Touched by an Avalanche...

 ...an "avalanche" of rain, that is.

 If our rain gauge is accurate, a 4"-5" AVALANCHE!

 On my way to our backyard cabin, I couldn't resist photographing some of the

 aftermath of the "avalanche".

A siren went off in our small town -- around midnight, I think.

It was a pretty weak one.  I went downstairs to get more information.

There was a tornado watch posted for a large portion of NE Indiana until 6:00 this morning.

I went back to bed and "slept" quite fitfully.

There were no more sirens.

 With more rain in the forecast,

 I see frequent lawn-mowing and weed-pulling in our future!

Our Backyard Christmas Cabin

 The sun was already setting when I went out to get this picture this afternoon...

 still you can get the gist of our backyard Christmas cabin.

If you'd like a peek inside, click HERE.

Come on!  I think you'll be surprised.

And Merry Christmas!

Behind the Cabin

 

I'd forgotten how the sun reflecting on the bottle

duplicates the colors of the day lilies that are just now beginning to bloom...

(For more views of our cabin through the years,

you can click on the label/link below this post.)

Outside our Christmas Cabin

 This sign hangs over the entrance to our backyard Christmas Cabin...

 Looks like we have a little touch up to do on the Christmas tree that 

hangs beside the doorway.

Santa stands beside the front "porch".

For a look inside, click HERE to go to another blog of mine...

Before & After in the Back Yard

Before

After

Yesterday we expanded the rose bed.  Already we're pleased with the result.  The roses grew over the yard and interfered with pain-free mowing, etc.  This way, we think the roses will be highlighted and not lost in the smallness of the previously-sized flower bed.  It also blends nicely with the flower bed in front of our backyard cabin...

FROST ADVISORY for tonight!  What's up with THAT?

Red in the Morning

It was quite impossible to capture the red of this morning with the cell phone I held in my hands.  The sight was breathtaking.  True to the rhyme, we are to have freezing rain and sleet this evening and during the night...

Red sky at morning, sailor take warning;

Red sky at night, sailor's delight.

...scene through our tall, backyard pine tree

Thanks to "The Empress"

Thanks, Melissa! I was the happy winner of her recent giveaway--this GREAT book.  Be sure to visit  The Empress of Dirt and enjoy her writing and gardening perspective.  (I do almost every day!)

 The Cabin is one of two "sheds" on our property.  It houses our extra bedroom as well as providing us with a place to get away from the phone and front-door traffic...

We have a second shed.  Two-thirds of it provides storage for yard & garden equipment.  The other side is full of my "stuff".  (It was SUPPOSED to be a sitting area with a view of one of our small flower gardens...)

Our Backyard Cabin

This sign made of twigs which fell in our yard hangs over the front door of our backyard cabin.

The 10'x16' frame was built and assembled on site by local Amish builders. My husband and father-in-law finished the inside which serves as an extra bedroom and get-away. It is decorated in a Christmas theme year 'round. My husband stained the cabin and added the deck with bench to the front of it.

This is one side view, accented by transplanted white roses which twine around a cushionless wrought-iron settee.

Around the back, a transplanted mulberry tree (not identified when we planted it) is kept trimmed back frequently to control its size. The clematis to the right blooms beautifully;
hosta, day lilies and sedum fill the flower bed.

The other side of the cabin hosts a couple of wash tubs which make convenient summer bathtubs for visiting grandchildren.

The old bed springs attached to rebar serve as a see-through frame, hung with an invitation to "SIMPLIFY".

Close ups of a few features that surround the cabin...