
Global writing challenge…
It’s time for another Global Writing Challenge prompt. Our current membership consists of MK’s Adventures in Style, Deb’s World, Women Over 50 Living Well, Suzy Turner, Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After, Rosie Amber, and me. You may have noticed this is a week earlier. We decided to make the change as the third Thursday is a busy time for some of us. I chose this month’s theme, and I have absolutely no idea what I was thinking about when I chose it! But, I’m gonna roll with it! This is one of my favorite posts to write and to read! On top of the wonderfully different opinions and thoughts, the writing itself is wonderful! I hope you’ll visit all of these blogs because you are going to be amazed at, not only the diversity of the ideas, but the stories of each person. There’s also a link party at the end of this post!

If you want to participate…
If you’d like to join in, we post on the second Thursday of the month. You can link up with me or any of the other bloggers. Here are the next few prompts of the year:
- May: Thursdays
- June: Blooming
- July: Supernatural
A little history…
I’m really not sure what I had in mind when I suggested this prompt. But, as we’re in the midst of Spring (though I’m not sure Mother Nature agrees), I thought I’d address the prompt quite literally. I’m sharing photos from our home up north, the first home we owned down here, and our current home. I tried to find photos from all the seasons, but I don’t have photos of all four seasons for each home. We have lived in Central Indiana now for ten years. But, we lived in our last home up north for close to thirty years.

Just a note…
When people ask me which is my favorite season, I usually respond Fall. But, the truth is I love all of them except for when we’re in the deep of summer. I really don’t like being hot. Luckily, Nigel is OK with that and doesn’t bother me when I stay inside in the nice air conditioning.


Winter…
Winter up north was a little more snowy than it is in Central Indiana. We got lake effect snow even though we were about 150 miles from Lake Michigan. Nigel and I were still in that newlywed stage when the Blizzard of 78 hit! We lived about eight miles out of town and were snowed in for a few days. I really love the photos I’ve included of our yard. One of them is me making a snow angel for my grandson when they lived in Virginia! We were Facetiming, and he wanted to see a snow angel. He was probably two then and had never seen one! Central Indiana receives enough snow to cover the yard sometimes. This past winter was the coldest and snowiest (IMHO) we’ve had in the years we’ve lived here.


Spring…
Spring is the time of year I start thinking about what I’m going to plant. Up north, we had over an acre of land. We also had close to 80 trees so I had to look for shade loving plants. I planted lots of perennials as well as containers full of annuals. My favorites were irises, lilies, cleome, zinnias, and begonias. When we moved to Central Indiana, I planted lots of hostas on the north side which received very little sunshine. I also began experimenting with elephant ears. I ended up with so many, I gave bunches away. I continued to plant begonias but also expanded to marigolds and New Guinea impatiens. Here, at the new house, I have very little space in which to plant. I use lots of containers. I have three large terra cotta planters. I use the rule of three to plant these…a thriller, some fillers, and some spillers. I planted rubrum last year which overshadowed the other plants so they didn’t grow. I’ve yet to figure out what’s going in there this year. I have planted lots of perennials around the house and on the hump…lavender, echinacea, salvia, and many things I can’t remember. I love to see them waking up as the weather warms.


Summer…
Summer is when the porches come alive. We had two wonderful porches on our house, one on the east side and one on the west side. Both were 34 feet long and six to seven feet deep. We spent so much time on those porches, switching as the sun passed overhead. I have had hanging planters at all three houses. I almost always have Boston ferns which give so much bang for the buck! Up north, we had a couple different family-owned greenhouses where we bought bedding plants. Here, I finally found one three or four years ago. I have to make a list because I’d be like a magpie in a field full of shiny objects! I spend lots of time watering the plants, but, gosh, do I love the results.




Fall…
If I honestly had to pick a favorite season, it would be fall. I love the colors popular in the season as well as the smells. I mean, is there anything better than a fire in the fall? Or, how about pumpkin spice? I don’t really like pumpkin spice drinks, but I do love the smell. As I said before, up north, we had close to 80 trees. And, most of them were deciduous which meant we had to rake those leaves. If we hadn’t moved, Nigel was going to buy one of those doohickeys that you hook up to your garden tractor (or zero turn thingee) and sweep up the leaves. Just as we would get one wave of leaves raked up and burned, along came another. Altogether, it probably took two to three weeks to clean up the entire yard. But, gosh, the colors! We had an ash tree in the front yard. It would turn a beautiful burgundy color on the outside, but the inside leaves would be a golden color. It just looked like a glowing ball, and then, just like that, all the leaves would fall! I planted mums, but they never came back up. I quickly learned to just plant them in containers. It seems like fall is the shortest season of all in my neck of the woods.

