My favorite garden accessory!

First thing I did this spring was put out my toad houses. I check them about once a week and have found evidence of use.

Sunday while working in the yard, I peeked in one of the toad houses and found it occupied. He must not have liked me peeking because he barricaded himself in that night. Hubby said he did that because it was cool. Maybe.



















After the yardwork was done, I came in and made my favorite summertime lunch. Tomatoes and fresh mozzarella!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Love,
CathyJayne

A Day Off

Yesterday I took the day off work. It was girls day, so I joined my mom, three of my nieces and one of my sisters for a day of fun!

We started at the Children's Museum where the little girls played and explored! Then lunch at One Trick Pony. Next we were off to the Public Museum, which is where I took this fun photo.

The ladybug is my sis, Ashley. And then caterpillar is my niece Cristina.

Today is back to work!

Love,
CathyJayne

Day 2 & 3 of Vacation 3

Our second day of vacation #3 turned out to be cloudy, so we hit the road to explore the northern coast of the Upper Peninsula. I fell in love with Whitefish Bay. We visited a lighthouse and a roadside park on the bay for a snack.

The further north we went, the clearer the sky! It really was cloudy back at the cabin! I love the sand, stones, and blue water of Lake Superior and Whitefish Bay.







Day 3 of Vacation #3
Taquamenon Falls





















































Love,
CathyJayne

Day 1 of Vacation 3

Our last vacation concluded on Wednesday. I'm finally getting to pictures and catching up on laundry and un-packing!

Last Saturday we packed up the Suburban with 4 people, a dog, and all our stuff to head the Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Along the way, we stopped in Clare to visit a new customer, Anne, at Coffee Talk 505. Her shop is adorable, the coffee yummy, and the flatbread pizzas AMAZING!

From there we continued north to stop in Cheboygan and visit family. Cheboygan is one of my favorite northern Michigan places to visit. Mainly because family is there, along with water, smoked fish, and fudge!! The onto the Big Mac! It's always fun to approach the Mackinac Bridge, see Lakes Superior and Huron and enter the UP. We met up with my sister and her family in Strongs at a cute cabin on High Banks Lake.







Here's a picture of my husband, father, and nephew. The very first thing they did when we arrived at the cabin was grab fishing poles to catch some fish!




More photos later!

Love,
CathyJayne

An Instagram week of camping

We spent the week in Northern Michigan at Interlochen State Park. Interlochen is also known for it's music camp. If you've seen the movie American Pie, "band camp" is based on Interlochen Music Camp.

Anyway, the campground on Duck Lake. It's big and great for fishing. This is the first time we took our dog with us, so we weren't sure how he'd do, but he was sooo good! Of course, he's 9 years old, so he was mellow and slept most of the time!

As you can see, we tent camp. Our tent is 10x12 which started out being a good size, but now that we have a cot and an air mattress, it seems too small. So we are shopping for larger tents. Cheaper than a camper!






It's always nice to get away for a few days, but there's always a lot to be done when I get home. Laundry. Jewelry orders. Laundry.

I'm ready to pack all the camping gear away until next year, but we are taking off one more time this summer! So the totes and equipment will linger in my dining area a few more days.

Have a great week!

Love,
Cathy Jayne

Weekend recap

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend, whether you made it a grand celebration or enjoyed a relaxing 3-day weekend.

Saturday we stayed home and I caught up on some much-needed yard work. I've shown my toad houses before and I'd seen evidence of life but did not see any toads in them. Saturday, while pulling weeds, I couldn't resist taking another peek! And there he was! Half buried in the dirt. Luckily, my new iPhone4 has a flash and that's how I was able to get this picture of the toad inside the house!












The last thing I did Saturday was plant some flowers in my deck planters. I picked out some purple and white petunias. Should've done it over Memorial Day weekend, but it's done and the deck looks much better!














Sunday we went to visit friends at their cabin on Rock Lake. Sun, food, swimming, and fishing. Sounds like a perfect summer day!

Today I worked on some orders to send out in the morning, sat on the deck and finished my book, did some laundry, made biscuits for the potluck at golf tomorrow.

Hope you have a great week!

Love,
CathyJayne

Camping Trip 2011

We've been married for 9 years. And our first camping trip together was just last year! Hubs had camped at Interlochen State Park many times with his family and hadn't been back in many years. The park is between two large lakes, Duck Lake and Green Lake. The park is on Duck Lake. I didn't see any ducks, but they do have loons there!

When we arrived, I was thrilled with the view of the lake from out site. It looks down and across the lake. It was cloudy and cool, but the sun popped out as it was setting and lit up the trees!








Of course where there's a campfire, there are smores! I found the new marshmallows that are flat and square to fit the graham cracker and create the perfect proportion of chocolate to mallow.















The next morning Hubs took this photo of the beautiful sunrise then I took a photo of hum and our nephew out fishing.













My idea of camping is RELAXING! This includes a hammock and a book! I finished this one and started another. If you want to read a great book, I highly recommend "The Silent Gift" by Michael Landon, Jr.


We have another camping trip planned for Interlochen and are looking forward to it!!

Where do you love to camp?
What are your favorite things to do when camping?

Love,
CathyJayne

What lives in my garden?

This evening I went out to pull weeds in my flower garden. This spring I put in two toad houses! I know there are toads that live there, so I thought they might enjoy their own houses!

I peeked inside and they were empty but there was evidence that they'd been used!









This little guy gave me a scare while trimming my Bleeding Hearts. He found safety in the Rhododendron.


Love,
CathyJayne

American Coot

I'd never seen this bird until yesterday. Often mistaken as a duck, the American Coot is a common waterbird. They have black bodies but you can see they have a white beak!

These birds are fun to watch, because unlike a duck, the AC will go completely underwater! They also peck at the ground, like a chicken!

So if you see these black birds on the water this summer, remember, they are not ducks!

Love,
Catherine

Baby It's Cold Outside

Freezing Rain. Sleet. Rain. Hail. Snow. In that order, we had it all in West Michigan over the last few days.

Today, clear blue skies reveal the ice coated droopy branches and make for great photos.

Love,
Catherine

Contrast

Originally uploaded by JustJaynes

I took this photo in a parking lot in Greenville. It was one of our mild sunny days. If there weren't snow in the photo, you might think it was taken in summer! But it was actually taken on one of the last days of winter.

Today, two days into spring, we have snow and freezing rain. Next week should bring the turnaround. Above freezing temps that will gradually warm everyday!

How's the weather where you are?

Love,
Catherine