Lowe's Gift Card Giveaway!

Summer is officially over and fall has wasted no time making its presence known! We have a frost advisory tonight! After the record breaking hot dry summer, the cooler temperatures are a welcome relief but I am not ready for frost!

Here are a few late summer pictures:

Hummingbird moth in the evening sun.

The verbena bonariensis is always a hit with the butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and hummingbird moths! Thankfully it spreads easily throughout the garden and was one of the few plants that survived our summer drought.

The hummingbirds were here yesterday fighting over the feeders. There were three or four of them still hanging around, diligently keeping guard over their  nectar source! This one was on the front porch all day long sitting on a dragon fly that stays in a planter. I took this picture through the front door side lights. 

The temperatures dropped into the 30's last night and the hummingbirds have not been seen at all today. Their departure is my signal that summer is officially over.

 

The Lowe's Creative Ideas project this month is all about mums! The best part is that I have a gift card for one of you! I've never had a giveaway on my blog before so I am excited to offer this Lowe's $50 gift card to one of my readers, (U.S. residents only)! To enter leave a comment on this post and  I'll use Random.org to pick a winner! 

The giveaway ends at midnight September 30, 2012. Only one entry per person please!

This giveaway is now closed! Thank you for participating!

See this post for winner information!

Busy, Busy, Busy

 Very little time has been spent this summer enjoying nature.  Between the excessive heat and adjusting to working outside the home again, there has been little desire or time to be outside with the camera.

 I finally had some leisure time Saturday morning to sit outside on the patio. I read, watched the birds and took a few pictures. Three hummingbirds fought over the feeders in the backyard. This juvenile male was determined to have all four of the feeders to himself!

 Because of the excessive drought there isn't much blooming right now. I kept the patio planters watered and even with the excessive heat and drought my lantana is thriving!

 The verbena bonariensis survived without being watered and I am seeing a little butterfly activity!

 I have been busy working on my Lowe's project for August. Our assignment for this month is, Address the Mess: Pick and area or item that could use a creative approach to organization or storage for your gardening tools and accessories.

This project really had me stumped and I just couldn't get inspired by ordinary garage organizational tools!  One day I walked into work and saw this fabulous Drexel hutch with a free sign on it! Someone had dropped it while stocking their vendor space! I felt bad for them, but I was thrilled!

As soon as I saw it my mind started thinking of all of the possibilities for the project! The glass was broken and the top was busted, but it was perfect for my garage project.

I am almost finished and you wont believe the difference! I am off work tomorrow and plan to complete the project and reveal the end result!

Stay tuned! :-)

 Don't forget to check out Lowe's Creative Ideas for more project inspiration!
/http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/

Robin's Nesting Place

 It makes me very happy when the birds choose to nest here at Robin's Nesting Place. A pair of house wrens decided to nest in the birdhouse and the robin's are nesting here as well.

 I was out watering a few days ago and caught this juvenile robin just as it was about to leave the nest. I ran inside and got the camera!

 Thankfully it was still there! This morning I noticed a new robin's nest! This one is lower and closer to the house so hopefully I can get a careful peek at the eggs and the babies as they grow.

Before work this morning I sat on my patio and tried to get pictures of the hummingbirds. This is my yearly photography challenge, to capture decent photographs of them. They are such marvelous creatures and I never tire of watching them! I'm not particularly happy with the pictures I got today but I'll keep trying.

Thank you all for your kind comments regarding my Lowe's project! I am pretty excited and a little nervous about being a part of such an awesome group! Here is our project for June:

Option #1 – Good Looking and Good For You – This project focuses on combining edible plants with ornamental blooms.  Target an established patch of garden or start something new – Your challenge is to create a garden plot that is both decorative and edible (in some areas).  For example, rimming a flower bed with different types of lettuce or herbs.

 

 

Option #2 – Furniture Fun – If you want to take a break from plant life for a few minutes, then you’ll want to go with this option.  This project focuses on enhancing your outdoor space with a new creative piece or even refurbishing something you already have into something truly eye-catching with the backdrop of your beautiful garden.

  

I think I'll go with option #2. My head has been spinning with ideas and I can't wait to get started on it! Stay tuned to see how I enhance my patio furniture and there might even be a new creative piece included!

Speaking of the awesome group, here are the other members:

• Robin Ripley of Bumblebee Blog: "A Decorative Concrete Planter"
• Brooke Kroeger of Creative Country Mom: "How to Plant a Fairy Rose Container Garden"
  
• Dave Townsend of Growing the Home Garden: "Building a Vertical Garden Arbor with Gutters"
• Kylee Baumle of Our Little Acre: "Pipe Dream Planter"

Don't forget to check out Lowe's Creative Ideas for project inspiration!