The Great Outdoors

My outside sanctuary -aka - the deck.  We put the deck on the house a year after we built, it's a great entertainment space and has hosted many parties.  All our cooking is done outside (weather permitting) all summer.  I try not to use the cooktop or the oven so the house does not heat up. The furniture and cushions are weather resistant. The throw pillows I replace every 2-3 years.  I just bought these at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $9.99 each and I had a coupon for every one of them for 20% off.

Solar Bird Bath/ Water Fountain - QVC

This water element is so relaxing when listening to the birds chirping.

The Grass is Greener

We live on 2 1/2 acres of property, so grass cutting takes about 3 hours to do even though we have a 42 inch base Cub Cadet riding mower. It's alot of work but after trimming around all the trees and cleaning up it always looks great!

I bought 2 banana plants at an Amish nursery and they were only about 3 inches high.  A month after planting them they are now about 2 feet high. The fan like leaves are huge and the coloring on them is green and burgundy - so pretty.

We decided to build ourselves a fire pit in the backyard, so we went to Home Depot and found these landscaping bricks.  All you have to do is dig out a base and pour sand in the bottom of the base and level it.  Next, stack the bricks in a circle.   It was really easy and only took about 1 1/2 hours to construct. So, 2-3 bags of  paver sand and 48 bricks and you have your own little piece of heaven on a cool night to make s'mores!  Total cost of the project - $80.00

This little clay birdhouse has been in my front garden since we built our home 7 years ago.  It's tucked among bushy lilacs and rhododendrons.  Every year a titmouse (bird) builds a nest, lays eggs and tends to her babies.  My cats love to watch all the activity from the front window.