24 Monday Jun 2024
Posted in family, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, birds, blessed, cottage, family, helpful, Merlin Sound App, moments, nature, Technology, vireos, weather, widow
I used Merlin a great deal at the cottage…
I found that when the Sound ID told me which birds were around it made it easier to help spot them as I knew what they should look like…
the vireos and yellow warblers were with us all the time;-)…
we also spotted pelicans, seagulls, eagles, and hummingbirds…
such fun…
22 Saturday Jun 2024
Posted in family, health, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, family, feeder, fluttering, happy, hummingbirds, moments, nature, sound, treat, weather, widow, wings
we’ve been watching the hummingbird feeder since we arrived and on Tuesday, when we were at the table eating our supper we spotted the first one… having their meal too;-)…
Wednesday, while we were eating lunch, two of them had a little confrontation over who got to eat first…
Friday, while I was on the lower deck reading in the sun, one came right up to me before flying off… once you’ve heard a hummingbird, you always recognize the sound of their wings fluttering, lol…
what a treat;-)…
21 Friday Jun 2024
Posted in family, life, moments, nature, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, birds, birdsong, blessed, chameleon, cottage, cover, family, moments, nature, relaxing, thunderstorm, tree frog, weather, widow
Friday morning, as I was uncovering the couch on the upper deck, I spotted this cute little visitor… I got a few photos as it moved around the various cushions looking for just the right spot to sun itself in…
looks like it is a tree frog and apparently they can change colour, like chameleons… clearly it went from dark gray to light gray…
last night there was a nice lightening and thunderstorm so the cushions were a bit damp, even after being covered…
but they didn’t take too long to dry in the sunshine…
the water was calm and the birds were trilling away…
20 Thursday Jun 2024
Posted in family, health, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, cottage, family, happy, lake, low key, moments, nature, rain, ventured, water, waves, weather, widow
our first whole day at the cottage was low key…
the sun came out occasionally, but the wind was busy the entire day and there was a fair amount of rain…
we ventured out a few times to watch the waves and listen to the birds…
in between, we read and napped and watched nature take its course out the windows…
my daughter got this lovely shot on her new Galaxy android… between the raindrops, lol…
it take wonderful pictures…
15 Saturday Jun 2024
Posted in family, garden, health, life, loss, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, blessed, buds, family, flowers, garden, happy, memories, moments, nature, orange, pictures, plants, poppies, thirty-two, weather, widow, wild
the other day I counted thirty-two poppy buds…
since then twenty-six have opened… I go out every morning to take pictures and count them, lol…
they look so beautiful weaving back and forth in the breeze…
they were one of my beloved’s favourite flowers… maybe because they signalled the beginning of summer…
they decide where they will pop up and I am always so happy when they turn up each year… this time they are in the front of the garden;-)…
13 Thursday Jun 2024
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, columbines, doubles, flowers, garden, growing, harvested, moments, nature, plants, purple, weather, widow
the columbines are filled with buds and flowers…
I am particularly happy because the double flower one, which I purchased last year and harvested some of the seeds, is doing well…
in the fall, we sprinkled them alongside the house, near where the other columbines were…
the side garden is looking very pretty;-)…
12 Wednesday Jun 2024
Posted in food, garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, food, garden, growing, happy, moments, nature, planters, plants, rain, squash, vegetables, weather, widow
this was the garden when I planted the seeds on May 14…
and here are photos from today…
the black planters are coming along very nicely… the tomatoes at each end have started to flower, the peas and beans are thinking about climbing the trellis, and the cucumbers have popped through the ground…
the vegetables in the gray planter are coming along, although the squash seed has not sprouted yet…
this is rather amazing, considering all the rain we’ve had…
10 Monday Jun 2024
Posted in business, food, garden, health, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, birthday, blessed, chocolate, flowers, food, friends, garden, happy, lunch, moments, offerings, party, table, time, treat, umbrella, weather, widow
what a delightful day…
yesterday we moved the table on the deck to the middle of the space and this morning I put on the tablecloth and runner that I picked up on Saturday…
then my housemate put the umbrella back in its hole and we opened it up…
I folded silverware into napkins and brought out pretty, but unmatched, plates to put around… glasses and mugs followed… everything was upside down so they wouldn’t get dirty…
found bowls, covers, and spoons for the two salads – ham and German potato, as well as the coleslaw…
crackers went onto a wooden tray and the salt and pepper shaker made it onto the table, alongside some lily of the valley flowers from under the deck…
chair covers and cushions went out and umbrellas went up…
friends arrived with other food offerings… there were fresh veggies and hummus, devilled eggs, fresh fruit, whipped cream, chocolate, and custard…
there were flowers for the birthday woman…
we gathered at the table and enjoyed everyone’s delicious offerings… of course there was our usual coffee and tea to go with the fruit, custard and whipped cream, topped with a piece of chocolate and a pistachio, lol…
the bubble machine came out and was on until bubbles started to land on plates… the weather was beautiful as the sun shone with a slight breeze every now and then… conversations were free flowing and stories made us laugh…
we took a group photo, as we always do when we gather for special times;-)…
as everyone began to leave the clouds filled the sky and the temperature went down, but no rain fell…
I had a relaxing time as I cleaned up, filled the dishwasher, put away the cushions, and got the table back into its original location…
read my book as the last of the bubbles flew around the deck…
07 Friday Jun 2024
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, columbine, cucumbers, cushions, flowers, garden, growing, hibiscus, moments, morning glories, nature, plants, pond, poppies, purple, reading, slips, walk, weather, widow
this morning I started my day with a wander around the gardens…
I started with the vegetable garden and checked on the two tomatoes, miriad of peas, beans, and the couple of cucumbers that appear to have made a go of it…
the cucumber and butternut squash seeds have yet to reach the surface…
the columbines are getting ready to flower and it appears that the ones with double petals are happy in their new location along the house…
the dahlias are growing taller every day and the ivy slips from the house are holding their own…
next I checked out the pond garden, where the irises are blooming and the poppies are raising their heads slowly to get set to open… I had to detour back around the deck so that I didn’t brush against any of them… the hanging baskets are filling with flowers as they recover from the hail storm…
the petunias around the deck look good, but I need to find a way to raise up the new planter boxes as they are just a tiny bit too narrow…
the begonia and orchid in the back shady area seem to be doing well and the pansies by the bathtub pond are growing nicely…
the hibiscus is still in the shade since coming outside recently and the begonias and verbena are happy… sadly the pansies in between them are not doing well…the strawberry pot and dahlia next to the back door look excellent as do the morning glories as they come up…
on the deck the mandevilla seems content in its new location and the clematis continues to wind its way up the obelisk… the lobelia and alyssum on the table are doing very well…
after that lovely stroll, I brought out all the cushions, uncovered the deck chairs, and sat with my tea and read some of my book as the birds sang their morning welcome;-)…
05 Wednesday Jun 2024
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, butterfly, fast, flit, garden, moments, monarch, nature, pictures, weather, widow
had a delightful time yesterday afternoon as I watched a monarch butterfly flit about the garden for quite some time…
it was overcast, but I continue to spend as much time as possible outside… as I was reading I looked up to see a monarch going by…
couldn’t get a great picture, as of course I didn’t have the Nikon outside, lol… and the butterfly moved quickly…
some milkweed is just starting… some was recently planted, but has no flowers yet…
hopefully this monarch and some friends come by as the weather improves and flowers are ready for them…