Wrap it up, Marsha!
As I finish this, I realized I didn’t even talk about clothes in the seasons! As a fashion blogger, I probably should have done that, right? The only big thing I can think of to say about dressing for the seasons is that I seem to lean toward greys in the winter. I just love a good grey sweater though I’ve made a real effort to not do that. I don’t think I bought a single grey sweater this year! So, can we talk? Which season is your favorite? Is it your favorite because of traditions, clothes, or smells? What colors do you associate with each season? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as soon as possible.

Thank you!
I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
What others are saying…
Suzy “writes about how seasonal changes affect her life in Portugal and shares a magical perspective by exploring the Triple Goddess archetype—Maiden, Mother, and Crone—as a way to connect more deeply with the rhythms of nature.”
Mary Katherine is on hiatus as she wraps up her work life, takes a trip and just relaxes for a bit!
Sue “from Women Living Well After 50 writes about Living Well in the Season you are in and finding Joy at every stage of life.”
Debbie: “Debbie looks at life’s changing seasons, via kids and cars, and what they teach us about growth, patience, and letting go (of both control and the steering wheel).”
Leslie “For this month’s prompt, Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After shares some of the ways in which she is learning to adapt and flourish in this season of life. ”
Rosie “Rosie chose to look at the Changing Seasons Of Life and compares them to one of her favourite trees, the mighty Oak..”
And, now, it’s your turn!
If you’d like to link up your Personal Style posts, you may link up here or at any of the other blogs!
Lovely photos, Marsha. Where I live we don’t get snow and in Queensland we have hot and humid summers with milder winters. Autumn and Spring are glorious but again I don’t get the Autumnal Colours which I adore. Thank you for the prompt and everyone has come from a different angle which is great. x
Thanks, Sue! Luckily, we still have four distinct seasons, but our spring and fall are definitely getting shorter. Our summers are definitely much hotter than they used to be. I have loved reading everyone’s posts on this prompt. I really thought everyone would go for the same thing, but even when they did, the POV is completely different. That’s why I love this challenge so much!
I love the Hibiscus Marsha, what a great colour. And I giggled at your rule of three for planters plant…a thriller, some fillers, and some spillers! I am going to adopt that saying, I’ve not heard of it before. I’m a Spring and Summer type of gal. Our summers don’t tend to be unbearably hot, well maybe for a day or two but no longer. Snow? Nah, you can keep that away from me.
Thanks, Rosie! It’s such an unusual color, and it blooms for quite a long while. As for that rule of three…some people say a chiller, filler, and spillers. It actually does work really well. I keep telling Mike I’d love to rent a country house somewhere in the UK for about a month (even though I’d have to learn how to drive on the other side of the car and road) and just relax and absorb the glory.
Your photos are beautiful, Marsha! I would have loved to have lived in your houses! The seasons looked spectacular in your part of the world, especially the winter—all that snow! WOW! I agree that Fall/Autumn is a particularly special season for all the colours and the smells, although it’s not quite the same here in Portugal. I’d love to visit the US in the Fall, but we’ve only been in the mid-winter lol! Crazy, I know!
I loved reading your post, Marsha!
Hugs
Suzy xx
Thank you, Suzy! We built that house in 1988 and lived there until 2015. Over the years, we just kept planting trees, perennials, and hostas. We both wish we’d stayed there, but the relationships Mike and our youngest have forged has been worth the heartache of missing home and my family. We used to have snowstorms like that all the time. Now, they are becoming more rare. Some winters, we only get a few inches. We live about 2.5 hours south of our home up north. Well, should you come to the US in the fall, I know a certain Hoosier (someone who lives in Indiana) would love to meet up with you and have a wonderful time!
I’m very much a fall girl, then spring. We don’t really get much snow here anymore in the winter (if at all) and while that makes me happy because I didn’t even like to be in snow – as opposed to looking at it – as a child, I know it’s the result of climate change which doesn’t make me happy.
Summer isn’t good for me because I don’t deal well with heat at all, and my personal heat starts at a much lower temperature than it does for other people.
As my doctor put it last time “so you are a dark soul” when I said I didn’t like the days to get longer, lol. I guess I really am.
Beautiful pictures, Marsha!
https://catswire.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Cat! I must be a dark soul, too, because I really love the longer darker days. They’re just so much more cozy and homey. Those aren’t the right words, but you know what I mean. I agree with you about climate change as our winters used to be like the ones in my photos (at our house up north which is only 2.5 hours away) all the time. Now, those kinds of snowfalls are few and far between. But, I love snow! Jack loves it even more than me! He would play outside for hours except he gets covered with snowballs! And, they are hard to come off. See, here is another instance of us being good neighbors…fall and spring for the win…summer is definitely the loser!
