photography

Peonies in Bloom

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large pink peony blooms fading in colour around the edges

This is slowly and unintentionally turning into a flower blog…. there are just so many beautiful flowers in my mom’s garden all bursting into glorious colour, though, and I can’t resist indulging myself in taking tons of photos of them! And then, of course, cutting some of the blooms and bringing them indoors to enjoy. Peonies are probably my favourite flowers (if I had to choose just one), but the bad part about them is the bugs also love them. So, you always have to shake all of them off otherwise you inadvertently bring a million tiny beetles into the house. But that extra work is worth it, because they smell heavenly!

pink peony blooms, one cut and placed on a windowsill in a tiny vase

I love these dark pink ones, since they fade to light pink as they open. They are almost all gone now: short lived, but so enjoyable.

pink peony bloom from the side, dark pink fading to light pink at the tips

White peonies aren’t my favourite variety, but this variety with the dark magenta centre is so vibrant that I do enjoy them. They are difficult to take pictures of, though.

single white peony bloom opening with a dark magenta pink splash in the centre

a white pink peony bloom with a dark pink centre

We have several more peony blooms that haven’t opened yet- one new variety called “Raspberry Sundae” that I’m so excited to see. I’ll try to get some photos to post here…and then photos of all of the other flowers that are blooming right now too.

What flowers are blooming where you live? What is your favourite flower?

small pink peony bloom in various shades of pink

masses of pink peony blooms

a single peony bloom in a vase on a windowsill with a lace curtain

A One Day Bouquet

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lilac bouquet in a tiny bottle sitting on a windowsill with a lace curtain

Lilacs are one of those flowers that are best enjoyed outside on the hedge…but I just can’t resist cutting a bouquet to bring inside! Their large, bouncy blooms are perfect for creating wild, abundant bouquets.

light purple lilac blooms covering a hedge

If you cut lilacs and either smash the stems or cut them vertically, they are supposed to last longer, but I didn’t have much luck getting these to last more than a day. But, even if the blooms only last a day or two, it’s still worth it to enjoy their beautiful scent wafting through the house.

dark purple lilac blooms covering a hedge

And apparently the conditions were perfect this year for lilacs, because we got two full weeks of lovely, scented blooms to enjoy. And when the first bouquet wilted, I just went and cut another!

light purple lilac blooms framing an vine covered roof in the background

hedge row covered in light and dark purple lilac blooms

close up of a dark purple lilac bloom

Do you have lilac bushes, or access to some? Have you had any luck getting lilac bouquets to last longer?

lilac bouquet sitting on top of a bookshelf with a vintage mirror behind reflecting the blooms

bouquet of lilacs sitting on a bookshelf in front of a wall covered in vintage pictures

bouquet of lilacs sitting on top of an antique dresser with a mirror

lilac bouquet sitting on top of a dresser with beadboard in the background

lilac bouquet sitting on a dresser with a vintage hand mirror reflecting the blooms

White And Purple Tulips

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a bouquet of 5 white and 5 purple tulips in a milk glass hobnail vase

More tulips! ‘Tis the season for them, after all. They had them at the grocery store and we just couldn’t go home without a bunch. My mom and sister picked out these white and purple tulips because they were just barely starting to open..and they turned out to be perfect.

purple and white tulips on the first day just opening

tulip bouquet in front of a window with light shining through

These photos above were from the second day, when they were just starting to open.

tulip bouquet of white and purple flowers

They opened fully without shrivelling and they’ve lasted over a week now. I put a penny in the vase to see if it would encourage them to stand upright (considering what happened with my last bunch…) and it worked. The purple ones, in particular, are incredibly pretty; as they’ve aged the tips have turned blue.

purple tulip with blue tips on the edge

Tulips always put me in the mood for spring. It will be a while before any of our spring flowers start to bloom in our garden, but in the meantime we have these cut blooms to enjoy.

