gardening…

29 Saturday Aug 2015

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made myself bacon and eggs for a treat this morning… used Campfire brand bacon which reminded me of our breakfast around the campfire just last Saturday…

then I headed out into the garden where I spent most of the day… the morning glories were lovely, although the large ones didn’t open today, lol…

  
dragged out the lawnmower and mowed… what an improvement… looked like an overgrown meadow before… this new Black and Decker model is battery powered and plugs in when done… had to scrape down the inside when I was done because it had been damp earlier…

put seed in the feeders… trimmed back some of the sad looking plants and pulled out others in overgrown areas… the birds were happy with new snacks…

  
took out a pail full of water hyacinth from the pond…

  
now I can see the fish again… and discovered five baby fish… 

  

maybe there have been two or three batches of them because there is one black one which is the biggest with two coloured ones about the same size and finally another teeny black one… the black ones are actually gold but appear black in the water…

spent time relaxing after the gardening… read my book, watched the birds and had a lovely nap to the sound of the waterfall…

  
also made chicken soup and walnut pesto…

  
wonderful summer day…

light…

28 Friday Aug 2015

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early this morning I was forced to turn on lights because it was dark, sigh… as I was getting ready for work, thunder and lightning were filling the sky…

  
a few minutes before I had to leave, I ran outside and got this picture of the morning glory blossoms…

  
apparently the storm did a number on them…

got a nice picture of the dahlia… been thinking I might cut them and bring them into the house… so beautiful…

  
after work sat outside and was checking my phone when something crossed my vision and hovered in front of the basket of flowers just four feet from me… took a few seconds to realize what it was… a tiny hummingbird… it moved and hovered over the hot tub for another few seconds before flying off… needed to go in and finish dinner, but couldn’t leave the chair in case it came back…

  
finished off the day with a light ice cream cupcake… it’s been in the freezer for a couple of weeks and really felt like I needed to get it out of there…

ten to nine and it is dark…

going to have to take my SAD light to the office next week and start turning it on…

but, it is the weekend and I am going to enjoy every minute of it…

creepy…

27 Thursday Aug 2015

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started the day with a lovely photo of the pond… spent some time talking with a friend about possibilities for this area as I am still not happy with how it looks…

  
had a lovely lunch out and supper at IKEA…

very happy because I also picked up some of the potato pancakes they have… I love them and had run out…

also picked up a couple of plant pots…

  
on our way home the sun was quite lovely with a bit of a haze…

 
was having a lovely phone conversation with my daughter in Ottawa when I felt something brush against my arm… 

I looked down thinking it might be a ladybug only to discover a huge spider which was on the side of the couch…

screamed a bit and ran around trying to figure out how to deal with it… tried a Kleenex which didn’t work and then lost sight of it… finally found it again on the side of the couch… took a shoe and didn’t care if it was going to leave a mark because I wanted to be rid of it…

thankfully my daughter stayed on the phone, even if she was laughing… felt much better having someone with me…

still feeling kind of creepy…

outdoors…

26 Wednesday Aug 2015

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first thing this morning took pictures of the big morning glory… apparently they are never going to open on a day when I am home and can see it when it is fully open, lol…

  
interesting colour on it… also took this one of the mandevilla… there are lots of blossoms on it…

  
on a walk at lunch I spotted some kids climbing on Emptyful… they were having a great time as the spray blew over them… 

 
beautiful day… on the way home enjoyed the lovely weather as I walked…

  
got a shot of the morning glory when I arrived at the house… bit of a hybrid I think…

  
got a pretty good shot of it as it was starting to close up…

finished off my day with fresh corn on the cob which was delicious…

  

delicious…

25 Tuesday Aug 2015

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last night I prepared another five pounds of beans… this time, yellow ones…

  
the great news was that I was sitting on my bed watching tv as I prepped them… my son-in-law came by and replaced the dead one and then carefully explained how this particular one works… let’s hope I remember all the instructions, lol…

can even set the sleep timer from the main remote control… for the previous one I had to use two remotes… I am very happy…

got my big pasta pot and blanched all of the beans for three minutes…

  
not sure why I didn’t use this pot for the green beans… sped up the process nicely…

  
cold bath and then into bags…

  
filled eleven bags and also had a lovely bowl filled for my supper…

  
they were very tasty and I also had fresh beets… such a delicious time of the year…

walk…

24 Monday Aug 2015

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spectacular day…

up early and walked over to the Park… the Assiniboine is lower than I’ve seen it in many years…

  
had a wonderful breakfast with a dear friend at the Park Cafe… quite like their Black Bean Benedict…

  
cool but sunny… we had a leisurely walk through the zoo… quiet, and enjoyed a wonderful time in Journey to Churchill…

  
this is one of the three newest baby polar bears…

  
enjoyed the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden and found some cute caterpillar friends…

  
spent a fair bit of time with my camera taking pictures of butterflies and flowers… my friend was very patient, lol…  

