It's fall ya'll and I am so excited!

Already the temperatures are cooler and the leaves are changing colors here in North Carolina.  We've gotten a lot of rain this spring and summer so we are supposed to have a colorful fall this year.

It's apple season in the mountains so last week when we were there working on the cabin we stopped in a rustic little mountain shop we passed on the side of the road that had more apples and pumpkins than you could shake a stick at.  This is the first time we've gotten mountain pumpkins.  There were regular orange pumpkins, some so big it would take three strong men to put it in a truck. Seriously, I've never seen such HUGE pumpkins!  There were green pumpkins, gourd shaped pumpkins, white pumpkins, tall and flat pumpkins, and lots of pumpkins covered in warts, so we stocked up!

Fall Home Tour 2015

Welcome to my Fall Home Tour!

As one of 28 bloggers sharing their homes decorated for fall, I'd like to give a big thank you to Brenda at COZY LITTLE HOUSE for hosting and inviting me to be among these sweet and talented bloggers.

If you are new here, welcome to my home!

We live in North Carolina in a southern colonial.  Built in the early 70's, we knew when we bought this home that it was in need of a little care.  As we move along with remodeling, we try to incorporate touches of days gone by with a little farmhouse style to each project.  Our first projects were the FRONT PORCH and ENTRY DOORS.  

We love our porches here in the South and there's nothing better than rocking with a hot cup of coffee in the morning or sipping sweet iced tea in the afternoon.

Lazing, Hanging and Thieving

I was in the kitchen minding my own business,

thinking about this and that as I washed and dried the dishes,

when I looked up and noticed something odd outside the kitchen window.

A blob of something was just beneath the magnolia tree.

I thought to myself, "what in the world is that?"

Nature Elements on the Porch

The porch is the first greeting guests receive when they visit.

Our southern traditional style is simple.

There are rocking chairs,

urns filled with plants for the season

and often there is a flag blowing in the breeze.

I hope folks feel welcome at first step on our porch.  

Spring Garden and Babies Too!

This is such a beautiful time of year.

The sights, sounds and smells are wonderful.

It's the perfect time to take a stroll through the garden to see what's blooming.

I admire the flowers while Ellie-Mae hopes to see something she can chase.

She is posing for you,

that little white "dot" just in front of the porch.

Spring Flowers on the Southern Porch

With the longer days and warmer temperatures here lately, it's been nice spending time out on the porch.

No longer grabbing a coat to let the pup out and encouraging her to "hurry", I just sit on the porch and rock.

While rocking I noticed the pansies that I planted in the urns last fall were getting leggy,

and I still had my fall wreaths on the front doors,

so I headed out to get some spring flowers for this southern front porch!

A January Spring

The temperatures surely say it's winter.

But as the sun shone brightly around the side of the house,

onto the porch,

and began dancing across the pansies,

the view was one of springtime.

It's Exciting

There are some things I'll never grow tired of.

Some are small

and some are very large,

but no matter their size it is always exciting to see the Barred Owls back at the porch.

There must be something special about this tree at the end of our porch

because they come very often to perch and spend the day...

Simple BUT Lively Southern Porch

Since sharing about the front porch and my choosing to keep things simple by filling the urns with ferns The Front Entry ~ Keeping It Simple, our porch has become very eventful.

The Barred Owl is back and a pair of Carolina Wren's decided one of the ferns would be the perfect place to nest and raise their brood.

The Barred owl is perching in the top of the tree at the end of the porch (see him?)

and

the Carolina Wren's nest is the urn underneath the porch light...

About the owl...

It seems the Barred Owl really likes this spot.

He will stay for a few days, disappear, and then come back again.

We enjoy spending cool evenings rocking on the porch and the owl doesn't seem to mind us.

We don't mind him either, such a treat having an owl so up close and personal...

Here he is cleaning his talons...

He will snooze for a while,

then take a gander to see what we are up to...

Sometimes he will go back to sleep,

and sometimes he will keep one eye on us...

Now on to the Carolina Wren's...

Early mornings I would notice potting soil on the porch floor, just beside the urn.

At first I thought it may be squirrels

but soon began to see some leaves and pine needles being added just beneath the fern...

For days there was only one egg,

then another egg,

a few days later there was another,

and yesterday she laid three more!

Now there are six eggs...

This is the view of the nest through the glass in the entry doors...

It was through these doors I was able to snap these pictures...

Even though there are already six eggs,

it seems they are still fluffing their nest... 

I planted ferns to keep the front porch simple, but it has become lively with the owl and wrens!

How about your porch, anything interesting perching or nesting close by?

The Barred Owl has visited many times before that you can see here...

Do You See What I See and He's Back!

Join us each week for AMAZE ME MONDAY...

Sharing with: Wow Us Wednesday, Return To Loveliness, Inspire Me Tuesday

The Front Entry ~ Keeping It Simple

Finally, the entry is done!
When everything is in full bloom it can be a challenge to photograph the front of the house, especially in the afternoon when full sun is on the porch.

Notice the white furry thing on the front lawn?

Missy Mae (Ellie-Mae) is enjoying the cool green grass...

This spring I wanted to keep the entry simple by using sweetgrass baskets filled with white flowers and a bit of trialing moss, the same as last year.  The flowers still looked brand new, so why buy more...right?!

To stay with my simple theme I used ferns to fill the urns,
they are easy to care for and oh so Southern...

The entry is done, now I need to decide on which plants to use in the urns out back that are in the courtyard and on the deck.  The deck gets full sun most of the day so I usually incorporate Lantana because they can take the heat and the hummingbirds love them.

Hope you are having a GREAT week!

Join us each week for AMAZE ME MONDAY

Sharing with:  Wow Us Wednesday, Inspire Me Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Return To Loveliness, Tweak It Tuesday

The Entry~Double Door Remodel

Hi sweet friends!
Hope you are having a great week, it's been busy here!




The front of our house has been going through some changes.

We started with the stone front porch and

once finished we moved on to the double entry doors.

Here is the front of our house before the porch and doors were remodeled...

White solid wood double doors with wooden glass storm doors…

The view from inside...

The foyer was dark,

the storm doors were showing wear,

and we wanted a change that would allow sunlight in to brighten things up…

All done!

Here are the new beveled glass doors…

  



The entry looks so much better now...

The view inside the foyer is better too,

much brighter with lots of sunlight streaming in...

For a tour of our home go here.

Join us each week for AMAZE ME MONDAY...