Settled In At Carroll Cottage

We've now settled in at Carroll Cottage for our five month stay.
I've named this place The Carroll Cottage as the Carroll family had built & lived here & now I'm the second owner & stewart to this property. They raised 10 children from this wee place & everyone in this town has come here to sing, play cards, or visit the Carroll's. So I thought it only fitting to call this place The Carroll Cottage.
 Construction on the Hardwicke House begins soon. Large loaders will be digging up the yard to add on to the house & for the first time in my life...I'll have a garage to put my car in, what a great, or easier,  winter I'm going to have not having to find the car after a snowfall! lol

Furkids

Every morning & every evening Bill does his stretching in the form of Tia-chi. this day the cats join in on the action!

                                          First Mr. Boots joins in for his morning head rub...

 Then Rexton joins in for her turn. Bill does a long stretch whilst the purring fills the morning air! lol

I remember the horror of sadness that came over me on February 27th, when I came home to see Boris on the floor, lifeless...
Yesterday I went into the kitchen & saw Mr. Boots, OMG not again, I thought.

 I watched carefully as his breathe came in & out or so shallowly. He was basking in the sun!!

                                                         Oh how peaceful & still he was!

                                      You can see from his chest up, he was enjoying the warm of the sun...

 I'll tell you, he scared the begeebbers  out me. Yes Boris looked just as peaceful, sound asleep forever. I miss my dog, Boris,  so much! :_(


The Carroll Cottage Garden

 The bulbs coming through with a changing look daily. I've never seen orange daffodils before!

 The blue birds have taken up residence in the birdhouse that Bob made for me. It took only one day for the two birds to claim it as theirs! They have gotten use to the sound of the clothesline, which is good as I use that line, nearly everyday.

 Bill planted the hostas & the pink bleeding heart, at the side of the house, it sure looks good. XO

 I just love the look of the bleeding hearts & the pink ones are going to add such a soft colour to the garden, here at the cottage.

 The prep work of the cardboard is oh so worth the trouble as there will be now weeds for years & if they do seed, it's only on the top & not deep rooted ones.

            My job was to add shred paper, soaked in water & this step to is oh so worth the time!

                    The black cedar mulch has been added to cover the cardboard & paper mulch.

Lucy, the white goose will adorn the gardens corner.

 Bill worked from sun up to sun down, everyday since Mother's Day & has accomplished so much around here & Hardwicke. One day he'll slow down...this morning he's out put the left & right indicators in his Mach I, how could the Toronto tech forget those!!! He's getting the car ready for an inspected today. Good luck!

                                        I love the smell of the black cedar mulch!

                                             And it shows off the plants beautifully!

 This is a new garden that Bill made, next to the bulb garden. The center spindly branches will be a hydrangea bush, some ivy, & a white hosta  in the far corner.

                                         Four peonies were planted behind the daffodils.

 Once the blooms come out of the peonies, oh what a sweet smell this garden will have!

 The black mulch on the left has faded over the winter months, that is the only downside to it.
Once the new bulbs start looking more than wee whiskers, I'll add more around the greenery & that garden will come to life!

         The odd wrought iron pieces will add some texture & help to define the shape of the gardens.

                                      See how the black mulch now looks like straw?

 The the frog & two toad aboads, are such a delight to look at & the big frog reminds me of my girlfriend Sandy, she loves frogs.

      The two toad aboads by the birdbath will prove shade if a toad happens to visit the garden.

 The blue bistro set adds to the garden & I need to get out there for tea before the mosquitoes & black flies come to life.

This is the view that I see as I exit the side porch. The plastic is being put down to stop those @#^* weeds & black crushed stone will be placed on top. Bill's shop has a very nice garden area now!
The Canada lobster boxes that Armor made for me years back, will be placed at the base of the flag pole as the Canada flag is proudly flying as I type. Next year is Canada's big birthday & Liz & I are making, just for that occasion,  a Canada themed quilt! No Liz, I've not even started yet. lol

Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I hope your garden is delighting you as it comes to life after its winter sleep. I never knew gardening could be so much work or such a satisfying time. Thank you Bill for helping me make it all happen this year. And a thank you for Hank too, for planting the 347 bulbs, last December, that are coming to life this spring. Many hands do make little work. :-)

Did you know that it's a Blue Moon this weekend?!

Though for the week.

"Don't bite off more than you can chew because nobody looks attractive spitting it back out."
                                                                                                        ~~Carrol Bryant