Paperwhites for Christmas

Paperwhites are such an easy pleasure to grow for Christmas and all through the winter for a nice touch to any indoor winter garden....just pop the bulbs into soil or water and they will produce a gorgeous display with little effort. I plant them in water on top of glass "stones" in various containers. I love to put about 12 in this antique pressed glass fishbowl. This year I water them with a 10:1 ratio of water to whiskey or rum to stunt their growth. Paperwhites tend to stretch and need stalking after a bit....using this ratio did indeed keep the stretching at bay and prevented the toppling over that happens once the plants mature.Paperwhites in our front window facing the pond....this window is also ideal for African violets...the violets continuously bloom in this light exposure.

This antique fishbowl makes the perfect container for paperwhites...

This is a wonderful wintergreen bush...this low grower will be planted on the island once spring rolls in...till then it will grace my little indoor winter garden....

Just a few plants in a window graced with easy to grow paperwhites is a delight to look at everyday...give them a try sometime...they are truly a gift...

Elizabeth

Winter is Here in All Her Glory

Our world changes after a snowfall to an absolute gift for the eye...it becomes a blend of hues of white, black, gray and green...dispersed with silver and ice crystals...
This is the cove looking to the island

Shrubs laden with a thick layer of snow...looks like an over frosted cake

Through the thicket you can see the roof of our day cabin on the island....

Husband hard at work clearing over 12 inches of snow...

Can shrubbery look any better than this?


Stillness....

A look at the garden after snow...


An antique cement urn topped with snow...

The weight of the snow on this white pine tree has created an arbor over the path to my garden room and shed...

The snow on this reed covered fence has created a delightful pattern...

A look across the garden to the storage shed...the snow has created a gorgeous look on the garden wrought iron fencing and the wood fencing next to the shed.

A couple of blueberry bushes covered in snow....


Winter is here and the gift of snow has a beautiful dimension to our world....

Elizabeth

So Much for My Pumpkins

I wanted to grow some pumpkins and squash to place about our garden in the fall. The plants produced some nice fruit but the foliage and vines were enormous. It had been years since I grew these plants and I had totally forgotten the space they required. This garden I grew them in is simply not "equipped" to handle these varieties. One needs a large bed devoted to just this vine crop....I won't be doing it again anytime soon unless we dig up a bed just for pumpkins. I was able to place sugar pumpkins about with squash and some gourds to add an autumnal look to our garden. As cold weather came the pumpkins frosted over...one morning we looked out and saw "holes" in the pumpkins...we initially thought the fruit rotted but as the day went on we saw the real culprit of the "holes"....

Home grown pumpkins and squash decorating an antique cast iron bench and old cement planters that flank each side of the settee...

Ahhh haaaa...a bushy tailed squirrel discovered a tasty treat...our pumpkins!

Boy o'boy this guy sure knew how to attack and conquer...he made a hole and found the plump and tasty pumpkin seeds.

Apparently the stringy insides were not to his liking as evidenced by the pile of "orange" in front of the planter....

Oh well...I got to grow the pumpkins and use them for adding color to the garden...and "ole bushy tail" finished them off....the circle is complete - I put the seeds in and he took the seeds out...the beauty of gardening!!!!!

Elizabeth

Halloween At the Campground

Well we had a great Halloween at the campground visiting our niece and nephew....all the kids where dressed in costume and the place was a frenzy with trick or treaters. The campground owner is very organized and sent out groups of kids in intervals with chaperons. It was great fun to see them come and seek out a sweet treat. We decorated as just about everyone did...what a wonderful time for families...kudos to a campground facility that respects and honors a good time for families in an organized safe environment.A sign pointing the way our campsite.

Trick or treaters of all ages received something for their candy collection!

All sorts of characters turned out!

How cute is this little bumble bee!!!!!

These cuties dressed up as gold diggers....now that is a blast from the past....

"Dorothy" made an appearance....we never did see the Great Oz....

Our nephew Randy came as a fireman...you can count on Randy to always save the day!

Another group of trick or treaters making their way around the campground.

Some of our decorations....

Kids looking for a sweet treat....

Everyone received a treat...no tricks or pranks were pulled this day...

Gruesome props...

Even the fortune teller made an appearance....

Care for an apple my darling??????

Junior campground staff making the rounds in their decorated golf cart....

Two cuties returning in after a hard afternoon of trick or treating...our nieces Natalie "Scooby Doo" and Emily "Dora the Explorer" had a great time....

Our huge cauldron of candy....

Spooky decorations.....

Family relaxing at the campsite...it doesn't get better than this ...a nice campfire going, coffee brewing and the kids off somewhere getting lots of candy....

My husband dressed as a hippie....tye dye lives on!!!!! It's the afro that makes me want to roll on the floor laughing....he is a good sport...


We handed out a lot of candy...saw some fabulous costumes and had a lot of good laughs....all in all it was a great day...

Elizabeth

Fall Colors

Yesterday my husband took a walk around our property...he took loads of pictures. The colors around the pond are absolutely breath taking. Leaves are falling so walking is a shuffle through piles of leaves and the crunch is something you only hear in the fall.



This is a shot of the peninsula and the bench we keep over there. There are cranberries over behind the bench which we hand pick. Loads of princess pine covers the ground as well. We have flags hung along the road on the trees.

This is a gorgeous down the pond sight. These two trees are a glorious red.

Looks like this bird ignored the sign we have posted.


This is a great shot across the cove to our day cabin on our little island.

A couple of pictures of our peninsula from different angles.

A nice view down the pond from our island.

The road leading home...year round house on the right and the pond, island, and day cabin on the left...

A great old rock with moss growing in the cracks.

A quiet look at the pond.

A curve in the road with loads of ferns on the shoulders.

The sky's reflection made the leaves colors even more brilliant.

We call these the wedding trees. This is where we got married. We stood between these trees with our family and friends around and made our vows. Later we had a clambake and a live country western band...it was a great day. Kids swam and rowed the boats around....everyone dressed casually...no fuss...

Simply beautiful!

The dock to the cove.

Path at the far end of the island that leads to the wedding trees....

An old fish sign we found and hung on the day cabin...the name of our island is The Isle of Capri hence the sign that hangs under the fish....

Fallen leaves and a wonderful reflection....

A quiet spot to sit on the island....

Old cement steps to the cove and another spot to sit and contemplate life.....

Resident elf...this guy watches over things from a high spot on the island...


We are so fortunate to live in New England...the changing seasons provide us with so many beautiful things to see and experience each and every day....

Elizabeth