Photo Play

I woke up this morning to a lake in my backyard. (Look along the tree line in this photo.) We've had some bad thunderstorms the past two nights. It's been pretty dry here and the rain is much needed since everything has been looking pretty brown lately. But when we have a downpour like this it usually results in the creek overflowing and a "lake" forming in the back of our yard. I always get concerned that the potting shed will end up underwater, but so far the water has only come dangerously close to the foundation by the time it stops raining. Whew!

It took the photo above with my iPhone using the Instagram app that I recently downloaded. I been having fun with it and I just love the old timey look it gives the photos.

Uh-Oh!

Remember my pretty garden chair that I told you about in this post? The one where my sweet little wren family lived? Well, on Saturday I looked out the front door and discovered the scene above! We're not sure if the wind knocked over the chair or if a "critter" saw the birdies and tried to snatch the babies. We haven't seen any of the wrens since. :(
Even my Peter Rabbit statue suffered injuries. It kind of all goes along with how the rest of the weekend went ~ I bent down to pick something up and threw my back out, so I am walking around very gingerly the past few days.
On a happier note, while I was outside I decided to snap a few photos of the nicer things going on around our house.

Here's hoping this new week will be better than the weekend was at our house!

Nature's Beauty

It is STILL raining here! And foggy this morning too. Everything is wet and soggy. But isn't it wonderful, that even in such gloomy weather, Mother Nature's colorful palette still shines through. The view from my window is like a fine piece of art.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like. . . Christmas?

This is the scene from our back door this morning! Crazy, huh? And just when the tulips were beginning to push their way up from the soil. This is the way it is living in the Midwest, but it's never easy to get used to these little surprises. I think we can safely say that March is certainly going "out like a lion" around here! Surely it must be springtime somewhere!

Potting Shed, Revisited

Some of you may remember a post that I wrote a long time ago about the cute little potting shed/garden house that my DH designed and built for me. Yes, this is the same wonderful hubby that is building a shed up at our cottage, but that one will be strictly for him. I told him he should start up a side business making these, because I am certain there must be other ladies like me who would love a little getaway like this.

We opened it up this past weekend. (We use it to store our patio furniture during the winter since it is not heated.) We scrubbed and swept and gave it a thorough spring cleaning. So I thought I would take some more pictures to share with you.

Come on in and sit a while ~ Perhaps you would like light refreshment like a cup of tea or glass of lemonade?
I got this angel fountain from the shop I used to manage. It was an extra one sent in error by the manufacturer, who told us to keep it instead of sending it back. Who am I to argue with that decision? The water creates such a soothing sound and is great to have running when the neighbor decides to mow his lawn at the exact time I am spending a relaxing moment in the retreat.
These are a few of the pillows in my collection. They make the wicker loveseat all comfy and cozy ~ perfect for curling up and reading a good book.
This chair is my all-time favorite and was made by an artist who sold her things through our shop. My favorite part is the little hand-carved chickadee sitting atop the back of the chair.
I had this basket of flowers personalized specifically for the potting shed after reading that the word FOLLY means, "a building constructed strictly as a decoration, having none of the usual purposes of housing associated with a conventional structure. A folly originated as decorative accent in parks and estates and is used in the sense of fun or light-heartedness, not in the sense of something ill-advised."

We used recycled vintage windows (and french doors) in the construction and the view is as pretty as a picture. Not much is blooming at the moment except for the bleeding hearts on this side and. . .
. . .blue columbine and a fragrant Miss Kim lilac out the window on the other side.
I found this sconce at a flea market, rewired it myself and added the beaded shade for a touch of shabby chic elegance.
An inspiration board for garden dreams. . .
And a cute little desk for writing or drawing. I bought the nest lamp and hand-painted the shade.

Two little love birds sit in a flea market find cage. The color was perfect. . .I couldn't resist!

That's all for today....stop back tomorrow for more photos!