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Take Three Thursday: Garden Vibes

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It’s been a few weeks since I joined in with Mary-Lou’s Take Three Thursday meme. Last night we attended the George Eastman Museum’s “Garden Vibes” concert on the lawn of the mansion and I thought I’d share three photos from the event. It’s been a favorite summer activity of ours ever since we joined the museum and found out about them. Typically there are three concerts during the summer—one each month. This year, however, there are only two because the gardens are undergoing extensive renovation this summer. We missed the first concert last week while we were at the lake, but the weather was much better last night—a nearly perfect summer evening in the high 70’s with a gentle breeze. 

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Songs From the Road Band from Asheville, North Carolina was terrific! They’re a bluegrass band that perform highly original remakes of a few familiar songs and lots of their own compositions. All four are excellent musicians but two are truly outstanding–the mandolin player and the fiddler. The fiddler has won two National Fiddler Championships.

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We arrived an hour before the concert, knowing it gets crowded, and we had great seats. It’s bring your own chairs, your own supper, and your own wine if you’d like. We stopped and got delicious wraps at a new deli, and did bring a bottle of wine, so waiting was not a problem. The crowd was appreciative and it was a perfect way to spend a summer evening

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I’ll be anxious to see the renovated gardens next year, and equally anxious to get to the Garden Vibe Concerts which they promised would return in 2020.

Take Three Thursday: Flowers in the Yard & Patio

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I could share a lot more photos from the yard this week, but here are three of my favorites. We’ve spent a long time in the yard this week, getting ready for summer. We got home just in time to enjoy the gorgeous blossoms on our peony tree.

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These pretty dahlia came from our favorite nursery on the North Shore. Tracy gave me a generous gift for Mother’s Day so I was able to purchase several plants and a few pots as well. The cool container came from a store in the Adirondacks last summer.

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Last, but not least, a close-up view of the double petunias in a hanging basket on our patio that I purchased as we were walking out of the Rochester Public Market early Saturday morning. Later I’ll try to post a photo of the whole basket which includes some other flowers. Love this purple colors.

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Hoping the weather soon improves so we can spent more time on the patio. It’s been pretty cool, and frequently rainy this month. Joining in with Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards for her Take Three Thursday meme.

 

Take Three Thursday: At the Birdfeeders

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We have a variety of bird feeders in our front yard, and enjoy watching the birds from our kitchen table. This week we’ve had three pleasant surprises. The first was the return of the yellow finches. I love the little one on the top of the crook.

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And then a bigger surprise: the rose-breasted grosbeak. We see them only occasionally, and often just for a day or two on their way north, but this year they’ve been here for a week already. Yesterday I counted 6 males and 4 females in the yard at once! We’ve never seen that many before.

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But the biggest surprise was this morning when, for the first time ever, we had a visit from some Baltimore Orioles. There were four of them and they returned multiple times today. I hope they’ll stay awhile like the grosbeaks.

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I’m joining in with Mary-Lou for the Take Three Thursday meme–just getting this posted at the end of the day!

And one final photo of three of the Baltimore Orioles in the tree across the street. They are such a brilliant orange you can see them from a distance. Watching both the orioles and the grosbeaks fly about is just beautiful. They are even more gorgeous in flight.

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Take Three Thursday: Signs of Spring

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A quick post to join Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards for her Take Three meme. A walk around our yard just now produced a few photos of signs of spring. We live in an old neighborhood with lots of trees so some places are much farther along than we are. I have some daffodils on the dining room table that bloomed on our back hill, but the ones in the front yard are just beginning to open up as our house faces north and doesn’t get sun until late afternoon right now. 

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These pretty blue flowers are one of the first to bloom, and there is a carpet of them just below the patio.

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We’re probably a month or more away from seeing the peonies in bloom, but I was happy to see them poking through the soil.

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The hellebores is in full bloom. I have a dish of floating blooms on the coffee table.

Hoping to get a walk through the park before the rains come, but for now I’m happy to see signs of spring in the yard.

 

Spring Flowers – Take Three Thursday and Two Challenges

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It warmed up yesterday afternoon, and we were out for a walk, but there aren’t really any spring flowers to be seen. A few snowdrops peeking up, a few crocus, and not much else. I’d be more encouraged if there wasn’t snow in the weekend forecast. Maybe they’ll be wrong for a change!

Last week I went to a local garden store to pick up some new pots for my African violets. They had a special display of primroses for $3.50 apiece so I brought three home. One for the kitchen:

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One for the coffee table in the living room:

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And one for my desk:

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I’m joining Mary-Lou today for Take Three Thursday with three things you’ve noticed this week. Actually, these are three things I’ve truly enjoyed this week. Almost all my time at home is spent in one of these three rooms, and they’ve brought some joy and a touch of spring into my week.

