This Old American Foursquare

One of the treats of experiencing our first spring and summer here is watching the variety of Flora that pop up as temperatures rise. Daffodils were the first flower to come up in April and seeing those bright pops of yellow made the arduous task of planting 500 bulbs last fall made it worthwhile.  Since then, I have simply been an observer to the flowers and plants that follow. There have been fox-and-cubs, ox-eye daises, foxgloves, and forget-me-nots. Now I'm seeing white yarrow, five-finger cinquefoil, and white aster. Thank you Google image search for helping this armchair horticulturist. 

A few bright spots to note: - My chigger bites are finally healing and I don't look like I have the bubonic plague. - Our pollinator garden is finally showing leaves!  And the biggest story to tell is that of our cherry tree. She was not in the best condition, likely around 80 years old, and a bad storm away from falling towards the house. So we made the decision to have her cut down and her legacy continues because we will mill the wood for future furniture and window trim!  Side note on renovations: nothing started and waiting for the kitchen designer to update dimensions so we can finally get a price estimate for that, a full estimate for the rest of the house work, and put (clap) those (clap) orders (clap) in! Back to Cherry...we left the expert work to the tree guys who swiftly and safely cut her down. It was bittersweet to see her go but we know that she will live on in a different way. The next forest project is in a few weeks. A forest consultant will walk the property advi

Wow, I've really slacked on updates. Here goes: - work still hasn't started inside the house  That's it! Just kidding...the weather has been gorgeous lately so we've been soaking it up with outdoor work: moving logs, removing dead trees, planting native plants, mowing the lawn, power washing the deck, and getting chigger bites in the process.  We also built and put up a bat house to attract those cuties to our property and help us keep the mosquitos under control. Did you know it can take up to two years for bats to find your bat house? And that timeline is short if you meet all of the other factors: nearness to a body of water, high placement not on trees.