life as it comes – Page 3 – robin maderich – write-brained scribbler and crafter-on-the-loose

Again, with the peonies?

Of course. I love my peonies. I’m probably boring everyone with photos of peonies, but every year they fill the air with the most wondrous fragrance and the blooms grow more abundantly each season. I love the ethereal look of them, the way the ants industriously get them to bloom, the delicate, soft feel, the way they sit in a container so prettily… Okay, enough already, right?

I can’t help it. I love my peonies. And I guess they’re not really mine. They’re nature’s peonies, but they happen to reside in my garden.

Rainy Days and Fridays

I know the song is Rainy Days and Mondays, but it happened to be a rainy Friday when these pictures were taken. I walked around in a rain that had turned to mist, noting how green the plants have all become, how lush the ferns, how the droplets clung to the surfaces, especially the hosta’s broad leaves. The shade garden looks a bit like a secret world calling to me.

hostas have a way of thriving, even these that get more sunshine than they used to since the tree once shading them is no longer standing

the ferns weren’t this lush last year – I could hide in them now

Procrastination? Maybe later.

There was a time in my life when I never put off until tomorrow what I could do today. In fact, it drove me a bit nuts to put off until tomorrow. Perhaps that is why I found myself so productive, completing projects, working full-time at my day job, writing at night, crafting and keeping up with the house and garden. Whew. Makes me tired just reading that sentence.

Country Road

I live on a country road. I once prepared a photo essay about this road for submission to a magazine because, to me, it represents a great deal of the beauty to be found in Lehigh County, all on one and a half miles of narrow, curving asphalt. One can find woods and farm land and history, the latter embodied in a one-room schoolhouse, a more than two-hundred year old mill, a structure from the eighteen hundreds that housed a little general store for many years, several more homes that date back to this country’s beginnings, as well as some truly magnificent trees that have been here through it all.

Sharing Something Special

John Williams is my favorite modern composer. I just had to share this wonderful interview from CBS Sunday Morning (YouTube). Sit back, listen, and remember where his music has brought you over the years : )

Longing for a Look, Any Look

Despite best-laid plans, my garden has now suffered from a couple years’ neglect. All of the gardens have. I read the below article this morning and yes, found myself longing for a certain garden “look” the way it used to be, or better. Although the article referred to freshening up one’s garden as the seasons change, it did give me some inspiration for quick fixes to my own. Unfortunately, when as overgrown as my gardens have become, quick fixes won’t work, but once I have them back in shape, I will certainly consider these seasonal changes of color to keep them fresh Spring through Fall.

How to Transition Your Spring Garden Borders Into Summer

These Foggy November Mornings

I don’t particularly care for warm November days. I like my Novembers a bit on the chilly side, a precursor to winter. However, these past few days have been extremely warm and, due to the humidity and the temperature forming a perfect balance (according to the weatherman) the mornings have been foggy. What I do like about the autumn fog is how the colorful leaves manage to peek out through the saturated air in a soft and lovely manner–just that hint of color in a gray, gauzy world. And there’s something special about that.

Happy Halloween!

I’ve only had two trick-or-treaters in the twenty years I’ve lived in my present home. I stopped decorating for Halloween these days, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the innovative, downright fun displays in this blog reposted from Houzz. I especially like the first one. How spooky that would be on a dark night!

Houzz Users Share Their Outdoor Halloween Decorations

Coffee, Anyone?

Yes, I know, that’s not a coffee pot above. But, as you’ll soon find out, I’m not what you’d call a coffee drinker. I can honestly say I have about three or four cups of coffee a year and usually don’t finish the cup. And still, I occasionally crave it. Not sure why, exactly. I’ve even gone so far as to buy a cup of Dunkin’s and about a quarter through it, I stop. It’s delicious, but, as I’ve said, I’m not what you’d call a coffee drinker. But as I also said, I occasionally have a craving for a cup.

Facebook Failure

What’s a Facebook failure you might ask? If there were a picture of me somewhere on this website, you’d be looking at it. I started with Facebook some years back at the behest of my publisher. You know, need to make those social media contacts, after all, and toot your own horn about your “accomplishments”. Only I wasn’t really sure how to make those contacts or what to do once I had. Somehow, though, it happened (thanks to my daughter-in-law) and Facebook friends started to “appear”, as well as the friends I had from my real life, and family members, and oh, jeez, a whole world!