In the Garden this Morning.

Our little robin family has been a bit obsessed with our serviceberry tree this week.   In fact right now they are having a little squabble about it underneath the tree.   It was only after my sister had posted this beautiful photo of her homegrown salad that I remembered you could eat these little berries.  In the past we had tried them but they were very bitter.  I guess our little tree has matured enough now to produce this sweet, blueberry like treat.

Photo by Kathleen Maunder.

We don't have as many on our tree as Kathy has in this bowl but I think I may know why.

I really couldn't believe he let me get this close.  He gripped the berry in his hands until the very last moment. While amazed and snapping photos I did have visions of him  leaping from the branch into my hair.  The memories of a recent dream of flying squirrels is still rather vivid in my mind. :)

The coveted prize.

Yesterday, while weeding in our back garden for the first time this season. (I know some of you are shaking your head in disbelief and disgust!!)  I found this lone, slight stem.  I was pretty sure it was a poppy that had seeded from our neighbour's garden.  Although it had landed in a bit of a strange spot I weeded around it.

Today this beautiful poppy is starting to open up.  I must try to plant these again.  I just love poppies.

On the grill.

I think I may be in complete denial about the summer.  Tomorrow is the last day of regular classes and by the end of the week both girls will have finished exams and done for the year. By Wednesday my days will not be my own.  I do love spending time with the girls and I really want the stress of final assignments and exams behind the household but it's always an adjustment for me.

One thing (of many) that I love about summer is cooking on the BBQ.  This hasn't been so much fun in the last year as our grill was quickly falling apart.  So frustrating when yet another appliance breaks down in a short period.  We celebrated Father's Day with a new BBQ for my husband.  They are so beautiful at the beginning with that never been touched grill.  An actual working electronic starter is also such a treat!

Homemade burgers on the grill.  These were made by Sydney and we got the recipe from Canadian Living.  Best Beef Burgers.  Grilled asparagus from our farm box.

 What's a burger without all the fixin's?  This year President's Choice has brought out a Carmelized Red Onion Chutney that is delicious with a burger.  Eating outside is always so great as well.

These boiled new potatoes are so easy and such a hit.  A friend of mine mentioned she puts Club House La Grille BBQ Chicken seasoning on her potatoes.  I've added a drizzle of olive olive oil and sprinkled some garlic chives from the farm.  You can have them hot or cold and if you have any left they might even taste better the next day!

Bees, Blooms and Boos

Today was a day to be thankful for air conditioning. It's sweltering today.  Heat and humidity just doesn't agree with me.  I turn all red, I'm quick to get a headache and most importantly it plays havoc with my hair.  I had a lot of indoor work today and I didn't mind at all. In the afternoon though I decided to take a boo outside.  This expression was not something I had grown up with in fact it leads me to a funny little story.

Years ago when selling our first house we had a British family come through for a tour.  At the time of selling our girls were just babies (2 and nearly newborn).  Usually we would leave and take the girls for a walk when we had appointments but this one was in the evening and the girls were gearing down for the night.  I just tried to stay out of the way in our basement tv room.  As they were walking up the basement stairs I thought I heard the husband say "I'd just like to take a poo out in the backyard".  I know my eyes were as wide as they could be when I heard this and I really wasn't sure what to think next.  As you can imagine, I was quite relieved to find out he only intended to look around!

The bees are loving our lilacs right now.

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We have several types of lilacs.  Our tree this year is particularly spectacular.  I will miss the smell of lilacs when the blooms are done.

So delicate and pretty are the blooms.

I had such good luck with Callbrachoa  last year that I bought them again.  Here they are in Mango.

Off to dance drop offs and the grocery store.
Have a great evening friends!

The Call of the Wild...

This morning after two different trips to the school I sat at my kitchen table enjoying my 1st cup of coffee.  I make a pot of coffee everyday the same way but some days it tastes so much better than other days.  Today was one of the those better days.  It's slightly dark and overcast outside as it is still drizzling with remnants from an overnight storm.  I watched this visitor for a while happily munching on our dandelions.

 I realized it was so noisy outside and this time it wasn't the sounds of renovations or pool pumps on overdrive as neighbours open their pools for the season. No it was noisy with birds.  They seemed to be happily singing at the top of the their lungs.  There was one lone voice though that could be heard above all others.  Distinctive but for my untrained bird call ears I have no way of knowing what type of bird it was.  It really reminded me of my childhood though. Instead of commercials for pop and fast food (well, of course we had those as well) but in addition to those we had these commercials from the National Film Board of Canada. One minute informational vignetttes on our wildlife.  There was a distinctive opening which the bird call reminded me of.

