nature…

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this morning I ran around the garden watering all the baskets and plants… I could not believe that they were thirsty, but they were…

I am loving the new hose… works beautifully, isn’t heavy and doesn’t kink…

sadly it won’t work with the water barrel… clearly not enough pressure, so I will still do some hand watering when there is time… the plants really like the rain water best…

when I arrived home and walked into the garden from the garage, a very large dragonfly flew up and landed on my purse… stayed there while I pulled out my phone and opened the camera… then it flew away before I could get a picture…

just looked out the window a few minutes ago and saw this lovely moon

20140710-220402-79442923.jpgwill be completely full on Saturday…

been a day filled with the wonderful nature around me…

paperwork…

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today I was reminded of the couple of times that I was off work for a few months at a time, and another when George died…

once was four years ago when I ended up in hospital with pancreatitis and then had my gall bladder removed… we were supposed to have flown to BC but instead I spent six weeks in the hospital and eight weeks recovering at home… George was with me throughout the whole process and supported me as I dealt with all of the paperwork as I struggled to get some benefits from Service Canada… eventually I jumped through all of the hoops and got a little support… we celebrated our 40th anniversary while I was in the hospital…

then, when he died I went through the process of filling out numerous forms, terrified that I might do something wrong which would mean I wouldn’t get his insurance benefits…

two years ago next week I went through another serious surgery… this time without George… besides having to get through the surgery and recovery on my own, I had to go through the process again to get funding… it was not any easier the second time around…

all of those experiences were very stressful… particularly when already going through a difficult situation…

as I look back on them I realize how strong I actually was… but still remember the fear every time I had to fill out one of those forms…

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lobster…

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went shopping at IKEA after work with Crystal and Jeff, to order their kitchen… it was very exciting… couldn’t believe how many people were there on a Tuesday night, but kitchens went on sale yesterday so there was a crowd…

to top it off, they paid with cash, which kind of shocked the young woman at the register… I do wonder how long it is going to be before places won’t accept cash… she had to call a supervisor to double count the money… after all that, she forgot to make change, lol… luckily Jeff remembered before we left…

then, to celebrate, we went out for dinner at Red Lobster…

20140708-212529-77129555.jpghad very nice slushy drinks, those amazing biscuits, and lobster… saved just enough to have for lunch tomorrow…

20140708-212916-77356594.jpgit was wonderful to have time together, without the little people…

when they dropped me off, I went out and got a few pictures of the hibiscus…

20140708-213221-77541917.jpgwaiting to see what the next colour is…

clouds…

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tonight, on my way home, the sky had some frightening looking clouds

was finally able to get a picture part way home, although by then they weren’t quite as horrible looking… this was about 4:20…

20140707-211844-76724187.jpgmade it in the door about three minutes before the torrential rain began… only lasted for a few minutes..

20140707-211957-76797488.jpghard to see it coming down but the pavement was completely wet in a very short time…

it is beautiful now…

20140707-212239-76959771.jpgforgot that the hibiscus is a tri-colour… the last flowers were reddish orange… the next bloom looks like it is going to be yellow…

20140707-212706-77226356.jpgthat’s pretty cool…

beauty…

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had a wonderful day in the garden…

spent time watching birds at the feeder… then a squirrel ran past me, swam across the pond and vanished under the cedar tree…

20140706-205339-75219925.jpgdon’t think this was the one who took the swim, but it wandered by as I was quietly sitting reading…

20140706-205656-75416132.jpgthe goldfinch flew right by me as well and landed on the flat rock that the water flows over for a drink… we were very close to one another…

the kids were over in the afternoon and spotted more baby fish… two different batches as there are three sizes swimming around… the five I found… a group half that size and some weeny ones that are all dark coloured but that might be because they are so tiny…

after everyone left I lay down on the floating chair without even putting on the cover and read and enjoyed the sounds of the garden…

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a day filled with beauty

hot…

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was in the garden by nine this morning…

filled a bucket with weeds as I tidied the garden around the pond…

I was hot when I sat down with my tea and kobo…

20140705-200324-72204551.jpgafter reading for a while it seemed really hot so I checked the temperature and it was 33.9, guess that explains it… I spent time watching the fish in the pond and the goldfinch who stopped by… there was a big butterfly and a number of dragonflies in the garden… and many, many mosquitoes…

