An Ordinary Day

The early morning sunshine streams in
as I sip my morning coffee.

Those first beautiful rays bring the promise of
a brand new day.

I am enjoying the morning sun
as we are expecting heavy rain and wind
later in the day.

Weekdays find me packing my Ramblin' Man's lunch,
ironing his clothes, and sharing some early morning chatter
about our day.

I kiss him goodbye, then it's time to feed the pets,
tidy up, and do a bit of laundry.

Maggie and Ling Ling get comfy after breakfast.

My sweet Maggie is 15 years old now and spends
her days finding the most comfortable place
 in the house to survey her kingdom.

Ling Ling prefers to be in front of the fire, and settles herself down
as I do a bit of crocheting while I watch my favorite soap opera.

*My one guilty pleasure*
(besides chocolate :)

I've been tidying up the deck for the winter season
the last few days.

I've taken down hanging baskets that have succumbed to our
recent freeze, and thrown pots of annuals into the compost.

I've put away my ceramic birdbath
and replaced it with my birdcage.

I can see her from my kitchen...

Even with the flowers gone,
I still have a bit of color.

I will look for potted ivy and tiny evergreens
at the nursery
to carry through until spring.

Having fun with my new camera here....
taken through the chair back.

Who needs flowers?

Whitey Bear is bored with all this fussing
around with plants.

The baker's rack holds herbs
and the smaller plant stand
holds winter pansies.
They will sporadically bloom
all winter, then put on a show in early spring.

Some pots of rosemary.

My empty pots are waiting for bulbs.
I am late in planting my bulbs
due to a delayed shipment and freezing
weather that kept me inside.

The Japanese Maple is putting on a show
before shedding her leaves.

My youngest son gifted me with all the turquoise
pots over the years, for various occasions such
as Mother's Day and my birthday.

<3

I will pot up my smallest bulbs and bury them in leaves
under the cedar tree where they can stay warm and
dry until spring.

My poor angels need a good cleaning and so I have
put them here to remind me.

The window is one of 30 that my sweet Ramblin' Man
found for me on one his business travels.

They were skylights in an old warehouse and the workmen
were just throwing them down from the roof and smashing them!
He convinced them to let him have them
and he hired a U-haul to take them home to me <3.

Someday they will be a greenhouse.

I thought I could hang one in my window, but it was
 too big, so it waits to be put away.
It is heavier than it looks and I can't lift it.

This time of year, we can stand here on a clear night
and see the Big and Little Dippers:)

A bonus of isolation....
Sometimes it feels a little too isolated.
xo
The rain has held off, and the deck is tidy,
so now I need to rake leaves,
especially out of the drainage ditch.

I have my work cut out for me!
I have been waiting for all the leaves to fall....

I did manage to plant 100 Camassia
and 75 fragrant Narcissi in my front garden.

Something to look forward to this spring.

The sedum are still adding a bit of color here.

So many leaves!

Champ supervises....
He loves to play in my neatly raked up piles!
You can see the drainage ditch behind him.
When it rains heavy, we have a little burbling brook.

I work until the rain starts.
I love working out in the fresh air, listening
to the birds.
We have a pygmy owl that whistles in the trees,
and we've seen a large grey owl in the evening
when we go out to get firewood.

We had a coyote trapped inside our fenced 5 acres
for several days before we figured it out and
left the gate open so it could leave.
The downside to fences :(

I knew something was lurking due to the behavior
 of my dogs and cats.
Even the wild birds were sounding the alarm.
It wasn't until the poor coyote cried in distress
for two hours one night that I figured it out.
All is well now.

Just an ordinary day.

Tiny crab-apples hang on.

Raindrops on cabbage.

Time to go inside and catch up on some housework.

xoxo

Thanks for coming along on my ordinary day,
Dear Friends.

I hope you are having an extraordinary, ordinary day.

xoxo