I'm not sure exactly sure what programs I would have been watching to see these - Mr. Dress Up and the Friendly Giant would have been commercial free.  I doubt very much it was being picked up by the american affiliates while I was watching episode after epidsode of The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch (those were good years!).  I definitely saw them all though...the beaver, the chipmunk....over and over.

Some pretty anemones in the garden.  One of my favourite flowers.

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I'm quite pleased with the new template in terms of picture size.  My old template was quite narrow but I am now able to increase the size of my pictures.  Which I love!

Also, thanks so much for the comments on my new banner.  I think I'll keep it for a while.

A Spring Celebration

There are dark skies here this morning.  Looks like rain will be headed our way.  Our plum tree with its blossoms of white looks especially beautiful against the dark background.  It's a sad kind of tree with it's gnarled branches and our makeshift support system trying to hold it up.  Each year we think it might be its last but surprisingly each spring it returns to life and we exhale a sigh of relief.  It lost its mate a couple of years ago and there still is a gap in the yard because of it.

I took this picture of it this morning but it really didn't capture what I was seeing. Beautiful tiny white blossoms against a blue gray sky.

So I took this one closer up. You can see the cluster of blossoms. So Pretty!

A little closer and you notice the slender yellow stamens.  

Little bursts of yellow surrounding the white blooms.

Upon closer inspection it's revealed that the stamen stems are white and it's only the tips that are yellow.

It's like a natural display of fireworks.  The tree is celebrating another spring.

In the last year I have made a conscious effort to pay more attention to the details.  Not the kind that I relentlessly try to organize on my lists. Those types of details actually require less of my attention.  No, I mean the kind of details that I can so easily pass. The little things. Details of nature. Flowers, birds, leaves on a tree, rocks, shells or a fallen branch.  Sometimes I have to remind myself to do this.  It's easy for me to get distracted with other things.  As I get outside with my new camera it has opened up an undiscovered world - even in my own backyard. Learning to use all the settings and buttons has made me stop and look and stop and look even more.

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 No dance competitions or major driving for us this weekend.  This is good as I have been nursing a bout of sciatica in the last week and a half.  I was feeling pretty good by Wednesday until I started to do some  housework.  Why did I feel it was necessary that day to clean the leather sofa in the family room?  Oh well, I have learned that I just need to take care of it, rest it, ice it, gently walk and stretch it.  It's feeling pretty good today so I'm optimistic I'm headed in the right direction.

Have a good weekend friends!

Summer Fades to Autumn

It is feeling much more like fall today.  It's still a decent 18 degrees but it's cloudy and raining on and off.  Within a couple of days leaves have fallen and you can hear them crunch underfoot.  We've quickly gone from summer weather to more of what you would expect for fall.  We still haven't had the heat on yet although I'm sure that's just around the corner and I'm still wearing sandals and capris.  Quite quickly I'm going to look out of place, not to mention chilly.

Last weekend we were still enjoying our garden in sunshine and t-shirts.  I loved having a moment to watch the birds and I love the unexpected fall blooms.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Mystery in the Garden

The other day I came home to this. Some of my plants in my front containers had been uprooted.

Using my awesome detective skills I learned while reading mysteries when I was younger, watching the original and early years of CSI and of course being a mom I figured this mystery out.

Upon closer inspection and deductive reasoning (well I actually just lifted one of the plants) and look what I found.  A peanut.  Well that narrows it down.  I have never tried to grow peanuts nor do I tend to hide them for future use.

I know who you are.  I believe you're the same fellow that has recently come to enjoy straddling the pole of my birdfeeder.  You haven't quite figured that one out as well as I watch you reach the top, arms and legs fully stretched out slide back slowly down the pole.  You're left with eating what's fallen to the ground. The sparrows win again.  I know you'll be back but just remember I'm watching you!

Containing the Garden

Before

After

Bringing some life to our otherwise dreary front door.  It's a little thing compared to some people's front walks but I love how these turned out.  I've never been much of a petunia person but this year the nursery was carrying the newest colour - Black Velvet.  Really, more of a deep, dark purple.  Some are deeper than others and others have these lovely pinstripes. In my quest to shake things up in the garden I went for it and decided to try out these black beauties.  Complemented with some lilac on purple dianthus, white lobelia and I especially love the lime coloured licorice plant that will trail down the front.

