On a Wednesday morning ...

beautiful bright, sunny day

on this lovely Wednesday

the birds are singing away

doors are open

letting a lovely fresh breeze flow through our kitchen

as I bake

lots of happy, hungry birds at the feeders

I always feel at awe when I look out into our garden and spot

squirrels, birds, chipmunks and bunnies :-D

for a girl who lives in the city but who's heart is in the country, this is bliss ♥

One of my old galvanized watering cans

~lilac clippings~

a warm spot on the deck railing

for a sweet little squirrel

I had to stop what I was doing when I heard the familiar call of Jay :-D

***

hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday

d xo

lilac days

It must have been all the rain we've had recently ...

our lilac has bloomed it seems

overnight :-D

found end of season while strolling through the garden center

sitting in the corner for under $2.00

she looked like she had sat there for a while poor thing

needing a good pruning and watering & a spot to put down roots.

that was 27 years ago and she has never disappointed

her branches hang over our kitchen window, and have created a lovely little archway as we step off our deck into the garden ...

there is always a bird (or two or more) resting on her thick sturdy branches,

the squirrels love to climb on one in particular and look into our kitchen :-D

and now, in bloom, our entire garden will be filled with the intoxicating aroma of her blooms.

I will clip some here and there to bring inside.

a tiny first of the season sprig xo

garden bliss

In my garden

there is a large place

for sentiment.

My garden of flowers

is also my garden

of thoughts

and dreams.

The thoughts grow

as freely as the flowers

and the dreams

are as beautiful.

~Abram L Urban~

Thankful {things I love} Thursday

I absolutely love this little paper.

The Country Register can be found just inside the door of the quaintest little craft shops.

Filled to the brim with stories, recipes, calendar of events/ upcoming festivals  , travel inspiration, gardening tips, and so much more.

We have found so many wonderful cafes and craft shops to visit thanks to The Country Register.

And after years of picking up the paper and enjoying it I am thrilled to be, once again,

*the cover artist*

My painting "A flock of birds" is  the May/April 2017 cover

for The Country Register of Ontario

♥

~ dream ... dream big ...  ... because dreams really do come true ~

{when your sweet supportive family picks up issues} :-D

happy May day

a new painting for May

Melodious Reservoir

***

for deep inside her heart &soul

the songbirds sang

she kept this

melodious reservoir

tucked safely inside

so she could hear

their soothing hum of freedom

when she needed it most

♥

~a gentle friend~

an armful of freshly picked wildflowers

and grapevine wreath for May Day

"A bird sitting on a tree

is not afraid of the branch breaking,

because its trust is not on the branch

but on its wings"

~Anon~

"You are as welcome

as the flowers in May"

~Charles Maddin~

Thankful {things I love} Thursday ...

It's that time of the year again when we look at the garden with fresh eyes.

Some plants need to be moved as they have outgrown their space

and we think of changes we want to make

to the garden beds.

Looking through a few photos from last Summer to get an idea of changes we might want to make ...

Our {ever growing} collection of garden treasures come out of storage.

Sweet Mr Sun has been repaired many times

but after a bit of touch up, will be ready to brighten our garden another year.

We have a few Peony plants in our garden which we love!

and lots of bird baths tucked into all kinds of nooks for the birds.

It's lovely to watch the birds enjoying a splash about or sit quietly sipping water.

Everything in our garden is with the birds/butterflies/bees/nature in mind.

It's all natural and a little haven for both us and them ♥

Love spotting nests {found all over our garden}

resident chipmunk :-D

~life~

Honeyflower - our resident garden bunny

Sparrow garden

we *love* our Sparrows

our lilac is in bud

soon I will have bouquets of lilac

for our outside table

and indoors

our picket fence

in bloom

love spotting the birds sleeping

it lets us know they feel safe and content in our garden

♥

bee love

garden lady

my gathering bag

Our English Country cutting garden

a little Robin family {taken a few years ago}

sewn garden flags

filled to the brim waiting to go indoors and create some bouquets

found this lovely little metal leaf

and placed it by our pond

little did we know that it would make a wonderful mini birdbath for baby birds

they love to sit here ♥

***

The weather today is incredible.

Heading out into the garden with my tea, Archer, &  garden journal :-D