20140705-200639-72399301.jpgthere are three light coloured baby fish and two dark coloured ones… they are likely gold coloured but in the pond turn black…

came in just after noon and napped and read…

just checked the temperature…

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lovely day…

hyacinth…

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this morning the fish were busy in the pond looking for something to eat…

20140704-202758-73678429.jpginstead of putting out the garbage and recycling, I wandered around the garden basking in the peace…

another warm and sunny day…

as soon as I got through the garage door tonight I made my way over to the pond to see if I could spot the baby fish… instead I spotted this water hyacinth starting to bloom

20140704-203702-74222943.jpgI am quite excited about this because they only bloom for one day and then the blossom slips under the water…

hard to believe that the flowers are getting thirsty again after all that rain… the begonia basket is absolutely beautiful, filled with blossoms, apparently they love this weather…

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hibiscus…

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once again the sun shone all day long… still a big deal after all the overcast and rainy days…

took some pictures of the hibiscus buds this morning on my way to the car… I can’t help myself when I see something lovely in the garden, lol, but that is part of taking the time to enjoy the moment

20140703-201425-72865429.jpghere is what greeted me as I arrived home…

20140703-201707-73027737.jpgthey are very lovely…

20140703-201946-73186306.jpgthis one is from upstairs…

to top it off the goldfinch couple spent a bit of time eating their dinner as I was making mine… nice to have them both in the picture…

20140703-202357-73437832.jpghave heard of a few losses recently and it reminds me to enjoy every moment because we don’t know what tomorrow might bring…

sunshine…

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the sun shone all day… quite wonderful…

the rain doesn’t appear to have bothered the hibiscus… has lots if new blooms on it…

20140702-204306-74586039.jpglast night I did go outside and watch the half hour of fireworks… really noticed how much the trees have grown… the view is not what it used to be, but still great… the street was completely filled with cars… haven’t had that for many years… maybe there were lots of people at the Park…

20140702-205927-75567843.jpgthe very full pond this morning as I was leaving for work…

20140702-210010-75610414.jpgthe sun shining in the garden when I looked out the window after changing when I got home…

bit of sunshine sure brightens one’s mood…

Canada Day…

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been a very quiet Canada Day here…

it was overcast when I got up and then it started to mist… put out a box of pass-me-overs and made tea…

I saw this goldfinch come to the feeder a number of times throughout the day, once with the missus…

Goldfinch snacking in the rain...

Goldfinch snacking in the rain…

when I was out in the hot tub, he went to one of the feeders in the back corner of the garden… I also thought I saw two of them fly over the house… am wondering if maybe there is a baby boy in their life, although last year there were at least five pairs living in the area…

the grackles have been coming to the feeders a lot… this is very unusual, and they seem to be coming when it is raining… don’t have the heart to shoo them away because they also have a baby in their midst, although it is the same size as the parents, but lighter coloured and bushier…

watched tv, read a bit and napped… my legs are both stiff from the fall, but I don’t have any visible bruising… talked with my girls, and my son-in-law stopped by on his way home from work to stand up some plants in the pond… after my little fall yesterday, I was a bit nervous to get down close to the pond… who would save me if I fell in, lol… he counted four baby fish in the pond as well…

usually the kids would come over and we would watch the fireworks that go off at the Park, but no one was feeling that great and the weather has been rainy and overcast all day so they decided not to come…

spent a bit of time remembering all the gatherings on Canada Day on the front street as neighbours, friends and family would put chairs out on the road, make gallons of popcorn, spray everyone within an inch of their life with bug spray and oooo and ahhhh at the fireworks… some years they would be amazing, and other years not so great… the view is not quite as good now, as the trees have grown so they can interfere depending on where the fireworks have been set up… one year we went over to the Park to watch them and almost died of smoke inhalation, lol…

since talking with the kids the sky has finally turned blue, so I might walk out to the street when they start… or not… missing my beloved today…