Tips for Container Gardening:

1.  Choose a great container - terracotta, ceramic,  fabulous new fibreglass that gives the look of cement but are light and easy to move around, salvaged pieces such as old buckets, watering cans, etc. - use your imagination just make sure that they have adequate drainage.

2.  Plan before you plant - choose plants that suit the location of the pot - sunny or shady.  Place taller plants in the middle of the pot and work your way out.

3. Fertilize - I tend to buy Miracle Gro but any fertilizer formulated for flowers should work.

4. Water, water and water - containers easily get dried out, especially if they are small like mine.  Of course, to counter this don't overwater or you'll drown those poor roots.  Once you see water coming out of the drainage holes stop.

5.  Use the best potting mix instead of just soil from your garden.  Often our garden soil is too heavy or contains too much clay.  Available now are some great soils for containers that are formulated to retain moisture.

6. Luck and a prayer.  Just saying from experience our hot summers and vacations away can interfere with the success of your containers but I'm determined this year!

P.S. Do you like my garden statue?

In the Garden

I love this time of year. After a long winter it's such a relief to be outside in the fresh air. I don't even mind working in between the intermittent showers of rain we've been having. It's so much fun planning and thinking about the garden.   I find myself at the garden centres oodling over the tables of flowers and imagining the scent of fresh herbs at my doorstep.  Pinks and purples and dainty little white flowers. 

Self control is not easy surrounded by all those beautiful flowers. If I don't go with some plan in mind I have been known to buy more flowers than our garden can accomodate.  That's probably why we're in the situation we are in.  It's time to reevaluate the garden.  Now that some of these perennials and shrubs have matured they just don't look quite right.  Cut back, move, divide...this is my quest for the week.  I shall be ruthless, but loving.

We have to stop meeting like this!

I am a sucker for little animals.  I have a real love-hate relationship going on with the little rabbit family from the neighbour's deck.  They can be so destructive to my garden but I can't resist these little guys!  I think they come over every afternoon not just for their garden meal but for the picture taking session.  They seem to be getting quite used to me!

 With all the rain that we've been having, and the grass seeds we've just applied, we haven't been able to cut the lawn for almost two weeks now. As you can see these little guys are quite pleased about this!

Yesterday, I finally had proof that there are two bunnies as they were visiting together.  But too quick for me to catch in a photo.  I'll just have to wait until our afternoon viewing today.

In My Backyard

Well there was quite a bit of commotion outside my window a few minutes ago.  A slight bang on the window, the sounds of wings flapping and such.  I went to the window and looked out to the ground below the birdfeeder thinking I would see a bird that had been stunned by his misguided flight into our window.  Instead, there was nothing...until I looked up at the fence...and this is what I saw.

Wow isn't he spectacular.  I think it's a peregrine falcon or maybe a hawk but I'm not actually sure. 

  Maybe someone knows?

Anyways, quite a treat to see so close up and he was quite accommodating to stay while I ran for my camera and snapped these pictures.

In My Backyard

I do enjoy the birds in the garden and I love that we can enjoy them through all the seasons. It's especially nice to see them in the winter when the rest of the garden is just twigs and bare branches and snow.  This year, along with the sparrows and occasional visit by a cardinal or bluejay I've been enjoying juncos.  Maybe they've always been around and I haven't paid enough attention to realize what they were but I've never really noticed them before.  In fact, I'd never even heard of the name junco before even though they are quite common. These little ones often come in groups and share the seeds that have fallen to the ground.  I love them with their dark grey body and puffy white belly.  They are pretty camera shy though so any time I try to snap a picture they are long gone.  Today I had a bit of luck while some perched in our tree.

As I was watching these guys a friendly visitor came by and I couldn't help but wonder, could this be one of the Mourning Dove babies from the spring?  I hope so. I like to think they will always think of our backyard as home.

In My Backyard

This afternoon I was outside on the patio taking pictures of my jewellery when I noticed a mourning dove sitting underneath our bird feeder. It's a pretty common occurence for us to see this but this time I had my camera in hand.


When I was younger I thought they were called 'Morning' Doves, made perfect sense I often saw them in the morning but when I later learned it was 'Mourning' I always had a strange appreciation for them. Their sombre cooing sound always made me feel a bit sad for them and their propensity for just sitting on the ground always made me a bit worried for their safety.
You wonder if these birds are just so naive that they think they are safe there, confident that they could fly away if danger arose or just hopeful of the world and it's surroundings around them - a trust in the world that they will be safe. Be safe little bird.