Happy Independence Day!

How are you celebrating? 

I worked this morning, then headed to Lowe's for some plants to finally add around our mailbox. Everything I have tried planting in the past hasn't survived in the hot sun, so I am trying again, with some full-sun Lantana. 

I'm crossing my fingers, watering daily, fertilizing weekly (like the little card said to do), and praying I can turn my black thumb into a green one. Baby steps. Baby steps. I am determined to have a beautiful flower and plant-filled yard! 

I am undecided about whether to make an actual flower bed, with mulch. Since Lantana is a mounding plant, I am hoping once they grow more and fill in the whole area, a defined bed won't really be needed. Only time will tell. I will keep you posted on the progress (barring any plant fatalities).  

This afternoon I caught myself admiring the pretty little wreath I whipped up over the weekend! 

I was inspired by a wreath that I found on Pinterest. Mine turned out a bit different since I had two colors, used outdoor ribbon, instead of grosgrain, and decided to cut the ribbon a tad differently.

I simply tied lengths of ribbon to a metal clothes hanger (bent into a circle). It took about an hour and half to make. 

It definitely wasn't very patriotic until I hung it on our bright red door!

I hope everyone has enjoyed some downtime today and taken some time to thank those that serve! 

I am honored to come from a military family and truly proud to be an American! 

Happy Fourth of July Everyone! 

Work Hard, Play Hard

Last week we worked really hard to get this wood pile chopped and split. (And, if you're wondering where all of this came from, I am going to share our backyard summer adventure with you this week. This is only the beginning...).   

This pile has been chopped up and piled high in our backyard from the start of our "backyard adventure". 

So, all we had to do was split it for use in our fireplace. (Yep, we chop wood in the middle of the summer for cold winter days and nights). Thanks to Alice, we were able to use this handy machine. (Thanks for finding the wood splitter, Alice. We broke it in pretty well for you!). 

Once we were finished, we had a pile of firewood as tall as me. (We were happy to be done!)

We are really interested to see if this will last us through the winter. I am sure you're thinking...wait, they live in South Georgia, it doesn't get very cold down there. Why are they chopping wood for the winter?


Well, it actually DOES get cold enough for a short amount of time in the winter months to make fires. Since we don't run our heat in the winter, fires are our main source of heat. Our large wood burning fireplace was one of the reasons why we chose this house. There's nothing like getting cozy by a warm fire when it's chilly outside (and inside). 


We recently had our fireplace and chimney cleaned and inspected, so we are ready to welcome winter weather with open arms and a warm fire (which won't be for a pretty long time). 


We only use down trees for fire wood, or in this year's case, trees that HAD to be chopped down!


After a productive start to last week, we joined our friends at the beach for some fun in the sun. 

We are back home now pondering where we'll store our winter wood supply and what final projects we can finish up before the new school year starts next week. 

Window Buds

When my mom was here visiting a while back, she found us some window boxes at the thrift store for a few bucks each.

I picked up some annuals at Home Depot last weekend. I would rather buy perennials that come back each year, but since they were only 88 cents a piece, I decided that $15 on flowers wasn't too bad. 

With some help from Alan, we got them hung up in two of our front windows, and I planted the salvia, purslane, and vinca.  

We are looking forward to watching them grow from inside

and outside

Mother Dearest

Mother Earth, that is.  

If you didn't know, today is Earth Day.  I sat at work all day, in my studio with no windows, staring at my computer. Working, working, working.  

I didn't get to enjoy much of our Mother Earth today. However, when I arrived home, I had a little present waiting for me.

My first issue of Organic Gardening!  A while back Katie shared a great Amazon deal she found and I had to snatch it up. 

I mean, would you let this beautiful magazine pass you by?

Well, probably, if you didn't like playing in the dirt as much as I do. But, I simply can't get enough of sprucing up our yard.  I get such satisfaction out of cultivating our surroundings.

But, as you can see, I didn't get one issue, but TWO! Oh yea, today is a good day.  I think it was a sign, from Mother Earth herself:  Go. Grow things!  

I can't wait to dive into them.  Look at the beauty on these pages.

The photographer in me is loving it already. Nature is so beautiful. I can't get enough.  

After a quick millisecond flip-thru of the magazine I became one with nature as I watered our plants.  Look who has come back for a visit this year.  

I had nightmares that the hydrangeas we planted last year wouldn't come back because of our super cold winter, but they made it through and are going strong.

Hopefully one day they will look like this. Ours aren't green unfortunately, but maybe we'll try to tweak our soil's pH to achieve that look someday.


Off to learn how to grow delicious beans. Cheers to Mother Earth, she's the only one we have. Lets remember to treat her well!