| Posted on Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 03:00 am: |   |
Turns out DH's cousin is from Kingston, Ontario. We had a wonderful but far too short visit. Of course this was all during DH's last 'tour' of work. Tomorrow he starts holidays until July 11. I hope we can finish up some jobs around the house. Busy days.
Bonitoad gave me some plants. I love begonias. These are two from her. One is a Salmon begonia, and the other... don't know it's name for sure, but I call it Lemon Sherbert.
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| Posted on Friday, July 02, 2004 - 02:59 am: | |
I'll have to work on my photos tomorrow. Tonight I'm bushed, but had a wonderful time at the lake today, just sitting on the deck talking with friends. My back is not up to a boat ride, not even a slow one, and there was a fair bit of activity with boaters, and the water bombers. I had a lovely time.
Tomorrow I must work on the front garden. I'm so looking forward to the grand girls coming and don't want to do anything but enjoy them while they're here.
Time for bubble bath. |
| Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 02:17 am: | |
Where does the time go? We're busy with grand girls at the moment and I haven't sat at the computer...or anywhere, for very long. I'm a little bit behind in my reading. However, life is good. DH even took the hoe out to the vegetable garden yesterday. I didn't even know he was doing that. He's on holidays now so he has some time. Wow! We planted a climbing rose at the new gate yesterday. We'll hardly see it until next year, but I can just imagine how wonderful it will look.
Must run. Wayne and our oldest grand daughter are off sockeye salmon fishing at 5 a.m. I'm just hoping the other two don't think they need to get up with her. And I'm pretty sure a couple of people will be having a little nap tomorrow. Wouldn't it be great if they caught a fish! |
| Posted on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 03:25 am: | |
It's raining! I hope it stays for a while because we are so dry.
Yesterday we had a water pipe installed out to the barn. What a treat that is, to have running water at the barn.
Our grand girls have gone back home, but I can still feel their tight, tight hugs. What a little unit they are, so close, looking after each other.
The two younger girls and I went for a visit at Bonitoad's just a day after the big garden tour. They were tickled with her new little welcome sign our mom bought Boni. Of course the girls added to it, in more ways than one.
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| Posted on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 03:35 am: | |
We've had some very pleasant showers, but I think our sunny weather is returning. It's usually quite warm here by late July and we stifle for a week before we have any relief. Am I bracing for it? Sounds like it.
I had a nice stroll around the gardens today trying to find Solomen. The cats were in when I had opened the patio door and didn't have a screen locked. So I took the camera, and as I called the cat, I dead-headed the roses, took a few photos and closed the bottom garden gate. I was still looking for the cat when Wayne came home. He said he'd help, and that's when a very sleepy-eyed Solomen came out of the bedroom to see what all the fuss was about.
Anyway, I do love my begonias, and this one is particularly pretty.
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| Posted on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 02:53 am: | |
It's amazing what we see in a close-up on any bloom. This is one of the flowers on the banana potatoes growing in my vegetable garden. I am so fond of the taste of these potatoes. I'm just sorry when they're all gone.
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| Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 06:08 am: | |
It's the middle of the night and I can't sleep.. again. At least tonight I'm not hearing munch, munch, munch. That was a lovely two-point buck having his mid-night snack on my hosta flowers. I went out with a flash light and had to walk toward him before he decided he should maybe move on. And I was bragging that the deer leave my garden alone. Just goes to show... It's not good to brag. |
| Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 03:28 am: | |
I just don't know how to garden in this heat! I did tie up the tomatoes again, and I can see the fruit is growing. The canteloupe is coming along as well. However, I have squash, cucumbers and flowers in the garden that I didn't plant. I think the flowers will have to come out before they go to seed, and I must identify they as well. Think I have a photo...
We're off to the big city tomorrow (Victoria) and will bring grand girls back with us for a few days. I know they'd rather be with Dad, but he has to work, so I'll be trying to keep them busy. We've been invited out to the lake, so that sounds like fun!
Oh my... I love their hugs and the neat things they say, but they are busy, busy girls, and this grand mother is not as young as I used to think.
I'll savour the time with my little chickmunks.
These are the flowers, and they are about five feet tall.
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| Posted on Monday, July 19, 2004 - 03:35 am: | |
I'm gone two days and just look at the posts! We had a wonderful time all the way down Island and back up. Came home with three sleeping beauties. We stripped down two to their 'undies' and tossed them into bed.
Tomorrow Poppa goes to work, and we? Well, we have some tidying to do and then I think we're off to the lake. We have shopping, watering...no watering, shopping (I really must keep my priorities straight).
I quickly read the mystery buddy, and would have guessed Linda - for one particular flower) and am so glad that Susan won.
The house is still cooling down. We picked a very warm weekend to do all this traveling and visiting.
'Night all.
