Thursday, March 20, 2014

Did You Miss Me?

Oh, my, has it really been over a week since I checked in?  I have done so much in the past nine days, and done a whole lot of nothing, too ... if that makes sense. Let's dive right in and I will do my best to catch you up with all the fascinating things that have been happening in Hartwood.

Monday morning's view from our dining room window.


When we left off last week, I was head down, working furiously to prepare for the rose volunteer work day at Hollywood Cemetery.  This winter's cold and snow delayed my visits there to evaluate the roses till the very last minute (stressful).  In a matter of two days, I wrote up my notes, updated my rose map, divided the cemetery's roses into ten sections for the ten teams of volunteers, and made assignment sheets for each team ... and I crossed my fingers, hoping that I hadn't forgotten to do something important.

My sweet husband, clearing off my Jeep ... in case we needed to go anywhere (which we didn't)


I needn't have worried because the work day itself went off perfectly.  Twenty volunteers divided into the ten teams made quick work of the pruning and training that the roses required.  We started at 10am, and everyone was finished and on their way home by 3pm.  You will be surprised to hear that I didn't take a single photo that day.  Instead of supervising and photographing, I was a member of the crew with my own set of roses to work on.  I hope to get photos from other people that were there and share them with you soon.

Snow sure is pretty.


On Sunday, The Husband and I went to an event called "Treasures From the Attic", sponsored by our county's historical society.  The object of the event was for residents to bring items for the historians to see, so their stories and images could be recorded and preserved.  We brought the cannon ball that I found while planting roses in the garden back by our barn.  No one could say for sure what weapon it was made for, but they did agree that it probably dated from before than the Civil War.

That's The Husband's Jeep under all that snow.


For the rest of the time, I have been doing things around the house ... you know, important stuff like laundry.  I also am continuing to excavate the hoarder's paradise that I call my sewing room, and I'm making real progress up there.  One day I will show it to you.  Today is not that day.

Our front yard, looking toward the southwest.


I have been bringing pieces of furniture up from the basement and working on them in the dining room.  In the last few days, I have painted and am almost finished with two end tables, two round tables, and a small nightstand.  This clears out space in the basement, but my dining room is trashed from using it as work space, and the living room isn't much better with the finished pieces stored in there.  It feels great, though, to have so many things almost ready to take to the Lucketts Spring Market in May.

Front yard, northwest.


The calendar now says Spring, but the weather for us has been all over the place.  We had beautiful weather and temperatures in the 70s for the Saturday of our workday at Hollywood Cemetery (yay!!!!).  Two days later, on Monday, we had 8 inches of snow on the ground.  Today, the snow is all gone and it is a sunny spring-like day ... but the weather guessers are saying that we have a very good chance of another snow storm early next week.  Temperatures up -- temperatures down.  Snow, rain, sun, fog, wind ... we have had it all this month.

This is our across-the-street neighbor.


Now that the work day at Hollywood Cemetery is behind me, I can now set my sights on continuing the reclamation of my own neglected garden.  Our unusually cold winter has undoubtedly caused considerable damage to my roses, but I'm okay with that.  Any losses provide opportunities.  The cycle of the seasons is something that gardeners have to accept.  This spring, I am excited to get outside and get to work ... staying indoors for most of the winter has been making me nuts!

It's weird having been away from here for so long ... gotta get back into the habit of writing and sharing again.  I missed you guys!!

14 comments:

  1. I AM so glad the day went well at Hollywood; thank you and your volunteers so much! Lovely photos of the snow but am hoping those are about behind us...it's IS spring, doncha know. lol

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  2. Sounds like you've been having fun! Lovely photos although I'm not enjoying all the snow - enough already!!! lol I hope you do find some photos of the pruning day.

    Have a great weekend!

    xox

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  3. I enjoyed your pictures, now that spring is here. We may get some nasty weather next week..but I'll make it. Can't wait to see your roses. blessings,xoxo,Susie

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  4. Yes! I did. Lovely photos. Your fence posts are so unique and just gorgeous. And the neighbors' house looks just right for me :)

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  5. Your snow looks so beautiful, but I'm happy with it at your place and not mine. I'm totally good with admiring it in your photos. Glad you didn't have to deal with it on Saturday, that surely would have made things much more difficult.

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  6. Glad you are back and I missed ya! You have been a busy girl and so have we with our new baby girl. I really need to get some things painted when I get home, too. Hope you have a wonderful upcoming weekend- xo Diana

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  7. Some of the prettiest winter shots I've seen.

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  8. How wonderful that the weather for the rose pruning day turned out beautiful for you!

    Your snow pictures really are beautiful and it sounds like you got a lot accomplished with projects.

    That is really neat about your cannon ball's age.

    Happy Spring ~ FlowerLady

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  9. Thank you for stopping by my Cherry Blossom post.
    You are right ... Peak is later this year but we will be there.

    I think the views from your windows are breathtaking! I have a postage stamp sized lawn being in the city, but still manage to have a tiny European boxwood garden and gorgeous flowers in urns and containers all Spring and summer.

    Roses amaze me and I plan to sit down this week and read all your blog posts.

    On the day you snapped the Robin is the exact day our Robin returned. I had the biggest smile on my face to know Spring is really around the corner.

    Happy weekend,
    Vera

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  10. Thanks for showing all these beautiful pictures of Hartwood Roses and Neighbor Across the road. I ran through those fields across the road many of times as a child. My Aunt and Uncle owned the home. My Great Great Parents built Hartwood Manor as you know. These pictures brought back a lot of childhood memories.
    cshrout@comcast.net. I enjoy your blog so much, Connie.

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  11. ...stay away much longer and I'll take your home! (how I LUV your whole property, sigh)
    But without (enOUGH already) winter, please. Did you see my bundled-up Cardinal?
    Catherine

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  12. Hopefully we do not see snow like that until next winter. I have noticed a lot more damage on my roses this year, so far, have only lost one. :( unfortunately it was one I got from California. But these little burst of warm weather, I have enjoyed getting out there and cleaning up the rose beds. Is that the "Courtney" house across the way? So very pretty!

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  13. I knew you must be busy working on the cemetery project and also your other projects. Sounds like you've made great progress on both fronts! Let's hope tomorrow isn't a repeat of last week's freak snowstorm!

    xo Kat

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  14. Your timing was perfect. You must feel so good that all your work getting the roses ready is done! That was a huge responsibility. Your wintry scenes are stunning.

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