Speaking of spring flowers, that’s the challenge for Work it Wednesday at Simon Says for the next several weeks. The Simon Says weekly Wednesday Challenge is “Anything Goes,” so this springy card will work for both challenges.

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Of all the images I watercolored while I was away, this is the most colorful. Here’s to Spring! The image is another Papertrey Ink “Bold Blossoms” for watercoloring.

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Like the others I’ve posted, I used Altenew’s 36 Pan Watercolor set. This time I added some details with my Polychromos pencils and a white Signo pen when I got home. Before mounting it on a card, I used the W+9 “Gift Card Layers Die” to create a stitched edge. 

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The sentiment was stamped and die cut with Papertrey Ink’s “Penned Elegance” set.

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Take Three Thursday: Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt

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I’m joining Mary-Lou for Take Three Thursday with three photos taken in the last week or so for the Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt organized by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days. For some reason it’s taken me some time to get into the groove for this years scavenger hunt. I now have six of the items, but will share three today.

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The first prompt was “At the end of the day.” We arrived by boat in Disney Springs just at sundown. I shared a similar photo on this post.

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Here’s Hannah, “Dressed for the Season,” #11.

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“Flight” was #15. I took this as we left Orlando, headed back to cold temperatures and lots of snow!

Take Three Thursday: Day One at Disney World

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We arrived in Florida late afternoon on Tuesday. Our first day at Disney World was yesterday, and I thought I’d pop in with three quick photos from the Magic Kingdom. 

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Balloons on Main Street

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Caleb and Sarah on Dumbo’s Flying Machine

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Hannah and Adam waiting for a ride

Tracy and I took a day off from Disney World today and drove to St. Petersburg for lunch and a bit of shopping. We’re meeting the family for dinner in about an hour, and will spend two more days in Disney World before five of us head home to Wisconsin. Sarah gets another week in the warmer temperatures while attending a conference. I doubt she’ll get a lot of time outdoors, though. It was chilly today, but way warmer than it is in Wisconsin, and the temperatures are climbing back into the 70’s tomorrow.

Take Three Thursday

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For this week’s Take Three Thursday, I thought I’d share the three purchases we made at the Regal Nurseries in Virgil, Ontario on Friday. We got our first significant snow yesterday (with more on the way tonight!) Although I’m definitely not ready for snow, and there are still LOTS of leaves on some of our trees, I have to admit, the yard looked beautiful covered in the fresh snow. So I pulled on some boots and went out to take these photos.

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Tracy spotted this lawn ornament, and we both love it. The bell rings when the wind blows, and there’s a red pinecone (covered in snow) to the right of the bell. We’ve already seen birds perch on the top of the letter J next to the cardinal. 

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Actually Tracy gets credit for all three purchases. He took me back to see a variety of bird feeders. We liked this one because it has an “arts and craft” look to it that goes with the light on the front of our house, our porch railings, and a wrought-iron hook we purchased this summer that’s also in the front yard.

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Although we both liked this feeder we couldn’t figure out what kind of bird seed would work since there is no cylinder inside the feeder. Turns out there are suet balls, and we just didn’t know about them. We have another suet holder that holds a block of suet and had never looked beyond those.  They look pretty cute in there. 

Turns out the birds like all the feeders. There are now four in front of the kitchen window. Come summer, we’ll move some of them to the patio, but we’d never see the birds there in the winter.  

Take Three Thursday: November 8

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I’m back again this week to participate in Mary-Lou’s Take Three Thursday where she encourages us to be mindful of what we see each week. It’s hard to miss these beauties. Our “Christmas” cacti are in full bloom. Although the outdoor foliage is later than usual, our cacti (which always bloom around Thanksgiving) are earlier than usual. They’ve never been true Christmas cacti. I’m adding two extra photos today of close-ups of two of the cacti.

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It’s been very windy here the last two days, and the leaves are falling like crazy. We’re going to need a lot of indoor color like this very soon!

 

 

Take Three Thursday: Fall Leaves

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Days that have been good for a walk outside have been few and far between the last week. But Mary-Lou’s Take Three Thursday meme encourages me to pay better attention when I do get out for a walk. One day this leaf with the water droplets (from our seemingly endless rain) attracted me. 

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Once I spotted it, it wasn’t hard to find a couple more that attracted me as well.

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It’s rather amazing how the water droplets stay on the leaves for so long after the rain.

Take Three Thursday: Halloween Decorations

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Halloween is less than a week away. I have yet to do much decorating, (not a pumpkin in sight,) but on one of my walks this week, I spotted some cute Halloween decorations in the neighborhood. 

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This string of bright orange witches’ hats caught my eye immediately, and then I saw the reflection of them in the window.

