don’t think we just dump a bunch of chicken feed in a trough and leave them for a week.

I love shopping local when I get the chance, but I think that I am going to spend a little bit of time on the Internet to see if I can get any better prices and maybe even a better selection than the few that I found in town.  After all, if I am going to have to order the mailbox, I may as well spend a few minutes trying to get the best price that I can get!

I look forward to the day when my hubby replaces that nasty old rusty thing with a brand new box!

With all of the recent summer droughts that have been going on, and our attempts at water conservation, I’d love to collect the rain water and use it to water the flower beds.  Since our household potable water goes through an expensive filtering process that our garden doesn’t need, I think that doing this will extend the life of our water filter system and our well pump.  I’m really excited about doing this – our house would look so awesome!

Until that summer camp I had never heard of rain water barrels and thought they were dirty or full of germs. But they taught us how to save the water that runs off the roof and use that water for a lot of things, like watering the garden or watering the lawn.

On a whim I decided to look online and see if there were any rain barrels for sale like the ones they used at our summer camp. We could easily put a couple of barrels at the corner of our house and reuse the water on our plants. That would lower our water bill this summer and it would be good for our plants, too. I found a good site with several pretty styles and colors. I can’t wait to show this to my husband and see which ones he would like to get.

I sent my mother a little bouquet of mixed flowers for Mother’s Day. I asked the florist to make them yellow and white, so that they would brighten the room wherever she puts them. I hope she puts them where she can see them every day while they are fresh.

The last time I was stung by a wasp my hand was swollen for two weeks!  I have a very healthy respect for those things, and although I don’t run and scream from them, when I see a nest I let my hubby deal with it while I walk away.  I know he gets a kick out of dealing with those kinds of things; it makes him feel all macho, so I’m more than happy to let him enjoy his masculinity that way.