Category Archives: nature

spot…

26 Sunday Jun 2022

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recently I wrote about how well the clematis is doing along the driveway…

now it is blooming… and I think this is the most blossoms since we planted it many years ago…

it has more stems and leaves too…

now that I’ve done the math… 🤪… I realize that it is about twelve or thirteen years old… I am actually surprised as I hadn’t realized how long it has been in this spot…

time flies;-)…

bonsai…

25 Saturday Jun 2022

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I am beyond happy…

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…

what a treat;-)…

ID…

24 Friday Jun 2022

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I am really enjoying a newer feature on the Merlin Bird ID app… it lets you record bird sounds and then, nearly instantly, tells you what bird you are hearing… I’ve used this free app regularly to help identify birds that stop by the garden to eat or drink…

this new option is great for times, a lot recently, when the birds aren’t coming to the feeders and you want to ID them…

in the last day, there’s been a house wren here, and this morning the house finch and chipping sparrow seem to be chatting, lol…

fun to know who’s around, even if you can’t spot them…

pads…

23 Thursday Jun 2022

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I am so excited to finally see pads (leaves) from the water lilies on the surface of the pond…

they spent the winter in the fish tanks, but did not appear to be growing at all since they’ve been back in the pond…

this was the second year they had been overwintered, so it was very disappointing that nothing was happening…

but a few days ago, the first of the pads floated to the top of the water…

now I am hopeful that they will bloom this summer as well… they did a great job last year;-)…

cherish…

22 Wednesday Jun 2022

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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…

I am blessed…

sun-tea…

21 Tuesday Jun 2022

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my group meets on Mondays… our time might change from the afternoon to the evening, be in person, or online…

this week we met in the late afternoon and planned to be outside…

the weather report was suggesting it would be raining or that a thunderstorm might even happen at the time we would be together…

I am still nervous about having four others in the house, so I set up chairs and tables in the garage… it worked perfectly…

the sky remained overcast with only a few sprinkles during our time together and the breeze kept us from being overly warm;-)…

everyone enjoyed a walk around the garden and particularly liked one of the fuchsias…

it was very hot so I made sun-tea which turned out well, and squares of butter tart and lemon turned up with a chocolate almond snack…

an excellent option from sitting on the upper deck…

grilling…

20 Monday Jun 2022

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it was a hot one on Sunday…

I spent a good part of the day in the garden… the sun was blazing…

went around and watered all of the planters and then turned on the irrigation system… it worked fairly well and I am excited to get the rest of it connected…

had a nap in the house over the hottest part of the day and then sat on the upper deck in the shade and read…

dug out the grill and barbecued a steak which I enjoyed with some homemade potato salad and asparagus…

nice to do some grilling… my beloved would have cooked the steak better, but as time goes on, I am learning;-)…

pruned…

18 Saturday Jun 2022

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was able to complete a few jobs in the garden although not the irrigation system… I am going to need a second pair of hands for that one…

using landscape fabric, I was able to turn a very cute, but not useful, bird feeder into a little planter… think it came out rather nicely… found a couple of morning glory plants, a sweet potato vine and a spider plant to go in it…

then there was quite a production to get a hook up on the garage and put up the planter… the drill, ladder and I had to sort through some stuff, but eventually it was up…

after all that I don’t like it there, but haven’t quite decided where to move it, lol…

reconnected two parts of a little planter that has an obelisk on the top… used zip ties to connect… it looks good and isn’t going to fall apart…

I also did a bit of pruning of the cedars along the back fence…

that’s it for work today;-)…

Lilystone…

17 Friday Jun 2022

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what a delightful day… got up, dressed, put out all the cushions and had breakfast on the back deck, admiring the ten or so poppies waving their lovely heads in the flower bed…

Hilda the Gardener arrived and started weeding and tidying everywhere…

a friend picked me up and we drove to Rosenort to eat and do a little shopping…

we had a delicious lunch at Lilystone Cafe, where we both picked up a few treats to bring home for later… I was happy to see them making great use of technology to take orders and prepare the bills… staff were friendly and treated us like family…

then we headed over to Lilystone Gardens, where we engaged in a bit of retail therapy, including a Christmas present… they are just now recovering from flooded fields and roads…

after an enjoyable return drive to the city we stopped at her house to check out some recent work and her very lush garden…

home, a wander around the garden to admire how tidy it is, and a sit down on the deck with a cup of tea and my book…

;-)…

gusts…

16 Thursday Jun 2022

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yesterday the wind came up late in the afternoon and I decided to protect a few spots…

put chairs around the obelisk on the deck so it wouldn’t fall over…

then I took a chair and propped it against the hibiscus… not only didn’t I want it to fall over, I didn’t want it to fall into the pond…

I didn’t feel that the mandevilla needed any protection so left it alone…

everything made it through fine although I have left the chair by the hibiscus as there are supposed to be strong wind gusts tonight…