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A more traditional arrangement, and one that I’d like in my yard. I do have an idea for a stack of pumpkins, but I’m not sure if I’ll manage to find what I need before Halloween. This transcends Halloween, and will still be appropriate until the U.S. Thanksgiving at the end of November. That’s if the squirrels don’t get to them. One year the squirrels ate right through all the pumpkins on our steps.

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This one made me chuckle! I love those striped witch’s legs hanging out of the pumpkin as well as the black cat poking out from the bottom one. I have one more photo, but since this is Take Three Thursday, I’ll save it in case I have a post for Halloween. Linking in with Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards.

Take Three Thursday: Inktober

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I decided to participate in Inktober–an online challenge to draw an image in ink each day of October. Although the official Inktober site provides prompts for each day, I am using Louise Gale’s prompts. I purchased her book, Botanical Mandalas, some time ago, and am in the midst of taking one of her online classes now. For those prompts, I’m drawing on 3X4 cards to create an inspiration deck to use in creating mandalas if I ever get that far. But on Day 2 I decided to also make some drawings based on some objects I’ve found in Sarah’s yard, as well as a pumpkin I bought at the store the other day. These drawing are in a sketchbook, and I’ve not set any expectations for the number I’ll complete during the month. Here are the first three. I took the photos with my phone on Sarah’s kitchen table, and didn’t see the shadows until I uploaded them this evening. If I wait to retake the photos tomorrow when the light is better, I’ll be too late for Mary-Lou’s meme, Take Three Thursday! 

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It’s been a long time since I did any sketching, and I’m pretty happy with how these turned out, given how little practice I’ve had in the last year. The Inktober drawing can be all ink or colored in any way you’d like. I’m using my new Altenew watercolor set which is perfect for traveling. 

It’s not too late to join in the Inktober challenge!

Take Three Thursday: Hydrangeas

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A quick post at the end of Thursday to join Mary-Lou in her Take Three Thursday meme. I commented to Maggie the other day that the flowers in my cutting garden are nearing the end of their bloom. Not so the beautiful hydrangeas Matt planted in our front yard last year. In the first photo, you see just half the landscaping of the front yard, and three of the six hydrangeas bushes.

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The hydrangeas in the back of the house haven’t done as well this year. I usually cut some of those blooms to put in a vase in the house. I can’t quite bring myself to cut any of these. Last fall, the flowers on these bushes turned a beautiful burgundy color and I let them dry in a vase. They were lovely all winter long. 

Take Three Thursday: Springdale Farm

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It’s still Thursday, but late. Sarah, Adam, Caleb, and Hannah are here for a week so it’s been busy. Yesterday we had a lovely break in the heat, and headed out for a couple of hours to Springdale Farm. Springdale is a public demonstration farm owned by the county, and operated by Heritage Christian Services that supports adults with developmental disabilities. The adults take care of the animals and the grounds, and welcome visitors of all ages. Both Caleb and Hannah enjoyed the trip. Hannah was particularly taken with the goats.

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Caleb enjoyed “riding” the tractor.

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And they both enjoyed watching the animals in the fields.

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And one bonus photo of the two of them on top of some kind of hay rack—one of my faves from the trip.

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I’m linking up with Mary-Lou’s meme “Take Three Thursday.” Check in to see what others found of interest this week.

 

 

Take Three Thursday

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I didn’t anticipate having a Take Three Thursday post, but unexpectedly I do have three photos to share. I’m joining in with Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards where she holds a weekly meme, posting three related photos. She started the meme in an effort “to notice more of the ordinary in {her} life.” My take three this week are a result of my effort to take more steps each day.

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Last week I decided to purchase a FitBit in hopes that it would motivate me to get out and get moving! So far it has worked. This photo is not one of the three, but I decided to include it because there is another “unexpected reflection”—one of the prompts for the Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt. (Another of Mary-Lou’s wonderful ideas!) At any rate, our original plan for today was to drive to Sturbridge, MA and visit Old Sturbridge Village. It’s been over 20 years since we’ve been there. But the forecast was for 90° and neither of us had any desire to be out walking in that heat. We decided to leave after lunch instead, stopping in Lee at the outlets for a bit. So . . . I had time for a nice walk this morning before the heat hit Rochester, and snapped a few photos as I walked along.

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I was walking in the city, and this sunflower was one of several in a very tiny front yard.

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My Shasta daisies are just beginning to bloom, but these were a perfect opportunity to get a “where I stand” photo. I didn’t realize there was a daisy covering most of my feet until I uploaded the photo.

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Finally, one more for the SPSH:  “a framed view.” A peek into someone’s patio.

We’ll be on the Cape for most of tomorrow, until our ferry leaves for Nantucket in mid-afternoon. It’s looking like we’ll be “enjoying” thunderstorms for most of the day, but the extended forecast for the island looks delightful for the four days we’ll be there, so I won’t be complaining. Plus it will break the heat wave we’ve all been enduring for the last week.