what a treat it was to watch a new batch of baby house sparrows test out their wings…
they kind of hover when they are trying to figure out where they want to land…
and they don’t really understand that a person might not be safe to land close to…
once they’ve finally found a spot, they sit there and call mom or dad to come and feed them… I finally got a photo of the feeding, although it is a little fuzzy, lol…
the rain came down really heavy on Tuesday morning…
when I went out to check the garden I saw that one of the tomato plants had been knocked over… I was so shocked I didn’t even get a picture…
thankfully, I had a tomato cage in the garage, and it took a bit of finagling to get it over the plant… apparently it should have happened when the plant was much smaller, lol…
also pleased to see lots of flowers and the beginnings of the cucumbers;-)…
we took a drive in a couple of cars to Teulon for lunch and had a great time at Fry-Day’s… the battered mushrooms are absolutely delightful… we had hoped to eat on the patio but the sky did not cooperate, so it was inside for us…
on our way home I was able to catch a few photos of some sweet horses…
it was the first time I’ve ridden in a hybrid car and it was enjoyable… we stopped and picked up a few fresh veggies and I ended the day with some delicious beet greens…
listened to house sparrows, chickadees and a few crows… I am just loving the sound ID on the Merlin app…
spotted the wild turkey that had been wandering the street yesterday, thanks to my neighbour knocking on the door…
and apparently the turkey frightened one of the neighbourhood bunnies…
there was no sign of the raccoons and the fish appear happy and all present… one of the biggest ones has been scraped up though… not sure if it was from the raccoon the night before last or from hiding under a rock, sigh…
the red and gray squirrels have been wandering around and threatening one another…
but the sun was out, except for a ten minute shower, and I was able to eat outside…
in recent years Canada day has been a much quieter event for me…
for many years my beloved and I would have a gathering with family, friends and neighbours, and end the day with huge bowls of popcorn which we would consume as the fireworks went off at the Park…
chairs for everyone would be placed out on the street and there was lots of oohing and aahing at the fireworks as we munched on the popcorn…
this afternoon, I made a bowl of popcorn and munched on it thinking of the past and dreaming of a more inclusive future…
after forty plus years, the trees have grown so much that we could no longer see most of the display and over the last few years the Park hasn’t set off fireworks due to construction happening where the staging area used to be…
last year it felt like celebrating would be an insult to our First Nations peoples and so I spent time learning more of our sad history…
today I hung an orange heart on the front door and wore an orange shirt with red leggings… I continue to learn and support in ways that I am able…
I love this country and hope that we can do better… I am finding these to be very complicated feelings and continue to struggle with them…
Thursday the kids came over and we spent most of the late afternoon in the garden…
my grandson started work on a bonsai tree and it was great fun to see him trim a blue cedar into something resembling a small tree…
it is going to live in the garden for the summer…
then, we finished the irrigation system… yay… the hose was straightened, holes were punched in various places and tubes with sprinklers were connected… they had no trouble connecting the tubes to the hose, sigh… we ran a test and made sure each little piece was spraying appropriately…
we need a few more pieces of tubing, but most planters, baskets and perennials now will be watered when I turn on the tap… I am sure they will all be happy about this, lol…
so excited to see how well the garden will grow when it is watered regularly…
then we had barbecued steak and asparagus, baked potatoes and a salad on the deck…
summer is here and I am doing my best to cherish every minute of it…
spent the day in the garden… a bit of deadheading and weeding, and lots of time enjoying my current book, which a friend just gifted me a few days ago…
after the crew came and mowed, whipper snipped, and tidied the grass, I put back a few pieces of furniture that I’d moved to make their job easier…
the clematis is filled with buds and I expect they will open in the next few days…
even managed to water the houseplants and produce a few meals… all of which were eaten outdoors…
the weather was lovely… sunny and warm, not too hot, with a slight breeze…
the poppies are nearly done… they don’t particularly enjoy rain…once they are finished the rest of the perennials will show themselves, lol…
the sounds of the two ponds running and the odd bird made for a relaxing time…
to top off the day I received three water hyacinths which have gone right into the pond;-)… the fish are going to enjoy them and maybe babies will hide amongst their roots…