Hydrangea bliss

I've had so much fun photographing Hydrangea's this winter!

All the colors, the magical backgrounds, the different kinds and sizes of flowers ... who knew they could be such a delight!

The flowers look particularly lovely with a bit of a snow cap. Just enough to frost the ever fragile petals.

Now the flowers are starting to fall off the stems and roll around like tumbleweed. Out with the old, in with the new! Kind of like my blog.

Lately, as I've been looking around at other blogs, there was one thing that struck me: white, just white. No distracting backgrounds or busy headers. One blog that really caught my eye was Garden by the Sea, and if you haven't stopped by, you really should. Though I usually try to do my own thing when redesigning my template, I love Lupen's simple style so much that I decided to try my own variation of her design.

Maybe it's Spring, maybe it's age, I don't know, but lately I feel the need to de-clutter when ever I can. It probably won't last, but for now I hope you enjoy the new look. One thing I do miss is seeing all my favorite blogs on the side bar, but, I hope visitors will still go see them from the Blogs icon.

Chickadee in the House

In hopes of attracting a pair Bluebirds that frequent our yard my husband put up a couple Bluebird houses earlier this Spring. By that very afternoon we had a pair checking one of them out. The next day too. I was so excited! My excitement was short-lived seeing as how they left and haven’t been back. Well they’ve been in the yard a few times but not on, or in, the houses. However, a pair of Chickadees know a good thing when they see it and decided to call one of the birdhouses ‘Home’.

Can you see the moss in the dark slits of the front of the bird house?

All about Chickadees (link)

This little Chickadee sat in the tree a long time waiting to go into the house. Once I started walking away he/she finally flew in.

 

 

The past couple days I haven’t noticed the pair going in or out of the house so I decided to go take a peek tonight and see what’s happening inside. Now THATS my kind of nest! Much softer than the traditional stick-constructed bird nest. Tomorrow morning I’ll watch to see if they’re still around but I’m doubtful. Hard to believe 2 tiny birds could go through this much work and then decide it’s not the right place.

Bay view bird houses

For as long as I can remember these birdhouses have been here.  We’re talking many years.  Passing by them this spring on a daily basis to and from work made me think I’d like to photograph them, but they’re on private property so I knew I had to ask permission.

Just my luck the gentleman who owns the home happened to be outside one morning so I stopped in and introduced myself.

Robert and I talked for quite a while.  Turns out he is 80 years old and he’s lived here for 50 years! He was quite the character telling me about his wife, her son who is ill with Parkinsons disease and the support group his wife started, how the business next door used to be a barn, and much more.

I asked Robert if these were new birdhouses because I didn’t remember them being so brightly colored.  He told me they were the same old houses but he took all the houses down during the winter, repainted and cleaned them out, and put them all back up in the early spring.  He also said at one time a local paper had put a photo of his birdhouses on their front page, but that was years ago.

We talked about the birds too, of which he mostly gets Sparrows. Birds were definitely the theme here.  Even inside his 3-season back porch was all about the birds.

I’m telling you Robert might be 80 but he was full of life! Always on the go (he was rarely home) and he had me laughing with his quick wit and sense of humor.  I’ve always enjoyed talking with older people anyway.

 

I can’t imagine having this view for 50 years, can you?

 

Robert wasn’t sure how old his house is but he guessed around 100-150 years old. Being that it has a brick foundation I would say at least 100 years. Cute little place though.

 

* Love this funky photo re-do!

Backyard Birds and Garden Frills

This is my first post using Windows Live Writer(click to download) and so far I’m loving it! It took me a while to find the program on my computer after I downloaded it, which I guess Rhoda had a similar problem, so try not to be too discouraged if the same thing happens to you. Not to mention as with any program you’ll need to figure out how it works but by the time you do I guarantee you won’t be going back to blogger anytime soon. I would also suggest using WLW in combination with Minima Stretch as a template for optimal results but I’m sure it works with other templates as well.

Why I’ve never been to Backyard Birds & Garden Frills (Rt. 1, York, Maine) I’m not sure. It’s not far from me but it’s sort of off my beaten path.

As you can see I went there on a snow day about a month or so ago (yeah, I’m always late with my posts). There are bird feeders filled to the brim all around the building. It’s a bird lovers paradise! In the summer you’ll find places to sit and have lunch or just enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.

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Beautiful items to be had, and I wanted them ALL!!! I’ll bet I could even make the ‘FLOWERS’ blocks if I really tried . . .

 

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Part of the store is Bell Farm Antiques. Lovely linens, pottery, etc., no junk here. Check out the black carved birds up on top of the jelly cabinet on the right. They would go perfect in my family room! The store is somewhat high end so I had to browse this time instead of purchase.

