Tuesday, July 3, 2018

A HAPPY 4TH OF JULY...










I have seen this welcome mat 
in a few catalogs 
and since we finally decorated 
the front porch for the holiday,
 I thought it would be fun
 to re-create it...





...so, 
welcome to the porch,
 the official hostess for 
the Cottage 
on this 
Independence Day.










~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~










We are offering
 baskets of fire works
 in an array
 of colors...





...some resembling 
the intense sun 
that is shining
 down on us
 now.





We took a ride 
in the country to
 Bald Mountain Nursery 
where we picked up our
 pretty baskets of 
fireworks.







The nursery is settled 
in the mountains 
a short way from us.
  It is pretty 
and green 
and cool,
 but...





...the hills 
surrounding it
 are brown
 and dry...






...and we are sure hoping 
that we won't be hearing of 
any wildfires 
popping up.





We see evidence of 
past fires 
as we listen to
 spotter planes flying overhead.

 The conditions are all favorable,
 in a bad way,
 as it is hot 
with strong breezes.





Back in the Cottage garden 
the hydrangeas 
are adding their own
 spots of color...





...as are the mystery flowers,
 only they are not
 as prolific as years passed. 
 They may be on the verge 
of blooming themselves out.






However,
 the Chinese Lanterns, 
that we planted a couple of years ago, 
are making a
 nice little corner for themselves,
 getting ready for fall color, 
and maybe 
planning on taking 
the mystery flowers place 
in the landscape. 
I wouldn't mind it too much
 as they are pretty and green
 for much of the summer 
and I love their
 fall colors.





A few years ago,
 the Captain came home 
with this beauty.

 No, not me, 
the morning glory! 

 It is not like a regular morning glory 
that comes back year after year.
 (That is only me, just to haunt him). 
 It only blooms for one summer
 and then it dies. 
(At least in our climate). 
 We haven't been able to
 find another
 until now.





It only comes up a little way
on the trellis so far 
but, it is a fast grower,
 and will pretty much cover it
 until it dies in the fall
 when the weather turns colder.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I hope everyone has figured out 
how to get the comments back 
into your e-mails now.
  I had so many
 thoughtful (and smart) friends 
(and thank you all so much) 
giving me directions 
on how to do it. 
 It took me awhile 
but I did figure it out 
and in case there is someone
 "slower" like myself, 
I want to pay it forward:


Open Blogger dashboard
On left side will be list of posts published, etc.
Scroll down and click on  "Settings" 
and then click on "e-mail"

Your address will be there 
in the box next to 
"Comment Notification Email"

Delete your address within the box
 and then click 
"Save Settings" in top right side

Go back to "Settings" and "e-mail" 
(I clicked them again 
even though they were already opened
 and
Add your address back into
the same box and then, again, click 
"Save Settings".

You will receive 
an e-mail 
giving you two options to click:

Choose and click on "Subscribe".

That should do it. It is so nice to be up and running again in the usual way.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~






Since we finished the screened porch
 and Romeo and Juliet
 are hatching their babies 
(we are pretty sure 
that has happened 
as they are in and out of the nest a lot 
carrying food back in), 
we have rather neglected
 the front porch,
 so now 
we present her 
in her holiday finery 
and welcome the 
2018 Grand Illumination.





It has been so hot here. 
 We have been watching 
the Hallmark Movie and Mystery channel.

 There is nothing like 
watching a damsel in distress 
during a Christmas snow storm 
to cool a person off in July!


HAPPY 4TH TO ALL...


...Judy...





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15 comments:

  1. Your porch is so welcoming, and your mat is just perfect! Thanks for showing this non computer person how to get my emails back. I will have to do that soon. Happy 4th to you! Janice

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  2. I love your house all decked out for The Fourth, it always looks spectacular. A real treat - thank you so much for sharing. And the photo of you at the gate is adorable.

    The mystery flowers in your garden are a type of garden phylox, I know because I also have them, I brought home cuttings from a southern garden years ago, they are very tenacious! If you want more they are very easy to propagate.

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  3. Your porch is beautiful in all it's finery! I love Morning Glories but they grow out of control in our neck of the woods so I only plant them in containers. Congratulations to Romeo and Juliet!

    Grace & Peace,
    Pam

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  4. Judy, I would enjoy spending some time on this porch. The rockers look most inviting, and all your Americana details are perfect for the 4th. Happy Independence Day!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Sarah. This is a good holiday for porch sitting. I hope you have a wonderful 4th..Judy

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  5. All the flowers look great. The porch is so peaceful and relaxing so I hope you enjoy it whenever you sit out there. Very nice.

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  6. Happy 4th Judy. Enjoy the day tomorrow. Your decor is so festive and beautiful. I could sit in those rockers and just watch the day go by. I hope you get the needed rain soon. Have a great holiday.
    xoxo
    Kris

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  7. Judy, I love your porch. Your whole house is beautiful. I think you are the captain's best beauty. LOL. He better agree. :):) Your porch all lit up is so welcoming. Happy 4th you and yours. xoxo, Susie

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  8. Yay -- glad you have notifications again!

    It looks wonderful and festive. And I will think good thoughts for no firework incidents over the holiday. Have a happy one.

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  9. I love your porch all lit up at night! Every time I see your posts, it inspires me to "get with it" and do something more to decorate my house. I've kind of been in a slump lately as far as decor goes. My front walkway is drab now.. as we took out the raised flower bed, in the hopes of having a new deck or porch put in, but so far, that hasn't happened! It's just dirt now and I have no desire to do much with it. Anyway... looking at your porch does inspire me! Sorry it is so dry there, it's that way here too and we've already had several wildfires not far from our town. It's so scary to have them starting up so early. And by the way, LOVE the photo of you by the gate! So nice to see you! Everything is gorgeous at your cottage..... have a wonderful 4th porch sitting. Oh.. and thank you so much on the info about the comments.. I'm going right now and see if I can fix mine! Hugs... Marilyn

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  10. I love that draping around your door. What a pretty front porch with the lanterns and lighting. I do like that.
    I have never seen a morning glory look like the the ones you have at your fence. They almost look like a moon flower. I would love a morning glory like that one. I think it's a grand picture of you at the gate with the flowers and a nice smile you have.
    My morning glories die and then they come back every year where they dropped seeds. I have to keep pulling them to thin. I think they are just so beautiful. I have always wanted to plant chinese lanterns for their fall color and forget to every year. Everything looks so good at your house.
    I am surely praying that there are no wild fires. I see how dry the grasses are.
    Betsy

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  11. Judy,
    What a lovely post , filled with so many lovely photos!! Your looks so festive for the 4th and I LOVE that photo of you!!Thanks so much for sharing!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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  12. So beautiful, Judy!! I always love touring your home....but I really love seeing photos of you. You look fabulous!! I hope that you had a wonderful 4th and you have a wonderful weekend, as well. xoxo

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  13. Your porch is a darling. I love it. I did find a post about how to fix blog comments. Yahoo. I knew some of the smarties out there would figure it out. Thanks for sharing the fix. Thanks for linking to Keep In Touch.

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  14. This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information. Keep it up. Keep blogging. Looking to reading your next post.4thofjulysale.net

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Your comments are so special to me...Judy