For Katie B...

Katie,
 here are some posts from last fall pics that I took while hiking/Sunday driving  in PC over to Midway...stunning!
hope it doesn't make you too homesick!

K

maybe I could be a Wicca...if it weren't for that devil thing..

It is back to school time, and i find myself feeling guilty that i have my own share of 'dead heads' on my petunias and flower pots.  *another lesson- not everyone has as much free time as I do during the growing season....i am now an '8-5'er" and short on Landscaping Time...sure makes Retirement look good-)
to help with withdrawls from daily yardwork, Jess and I hit the nursery sales and returned with Treasures....
a lovely purple, potato bush/tree ( gotta Google it..too hard to describe- delicate with long thin branches and tiny purple flowers),  left.out.to.die. ground cover, fall pansies to replace my scraggly ones from May, and a NEW, WATER FEATURE!  not too big, 3 wine urns that trickle down from one to the other...the last one...(on sale)..Pip thinks it is his own personal, drinking fountain!
Oh, and a deep, pink large mum, for a now.green. only.flower.bed..-)

I told K2 that i was done blogging, now that school was back in session. She reminded me, "OH no!" you have much to do! Mom, your favorite season is coming up- Halloween ( it is a season in Utah) and you always have your opinions how it should be celebrated".  Soo, I should tell you why i love Halloween Season.

As August SLAMS into September with lightening, thunder, wind and hail, the leaves turn instantly. There is a strange feeling that slinks across the meadows and mountains with long, sun rays, and very quiet afternoons. It is actually cold at night...and DARK at dinner time and when you go to work!!! I get to pull out cute socks ( what not to wear) for school, and flannel pj's that don't have matching bottoms and tops.  My heart skips a beat when i stroll through Michael;s craft shop and it is loaded with orange, red, and black!!  the cuuuutest ghosts and witches, scarecrows and ghouls.  I had to walk with my hands in my pockets- a sure sign that i.am.not.buying.  I feel a connection with Autumn. I like the word "Atumnal Equinox' thinking everything is in balance.  I am a Fall Color person..(think dirt)I think I would like to be a Wiccan... I don't worship Mother Nature, but i sure feel drawn and want to to celebrate her. I am not into the ritual stuff; little dances in the full of the moon, nor meetings. I think it would be cool to have magic potions though..I have a list of things i would do with little viles of spells.  I just like the working with Mother Nature part.. this is a time i look for nymphs, find myself talking to plaster angels and fairies and worrying about bird feeders running empty. I always seem to remember to put my bulbs in on the coldest afternoon before an early fall snow storm!.... I am going to mark where i need some spring color now, so i don't forget when i am shopping..tall purple ones, like Karen's would be cool with the peach ones-)

THEN< I look around, and what do i see? not popcorn popping on the apricot trees,,,not colors, but PLASTIC! INFLATABLE YARD ORNAMENTS,  paper spiders, aaaaannnnddd...Christmas Lights!! Now i know it is a bit different in 'cold country'-Grandma calls it....we do have to get our lights up, as it is too cold, too soon and there is frost on the roof(unsafe) and sudden blizzards at any time...but please do not turn them on for 6 weeks.  If anyone wants cool ideas for Halloween, just shop around Northern Utah- These people know how to decorate for autumn...beautiful orange ceramics, black candle sticks, twinkling lights, and the food....heavy stews and .....too soon! sorry,

There is enough to do, to actually to slow down Halloween Season- The Sheepdog championships in town,  makes you want to shop for sweaters and Uggs, Swiss Days for crafts and presents and then, of course, FOOTBALL!  We have slowed down so much by not traveling the great state of Utah for high school ball games now that Jess has retired from coaching...but still go to the Ute games, 30 years!, and are anxious to see how they do before the big Pac 12 move!! Go Utes!!

Oh, and i probably should not forget to mention School! There is that you know...24-7..kids, schedules, parents, kids, meetings and kids...-)
I will leave this blog with a favorite poem;
September, October, November,
the wonderful months of Fall-
the days are short,
the nights are cool,
and all the kids go back to school-
September, October, November..
(sigh)

updates...and new ideas!

      So things are truely catching on.... my neighbors are weed whacking today and picked up their bag of weeds we have been waiting for them to load for days. My husband reassured me that we need to praise and not complain..."that progress is progress".. it works!
    Then he came up with a new idea....Mini Yard Crashes...so we identified a couple of houses that are near our rental home. There were plenty of weeds, but more clutter and litter laying around:.with many renters in and out...there just seems to be a collection of C-RAP that they leave behind...
    You have to understand, that most of these folks are ranked in the top 20 Skiers in the Rocky's...just ask them, they will tell you~!  So, they find a need to move around, as the snow demands, and their bar stories get stale.. THEN ; they leave all their groovy furniture, tye died rugs, yellow, plastic single -buckle boots, and old, single gloves, you name it..ALL over the side of the yard, in the shrubs, and walkways. With the tons of rain this month, the wild growth on the mountain side is, well, wild, and hides a multitude of sins, and C-RAP!
      So, we only worked for as long as it took to load the junk in the truck ( full to the brim),  and drove away... I pulled enough weeds to fill 3 barrels, Jess swept up...and there we were..ta da!.a Mini Crash-)


I need to go back to work, so i can rest!
PS:  don't hold me to that statement-)

The end in sight...summer is fading..

