Category Archives: nature

friends…

30 Tuesday Jun 2015

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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…

  

weeds…

28 Sunday Jun 2015

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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…

odd…

27 Saturday Jun 2015

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very odd weather day…

got up and went outside first thing… it had been sunny but by the time I got out it was starting to cloud over…

decided to only put out the cushions for the chair I was sitting on… which turned out to be a good plan, lol…

there was so much activity that I couldn’t stay focused on the book I was reading…

  
the bunny stopped by and dealt with a number of dandelions… good thing because I never did manage to get any weeding done…

   
 

the goldfinch family were all over as were the sparrows…

  
there were at least three squirrels in the garden at the same time… beside these gray ones there was one cute little red squirrel…

  
seemed like they all wanted to get as much food as possible before the weather changed…

and change it did… rained, cleared, rained, there was thunder, rained, cleared and so on for most of the day… eventually about four it seemed to have settled down…

  
just a little while ago it got instantly dark followed by thunder and lightning and then the hail came down…

  
yikes…

change…

26 Friday Jun 2015

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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…

evening…

25 Thursday Jun 2015

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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…

  

Cirque…

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

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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…

active…

23 Tuesday Jun 2015

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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…

  

daisies…

21 Sunday Jun 2015

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the daisies have taken over the path by the pond…

  
I don’t actually think there were any planted in this garden, lol…

there have been daisies in the backyard for at least twenty-five years…

for many of those years they have travelled back and forth across the garden…

they would be on one side of the yard and within a few weeks would move through the grass… whenever George mowed they would bloom right at grass height and then move a little bit further before he mowed again…  

 

these pictures are from either end of the pathway… the daisies are everywhere, lol…

they are so bright and happy looking… 

  
final bonus today are these jolly jump ups that self seeded…

  
so cute…

 

watching…

20 Saturday Jun 2015

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first thing this morning I moved a chair on the deck so that I could watch the bird feeder… I had seen the cardinal from the bedroom window and was wanting a closer view…

  
sat quietly while the kids slept watching for it… nothing…

after they were up I spent time finishing up the garden area…

  
cut down some small trees and cleaned out lots of weeds beside the cute little barn-shaped shed… the raised beds are looking very nice…

enjoyed breakfast, packed my bag and had a nap…

made a little lunch and sat on the deck for my last meal before coming home…

  
the female cardinal came by while I was eating… amazing because the first time I saw the male was when I first arrived… I’d been standing on the deck and he flew through…  never saw him again although I was watching… she sat at the bird feeder the entire time I was eating… felt like a lovely farewell gift…

bus to the airport and a goodbye wave from my daughter…