One of the things I normally love about summer is the peace and quiet of being out in the yard…planting things I’ll forget to water; weeding patches that will have new weeds next week, pretending I’m on an ATV while scooting around on my lawnmower.
It’s always been a great opportunity to consider some of the things spinning in my head, and also to temporarily escape them when I feel a little overloaded.
Right now, I’m a little overloaded.
Aside from the significant happenings in the outside world, there’s a couple of biggies happening inside ours (which is not to infer the two worlds aren’t linked). I don’t want to trivialize the former with things that are bittersweet parts of family life. That doesn’t seem quite fair right now. BUT… with several birds getting ready to leave the nest, I still have all these mom emotions (in addition to the others) and I could use a place to put them for a little while.
So…. you’re just in time for….
THIS MONTH’S INSTALLMENT OF “Where Bloggers Live – Outdoor Spaces”
(Worst. Segue. Ever.)
Still, this month we’re sharing our outdoor spaces.
There are plenty of posts on this blog about our yard and some of our projects. I’ve featured our chess pit,
the “secret” path
and the backyard sidewalk,
and the pool garden, among others.
Being truthful here, I haven’t planted a SINGLE flower this year. No window boxes, red salvia plantings…not even a pot. Haven’t even been to a freaking nursery….YET.
However, I did tackle one outdoor project with Mr.
Last summer, our next door neighbors had quite a few dead ash trees removed from their yard. In the process, the tree peeps also took out the naturalized privacy wall separating their pool area from our chess area. Forget the fact that the removal included some wild honeysuckle bushes and other naturalized greenery that may top the Invasive Plants List here in New York State. Also, forget the fact that it’s their yard, and they get to do what gives them joy in it.
All that to say that now when I’m in that area, I can unintentionally see other humans…people…which could require me to be presentable, make conversation….and be neighborly. Hell, I have the front yard for that!
The back yard is where I can wear my son’s old jeans (cut off to an appropriate “lady length”) and a ratty tee-shirt while I toss boulders around like the Hulk.
I can take a break in the tall chairs and swill a Shock Top with Mr while we’re both covered in mud and not be judged for the suburban spectacle I apparently am.
True story: when we first moved here, one of our friends popped by to say hello. He’s a very tidy gentleman and we often went to dinner with him and his wife. On those occasions, I wore dresses or relatively stylish clothes, did my hair and makeup, wore jewelry…and nary a spec of mud was present.
But dude, you dropped in…and you were welcome…when I was working in the yard (which is only completely dry two months of the year).
I was not horrified.
However, he very genuinely was. SO much so, that I felt sorry for him. He tripped all over himself apologizing for seeing me “like that,” as if I had been caught fetching the mail in my underwear.
I mean, you’ve seen this picture before…
I don’t try for pretty when I work outside. I save that for the times when food and wine are being delivered to my table.
In the yard, you can expect this (and let me promise, I will rarely disappoint).
SO…now that I have prepared you for my beauteousness… back to the lack of privacy.
Mr. found these trellises on line made by New England Arbors (who also make MANY other things I’d like to consider adding to the yard):
We have dreams of them being eventually covered with clematis or trumpet vines or something the deer won’t eat. (Then again, I once dreamed of a lush an tropical Hosta berm (thank you, Cathy).
I put the trellises together myself:
Then we “hulked them” to the middle of the yard.
And then we got muddy.
Very muddy while positioning the arbors and sinking the support posts in cement.
We bickered:
“Lift YOUR side…”
“I DID lift my side. YOUR side is stuck on the tree!”
“I can’t move it off the tree because YOUR side is too far back!”
“Take it off the post and let’s start over” (We did that several times for each.)
“Ship! The mud! I’m stuck!”
“No, you can’t be stuck now…Oh, no, it’s sliding!”
Etcetera.
HOWEVER…
Once again we seem to have proven that our marriage can withstand working together in the yard.
We set six posts in cement, mounted the trellises in an acceptably level configuration, enjoyed our celebratory cold drinks, and held a “who got muddier contest.”
It wasn’t a contest really… I mean:
That’s tough to beat. It also makes for excellent jokes on the family group chat.
There are other happenings in the yard… the small fruit orchard we planted last year (which I haven’t shared yet) is doing well so far, I’m trying to relocate a chipmunk family out of the pool area, and I’m hoping to get some actual plants from a nursery at some point. So…perhaps there might be another yard post soon.
In other news, I have ONE panel to go on my living room curtains. (I need to say that again with more exclamation points.) In other news, I have ONE panel to go on my living room curtains!!!! ONE. TO. GO!!!!
There, I think you can feel my excitement.
I know I’ll have to wrap up this post and go back to the gravity of the real world, as well as stripping wallpaper and tearing out carpet in Doschie‘s new place, but thank you for letting me enjoy some therapeutic escapism.
I know the rest of the group has some outdoor spaces to share, so kindly visit:
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Em at Dust and Doghair
Julia at When the Girls Rule
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? Over the next few months, a group of seven bloggers will be sharing their workspaces, their homes, towns and more!
Make sure you visit everyone to see where the magic happens!
Oh wow, the trellis(s) look great. Goodness, all the pictures of your yard look great.
The trellis sounds like a job my husband would have had me outside helping with.
It is difficult when the chicks leave home. It’s been a very long time for me – but I remember. But, the time does come.
