Outdoor Relaxation and Work

Our screened porch is one of my favorite places when it's not too hot outside. You might find me having morning coffee before I start my day, or catching up on my reading with a glass of sweet tea in late afternoon. 

In the past two weeks I have done a porch cleanup and moved some of my houseplants out for their summer vacation. The hummingbird feeders are filled and my mama's roses are blooming.

The seat cushions on our outdoor furniture were looking a little shabby. In my recent fabric bonanza, there was a lovely tablecloth that was way too large for our dining table. I decided to use it to make new cushion covers and pillows. 

I plumped up the glider seat with a new layer of memory foam, measured, and cut.  I lined them with flannel and quilted before sewing.  Velcro fasteners make it easy to remove them for washing.  And they're Callie Cat approved!  

I got a wild idea to redo the flower bed in front of the porch by myself. (My guy was working on something else.) I dug up the nasty weeds, then thinned out iris, hosta, and day lily plants. New weed barrier was easy to lay, and I moved some old stepping stones to make a border. Now I'm deciding what to add for mulch. I want rock, but we'll see.

This week I'm resting after my spur of the moment project. It felt so good to dig in the dirt.  I have always enjoyed planting flowers, just like my mama and both my grannies.  However, the rest of the landscaping needs a major update and I may be getting too old for that much manual labor! Guess I'll be calling around to get yard work quotes.

Going back to the sewing room today...

 

Summertime...

and the livin' is easy. 

Quiet mornings sipping coffee on the porch.

Lazy days to reflect, renew, relax.  

The scent of freshly mowed grass.

Long walks, yard sales, road trips.

 

Steak grilled to perfection with roasted potatoes and onions.

Hummingbirds and butterflies flitting around bright blooms.

Tall frosty glasses of lemonade, sweet tea, and cold beer.

Afternoons in a cool spot reading an interesting book.

Comfy, light and casual clothing.

Ice cream, watermelon, juicy red tomatoes.

Magical nights filled with starry skies and warm breezes.

Happily enjoying every moment.

“it's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine ... it's summertime!” --Kenny Chesney

All Play And No Work Equals Weeds

While we were camping, my flower beds have been taken over by weeds. Lots of them. That nasty invasive wild ginger has woven into the mulch and is trying to crawl up the shrubs onto the brick. Poison ivy is growing into saplings. Little maple trees have germinated from those whirlygigs. Pokeweed, wild blackberries and privet are everywhere. And I don't even want to talk about the crabgrass.

We kept the lawn mowed between trips, but I didn't take the time to pull weeds or trim. I'm making up for that now. I don't mind weeding, really, but this much is nearly overwhelming. One section at a time, and I'll get it done. It's the price I pay for living in the country and having natural, unstructured flower beds instead of manicured landscaping.

I was thinking of using a blow torch on the wild ginger, but since I mulch with pine needles that might set the whole yard on fire. At least my arms are getting a workout yanking up the stuff, but my hands are beginning to cramp. My trigger finger is sore from spot spraying poison ivy that decided to sprout between my hosta plants and behind the shrubs. If I could sell all the poison ivy on these five acres, I'd be a bazillionaire.

Oh yeah, thanks to the state highway workers who sort of mowed the right of way while we were gone. They cut to the ground the iris and vinca under our mailbox but trimmed carefully around a giant thistle plant and left it standing.

On a positive note, while I was taking a break I noticed hummingbirds are enjoying my gorgeous daylilies and butterflies are flitting around the purple coneflowers and blackeyed susans. If you need me this week, I'll be outside weeding, or resting on the porch with an icy cold beverage, or on the phone looking for a landscaping service.

When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it.  If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.  ~Author Unknown

I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border.  I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error.  ~Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988

Rockin' On The Porch

Remember the old rocking chair I bought back in April? Well, I finally got around to recovering my yard sale bargain with a remnant of denim fabric. It now coordinates beautifully with the other furniture on our screened porch. It only took a few tools and a Saturday afternoon for the whole project.  

Naturally, once I put the newly covered rocker outside, I had to rearrange the furniture on the porch. And do a little sweeping and cleaning, water the plants and dust off the tables. But it was a nice way to spend a pleasantly cool Saturday in August. I was energized, so I got a lot accomplished both inside and outside the house. 

I had a pretty place to sit with my morning coffee to write this blog post. Now I'm rockin' on the porch watching the hummingbirds crowd around our feeders.

Here's a link to a photo of the chair before it was covered.   

 

“There's something magical about porch swings and rocking chairs.  

Time slows to a crawl, the mind wanders, and a quiet peacefulness arrives.” 

– Author Unknown