Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Saturday, November 12, 2016

More Autumn Leaves

 Anyone want to rake leaves?

I don't rake my leaves.
Instead I mow them up into the grass catcher
and then use them for compost 
and bedding around my perennials.  

 It takes a lot of time,
because the bag fills up mighty quick, LOL
Do any of you do this?

I made this sign to hang 
on the driveway gate.
I thought my old cowboy boots
looked good under it.

 We are still having lovely weather.
So different from this time last year,
when we were fighting with frozen pipes.

I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts:)

Another thing that I am enjoying this week,
is a wonderful gift that I won from
Sandra Kaye
@
She is a very creative blogging sister.
Please pay her a visit.
I am sure that you will love her charming blog.

Sandra was published in this
digital magazine
and I was delighted to win a year's subscription.
Thank You . . . Sandra :)

Well, that's it for today.
Have a lovely weekend
&
Keep Smiling!

Your blogging sister,
Connie :)
 

41 comments:

  1. I like what you did with your cowboy boots. A good friend told me last week that she was "downsizing" and sent her cowboy boots to the thrift store, I would have wanted those but she couldn't have known.

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    1. Keep your eyes peeled for them at yard sales. They are great for planting succulents, like hens and chicken :)

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  2. Loved your sign and cowboy boots. Congratulations on your win.

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  3. we mow over our leaves too. I don't dare rake them since last year I raked the leaves and left the pile sit and killed the grass. I never heard the end of it so now I refuse to rake leaves....lol
    Congratulations on your win. I assume we'll be seeing some art journaling in the future :)

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    1. You know I used to journal (art) all the time. It would be fun to get back at it. It's a very relaxing medium and a great place to let your imagination soar and be more creative than you can be in most other venues. Less rules, restrictions and straight lines (like quilting for instance). It's more like the freedoms of childhood; coloring outside the lines is okay.

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  4. That's a lot of leaves to rake, but would make a fantastic pile to jump in!

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    1. That would be fun, but I'm afraid that my jumping days are over, LOL.

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  5. All of those leaves are such a golden carpet! A shame to have to rake them up or suck them up.. but I've never had a yard with so many trees that have falling leaves. If there are few like where I live now, I rake and put in bags.. or the wind just blows them away! Love your sign and cowboy(girl) boots! Just darling. It's neat to have a gate to hang signs on and put decorations on for the seasons. And congrats on your win. Art journaling I think would be fun, but not something I've tried yet.. too many other projects sitting and waiting to get finished, so I'd better not dare to start a new medium! Have a wonderful Sunday.

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    1. I know what you mean about started projects to finish. I am bad about that, but working on doing better :) I enjoy so many different mediums that there is just not enough hours in a day :)

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  6. We've been raking and blowing the leaves. Then we put them in a big pile out in the back of our property to rot. : )
    I actually enjoy raking leaves.

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    1. I enjoy it too, but I have found that the more they get mulched the faster they decay. I like using them in my garden beds. We live in a desert area with very hot dry summers and they do a great job of helping hold moisture in the ground. We average 6 inches of rain a year, so watering is a necessity to growing a nice garden :)

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  7. At this time of year falling leaves feature largely ...
    I do like your cowboy boots!

    All the best Jan

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    1. A year ago last spring I was walking through a nursery is Oregon when I spied a pair of cowboy boots planted with succulents . . . price $50. I had a pair of cowboy boots out in the well house, that a friend had given me. Came home cut a couple holes in the side and foot of the boot. Filled with dirt and dug up some hens and chickens and other succulents and planted them. Free!

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  8. I just mulched my leaves with the mower yesterday. I put them in some of my beds but I also have a wonderful pine tree that provides lots of pine needle for mulching also. Love your cowboy boot planter!

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    1. I have heard that pine needles are good. I'll have to start using them for mulch. Delighted that you like my cowboy boots :)

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  9. Yep-always used to mulch my leaves. This year with so much going on we had a guy come in and do a final mowing and he mowed he leaves right up and took them away. Worked for me this time!
    Congrats on your win and your gate looks really cute! xo Diana

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    1. I bet it feels good to have it all done and off your property. I'm sure you have to keep everything in tip top shape 24/7 for visiting realtors. Happy you like the gate, thank you :)

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  10. We have a MUCH smaller garden, Connie, but LOADS of trees all around! Jim 'hoovers' them up with a thing he has… and they get bundled up and into the compost heap. I need to sort out my raised beds for winter. xxxx

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    1. Hi Lynne, I've been working on my beds, too. It takes a few years to get the soil in good shape around here. We don't have the rains that you have. I am sure the rain and humidity really helps with the composting. I add all my produce scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells and drier lint along with leaves and grass clippings. I am hoping one day to have rich soil and lots of garden worms :)

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  11. We have a lot of leaves, too and we mulch most of ours also. Love your Thanksgiving sign with the cowboy boots hanging under it. Weather here in northern IL has been especially beautiful (i.e., "warm"!) here, too. We're loving it and relishing it while we can. We know we could easily have snow this time of year.

