when i was at my mom's house a few weeks ago she loaded up my trunk with stuff she was getting rid of.
she sent me home with a quilt, some art and this croquet set.
"we never use it" she said.
and it has been the farm family favorite ever since!
annie gets to start ahead because her skills are being perfected.
she's getting better though.
as with almost every game known to man….craig knows the rules and has taught them how to play.
how does his brain hold all that information?
rules to croquet? why is that in there???
and also with all games in the duerksen house….an extra challenge is thrown down.
"can you do this?"
trying to balance a croquet mallt is now more fun than croquet!
we looked like a family of circus performers.
this photo looks like annie is about to get whacked by sean…she didn't….thank goodness.
this bush/tree is in our yard.
there have got to be 5000 flowers on it…for reals.
maybe more.
it's so big and the awesome thing about it…..it's always COVERED in butterflies!!
you could say it provides privacy for our outdoor area….but that would indicate that we need privacy.
there is nothing out here to need privacy from.
unless you didn't want the cows to watch you eat dinner?
so instead of privacy i will say it is beautiful to enjoy while we spend time in the front yard.
i have no idea what it's called.
do you?
it's obviously been here a long time….it's gigantic.
um…have you noticed that i love living out here?
i have given a few hints haven't i?
🙂
craig and i look at each other quite often and give a knowing smile.
we are both thinking it.
"this is an amazing place"
green acres is the place for me.
josy - I have so many memories of playing croquet with all my cousins at my grandma & grandpa’s house in Lehigh. Aw.
A Facebook User - Hi Meg, Just ran across your sweet blog. To answer your question about your over grown shrub in your yard, it’s a Mock Orange. It’s simply lovely the way it is. I have gardened all across our wonderful country and, you have been blessed to have such a lovely one as this to come with your house. Enjoy it!
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Elizabeth - Those bush flower pictures are heavenly!!!
You made the right choice 😀
shauna - i wanta be a farmer with you
Bethany - So glad people came to post mock-orange! I saw this post a couple of days ago and knew it wasn’t a butterfly bush, but wasn’t sure what it was until the kids and I visited Botanica. Lo and behold, there was the same bush and I thought “That’s what Meg has!”
Leslie - Beautiful pics – I want to run out and get one of those flower bushes – glad people are posting what it is 🙂
Victoria - Awww this post brings back memories of my Grandparents croquet set! Love it.
Gina f. - Beautiful photos!
sharon - yes,pretty sure it’s a mock orange! lucky you! i love seeing all the pics. thanks!
Dani - I too believe it is Mock Orange. Beautiful flowers and smells!!
I have never played croquet! I think I might be missing out. I will have to invest in a set soon. I think my kids will love it!
Jenn - Mock orange was my guess too. We had one growing up – my favorite smell. Heaven.
Linda - I have got to stop posting without my glasses! Sorry for the punctuation and spelling errors.
Kim - Croquet is so fun! We used to play it all the time growing up. My parents still have their set. My kids have been asking to play – I’ll just have to do some digging around next time I’m at my parents’ house to see if we can find it.
Linda - Isn’t it great to have a tried and true yard game for the family! We like Bocci too. Don;t know the name of the bush, we hace one too. It is pretty and suits our 200 year old farmhouse so well! Glad to hear your settling in isgoing so well.
Karen Osborne - We just bought some land in the country and there is nothing like it. I am always singing the Green Acres theme and Thank God I’m a Country boy in my head when I am out there. We have a pond and have been raising ducklings!!!
Sarah - I’d say Mock Orange too. I have one and I LOVE the way it smells!!
Marissa - Mock Orange! We had one at the house I grew up in by Chicago, they sure do smell heavenly, don’t they?!
Kerry - Oh man, I’ve never played croquet… I know, I’m English, I totally should have…. 🙂 May put that on my Summer list! xx
Misty R. - Be careful of the cow’s when eating outside! We grilled hamburgers and I swear they all started staring from across the road! I threw mine away due to guilt! 🙂
bobbie - We had a set just like that when I was little. I so wish I still had it. So much fun!
Olga - Hi Meg,
It is my first time commenting on your blog but I have been reading for a while now and I’m impressed by you and what you are doing. Especially the love you are putting on everything.
My grandparents had the same bush and the smell comes back to my memories every time I think of them. It is a “Philadelphus coronaries” or most commonly known as Mock Orange. You can cut out branches and bring them inside and your home will smell heavenly.
Adrienne - Maybe a mock orange… My sweet grandmother had one
Jen - The outside is lovely but I want to see some inside pics! Pretty please?? We loved croquet when I was a kid!!
Jenna@CallHerHappy - i LOVE your new place! those butterflies…just stop 🙂 also, i was laughing about your hubs storing useless info. i always wonder how smart i could be if i didnt know so many random facts!
Meg's Mom - Your welcome! Glad you are making good use of it!
Adri @ FoodieBeFit - Beautiful pics!
Lisa - I love croquet! I have been searching garage sales for a set for ages. My grandpa and I used to spend HOURS playing. Sweet memories. This is our first spring in our house too. It’s like Christmas waiting to see what flowers will pop up next…and I didn’t have to work for any of them!
Terrie G - Love it all! The croquet, the throw down, the flowers…the cows watching you eat!!
