tubers…

27 Monday Apr 2020

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had a busy morning in the garden yesterday…

opened my box from The Dahlia Expert and took out my eight new tubers… I’d set it on the floor out of the way for a few days after it arrived to be sure it was safe;-)…

found pots, cleaned them out and matched the tubers with the appropriate pot…

left them outside for the rest of the day hoping that the rain might give them a drink… it did rain for a very short time but not a lot…

took quite a while, but eventually all eight were nestled in their new homes…

brought them in just before dark and put them back out for the day this morning…

they will be coming in and going out for the next while as I wanted them to get a head start on growing before they can live outside permanently;-)…

so excited to watch them grow…

chewed…

26 Sunday Apr 2020

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this morning, while I was searching for something in the garage, I came across an envelope of morning glory seeds that had been there for at least a year… apparently a critter had chewed open the end of the envelope, but left the seeds… not so tasty maybe…

I sprinkled them over two planters along the deck and then covered them with soil… will watch and see what happens…

no idea if they will sprout, but I thought it was worth a chance…

will be fun to watch;-)…

out-of-stock…

25 Saturday Apr 2020

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my groceries arrived at 7:45 pm…

sadly, a few of the items I really wanted were out-of-stock, sigh… Greek yogurt, fresh chicken thighs and Splenda…

and apparently pistachios aren’t considered a necessity, lol… although nuts are certainly an important part of my meal planning…

will have to reorder and hope these items are available next time…

still I am amazingly blessed to be able to order and receive groceries without leaving the house;-)…

parcel…

24 Friday Apr 2020

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had an excellent day yesterday… got a parcel in the mail… with chocolate in it…

spent time in the garden… reading in the sun, washing down a few pieces of furniture… moving chairs around for a different view… cleaning out some planters… it was lovely…

ended the day with a visit from a dear young friend… she was on the sidewalk and I was at the front door…

going to enjoy the time in the garden…

internet…

23 Thursday Apr 2020

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today I had some computer fun…

I was watching a program on TV and they were talking about better ergonomics while at home… one suggestion was to use something under your laptop to raise it to eye level which made sense, except typing would be a problem, lol… after a bit of testing, I discovered that three of my resource books have produced what might be the perfect height…

the second recommendation was to plug in a keyboard, duh… I dug one out and plugged it in and am so happy with the more traditional keyboard which I am used to… remembering a dear colleague, I found an elastic and wrapped up the extra cord behind the laptop… she would be proud:-)…

I’ve also been having constant issues with my internet connection… mainly on the laptop… I figured out the program that seemed to be stopping my connection and set up a phone call with my son-in-law (the computer geek) to get his input… it had something to do with VPN, and although I did research, it was still too confusing for me to go ahead and do something on my own…

after less than five minutes with him, I had uninstalled the problematic piece of software and it looks like everything is working beautifully… yay…

always a good day when the technology works or is improved!

 

EarthDay…

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

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today, Earth Day 50, I’ve spent time thinking about our world and how blessed we are to be here…

and how this virus, which has made us all stay home, has given the earth a chance to rest and start recovering from all the grief we have given it…

in my little corner of the world, I spent time watching the birds and squirrels at the bird feeders… after I refilled them…

and also was able to spend some time on the deck in the garden, enjoying the balmy weather…

I’ve been thinking of a few small changes I’ve made at home… the one I am most pleased about is using cloth instead of paper towels… I put away the paper towel holder shortly after arriving back home in January… I’ve been using extra hand towels and facecloths and have a bin for the used ones on the kitchen counter… it has been amazingly simple and is encouraging me to see what other small, but helpful changes I can make…

banyan…

21 Tuesday Apr 2020

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a photo of the banyan tree in Lahaina came up in my Facebook feed this morning so I pulled out a few more…

I’ve been thinking of this particular tree for quite a while… it is the largest banyan tree in Hawaii, and covers an entire block… the aerial roots are astonishing… it is stunning, and also one of the most peaceful places I have been…

the area is filled with visitors, many, like we were, there from out of the country, but lots of regulars as well… a gathering place for lunch and work breaks, there were many of the town’s workforce in the space… it is also clearly a place where those who have very little spend their time… what was also obvious was how they cared for the place and treated it, and everyone there, with respect and kindness…

we visited it a few times while we stayed in Lahaina and it provided a wonderful break… the weather was very hot and it always provided shade and a slightly cooler place to be… each day as the sun goes down the tree is filled with the sound of hundreds of birds gathering there for the night…

before we left the town, it was the last place we stopped, to soak up the amazing feeling…

I took this panorama of a corner of the block…

this beauty of nature reminded me of Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, another breathtaking place which I will never forget…

I hope you have memories of a special tree…

expert…

20 Monday Apr 2020

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the dahlia tubers are here, the dahlia tubers are here;-)…

they are a variety of colours and sizes…

I am very excited… I will let them sit in the box for a few days before opening it up and then plant most of them in pots so they can start to grow in the house…

I ordered them through an Ontario company, The Dahlia Expert, and they were very helpful…

the first ones we ever got were from a lovely gentleman on Vancouver Island… we spent hours in his garden and garage deciding on which ones to bring home on the plane…

they grew beautifully but we didn’t store them correctly for the winter and lost all of them… hoping I do a better job with these;-)…

pruning…

19 Sunday Apr 2020

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today I spent hours sitting in the living room reading and watching the neighbour across the street working on the lilac bush… this is how it looked a few weeks back…

here is how it looked a few years ago when it was blooming…

yesterday they had surveyors out measuring the edges of the property, so I am assuming they are going to put up a fence… the surveyors had to dig into the bush to set their mark…

this morning I spotted him chopping down a bunch of the branches and wondered if he was removing the whole thing…

eventually I went outside and shared the story of that particular bush… maybe twenty-five years ago we removed a lilac from the backyard… we gave a tiny piece to our neighbour who lived in that house…

I shared how her teenage son would take out his frustrations with a golf club on the little bush… so was amazed that it grew up, lol…

the new neighbour advised that he is putting in a fence along the side, but was just pruning the bush so he could work with it without needing a ladder…

here’s a final shot of how it looks now…

glad it is remaining and looking forward to watching it grow;-)…

messages…

18 Saturday Apr 2020

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this morning I started my day with the last bag of Twinning Blackcurrant Tea…

texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages came throughout the day…

and the biggest surprise was my BS buddies singing happy birthday on the road with a sign on a six foot pole so that the two holders wouldn’t get too close… what a treat…

seeing friends, even at a distance, brought such warmth to my heart… thanks to my buddy for sharing her photo;-)…

took Barbie (the BBQ) out and grilled steak and lobster for my dinner… ate with my Ottawa kids via Google Duo… they had McDonalds, lol…

very different from last year, but certainly this birthday will be remembered…