Sweet Bubbles

Sweet Bubbles

When I showed Rob this picture of himself and our neighbors’ cat Bubbles, he nodded and said, “Oh, yeah, I see. There’s Bubbles reading the newspaper.” I thought his remark captured just perfectly the charm of the photo. Bubbles looks like a tiny person as 

Backyard Wildlife

Backyard Wildlife

Yesterday when I was watering plants, I spied something on a branch of one of my new camellias. At first I thought it was a clump of lichen fallen down from the treetops, a bit of debris. I leaned over to brush it away, but 

In the Slow Lane

In the Slow Lane

I had the day off on Monday, which was nice because it gave me the rare chance to look around and appreciate. I could go slow. I didn’t have to rush. Rushing ruins everything. I had time to sit in the dry brown grass and 

New Picnic Table

New Picnic Table

Rob recently built us a new picnic table to replace our old rotten one. It’s really nice—extra big and sturdy, made with all pressure-treated wood so it will last a long time.

Halloween Decorating

Halloween Decorating

On Saturday morning I started decorating the house for Halloween. I got up really early, when it was still pitch-dark, and sat on the couch in the Little House in my pajamas, drinking Coke and stitching up some dumb little ornaments for my Halloween tree–funny 

Bernie

Bernie

I finally got a picture of Bernie, the old stray cat I feed (and truly care about). The quality of the picture isn’t very good (I had to take it quick before he got scared), but he sure is cute. Rob says Bernie looks like 

A Summer Night

A Summer Night

Summer is my favorite season at Spruce Pine Cottage. It’s the green time, the lush, sultry time, the time when the rosinweed blooms and the garden is full of tomatoes. Box turtles come out in the rain. Nighttime is even better than daytime because there 

A Sweet Sunday

A Sweet Sunday

Rob was out of town on Sunday, so I got to have one of my little “Leslie days.” It was extremely pleasant. I started it with a delicious breakfast of popcorn popped on the stove. There’s nothing better than eating popcorn at dawn. As I ate, I read a cookbook …

A Bunny Tale

A Bunny Tale

Today I thought I’d tell you a little story and then show you some pictures I took that have nothing at all to do with it. The story is actually my mom’s story, and I’m going to to use her words to tell it just