We Saw the Before & Now Here’s the After…Plus, Bunnies and Birds

Welcome to the 698th Metamorphosis Monday!

A few months ago I shared a historical home here in Ohio that was in the process of being stripped of its old paint. It was the first time I had seen an older home taken back to the bare wood before painting. So often old homes just get painted over and over and over since it’s expensive to remove the many layers of old paint and start fresh. I was so impressed that they were taking the time and expense to take it back down to the wood.

Removing Old Paint from Historic Home to Prepare for Painting

 

A few days ago we walked to a nearby restaurant to pick up dinner, followed by a picnic and some playtime in a park near the restaurant. On our walk back, we went back a different way and ended up passing the house that was being in the process of being repainted several months back.

Historical Home, Old Paint Stripped and Painted

 

It looks so nice, really turned out beautifully!

Old Home, Paint Stripped and Freshly Painted

 

I wonder what the two little support-looking things are above the front door…wonder if a balcony was there once upon a time. It will be interesting to see if the front of the home changes in the next few years. Update: In the comments it has been suggested that the supports may be for a window box. I could definitely see that below that window–would be beautiful!

Historical Home Freshly Painted

 

Bunnies!

I love bunnies and have seen quite a few in my front and back yard this spring. A few days ago, I looked out a front window of my son’s home and saw these two cuties.

Wild Bunnies

 

They were perfectly motionless. They may have heard me talking with one of my grandsons inside the house or maybe they saw me looking out the window because they stayed motionless like those bunny statues/figures you see for sale in stores for a long, long time.

Wild Bunnies, Front Yard

 

They were so BIG and stayed still so long, I honestly began to wonder if they were fake bunnies that a friend or neighbor had placed on my son/DIL’s lawn as a joke or prank…you know, like when you see flamingos all over someone’s lawn. lol

Adorable Bunny, Front Yard

 

But when I zoomed in, they looked way too realistic to be fake. After about 15 minutes, I opened the front door to get a better look and they “unfroze” and hopped off to do more bunny things elsewhere. lol

Adorable Bunny

 

During my drive to Ohio to visit family a while back, I stopped briefly in a Cracker Barrel to stretch my legs and to scope out the goodies in their little shop.

 

If I had a beach cottage painted in fun, pastel colors, this would have been tempting.

 

They had lots of beachy stuff like this shell wreath and the pair of shorebirds. I love using shorebirds in beach-themed/seaside table settings.

 

They also had pretty beach-themed, blue and white dinnerware, too. Love the nautical rope edging!

 

Cute birdhouse decor!

 

What do you think about the teacup lamp?

 

Here’s another view of the lamp. It probably wouldn’t work well with my decor, but I thought it was really cute.

 

Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start. The cute little Mourning Dove baby in the nest in my son’s garage, fledged today. I found him sitting atop my son’s car with Mom on a shelf nearby and Dad sitting on the rock wall just outside the garage. Mom was cooing and the baby was making the cutest little peeping sounds. Eventually, Mom flew down and fed him, then a bit later they all flew off. I started to put the garage doors down but my son said they occasionally come back to the nest for a few days after the babies leave, so I put one of the doors back up. This is the 3rd year they’ve nested here in the garage so he knows how it works.

Mourning Doves Nesting on Shelf in Garage

 

Update: My daughter-in-law just spotted the baby when she was backing out of the garage…sitting on the A/C unit beside the garage. ♥ So cute! Do you have baby birds nesting in your yard this year?

Baby Mourning Dove

 

Looking forward to all the wonderful Before and Afters linked for this week’s Met Monday!

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Metamorphosis Monday

Metamorphosis Monday is a party that’s all about Before and Afters. Please link up your Before and After projects like DIY projects, room makeovers, craft projects even recipes. Any Before and After is great! Please do not link up Table Settings, save those for our Tablescape Thursday party on Thursday.

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Comments

  1. thanks Susan! Love the teacup lamp! I need to check out a Cracker Barrel gift shop, they do always have cute things!

  2. I haven’t been to Cracker Barrel in years, I’ll have to try to get by there. Love the bunny shots! Thanks for hosting, Susan

  3. I am almost certain those blocks above the front door are for a window box. My previous home is almost identical to this one and we had a window box. A beautiful home!

    Cracker Barrel always has eye candy to look at ! Happy Monday!

