Where did the Summer Go?

It's hard to believe that it's already mid-August and that soon it will be Fall!

Where did the summer go??

Oh yes, I remember now.....my summer was spent watering, watering, watering. Or sweltering in horrible heat!

I didn't really have many nice yard/ garden pictures to share this year because of the awful heat and drought we had, not to mention the landscaping project that destroyed a big part of our yard!


I had hoped to do a small outdoor tablescape this summer; now that the weather seems to have cooled down and it's much more pleasant, perhaps I can still do one before Fall.

About three weeks ago the new grass was starting to fill in, finally....

It's been growing so slowly because of the unusual heat, despite my daily watering.

My pink Tall Phlox is doing well, despite the heat and dryness............

This is how everything looks now, a couple of weeks later, after the weather cooled down and we got some rain:
Side yard:

Back yard:

Front yard:

Of course, there's lots of weeds in with the grass; it's just how it goes. Weeds are opportunistic and will germinate wherever and however they can.  Erik is not happy about the weeds ( he REALLY hates weeds) but we have to wait until Fall and the grass goes dormant before our lawn service can come and treat the new grass with weed killer. If they do it now, the new grass will die.

Recently, I also found two of these antique pressed-back wooden chairs. They have spool-style spindles and what look like Colonial Ball finials. They were a steal at $40. They were marked as having " honey-dipper" finials, but I don't think that's correct. I just love press-back chairs!

 I actually bought these two for our kitchen, but they also look pretty on the porch and can be easily brought out for extra seating on the porch if we need more chairs!

Press back, or pressed back, chairs became very popular in the late 1800s with the development of steel die stamps that were mounted on rollers, which were then passed over a finished chair crest rail under immense pressure. The die stamp had sharp edges and resulted in pressing a design into the wood quickly and efficiently. It was much cheaper than having hand-carving done by a cabinet-maker, and also allowed for fast production. In the new era of purchasing goods by catalog, it allowed the new wealthier Americans to buy decorated furniture that looked "hand-carved" without having to pay a hefty price, or wait weeks to have it carved by hand.

There were both "shallow cut" and "deep cut" designs. The shallow cut design required only a single pass of the die stamp and therefore were the most in-expensive. A deep cut design required multiple passes, and might also include some hand chasing, which made the "deep cut" the more expensive option.

I have a fondness for old wooden chairs and I was quite delighted to find this pair for my breakfast table!

Thanks for stopping by!