Weekend Hodgepodge

I almost always have a camera in my pocket.  The weather was beautiful today, making for quite a few photo opportunities to share.

It has been a while since I shared roses with you.  (It's also been months and months since I participated in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day over at May Dreams Gardens.  Follow the link and run over there once you finish here, and you can see what other garden bloggers have blooming in their gardens today.)  We have had frost here most mornings for the past week, but there are still roses to see.  Some of the ones still blooming today are ...

This is 'Awakening'.  It is a sport (mutation) of New Dawn ... the flowers have about twice as many petals as New Dawn, which make them very full and romantic looking.  It is a rose which deserves to be better known.  I'm doing what I can to make that happen.

I am fascinated by a climber that I bought a few years ago as 'Heidelberg'.  (It may not be.)  This rose is blooming like crazy ... with bright red flowers along with ripe orange hips.  The combination is intriguing and beautiful.

Another climber that is putting on a show is the fabulous 'Compassion'.  I cannot say enough wonderful things about this rose ... look at this spray of flowers.  It's a ready-made bouquet!  I wish you could smell the sweet fragrance.

Today was Day 5 of working on the garden of English Roses by the barn.  Yesterday, my friend Robert came over and we sorted through the roses and placed each one in its correct spot.  He dug all the holes, I planted half of the roses, and I felt like we made great progress.  Today, I finished planting the roses, I raked out the extra soil from the holes, and The Husband began to cut the timbers that will border the beds.

The harsh, low-angle, late autumn sunlight makes it a challenge to photograph outdoors.  Tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy, so perhaps I can get some better shots then.  (Look how tiny the roses are!)

As I walked back to the house, I loved the long shadows and the sunlight on the side of the house, and the contrasts between the blue sky and the brown bricks. 

The late afternoon sun lit the brown leaves of the large oak tree in our front yard, making it glow.  These leaves will probably all be on the lawn by the end of next week.

While The Husband and I were working outside, the cats were in the house doing what cats do.  Amy was holding down her position on her quilt on the church pew in the dining room.

Alice was keeping watch from the family room window sill.

Maggie and Dorothy napped together on the down throw on the sofa.

We will spend the evening watching hockey (Did you know that I am a serious hockey fan?) and having Vinnie's stromboli with beer for dinner.  It's a perfect way to end the weekend.

Did you have a nice weekend?

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)