Mosaic Monday - Deck the Halls

I don't put out a lot of Christmas decorations as I prefer to decorate for winter instead.  We used to have a tree upstairs and one downstairs, the railings draped with garlands and ribbon but now as empty nesters snowmen, snowflakes and added greens are put out in mid November and stay in place until the end of March with only a few Christmas theme additions.  Oh, and the trees....they've shrunk to a small table top silver tinsel one upstairs and the ceramic tree I made downstairs.
If you'll notice, we even have a purple Santa here that a crafty friend made as well as the group of Santas carolling.  Cardinals, one of my favourite birds are inside and out and even if they have a winter theme, are enjoyed year round.
The half moon shaped Christmas sign that is outside by the front door is one of my accomplishments when I was doing painting crafts and I like it for the nostalgic element it adds.
Mosaic Monday is hosted by Mary at The Little Red House and you'll want to visit her blog for other mosaics.

Friday's Favourite - A Stone House

Sometimes when you're hurrying by landmarks in your car you don't really look at them too closely.  Last week I slowed down to take a better look at this old farmhouse and it intrigued me.  After photographing it, I thought of the people that spent the hours putting all those stones in place and how proud they must have been when their new home was finished.

I knew when I asked a past president of our historical society and a driving force behind the book 'Farms of Innisfil' that when I described the place, she'd be able to tell me who owned it.  The stone house was built around 1860 by Thomas Averill, orginally from Ireland.

Mosaic Monday - Fairy Fantasy

There's something magical about fairies in the garden and we have a number of them that hide under the plants.  Because they're special, they have a place in our home too as you can see by this collection for Mosaic Monday.

Visit the Little Red House hosted by Mary each week to enjoy many other photo collages.

Bloggers' Bloom Day November

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is held on the 15th of each month and hosted by May Dreams Gardens.  This is a good opportunity for gardeners to stroll around their yard and see what's blooming at this time each month.  By November there isn't too much happening but I was able to find the Knautia macedonia by the front door with flowers and buds still waiting to open.

I also found a couple of buds on my carpet roses, some buried amongst the fallen maple leaves.

Friday's Favourite - Dictamnus

Dictamnus albus var. purpureus

What a long Latin name for a plant we commonly know as gas plant.  The flowers give off a flammable gas but it has a very unpleasant odour if the gardener is to light it on fire.  I can only imagine who fooled around initially to discover this interesting aspect about the plant.

Dictamnus slowly forms an upright clump with these pretty flowers (just as nice with the white form) and attractive star-shaped seed pods.

One must be very careful gardening around this plant on warm sunny days and avoid contact with the leaves.  I can attest to the chemical burn it can create as a couple of years ago I had both my arms blister and it took the longest time to figure out which plant had done this and a couple of months for the mess to clear up.

It's still worth having though and flowers in June to July in most soil types.

Victorian decor

A pretty hat of ribbon and lace welcomes you to 'Show off your Cottage Monday'.

Cottage Monday is hosted by The House in the Roses . Visit Cielo and her guests showing off their cottage homes.

Above is a Victorian swag in my hallway made with branches of dried eucalyptus, ribbon roses and ribbons; it used to be quite fragrant.

A few dried flowers and ribbons linger from our oldest daughter's wedding 16 years ago. The crocheted heart form I bought at a craft store and replaced the rosebuds that dried out over the years with silk ones.


Willow branches with dried autumn flowers and lots of sheer ribbon; this is one of my favourite swags I made. It hangs on the wall in my office.

Mosaic Monday - Feathered friends

I thought I'd show some of the birds that visit our backyard for Mosaic Monday this time. As a gardener, if you're not photographing flowers or insects, the camera is usually pointed at birds. They bring a lot of joy to a garden and sometimes humour too.For instance, look at the juvenile chickadee posing as though frozen in time - this little bird stayed in this position so long I thought a tiny foot might have been caught in the feeder, but it wasn't.
The cardinals like the gazebo feeder attached to the deck rail where I have safflower seeds that they favour as well as black-oil sunflower seeds in another feeder that is squirrel proof.
Fly over here to visit Mary, the host of Mosaic Monday to enjoy the creativity of others.