Category Archives: nature

cruise…

29 Sunday May 2016

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only picture I took today, and that was at six, lol… funny how some days I take dozens of shots and others barely any…


was overcast with some sunny bits throughout the day but I didn’t sit out till I was working on supper…

have spent time over the last couple of days looking through our Alaskan cruise book…


took the trip three years ago with my daughter and son-in-law who were living on Vancouver Island at the time…

haven’t had the book out for quite a while and a Facebook memory reminded me of it… it was wonderful to relive all of the special moments… nearly every town we landed in had dozens of jewellery shops… too funny… saw some stunning scenery and had a great ride on a narrow gauge railway…

I love it when I am able to take the time to relive amazing events, as well as tiny little ones…


so lucky to see these beautiful blooming trees last week… they are stunning for such a short time and easy to miss…

special moments…

plants…

28 Saturday May 2016

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early morning again, but chose a hot tub as I was awake anyway… even though it was overcast, the birds sang the entire time I was outside… lovely start to the day…

great brunch with friends at a location I hadn’t been to yet… nice… also good to catch up…

my daughter and I went to Shelmerdine to pick up the last few plants for the garden… so happy to get the butterfly bush and milkweed… while we were there picked up four shubunkins for the pond… 


these should encourage the monarchs to visit the garden this summer… hoping my grandson comes by tomorrow so he can dig these in, lol…


although all the rain has been a bit of a downer for me, all of the plants are very happy… they’ve grown tremendously in just a week…

the fish went into the winter condo as we are waiting for the tadpoles to turn into frogs before they move out to the pond…

ended the day weeding – a tiny bit – and reading in the garden…

never did rain… ended up a great day…

park…

27 Friday May 2016

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met a friend for a walk around the English and Leo Mol Gardens this morning…

the Park is about a twenty minute walk from my house, but I had an appointment after so took the car… probably took me twenty-five minutes to drive there… 


there was set-up going on for Sunday’s Teddy Bears’ Picnic, and the usual entryways were all blocked off… 

eventually I made it to where I wanted to be, found a place to park and walked a bit to get to the entrance of the Gardens…


the alliums were a bright welcome to the garden and there were gardeners everywhere…


these tulips were still beautiful… many are dropping their petals… it was great fun to spot the changes since last week when I was there…


these white lilacs were nearly done although they look a bit purple in this picture…


these hostas fill a good sized section of the garden…

before we headed off in our separate directions, took this picture by the Children’s Garden…


as I walked back to Shadow I came across one of the Canada Goose families taking a swim…


sure do love my Fridays…

misty…

26 Thursday May 2016

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rained off and on all night… had to take a few pictures of the potted hosta in the front yard…


the drops glittered beautifully… misty in the morning and it continued during the entire day, with a bit of rain off and on…

when I got home I took a few pictures of the gladioli which I picked up yesterday…


these are in my bedroom…


and these ones are in the living room… doesn’t even matter that it is a bit dull outside…

cannot believe that the IKEA orchid has a new stem with four buds on it…


how cool is that…

water…

25 Wednesday May 2016

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it has been raining since around four this afternoon so I decided to write about a more positive view of water for me, lol…

I love water… rain, not so much… don’t like to get my face wet…

early yesterday I spent a few minutes in the garden…

enjoyed the reflection of the solar lights in the pond…


the waterfall looks so lovely and watching and listening to it makes me happy…


last evening I went to aquasize with my friend… 

at one point water splashed up onto my face and into my ear… yuck… 

I have come a long way because at one time I would have got out of the pool, dried my face, and not gone back in… 

with those darn big girl pants, I just wiped my face with my hands and carried on… although I did complain about it;-)…

smoothie…

24 Tuesday May 2016

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woke up early and started my day with a smoothie and a walk on the treadmill… 

then I got to spend a short time in the garden…and took a few pictures of some purple flowers…

these are looking very nice with the white alyssum in the planter boxes around the deck…


there is something about calla lilies that just grabs my heart…


these beauties are on the front steps…

for many years in the summer I would start my day with a walk all around the garden… that was when George was weeding, lol…

the side garden is overgrown so I couldn’t make it around there, but I did get to take a wander around the rest of the space…

certainly gets one into a peaceful state of mind…

listening…

23 Monday May 2016

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woke up just after midnight wondering what I was hearing…