The farm just makes me smile…thanks!!!
roganne - LOVE croquet!! also – your girls’ outfits are always so original. they have some spunk!
Vonda - Yep!!!
ttp://www.hortmag.com/plants/mockorange
Vonda - I have butterfly bushes and it doesn’t look like that. My grandma had a Mock Orange and I agree with the person above, I think that’s what it is. Smells SO GOOD.
Mindy Harris - those monarch pics are just beautiful.
i dream of living in the country. central wichita is so noisy!
April R - yea! Your mom didn’t know what she started by giving you that! 🙂
there’s going to be a whole lotta ‘croquetin’ this weekend thanks to this
inspiring post 😉
Tanya - I have country dreams myself… 🙂
And chicken dreams….
And pick-up truck dreams…
And quuiiieeet dreams…ahhhh 🙂
Jacci - Fun photos 🙂 Not a butterfly bush… those have different blossoms if we’re talking about the buddelia kind, but I don’t what it is.
Totally played croquet as a kid in the summer. Fun memories. My sister just picked up a set at a garage sale a couple weeks ago. I’m putting a round of croquet on the Summer List!
Lorie - We used to play croquet all summer long at my mother-in-laws house. Now that we are in Texas I should probably pick up a set of our own. Such a fun outdoor summer game!
tina - I like to play croquet, but have know idea what the rules are… we just make them up as we go along!
Lindsey - I love the butterfly pictures!!!! It truly is a blessing to live in the country. I was just thinking that the other night as I was out in the complete stillness and the scent of the plum blossoms made the night smell so sweet!
Laura Phelps - I am so sorry you are having such difficulty adjusting to your new life 🙂
the way you feel in the country? That is what the city does for me. Just feels right.
and re: Craig had all that info in his head…Nick is a font of useless information. Amazing what that man knows…
Shar - i am fairly certain it is mock orange. i have one. and you can transplant offshoots from it. so if you move or something, you take a part with you! love the croquet games!
happygirl - We love croquet, too. But since we are all over 21 here at the HappyGirl house, we play Beer Croquet. I’ll bet Mr. Duerksen doesn’t know THOSE rules. It’s fun on a hot summer day. 🙂 btw, I thought it looked like a crab apple tree, but I don’t know anything about plants.
Eliza - Yeah, croquet! At least you have a big flat yard to play it on.
Yes, I second and third the Mock Orange votes. A butterfly bush comes out last in the spring and has purple flowers.
Jill - Looks like a Mock Orange to me! They smell sooooo good! Loved croquet when I was little. Enjoy all the fun family times! Cherish every moment!
jessicakiehn - MEG! I have this same bush/plant in my yard and we have NO idea what it is! Does it have a bunch of little trunks at the bottom of it? It’s a mystery to us and we ask everyone that comes over and they all don’t know either. but yes, it’s BEAUTIFUL in the spring!
Jill M Pierce - Croquet..I need to go thrifting or to garage sales to find a set for my family. Looks like you all are having so much fun.
Diane - That looks like great family fun!
amanda - You made such a great decision to give your family the experience of country living! In ’09, my husband and I had the opportunity to move to my grandparents former home in the remote mountains of New Mexico. We spent an amazing Summer with our kids – taking hikes everyday, discovering hidden streams, feeding deer in our yard, and eating wild raspberries. It was magical and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
That’s what all of your farm house pictures remind me of. So special! Of course, Summer turned to Winter and then we were buried in 5ft of snow for 4 months – over an hour away from the nearest grocery store – and I was pregnant and puking every 3 seconds, but I just try to forget that part…ha!
holly - Word of warning. be careful where u put ur wires. we had croquet set up in r yard n some sweet young thing put a wire at the bottom of the back porch steps. the next mornin i was giving a huffy demonstration on how easy it is to just listen and take out the trash when mama says and nearly killed myself with that dang wire boobie trap. ended up turning my tantrum into a good joke. hope nobody saw it. 🙂 have fun!
hearts812 - Loved this post as it brought back lots of memories. My grandparents had an old wooden croquet set whihc we loved to play.
And the bush you are showing looks like a Mock Orange bush…which I had outside my bedroom window growing up. It smelled heavenly!
Chris - The last line of this post is awesome – and the perfect tie up! I really enjoy reading your blog.
Amy - Croquet is a family favorite around here too. Our kids think it’s a hoot. Apparently my dad was some local Croquet Champion when he was a teenager, which cracks me up! Love the pictures!
angela - It’s a Butterfly Bush….and a beautiful one!
Kassondra - I have to admit I was very sad when you said you moved out of your gorgeous house but seeing all these pictures of your new place makes me want to move to the country too!
kathleen - hey meg, this is my first time to post, though i’ve been reading your lovely, sweet blog for a while. I have that same bush/tree at my house. I’m way down here in Mississippi, but it is just beautiful! I love it, full of flowers. I don’t know what it is either..I’ll have to go over your comments. Anyway, so happy for your gift of those green acres your livin’ in, what a joy! Yall take good care, and thank you so much for your blogging…blogging is hard! But you make it seem so easy!
Linnea - love the IMG 14-5 with the butterfly – so pretty! Glad your family enjoys playing outdoors together… so nice to see!
seriously sassy mama - Our new backyard is huge, and my husband and I cannot wait to geta few croquet games going. Fun times to be had at The House of Kells.
Gemma - Pretty flowers!
x