I took a wander through the Gardens before walking home…

  
finally had a chance to see the new statue just inside the entrance to the English Garden… nice…

  
borders are at their best right now…

  
caught a frog by a purple water lily…

spending time in the Gardens brings such relaxation and peace… reminds me how lucky I am to live within walking distance of such a special place…

tasty…

23 Sunday Aug 2015

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got home before noon after our last night of camping in the basement of my daughter’s new house… no furniture in the place other than our camping chairs and air mattresses… but it was warm, had toilets and running water… pretty darn nice…

when we got up this morning, the rain was going sideways as the wind was blowing like crazy… happy to be inside, lol… the guys ran out to check for basement flooding at one of the houses… they brought home egg mcmuffins for our breakfast… a tasty treat after the last few days of cooking on a campfire and doing endless dishes in a bucket, lol…

I brought in my gear and took a quick look around the garden as it had stopped raining during the drive…

  
this is a picture of the eggplant… when I left on Friday there were three hanging on the plant… apparently something or someone decided they needed them more than I did… hope they enjoyed them…

also picked some tomatoes while I was out there, finally ripening…a few of the Romas had blossom rot so I took the rest off…

  
had a few of them with my supper… tasted good…

it’s been overcast and windy for most of the day, but late this afternoon the sun came streaming through the window into the living room… had to get a photo…

 dahlia flower blooming on the deck…
  

creatures…

22 Saturday Aug 2015

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after supper last night at the campsite, all the boys and dogs went for a walk to the beach to catch frogs…

it was dark and nearly eleven when a skunk came to visit we three women as we sat around the campfire…

one ran into the tent, another climbed on top of the picnic table… I sat in my chair as the skunk came and sniffed my toes before moseying along to the next site…

was going to take a picture but decided not to in case it got nervous and sprayed, lol…

at 1 am it started to rain… at about 2:30 the thunder and lightning show started… shortly after that lightning blew the electricity at the site with a huge bang… for two hours the light flashed, thunder rolled and rain poured down… can’t even think of a time when I was in the midst of such a storm… made for a long night…

this morning we saw geese at the beach when we went for our cell phone connection fix…

  
had a lovely breakfast cooked on the fire…

  
bacon, pancakes and eggs was wonderful… soon after that the heavens opened again and it poured…

we gave up, packed, and headed home… saw a mommy deer and her twins as we left the campground…

  
now we are back in the city, camping out at my daughter’s new house which is pretty much an empty construction zone, lol…

and have two dogs laying here keeping us company…

  
gonna make s’mores soon…

packed…

21 Friday Aug 2015

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in the car, on the way to the lake…

kind of late but life intervened in our desire to leave earlier,,,

day started out great with the large morning glory having an open blossom on it… not purple this time, but a lovely shade of blue…

  
got a few pictures first thing as I was running around getting the car packed…

as I was leaving for work I had to stop and take a few more pictures of the lovely shadows and sunlight on the plants…

  
took the few extra minutes to enjoy the moment…

over lunch hour helped prepare some appetizers for a shower a colleague was attending this evening…

such fun… every now and then I miss the catering business, lol… much more fun when you are only getting a few things prepped…

drove to my daughter’s new house and had a tour before we ran around and got groceries and did that last minute packing of the car…

not sure we have an extra inch available… of course, George would have had excess available… he was such a great organizer of space…

brought warmer clothes this time… flannel pajamas, heavier jackets and an extra blanket… can you tell I was a bit chilly during the night last time, lol…

looking forward to a campfire…

harvest…

20 Thursday Aug 2015

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sitting out beside the pond as I fill it up… water is rather low again…

  
everything was thirsty so used the hose to provide drinks, lol…

here is tonight’s harvest from the garden…

  
a Roma tomato and a lovely eggplant… ate both of them with my supper… very tasty…

can’t believe that the big morning glory blossom is going to open tomorrow, while I am at work, sigh… still hoping to be here during the day when one is opening…

  
goldfinches were at the feeders when I came out…and a bunny ran off when I was getting the hose…

   
 
I think this little one is a goldfinch but am not certain…

picked up tzatziki, a lovely loaf of bread, cheese biscuits, and radishes today at the Farmers Market… had half a bagel at lunch so will save the biscuits for tomorrow and take the bread camping, lol…

there was barely room to move at the Market… clearly the harvest has been good this year…

need to go in as it is getting dark… earlier and earlier, sigh… already missing the light…