Remembering Spring.

March 30, 2013: 

Last year was the first year I really seemed to pay attention to the details of Spring as the season slowly unfolded. It's the first warm day this year and I was just out in the yard taking a look at things. It really surprises me how much complete excitement I get from seeing the new tiny triangles of green popping through the soil. 

I had forgotten that I'd found a pot of bulbs in the garage last fall and had planted them at the last minute in sets of 3's around the border of the left bed among the spirea. I had no idea what they were, where they came from or if they would grow. And just now I was to the point of clapping – delighted* to find them: hyacinth!

I love hyacinth so much I had the following thought: They are my favorite spring flower.

Until a moment passed and I thought of forsythia. Then daffodils, then tulips. And crocus! Last year my friend Nick told me Spring was his favorite season. I thought, Really? Who picks Spring as their favorite season? Thankfully I started to really pay attention to it that day. Spring 2012 in Chicago was spectacular. It came early and just gradually rolled itself out. And the flowers bloomed: quince and lilac and all the beautiful crab trees. Magnolias! 

This season is just upon us. I can't wait to soak up every last minute of it.

*I cant believe I used the word "delighted" but that's the best way to describe it. I felt Delighted!

Different light this weekend.

Saturday, February 16, 2013.

Sunday, February 17, 2013.

Both so pretty.

Autumn.

Love this time of year.

Clare Elsaesser

This morning while I was drying my hair I was thinking about my bathroom for about the one millionth time, and it occurred to me it might be perfect to do a water theme. Coincidentally (there are no coincidences, right?) I came across this artist's Etsy Shop, Tastes Orangey, today. I love the darker, greener tones. These images sort of remind me of some of the older Samantha French paintings. Also these. And these.

I want one. Which is your favorite?

1. Undertow, 2. My Home is the Sea, 3. Married to the Sea, 4. Summer Girl

Kane Country.

On Monday I went and visited my friend Karen and walked around her yard a bit to get some inspiration for my own. The varying colors, textures, heights and patterns were wonderful to soak in. Disappointed I didn't take a shot of the flowing rocky creek in the backyard. The property is beautiful and also peppered with interesting wood and iron sculptures.

On Sunday I plan to visit the nursery and have Jose over to estimate some planting. I am leaning toward putting in 3 evergreens and a colorful deciduous in the back left corner, and possibly some hydrangea for the back right. This will be the big push this year in addition to dragging out the railroad-tie border and then extending and reshaping it to create a more organic flow.

The Deck.

I should know myself better by now than to just go with my gut when choosing a stain or paint color. I absolutely need to test anything before I apply it full-blown. But the weather was so perfect this weekend, and I didn't want to waste a day of it "testing", so I bit the bullet and just went for it. I should just ignore the fact that I about fainted when I opened the can and this was what it looked like.

So I went around the side and started applying it in an inconspicuous place and when it dried I thought, that doesn't look so bad. Man it's a pain to paint spindles. It took me over 2 hours just to do that little section. As I was painting the spindles, I kept stepping back and looking – I didn't hate it. It was the right tone if not exactly the right tint, so I kept going with the floor.

You can see here why I almost fainted a second time as I was applying it and this is what it looked like going down. After I did the short spindle section, I got panicky about how much of it I was going through. I wanted to at least coat the main floor with it before I ran out – I only bought one gallon. That's all the paint guys said I'd need. Thankfully, my trusty neighbor Jim was there to let me know why it didn't max out on coverage, "You went through a whole gallon already?? That dry, neglected, previously-never-treated wood is really soaking that up!" Thanks, Jim.

Anyway, you can't tell from this picture, but as it dried it got better. When the sun isn't beating down on it, bringing out the blue, I don't hate it. It looked okay this morning, but I don't love it at all. In fact I feel defeated a bit. But I have a plan. I'm going to trade in the $45 gallon of Benjamin Moore clear coat for a second gallon of stain to finish up the areas where I ran out and touch up some of the bad blends on the floor next weekend. Then I'm going to let it weather all winter, only semi-protected, and revisit this project again in the spring.

Power-washing.

Power-washing may have just replaced vacuuming as my favorite household chore. Except I'm not re-staining the deck on a regular basis – nor do I have a power-washer at my disposal for use on a whim. But talk about gratifying! This is what the deck looked like when I started:

It's so precise! The water shoots out of a little wand at 4000x pressure so exact you could write your name with it (see the swoop below). So it takes a while to cover a surface, but the results are like instant.

I remember when Dave got one a while back and called me to tell me to go get one – that I'd love it. He was right. Now I want one. Check out these spindles. The ones on the right are done, the left not. One straight concentrated swipe up and bam! practically new lumber.

I really can't get over the results. I want to power-wash everything! It already looks like new. I can't wait to see it with the stain.

A Morning in the Garden, July 3.

It's Green!

And growing! In my yard! Yahoo.

Thanks, Neighbors!

Jim, Bob and Mark dug me out this morning. Phew. I dug my own path to the garage and I swear the snow was 3 ft. high back there. They really saved me a lot of shoveling. We sure got hit!


It's weird to think of how long it will take this stuff to melt. Spring's not exactly around the corner... And I feel like bitter cold is on the way. Hello -35º in Steamboat.