Last year at this time, we were in the first stages of a drought that would turn out to be categorized at the highest level, called "Exceptional", as it dragged on relentlessly. This year is the complete opposite. Central Ohio feels more like Florida, with steamy heat and daily rain. I'm both grateful for the rain, and tired of the steamy vibes it brings. There hasn't been much need for the garden hose rodeo.
Our moving date is only a month away, so I'm trying to savor life here in Robin's Nest. I LOVE my new home, and I love my home state. But I've been here in Ohio for a long while, and it's hard to let it go. Remember, this home and garden were blank slates when we arrived, so everything you see was done with our own two hands. It's been our masterpiece, honestly. My new house will be already landscaped upon arrival, but I will be able to add my own personal touch to it. And the back of the house will allow me free rein to create a new Nest. Yes, it will be smaller, but I'm okay with less hard labor. I still don't know how I want it to look, I need more time to figure it out.
The Ohio Nest has been stellar this year, despite the fact that I planted far fewer flowers, in anticipation of putting the home on the market. I keep taking memory photos, and I'm glad that I'll have this blog to look back on it. I'll still be keeping my blog, it will just look different for a while. I may focus on local scenery there to fill in the gaps until my new space is worth showing off.
I know one thing for sure, I'll be planting butterfly favorites. I never get tired of all the butterflies and critters that visit me here, because I planted all this just to attract their attention. July is when they really start to show up, and it delights me every time.
We also planted fewer vegetables this year, knowing we'd be too busy to deal with them. But with all the rain, we're getting plenty of vegetables anyway. Yum! And yes, there are plans for a veggie garden in our new Nest. Smaller, but still delicious.
I mentioned The Peach Truck last month, and they were so tasty that we picked up another batch. This time, the peaches were turned into glazed peach bread, peach butter, peach muffins, and peach crisp. Yes, we left a few for eating!
In saying my goodbyes to central Ohio, I've been making the rounds to a few favorite spots. It's a struggle in the heat and rain, but worth it. First stop was to see wildflowers at Blackllick Woods.
Next we drove out to Dawe's Arboretum on a hot, hot day. They have a driving tour, and I thought perhaps we could avoid the heat that way. But of course I had to get out and ogle everything.
On a cooler day, I went to Inniswood Botanical Garden, for traditional gardens, and then to Blendon Woods for nature's garden of wildflowers.
I'm also trying to make good use of my membership to Franklin Park Conservatory. I bribed hubby to come along by telling him about the Lego display, which really was lots of fun. I may or may not have first bribed him with a trip to the vegan donut shop.
With all the hot and steamy weather, the sunsets have been awesome off my front porch. I discovered a new trick this summer. I've often admire the sunsets out the front upstairs window in the summer, but the screen got in the way, and they're a pain to remove. But because these will be my last sunsets here, I finally removed the darn screen so I really could take photos from that perch. I love it! I've often admired the top view of my favorite Firelight hydrangea, so I'll add that shot to my sunset pix. You may notice one of the sunsets has a slightly different setting. See it you can find it below. You see, that's my first ever sunset view from my new house! We planned it so that the house will face the same direction that we're used to, so expect more front porch sunsets from there, and back deck photos in winter.
When I go to wind up my blog for the end of August, I will quite literally be living in my new house, amongst boxes and chaos. I will have just arrived, but of course I'll have plenty of closing shots from here to post. See you then, and thanks for stopping by.
