OldBuckshop

It's Monday and Cathy reminds us that it's  time to gather some of the outside to bring in and enjoy for a while.  While our temperatures have been fairly mild this fall/winter, there have been a few rather strong wind storms and last night's event was a doozy.  At about one a.m. things going bump in the night woke me from sleep.  Fortunately, we didn't lose power or suffer any damage but many did.  I'd planned on cutting a few early bloomers to pop into a vase but on the way to work this morning, I spied a few branches that had blown from the Cedrus deodara that grows by a church near our house.  The female cones of this tree are lovely but once they're mature, they disintegrate to release their seeds leaving the central part on the branch so whole cones don't fall to the ground like they do with many other conifers.  However, if the wind blows large branches down, the cones come with them.  It's only neighborly to help pick up debris after a st...

I haven't done much in the garden for the last week or so as I've been working on something inside.  I saw this stained glass panel online ( Scottish Stained Glass in Colorado) months ago and thought it might be fun to make.   The image  stayed in my mind and recently, while cleaning out a junk drawer I came across this button.  It must have been a sign, right?  After all, one must keep one's hands busy doing something.  It was time to make the panel.  (This is for myself.  I would never copy someone else's work to sell.)  This picture of our house taken a hundred years ago gave me an idea to change the witch's cap on the turret.  The first step was to make a drawing.  My stained glass guru and dear friend, Florence suggested making it bigger than what I was thinking so it grew to a 2' x 3' panel. Thank goodness for white out, right?  Yes, that's blood on the upper right.  The good news is that glass makes clean cuts...

The other day, I looked in on the agaves in the unheated glass room.  The sun was shining and Agave 'Blue Glow' was looking particularly lovely.  How nice that it's colors echo those in the windows behind. Wednesday Vignette is hosted by Anna at Flutter and Hum.  Be sure to click over there to join the fun.

My pal, Alison, ( Bonnie Lassie ) encourages us to show the less than beautiful parts of our gardens on Tuesdays.  At this time of year, I can point the camera in just about any direction and find perfect shots that would fit the bill.  Although sidewalk maintenance is the responsibility of homeowners, the folks at the city are installing yellow rubbery bumpy thingies on the sidewalk ramps on the corner of our house.   They've decided to replace a bit more as well for some reason have decided to pull out quite a bit more of the sidewalk as well.  They also repaired a crumbling curb out front.  I've been really impressed with how little they disturbed the plants when fixing the curb.  Out on the corner, current conditions are perfect for Tell the Truth Tuesday. Because I knew what was coming, I pulled lots of plants out of the corner bed  that previously looked like this: Perhaps the remaining Acaena purpurea left in the bed will survive having ext...

It's officially winter and the garden is offering some lovely small and highly fragrant blooms.   On still sunny days, the garden's heady incense is a joy.   Today's vase is a Chinese cloisonn� bowl found at a thrift shop a couple of days ago for fifty cents.  Into it went Lonicera fragrantissima, Sarcococca, Viburnum � bodnantense �Dawn,' some colorful calyxes of Abelia,  and a couple of sprigs of Garrya elliptica.  Just these few blooms are perfuming the entire room. Joining the arrangement is this Japanes plate, a thrift store find from years ago.    Finally, a crystal cluster (milky quartz?) that looks a bit snowy and therefore appropriately wintery.  I know little about rocks - they somehow  follow me home . As always, thanks to our marvelous host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for encouraging us to bring a little of the outside into our homes to enjoy each week.  Click over to her  blog  to see more ...

A week or so ago, I went outside to snap a picture of our new neighbor's house decked out for the holidays.  I wasn't really pleased with the image as it doesn't really convey how nice their place looks. Oh well, I was outside with a tripod so decided to take a few pictures of other night lights.  It's interesting how different stained glass looks lit from inside at night vs. being viewed from inside during the day.  Have a wonderful weekend all!