With Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

That birdhouse is pretty fantastic looking, am I right?  Bo built it.  Yep, that's right.  He dragged tree branches in from the mini forest behind our house and sawed and carved and shaped them down to build a log cabin style birdhouse mansion.

Gone Worming! :)

He found a different tree to whittle off the bark for a thatched roof.  Seriously.

This next picture was taken a year ago.  See that tall tree trunk on the left?  It's the same tree in the next photo with the birdhouse attached to it.

The "after" photo.  There's the trunk of that tall tree there, on the left.  It looks amazingly different with all the brush cleared out!

And it makes our tiny yard look so much more open and bigger.

Bo built this retaining wall a couple of months ago, with the intent of keeping all the drain water off our back patio.  When we get crazy downpours, all the rain from the upper terraces drains to our yard and sits, creating a swamp.  It's terribly lovely, let me tell you.  But now we have a wall with a built-in bench top for sitting, tall glass of sweet tea optional.

Looking up to the left.  (Rory has no fence because she just lies around, keeping an eye on things.  The only thing that even tempts her to get off her duff is a teasing squirrel.)

And, to the right.

Dahlias are one of my very most favorite flowers.  I love them!!

Double Impatiens.  It makes me happy to go to the plant nurseries here and see many of the same flowers I grew up with.

Foxglove.  I haven't seen these since we lived on the Oregon Coast!  They grow wild in the forests there, along with Calla Lillies.

Also?  I. Achieved. Photography.  BOKEH.  And not even on purpose!!