Spring On The Mountaintop

 It seems that spring has at long last made its way to the mountaintop - happy days indeed! We are not out of the woods yet, but our last snowfall has melted and soon the trees will be leafing out. Is there ever a more beautiful sight than the soft green flush of trees in springtime? 

Where Have I Been?

I seriously can't believe it's been over a month since I managed to get a post written.

Thank you to all of you who reached out to see if I'm ok.....Yes, I'm ok....Summer's just ridiculously busy for me!

Evenings On The Deck

My favorite part of the day is when my long day in the office is over and I can head back home to my sweet country house. 

I often laugh at the expression "The Lazy Days Of Summer" as my summers are quite the opposite. My job is in high gear and the garden and property upkeep demand all my spare time. 

Lazy days? In what lifetime? 

The Things I Don't Show You

I have shared parts of my home, both indoors and out, in various blog posts but usually it's the 'pretty' side of my life. 

Today I'm sharing the utilitarian part of my deck. 

Progress on the Deck

Wow, what a busy weekend! 

I'm sure with this glorious weather many of you were doing much the same as I was all weekend....spring projects and chores....and all of it outdoors!

Necessary Evils

There are things I don't really mind having to spend money on. They either give me great pleasure or they feed my body and/or soul. 

Like cheese. And chocolate. And wine. And gardening. And books. 

All good, nourishing things. Happy things. 

And then there are the necessary evils. 

Creating a Patio Herb Garden

Remember I told you yesterday that I had a very productive and wonderful weekend?  And that I'm very, very sore ever since? Yup. Getting old. How did that happen? Well, part of what made me so happy....and so incredibly sore....was creating my new herb garden up on my deck.  I did think about putting the herb garden down on the stone patio, but I really wanted the herbs right outside the kitchen door. It just makes the most sense - after all, that's where the magic happens, right?  And now I look out my kitchen window and I feel all fancy, like I have a potager in Provence.  Via Ok, it's hardly a true potager, but let me have my dream.... Anyway, here's how it all went down.  On Saturday the weather was just perfect to be working outside. I was puttering around the house and gardens doing this & that...and Sweetie came to my house and spent time on the deck putting together my two new herb boxes.  I was so excited!!  I know, don't judge....I'm pretty lame, no doubt.  To make the boxes more practical, I bought 12 casters so Sweetie could put 6 on each box. This way they can be moved for cleaning, deck painting, etc.  As soon as they were all assembled I used my superhuman strength to carry two huge bags of peat moss up a flight of stairs to dump in as the first level of soil.  Peat moss is great as a bottom layer in a large planter like this. It's lightweight, helps keep the nutrients in the soil, is relatively inexpensive for the amount that you get, and of course it's organic.  To find out more about peat moss's wonderful uses in the garden, check out this article.  The next layer in the planter boxes was the beautiful compost my sweetie brought over in 5 gallon buckets.  Another heavy load to carry up the stairs! For the top layer, I had to run to our local Ace Hardware and pick up some organic potting soil. I bought everything they had left in stock.  I'm pretty sure that all the staff members at Ace are convinced by now that I'm crazy.  It may or may not be true. I'm not saying.  Anyway, once I had all the layers in the boxes I used my Garden Weasel to mix it all up.  I truly love that garden toy. Remember I told you all about it in this post?  When the soil was ready to go, I headed over to the veggie garden to dig up all the perennial herbs and re-plant them in the new boxes. I'm still not sure what's going to come back after those cold nights we had, but I'll find out soon.  I also added some herbs I picked up when I was off the mountain .  Box number one has Lavender, Purple Sage, French Tarragon, Lemon Thyme, and Italian Oregano. And I seeded some Dill in the back.  Box number two has Rosemary, Greek Oregano, Garden Sage, Sweet Marjoram, German Thyme, and Dill seeded in the back.  I still need to add Basil and Parsley after the danger of frost....and who knows what else. Possibly some Savory or Chervil.  The Mojito Mint is in a separate planter so it doesn't take over the world. Same with the Chives - I dug them all out of the veggie garden and potted them up.  The herb garden is right outside the kitchen door, on the other side of my L-shaped deck from the dining and firepit seating areas.  There is some additional seating on this side of the deck, along with the barbecue and the hose.  At the corner of the L, by the tall staircase leading to the stone path and parking area, is my deck swing.  Not to be confused with the swing by the garden cottage, which is new this year. I am so blessed, no doubt.  The deck swing has been in 3 homes with me so far and I love it.  This swing faces the dining table and firepit area, as well as the bird feeders. It's a fantastic place for morning coffee.  Looking back towards the kitchen door, smaller staircase, and garage you can see the herb boxes on the right.  I just love my new herb garden and can't wait until the herbs really start filling in those boxes! I have plans to add a vertical element to the herb garden as well....stay tuned for more on that.  The large red container in the corner will be planted with colorful annuals, with something tall in the center. I have two more large red containers, and all three get planted the same for continuity.  While I was at it, I did another very, very smart thing, that I should have done ages ago - I added wheeled saucers under all the planters on the deck.  It will make things so much easier when trying to clean up the deck because these red planters seriously weigh a ton! But do you want to know what the real star of the show was this weekend? This little guy. Oh my, he saved my back! I sat on this little stool and did all the planting in the herb boxes, scooting from one box to the other like I was in a race car! My sweetie gave me this little stool a few years back as one of my Christmas gifts. I didn't quite know why he would be giving me a mechanic's wheeled stool....until he explained it was for me to use when working on my deck planters.  Did I ever tell you how smart my sweetie is?  Pure genius, I tell you.  But don't tell him I said that. I wouldn't want it to go to his head.  Shhhhhhh...... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sharing at: §  Bernideens Tea Time §  Best of the Weekend §  Foodie Friday and Everything Else §  Inspire Me Tuesday §  Share Your Cup Thursday §  Simple Saturdays §  The Maple Hill Hop §  Thoughts Of Home On Thursday §  Thursday Favorite Things §  Tuesdays at Our Home §  Tweak It Tuesday

Entertaining on the Deck - Finally!

Wasn't it just the most glorious weekend? 

I'm sure you can understand why I wasn't attached to my laptop this weekend. 

As a matter of fact, I spent the entire weekend outside in the fresh mountain air - and nothing could have made me happier!

Some very wonderful things happened in my little world this weekend, in addition to the incredible weather. 

Creating an Outdoor Entertaining Space

Our weather is all over the place these days with sunshine and blue skies one day followed by freezing rain and snow the next. 

Thankfully, we know it won't last forever and I'm really excited to get my deck ready for another great summer season in the mountains.