the current iteration of the pond is ten years old…
hard to believe that much time has passed…
this is how it looked just as it was completed…
after it was finished, they had to come back and deal with leaking and runoff…nearly all of the plants have changed over time, lol… and I have changed the slate around the edge of the pond for large river rocks…
it still loses water when the waterfall is running and this year I have left if off for a good portion of the time… I also think the fish are out and about more when it isn’t running, lol… I do have a bubbler going all the time…
this year the water lilies are extremely happy… they continue to produce blooms daily, it is both amazing and delightful…
today, I turned the waterfall on and realized that I’d been missing it, and how well it dilutes other sounds in the neighbourhood…
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;-)…
during our last day at the cottage, we spent time on the cliff deck watching the waves and the pelicans…
we have enjoyed the pelicans since we arrived and early on we would get very excited every time we spotted one flying over the cottage, in the water close to the beach, taking off and landing in the water, and all the times they spent with the fisher…
over the last day or so, while we were there, it seemed a bit ho hum, lol…
what we never managed to see was them catching fish… it was clear that they got something from the fisher after they brought up the final piece of the net…
we did discover that a group of them could be called a number of things, but we liked pod and squadron best;-)…
Sunday, spent the entire day in the garden… it was warm and sunny…
set out all the chair cushions and even brought out the decorative ones…
then, most of the fish came outside… a few just wouldn’t be caught, lol… apparently a project for another day…
tea, reading, and bird watching took up a good part of the day… I am loving the sound portion of my Merlin App… it has come in especially helpful for me to identify the many sparrows that come and go…
White-Crowned, White-Throated, Harris’s, Song, and Chipping Sparrows have all been around for the last week or so…
checked out the fence with the little person and his daddy on one side, as I contemplate the style of the new fence that is in the works, and had tea and snacks with the ones on the other side… they enjoy sitting by the pond and the sound of the running water…
ate all my meals on the deck, breakfast and lunch on the back, and supper on the upper…
phone calls, emails, in-person visits, and text messages came throughout the day…
we gathered in two vehicles and drove to Rosenort for our 1 pm High Tea reservation at Lily Stone Cafe…
what a delight… we climbed up stairs, went down a narrow hall, and into a beautifully decorated room ready for our tea…
we just happened to get this space, but for a 20% gratuity you can book one of the private rooms for your group… no one wore gloves, but there were pearls, jewellery, and some fancy clothes, lol…
there were so many teas to choose from it took us a while to decide, and everyone enjoyed their picks…
then the tiered stands with a number of items for us to devour arrived, and devour them we did;-)…
they were able to deal with a food issue for one of us, and everything we ate looked lovely and was tasty… although it didn’t appear like a lot of food, we were all full once we’d cleaned the plates…
from there we drove a few kilometres to Lily Stone Gardens where we toured the Gift Shop and the one open greenhouse…
I found a beautiful white dahlia that is now sitting next to the tubers, which I hope will encourage them to get growing, lol…
the drive took just over forty-five minutes each way, and even in the rain and overcast, it was enjoyable… lots of conversation and laughter in both vehicles…