Tag Archives: trees

Another miracle.

June 23, 2020 Rivergirl 23 Comments

Strange things are happening at Casa River this year.

First, the husband wanted to clean out the big barn ( Okay, he didn’t really. It was just a bit of organizing… but I’m counting it.)

Second, the husband helped me make a garden bed. ( I would have laid money on that never happening. )

And a week ago…

I looked out back….

And saw the husband planting a tree.

Planting! Not chopping down.

Somewhere in America, pigs are flying.

Okay, he didn’t buy them.

And only one of the three stands taller than my knee, but hey.

It’s still a miracle.

He dug them up from the wood line and I seriously doubt he got enough roots to make them viable…. which is why I told him they were going to need lots of water for the first few weeks.

Shall I give you one guess who has to drag that water to the far reaches of our property line because we only have 200 feet of hose and it won’t reach?

Yeah.

I didn’t think so.

Apparently even miracles have limits.

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I love trees.

June 21, 2020 Rivergirl 17 Comments

So, can you see it?

Look closely now.

Not until you get near enough to look up.

There.

The neighbor’s tree adjacant tree house, hidden from sight by trees.

I love trees.

Here’s the husband for size reference, holding the enemy of trees. The chain saw birthday gift I’ve lived to regret.

I neither know, nor want to find out what he was cutting down there.

I shall just enjoy the leaf cover those glorious trees provide.

And maybe do this –

TREEHUG-monsieur-123_Design-07

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I needed a holiday from the holiday.

June 19, 2020 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Our last day of the long Memorial Day weekend meant a morning of yard work.

Tag team mowing with the husband on his new toy and me slogging along with the old push mower.

It was a gorgeous day.

The pear tree was blooming.

The mallows I’d planted were thriving.

And everything had finally turned green.

Except the baby barn which I decided to start painting that afternoon.

Let me preface this by saying I used to love to paint.

I used to.

Until I had to use an artist’s tiny brush around all the nooks, corners, flashing and crooked angles on that beast.

Did I wear some paint, get covered in dirt, rip my pants, tumble off a ladder and work until almost 8:00 at night?

Yes I did.

But paint was applied.

And covered a multitude of sins.

Three sides done, one to go!

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Worst. Gift. Ever.

June 7, 2020 Rivergirl 45 Comments

Have you ever given someone a gift and had cause to regret it?

I’ve lived with regret for the past few years and felt the old twinge again yesterday.

At first I looked outside and thought how nice…

The husband is trimming a tree.

And then I saw the gift I’ve lived to regret.

He wasn’t trimming branches off the tree, he was cutting it down.

Why?

I don’t know.

Because it was there… and he could, because I’d given him a chain saw as a birthday gift.

Whatever the reason, it’s gone.

Or at least part of it.

And if he thinks he’s leaving this abomination on our lawn he’s sorely mistaken.

Chain saws.

Worst. Gifts. Ever!!

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A much better smell.

May 31, 2020 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Thankfully the eau de la cow pie fragrance is dissipating and something more wonderful is taking it’s place.

It started like this…

And then…

Boom!

Apple blossoms.

And if you’ve never stuck your head right up inside a tree and sniffed?

What are you waiting for!

We have 4 such trees.

And they’re glorious.

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Because life in the country can be a little odiferous.

May 24, 2020 Rivergirl 11 Comments

Remember I blogged about our neighbor giving us 3 free trees….

And the fact that he planted a row of 54 on his property across the street?

Well, yesterday…

He added a little something to those trees.

Okay a lot of something.

And it was quite…. how shall I say?

Pungent.

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Elizabethan Gardens… Manteo, Outer Banks North Carolina

February 13, 2020 Rivergirl 28 Comments

Next up on our Outer Banks day trip? The Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo.

But first?

Some rocks…

You’re welcome.

From Nags Head to Manteo?

Scenery.

Scenery from a bridge.

More scenery.

How’s that for detailed description?

The Gardens were recommended to us as a must stop… so we did. Even though it was off season and very little was blooming.

Gardens without flowers? Let’s go!

It was a pretty spot… with lots of different areas to explore.

They were in the middle of their annual Christmas light show….

So of course we went in the middle of the day when the sun was shining.

There was an impressive set of gates.

Neatly trimmed boxwoods…

And Queen Elizabeth I.

There were paths with balls…

And paths with statues.

And some extremely large butterflies.

Funky Christmas lights were everywhere.

And I’m sure it would have been quite pretty….

Had we been there at night.

Okaaaay.

Not sure what that was all about, but I don’t like peas either….. so, huzzah!

There was a lonely ruin of something.

And a man shivering in the cold wind.

Oh, wait. That’s the husband…. I didn’t recognize him from the front.

There were fountains.

And ass ends of statues.

Surrounded by tightly trimmed bushes.

Stop snickering…. I know where your mind went.

There were creepy garden gnomes.

And an indoor butterfly garden…

With no butterflies.

But plenty of fluffy gnomes.

Garden path U turns…

And yay!

Finally something was blooming.

There were also the type of Christmas decorations you only see down south.

Wouldn’t be much point of laying these on the ground up my way.

But there was an impressive old tree.

And yes, I do mean old.

Now that’s a senior citizen!

More paths…

More decorations….

A courtyard….

A gift shop….

And a fellow with a wilder hairdo than me after the windy pier.

