Thursday 30 April 2015

Welcome May


Now that May is here I hope we get more sunny days. Today was a mix of sun and cloud but the breeze was chilly. I wore a warm jacket when I went for my walk and was I ever glad I did.

I deadheaded more tulips. The lilacs are about done.  My Rugosa roses have big fat buds and a few have opened already. When they are all in full bloom the fragrance hits you when you open the front door.  The bad bad rabbit has been eating leaves off the one rosebush. It's one I planted last year and quite low so he can reach it easily so DH put more wire sort of around it. I wish that bunny would stick to eating grass. 
  A pair of Robins have made a nest quite close to the back door. On the weekend there will be a lot of coming and going and I hope that won't make them decide to abandon it.

                                           Happy first day of May!!

             

Tuesday 28 April 2015

Tuesday Treasures

I love the colours in this doily ( that I paid a matter of cents for)  but I can't imagine how to display it with the lumpy rose in the middle. There's no way to set a vase or such on it so I suppose I'll just leave it as is. I find it pretty anyway.


I'm always on the lookout for nice inexpensive blouses and this one is very different from what I normally wear. It has a "fooler" front insert and is made of very crinkly polyester. I hope I will find it comfy to wear.

        Now this one is more my usual blouse/shirt. This one cost me less than three dollars.


Another great find was this warm, full-length robe. I So useful for when I take the dog out at seven o"clock every morning. 


I found yet another pendant that I like. I prefer the cords over chain because chain will often irritate my neck.

I've been busy baking. The chocolate cupcakes were very moist and I think that may be why they have those streaks of dark on them. The lemon loaf didn't rise much but turned out great.



          The cupcakes and angel food cake were for a special person't birthday!!


And, finally, the Lily of the Valley are starting to bloom. Don't they just have the loveliest scent?

Although the forecast is for showers we had a nice walk this morning. Saw another batch of goslings by the lake.  I am expecting to see baby ducklings one of these days too!

That's my day so far. Hope yours is coming along nicely!!  Thanks for visiting.

                  Granny Marigold

           

Sunday 26 April 2015

Sunday walk

It is a fairly pleasant day and we walked along a different dike. I think this is a drainage canal which is used by farmers to irrigate their fields. Large blueberry fields were on one side of the dike and we saw that a number of bee hives had been set up, no doubt to encourage pollination. I hope the blueberry crop is plentiful this summer because we do use a lot throughout the year.







         Right about here we saw an eagle fly overhead. By the time I got my camera out he was gone!



                     These are the first wild roses that I've seen in bloom so far.
Nothing terribly interesting to write about but I did want to post. Thanks for visiting.

                           Granny Marigold

Friday 24 April 2015

This and That

We managed to get our walk in before the rain. Later the sun came out but then it began to hail!  What weather!  I did remember to take my camera along when I walked. So many lovely trees!




Then we spotted the first Canada Goose family of this year ( that we've seen anyway).  We had our dog along and the parents were very wary of him.



I wanted to show the double Primrose that I bought last Spring and that didn't look like it was going to do much this year. Well, it sure surprised me.  Meanwhile I had stuck a regular primrose beside it as well as some perennials that also made it through the winter. The plastic I stuck in the middle is to keep that spreading plant from overtaking the entire pot later in the summer. I think it is a baby's breath and blooms tiny white flowers. I'd go out and check the tag but it's just too darn wet out there.
You will have noticed that my computer decided these two pics should be shown sideways. I tried various things but sideways is what they seem to stay.


And finally, I started putting my teacups  among the flowers again. One teapot got forgotten outside, froze and broke during the winter. I will look for another one at the thrift store next time I go. That wire you see to the right protects a rose bush that our rascally wild rabbit decided would be a tasty snack. So far it has deterred him.

 Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend.

                        GRANNY MARIGOLD

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Tuesday 21 April 2015

Teacup Tuesday

On the weekend we happened to drive by a garage sale. Of course I just had to pop in to see if there would be anything that I collected and there was!  The woman had a few pieces of a set left ( she said the teapot and some other pieces had gotten broken).  I really liked the teacup and the cute little tray  ( for cookies??) but didn't want to leave the other piece behind so I took all three ( for $6 ).  She  said it was a coffee cup. It is "clunkier" than a teacup, sort of squat.. I'm quite pleased with the purple pansies. I do love pansies.



So that is my teacup, and more, for this Tuesday. It is sunny here and I had a lovely walk earlier BUT rain is moving in again!  Must go out and appreciate the sun while it lasts.

                      GRANNY MARIGOLD

                  

Sunday 19 April 2015

A Sunday Walk

We've had simply awesome sunshine today and my DH and I drove out into the country to go walking along a walking trail we've often walked. I took lots of pictures, unfortunately when I uploaded them to my blog they did not go in the order I had taken them but I hope you enjoy them anyway. The little river is called the Sumas river.


It's not too clear but at this spot a lot of boulders had at some point in time come crashing down. Now the vegetation has grown over them.

                   My DH taking a break.


          We pass just one little farm where the same horse and goat have greeted us for years.

This is the house. The photo doesn't really capture the lovely bank of blooming flowers.


                                          The white lilac was in full bloom!


At the end of the path we cross this bridge and come back on the dike. This part of the walk is higher and farmers' fields are on the left of us. Out here in the open we heard several Warblers singing but caught only fleeting glimpses of them.

                        The first crop of hay has been baled already!

This was supposed to be the very first picture and shows the path as we leave the parking area. The river is just to the right of the line of shrubs.






So that was how I spent a good part of my day. I must admit that after we got back I fell asleep on the porch swing,
I  must have been all tired out from my walk.
Did you have a sunny day?   No matter what the weather, I hope you had a good day.

                 Granny Marigold

Tuesday 14 April 2015

New Cupboards part 2

The paint is dry and I have arranged some of my teacups in the new spaces. I love looking at them as I sit at the table! I find them so lovely.


                   The cupboard on the left of the doorway holds my Royal Albert teacups.



 On school mornings when my sweet granddaughter is ready for school she will often bring a book up to the table ( where we are eating breakfast) and keep us company. She is a voracious reader!!


It's lilac time again and this bouquet fills the room with wonderful scent.  For this short time in Spring I get out my little lilac suitcase (originally from Dollarama)



I had a busy day of thrift store shopping ( didn't buy anything much but had fun anyway), baking ( a rhubarb/apple pie ) and generally tidying up the house. What filled your day?

                    Granny Marigold