Where Ruby Lives
Summer in Minnesota - From Ruby's Front Porch
It's summer now, in Minnesota.... the summer that has followed the
'spring that never was' to quote the pastor of our church here
in Kasson. And what a great and appropriate quote... I was sooooo
tempted to claim the credit for it for myself ^grin^!!!
I just came in from the front porch where I've been relaxing on
a reclining lawn chair, reading, and drinking a huge glass of
frosty ice tea. After a while I put my book down and took a
few moments to just sit and absorb..... absorb what??? the day
of course... the surroundings.... a bit of everything... and
that's when I decided to I had to come back inside and tell you
all about it.
Minnesota is lovely in the summer... it doesn't normally get so
hot as many places do.... The trees are finally in full leaf...
and for the moment everything is lush and green....
We have a front porch on our house.... just a small area with
4 white columns (LOL... not REALLY!!!! actually they are 4 white
8 X 8 inch pieces of wood which hold the roof up)... and a white
railing around the edge of the porch.... Irregardless of what you
may have heard about insects (mosquitoes in particular) here in
Minnesota, we really don't have that many here in Kasson and we
can sit on our porch in comfort even tho it is not enclosed.
There are three cement steps coming down from our front door....
which is dark forest green, set against the brick front of the
house (most of the house is a dull gold wood, but the front is brick,
in various shades of brown and tan).... At the bottom of the
three steps is a cement floor, covered in a tan/brown tweedy outdoor
carpet.... idyllic?? not really... the carpet is old and worn with
a small rip in a couple of places.... but still it's ours and it's
comfortable, and lovely in its own way :)
Hanging from the front edge of the roof are three white planters
containing flowering begonias..... huge flowers..... the ones one
either side have orange flowers.... 4 and 5 inches accross the
blossoms... and the one in the middle has bright yellow flowers, a
wee bit smaller, maybe 3 inch blossoms... and very fragrant.... I
only wish I could package up the scent to include on my web page
for you.... What I DIDN'T know... until I hung the plants.... was
that birds love them.... enough to have made a nest and decided to
raise a family in the planter on the west end of the porch.... the
birds are fun to watch and add to the view.... but LOL they drive
our cats NUTS.... the cats watch the birds from inside the house and
make the funniest mewwing sounds :))
As I sit in my lawn chair.... and look out between the 'columns' I can see
the shrubbery along the west front edge of my house.... right next
to the porch is a flowering cherry... and next to that a lilac...
the blossoms are gone for this year... but the leaves (a deep reddish
color on the cherry, and soft green for the lilac) are pleasant to
look at as well...
To the east of the porch are smaller bushes which will soon be
covered in tiny yellow blossoms..... it's funny.... the ones in the
back (south side) of the house are in full bloom and have been for
nearly a week while the ones on the front side (north) don't have
a single flower yet (shows you how cold the north side of anything
in Minnesota is :).... the blossoms will stay on for
four to six weeks... I wish I could tell you what they are, but...
hmmm..... sorry... I can't cause I've forgotten.... LOL
And out in front.... I can see our mailbox.... surrounded by a bed
of colorful coleus.... Coleus don't bloom (which is a GOOD thing,
cause last year I couldn't keep up with picking the dried blossoms
off of the marigolds I had planted in that flower bed)... Instead
coleus have a colorful foliage... yellow and greeen and violet and
purple... and the more sun they get the brighter they become.
There are trees along the front of our yard.... small trees but
growing rapidly, with the tallest now being 12 or 15 feet in height.
Four trees down the front (north) side.... another couple out in
the yard itself and two more on the west side that we planted last
year.... Maybe just MAYBE... in 20 years we will have shade for the
west end of our yard LOL!!!!!!
When I sit and look out from the porch, our neighborhood reminds me
of a park..... everyone here takes great care to keep their yards
looking lovely.... the grass is green and kept well trimmed and there
are flowers and shrubbery everywhere... it is a soothing sight to the
eyes and I love the way it looks.
But there are other treats to be had on the front porch today... not
all visual ones.... The air is warm and soft against my cheeks...
sensual actually, if you can imagine it..... soothing.... and the
sky is unbelievably blue with soft white fluffy clouds floating here
and there.... the sun is shining and warm.... and it's peaceful....
quiet, yes... but not totally.... you can occasionally hear the
shout of a child.... or a car driving by.... and this is the kind
of neighborhood where people walk..... they walk everywhere especially
in the evenings.... and they stop to say hi, or to chat for awhile
and to find out how you are or what's new with you....
I want so much to share the way sitting on my front porch made me
feel this afternoon.... and often does make me feel... and words
are somehow so totally inadequate..... hopefully I've given you
at least a small feeling of it.... and hopefully your day has been
made better because of it, like mine was.
Take care until we talk again..
RubyRed
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