Front Porch Cleaning

I so enjoyed all your comments regarding dust and dusting. Seems we're in agreement, life has so much more to offer than stressing over dust bunnies and the ability to write one's name in elegant calligraphy on the dusty furniture!!

This week, while checking the 'to do' list, instead of Fall cleaning in the house, I decided to clean up outside! Made the most of a beautiful dry sunny spell with lower temperatures and minimal humidity.

Now the front porch is clean and bright, ready for some seasonal Autumn decorating.........soon.
See you at the pumpkin patch......just hope they have white ones!

What do you miss?

When you are away from home, traveling through the distant corners of your country.................or another land................what do you miss most about your home?

I have been traveling often this year with only brief moments to spend doing the things I love around my little cottage.

Most of all I missed our front porch, the welcoming entry to our cozy home, the one place where I truly feel 'at home'.

Paint is peeling.............................

................blooms are fading..................

..........crystal needs washing..........

.......................and someone moved in while we were gone!

This is one of the feral kitties in the neighborhood - his/her(?) mom is a short haired black cat, dad perhaps the big chunky grey guy with folded ears who lurks in the garden. The animal control officer has tried in vain to catch these kitties, they are smart!

We had to chase this one off for several reasons when we returned last week, mainly because a lot of sweet birds visit our porch!

The new Spring titmouse kids have decided they love hanging about here - they seem to find scrumptious mealtime bugs on our hanging ferns, so no kitties allowed.

Back home, happy, daydreaming. Planning things for cooler Autumn days when it's pleasant to be busy about the house and garden............and I can give the porch a much needed makeover.

Puttering on the Porch

Front porch clean up time. Long, far too hot, Summer, with watering restrictions which are still in place, required a lot of blood, sweat and tears to keep the outside areas of the cottage and garden constantly spruced up. With Autumn just around the corner, and being away for the month of October, I had to get out there last week and do some tidying, cleaning and a little something for seasonal decor. What would the neighbors think if I still had bowls of shells and the sailboat flag flying until November!

Too early for pumpkins, with these 90 degree days they'd turn into pie on the hot concrete. Did get last year's great gourds out though - they seem alright in the heat.

Morning glories, hummingbird vines, twisted and twirled into a green lacy curtain at the far end of the porch providing shade from the blazing afternoon sun. The hanging baskets with the huge Boston Ferns are still looking good - they usually survive until after the first frosts hit.

Cut chartreuse colored hydrangeas from the front bushes - love them when they turn this color and then dry out to grey-green and dusky pink shades later.
So this will be the porch decor until I return home from the trip to France - then it will be a mad rush to get Halloween decorations up.