A Rainy Day

Still Life of Lilies and Roses by Margaret Margetts

 

The temperature has turned very cold and it is raining now, and that is why I am in the house blogging.I wanted to show off my repaired mailbox. A friend came and painted it, after her husband re-built the stand and secured it. Country mailboxes tend to loosen and lean and get a little beat up over the years, so he also smoothed out all the dents! The numbers will be up on it soon, but even though they are not, I am confident anyone can find my address on the web. :-)

It rains and snows hard all winter up to the spring and then, instead of slowly easing into spring, we get hit with a sudden heat wave and a dry spell. Gardeners rush around trying to get the flower beds looking nice before it rains again.

 

There is a very inexpensive weekly magazine called Women's World that I sometimes look through when I am waiting in line at the grocer. It is a publication of only good news, and every title has an exclamation mark! Not everything in it is conservative or modest, but once in awhile there are some very bright photographs of gardens, rooms, and places around the world, that are worth saving. Here is a peek inside the Issue that is out for the week of June 23, of the pages I am saving.

I thought this was simple, and those of us who are not using refined sugar can substitute some other sweetener from nature.

 

It is starting to rain and is quite cold outside, and as I could not take a picture of the front flower bed without getting raindrops on my ipad, I took one from inside. The garden isn't growing and filling out as fast as I would like, and I often see photographs of gardens located in even colder climates that are already lush and full. I do not know what their secret is!

 

I thought I needed a fresh batch of top soil to give the flower bed a boost, and this is what I bought for $4.50. I like the brand name: Filthy Rich!

These are called Keys Of Heaven, which is Valerian, an herb, that I understand comes in other colors. It grows prolifically and yearly in abandoned areas, especially around old church buildings and meeting houses, so it is no wonder it is doing so well in this spot.

 

The roadsides are full of the color of lupines, wild sweet peas, buttercups, cornflowers, wild roses and I cannot name what else, but I cannot get them to grow in my garden! They prefer the minerals in the gravel of the roadsides.

I have been sorting through things and have noticed the little gifts around my house sent to me by readers: a tea cup, a Dennis Lewan painted plate, Victorian gift books, crocheted kitchen things, cards, a hand made scarf, a shawl, and some other treasures. If you sent me something that I did not mention or acknowledge, please let me know. I do wish I had thought to keep a gift journal with pictures and details of the senders. I want everyone to know that I still have the things they have sent and they are appreciated. These days very few people have time to write or send little packages, so I consider it quite a sacrifice when someone goes to the effort to mail something.

For the lady in Australia who asked about the mailbox, here is a link to the photographs of mailboxes I took when I was in Australia last year:

http://homeliving.blogspot.com/search?q=Mailbox

The flag indicates there is mail for the postman to pick up. It prevents him from shoving the new mail on top of the outgoing letters. Then he puts the flag down to indicate the outgoing letter was taken.

 

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