Our Japanese Magnolias in Sunshine Today!

 It was not easy to watch our Japanese Magnolias (scientific name Magnolia x Soulangeana) opening up on such dark and dreary days...

But today it was SUNNY! 

Yay, that warms one's heart...

This was on February 16... no sunshine at all.

This is our 2nd Magnolia tree and I must say that a big tree fell into it when still young.

That's why it is so lanky but it does its very best!

Did spot lots of insects inside those blooms and that means the birds like our resident Eastern Phoebe can gather their protein once again.

This side of the house we use for feeding our birds and we observe them from the bay window area where we enjoy our meals.

Love their color transformation from dark bud to light inside petals...

Once more a picture taken today with blue sky and towards our home.

And from beneath the lanky one towards the home.

We ought to have the rose arbor and everything else pressure washed again...

Now first we live through pollen season!

But spring is arriving! 

PANSIES SMILING

Already on February 10, I took these photos of our SMILING PANSIES

Due to my bronchitis I took a lot of rest...

 

After lots of freezing nights and also rain, the pansies that Pieter planted early at the end of November.

They hardly showed, nor could lift their faces up...

So I waited for better days to capture them—February 10.

The entire length of Fiberglass Window Boxes along the driveway's retainer wall.

Also captured our 'ever flowering' Rosemary.

We started with several new trailing Rosemary plants as they are evergreen and always blooming.

A paradise for bees—year round!

Another view, now the other direction towards the house.

Now walking around and showing you our Fiberglass Window Boxes at the kitchen bay window and veranda.

And on February 10, our Japanese Magnolia started budding.

Hoping there will be no more frost...

Our kitchen bay window, where the middle Fiberglass Window Box is showing the BEST progress yet.

Also you see the blooming orchids...

These orchids were a gift from a friend's daughter and her husband, given to us on June 17.

They bloomed a 2nd time and flowers were so HUGE that one stem is kind of broken... not fully severed though. 

Yes, IF the sun is out, we enjoy our breakfast in the sunshine. 

SMILING PANSIES also on this side of our home!

We opted for this color to match our Golden Mist home.

We also have blooming Rosemary as patio pot plants to keep our bees happy!

Are you also enjoying some spring flowers?

Related link:

Our Golden Mist Home and Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold | Previous post by me

Our Golden Mist Home and Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold

 It is the BEST time of the year for our Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold...

Saturday morning April 15 with full sunshine! 

Benjamin Moore Golden Mist paint for our home with the Interlock Metal Roofing in aged copper slate and Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold to the right of our home.

Yep, the golden oak had a lot to do with the paint color... 😉

Lots of pot plants on our patio.

Here you can see the entire Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold

Sure it will even be more golden in the next week or so, see links below for the 'perfect' view.

Yes, our Eastern Phoebe is residing once again on the very same nest (we left it there as I'd read they return to their previous nest!) and has babies.

Last year's nest and you can see their beaks up—ready for Mom or Dad to bring them food.

They love their romantic surroundings by Vintage Woodworks...

This morning I captured the babies and we are not quite sure if there are 3 or 4 in the nest...

Pieter did purchase this beauty for becoming a potplant for our patio.

White Dipladenia it is called.

Dipladenia is in the Mandevilla family but it is a bushier plant whose stems grow down and hang.

This photo I made this morning to give a view of the bay window area and even you see the gazebo on the left.

There are lots of leaves blown off the Southern Magnolia tree...

Yes, on Friday, around 1:00 PM we had torrential rain + wind!

With our Benjamin Moore Golden Mist paint color, we of course had to have yellow pansies...

The same planter on the left is filling in as those got planted somewhat later.

A detail with some rain drops from yesterday...

Related links:

{Our Home with Aluminum Interlock Roofing and Benjamin Moore Golden Mist Exterior} | previous post by me

Our Home Freshly Painted | previous post by me

{# 1111 - Our Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' changing color} | previous post by me

Eastern Phoebe Reside in Front Porch with Babies | previous post by me

Spring in our Garden

 This was a lovely week with sunshine!

Spring is unfolding beautifully!

February 9, I walked over onto the neighbor's property to capture our blooming Japanese magnolia from there.

Just showing the bay window area from our home and the blind wall where the dining room is, no windows on that side.

Now from our side towards our home...

LOVE those perfect flower buds and there were already some petals on the ground.

Wanted to capture them because it would rain in the later afternoon and night.

A pine warbler is enjoying lunch on the tray from our previous Sharp microwave, set on the oak stump.

Happy daffodils near the Japanese Magnolia as you can see by its petals on the ground...

Our Fiberglass Window Boxes are filled with yellow pansies.

Tiggy–Tiger girl is head butting one of the planters...

That's the one where that poor friend cat often lies in for looking at us.

Our Renewal by Andersen bay windows look nice from outside!

A closer look at the yellow pansies.

Also the Vintage Woodworks parts on veranda door and under gable.

Pieter bought the pansies early at our local Home Depot just to make sure we had enough for all window boxes.

On the veranda side they got planted mid January but the bay windows after the Andersen windows were place on January 17.

I've hung the crocheted curtains back after Pieter drilled tiny holes into the fibrex of the new windows.

That worked perfect and after laundering the curtains and then stretching them out while still wet, we hung them on their 925 sterling rings (thin ones!). See post below this one...

Yesterday's photo—dark due to a dreary and rainy day...

The hand crocheted curtains hang perfectly on the new windows.

Detail of screws that Pieter pre–drilled into the fibrex material from Renewal by Andersen windows.

And my 925 silver rings.