Thanks for sharing – love all of your yard.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
Mr. has minimal patience for assembling, but I love that part….like Lego for grownups. So the arrangement works perfectly for us.
I’m really happy for the first chick, and a little wistful for the others following so closely (considering they’re three years apart, I hoped for a longer transition). BUT, I am looking forward to all the exciting things in store for all of them, and know this isn’t the end of the story, just the next chapter with new adventures (like road trips to cool looking space centers!).
WOW…Well good for you. I think I would cry if I ever got that dirty…lol. One reason why I hate to garden is that I don’t like dirt (worms, bugs, etc). But I love a beautiful garden and yard…so I appreciate your hard work and the beauty you have created. Enjoy the summer!
I would’ve thought the same thing before we moved here, Patti. Our old neighbor once told me that her culture frowned upon working in dirt, and she was so proud of the few things she had planted… Glad she hasn’t seen my pictures! I do love the physical part, and live with the dirt because it’s a part of the journey. (I am DEFINITELY NOT a bug person, though!!) But THEN….
The other fun thing after the planting and appreciating, is how great the hot shower and scrub feels afterward, when I feel human again.
Looking forward to more of your pretty posts!
Oh, girl, you deserve a six pack of Shock Top for putting those trellises together. Love seeing you in action and the pup dashing about the pool in the background. Wisteria or morning glory would be pretty on them to offer some privacy. We planted honeysuckle because PC loves the sweet fragrance so much but it just about took over the area where we put it. And trying to tame it was almost impossible.
I remember meeting you as you were creating the secret path. And had hurt your leg. I knew your post would be lovely because I had seen what you and the hubs are capable of when you work together. But all that togetherness can be a trial, huh?
Hope you will share your chickadees new nests with us once they get settled. And your drapes or window treatments when that last panel is finished.
You are absolutely entitled to be a little caught up in your own life and family right now as it under goes change. I have had to turn off the news and climb into bed early these nights because I can’t bear listening to all of the sadness before trying to sleep.
Take care!!
I LOVE the idea of wisteria! They are spectacular and would probably enjoy winding on the wild willows as well (that’s a lot of Ws). I will definitely look into that next week! Thanks for that suggestion.
We are having fun getting Doshie’s place up and running. She helps run a summer camp, which is surprisingly back on the calendar and so it hastened her moving out plans by a couple of months. I’m super excited for her to start her next chapter, and thrilled to be helping her with her projects to get the place updated. Love how the youngers decorate. Everything is so fresh and airy.
Happy to see you are able to visit you babies, again! Let’s hope this madness gets under control soon so we can all hug the ones we love.
That looks like a pretty big project! No wonder you both were covered in mud! I hear ya about wanting privacy in the backyard. I love going out in my pj’s and don’t know how I could adapt if we had closer neighbors. I love your pretty secret sidewalk. That looks like it would be fun to landscape around. Have a nice weekend!
Mr is never at a loss for big projects and our yard is rarely at a loss for mud.
I am very excited to see your space. I’ve looked forward to it since seeing it in the fall/winter. I bet it’s amazing with all the trees leafed and in bloom. Started to read it on Friday, but got pulled away to work at Doschie’s new place (it’s a two-week marathon to get it in livable shape). So, now it will be treat for me to get back to it and continue my visit!
You are always so inspirational. I’m so glad you shared your bickering…that is exactly how it goes here too!!!
Now how are you relocating the chipmunks? That could be a post unto itself?
I bet your baby birds (kids) are excited to leave the nest…only because it’s the next phase of their life. Certainly not because you add so much laughter and amusement with your shenanigans!!!
You will share these once they have plants blooming too?? I can’t wait to see how lovely it’ll be.
(I laughed at your hulk photo) Dropping by is fine, but you have to expect the unexpected too…LOL)
OXOX
Jodie
PS…I added my “dig” to you in my post only because I’d seen how you guys did this yourself on IG. If it were Rob and I, we would have hired it done…haha!!
Dig? No way…I’m always grateful for a link…shame on me for forgetting the “thank you.” But anything I can try myself is something I love to do…wish I got in on the big stuff when I was younger.
The chipmunk post is already in the works 🤣
Ahh, you never fail to disappoint, Em!
A) Hulk Em. Once seen, never forgotten.
B) I’d forgotten you live on a freaking ESTATE! The Pool Area! The Secret Path! The Fancy Trees! I’m dating myself (ha ha, no one else will) when I ask “you sure you ain’t one’a them Kennedys”?? It’s all so grand and lovely. You with no “eye” for that. HA!
C) Mud. ‘Nuff said.
Sorry you’re having a tough time with the baby chicks leaving the nest. That’s a hard time of life (for US). But glad to hear you’re conquering your curtain issue. I’ve been here a little over a year which means it’s time to think MAYBE I could put something on a wall or hang a curtain. Such commitment.
Thanks for sharing it all with us, Em…the good, the bad, and the muddy.
Bettye
https://fashionschlub.com
Kennedys, haha. More like Clampetts, but without the Texas tea.
I can take minimal credit for the yard beyond contributing my green brawn and unwanted opinions 🤣. Mr is the “visionary.”
Very excited for the kiddos…it’s time. We’ve held them close for longer than most get to enjoy. Just that it’s kind of bing, bang, boom. A new fun chapter for us all, and I am truly finding the bright side… Partly because I will be mush without it AND also bc it is the right thing.