Hi folks,
I want to thank everyone for making such nice comments about the Blog...i am surprised how nice it feels to be connected with thoughts you write down, to friends and fam, and even folks i don't know...the whole idea is very curious to me...
but as summer rolls down, I have to say, that my weed issues feel like they are diminishing...so thanks to all those who let me pull their weeds, observe and trespass, without having me arrested...
As usual, patience wins out...i am soo surprised, that folks who i thought would never lift a finger in their yard, are now putting out some effort to show the best side of their property.. if you can't have pride in your yard, then there probably is not much use for opposable thumbs..
anyway, i digress,,,,
 i see them with clippers, loppers, diggers, and scoops....
lawn bags, shovels, and babes on the stoops,
trips to Home Depot, Round Up and beer
Weed wackers, lawn mowers, hurray and 3 cheers!!
(to the rhythm of The Grinch...verses)
But truely, if folks are happy with their own yards, feel like they are being responsible, proud, and friendly!...then everyone profits and the whole project was much more rewarding than i could have imagined...
chao!
Kristen

Choose Your Style!

Now it is August, and I have moved plants from front to back, yard ornaments from one end of the lawn to the other, changed holiday/month decorations and i spend this time reflecting on things i like, and what i have seen in the neighborhood.

i am actually still sore from the BIG CRASH on the weekend. ...today we worked on our own yard, and it seemed much easier somehow after the other BIG JOB!


But, when planning your yard or crashing someone elses, even with many tweaks and changes, it is important to know your style. ...find the best part of the home and yard that matches and elaborate! some homes demand particular accents and plantings to best highlight their BEST BONES-)

Utah is pretty cool, in that there are very distinct stylized neighborhoods, featured by the years they were settled
..downtown SLC with the large, expansive porches and ornate columns,
Sugarhouse...an early suburb of SLC with miniature homes designed after the counterparts of the city
Park City..a mining town to a rustic ski village
Heber...a farming and ranching town with an old town of early settler merchants
Midway...a Swiss Immigrant neighborhood from the pioneer days..

Here are examples of 2 Victorians...touches of ornate accents, a sitting porch, manicured lawn, steep pitched rooflines...one in SLC, one in Heber..

These are 3 cottages that represent different styles, all done sooooo lovely...one is a tiny merchants home, the other a large family home, and the third from Midway is a fishing cottage near the creek.. They all have ornaments that enhance the styles..clean and tidy, upstairs rooms, an old vintage bike in the yard, metal fishing arbor at entry, with a porch for his boats and canoes...

Here is a cottage that is just too much.....too much color, ( it is purple, rasberry and minty green) too many ornaments, too much stuff, too much cottage...
Sooooo, examples of  must haves;...pergola, Japanese Maple, roses, wicker=victorian and bungalow
                           pots, petunias, nasturtiums, porch bench, willows=cottage
                           aspens, spruce, huge decks, railings, ceramic pots=rustic
                        
If you feel brave, go ahead and mix them up, but it is very hard to do and give the curb appeal you are hoping for...

Some folks are brave and attempt to redo a stylized historical home...here is one of my friends, who was tearing down old siding and found this 100 year old log home in perfect condition...

Here is one that isn't historical enough to attempt a redo!  Maybe there is something hidden here too!

We haven't decided what style home have...i asked K2 and she felt it was a 'contemporary country home'...the add on our selling flyer said, Contemporary Arts and Crafts...it may be a combination of elements taken from both...arches, window panes, hardwoods, winding entrance, large wooden door...but we love it.
My husband, Jess loves it because it is 'maintenence free'..has nice finish work, hardwoods, and energy effcient everything..
I love it because if has a huge yard, lots of trees, cool colors in the rocks, and maintenence free because, even though my husband is a painting contractor, my house may have to wait its turn!

We both love the killer views of Ridgelines and Timp!















August is also a time to slink slowly into a new theme in our family...
Back to School!

Check out K2's (Krissy's blog) for our Best Day Traditions.....
I always have a tough time choosing my Summer Best Day...but i still have 3 weeks to think about it...in the meantime, all the weeding, planting, and rearranging is DONE! I am hanging out until pruning time...and keeping a close eye on the properties i sneaked around and played in all summer!!