Halloween with Lavinia

Hello my ghoulish friends,

I just wanted to pop on today and show you a Halloween card and some tags I created using Lavinia Stamps.  They are located in Ruthin, which is in North Wales.  Aren't their silhouette stamps just gorgeous?  

Willow the Witch was used for the "spooky" Halloween card and tag.

This tag was created using the crow set and Elm tree.

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Catskills - North Lake Trails

Hey friends,

It was a beautiful day to take a drive to the Catskills.  We had a picnic lunch at North Lake then went hiking.  The trail was a bit more than I expected.  I was a little slow on the way back, but hubby helped me down some steep ledges.  I'm grateful he was patient with me as he does a lot of hiking in the Adirondacks, which I really can't do any longer.    

The views were pretty with the puffy clouds.

We continued onward to a few other trails ...

There were many woodland ferns.

Do you recognize the plant below?  It is Monotropa uniflora, also known as ghost plant or indian pipe.  They are waxy white and unlike most plants do not have chlorophyll and therefore are non-photosynthetic.

A few mushrooms could be found, but not a lot.

My feet were very happy when we arrived back to the registration station!  

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

We plan to have a cookout, rest and I want to do some crafting. 

June Blooms ...

Hi everyone,

I can't believe it is almost the middle of June already!

Today I want to share with you a project we started a few weeks ago. We finally decided to move the arbor from the northwest corner of our property to create a new entrance to our backyard. At the time it sounded like an easy job, but the arbor was set in concrete! Hubby did a fantastic job moving and restoring it. 

I love how he integrated the arbor into our existing garden. 

I planted Peaches & Cream Honeysuckle vines and look forward to seeing the blooms next year!

This week I was able to enjoy the last of my lilacs. Just as I was getting ready to take this photo, a yellow Tiger Swallowtail made it perfect.  

Wisteria 'Blue Moon' has been putting on a show... the pollinators love it!

Peonies are abundant, but with the recent rain the petals have started to fall.

Purple geraniums are happy, creeping and spreading...

Salvia is a staple in my gardens.  It is such a hardy perennial for the northeast.  I've started to mix the pinks & purples together.

Last fall I planted Allium 'Roseum' and wasn't sure if the tiny little bulbs would make it through the winter.  To my surprise I have blush frilly globes appearing.

Honeysuckle 'Mandarin' is bursting with color.  Every year this vine just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Our amphibians and Koi seem to cohabitate very well together in the garden pond.

Wishing you a happy new week!

Don't forget to stop and enjoy the simple things life has to offer.