took me a minute to realize it was rain pounding against the open window… once what I was listening to sank into my brain, I jumped up and closed the windows and patio door… then I went downstairs to see if it was coming in the corner of the basement, but it was dry…

when I got up in the morning it was fresh and green outside and the rain had stopped… after grocery shopping I took this picture out the front window…


always interesting how the rain can green everything up so nicely, much better than watering can…

sat out in the garden for a good portion of the day enjoying the beauty and finishing a novel…

kids came for dinner and we had our first meal of the season on the deck…


lovely, because often by dinner time it is already cooling off and we end up in the dining room…

afterwards there was some hot tubbing and visiting and I took this shot of the sky with some beautiful  clouds floating by…


the family stayed later than usual which was nice, and I am enjoying a last few minutes of quiet in the garden before heading in…

will be going to bed early tonight after a busy, but productive, long weekend…

I truly am blessed, having my family around me and the health to be able to enjoy working and spending time in the garden…

feeling…

22 Sunday May 2016

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lots done in the garden today… also fit in a nap and some sports on tv…


been thinking a lot of my journey lately and missing my beloved…

with over four years on my own some things are coming more easily… eating out on my own… something I would not do for any reason in the before time… getting more and more comfortable doing that… shopping on my own… doing things with the car, like taking it for gas and to get washed, lol…

working in the garden on my own… George was the one who executed so many of my ideas… he also did a lot of the work in the garden… I would do the planting in pots, but he would often do the digging and heavy work and the maintenance… I can mow the grass but also appreciate when others do it…

he was also the weeder… he’d spend time in the garage (lots of time!) and then vanish into an area of the garden and pull weeds… I did not realize how much time he spent doing that, lol…

I miss him in the morning, I miss him during the day, I miss him after work, I miss him in the hot tub and I miss him at night…

I miss talking to him, reviewing the day, getting his opinion… today I don’t think I spoke except on the phone with my daughter for a few minutes… I miss the sound of another person in the house…

the garden misses him too, I think…


maybe it is the season, or spending time in the garden… not sure exactly what it is, but missing him so much… will continue to feel my way through…

helpers…

21 Saturday May 2016

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spent a good portion of the day in the garden…

finished the plant shopping with my daughter and youngest grandson…

everyone spotted at least a few tadpoles… they move through the water quickly but when sitting still they look like seed husks…

while we were shopping, the oldest helped his younger brother mow the backyard… a bit difficult due to the terrain and the great quantity of furniture in the space, lol…

when they left, the oldest grandson stayed to help me with gardening… 

lots got done… he moved a lot of rocks so they weren’t blocking the path and deck…


it was very hot and he worked hard… he added more stones in the pond as well as making sure that the two plant additions won’t move from their new spots… 

he evened out the gravel in the floating basket so it stays level and made sure all of the water hyacinth were right side up…  


dug out dandelions and planted two empty pots so that we can change the plants going into them…


still lots to do but he made a big dent in the list…

I filled pots and baskets and watered everything… still have planting to do tomorrow but for now am enjoying the tidy space… all those disorganized rocks and stones were making me a bit crazy…


really appreciated all of their help…

choices…

20 Friday May 2016

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what a glorious day… up and out early for tests, and then to the Park for a walk around the Gardens, both of which were open… 


the newly paved walkways are much easier to maneuver…

breakfast at the Park Cafe, followed by another short walk where I spotted some goslings…


was pleasantly surprised with how relaxed I was as I ate on my own… those big girl pants get easier to wear nearly every day…

home, set out the cushions in the garden and had a lovely cup of tea…

my daughter picked me up and we had some plant therapy… 


a lot of it actually… we made a few trips to drop stuff off, lol…

while waiting for her to arrive I took this shot of the front yard, covered in dandelions…


before she left she mowed it… yay, looks way better now…

sat out and read for a while, then filled the planters that circle the deck with alyssum and campanula… slight departure from the usual choices, but looks good…


the last few years the trailing lobelia has not done well in this location, so we will see…

had leftover sushi for my dinner and cleaned up from the planting…

it has cooled off a bit, but I am cozy under a light blanket enjoying a book… 

earlier I spotted tadpoles in the pond and got this shot of one a few minutes ago…


wonder how many frogs there are going to be!!!