By this time we’d looped back around to the beginning.

But not before we learned a few things…

About bees.

In case you’re wondering, Maine’s state insect is also the honeybee. Although we designated it as such in 1975.

Long live the bee!

And plagiarism apparently.

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Colonial Williamsburg…. the blacksmiths, a test drive, an oak, some cows and yes, food.

February 3, 2020 Rivergirl 36 Comments

Although I hated to end our day, the time was drawing near and my phone battery was gasping it’s last breath.

Naturally the husband had to see the blacksmith’s shop with all it’s rusty tools.

And we were both surprised to learn that women worked there as well back in the day.

So after test driving a wheel barrow…

A few more natural wreaths…

Some private homes…

More wreaths…

And a massive Live Oak that is supposed to have been here when George Washington walked these streets….

We said goodbye to the cows we saw on the way in….

And went back to the car where we had to charge my cell phone long enough for Trip Advisor to point us to our first dinner in Williamsburg.

I love that app.

And I loved this restaurant.

Come on…. they had blue jellyfish lights over the bar.

How could you not?

Cocktails? Check.

Their Orange Crush was made with fresh squeezed OJ and was fabulous.

Hushpuppies and cornbread let us know we were in the south.

And may I just say? I had no idea how much I missed hushpuppies until I started eating them again.

Yeeha!

Dinner was tough to choose.

Husband started with mussels.

And moved on to perfectly pan seared sea scallops with garlic smashed red potatoes and green beans.

Me?

I was in the south, baby! Bring me those low country shrimp and cheesy grits.

Lord have mercy….. they were the best thing I’ve eaten in months.

Husband had room for a New York Style berry cheesecake….

And then we called it a day.

Day 1.

You realize that, right?

It took me 8 posts to get through Day 1 of our two week vacation.

Oh, don’t be so dramatic.

It’ll be fun!

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Strolling Colonial Williamsburg…. The Liberty Lounge and peacocks.

January 31, 2020 Rivergirl 17 Comments

I’m not sure you could find a more charming place to spend the day than Colonial Williamsburg.

History aside….

It’s just a perfectly lovely town.

Did you know the pineapple is a symbol of hospitality?

Learn why here.

Live Oak trees dominate the landscape, spreading their limbs for decades on end….

And I was seriously enjoying the all natural Christmas decorations.

How clever is that?

And while I was wreath gazing….

The husband spotted the entrance to a lounge reserved for veterans and their families.

To be honest I dreaded going inside. My husband has the gift of gab every day of the year, but when surrounded by other servicemen and women? I’ve spent half my married life waiting for him to conclude conversations.

Waiting-Memes-52918-aad4877

But there was free tea, coffee and hot cider…..

And thankfully, a veteran free room.

Of course he spotted the challenge coin cases which started a 45 minute long convo with the staff of volunteers….. but he added a coin of his own, which admittedly was rather nice.

An hour later? More decorations…

More wreaths…

Some cleverly trimmed shrubbery ….

And the silversmith’s shop…

We oohed and aahed and chatted with the man who ran it.

Did you know the phrase “put your money to work” dates from colonial times before the advent of paper currency? You were normally paid in silver, and instead of having bags of the stuff laying around your home…. you took it to the local silversmith who melted it down and made you a fabulous coffee urn or tea set. Your money was “put to work” and you got to flaunt your wealth to visitors. A win, win situation.

Many of his beautiful pieces were for sale in the shop next door…. but the husband wasn’t thrilled with the idea of me spending his hard earned silver to bring some home.

So we strolled.

And were amazed to learn some of these nice little homes were still privately owned.

Who in the world would want to live in the middle of a tourist attraction?

But more importantly…

Where do I find a peacock for next year’s Christmas wreath?

22ey1p

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Merry Christmas Eve interruption…

December 24, 2019 Rivergirl 35 Comments

As you’ve probably guessed… (Or if you hadn’t? You should have.) we’re currently off on another adventure.

And have been for the last 11 days.

Yes, our annual Christmas vacation.

No holiday stress. No decorating. No cooking. No family drama. We leave it all behind, and have since December 2015.

Why?

Because I used to be Christmas crazy.

221144-I-Christmas-Harder-Than-You

I spent a fortune, I decorated everything that stood still…. (yes, I’m ashamed to say there was even a tree on my toilet.)

I drove myself nuts finding the absolutely perfect gifts for people who didn’t appreciate it and cooked the absolutely perfect meal for family who couldn’t care less and always complained.

Maybe my mother dying was the catalyst. But in 2015 we took a trip to the Poconos…. had a blast, and never looked back.

Do I miss the beautiful live fir tree in the living room?

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Yes.

I also miss all the crazy outside lights.

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The well house…

The stone wall…

The funky alligator….

And reindeer who were annually buried up to their butts in white stuff.

The lights in the windows…

And on the bushes.

The sparkling balls on the table…

That caught the sun and turned our living room into a Christmas disco.

The running reindeer on the garage.

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The ribboned garlands….

Yes, I miss it all.

But do I miss the 2 solid weeks of work it took to get everything set up (in the snow , ice and wind) and the solid week of work it took to take it all down (in sub zero temperatures with ice and wind) ?

No. I most definitely do not.

But rest assured I’m not totally Grinchy this year, I did put up a tree.

tree