  4. I wonder if the brackets could have been for a flowerbox?
    As for the bunnies I had thought the same thing but there was snow on the ground and it didn’t move. Finally when I went out there it was a rusted metal bunny cut out I had forgotten about-lol!

  5. Great Before/after photos of house, shame we couldn’t take a peek inside. Love traditional homes. Bunny photos were so cute!

  6. cheryl sinks says

    Gorgeous homes Susan. I had 2 little eggs that mama dove sat on and she eventually left. One little baby bird flew away but one day I found the other little dove on my patio floor dead. It probably tried to fly and just didn’t make it. I can’t tell you how sad I was as I watched the 2 little chicks every day. I heard the papa dove will sit on the eggs too.,but I don’t know how true that is

  7. Wow – I’ve never seen a house with all those years of paint taken off. That’s an amazing project, and it looks great after! The bunnies are darling. Thanks for the cute pictures, and for hosting, Susan. Hope you have a great week!

  8. Love the before and after of the house – it’s so beautiful. I agree with the other commenters about the brackets being for a window box. It will be lovely when there are flowers there. And, I also love the teacup lamp. It’s adorable…I have just the place for it in my office. 😉 Happy Monday!

  9. Terri J Santiago says

    Susan
    You have blue and white in your home somewhere, I think the teacup lamp would look cute.

  10. Sharyn Kimbrough says

    Susan, love the renovation pictures of that beautiful home. Also the bunny and Dove pictures and story were very interesting. Love your blog.

  11. The bunnies are so cute…we have a new baby deer in our back yard and I love when the bunnies and the deer are there together. YES…Cracker Barrel does have great stuff – and driving through Ohio last week I noticed that some stores are now offering Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s – wow!

  12. I say boo to the bunnies. I grew some Rudbeckia from seed and just planted them in the ground yesterday. Today I see the rabbits enjoyed Rudbeckia for dinner last night! I will have to put chicken wire around the plants if I want to salvage any. I will admit they are cute but not when they eat the “fruits of my labor.” The house with the new paint looks beautiful. Wonder if the two pieces above the porch roof could be to hold a window box?

  13. Beth Selanders says

    I have Doves back on my porch for the third summer. They will have multiple broods and make the biggest mess! Last year they had three broods on my porch. In the South they can have 5-6 broods. The young birds left the porch on Sat. and Sunday I cleaned up the mess on my bakers rack. I then put all my flower pots on the bakers rack and covered every inch of it with stuff to discourage the nest mess. While I was at work today they promptly returned and made another nest in one of my flower pots. I guess they showed me who is in charge of the porch. They don’t care I water my plants around them and grill on the porch. They just watch and go about their business! It’s a total game and the birds are winning. LOL

  14. I would have snatched up the welcome sign! Doesn’t have to be for a beach cottage! I love its colors!

  15. Hi Susan, After seeing your post today, the Cracker Barrel teacup lamp sparked my interest because I have a Laura Ashley porcelain teacup and saucer on my night table and my comforter is Laura Ashley yellow background and blue roses. I thought that lamp would be a nice accent lamp for my bedroom.

    I stopped by Cracker Barrel this afternoon and checked out the lamp. The one on display was wobbly and somewhat broken at the neck of the lamp where the lightbulb is screwed in. The teacups have a matte finish. I prefer a glossy finish of porcelain glaze. It wasn’t a wasted trip, rather, I was able to see for myself what I liked and didn’t like about the lamp. Overall, it sure is cute!

    I didn’t leave empty-handed. I purchased a jar of apple butter from Lebanon, Tennessee. It is the closest recipe to the year supply of jars of apple butter my ex-husband and I received from his Tennessee family where the apple butter is made in large copper kettles in the woods. I found an article in an old magazine about the Tennessee woods apple butter and the wonderful folks who make it.

    P.S. I love bunnies too!!

    • Sounds like it may have been turned over at some point. That’s so cool about the Tennessee Apple Butter. I will look for it the next time I am in a CB.

  16. We have Killdeer birds , they lay eggs in the gravel driveway . They do not build nests.They set off the drive alarms and run in front of the cars.

  17. Love the Welcome signs…
    Thanks again for hosting this lovely party every week! I know how much time goes into doing so and I want you to know that it is greatly appreciated!! Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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