Our 2nd Japanese Magnolia is near the flowering Camellia Sinensis Tea Plant.

Now I'm standing on the wood trail for capturing some flowers from our 2nd Japanese Magnolia.

They look perfect against our veranda.

Tiggy Tiger girl came to smell our Narcissus...

She's a tiny but cute kitty!

Senior—just like her Mami...

On Tuesday it was 21°C or 69.8°F...

So we both rolled our bikes...

On Tuesday it was 24°C or 75.2°F

Followed by rain again...

Related link:

Kitchen Bay Window New Crocheted ROSE Curtains & IKEA Roller Blind | previous post with the 925 sterling rings

Our Kitchen Bay Window Before and After Renewal by Andersen | previous post by me

AMAZING recovery of Japanese Magnolia—after getting LIGHT and FOOD! | previous post by me

Pieter ALWAYS Worked Hard and Did Things Himself

 Being an immigrant makes you START OVER LIFE...

Below video on YouTube you find clickable links with information...

Pieter standing proudly in front of his meticulously straight placed fence! 

Seen at clickable 12:26 in above video.

Great job!

Now looking the other way towards our driveway (left) and street.

Corner posts and intermediate posts every 25 m in the concrete.

Total length of 110 m and DAYS OF WORK... Yep, another mega task DONE!

This was also the very day (February 10 of 1984) that Pieter officially had become a member of the Rotary Club of Dublin, Georgia/U.S.A.

Pieter was already a member in The Netherlands since May 11, 1976 of the Rotary Club of Venray, The Netherlands district 1550, where he was President in the year 1978/1979.

That very same year, Pieter was also Honorary President of the Rotary Club Royal Forest of Dean, UK district 1100.

Our late friend Roy J. Chappell wrote this to Pieter on Valentine's Day:

Dear Pieter:

Welcome to my Rotary Club—both you and Mariet.

The worldwide reach of Rotary is manifested in your joining our club.

Whenever I may help you in Rotary—or any part of you and Mariet's life here in Laurens County—please call on my.

What a very kind gesture and he's been a tremendous friend over many years and he did tour Mom & Dad and us around through Laurens and surrounding Counties to show us the rural agricultural part of it.

Forever fond memories!

Such a NEAT fence and here you see the wood that had to get split for burning it in our wood burner in the living room.

Our 1st home's garden was of a perfect size, not too deep in the back. To the right you just can see our veranda.

The other end of the 110 meter long fence with our rock garden.

~

It was on March 9, 1984 that we also had our front porch tiled with the imported Dutch tiles and our garage got tiled with the leftover tiles from the Campbell mushroom farm that Pieter designed.

Just had scrubbed them with authentic Dutch Green Soap and mopped it dry with a real Dutch dweil...

Our tiled garage... also scrubbed clean!

We both loved our 'new' garage with tiles!

Do you have tiles in your garage or front porch?

In our present home we also do...

Related link:

On August 29 in 1983 we arrived as Immigrants in Georgia, USA | previous post by me

Husband Pieter Doing it ALL | previous post by me showing the now tiled patio and wall added for privacy—done by Pieter of course

My 3rd Home with my French DMC Rose Filet Lace Crocheted Curtains | showing the new front door with windows and my crocheted curtains...

A HUGE Snapping Turtle | previous post by me

Our Kitchen Bay Window Before and After Renewal by Andersen

 On October 12, we both went ahead and arranged to have new windows installed by Renewal by Andersen®.

A sales representative came to our home and about a week later another person came to take exact measures of the thermopane glass that needed to be replaced.

Those specks are actually in–between the double glass...

To the left bottom my iPhone is visible.

We moved into our home in November of 1990, after it got newly built.

Sure, all windows were shiny and perfect but not forever!

We'd asked a local company if they could replace them but got told that it was impossible with that type of windows...

It got really ugly and in the beginning I thought that I lost it when cleaning windows...

Going back and forth from inside to outside and rubbing really hard—in vain!

So we contacted Renewal by Andersen and ordered new ones.

This sun glare was perfect for actually showing how ugly they became—embarrassing.

The wait for new ones has been quite long—three months but there they are... on January 17, 2023

The evening before I took this photo from outside.

Pieter had already removed the Flower Framers of Cincinnati window boxes a week ago.

The center window from outside and our white picket fence is reflecting in it...

Woke up early and checked the weather—perfect with rain later in the day!

7°C or 44.6°F and high 22°C or 71.6°F

At 10:20 AM the crew of 3 had arrived from Fayetteville, Georgia a good two hour drive.

Loved this logo on the t–shirt:

The Better Way to

a Better Window®

With a huge suction devise from outside and work from inside this was at 11:08 AM

At 11:10 the first of 3 was out... Pieter is looking on in the back.

At 11:36 the new one was in and I took a picture of how it looked so far...

At 11:41 getting the center window out...

At 11:42 the other side window was in.

They meticulously used drop cloths inside and outside on the patio.

We opted for the FibrexⓇ Energy–Efficient Glass.

At 12:27 a detail of the new window...

At 14:29 after they'd already left... All DONE!

The new windows face more outward.

To the left is the BEFORE and to the right is the AFTER and you notice that the entire window is more outward. 

Both of us can't get over the CLEAR view of our garden with birds!

Very pleased with them and they were excellent workers.

The special glass quality we chose is also keeping the heat out and the cold—Saving Energy on cooling and heating.

This also comes with a great Limited Warranty

20.10.10 Years

Glass & Fibrex, Installation, Hardware

Fully Transferable