Crack in my bowl

Wow.

What a difference a week makes here in Michigan.

Autumn has certainly arrived.

We went from two weeks of 80 degrees and perfectly clear blue skies

to 

barely 50 degrees, cloudy, and hurricane force winds!

 

Knowing that I am completely OCD about having any leaf laying in my yard 

or floating in the water garden,

you should have seen me spastically trying to scoop leaves out of the pond as the wind pushed and pulled me every which way.  

 

It was a losing battle, I tell you.

 

Even after staking a net across the path in a feeble attempt to block the leaves 

from flying into the pond...

 

 

 

they found their way in.

 

 

Bubbler started for the winter months to keep the pond from freezing over.

 

I couldn't lay the net across the pond because of the frog residents hadn't taken their leave yet. 

 

 So, little old OCD-me kept scooping as the leaves whirled around me and pulled my hair into something out of a horror flick.

 

*sigh* 

When will I ever learn.....?

 

On a happier note ~

remember this lovely thing I took home with me last month

from the antique market?

Wonderful, vintage chippiness....

 

Well, after some sweet-talkin' the sweet Hubby,

we finally lugged it out of the garage,

on a heavy-duty dollie of course,

and centered it in the backyard

in front of the rose arbor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the spring,

her pedestal will be embraced with a circle of fragrant catmint ~

my good old "lavender-stand-in".

 

As much as I adore lavender,

(and you know I do)

it just doesn't last more than a couple years around here

until it becomes woody and sparse.

So, I substitute my beloved catmint instead.

 

Catmint grows extremely well in our soil.

It blooms from spring through autumn -

big, full, and fluffy -

keeping the bees and butterflies busy,

and it smells so good.

Anyway, this poor girl had a few cracks in her bowl 

 

(something Hubby has informed me that I have... funny man...)

 

because of her age;

but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a little cement putty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I went nuts with the cement putty this year.

There's just something about having that caulking gun in my hand,

spying a crack in the sidewalk or garage floor 

and filling it with that wonderfully pliable gunk

that makes me happy.

I love caulking around windows, too.

 

Hmmmm....

maybe I DO have a crack in my bowl.)

The white butterfly bushes on each side of the arbor outdid themselves this year.

Yup...that's the newly weatherproofed deck...)

It only took two days for the first bather to arrive.

A robin sprucing himself up for his flight south

so that he looks handsome on his trip with his lady friends.

 

 

See ya in the Spring, buddy.

Have a safe flight.

 

 

Well, back to scooping.....

{  Hugs  }

Linking with the wonderful parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Just click on the buttons and meet some new friends!