Garden esta listo!

Today was a big day for Reese! He got his summer hair cut and he looks so cute! Sort of like a German shepherd puppy meets a husky. They left his tail nice and fluffy and he seems very happy with the new look.

Also on the agenda, Ian and I finally!!!!! finished the front landscaping (at least what we are doing this year.) It is planted, weed barrier-ed,  and mulched. The only tiny thing left to do is buy a few more flat stones for the area so that it will look a little more purposeful. Also, for everyone that doesn't remember what the yard once looked like, I have put a few reminder photos in the blog, but if you are REALLY curious as to how far the house has come I will post some before and after photos in the next post so you can see it all for yourself. However, trust me that it is a huge change.

Before Plants

After Plants     

And a few close ups of the beautiful and very hardy, deer resistant plants!!!

 

The other part of the garden that got finished is by the drive way. We finally got that done as well. The shrubs are gone, the new shrubs are in and it is mulched. The only part left here is removing that hideous tree on the left.

Before

After    

 I wanted to let you guys see the vegetable garden as well. They are growing really quickly and Ian and I may actually get to eat some fresh, home-grown vegetables at some point this summer providing that the deer don't get smarter and figure out a way through the deer-fencing.

 Also, I got a moose as a last line of defense against the deer. Maybe they won't enter his habitat. I mean, he is pretty intimidating looking. We have squash, peppers, green beans, sunflowers and garlic growing. It should be fun to see how it turns out.

Carolyn

Stuff I have been up to

I have been attempting to learn some crochet these past few weeks and here are a couple of the finished projects.

A Dachshund and a Bunny

Ian and I have also been trying to get the yard all fixed up and he is super busy so I have been learning how to do a lot of diy projects. Here is the planter that I am in the process of sealing and putting together. It should be really pretty when it is put in the front of the house.

 I did have to take out a tree though. I felt really accomplished when I just pushed it over and away it went. I also just realized that I still have a Christmas decoration up that I should probably take down as it is now May :)

Hopefully by next weekend I can take some pictures of the finished front garden and the backyard garden beds that I have put together and painted.

Sorry

So obviously I have been bad about keeping up the blog. I had the best intentions in the beginning but as life started to get out of control I kind of let my blog slide. So... I"m sorry and I will try and do better.
Recently my sister introduced me to an awesome craft site http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2HUz3D/craftgawker.com/popular/favorites which has some amazing craft ideas and it got me back into crocheting (and other stuff but that is for another time). So I"m working on several awesome crochet projects that I will keep you guys updated with as they are finished. Current project: Crochet chain necklace and ruffled wrist warmers. Then when I'm finished I promised Ian I would attempt to crochet him a fish for his desk.

Also, just as an update Ian and I finally painted the bedroom so it looks great! Now we just have to paint the guest room and overhaul the kitchen. Not too shabby :)

Photo Updates

Ian and I have done some work on the house and I thought I should share it with everyone! We finally put up a blind in the kitchen so that we have a little bit more privacy from the street.

Just imagine that intricate piece of wood has been removed and is replaced with a valance or a plane straight piece of wood. Then we are going to paint the cabinets either dark brown or a deep slate blue.




 This is the floor that Ian and i picked out. What do you think? It looks like stone doesn't it?

 And this is really just for Julia so that she could be reminded how much Reese loves her :) He misses his Auntie

Reese survives the vet.

Today was very traumatic for Reese. He has been itching his ear a lot lately and had something strange going on with his lip so we decided to take him to the Cornell Veterinary hospital. Of course when we arrived, the place was VERY busy and my dog (who strangely hates other dogs) made his displeasure very well known, earning him the nick name of "Killer" from the people sitting around us as we were waiting to be seen by the vet. It was quite an entertaining 30 minute wait as Ian and I had to blinder the dog every single time another walked by him to prevent another doggie tantrum. He was great with all of the people thankfully, which is all that really matters in the end i guess.

The result of the visit was a very tired dog and a lot of fun medication for the 'parents' to administer for the next month. I bet by the end of this Reese gets really good at not taking his pills like a true pampered pup.

There is a glimpse of all of the fun treats for the puppy to deal with. Thankfully he gets real treats every time he gets one of these so he should be fattening up pretty soon :)

Taughannock Falls

So I actually learned how to say the word "Taughannock" today and lets just say... it is not pronounced how I thought it would be... AT ALL. I'm sure the people of New York have been laughing at me for a few weeks now. Oh well, it was a beautiful hike and a beautiful waterfall. Taughannock Falls is a full 30 feet taller than Niagra so it is a sight to see. Plus all of the fall colors are coming out and it was a wonderful walk.




This is the park that is across the street from the Falls. It is right on  the lake

Here is Cayuga lake. There were a ton of ducks that Reese attempted to scare away.









This is him staring at the ducks prior to him almost toppling into the lake after them.

So after the park we crossed over to the Taughannock trails which is 1.5 miles of beautiful wooded pathway leading up to the falls along a river.

This is the lower part of the falls at the beginning of the walk. It is gorgeous and the Fall colors behind it were well worth the walk.

Here is a picture of the falls as you come around the corner. It was so sunny today it was actually difficult to take a picture because of the sun bouncing off of the mist.

Here is a fixed picture of the Falls. In the bottom right you can see some people on the Falls observation deck. Yes, it is that tall.

Oh and there is me and Reese enjoying the view of the Falls after the hike. He had also just had to protect me from a group of 5 people and a border collie so he was a little tired. It is tough being a dog.

Halloween decorations!

I finally managed to convince Ian to go Halloween decoration shopping with me. We ended up going to the dollar tree and coming out with some awesome decorations!!! So 3 dollars later our house looks like this!

The little sign on the door says Trick or Treat. We are all ready for the kids now! Just need to get the candy.