Hello Summer!

Hello my friends!  Can you believe June is upon us and summer is knocking at the door?  I know meteorological summer begins on the first, according to our weatherman, but to me it will begin on June 20th with the summer solstice.  The longer days greet us with the sun peeping through the curtains early in the mornings.  The setting sun gives us more time to enjoy outdoors later into the evening.  Our spring has been lovely with abundant rain, but like on queue, rain is beginning to elude us as summer begins. The temperatures are rising and the humidity is increasing.  

This oakleaf hydrangea is beginning to bloom.  First the lovely green blossoms turn a pure white.  Later in the summer they will turn pink and then brown into autumn.  I bought this shrub years ago at Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.  They sell lovely plants and heirloom seeds that I always love. 

The French Hydrangeas are beginning to make their mophead blossoms.  I think this year will prove to be good for ours.  In the last few years a late frost has nipped the buds to my chagrin!

 

The Jackmanii Clematis is continuing to tangle itself among the Pinkie Climbing Rose that has stopped blooming in the heat.

The Painted Fern is growing larger each day.  If we don't get rain soon I'm sure I will have to supplement watering of my ferns.

 

The morning sun shines briefly on this perennial bed that is home to ferns and astilbe.

My little angel statues are at home in this bed.  This one has been in this garden the longest.  She's an old girl, but loved.  I think I may need to give her a new finish one day.  

The Saint John's Wort is starting to bloom.  I have a small area I allow this to grow as I enjoy the lovely blossoms.  It can be quite wild and grow everywhere if I let it! 

 It was nice to have the lavender return.  Growing in a large pot in a protected area made me happy to have it bloom!  If you look closely at the planter, I've spread cayenne pepper around the vinca to help keep the squirrels from digging.  It helps but is not foolproof, but they do learn to stay away!

The Variegated Hosta needs to be divided.  If you need any let me know!

Grayden and I continue to walk the Heritage Trail every morning.  We have been getting up really early to avoid the heat.  It's really the highlight of my day!  We always see something wonderful.  Lately "our " eagle has been perched at the top of a dead tree at the end of the bridge!  I can't tell you how much it thrills us to see him every morning.

I hope you all are continuing to stay safe.

On the side of the museum we see this gentle reminder that we still must be diligent.  The quote is from Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis".  George Washington used these words to rally his troops as they crossed the Delaware River to defeat the British at the Battle of Princeton.

Happy Independence Day!

For Independence Day we returned to Ferry Farm, George Washington's boyhood home.  At Samuel's request we ventured out on a very warm and muggy July day.  We made sure we carried water and looked for shade whenever possible.

Ferry Farm is a popular spot for families to enjoy the Fourth.  They really do a nice job of having different tents open for children and adults to learn about this era of George Washington.  Also there are different exhibits to learn about the Native Americans that lived here long before the white man came to America. 

This gentleman was telling us about the Patawomeck language that he is trying to decipher and learn.  When the English came to America the language of the Native Americans was forced out of existence.  He is trying to learn this language that has not been used for 300 years!

Samuel and Bear had to take spin in a dugout canoe.  You know how guys are!

The Declaration of Independence takes center stage on the Fourth.

You might know that George Washington wrote a book called The Rules of Civility based on rules from the French Jesuits from 1595.  He copied 110 of these rules for his book when he was sixteen.  Clearly George Washington was an extraordinary young man!  Ferry Farm featured some of these rules of civility about the grounds.  

We decided to go take the tour of the home again.  If you want to see the inside again of  the Ferry Farm home you can go Here  They are continuing to add furnishings.

  
Before leaving I wanted to take a quick look at the garden by the visitor center.

We enjoyed our celebration very much as we remember our First President, George Washington on Independence Day! 

Catching Up

When uploading photos to One Drive I realized I had not shared some fun family times of last month.  Even though these are a few weeks old I do enjoy remembering the good times.   

We went down to visit the boys over President's Day weekend.  They had gotten a trampoline from Santa that their Dad was putting together when we arrived.  If any of you have ever had the pleasure of putting one together you know it's not hard, but quite time consuming.  The boys were delighted beyond belief at the finished project!

Yes the weather was warmer last month than this month.  Alex loves to wear Bermuda shorts on days that are 60 and above.  

Of course the big kids had to give it a try.

I have a lot more sense than these guys, so I declined the temptation.

Miles came home to stay with us for the weekend.  It's the first time he has done that without his brother.  We thoroughly enjoyed the alone time with just him.  

Ferry Farm had a celebration honoring George Washington's birthday.  Miles wanted to go so we ventured out for a little history lesson and fun at Washington's Boyhood home.  I've mentioned before about the building of the home on the original foundation.  We took this opportunity to see it up close.

First you must partake of birthday cake!

And a little sip of cherry tea!

Then off to play Colonial games.

We walked over to the site of the home construction.  It's so exciting to see the home coming together.

The home is being built as close as possible to original building methods.  Hand forged nails can be seen on the building.

Miles wanted to run down the hill to the river.  The Washington home sits at the top of the hill overlooking the Rappahannock River and the city of Fredericksburg. 

That's him in the burgundy shirt.

We reminded Miles that George Washington must have run up and down this hill as a child, just like you did!

Fun with Family in Autumn

♫ Autumn Leaves ♫

Spending time with family is one of the greatest joys of life.  Our daughter, Noel, came from New Hampshire to visit Samuel and us for the long weekend.  I know she really misses her grown son, Samuel, who lives with us while he is attending college.  It was a beautiful weekend spent being together.

Wreath on our mantle

On Friday, she treated us to dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate her Daddy's birthday.  Then on Saturday we went to our son's home in Richmond for a visit.  While we were there we cleaned out the inside of pumpkins and Alex and Miles and Samuel carved their pumpkins.

Samuel, Alex and Miles

The children certainly enjoyed themselves as well as Boo and Bear.  We had pizza for lunch, which is always a hit with the children.

The next day we went to Mount Vernon.  We are very lucky to have many historical sites to visit nearby.  We are history nuts and enjoy any excuse to go to one of these sites.  It was a rainy morning but then cleared off to make for an enjoyable day.  Of course, Mount Vernon, was the home of our first President, George Washington.  This beautiful property is on the Potomac.

Rear View of Mount Vernon

Front of Mount Vernon

I didn't realize photos were not allowed in the mansion.  So I was snapping away.  Oops-- But I must show you one photo that always gives me chills.

Bastille Key

The Marquis de Lafayette gave George Washington the key to the main prison at Bastille.  The key was given to Lafayette after the Bastille was stormed in July 14, 1789.  This speaks to the respect that Lafayette felt for Washington.

After touring the inside of Mount Vernon we explored the grounds and the dependencies.  I always enjoy seeing kitchens from long ago.

Mount Vernon is a special place to enjoy and to learn more about George Washington.  Inside the museum we are amazed at the similarity of our grandson, Samuel, and George Washington at about the same age.

The model of Washington was made from a computer generated likeness of him at the age of nineteen.  Samuel is twenty years old.

  Autumn in Virginia is a great time to explore the historical sites nearby.