A Place of Her Own

I went into the back garden this morning. This is behind the house near our bedroom. There use to be lawn here.. and then a small plastic pool... and then a pool made of plastic that had a filter. Now the lawn is gone and so are the pools, that were always nice on hot summer afternoons, but were forever clogged with debris and dirt... not to mention being a Bed & Breakfast for Mosquito's.
So the area has become a place for pots: Pots of blueberries,  containers of succulents, tomatoes... and my wonderful. sweet  Basilicum.. growing bigger each day in the early summer sunshine. Waiting for its transformation into Pesto. Can you smell it?

The tomatoes are somewhat behind this year.

This tomato will grow to the top of this wired cage and flow over in a month or so, but its been shivering in the cold and we even had to pinch some frostbitten, curled black leaves a few weeks back.
All of these pots will have to be moved around in the yard, soon, because this lovely, FLAT area is getting a makeover. It's going to share space with the little building of my dreams... A POTTING SHED.


I'm collecting ideas...

and reading serious books on the subject...

I would like this to be my own little place to pot plants and start seeds... but even more... this will be a place of solitude and reflection.
I want a table to write on and a comfortable chair to sit in.

and a wall for tools, baskets for gloves and shelves for pots. It will also have windows to see the view from and, maybe, even a pretty, old rug on the floor.
SO MANY IDEAS!
SO MANY PLANS!
This is something I have wanted for years. The Prospector is going to build it for me, bless his gold seeking heart. I will help.  It will be a simple structure and small. I will add the "Farmlady" stuff  later.
There will be flowers, garden art, and COLOR.

There may even be an outdoor table for really messy jobs.... like felting? Well, maybe but...
I should probably stick to garden projects.

And I want a bike like this...

A used up and retired bike, like this one, above, that is painted purple to match my French lavender and the joyful songs of the birds. Isn't birdsong purple?  Well...whatever it is... to me, it feels like PURPLE.

And why not a miniature faerie garden on a rusty iron chair. Who knows what little creatures might come to live here.

My wonderful little potting shed will settle in here somewhere between the Chitalpa tree and the Chinese Tallow. These trees will shade the little house in the dog days of summer and this is where we can tap into water and electricity at the corner of the house. Yes, I will have electricity... and maybe even a chandelier.
It will be a dream that is practical and yet where I can let go of life's irritations, plunge my hands into  good dirt or sit quietly doing nothing if I so choose. It will be a place of my own, my "man cave" of the gardening world.... my garden getaway.
A blogging friend that shares the love of gardens and nature says...
"I believe you have to look for the joy factor wherever you are and whatever you do." *
She says that having a sense of wonder isn't age-specific.
I love this statement.
Doing something that you truly love is so important.
This garden shed will be part of the "joy factor" in my life.

Quote is from an article in Country Gardens Early Spring 2011
Garden of Earthly Delights- author Sharon Lovejoy written by Debra Prinzing

Cookies for a Good Reason?

I bake cookies for a lot of reasons. Sometimes for no reason at all. Yesterday I baked cookies out of guilt..., for the Prospector.

"Guilt? Why is that Farmlady?" Well, I'm leaving for a whole week, again, and I just thought that I should do something nice for the man who will take care of everything here and hold down the "fort" while I'm gone. This is not to say that I only make cookies when I'm leaving town. I don't need a reason to bake. I bake "Just because" most of the time.
But this time I'm going away for fun and frolic. My sister and I are going to the Art & Soul Retreat in Asilomar, Ca. near Monterey and Carmel. This is a workshop/festival on the grounds of the Asilomar Conference Center right on the Pacific Ocean. It's so amazingly beautiful. I stayed there years ago for a choir festival and have wanted to go back again ever since.

So the cookies are a part of my guilt for leaving; a bit of nervousness about what to expect when we get there; and just plain excitment.

We will be taking a 3 day class from Nina Bagley. It's called Mystorian Necklace & Book Workshop. Nina is a gifted jewelry artist who I have come to know through her Blog: Ornamental. She is an amazing artist and we have always wanted to take a class from her. We are really looking forward to this trip.
Tomorrow I will drive to my sister's house, see Mom and stay overnight. Sunday we will drive to Asilomar and check in. We will be back in Lafayette on Thursday and I will stay there until Saturday or Sunday to visit with Mom and have dinner with my son.

This is going to be so much fun!!!

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Cookies: Oatmeal, cranberries and pecan with orange peel. Same recipe as chocolate chip cookies but substitute dried cranberries for choc. chips and pecans for walnuts. Um, um good!

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A note: Nina's dog Aspen died last week and she has been very, very sad about losing him. If you could leave a comment to console her I would appreciate it. These creatures are so much a part of our lives and when they leave there is a gate left open for a long time. I just want her to know that no dog will ever take Aspens place but there will be another animal that will need her love..., and love her in return. I know where of I speak.