Simple Pleasures: Freshly Tilled Dirt

Ahhh- a newly tilled garden.  The ability to begin again and plant anew.

Fresh dirt.

Completely and utterly irrestible to tiny toes.

It makes me so happy and proud that my girls

like to wriggle their toes in it just as much as their mom does.

This year I promise you little plants we will take care of you. We will weed...we will water..and we will try our very best when it gets to the middle of August not to think, "I can't wait to start over again next year."

Link Parties

Cherry Blossoms

Spring has sprung and just in the nick of time I have finally gotten a digital camera. Yippee!

Can you believe I started this whole blogging thing without one? My scanner sure has been getting a workout! Here are some of my first photographs with the new camera. It is the weeping cherry we planted in the garden the year our daughters were born. I have really enjoyed capturing it blooming the past few days.

Linking to:

Cottage Dreamers

Outdoor Wednesday

Wooden Wonders & Ode to Our Tree

I love wood.
That might be obvious because we did build a small log cabin. But I think wood is a thing of such beauty. A single piece of wood with its patterns of grain, knots and texture can be an exquisite masterpiece.Whether your style is cottage or cabin, coastal or contemporary- wood pieces in a home are beautiful. Traditionally we think of wood floors and furniture, but look at all of the wooden treasures below. What a wonderful way to add warmth and charm. A simple birch candle, a twig mirror, wooden wind chimes- a way to bring the outdoors in...even in the middle of the winter.

Wood Wonders by betweencottageandcabin on Polyvore.com

And because I am in the middle of my tribute to wood, I would also like to indulge a little and share the loss of one of my favorite pieces of wood, a majestic tree in our backyard.

This tree was a gigantic oak. Its roots rumpled all around the surface of the ground, and in those nooks and crannies I planted flowers and succulents. The path around the tree was one of my favorite parts of our garden.

Then last spring we discovered a hole at the base of the tree. We couldn't tell how big the hole really was but we knew it went down deep into the center of the tree. We were no longer sure how stable the tree was.  I started having nightmares during wind storms that the tree would fall and crush the house and us. Finally, we made the painful decision to have it cut down. Many of the people we called for estimates wouldn't even attempt the job because of the sheer size of the tree. Eventually, we did find a company willing to take the job. The day the tree came down I cried. I felt so terribly guilty for the loss of this noble giant.

In this photograph, you can get an idea of the size of the tree. The fence post next to it is seven feet tall.

Once the tree was cut we were able to investigate the hole. In the photo, Hubs is holding a standard size shovel. He was able to put it  into the hole and drop it about another five feet down. Knowing the depth of the hole, helped to ease the guilt I felt. For the safety of our family and our home, I  think we made the right decision. But I still look in the backyard where this beautiful tree once stood tall and proud and I mourn our loss.
Linking to:

Winter Windowboxes: Stretching the Season's Sparkle

De-decorating is depressing. Every year I dread taking down all of the  "merry and bright" from around the house. I am always looking for ways to extend the holiday season's sparkle and shine well into the New Year. This year I figured out a way to go no further than our little front porch. I left our traditional crimson Christmas bows in their box and purchased some silver mesh wire ribbon. At the craft store I also picked up some inexpensive silver berries to mix in with the pinecones. Collecting the pine cones was a breeze; our neighbor's trees have been dropping them into our garden for months now. I just added a few branches from our Christmas tree being trimmed  and ta-da windowboxes that should be festive enough to leave all winter.

I added to some pinecones to the garland we draped around the porch.

Even the top of the mailbox got the pinecone treatment!

Linking to Melissa's other fabulous winter ideas!