Fab post Marsha, I love seeing all the garden shots and reading your memories of where you’ve lived and what you did in the garden. My favourite bit is you doing a snow angel in the snow, how much fun! That’s something I would do :). This was another great prompt and I love how we all come at these topics in different ways. Such fun!
Thanks for the great prompt and coordinating us all x
Thanks, Debbie! I was so glad I had photos of all three homes in various seasons. Oh, that snow angel photo…Mike was talking with Miranda and Will via FaceTime. They were talking about snow angels (they lived in Virginia which rarely gets snow), so I snuck into the bedroom and put on lots of layers. Then, I had Mike come outside with the iPad and capture me making a snow angel. I’m not sure if you can see Will’s face in the corner! He’s going to be 15 this year…maybe I’ll have that printed out for him as a gift!
I thought everyone’s post this go round was so good. We got such different takes on the prompt. It truly is one of my favorite posts to write!
Oh I hate snow but I have to say it does look pretty. Give me spring and summer and I’m happy!
I do like spring but our summers are usually hot and humid. I can do hot, but the humidity wipes me out. Do you get much snow, Nancy? I always say if it’s gonna be cold, it might as well be snowing!
Thanks, Nancy!
Wow, what great photographs! And such a lot of snow too! We used to have snow down south in the UK but we don’t now. Maybe we get a little light dusting that is gone the next day, but never a thick coating. I think Spring is lovely in the UK what with all the flowers coming out: first of all snowdrops, then daffodils, followed by tulips, They are so Spring like especially the daffodils. And it still doesn’t get too hot in the UK so Summer is good too. Not a lover of Winter though. But yes, Autumn is wonderful for the colours of the leaves. That was a great theme, Marsha!
Thanks, Penny! Those photos are probably 12 years old now, but we would get wonderfully beautiful snowstorms. I loved how my yard looked in the snow. Obviously, I did because I still have those photos on my phone. It’s so funny you say you don’t get snow because I think most people in the States equate snow with Christmas in England! Ah, I have been seeing photos of the beautiful flowers already blooming in the UK. I only had hyacinths bloom this year. I’m going to make a note of where they are and then plant lots of daffodils this fall. We were in London one summer when it was terribly hot. I think there were even problems with the underground as the rails weren’t used to that kind of heat. I’m so glad you liked the theme, Penny!
I think my favorite season changes depending…
When i didn’t have to drive and wasn’t always cold, I liked winter…but now?
Summer & spring meant a whole different thing living in Colorado vs Arizona.
And fall? I didn’t like it when I had to rake leaves but now it’s fun
Xoox
Jodie
Thanks, Jodie! I think my favorite season will always be fall, but I am almost always glad to see the next season arriving! I loved raking leaves the first couple of times, but when we got into the second week, I was done!
I couldn’t agree with you more, Marsha! I also claim Fall as my favorite season but am equally grateful that I live in an area of the country that experiences all four! The “dog days” of summer get long as I, too, do not like humidity (I’m not sure how hose in Texas or the southwest handle it all!). My only complaint is that some times, it feels like we jump from summer to winter with only a few short weeks of fall and then, likewise, from winter to summer, without a decent spring. I can also be guilty of missing what I don’t have – missing the cool weather in the summer and vice versa. It’s a good reminder to savor the season we’re in!
Thanks, Laura! I absolutely agree with you that spring and fall do not last near long enough! I’d really rather summer and winter were those “shoulder” seasons! This winter (even though we’re in spring) just doesn’t want to give up. We keep have freezes and then chilly days. But, soon I’ll be complaining about the heat and humidity!
I love all your photos and the beauty of each of the seasons in your backyard! I always have a plan to take photos of a specific spot in each season, but seldom have I managed to follow through. I had a lot more appreciation for watching the changing seasons in my own yard and outside of my window in our Maryland house than here in Ohio, but that’s mostly because my apartment home doesn’t have the view. I think autumn is my favorite season overall, but I’m notorious for not being able to pick a favorite anything! Enjoyed participating in Tell Us About this month!
Thanks, Kym! I surely do miss living there. We had so much yard to enjoy (and mow and rake leaves, but still). It’s a different world in a suburb of a large metropolitan area as I know you know. Fall is what I almost always say, but I like most of them. Hopping over to read your post now! Thanks for joining us!
How in the heavens do you get your hibiscus to thrive like that after those frigid, snowy winters? I am so jealous. My hibiscus struggle with our winters and really dislike our dry, hot summers. I have had to cover them with an impromptu shade to keep them from burning absolutely up. Only have one that has survived last summer, our very warm fall, and this past winter. Hope it will begin to take off.
I love snow. Your snowy backyard at your old house looks like paradise to me. But I imagine after a couple of snows like that each winter, I would be quickly tire of the cold. But to me there is nothing prettier than a fresh fallen snow.