and I started planting… yay… I added compost and fresh soil to the veggie gardens and then planted seeds as well as a pepper, some squash, cucumber and the beefsteak tomatoes… the seedlings came from Jonathan’s Farm and were in great shape…
excited to see if anything grows up and over the arch…
brought out the dahlia tubers and got them into planters as well as the new dahlia that I got from Lily Stone Gardens… it has been growing very fast… and finally put in a number of the morning glory seedlings that have been growing in the house…
I spent some time reading on the upper deck and when it warmed up a bit I found the screws for the hammock, removed the umbrella, laid the whole thing down, and attached all four legs tightly… put everything back together and then added a couple of cushions to the hammock chair and it is now perfect;-)… I may have had a short nap in it while taking a break from reading…
I am very happy as the shape of this chair is much more comfortable than the previous one… I think it will get more use, but we shall see…
a little later, I used the fishnet in the bathtub pond to clean out all the dead water hyacinths from last year… then I brought out the wet-vac and sucked out the dead leaves and water… next I put together the pieces for the new pump and set it into the pond… after filling it up, turned on the pump and it worked… yay…
early Tuesday morning I was sitting on the back deck, listening to the burbling of the pond, as a bunny came right up next to me… we chatted, well I chatted and the bunny twitched its nose for a few minutes, before it hopped away… pleased that it felt comfortable as I sat there reading quietly… well, maybe it didn’t notice me, lol…
reminded me of how truly blessed I am… and what a wonderful life I lead…that I can sit in the sunshine and shade in my garden and enjoy the nature around me – the birds, and squirrels, and bunnies, and bees – every day that I want…
and while I was there, to hear about the ducklings that hatched yesterday, and today crossed a busy street with their momma, (protected by two different people families) in Ottawa to find a swimming pool to start the next portion of their journey…
later in the day I stood up from a chair on the upper deck and spotted a goldfinch at the feeder… it flitted about nervously for a few moments and then, when it felt safe, called its partner to come and eat… they were happy for a while, until a squirrel came and chased them away…
if I hadn’t stood up at just that moment I would have missed them… a lovely treat…
made chicken soup from the leftovers of Sunday’s dinner and tested out a few new purchases which arrived at the door…
it was early Wednesday morning and I was working on a newsletter job I have when the doorbell rang…
so excited to discover it was the hammock chair I had ordered…
I went out to the shed and dug around for the hammock stand that I already have…
with a bit of a struggle I got it together, managed to add the umbrella, and then hooked on the chair…
my neighbour found a big plastic bag for me that I will use when it is going to rain… it doesn’t say it can’t get wet, but I think it will last longer if it doesn’t get rained on…
I did sit in it for a few minutes, but will feel better when the screws (which I found in the garage) are into the bottom legs, lol…
Monday was our group’s first gathering in the garden this year…
we started out by the pond and when it got too hot and sunny, we moved to the upper deck… I am going to put out a few more umbrellas next time…
there was sun-tea, snacks and lots of conversation… I didn’t take a single picture, not even of the garden, lol… I did find this one of the five of us after our fancy tea…
we reminisced about our fabulous High Tea at Lily Stone Cafe the week before and began considering where we might go next;-)…
one of the loveliest things that has happened over the last few years is that we have been able to meet throughout the summer… for many years, everyone would have places to go and things to do, so we wouldn’t gather from July until September… now it has worked out that we are able to be together for most weeks of summer…
Sunday, spent the entire day in the garden… it was warm and sunny…
set out all the chair cushions and even brought out the decorative ones…
then, most of the fish came outside… a few just wouldn’t be caught, lol… apparently a project for another day…
tea, reading, and bird watching took up a good part of the day… I am loving the sound portion of my Merlin App… it has come in especially helpful for me to identify the many sparrows that come and go…
White-Crowned, White-Throated, Harris’s, Song, and Chipping Sparrows have all been around for the last week or so…
checked out the fence with the little person and his daddy on one side, as I contemplate the style of the new fence that is in the works, and had tea and snacks with the ones on the other side… they enjoy sitting by the pond and the sound of the running water…
ate all my meals on the deck, breakfast and lunch on the back, and supper on the upper…
phone calls, emails, in-person visits, and text messages came throughout the day…