What is your favourite cut flower? Are you always tempted to bring home a bouquet when you see them at the grocery store?

purple and white tulip bouquet in a milk glass vase

white tulip fully open

Social Saturday | March 5 (Winter Again!)

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galvanized metal quanset surrounded by trees covered in white frost

And here I am again with more winter photos even though I just posted some on Tuesday…however I woke up this morning and was greeting with this beautiful sight, so of course I had to take my camera out to capture it! I never tire of seeing a beautiful frost. Do you get frost where you live?

a line of spruce trees covered in frost

I haven’t done a “lately” post for a while, so here are some things I’ve been up to.

What I’ve been reading– The “Daughters of Fortune” series by Judith Pella. I received this set for Christmas, though it took forever to arrive (bought from Thrift Books) so I just started reading it now. It’s one of my favourite book series, set in WWII.

branches covered in large white snowflakes and frost silhouetted against a blue sky

What I’ve been watching– I just found out about this movie “Sabina, Tortured For Christ: The Nazi Years”. I wasn’t familiar with Sabina Wurmbrand at all, so it was really fascinating to watch this part of her life. It is available to watch for free this weekend (March 4-6) here. All you have to do is register.

row of graineries in different colours of grey, blue and red covered in snow

What I’m thankful for– The fact that I am feeling much better after being sick for several weeks. It’s so nice to get back into the swing of things- work, sewing and other projects. Even just giving your bedroom a good sweep and dusting feels good when you haven’t been able to do it for a while. It’s crazy how much things pile up when you’re stuck in bed!

seed cone and a pine tree covered in snow and silhouetted against the blue sky

What I’ve been making– My mom and I started painting a storage cabinet in January, but then put it on hold once I got sick. It is our first time using milk paint, and I’ve been quite enjoying it. Now we just have to oil it and then we’re done. I am hoping to finally finish it today! Have you ever tried milk paint?

snow covered road lined with frosty trees

What I’ve been eating– This recipe went viral last year, so probably everyone has tried the Tomato Feta Pasta, but if you haven’t yet, you really should. I used this recipe from The Daily Connoisseur”. Since we didn’t have enough fresh tomatoes, I used some diced canned tomatoes, and it turned out just as good!

branches covered in sparkling white frost against a blue sky

What I’ve been working on: Adding a bunch of my artwork to my shops! I have started re-listing pieces on my Poshmark Shop, and some will make their way to my Art Shop too. I decided not to renew my contract with the art gallery in town, so all of the pieces that I was showing there will be making their way to the shops in the coming weeks.

Well, that’s what I have going on right now. What plans do you have for this weekend? Whatever you do, I hope it is a good one!

a view of a valley with trees and an old gas tank in the foreground covered with snow

At The End of Summer

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A little shed overgrown with a virginnia creeper vine turning bright red

We are well past Summer now and into the late days of Fall, but I still wanted to share these photos from last month, chronicling the changing of seasons.

Oak leaves changing yellow and seeds from a hollyhock

Oak leaves have such an interesting shape. On the right, hollyhock seeds plant themselves for next year.

sunflowers

The cheeriest of garden flowers! We let the large seed heads dry out, so the birds can enjoy them.

brussel sprout leaves

We tried growing brussel’s sprouts this year for the first time. They didn’t taste very good, but at least the plants looked marvellous.

yellow zucchini and orange tomatoes

We had much better luck with these delicious yellow zucchinis and tomatoes!

pink hydrangea

Our hydrangeas don’t get very big, but they are still quite pretty.

cosmos blooms and yarrow

cosmos bloom with a bee sitting on top

So are these cosmos and yarrow blooms, and this one friendly little bee.

the last rose of summer

The last rose of summer, that lasted very well even past the first couple of frosts.

sunset

Sunset through the golden leaves.

wood stack ready for winter

The wood is all stacked and ready for winter nights. I’m thinking it’s about time we started making fires in our fireplace again…it’s starting to feel like the changing of the seasons again.

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