01 Wednesday Jul 2015
Tags
very quiet day in the garden… the most amazing thing was the three male goldfinches at the feeders all at the same time… they also spent time at the pond, drinking…
reading, a bit of napping, and three healthy meals… lots of music coming from the Park…
wonderful way to refresh…
30 Tuesday Jun 2015
had a vacation day today and spent most of it in the garden…
my grandson came over and helped with some yard work…
he is becoming proficient in weeding and knowing what shouldn’t be pulled…
he dug the hose into the grass and under two flower beds so that it just needs a button flipped and water will go into the pond when it runs low… we bought some hardware which we haven’t installed yet, but at least the hose is ready, lol…
the grass should grow over in a few weeks and there won’t be anything visible at all…
lots of wild roses were cut down but we also got to see blooms on the two rose bushes that came from my friend and neighbour Ellen’s house… she was a very special woman…
been feeling that I haven’t been a very good friend lately… maybe I am still all wrapped up in my own struggles with losing my beloved or I just haven’t been taking the time to connect with friends… maybe I’m turning into a hermit…
sometimes a friend needs space but I wonder if I’ve been using that as an excuse not to connect… and sometimes they just grow away from you for a while, and that’s okay too…
was talking with someone and they were having similar feelings…
I don’t know for sure, except that I am feeling guilty of not trying hard enough to connect with at least one person… maybe I need to sit with that for a while…
28 Sunday Jun 2015
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, bunny, garden, goldfinches, moment, weeds, wildlife
quiet day spent mainly in the garden… off to the left is the bucket I filled with weeds and spent blossoms which I pulled…
lots of wildlife again… saw at least three goldfinches which reminded me of the day last summer when there were five males at the bird feeder at the same time and I saw them and got a picture… that really was a spectacular moment…
laughed for ages after one of the little red squirrels fell out of a feeder, landed in the pond, jumped out and ran through the yard at warp speed… think it was surprised and maybe a bit embarrassed…
my bunny friend is spending lots of time here… this afternoon she was suntanning while I was reading… knows that I won’t do anything to hurt her I think, as I can move around without causing her to charge off…
planters are looking very nice… hard to believe that June is nearly over…
as I sit here, ending my day in the garden, I am missing my kids as they weren’t able to come by for dinner tonight…
also missing my beloved… never know when those moments will surface…
21 Sunday Jun 2015
Tags
big girl pants, daisies, garden, George, jolly jump ups, travel
the daisies have taken over the path by the pond…
I don’t actually think there were any planted in this garden, lol…
there have been daisies in the backyard for at least twenty-five years…
for many of those years they have travelled back and forth across the garden…
they would be on one side of the yard and within a few weeks would move through the grass… whenever George mowed they would bloom right at grass height and then move a little bit further before he mowed again…
these pictures are from either end of the pathway… the daisies are everywhere, lol…
they are so bright and happy looking…
final bonus today are these jolly jump ups that self seeded…
so cute…
20 Saturday Jun 2015
Tags
first thing this morning I moved a chair on the deck so that I could watch the bird feeder… I had seen the cardinal from the bedroom window and was wanting a closer view…
sat quietly while the kids slept watching for it… nothing…
after they were up I spent time finishing up the garden area…
cut down some small trees and cleaned out lots of weeds beside the cute little barn-shaped shed… the raised beds are looking very nice…
enjoyed breakfast, packed my bag and had a nap…
made a little lunch and sat on the deck for my last meal before coming home…
the female cardinal came by while I was eating… amazing because the first time I saw the male was when I first arrived… I’d been standing on the deck and he flew through… never saw him again although I was watching… she sat at the bird feeder the entire time I was eating… felt like a lovely farewell gift…
bus to the airport and a goodbye wave from my daughter…
17 Wednesday Jun 2015
this morning the sun was shining outside my bedroom window…
the birds were singing and the woodpecker was rat-a-tat-tating on the pole at the edge of the backyard…
worked in one of the raised beds to get rid of the weeds and we walked over to Loblaws and got some veggies and herbs…
this is the before picture… after getting it cleaned out we went to another store and picked up soil to fill the bed… took a taxi home and my son-in-law put it into the bed… then I planted everything…
here’s the finished product when I was able to sit down and enjoy the view…
started to prep supper and came out to this…
