various…

my grandson spent the day… before he arrived he shopped at various places and picked up a number of things we needed for our time together…

once he arrived, he moved planters, weeded and laid sand that turns to cement; put the cement into the bathtub pond to fill the hole; fixed a leaking connection for one of the hoses, spread more grass seed; dealt with three wasp nests; repaired a portion of the back fence; planted solar lights around the pond; chopped down some elm trees; put epsom salt in a tree trunk; filled a couple of holes in the front flower bed; added a new sweep to the front door; put a few new fish in the pond; and watered the front lawn…

there are still a few big jobs to do, but he will bring a friend to get those done…

finally we ordered dinner to celebrate a great day’s work…

what a treat to spend the day with him…

carton…

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for my birthday I received an egg carton with four little eggs of wildflower seeds to plant…

I started two in a pot I had and they are starting to bloom;-)…

no idea what any of them are, but these are lovely little cuties… I’ve also got some sweet little bachelor buttons…

wonder what else will flower;-)…

hardened…

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my hibiscus only bloomed one time over the winter… usually it blooms at least twice…

I have had this one for at least three years and usually it loses its leaves when it comes into the house in the fall, and when it comes back into the garden in the spring…

this year I hardened it off and then put an umbrella over it so it wouldn’t get a sunburn…

it didn’t lose many leaves, but it also didn’t look like it was getting any buds…

a week or so ago, I spotted a few just starting…

yesterday, I spotted something red when I looked outside and there they were… the first two flowers…

yay… and there are lots more getting ready;-)…

leak…

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silly waterfall continues to leak so I am now turning it off at night…

it had been working perfectly until I fell in and messed it up…

the nights are much quieter…

between it and watering the grass every day my water bill is going to be a bit high, lol…

tonight as I was doing a final walk through, I heard running water and realized that water was pouring out of the neighbour’s hose… gave them a quick call and they were able to get it stopped…

gold…

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I spent a lovely and quiet hour sitting right next to the pond this morning…

I had planned to turn the waterfall on as soon as I got into the garden, but decided to sit close to the pond and watch the fish…

yesterday, when I was in the pond cleaning it up, I spotted a baby swimming by… they move really quickly, so I only saw it for a moment…

my goal this morning was to check for any others that might be there…

and I spotted two… maybe the whitish one I saw yesterday and an actual gold one… they are much harder to spot in the pond as they look black… of course I didn’t get any pictures, lol…

great excitement and I will keep watch for more;-)…

sure miss the water hyacinth as its roots were a wonderful safe hiding place for babies as they started their journey as the goldfish eat them when they are very small…

chair…

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had a great day in the garden… started with watering the grass and plants, and getting all the cushions out… then time in the pond cleaning the pump out and tidying some water grasses…

finally sat and enjoyed the space…

this was the special chair

in the morning a friend came over for a visit… it was her birthday and we had a lovely visit… a few presents, some tasty snacks, and a great wander around the garden…

a short time later my sister-in-law and nephew came by with lunch… can’t think how long it has been since I’ve seen her… she had flown in for the weekend so it was a real treat to spend time with them…

great way to spend a Saturday;-)…

teasing…

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the butterfly bushes are so close to opening, although it feels like they are teasing me…

when I come out in the morning, I think, today’s the day…

but no…

finally, they are starting to bloom, although still not completely open;-)…

they are a stunning deep purple…

relations…

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today…

I signed a petition…

read a book – 21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act... one of the Appendices included the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada…

put orange sarongs on both doors (the only orange I have)… they darkened the space, so every time I walked by them I was reminded of my focus for today…

listened to “A Day to Listen”… yesterday I heard a few of them on the radio, but today took the time to hear all of them…

made donations to The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund and Indigenous Residential School Survivors Society

thought long and hard about what we/I must continue to do to make right relations

although it was a new and sad way to spend Canada Day, I learned a great deal… and I will not forget…

chipping…

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I’ve been watching a chipping sparrow for the last few days…

it keeps coming to the floating basket in the pond to have a drink and a bath… apparently it is just the right depth…

yesterday a house sparrow decided it wanted to drink from that particular spot…

the chipper wasn’t thrilled but they did share the space…

clump…

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the daisies have crossed the garden a number of times over the years…

this year there are none… this is very sad…

I noticed that there was a clump in the neighbour’s front yard… I think they travelled a bit farther than before…

I’m hoping they come back to the garden next year;-)…