Life at the Lake

We arrived the middle of May and I've been busy planting....window boxes, containers, and hanging baskets.

  On Memorial day, we went to the Vikings -- Patty and David had hotdogs and we all ate lunch under the shelter.  It was a perfect day, weather-wise.  

Keefers and Flatleys have been here for the weekend past. Lots of cleaning up in the yard to do.  

Today is the day before Jim's birthday.  It is in the 60's, so we are cozy inside the cottage today.  Tomorrow, we are going to the Hare and the Hound in Bemus Point with the Flatleys and Al and Donna.  

The containers around the patio are filled with hibiscus, begonia, datura, a fern dug out of the woods, and fern on the table.

The window boxes have impatiens -- pinks and reds

Hanging baskets have torinia, and upright fuchsia -- the hummingbirds love these!!!  Below are hosts I transplanted from Tom's garden.

I am trying to practice blogging in anticipation of our trip in August.  However, I am not sure I chose the easiest blog.  Uploading photos can only be done on the computer, once the photos are loaded onto the computer in my Photos file.

The font doesn't stay true, so I have to keep adjusting.  

It has been a challenge, but I shall keep trying.

I am sitting at the desk typing and the view I have is amazing   The hummingbird checks out the begonia in front of me.  The oriole is heading for the grape jelly in the feeder.  Mr. Chewed Ear is trying to get into the bird feeder on the window.  And many birds are going to the main feeder -- blue jays, woodpeckers, cardinals, etc.

Til later -- 
Sue  

Monday

Its a beautiful day here in Westerville!  I have been very busy mulching and edging.  Lots of work spreading mulch.  The temperature today is above 80 degrees.  Jim is in Myrtle Beach until Saturday.  

Had a busy Saturday with a DIG meeting, a photography meeting, a felting class at 614 Knit studio, and a play -- Fiddler on the Roof -- at Otterbein.  So, yesterday, I started the yard work.

Today, I planted morning glory seeds and nasturtium seeds.  My crop of castor beans is coming along nicely..

Here are pictures of my tulips that I planted last Spring.   The pink ones are are in the front yard and are short.  They remind me of peonies, they have many petals and are very full.  Unfortunately, the squirrels or rabbits ate some of them.

 Here are my castor beans  I planted them at the end of March.

Having fun in Spring!!
Oh - and I have a new FitBit!  Im really having fun with that!  Today is the first day i hit 6,000 steps!!!  

Spring on Puddington Court!

Spring!

I am back to blogging!  I want to be able to write about our upcoming adventure.  So this is my first blog in 2016.  Celebrating spring.  The daffodils are from Inniswood.  Huge patches of them!

We had an early Easter this year -- in late March.  

And Puddington Court is adorned with the beautiful Cleveland Pears.  The photo was taken on a cloudy day.  The blossoms are spectacular.

We are going through a chilly spell with a low in the 20's last evening.

I am growing Castor Beans from seed.  I planted them two weeks ago and already they have sprouted and I have repotted some of them to 5-inch pots.  I am hoping for a good crop.   

Til later......

It's been awhile!

It is 2014!  How time flies!  I went to a seminar on gardening recently and was inspired by one of the speakers -- she is an naturalist and photographer.  Her talk was about Mud Pies and Milkweed and had terrific photography.  She told me she hadn't kept up with her blog and I got to thinking that I hadn't either.

I've been knitting a lot and thought I would share some of my projects.  My favorite was the "Follow Your Arrow" mystery Knit-a-Long (KAL).  We met on Friday evenings and shared the clues and our progress.

Oh - I see that I need to upload Google (an app) to show the photos.  Put that on my "to do" list.  I used to upload from Picasa -- how I learned photos.  Since my last post, we have a MAC, an iPad, and an iPhone.  Its a different world!
So I shall post this for the time being and get back later!

Ta Ta for Now!!!

Leaving the Lake.....

The summer is over. We are leaving the Lake. We spent almost three months here from mid-June, all of July and August, half of September and half of October. Max, our cat, was a really good traveler.

I took a photography course at the Chautauqua Institution in July. The instructor was terrific! I plan to take more courses from her next summer.

Jim and I had guests: Carole and BJ arrived for an overnight on their way to Massachusetts. Cheri and Dianne arrived for a respite from their busy schedules -- they spent most of the time on the beach collecting "stuff!!"

Kathy and Pat arrived in August with Jackie and Eric. It was a busy time - we enjoyed summer fare; Lake Erie corn, chicken on the grill, roasted tomatoes, salad, and peach/blueberry cobbler.

In October, Kathy and Pat arrived with the leaf blower!!! Wow was that terrific. Sabrina and Brian also came with them and we enjoyed colder weather activities -- going to Noble Winery, the McClurg Museum and a turkey/stuffing casserole. And, thanks to Portage Pies, we had great pies!!!!

Next summer, Jim and I hope to skip the trips to the Emergency Room....not that there is anything wrong with the Westfield Memorial Hospital -- just something to avoid!!!

We did have wonderful weather, overall. The lake flies were awful in June, but they left July 1, right on time! Next year, I plan to work in the woods -- killing grape vines, berry bushes, and rose bushes -- also, Japanese knot weed (a new one on me!)

Jim enjoyed golf almost every day at Sugar Hill -- he loves to go there and I do too!!!

So I'm sad we are leaving, but looking forward to next year!!!!

Starting out the New Year by undecorating!!! Here is a picture of the Coachman
Lantern at the Ohio Governor's Residence. My Inniswood friends and I assisted
in decorating the Residence at the end of November. This is a creation made of
giant bells, snowflakes, and live branches. A huge ribbon tops it off.

On January 3, 2011, we undecorated. Then we went to lunch at the Franklin Park
Conservatory. It was a wonderful day!

On January 6, 2011, I met my fellow volunteers at Inniswood and we took down all
the pine boughs from over 100 benches throughout the park. We toasted the New
Year with warm beverages and cupcakes!!!

Woodland path

Woodland path
Originally uploaded by suemcgill

Went to Schnormeier Garden today. It was absolutely gorgeous! We spent several hours visiting all the various gardens and taking in the sights. This view of of the Woodland Garden. This private garden is only open to the public two days a year. We were so lucky to be able to visit!!!