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    1. They have been predicting a cold snowy winter for us this year. We actually have a snowy winter about every ten years. I can't see it coming because we have had a lot of fall rain and we average 6 inches a year. It seems to me like maybe we have already had enough that there's done left for snow . . . time will tell, LOL. I was raised in Michigan City Indiana, so I know the cold winters that you have. I'm not sure that my old body could take them anymore.

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  12. I love your sign and the boots! You have such beautiful leaves to rake. The leaves here have just not been real pretty this fall.

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    1. Last year we went from nice weather to below freezing weather over night and our leaves weren't as pretty as this year, neither. This year we have had an exceptionally beautiful Autumn :)

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  13. We are enjoying just lovely weather too, I am enjoying every minute of it, we are told it will get cold this weekend so we have a few days to enjoy. Love how you used your boots with the sign, too cute! Congrats on your win!

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    1. Hi Connie, thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments. It won't be long before cod weather . . . but these Autumn days have been wonderful :)

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  14. Simply said,,, your yard looks like a pond of Gold! beautiful!

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    1. Thank you . . .leaves can be a big job, but they are beautiful :)

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  15. Hi Connie!
    I am having fun deciding what to do with my new home. I can't believe I'm going to have a real craft room!!

    Interesting that you mow your leaves but what a great use for them. I have pine needles in my yard!
    Thank you for visiting me earlier today!
    Congratulations on your win the magazine looks interesting.
    Hugs Kay

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    1. Hi Kaye, I am excited for you. You had your condo on the market for much longer than you wished, but now it's sold and you must be so happy. Your craft room in going to be wonderful. I love all the shelves . . . oh, the fun you will have getting it all organized :) Here's a suggestion . . . I have moved my sewing table three or four times now, until I finally put it under the windows , so that I have a view while I work. Just saying sitting at your desk and having a view, might be nice :) Have fun and don't work too hard.

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  16. Hi Connie,
    Congratulations on winning the magazine! I have loved this warmer weather we have been having. But I hear it isn't going to last. Oh well. We've been fortunate. We mow our leaves into almost a dust and it goes right back into the ground. But our neighbor, who has a much smaller yard than we do, puts his in the bag and dumps the in a pile in our back lot. We all use it for compost next summer. Have a Happy Weekend!

    Cindy Bee

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    1. I think that our pretty warm days are over. The last three have been damp and cold. We have company, too . . . I wish the pretty weather would have stay through their visit :) I want to get our outside lights up before the weather gets any worst. I don't mind having them up before Thanksgiving, we just don't turn them on. I love your double deck and all your greenery, it is so pretty :)

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  17. Your boots reminds me, my Dad has a birdfeeder made from a leather boot! He bought it out in Colorado, there is perfect round hole in the side of it and a bird makes a nest there every Spring!

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  18. Hi Connie, thanks so much for stopping by The Marmelade Gypsy! I have to say these yellow leaves are so gorgeous! And boy, do you have a lot of them! I hope you have a good massage therapist for raking back! Happy week, jeanie

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    1. They are pretty before they all turn brown, LOL. Thanks for stopping by, I love company :)

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  19. Your leaves do look like a beautiful blanket but I remember how much work they are. My hubby always used a leaf blower to get them against the fence so that we could bag them. I love your boots and that beautiful magazine! I need to work on my journals! Happy Thanksgiving blog buddy! Hugs, Diane

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    1. Good Morning Diane, thanks for stopping by to visit and here's hoping you have a lovely Thanksgiving :)

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  20. Hi Connie, Missing your blogging! Are you still sick or just busy getting ready for Christmas? Nancy

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  21. Hi Nancy, thank you for being concerned . . . I am feeling much better. We were blessed with a week long visit from our daughter and granddaughters, followed by four more days of company. No time for blogging :) I am trying to get a new post put together, so please return. Our granddaughter's helped grandpa put up outside lights and now I'm decorating the inside. Taking down the Autumn things and putting up Christmas :)

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