Bird houses . . . you know I love bird houses! They had plenty of them too, along with about every other bird supply you could possibly want, including many varieties of seed.

 

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Easter decor was plentiful and gorgeous! Although the picture on the right with the sleigh didn’t come out very bright I decided to show it anyway. Those bunnies were incredible in person. I could have spent all day in this store, there was so much to dream of owning and drool over! Looking around the store their attention to detail was obvious.

Did we have a lot of snow or what! Wish I could have shown you more of the store, there was so much to look at.

As temps continue to rise I’ll have to take a trip back to Backyard Birds & Garden Frills/Bell Farm Antiques. If you live in the area I would suggest making the trip as well. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

http://www.backyardbirdsandgardenfrills.com/

http://www.bellfarmantiques.com/

 

The Laughing Crow Farm

Isn't that a great name for a Farm Stand? And this one is a gem!

What an incredible handmade sign! The man who owns the Farm Stand told Brent and I his girlfriend made it with old pieces of metal and then painted the letters different colors. We just thought the sign and work that went into it was incredible!

Another unusual piece of artwork though I'm not sure who made it. I'm suspecting the girlfriend again though.

There were certainly plenty of items to choose from! After we left and I looked back at this picture, I wondered why we hadn't bought some apples at $1.30 a pound.

The Farm Stand mascot. He's not real ya know ; )

Everywhere you look there's more handmade art. My younger daughter would have loved this Penguin! She is a big fan of the black and white cuties.

I noticed the red water bowl sitting there with fresh water still in it but never did see a dog.

Just look at this old scale! Wonder what it was ever used for? Meat would be my guess.

I loved this center piece. See how the iron forms a pumpkin shape? Everywhere you look in this little stand is more 'stuff'!

Check out this Crows sign. It has a price of $85 for the handmade Birdhouses, coming up next!

You're thinking, "$85 for a Bird House?" All of the house's were made from recycled materials and hand painted. And that takes a lot of time! This one with the Crow was my favorite!

I think my husband liked the one with the Sheep and that's why I took a picture of it. There were plenty of other with different designs. All of them hung well out of reach so that no one could steal them. Especially since they sometimes have to rely on the Honor System.

Oh my gosh . . . these Coconut Macaroons were to die for! The woman who waited on us had made them and said they were quite good. Believe me, she wasn't lying. They were outstanding! Far better than I had anticipated! Oh just the thought of them . . .

The Laughing Crow Farm is located in Newfields, NH, and the Newfields General Store, about 1/2 mile away, is basically downtown. Don't blink or you might miss it. If there's something you want, including excellent homemade food, they probably have it! My daughter and her girl friends used to go there all the time.

Last but not least, another gorgeous yellow Colonial. I'm searching them out and everytime I find one I'm going to take a picture and post it.

Blueberry Bay Farm

Blueberry picking . . . such a great New England experience. And Blueberry Bay Farm a local Farm of Distinction, wholeheartedly encompasses the experience with plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and beautiful flowers.

I hope you enjoy the photos from yesterday. There are plenty of them!

For Nancy: because I know how much you love the Granite rock walls of NH. Can you believe in some parts of the state people have been stealing the stones? This wall is on the left side of the road just before we arrived at the farm.

The entrance to Blueberry Bay farm. Quaint as can be!

After parking, or in our case, walking, this the the archway to go through to head towards the berries. I would guess the wild roses have recently finished blooming but what a sight it must have been.




Today's choice. And a good one it is!


The quintessential blueberry, before it turns blue. Unfortunately most berries are still green but within the next couple weeks there will be an incredible harvest. We had no problems filling our baskets even with the slim pickins.


As you can see the bushes were laden with berries ready to ripen. They were also sagging because they were wet with rain. As were Elise and I. We tried to shake off the bushes as we walked up the aisles to keep from getting any wetter.


A light rain started coming down after Elise and I had been picking for about 15 minutes, so we held an umbrella with one hand and picked with the other! Elise stopped to rest a moment on a bench as we were heading out to pay. Phew, BB picking is exhausting!


~A bed of flowers~


The shed to pick up your basket, purchase soda, blueberry lemondade, blueberry cake, jellies, recipe books, etc. And pay when you've finished picking and eating ; ) Good thing they don't weigh the kids before and after they pick!

A cute little bird house. Though it would take a very

small bird to fit in those holes!

Below is the farm itself. The Thomas Wiggin house, built in 1726. Naturally the shutters are blue.

I hope you enjoyed a morning of picking!