01 Wednesday Jul 2015
Tags
very quiet day in the garden… the most amazing thing was the three male goldfinches at the feeders all at the same time… they also spent time at the pond, drinking…
reading, a bit of napping, and three healthy meals… lots of music coming from the Park…
wonderful way to refresh…
30 Tuesday Jun 2015
had a vacation day today and spent most of it in the garden…
my grandson came over and helped with some yard work…
he is becoming proficient in weeding and knowing what shouldn’t be pulled…
he dug the hose into the grass and under two flower beds so that it just needs a button flipped and water will go into the pond when it runs low… we bought some hardware which we haven’t installed yet, but at least the hose is ready, lol…
the grass should grow over in a few weeks and there won’t be anything visible at all…
lots of wild roses were cut down but we also got to see blooms on the two rose bushes that came from my friend and neighbour Ellen’s house… she was a very special woman…
been feeling that I haven’t been a very good friend lately… maybe I am still all wrapped up in my own struggles with losing my beloved or I just haven’t been taking the time to connect with friends… maybe I’m turning into a hermit…
sometimes a friend needs space but I wonder if I’ve been using that as an excuse not to connect… and sometimes they just grow away from you for a while, and that’s okay too…
was talking with someone and they were having similar feelings…
I don’t know for sure, except that I am feeling guilty of not trying hard enough to connect with at least one person… maybe I need to sit with that for a while…
28 Sunday Jun 2015
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, bunny, garden, goldfinches, moment, weeds, wildlife
quiet day spent mainly in the garden… off to the left is the bucket I filled with weeds and spent blossoms which I pulled…
lots of wildlife again… saw at least three goldfinches which reminded me of the day last summer when there were five males at the bird feeder at the same time and I saw them and got a picture… that really was a spectacular moment…
laughed for ages after one of the little red squirrels fell out of a feeder, landed in the pond, jumped out and ran through the yard at warp speed… think it was surprised and maybe a bit embarrassed…
my bunny friend is spending lots of time here… this afternoon she was suntanning while I was reading… knows that I won’t do anything to hurt her I think, as I can move around without causing her to charge off…
planters are looking very nice… hard to believe that June is nearly over…
as I sit here, ending my day in the garden, I am missing my kids as they weren’t able to come by for dinner tonight…
also missing my beloved… never know when those moments will surface…
26 Friday Jun 2015
worked this morning but was home by 12:30… changed and walked over to the Park to meet my BS friends for a birthday lunch on the patio at The Park Cafe…
walked under this tree which seemed to have flowers and berries on it at the same time…
gorgeous day and enjoyed the walk…
we had a wonderful time together…I had a burger with coleslaw on a pretzel bun…
yummy… not sure when I last ate a burger but that was what I wanted today…
am always amazed at the depth of our conversations, even after twenty-five years… today we talked about our end of life wishes as well as how we had dealt with our elders’ transitions from life to death… there is a deep well of wisdom within these women…
after lunch I took a quick trip around my favourite gardens before heading home…
was very surprised to see that all the lilac bushes have been removed from two areas… they had been there since the gardens opened… it was just a few weeks ago that I had rested under a canopy of lilacs enjoying the beautiful scent…
removing them has certainly opened up the garden… and I’m sure that I will get used to the new look…
change is always happening, whether I am ready for it or not…
25 Thursday Jun 2015
Tags
big girl pants, bunny, evening, goldfinch, hot tub, red squirrel
what a wonderful relaxing evening I have spent in the garden…
on my walk home I met up with this bunny…
this was the precursor for the rest of the evening…
while my dinner was cooking, I sat outside on the deck by the hot tub to watch for the goldfinch family… and look who turned up…
after supper, had a short nap and came back out to finish my book and have spent the last hour or so enjoying the antics of a little red squirrel…
he started out on the bench by the bird feeder…
happily snacking on fallen sunflower seeds, he spent some time on the bottom deck…
moved over to the planters on the main deck and happily posed for me by the flowers…
under the deck and onto the steps where some leaves were the meal of choice…
sparrows have been cleaning up the leftovers under the feeder right beside him and everyone has just gone about their business…
he’s been back and forth just a foot from me for the whole evening, clearly not considering me a threat of any kind…
what a wonderful treat to have the time and opportunity to enjoy the antics in the garden…
24 Wednesday Jun 2015
after work I met my daughter at Rudy’s Eat & Drink… we had a lovely supper during which time the sun shone, the sky darkened, it poured, and the sun shone again…
did I mention we were sitting on the patio???
