And......Five Months Later.....

 Summertime is beginning to close it's doors and autumn is peeking in the windows.

I can't begin to express how happy this makes me, considering that #1, I don't enjoy heat, humidity, bugs and the sheer discomfort of it all.

Some will beg to differ with me, those who live for summer, but we all have different souls with different loves, and autumn just happens to be MY love.

 Our pups enjoy the lushness of the lawn and rolling down the hill that we refer to as our 'backyard', but after only five minutes of enjoyment they are panting and ready to head back inside.... especially THIS particular summer which has had extreme temperatures for weeks and also months on end. Enough is enough Global Warming!

Mankind, or Manevil rather, has caused much of this and it's an issue that I highly doubt will be solved.  It's just sad.

 As happens every year, August and now the past couple of days in September brings foggy early mornings and spider webs. Makes for some nice camera shots, but OH those spider webs that string from tree to bush, bush to house, and across sidewalks at face height!  LOL  You should see us swat at them as they surprise us walking down our own sidewalk.

 Our garden did a great job of growing tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapenos once the early summer lettuce was done.  One or two years ago we had tomatoes up through Thanksgiving.... the plants that just kept on giving I guess you could say,

but this year that's not happening.... no rain other than just a few sprinkles here and there which is really not enough to sustain the garden, or the lawn for that matter.  We took what we could get because each year is different when you garden.  Ask any gardener and they will agree.

 And so, not enough time was spent on the deck and porch, other than the evening dinner grilling.  Autumn always pushes us to spend more quality time out there, and most days no one needs to twist my arm to get me to have my morning coffee there.

 July saw us with eleven inches of rain!

Less in August, and halfway through September and the lawn is crunchy, brown and dry with only 8 tenths of an inch so far.

These photos of the crepe myrtle were taken in August, and the intense heat for weeks on end caused a not so beautiful bush this year.  It gave it it's best shot, but it certainly was not as pretty as most years.

So, in summary, summer has had us dragging our feets and heads a little bit closer to the ground.  Just ask Izzy and Rowdy!

We had a lot of old and broken items piling up around the place, mostly in the basement, so we rented a large rollaway dumpster and filled it up.  We feel a bit lighter having some of the 'junk' gone.

 Here's the last tomato on the vine which my husband picked yesterday.

TADA!

Game over, Garden!  See ya next year!!

We always have a lot of wildlife in the yard, but this year there seems to be a lot more deer than in years past.  They poop everywhere and eat everything.... except for the garden which is fenced, and the hosta, which we planted basil around and also used a deer spray, so they left those alone.

 It's not like I can't see you!!!

Stop pretending you are invisible and SHOO!

So, now that temperatures are beginning to drop in the evenings, we have taken back ownership of our screened porch and even taken a few naps as the sun goes down.

I paid a shopping visit to Marshalls, where the pillows and throws as well as other autumn decorations were in abundance.

I had purchased two fall pillows last year and added to my collection.

Ikenberys, about five miles from home, had tables filled with orange pumpkins, of which I need to go back and buy a few for the front porch,

 but for the back porch I chose three heirloom pumpkins, for which they charge you a bazillion dollars as well as an arm and a leg and your first born child.

JEEZ!

Are these things that rare that they need to charge the price of gold for them?

I dug Mr. Scarecrow out of the basement closet.

See him?  Just his feet I guess.

Oh, THERE YOU ARE, you silly scarecrow.

I adopted him way back in our years between 2000-2004 when we lived in Maryland.

He's gone everywhere we have moved and is still in great physical condition.

I think I'll keep him around forever.

 Here's a bigger view of the porch.  Lots of black and white gingham and buffalo check happening here this year.  A casual fall look that reflects our lifestyle.

So, a few more days of temperatures in the 80's and summer will be history, as we fall into fall and once again take big breaths of cooler air before the really cold air of winter arrives.

Thanks to any of you who are still here and still read blogs.

I'm on Instagram as well under the name dianehakey.

Stop by and pay me a visit!

Love ya!

A Walk Around

 Yesterday morning it was off to see my doctor for a check-up, followed by a stop at the CVS store on my way home. It sits up on a slight hill at the northern edge of the small town of Daleville, and I couldn't help but take some snapshots of the brilliant red leaves outside their store.

If you have never been to the southwestern corner of the state of Virginia, please do yourself a favor and visit is the next time you have vacation coming during the autumn months of the year.  Mountains and blue skies abound, breathtaking views, so bring a spare card for your camera because you will most certainly fill it up.

There is a sweet coffeeshop in Daleville just across the road from the CVS, and it has an outdoor patio where you can sit and enjoy some time.

 Once I was home, it was mid-day and a lovely day at that.

I headed outside with my pocket camera as I wanted to capture what our property looks like this fall after we had so much work done on it in recent months.

 It's not a huge property... just over three acres, and enough to keep my husband busy when he's not working on a project for a client or paying them a visit.

 We put in rye grass seed after the backyard dirt fill was done, and NO... I have not adjusted or brightened the color on the grass.... it really IS that green.

Blinding.

 The front yard needs a bit of work too... some fresh dirt and grass seed since that soil is sub par and grows weeds better than it does grass.  Another project for another time.

There is a line of Bradford Pear trees at the south side of the front yard... don't think we would have planted them so closely together, but at this point in their life we certainly won't be taking them out. I do love the color they afford us every November as they turn from green to a peachy gold.

This is the view out our front door.

I'll share more of my walk around our property in another post so as not to over do with an onslaught of photos.

*onslaught - a large quantity of people or things that is difficult to cope with* 

Just giving you one of the definitions since there are readers who enjoy questioning my usage of words. 

P.S.  This blog is for fun and not for judging my vocabulary.... I am not writing a book or entering a writing competition, so if you seek perfection in writing you may want to consider going elsewhere in Blogland.  Enough said.

News From The Garage

 A rainy week.... yes a WEEK filled with rain, is what we are having. It rained all day Tuesday, all night last night, and it continues today with more in the forecast.

Thank you remnants of Hurricane Patricia.

I scurried to town yesterday, eyeballed a few items in a small ladies store, said "no thanks' to what they offered the customers in the way of fashion and accessories, picked up some chicken and potato salad at the grocery store and returned home.

Then I snapped these photos from the garage before I put the door down and came inside.

This photo of our sweet Rowdy on the wall was taken Monday when there was no rain, just gloomy skies.

It will be a total case of cabin fever for me before sunshine rolls around our way again, and if it continues to rain, who knows.... we may need a boat!

Happy Wednesday!

Odds And Ends Photos

Here are my odds and ends photos taken over the past week.

Enjoy!