A Sisters Tea Party

Last weekend, Country Girl and her friend H hosted a Victorian Tea Party. The guest list included H's two sisters and their mother, Country Girl's friend D and her sister and me. I wore my yellow sundress that was completely inappropriate. The others were dressed in Victorian costume and when I arrived I was greeted as "Lady Apple." It took me a bit to get into character but it was great fun. We strolled the gardens, enjoyed delicious food and even made sachets.

This is the sight that greeted us as we arrived.
The path was created with sunflower heads.

Yards and yards of tulle and flowers everywhere.

The flowers made a lovely
backdrop for this beautiful tea set.

The tables were beautifully decorated.

H even brought her tea trolley.

H and her sisters.

We were treated to an assortment of sandwiches.
There were decadent desserts too!

It was great fun! Thanks for inviting me, Sis! I'm already planning my costume for next year in hopes that this is an annual event.

Nap Time

Princess and Franklin love being outside now that the weather is so nice. I caught them both taking a cat nap the other day. Princess is a bit shutter shy and was ready to take off if I didn't put the camera down. Franklin could care less....

August Blooms

Finally a couple of beautiful days in a row! I missed GBBD so here are a few pictures of what are looking pretty right now.

This is my first year growing Lemon Mint.

It's so pretty, I just can't take too many pictures of it!

A gift from Kerri that has bloomed for a long time, much to my delight!

My new coneflower, still in a pot.

Indian Summer sunflower. This one is tiny.

I have lots of black-eyed susans around.

Starfighter

Globe Thistle

Strawflower

Stargazers with coneflowers

I have lots more blooming right now but I'll save some for later. Right now I'm going back out to play!

Critters

This little guy made quite a racket on the front steps one evening, hollering for his mama. It took awhile but he was finally coaxed into flying back to the nest.

This is my quiet spot in town where I go and sit with a book when I have time to kill. Just me and the geese by the river. Or is there someone else there?

The woodchuck seemed quite content to be with his feathered friends.

This muskrat resides in the pond in town. I pass the pond several times a day on my bus route and often see him. Alex and I stopped one day to see if he was there. Lousy picture but he's a bit camera shy.

This is one of the biggest spiders I have ever found in the garden. The center part of it's web looked like a machine zig-zag stitch.

We've had several hummingbird moths this year.

And the bees have indeed been busy.

You really need to watch where you step because there is a toad explosion this year.

The hummingbirds and butterflies continue to delight me but I haven't been very successful capturing them with my camera. The garter snakes are around and they don't seem to be doing a very good job keeping up with the slugs. I bet you're glad I spared you those pictures ;-)

An old Friend

The ditch lilies surround their old friend and were here when we bought the place. I wonder just how many years they have been there. I love this old tree and marvel at how large it is (someday, I should measure it.) Sometimes when we get a really windy storm, I hold my breath a bit. It's a big one should it ever come down but I love it and the shade it provides. There are actually two maples in front of the house (the other isn't quite as large as this one.) Then there are two that are similar in size down the way just a bit but still by the road.

An old timer once told me it was a tradition to plant two trees to represent the couple that built the house and then subsequent pairs were planted as a new generations took over the home. I have seen trees planted in pairs with smaller trees in pairs just like we have in this area. I have no idea if it's true but I like the lore of the story. I can just image when this tree was just a sapling being planted so many years ago. Perhaps it was planted in the late 1800's to celebrate this home being built and a new beginning for a family.

Wildflower Walk

A couple of weeks ago we all went to Country Girl's for our Mom's birthday party. One of the best things about going to her house is exploring. John and I headed off with Ron and the boys for a walk down to the creek.

View of CG's house from the field.

There were lots of butterflies along the way.

You never know what you'll find around the next bend.

I don't know what these are but the were very pretty!

Ron picked these along with some others for CG.

The boys enjoyed skippping stones but otherwise I don't think that they enjoyed the walk nearly as much as I did.

Gottcha!

I love how everyone captures little creatures with their flowers. I can't tell you how many bugs, bees and humming birds I've tried to catch. Finally, a bee! It's the little things that excite me these days.

Assembly Required

Assembly required - Do those two works strike fear into the heart of anyone else? John and I have had to put together quite a few things in our 25+ years together and things don't always go well, leaving us annoyed with each other.

My garden cart came last week and I'm very happy that it went together easily in a little over an hour. There were a couple of left over parts but it was easy to see where they went.

I can't wait to start using it!

Look Up

Chimneys and steeples weren't the only things that had me craning my neck in Buffalo. There are dozens of second story porches throughout the neighborhoods we visited, something I rarely see in Syracuse or Oswego. Some of them had more plants than the garden! Some of these were officially on the walk and some weren't.

No porch? No Problem!

Even this pub downtown had us looking up!