I’ve been feeling a bit bad for the birds since I took down the bird feeder and haven’t added any seeds to the one that is still hanging, in an effort to dissuade the raccoons from coming into the garden…
so, for the last few days I’ve been broadcasting seeds in the grass and on the decks…
I think the birds are liking it as they can all get something to eat and no lineups are required…
been enjoying the Harris Sparrows, the White-Throated Sparrows, and the Juncos…
and the bonus is that I am able to stand at the patio door and watch them…
what a special place… it is already stunning and I can’t imagine how great it will be as everything grows into the space…
I was so happy to see that a portion of the allée is still there… for years I would walk around it to get my steps in and I thought it had been removed… the trees are just beautiful…
after we crossed it, we moved into the various gardens… they were all distinctly different…
the Indigenous People’s Garden is an enclosed circle of amazing artwork depicting spring to winter, with a fire pit in the centre and seating for numbers of people… I could envision sitting in this quiet space and meditating…
the Kitchen Garden was filled with fruit trees and the most amazing sunflower plants, as well as herbs, flowers and vegetables…
again, nice benches with morning glories growing behind them for sitting…
the Performance Garden is set up as an amphitheatre and reminded me of wonderful times when we camped and attended numerous events at such locations…
part of the Sensory Garden were these great steps up and down some hills… great fun, although going up was better than coming down, lol…
enjoyed all of the critters in the Gardens… I think the butterflies were my favourite…
it was windy and all the grasses were rippling… lovely…
although there are a few ways to enter the gardens, I was very enamoured with this one…
the Water section had the coolest spheres…
all in all, a great place for a contemplative walk or a walking tour with a friend…
well, I must say I am tired… but what a delightful day it has been…
got up early and set about preparing for the day… moved 14 bags of mulch, a wheelbarrow and compost can, used the leaf blower to clean the garage floor, set up a table with a tablecloth in case it was too windy to sit outside, put out cushions and rearranged lawn furniture, prepped some fruit and whipped cream… cleaned leaves out of the pond, set out dishes, made coffee and sun tea, wrapped a gift and wrote two cards…
sat and read in the garden for half an hour and then welcomed four of the most wonderful women into the space…
visited, ate some delicious food from Feast Bistro, enjoyed the nature around us, laughed, shared stories and celebrated one another with some delicious options…
nearly lost one umbrella to the gusts of wind, but the weather was quite amazing for early October…
when they left, I finished tidying up and got ready for dinner with another wonderful woman…
when she arrived we had fish and chips (which I love), more stories and laughter… what a great visit…
it is dark now and I just finished a bowl of strawberry shortcake with whipped cream as I sit on the deck (quite comfortable in shorts and a sleeveless shirt) and reminisce about all the great parts of the day…
I had stopped walking on it because every time I was on it my knee and hip would end up sore…
so for a long time figure eights around the living and dining rooms were how I got my steps in… recently I began taking walks outside with my daughter on the phone (in my ear)…
as I have reintroduced walking on the treadmill, I am using a much slower speed… that seems to be working well…
I am also only walking for a short period because I don’t want to hurt myself again…
I am careful that I don’t get so engrossed in the show I’m watching that I stay on it for too long, lol…
over the last three or four days I have cooked a lot in the kitchen…
I produced a beautiful corn chowder with some leftover corn on the cob…
then I made zucchini-basil soup with most of my basil and added a bit of chicken to the recipe as well…
and finally I free-styled Calico beans… didn’t have as many canned beans in the house as required nor any molasses, but it came out great anyway, lol… and it was nice to have some of my dahlias around…
there is certainly lots of choice in the fridge just now…
will be putting a few of them into the freezer for lazy days…
yesterday, a handyperson came over and was able to get access to an electrical outlet…
he had to cut a hole in the back of a dresser and make an opening so that we are able to plug things in…
I was very happy that this happened as we have a plan in the works for this area…
then he was able to re-level the front door and add weatherstripping which will keep out the cold and block access to any bugs who might want to enter the house…
for the last few days the ladybugs have been trying to get in through that little opening… hahaha, not anymore;-)…
next I made coffee and had a few moments to read while I waited for my friends to arrive…
we decided not long ago to meet in the afternoon when it is warmer, as we continue to meet outdoors…
one had something else on, another connected by phone… the rest of us gathered in person…
it was a beautiful day and we sat close to the pond… both pumps were turned off to make it easier to hear one another, lol…
there were lots of visitors while we were meeting… a variety of sparrows, blue jays, squirrels, a cat and we even spotted a mouse racing through the grass… the fish swam around where we could see them as well…
strange to have such warm weather, but we certainly enjoyed it…
herbiggirlpants 