brought the firepit onto the deck and have used it a couple of times already…
on Monday we sat around it before and after our dinner… even the dog enjoyed it…
Tuesday, my regular group sat around it in the afternoon as we met on the deck… we also had blankets if required as the temperature was around plus 10 Celsius… but it warmed us up a little and made us feel cozy… I enjoyed it as I awaited their arrival…
I’ve left it on the deck and think I might use it more there… will see how it goes when the rain stops, lol…
decided to make a vegetable terrine for our dinner…
I thought I had the recipe in my cookbook, but not so much…
it had come from an old Company’s Coming cookbook… I am sure I photographed the recipe before giving the cookbooks away… unfortunately, I didn’t mark them as recipes and had no idea when I gave them away, lol…
I had looked online at various recipes, but none of them were even close…
I checked the computer, contacted my sister-in-law and even called the Company’s Coming company…
the person on the other end of the phone was very helpful… I was wanting to know which book the recipe was in so that I could order it online… once she knew what I was looking for she hung up and started searching… she called back within a few hours to let me know which book it was in, but that the book was no longer sold, and that the recipe wasn’t in any of the new books…
finally my sister-in-law sent me a text with a photo of a handwritten copy of the recipe…
yay, made it and enjoyed it with dinner… lots of memories…
Hilda the Gardener came by this afternoon and cleaned up the garden… there were still flowers blooming, so I was happy that she was dumping them and I didn’t have to, lol…
she emptied all of the planters and transplanted the two butterfly bushes… the plan is to try and overwinter them in the basement… we will see if they make it…
the only plants left are the dahlias which I will remove when they die back…
it looks rather naked in the garden… and the pots in the front yard are empty now… will have to decide what to put in the one on the steps for the winter…
the mandevilla and hibiscus are still on the deck but they will likely come in tomorrow…
I’m going to cover each of them with a garbage bag and leave them for a few days… hope that deals with any bugs, lol…
I’ve been feeling a bit bad for the birds since I took down the bird feeder and haven’t added any seeds to the one that is still hanging, in an effort to dissuade the raccoons from coming into the garden…
so, for the last few days I’ve been broadcasting seeds in the grass and on the decks…
I think the birds are liking it as they can all get something to eat and no lineups are required…
been enjoying the Harris Sparrows, the White-Throated Sparrows, and the Juncos…
and the bonus is that I am able to stand at the patio door and watch them…
what a special place… it is already stunning and I can’t imagine how great it will be as everything grows into the space…
I was so happy to see that a portion of the allée is still there… for years I would walk around it to get my steps in and I thought it had been removed… the trees are just beautiful…
after we crossed it, we moved into the various gardens… they were all distinctly different…
the Indigenous People’s Garden is an enclosed circle of amazing artwork depicting spring to winter, with a fire pit in the centre and seating for numbers of people… I could envision sitting in this quiet space and meditating…
the Kitchen Garden was filled with fruit trees and the most amazing sunflower plants, as well as herbs, flowers and vegetables…
again, nice benches with morning glories growing behind them for sitting…
the Performance Garden is set up as an amphitheatre and reminded me of wonderful times when we camped and attended numerous events at such locations…
part of the Sensory Garden were these great steps up and down some hills… great fun, although going up was better than coming down, lol…
enjoyed all of the critters in the Gardens… I think the butterflies were my favourite…
it was windy and all the grasses were rippling… lovely…
although there are a few ways to enter the gardens, I was very enamoured with this one…
the Water section had the coolest spheres…
all in all, a great place for a contemplative walk or a walking tour with a friend…
well, I must say I am tired… but what a delightful day it has been…
got up early and set about preparing for the day… moved 14 bags of mulch, a wheelbarrow and compost can, used the leaf blower to clean the garage floor, set up a table with a tablecloth in case it was too windy to sit outside, put out cushions and rearranged lawn furniture, prepped some fruit and whipped cream… cleaned leaves out of the pond, set out dishes, made coffee and sun tea, wrapped a gift and wrote two cards…
sat and read in the garden for half an hour and then welcomed four of the most wonderful women into the space…
visited, ate some delicious food from Feast Bistro, enjoyed the nature around us, laughed, shared stories and celebrated one another with some delicious options…
nearly lost one umbrella to the gusts of wind, but the weather was quite amazing for early October…
when they left, I finished tidying up and got ready for dinner with another wonderful woman…
when she arrived we had fish and chips (which I love), more stories and laughter… what a great visit…
it is dark now and I just finished a bowl of strawberry shortcake with whipped cream as I sit on the deck (quite comfortable in shorts and a sleeveless shirt) and reminisce about all the great parts of the day…
I had stopped walking on it because every time I was on it my knee and hip would end up sore…
so for a long time figure eights around the living and dining rooms were how I got my steps in… recently I began taking walks outside with my daughter on the phone (in my ear)…
as I have reintroduced walking on the treadmill, I am using a much slower speed… that seems to be working well…
I am also only walking for a short period because I don’t want to hurt myself again…
I am careful that I don’t get so engrossed in the show I’m watching that I stay on it for too long, lol…
herbiggirlpants 