Hello Spring

Awake, thou wintry earth -fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn

 

After the winter we had here in Ohio I think it’s fair to say that even the biggest snow fan would be very excited to see those first signs of spring!

Some of the first signs for me is the Phoebe’s song (which I hear right now as I’m typing ), the first little tree frogs, that we call spring peepers, who have such a lovely chorus, the first tints of green on the willow down by the pond, and the smell of wonderful earth as it’s thawing…just to name a few.

 

 

When things like this start to happen…

 

it’s a sure sign that it’s high time for spring to arrive!

 

Spring for us means more nature walks…

 

 

Fishing…

 

 

Blooms…

 

 

                                              

 

Green…

 

 

 

Spring is always a great time for people to start a new project (for me, it’s year round ).

 

I have a deck project going on that I will share with you before too long. I host outdoor garden parties on the back deck and have been trying to come up with a thrifty way to provide some shade for the ladies as they dine. I think I have finally figured out one way to do it and as promised, I will share it soon! Here is a picture of how it looked before I started… (note the peeling paint on the floor) For those of you that saw my post last summer on following no rules on painting a deck floor, this is how it turned out after one winter… I can’t say I’m surprised, but now I know for sure. It did look the same way though, with using expensive wood stain, after one winter. I don’t believe those boards are finishable! But needless to say, I came up with a solution, for now, and hopefully it will work!

 

 

Hubby has a project going on under the deck that I’m really excited about too. It will take a little more time but it will be worth it, I believe!

 

 

The other day Kenny and I gave his garden tractor a makeover. We were amazed what paint can do! As we were working Kenny would say “Mom, this is so exciting, this is the best day ever!” It made me realize I probably don’t do special things like this often enough with my boys. It did feel good and I want to make a point of doing it more often.

 

Before…

 

 

After…

 

 

 

 

 

My mom gave me this beautiful Azalea that I want to plant outside sometime… for now I’m enjoying the cheery color in the kitchen.

 

 

I did get the porch swing up a few weeks ago and yes, it did see a little bit of snow, of course. We had a few lovely evenings that were comfortable to sit outside though. I took a picture of some blue faced creatures that I found lurking about…

 

Here are a few links if you are interested in seeing more of the swing…

http://porchswingsnhoneysuckle.blogspot.com/2011/09/our-country-porch-swing.html

http://porchswingsnhoneysuckle.blogspot.com/2013/05/home-sweet-home.html

 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are having a wonderful spring!

 

-Mary

Whitewashed Wood

 

This is a very simple post on white washing which is something you all probably have done or know how to do, but I thought I’d post it anyway incase you are like me and enjoy seeing other people’s techniques.

 

When I think of white washing my thoughts go to Tom Sawyer and all that fence he needed to paint as a punishment. I’m sure I had more fun with my little project earlier this week than he did with his seemingly endless fence!

I sorted through my stash of old wood and quickly made this little wren house…

 

 

 

Next I mixed white paint and water, equal parts. The trick is to get it really thin.

 

 

I applied it using a bristle brush. After the first coat dried I gave it another. The amount of coats is optional. It would really have looked okay with only one coat but I wanted it a little whiter.

 

 

 

I added some grapevine using staples to attach. There’s other vines that can be used, like bittersweet or honeysuckle. I thought about taking a walk in the woods and looking for a vine with berries but didn’t get around to it. ( my luck I would have ended up with poison ivy vine since it actually looks great :\ )

 

 

I fastened a pipe holder of some kind to the roof and attached rusty barbed wire as a hanger.

 

 

The house can be hung outdoors and hopefully provide a haven for a wren or chickadee or set indoors for decoration…

 

 

 

 

I’ve used this method of painting for anything you want to look old and weathered. For this birdhouse, the wood was a dark, weathered gray - perfect for a base, but when working with new wood you can paint it a dark gray first to get that weathered look in the end.

I hope you enjoyed this little touch of spring! Thanks for visiting and good night!

 

-Mary