(I stopped and took more photos of our oldest daughter's hydrangea plant...or blossoms. They go from yellow, to pink, to blue to burgundy...it's gorgeous.Photos tomorrow...) |
| Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 03:29 am: | |
Still no time for posting much and I'm getting so far behind in reading. Tomorrow should be better. It's hot here now but we're hoping for even one degree cooler tomorrow. Our son is setting up the pool for his girls tomorrow, and I'm taking advantage of him being here to go off to my exercise program at the pool. He's also going to take out all the lavatera in the garden. It has been pretty, but if it goes to seed I'm going to have a big problem next year. I dug potatoes and picked beans for supper tonight, and noticed one of the sunflowers are blooming, facing away from the house, of course. Took a photo.
Bushed... |
| Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 09:07 pm: | |
My goodness, we're at Tuesday already.
I had a walk around my garden today and it is so dry. With the temperature so high it's been hard to keep it watered enough. And now we have smoke in the air from a forest fire in the Interior, so we feel the heat even more. The canteloupe likes the heat, but the Swiss Chard, beets...lettuce..is all drooping. Will turn on the sprinkler system for longer tonight.
The lavatera is out of the garden, but I planted a row of it in my new garden, and now wonder if that was a mistake. It's blooming so nicely now, but will I have little ones all through the garden in the back next year?
And the Trumpet Vine is putting on quite a show. However, when it blooms the bees and ants come and the birds stay away. Always give and take.. |
| Posted on Saturday, July 31, 2004 - 02:43 am: | |
It was a very quiet 39th wedding anniversary today. I only saw Wayne for less than two hours, and during that time he watered at the neighbours and did barn chores. We'll celebrate when he has time off.
I waited until it cooled down a little tonight and did some weeding. The weeds sure like this hot weather. I'm actually running the sprinkler in the vegetable garden for the second time tonight.
I stopped and enjoyed the Sweet Peas again for a little while.
And tonight I stood out in the driveway and just watched the sky. The moon is gorgeous and the sky is filled with stars (the smoke has moved on). Wonderful!
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| Posted on Monday, August 02, 2004 - 02:52 am: | |
We finally have some rain in our forecast. We have to wait three or four days, but the weather channel says 100% chance of rain. Sounds good to me!
It's actually cooled off a little. It's close to midnight and the temp. outside is 24º. We see the sun setting earlier now. Can hardly believe it's August already.
I booked our excursions for the cities where we dock on our holiday.
For now, I need to concentrate on cleaning up the vegetable garden. Some plants are past their prime, so we recycle through the chickens.
Wayne's off fishing in the morning on his partner's new Double Eagle. Joe (91) just bought it specially built from the factory. Now Joe's looking at purchasing a GPS.
And I must take more photos of the sweet peas. I've used watercolor pencils to reproduce them, but want to try again with a brush, and I'm looking for new angles.
Just wish I could capture the scent! |
| Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 2004 - 02:38 am: | |
Some days things are so good! And some days I feel the bottom drop out of the day and can't do anything to stop it.
We had some heavy rain drops tonight, and then it stopped. I keep hoping we'll get a good down pour for a few days.
I did take a few shots of the last of my sweet peas. How I've enjoyed them! I brought some in the house.
I like this shot because it sort of says, "We're done, heading back to the shadows until next year!"
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| Posted on Saturday, August 07, 2004 - 05:20 pm: | |
What a rollercoaster life can be!
We've had some rain and now it looks like we're heading back to the hot weather. I hope it doesn't last for long.
My tomatoes are ripening, and this is early. I went to the garden to pick vegetables for supper and discovered that the deer have not been satisfied with the beans on 'their' side of the fence. One of them has also developed a taste for the Swiss Chard. So I've had some unwelcome visitors nibbling in my vegetable garden, and I did not wander around to see what else they had for snacks.
It has been so dry here, though, I'm not surprised they're hungry.
My neighbour decided she and her pup, Max, needed to start going for walks in the morning. They started off by walking to the end of the road (dead-end) and when she turned around there was a black bear crossing the road ahead of her. She picked up the dog, but then thought she shouldn't head back that way because it may be a mama bear and there were babies around. She waited ten minutes or so, then walked up a driveway and yelled. "Hello! Hello!" Nobody was home. She waited a bit longer, and then made a dash for the house. The adventure has turned her off the morning walks.
But we're having a lot of sightings of bear in residential areas now too. And cougars, which is much more frightening.
Maybe my neighbour will come swimming with me when I start up again in October. The pool closes here soon and then I'm away for a couple of weeks in September.
I am so looking forward to this holiday, and now that we don't have worries about the house and the animals, it makes it that much more enjoyable.
I just looked out the window, wondering if we just might have another shower, and noticed the Virginia Creeper is turning red. In August...
I'm off to work on the jig saw puzzle. I find them very relaxing. |