someone has a cold and fell asleep…
great grilled salmon steak, veggies, salad, and rice for our dinner…
sat outside for a while and visited… now heading to bed…
14 Sunday Jun 2015
weather has been interesting over the weekend…
yesterday morning I took these pictures of clouds looking in two directions…
and last night as I was walking home from supper out with the kids…
although it had been raining just a while before, in this shot it was beautiful…
today was a bit overcast early in the day and then the sun came out and lit up the garden as I worked in one section… happy with my work…
put out all the cushions and we had a lovely visit when the kids came for dinner…
had supper on the deck, and just finished in time to move everything into the house and garage as the sky darkened…
poured for about fifteen minutes after they drove out of the driveway… left footprints when I went into the garden afterwards…
then this:-)…
certainly lots of variety…
13 Saturday Jun 2015
Tags
big girl pants, bunny, deck, garden, goldfinch, hot tub, moment, The Captain's Table, walk
recently I’ve been coming outside and sitting on the deck to write my blog post… lovely way to end the day and another opportunity to get outside…
today I’ve been on all three decks for some period of the day…
started the day with an early morning hot tub… turned the waterfall back on so got to hear the lovely water sounds… sat on the back deck and read and watched the various wildlife that visited…
besides the goldfinches there were squirrels, butterflies and a large dragonfly… I think the second goldfinch in this picture was a juvenile, not the missus…
went in while it rained, and then sat on the deck by the door to read… while there, a cute little bunny came by…
sat there for at least ten minutes before hopping away…
lovely treat when my kids called and three of them met me for supper at The Captain’s Table… my favourite fish and chip place… luckily I walked there and back to help make up for the fried food I ate…
they headed off to wash the car andchauffeur one of the other kids, and I stopped at the grocery store to pick up salad fixins for tomorrow’s supper…
noticed the first clematis bloom when I arrived home… it is doing very well this year…
going to make some tea and read a bit more while I’m out here and the sky is blue… enjoying the moment…
12 Friday Jun 2015
Tags
Banff, big girl pants, cd, eating, exercising, garden, poppy, stomach
was talking with someone recently about eating and exercise… they were noticing that eating and then going for a walk or doing any type of exercise is getting more difficult for them…
reminded me of when I really learned that lesson…
it was 2000 and I had travelled to Banff, Alberta to make a cd with a group of women from across Canada and the U.S… we had an amazing time… it was beautiful there, the studio was great, and the food was wonderful… we stayed midway up a mountain, walked, what felt like straight up, to get to the restaurant and then further up to the studio…
if we ate too much of the delicious food, we could barely make it up the hill to our destination… apparently your stomach needs to work after eating and your whole body is actively taking part in the process…
took us a while to figure it out and then we started to eat much smaller portions, lol… making the music was magical and something I will always remember…
this morning, after my smoothie, I walked around the garden, which, thankfully, is flat, and got a few pictures…
this is the last poppy with the sun shining through it…
this little sedge (I think) growing in the pond has a lovely “flower” on it…
and the morning glories are just peeking through the soil… hurrah:-)…
the garden is moving along nicely…
10 Wednesday Jun 2015
been thinking about all things green…
started this morning with a picture of my manicured lawn which my daughter mowed last night while she was waiting for me to get home…
been thinking about money a bit too… wanting to be sure I have enough green for my visit with my other kids…
years ago George and I decided we wouldn’t take vacations if we didn’t have enough to be able to do what we wanted, after a very bad experience where we spent two weeks in a soaked tent while it poured every day, because we couldn’t afford to stay anywhere else…
love my green hose which is very light and expands or shrinks depending on whether or not there is water in it… makes watering so much easier…
tonight I watered everything after planting some morning glory seeds… some in a pot that already has the mandevilla in it…
and some in a hanging basket… looking forward to seeing them sprout…
excited to see this bit of green coming through the soil… one of the dahlias…
finally, discovered these wild rose blooms in among the jungle of green plants and grass in the other front flower bed… although flower might not be an accurate description, lol…
still giggle about how badly I wanted this wild rose in the garden… now it is trying to take over the whole yard… and I am constantly cutting back sprouts of it everywhere…
too funny…
herbiggirlpants 