My Boaders

As I was mowing my yard last night I noticed these beauts sporadically placed throughout:

mounds of dirt? Why are you showing us mounds of dirt? Well, my friends, these mounds of dirt mean one thing: THE MOLES ARE BACK! That's right, moles are hopefully digging under my yard in such a way that I can irrigate with a drip hose! That will make watering so much more effective – I can water the foundation and the yard at the same time – so keep digging little moles, keep digging!

The moles reminded me of all the other wildlife that inhabits my yard. So I thought I'd introduce all of you, or just Renee (cause I think she's the only one that reads this) to everyone. Just so everyone's clear I live in suburbia – in the middle of a large metropolitan area – not the country.

This is Lizzy – the lizard. She temporarily lived in my fireplace, then under my dressing table then I finally caught her sleeping on my pillow and was able to take her back outside where she currently resides.

And this is Billy the Bull Frog. I found him cuddled up next to my front door one morning:

This is Cassandra (Cassie for short). Sometime this spring she lost her tail and has been gallivanting around with a grayish stub that has slowly been forming a new one. I am excited to report she finally finished growing her tail back this week!

And then there is the family of woodpeckers – they come back every spring and add on to their previous dwellings in my tree, soon I will have a whole woodpecker apartment complex, I'm sure! I usually only see the males with an occasional glimpse of a female, but I can sure hear their babies.

Last week these four showed up I haven't named them yet but I'm working on it (suggestions are welcome):

And there you have it, the residents of my 1/8 acre lot. (This does not include the stray cat that I'm sure is the reason Cassie lost her tail, I've kick that particular resident to the curb for not playing nice with the others.) 

I have a confession...

Yesterday I was lounging around chatting with some friends when I let it slip that I don't like to decorate. "GASP! But, Sandy, you're an interior designer?! How can you not like decorating?!"

Well, it's like this, I'm more of a big picture kind of gal, a problem solver so to speak. There's a reason I went into commercial design and not residential.

I like the problem solving aspect of making things fit when it really doesn't seem possible (and believe me everyone wants way more in their space then in reality can actually fit). Sometimes it take hours to arrange the puzzle in just the right way that it all works (and meets code -a pesky little thing- and ADA guidelines -also very pesky) and sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel and saying it can't be done. But when the solution comes - it's glorious and gives me a high.

If I'm being completely honest I'd say I also don't like selecting finishes, I don't mind it (I do realize the importance of a good overall color scheme) but I don't enjoy it either.

But what I really don't care about is the accessories you put in the space and let's be honest here, that's what residential design really is - accessorizing, yuck.

Don't get me wrong I love arranging MY accessories and shopping for just the right accents for MY house. But don't ask me to do it for yours. I'd be more than happy to arrange your furniture for ultimate space utilization but I don't care what you put on your mantel or bookshelves or walls; it's your space - do what makes you happy. Where to put your owl collection is not my problem.