Laughing Dove Cafe' ~ View from The Porch

 My husband designed and built the grape arbor to the left of the photo. The scroll design reflects the scroll with the dove he crafted for the roof line of my dovecote. These two structures tie in with the kiwi arbor he built which is in front of the dove cote but not shown in this post. This is the view of the arbor and doves from the front porch.

 My husband built this nice big , sturdy table for outdoor gatherings in what we call The Laughing Dove Cafe'. You can see all the way down to Cedar Pond, in the right background of this picture.

 We have a  swing by the pond in front of the fire pit , along with some wood benches. There is a very large bullfrog that sits by the swing and I startle him into leaping into the pond  every time I go down there. You'd think he'd be used to me by now and know I am not going to kiss him to turn him back into the prince I know he must be. I already have my prince!

 Can you see the curved swirls my prince, my bee-keeper , put into this arbor? Can you see the bright yellow goldfinch perched in the grapevines growing around this arbor?

The ducks waddle by the arbor on the way to the pond. Another beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest, enjoying the beauty of spring and the many blessings my husband, my prince, my bee-keeper has given me. Blessings we share together. Thank-you Jim !

Gardening Around The Dovecote

 This flower container is along the picket fence leading to our dovecote. The pansies surprised me by coming up again this year along with the pink phlox behind them. The phlox won't bloom until mid-summer, but they'll be more than 2 feet tall and fill the air with their sweet scent.

 This is the view from the other side of our front porch. The front porch wraps around two sides of our home. The grape arbor has 2 seats under it and provides a very cool shady spot to sit in on hot summer days. At the end of the fence, upper left of the photo, is the dovecote my husband built me.

 I have 2 chickens in the dovecote too. They clean up the dropped seed and keep things interesting.

 I just finished cleaning up the flower beds around the doves. This year I set aside a week on my calendar to catch up on spring cleaning in the garden. The past few years have been hit & miss and our gardens have suffered. My husband has worked so hard to make the flower beds and herb garden for me and I want him to know I do appreciate his hard work. Tending the gardens is the best way to show that.

 I love the way this bird bath seems to emulate the scallops of the Lady's Mantle growing around its base. Lady's Mantle is named after the Virgin Mary. Dew and raindrops in the leaves look like pearls, and on very misty mornings each leaf looks like it has jewels all around it. The drops often reflect eye-piercing rainbow colors when rays of sunshine hit them.

 Hostas & blue Lithodora.

The weather is so beautiful, especially now that it has warmed up. There are new blossoms and baby birds everywhere. Hummingbirds & butterflies too. Spring has finally arrived around here !

Spot on Laughing Dove Cafe ( Herb Garden )

~~Detail on my dove pen in the herb garden. We call our herb garden Laughing Dove Cafe. ~~ ~~~Autumn is here, my herb garden is covered in leaves and I have just now begun to harvest herbs I should have attended to a month or so ago. Here ( below ) is a front view of the dove pen my Hubby made me for my birthday a few years ago. Every day now I find there are wild doves in the herb garden, they seem to be seeking the company of my penned doves. They also eat the seed my doves scatter and spill outside their pen.

~~~"See how that pair of billing doves with open murmurs own their love and heedless of censorious eyes , pursue unpolluted joys ; no fears of future want molest the downy quiet of their nest." Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

~~~One of the bottle trees my Hubby made me. I collect blue bottles.~~~

~~~The other blue bottle tree in my herb garden.~~~

~~~I have a variety of herbs and really, if I pay attention to the weather and remember to harvest my herbs BEFORE frost sets in, why...I would have no need to buy most of the herbs and seasonings called for in many recipes. Here I have cut some Rosemary and 2 varieties of oregano. Hmmm....spaghetti sounds yummy right now. ~~~Lady's Mantle :"A hardy perennial that grows in Northern temperate climes, lady's mantle grows no higher than 12 ". "....Early in the morning , what appears to be drops of dew collect in the furrows of the leaves. Horses and sheep are said to find the plant tasty but they will not touch it until these "dew drops" have disappeared. Resembling minute crystal balls the sparkling drops of moisture are produced by the plant itself and were thought to have magical powers in the Middle Ages. Known as 'water from heaven' the drops would be carefully collected and used by an alchemist in his search for the philosopher's stone. Hence this dainty little plant bears the Latin name Alchemilla which is derived from the word alchemy.The common name , lady's mantle, has it's origins in the Middle Ages when it was one of the many plants dedicated to the Virgin Mary." from THE COUNTRY DIARY HERBAL , by Sarah Hollis ~~~Here is some of my Lady's Mantle. It thrives here and when I have to clear out a lot of it I toss it to my sheep who eat it like it is candy. My chickens eat it too. I once followed the recipe for Lady's Mantle tea which is supposed to help alleviate ,ahem...ladies' problems.....anyway, the tea smelled so foul and was so repulsive, I decided I was fine and dandy and did not need any remedy for what ailed me after all..thank-you very much !

~~~Here is my sage bed, in front of my pink chair.~~~

~~~The sundial in our herb garden. I am sure glad we do not have to rely on sun dials to tell time or season. Here in Washington you really can't count on the sun making an appearance to help you schedule any appointments or even tell when it is lunch time. ~~~"Herbs can be tucked into existing flower borders, vegetable beds or decorative pots. As adaptable plants, many will grow happily on a balcony or patio, or even indoors. When more space is available , a separate area set aside for herbs often becomes a special place for peace and enchantment." The Complete Book Of Herbs by Leslie Bremness