A Fall, Placemats, and a Dahlia

 

It's a wet morning, in fact, it's a very wet week. I won't be out there walking because I carelessly fell on the stairs and will have to wait until my foot heals ( when I fell I landed on my foot.)   It's scary how quickly things can happen.

Before the mishap we took a few boxes to the thrift store and I popped in to look around. All I got was a couple of Christmas place mats. I didn't need them but they were hand done and I have a hard time leaving pretty handwork behind. They were just a dollar for the pair.

 

Eldest brought me this dahlia which came from a friend's allotment garden.  Isn't it big? I used to grow dahlias but one winter I left them in the ground after piling branches and mulch over them but they didn't survive.

Thanks for coming by.

Geese

 

 
There were so many Canada Geese on the water at Willband this morning.  As we were starting our walk it seemed that they had received  some sort of a signal and literally hundreds took to the air.  Squawking away to each other away they all went. It was amazing to see. 
I found some interesting information on the internet about geese. Please feel free to skip it if you're not interested.

 

Quick learners

Baby geese, called goslings, are impressionable little birds. They’ve been known to follow just about anything that moves, from dogs to humans, mistaking the creatures for their mother. The impressionable young use this skill to mimic the adults, learning how to swim just 24 hours after hatching. At only one day old, goslings can dive 30 to 40 feet underwater. 

Parent geese teach their young how to fly when the goslings are two to three months old. The goslings will stay with their parents for the first year of their life and even migrate with the adults that year.

As the goslings continue to grow and become more independent of their parents, they may group together with other young geese. These groups, called “gang broods,” can consist of up to 100 goslings. 

 

Partners for life

Canada geese don’t start looking for a mate until they’re two or three years old. While looking for a mate, the geese use assortative mating, meaning they look for a goose about the same size as themselves. The birds mate for life, which can be anywhere from 10 to 25 years. If their partner dies, the remaining goose will try to find a new one.

 

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Happy Thanksgiving

 

 It's our Canadian Thanksgiving and this is my wish for my fellow Canadians. 

Gardening and a Recipe

 

 Friday morning brought my helpers here to cut down the lavender and roses. I know the roses will need another cutting down in Spring but for now the long stragglers have been shortened.  So thankful for all their help.

 The city workers have finally finished digging up our street and also replaced our water meter. They left the site where they dug quite smoothed over and we still had some mulch to cover it.

Last but not least my sister sent me a recipe for an unbaked Peanut Butter/Chocolate square which turned out very well and has been tested by husband who quite liked it.  I'll include the recipe in case you  want to make it.  Thanks, C.

 

No Bake Chocolate/Peanut Butter bars

1 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar

Melt in a saucepan then add:

3 cups oatmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla  ( I left it out)

Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Press 1/2  into 8X8 pan  ( she said she'd make it in
a bigger pan next time so I used my 7X11 pan)

Filling:

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter

Melt in microwave, When melted and smooth
spread onto oatmeal base. Top with remaining oatmeal mixture.
Refrigerate.

This recipe is gluten free

 

Almost forgot to add that today, October 12, is my blogaversery.  13 years.

Thanks for visiting.

Plant Shopping

We picked up Eldest first thing after our breakfast and morning walk and off we went to buy bulbs since it must be about the right time to get them in the ground now.  We chose tulips of different colours and many daffodils ( husband wanted the plain King Alfred ones).  We're holding some bunches of fresh flowers that they had there for a good price 

 So many choices!!!

There was even an African Violet that 'accidentally' got into my basket.

After we dropped  Daughter off we went to have coffee with Husband's brothers and sisters-in-law.   We like to stay up-to-day with each others lives especially as we all get older. Came home ready to relax for a while then go out and putter in the sunshine.  We are having such lovely days.

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Laundry and a Sunday Walk

 

 
I don't hang very many clothes on my clothesline any more. I have shrunk a couple of inches and have to stand on something in order to access the line :)   Nevertheless I still like to use it for heavy jeans and such. On a breezy day things dry quite quickly but sometimes they still need a few minutes in the dryer to get the wrinkles out. I find that adding vinegar to the rinse cycle helps to lessen wrinkles.  Giving each item a good shake before hanging them up also helps. Do you have any tips to share?

Today is another perfect Autumn day and I'll be going out to putter after I have a rest.
Yesterday was as lovely as today. We walked along a stretch of Discovery Trail near Fish Trap Creek..

Before we left home to drive there I took a picture of the interesting clouds. So pretty.

Something I've been meaning to mention is a site that I like and I think others will as well. I don't know how to post a link but if you search for Nature365 you should find it. There are daily, short (1 minute) nature videos that are very interesting to anyone that enjoys nature.  Let me know if you find it ( and if you like it).

Thanks for coming by,  GM

A Birthday and Garden Clean-up

 

 It's Kate's birthday today. She's our oldest grandchild and we've been so fortunate to have her in our lives. She's a real sweetie. Auntie Sheila posted this picture on Facebook and I stole it💗

 Another thing that happened today was Pumpkin pies!!  Three of them and not one looked as perfect as the one on the 'net.  But they'll taste just fine.

 Yesterday we had heavy rain in the morning. In spite of umbrellas we came home quite wet. Today was cloudy but no rain. Very nice day to be outside. Eldest and Youngest came to help again. All  the Morning Glories that were covering the arbour are gone.

The wild area has been tamed.

In the background you can see the big building that is slowly getting done. With all the concrete that has gone into it it should stand for a very long time!  The little office with the orange door is  temporary, of course,  sits on the upper parking area. There is also underground parking below.

Have a lovely Sunday