Separation anxiety

I am leaving the house for the first time.  Yes, I went away for the weekend when I flew to Pittsburgh for the marathon, but this is a much longer stretch.  I am headed out to sea for my annual whale tagging adventure and I am super excited to go, but a small part of me is having trouble with the fact that I am leaving my house/yard/neighborhood for such a long time.  I know, I know - Welcome to homeownership.  It is amazing how much I love this place - so much so that I find it hard to leave.  Very different from apartment living when I couldn't wait to get away.

The garden is progressing nicely. I have a few blossoms (zucchini and tomatoes) so maybe I will come home to some fresh fruits and veggies after a long, fun trip (or at least the early stages of some fruits/veggies).  Here are a few pictures of the garden and my 'wild kingdom' in the backyard.  I have made a few more updates to the landscaping, but you will have to wait until I get back for pictures - the alarm goes off early tomorrow to start my trek to Woods Hole

P.S. Thanks for all my friends willing to stop by to water my plants - you will be rewarded with fresh produce (hopefully) over the summer.

Garden - First day

Garden now - what a difference a few weeks can make

Zucchini blossom

Tomato blossoms

There were actually some birds around, too, including a male and female cardinal.  I only managed to get a photo of 1 out of the 3 squirrels and 2 out of the 3 chipmunks.  My own personal version of "wild kingdom". 

Bring on the rain...

Sunshine = outdoors working in the yard for 12 hours straight.  Rain = indoors sewing and hanging photos and cooking.  In the past two weeks, I have done a large amount of both activities.  The yard is keeping me quite busy, but certainly in a good way.  I am enjoying the time outside with the sunshine, the birds and even the squirrels.  I have no idea what I am doing in most cases when I start working on a particular area of the yard, but it seems to work out in the end.  I still have a bit more to do before I can claim that I am in "maintenance" mode, but overall I am very happy.  My neighbors are certainly noticing my hard work.  My very kind neighbor commented the other day - "I think you have done more in one day than the other guy did in three years".  I can tell you that it is a good thing I trained for a marathon all spring, because I need the strength and endurance for pulling some of these massive roots and transporting mulch.  Ah - the mulch!  It is almost gone, but not quite.  I have given some of it away and have plans for the rest.  I hope it will be out of the driveway on the next good weather day.

Here are some yard updates:

Just added some mulch and some ground cover plants to the side of the house. 

Removed the bushes and plants from the back of the house and replanted the lilies of the valley.  This was not the original plan, but one thing led to another.  I am not sure what I will eventually do with this area, but for now the lilies will suffice. 

The side of the house near the garage - simply put down a top layer of mulch.

The mulch pile - it is getting smaller - the end is in sight!

My gardening endeavors are also showing signs of improvement.  I have been battling the snacking behavior of some type of animal for some time.  Whatever is visiting my yard seems to like to eat pansies and echinacea.  I have enlisted the help of some blood meal to try to keep away the pesky snacker and it seems to be working.  The vegetable garden is doing very well.  Everything has increased in size and is definitely taking to the bucket lifestyle.

My herbs (forefront) are really starting to grow.  The tomato plants (last 2 buckets) are almost doubled in length and one is already showing signs of flowers.  Most likely, everything will start to really show signs of life in 2 weeks when I have to leave for 10 days to tag whales.  

If you compare this photo with some previous ones from May, you can definitely see the difference.  The pansy in this picture is still not happy after being eaten alive, but the bee balm and Montauk daisy are doing well.  The echinacea on the far right is finally starting to grow now that the animals are leaving it alone.  I spotted a hummingbird at my feeder the other day, so I am hoping that these flowering perennials will help to bring in more.

Although I have not really focused on the inside of the house much, I was able to do a few things this weekend because of the rain.  I am just trying to put a few touches here and there to make the house a bit more welcoming and to add some color.

Trying to choose a new carpet color for the porch.  Probably going with the lighter of the two that I am poining at in the picture.  Sticking with neutral - definitely not going with the green that is currently there :)

Spent yesterday dealing with multiple yards of fabric and sewing up a storm.

The end result - a new curtain for the dining room.  My goal was to add some interesting color/patter and to partially cover the window, while still allowing sun into the room.  I think I have accomplished both.  I have not finished the top seam or the hem of the curtains, but this is the trial period.  I was a little unsure at first, but it is definitely growing on me.

I have never been one to put up many whale photos - it just isn't my thing.  I decided, however, that I should have something dedicated to this amazing part of my life in the new house, so I created this display of my baleen and some of the most amazing moments I have had on the water.  You can see the photos right as you walk through the door.