thankfully I had my rain jacket with me… there was a cover over the patio, but, for a while, the wind was blowing the rain onto me, not my daughter, lol…
she checked the weather which said that it wasn’t going to rain and then all of a sudden there was a weather warning…
then we went to the opening night of Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai…
she got this great shot…
saw my first Cirque show in Montreal a year or so ago and really enjoyed it so was excited to see this one… it was excellent and we both had a great time…
the day started at 5:30 am with a loud thunderstorm which lasted for a short time… again, the sun came out shortly after and I took this picture of water drops on a hosta…
the sun shone for the entire middle of the day…
23 Tuesday Jun 2015
Tags
active, big girl pants, bunny, goldfinches, hot tub, sky, squirrel
walked home from the grocery store after work…
beautiful evening so I sat outside while my supper cooked…
lots of activity in the garden…
goldfinches were flirting back and forth to the feeder…
cutest little bunny wandered by…
and sat beside the garbage can for the longest time…
a squirrel came right up to me on the deck and gave me a good look… I advised it that this was my deck at which point it turned and scurried off, lol…
a fair bit later, possibly after a nap, I went outside and took this picture of the sky…
darkening early as it is getting ready to rain… the garden is quite dark… really enjoying how the white flowers pop in the evening…
thinking about a hot tub but may depend on whether there is a downpour…
19 Friday Jun 2015
up at 5 this morning to catch a 6:30 train to Montreal for the day…
began our day at Bota Bota for the water circuit… dry or wet sauna, plunge pool, hot tub, lounge chairs… which we repeated three times… very relaxing… sun was shining, we were on the water, and there was a slight breeze… great fun… they don’t allow pictures but we had permission to take this one by a cool art installation…
It is on a boat right on the water so you sit in a sauna or the hot tub and watch the waves lap up to the boat…
had a bit of trouble finding a cab, but eventually got one to Prohibition restaurant where we had a lovely lunch… the service was exceptional…
we heard from a friend that this was the place to go for food in Montreal… my salads lever du soleil was very tasty and my daughter’s French toast with fried chicken was delicious…
they called a cab for us and our final destination was the Montreal Botanical Gardens... I had been wanting to see the outdoor gardens as last year we only made it through the conservatories… the gardens were lovely…
the Rose Garden was amazing and we spent quite a bit of time in it…. there were some lovely water lilies in the Water Garden and a number of the ponds were filled with lily blooms…
enjoyed the Japanese Garden which is still under construction…
you could see the Olympic Stadium in the background…
after a lovely afternoon of wandering around and taking pictures to our hearts’ delight we headed back to the train station and into the Business Class Lounge… well, this is the way to travel… comfy chairs and unlimited snacks as we waited for the train… plush, spacious seats with a table between on the train… alcohol, hot supper and chocolate to end the dinner, served on China with real silverware…
wonderful end to a very memorable day….
18 Thursday Jun 2015
tonight my son-in-law and I went to the Cancer Survivors Park…
I didn’t know where we were going until we got there…
it is small and very peaceFULL with lots of green living things and inspirational words for those walking around the space…
the husband of the couple who built the park overcame lung cancer…
it feels like a great place to get some exercise and see that it is possible to survive…
there were some giant tulips…
many places to sit and contemplate…
reminded me of my bout with the disease and how truly blessed I was that it was caught and dealt with so quickly…
not so easy for many others I know…
what a gift to have the opportunity to spend a few moments in this incredible location…
me walking through one of the many hoops needed to make it through the physical and emotional challenges…
thanks kids for thinking this would be a good place to visit…
17 Wednesday Jun 2015
this morning the sun was shining outside my bedroom window…
the birds were singing and the woodpecker was rat-a-tat-tating on the pole at the edge of the backyard…
worked in one of the raised beds to get rid of the weeds and we walked over to Loblaws and got some veggies and herbs…
this is the before picture… after getting it cleaned out we went to another store and picked up soil to fill the bed… took a taxi home and my son-in-law put it into the bed… then I planted everything…
here’s the finished product when I was able to sit down and enjoy the view…
started to prep supper and came out to this…
someone has a cold and fell asleep…
great grilled salmon steak, veggies, salad, and rice for our dinner…
sat outside for a while and visited… now heading to bed…
