September in Michigan

When I reviewed my latest post from the end of August, I had to laugh at my intention to spend a lot of time exploring my new community. Who has time for that, when there was SO much unpacking to do? Here we are a month later, and it's finally starting to feel more normal around here. There are very few boxes left to unpack, and most rooms are fairly orderly. But it has been a LOT of hard work to get to this point. 

I like to remind myself that all the aches and pains are worth it. We love it here, we love our new house, and we love tweaking our new Nest. Things are finally starting to come together, and these days,  it's feeling darn right homey. Yes, there are still curtains to hang, art to hang, and the blinds go up tomorrow. By the holidays, we should be fully settled. Speaking of holidays, I can't figure out where to put the Christmas tree!

I thought for sure I'd be ready to at least plan the new garden after two weeks of unpacking, but here I am four weeks later, and it's still a low priority. The planters I brought with me from Ohio are my only garden right now, with the exception of my Little Lime hydrangeas. I eventually found four swallowtail caterpillars in the herb garden I dragged here from Ohio, but they recently wandered away to pupate. Perhaps they crawled under my deck? 

We did take the time to get our new library cards, and we were duly impressed. It's a big beautiful space, with so many special spots. There were cozy corners, a pollinator garden, and a massive children's library. I can't wait to explore it further. 

Today I got a message from the new owner of my old house, and it moved me to tears. She's loving the flowers, is trying to follow the directions I left, and has been tickled to find zucchinis hiding under the big leaves. She also spotted monarch butterflies hanging around, and that's what touched me the most. I'm so glad that she loves the Nest I made there! It's a great comfort. 

I must admit that I did take the time to scout out the nearest Metropark, called Lower Huron Metropark. It's showing early signs of autumn, and I can hardly wait. It's going to be beautiful, I can just tell. 

It's been easy to catch the sunsets off the deck, although most of them have been rather mundane with the pleasant weather. But I try not to get blasé about that. I'll always be a skywatcher, and I never get tired of saluting the end of day. 

Tomorrow will be the start of October, the best month of the year. And here I am in Michigan, my favorite place for fall colors. It's going to be epic, I can just feel it! See you back here at the end of October, where I will surely have pretty pix to share. I've already scouted out a few good possibilities for photos. Hope to meet you right here! 

November in the Nest

Welcome to my November Nest on this cold and rainy day! I thought I might plant my tulip bulbs today, but the weather didn't cooperate, so looks like I'll work on indoor projects instead. Yes, you read that right, I haven't planted my tulips yet, and it's December tomorrow. I sure hope we get a little warm weather so I can get that job out of the way. I don't plant bulbs until a hard freeze takes out all my annual flowers, since I plant my bulbs in those same spots. And this year, the hard freeze came late, which is odd because the fall colors arrived extra early. All is bare now, the trees are empty and the only flower I could find in bloom was a lone dandelion. But I caught these last pretty spots early in the month. 

My roses usually enjoy the cool fall weather, and often give me a last round of blooms well into the chilly days. I often have roses blooming even into December, but not this year. These photos are from November 7th. 

Abraham Darby

At Last

Fourth of July

Funny Face

Zepherine Drouhin

Sunny Knockout

On the day I captured all these flower pix, a deep freeze was threatening, so I went out to say goodbye to them, as I always do. I'm ever grateful for the last, ragged blooms, hanging on in the chilly weather of November. The zinnias were a mildewy mess by then, and yet they bloomed on. But even the snapdragons didn't survive the later deep freeze, and that's saying something. 

But we escaped the first snow by visiting my folks in Florida at that time. It really was chilly there too, I swear! But it was still warmer than Ohio. First we went to Sarasota and Siesta Key, with my usual stop at Selby Gardens. And of course we enjoyed lots of seafood, especially grouper. Yum! 

Our next stop was Leesburg, where the views are complete different, but equally beautiful. 

Here we are at the end of November, and it's time for me to decorate for Christmas. I like to start outdoors by refilling my summer planters with greenery, which I'll leave in place until March. I try not to make them look overly Christmasy, so they can stay in place awhile. These are the planters that don't get tucked away into the garage, so I like to keep them filled even over the winter. 

For now, there's not much left to see in the garden. You know how much I miss having flowers growing right outside my door. But I keep busy in other ways in the winter, and it won't be long until spring flowers start peeking out. Guess I'd better get those tulip bulbs planted if I want to see spring blooms! You can probably see that I repaired my penny ball, but this photo reminds me that I think I'll tuck it into the garage for the winter. I used to leave it out, but I think the adhesive holds up better if I give it a break from the bitter cold. 

And so it goes in my November Nest. Sunsets are seen out the back door now, but they're hard to catch with the return of frequent cloudy days. This is a good time of year to see sunsets down at the pond, so I'll have to remember to run down there next time one shows up. 

Thanks for stopping by my nest, as usual. In December, I'll show you my indoor holiday decor, and any other treats that I can find. Until then...