23 Sunday Jul 2023
Posted in business, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, bouquet, choose, flowers, friends, moments, nature, subscription, treat, veggies, widow, Wolseley Farmers Market
picked up this week’s bouquet subscription on Thursday…
thanks to my friend, after we stopped at the Wolseley Farmers Market where we picked up fresh veggies, we headed to River Heights to get the bouquet…
it is always fun to choose which bouquet to bring home…
such a treat…
19 Wednesday Jul 2023
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, butterflies, caterpillars, change, colours, flowers, garden, milkweed, moments, monarch, multiply, nature, plants, pond, purple, widow
strange happenings with the milkweed…
I am very happy as they continue to multiply…
not too many caterpillars, and they seem to nest on the plants closer to a wall rather than the ones nearest to the pond… maybe there is more protection from predators there… too bad for me, as pictures are easier beside the pond, lol…
the odd thing is that the plants along the edge of the pond, all with the same origin, have produced two different coloured flowers…
the usual pink/purple flowers…
and these white ones which are turning yellow…
will be interesting to see what they do next year, lol…
16 Sunday Jul 2023
Posted in business, family, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, birthday gift, blessed, construction, flower subscription, flowers, Kenaston, moments, nature, Sweet Petals Farm, traffic, widow
Thursday I picked up the second flower bouquet from my Sweet Petals Farm subscription…
it is at the same place where I went last year…
unfortunately, it involves Kenaston Avenue, yikes… the construction that is going on will likely take place all summer, so I need to find the best method of getting there and back without being stuck in a very long parking lot…
most recently, I crossed Kenaston and travelled along Corydon to Moray and that worked well…
I think that will be the route for the next while…
12 Wednesday Jul 2023
Posted in food, garden, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, brush, butternut squash, cucumber, drafting, flowers, food, garden, moments, nature, pollen, sun, weather, widow
been spending a bit of time each morning in the veggie patch (aka the side garden)…
the tomatoes have been doing well and there are now pea pods beginning to fill out, flowers on the beans, a few new cucumbers starting and, just maybe a squash…
there have been many squash flowers, but they have mostly been male… I have been trying to pollinate the female flowers in hopes of getting at least one squash…
one batch of cucumbers haven’t put out even the start of a cucumber, so I have been brushing them with a drafting brush that was my beloved’s in the hope that some might get pollinated and produce fruit…
think I will try to plant another few beans and see if they have enough time to produce;-)…
06 Thursday Jul 2023
Posted in business, food, garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, cacao pod, cacao trees, fell, fish, flowers, friends, garden, Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar, koi, moments, nature, plants, The Leaf, time, waterfall, weather, widow
had another lovely visit to The Leaf…
visited the cacao trees and took a few photos for my daughter, lol…
had a good time watching the koi and even got a few reasonable shots;-)…
met my buddies for lunch at Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar and it was tasty, as always… our server, Camille, had served us on Friday when we were there last and remembered me;-)… she did a great job to ensure our meal and time there went well…
after lunch I spent a bit more time with the fish;-)… and then sat and wrote this blog as the water fell in front of me;-)…
great way to spend time;-)…
05 Wednesday Jul 2023
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beautiful, big girl pants, blessed, butterfly, dip, eggs, flit, flowers, garden, happy, milkweed, moments, monarch, monarch butterfly, nature, nectar, photos, plants, treat, widow
for the last few days, in the afternoon, I’ve enjoyed watching a monarch butterfly dip and flit through the garden, landing on the various milkweed plants to enjoy some nectar and maybe lay some eggs…
got a few good pictures…
such a treat;-)…
04 Tuesday Jul 2023
Posted in business, family, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, biomes, blessed, cacao trees, Diversity Gardens, family, flowers, garden, gather, happy, lilies, moments, nature, plants, The Leaf, thrilled, water, weather, widow
on Friday, before my daughter left to return home to Ottawa, we went one last time to The Leaf…
we walked through the Diversity Gardens in the daylight and were happy we went early, because the temperature was rising quickly…
we checked out the Water area and were thrilled to discover water lily blooms…
then it was on to the Tropical Biome to visit the cacao trees… while there, she provided a little education for a few visitors;-)…
some of us stayed in that spot, and the rest of us checked out the other areas… we weren’t able to see the Butterfly Garden or walk on the skywalk as they were closed for the day, but it was fun to check out both biomes…
we had an early lunch at Gather, one last visit to the cacao trees and then home to nap and finish packing for the flight…
03 Monday Jul 2023
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, blossoms, flowers, garden, happy, moments, nature, number, plants, pond, water, water lilies, widow
I continue to be surprised by the number of blooms on the water lily…
there have been flowers every day since June 10th;-)…
I think there have been fifteen so far…
such an amazing treat to enjoy each day;-)…
18 Sunday Jun 2023
Posted in family, garden, health, life, loss, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, blessed, cushions, dad, dressed, family, fish, flowers, garden, happy, memories, moments, nature, pond, remembering, water lilies, widow
spent a beautiful, quiet day in the garden…
I always start with putting all the cushions out so that the space feels dressed…
I watched baby house sparrows, at the pond for drinks, flutter as they learn to use their wings… one tried to have a dust bath on the table, lol…
a few nearly flew into me…
the fish are enjoying the shade of the water lily leaves and spent lots of time out and about the pond…
and the two water lily flowers opened slowly and looked so pretty…
yesterday I spotted another bud and this morning I found a fourth one…
heard the drums at the park as the marathoners went through and thought of my dad and my beloved…
it was a lovely day;-)…
17 Saturday Jun 2023
Posted in business, family, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, biomes, blessed, cacao trees, chocolate, dinosaur trees, family, flowers, food, gather, grown, happy, happy place, magical time, moments, nature, plants, quiet, The Leaf, waterfall, widow
Tuesday and Wednesday we spent hours at The Leaf in Assiniboine Park…
things have grown and been added since I was last there…
there was mist rising from the ground and there are now three cacao trees…
it was very exciting to see them in flower and with pods on one…
Tuesday we were there in the morning and came across some school classes and quite a few other visitors… we had a delicious lunch at Gather and went back into the biomes for a last look before heading home…
on Wednesday we went in the evening… I had hoped the lights would be on but they weren’t until after we left, lol… there were few others in the space and ample opportunities to sit quietly and reflect on the beauty of nature…
thanks to a very knowledgeable volunteer, we found the sugar cane and the dinosaur trees…
we did enjoy dessert at Gather before a quick walk through the Diversity Gardens… one treat was sitting by a fire in the Indigenous Peoples Garden…
looking forward to another visit in a few weeks… cheers;-)…
herbiggirlpants 