She Is A Creature Of Composition

My beautiful dog is getting older. He finds the most padded place to lie down and leans his back into the front door. He's getting so old that we don't even make him move out of the way, we use another door! 

What a nice and tidy job the wood fairy did. We will be warm and cozy, a little sooty, but oh well.  

When we did the last logging, here in the Holler, a row of Maple trees popped out of the forest, you know the saying, "can't see the forest for the trees". Standing on the deck looking through the window of greens.

The shed is not finished! Let's move on from this photo. 

Mophead Hydrangeas balancing large, fluffy white balls of tiny individual flowers on long skinny stems. No wonder they flop over in the rain. 

The Hostas have purple flowers as their featured bloom. The Hummingbirds are all over these stalks.  

I love my whirligigs from Alabama.
they make me chuckle when I walk past. 

This is a man's wheel barrow, must weigh seventy pounds empty.
Walking around the yard taking photos and these are the thoughts that start my day. 

Thinking of my wish list. The stove blew up this week as Steve was just about to bake a Blueberry pie that he made himself. So now the pie is in the freezer waiting for a thirty inch, freestanding gas range in stainless with an electric oven. A Wolf will do nicely. 

Really Mother Nature, such a riot! 

The Cub Cadet was a good wish come true! Look at our lawn that he carved out of the woods! Nice job!

I also have a new camera lens on my wish list. Zeiss 35mm will do nicely. A new zoom and macro too. 

How bout a bathing suit. I need a back up and may be able to get a deal because it is the end of the season for suits! (Megan Markle play on words!)

Surprise!! We have tomatoes in our garden. 

Cone flowers, Daisies and Black Eyed Susans all over the place. 

My Queen Elizabeth roses, they smell so sweet.

She is an old girl, my Peace Rose, she never lets me down, every summer she shows me her blossoms and lets me inhale her sweet scent. She is a winner and a keeper. 

This little lady is resting for a moment. 

She knows I am taking her picture!

Summer is winding down. 

Benny says, "there is nothing like summer in the Holler."

Every picture shows the many layers of thought. To tell you what I am thinking, using photos of what is in my vision, while my mind is composing my wish lists. 

Summer Time Blues

Sorting through the swatches today. These pale linen puffs, from Pine Cone Hill, are soft and light weight.

The Annie Selke, Montebello Asiatic Blue, quilt is to die for! Will the sheets, quilt and duvet cover go with the curtains that are over my bed?  I am thinking they will!!

Then I opened the John Robshaw box of swatches and immediately thought of Lake Michigan blues!! Oh, to have a crisp blue and white bedroom with white voile curtains fluttering in the breeze.  

These chair pads came in, for a customer, and they look great with the large buffalo checked chair cushions. Very nautical in front of a stone fireplace at the cottage.  

Dash and Albert rug samples in pale blues. 

Mad Cap Cottage fabrics. Manor Born in Island Blue is darling with Wenona, the hand knotted wool rug shown below. 

Framework Sky sisal or the Beatrice Blue cotton rug for next to the new bedding has possibilities!

This blue and white bedding is knocking my socks off!

For special orders contact me at shop@anchorcottage.net.

Monday sure started off with a wish list!!

 

On Our Way To The Beach

Pulled over to buy Steve some Sweet Cherries at this darling farm stand out in the countryside. 

This little farmer left corporate to live the life she has imagined. 

She not only bakes the sweets but she is as sweet as the cinnamon rolls she bakes!!

She, also, was sweet enough to bring me a going away present when I was having my good bye sale at the shop. Thank you Andria. 

www.redgatefarmllc.com

Of course we had to stop at Inspiration Point! Overlooking Big Glen and Little Glen lakes.

From this vista you can also see Lake Michigan and South Manitou Island. We were on our way to the Empire Bluffs to catch the views over the Sleeping Bear Dunes, but, it was single file to the top of Mount Empire!! (Mount Everest) How did everyone find out about the easy hike and the fabulous views?

So we drove a little further down the road and turned around at a small park on Little Glen Lake. 

Back in the sixty's my second cousin, Harold, owned a motel on the lake directly across from the sand dunes. He had a bunch of children and we had a blast riding the paddle boats, around the lake and sitting on a water ski, going through the grass down the slope of the dunes with our cousins. 

Sadly, the government came and took the property away to make the land part of the Sleeping Bear National Park. 

See the land masses that surround this jewel of a lake? 

I may come back for a picnic in the fall, the space was so tranquil. 

Steve knows that there is nothing I love better than a road trip! Even if it is just driving around the county seeing the sights. 

We finally made it to the beach. Of course we take the scenic hike, over the dune, down to the waters edge. 

Along the way are yellow beach flowers that light the path. 

Up, over the dune we march until we see the water. Pyramid Point pops up to the south.  

Whaleback and the Clay Cliffs to the north. 

Looks like he found us a sandy spot to put our chairs up and lay our towels out. 

Never know what you may find caught up in the driftwood and grass. Usually a fishing lure or sometimes a pop can. 

Amazing how blue the sky is over the big lake. 

Mesmerizing, like watching the flames in a fire pit. 

Slightly gravely at the shore so I wear my shoes in the water when I am swimming. 

Stopped for a gallon of milk on the way home. 

So we drove the long way to the beach, all the better to see the sights and enjoy the views of our beautiful peninsula.  

A Beautiful Saturday Afternoon

Here we are, mid July already. Had a slow start to the season. Strawberries just came in and Cherries are about a month out! So much for Cherry Festival last week!

Husband takes the weekends off, these days, he use to work on Saturdays but now he putts around the Holler catching up on chores that use to get away from him during painting season. 

As I tool around the compound I am delighted by all the nooks and crannies that can be carved out of the landscape with the chain saw. There went half of the Forsythia! 

The silhouette of the Heron standing with the Cattail is eye catching, looking out of the kitchen window. 

As always Mother Nature lends a hand in the garden, planting Black Eyed Susan and Foxgloves. 

I planted the Queen Elizabeth Roses and Delphiniums in the garden, along with tomatoes and Basil. 

Our garden has three tiers, trailing down the slope, framed by rocks.  There really is no flat land in between the moraines that run east and west in our holler. 

It is a silent meditation, one experiences, as you walk around the yard. Listening to the birdsong and watching the birds wet their feathers in the birdbaths.  

Summer is coming along slow. Had one beach day, so far, black flies kept us from staying and swimming. Compared to other states I will take this cool summer time weather and chill!!!

Knocking Out The Projects

Making the guest room ready for company.

Dropped the Murphy bed and put the sheets on, added a rug and a lamp to make it comfy and cozy for my fellers. 

If you wonder where I put everything that was in the guest room, careful opening up the back of the big, white truck!!

The new roof project was finished in four days. 

"Now what?", you ask. I spy a tailgate from a 1984 GMC! What is she going to do with that? 

The floor is ready for walls.

Building a shed for our "fuel tools". Call the "tool man", he needs one of these on his show. 

The landscape project is coming along, watering everyday. 

And that's a wrap!