Sunday Walk

 We went a little farther afield for our walk today. The weather was perfect for a long walk (well, long for a couple of seniors). 

We walked along a road that was on a dike passing this place that boards horses. There were many small enclosures, one for each horse.

When we got back to the heron reserve we had a little picnic. There were hardly any birds to be seen.  We saw a Towhee, some Chickadees and Hummingbirds. Last visit we saw a lot more. Maybe they've already migrated although it seems a bit early.

On our way home we stopped at a farm that had corn to sell. LOTS of corn to sell!!

 Now we're back and waiting for the family members that want to join in on Sunday afternoon Dominoes.  

Thanks for coming by. I hope you had a good day too.

Granny Marigold

Tasha Tudor

 I couldn't let this day go by without mentioning that it is  the anniversary of Tasha Tudor's birth. ( Is it correct to say it is/was her birthday?)   She's well known for her children's books and  illustrations  but my fascination is more because of the way she lived. She raised her 4 children without electricity or any modern conveniences. In fact she lived the life of someone living in the 1830's, including dressing the part and rejecting modern forms of technology.  I have a book about her garden and it amazes me that she kept it looking so lovely with little outside help. She made her own clothing, raised goats, and was almost entirely self-sufficient.

Here are some pictures that I got from the internet. 

Thanks for visiting today and pausing to remember this amazing woman.

GRANNY MARIGOLD

Cleaning up

 I've been inspired by Kate ( The Last Homely House  on YouTube) to do more tidying up and getting rid of "stuff" no longer wanted nor needed.  Those who watch her videos know she has not been well for the last 6 weeks but slowly she's getting her energy back. Her most recent post has to do with sorting through her clothes. She intends to sort out all her things in the next weeks.

  So, the boxes in the back of the pick-up show some of the results of my efforts. Tomorrow we'll go drop them off at the thrift store. Yes, I'll go in and most certainly will look at books. 

Are you clearing out any of your stuff these days? It seems to be an ongoing chore. If you have any helpful ideas to make it easier please share them.

GRANNY MARIGOLD

 

Morning Walk and a Birthday

 We had a heavy rain on the weekend and the level of the lake water was higher than usual.

Any higher and the path would have been flooded.

We meet this gentleman and his ferret from time to time.  He loves to show us his little friend.

 

We quietly celebrated my 75th birthday on Saturday and on Sunday again. Lots of family time. Here I am with my oldest grandson who towers over me!!

 

That's it for today. I'll be back soon.   G.M.

Flowers

The Japanese Anemones are blooming. Although they are "September Charm" they invariably bloom in August. Being invasive they are in an area bordered by concrete!

 

We lifted then replanted the Iris last week. Now we've made a beginning dividing and transplanting Daylilies. This one looks very untidy right now.

I sowed more leaf lettuce and it's coming up. Looks like I need to do some thinning.

This mixed basket has bloomed all summer.  Does anyone know the name of the blue flowers on the right?

 

We awoke to light rain this morning. Took our umbrellas along when we walked but soon the sun came out and  now it's a lovely sunny day.

Thanks for coming by,

Granny Marigold

Yesterday

Yesterday was a very productive day around here.  In the cool of the morning DH hekped me by digging up some of my Iris clumps that were too large and also had all kinds of other perennials growing  among them.  I looked it up and middle of August is a good time to lift and divide them so that's what we did.

When we were done we went to buy peaches and were fortunate to get boxes of 20 lbs for $20 each. Two boxes for our DIL and one for us. They still need a few days to ripen.

 

In the afternoon I baked raisin scones and while the oven was on I quickly mixed up an apple pancake for supper.

 

The forecast is for a very hot weekend so I'm going to bake a bit more later today. Probably lemon Biscotti IF I can find my grated lemon rind which I know is somewhere in the freezer but so far haven't found.  Until I begin the cookies I plan on sitting on the porch ( before it gets too hot out there) and reading.

Thanks for visiting,

GRANNY MARIGOLD

 

Hummingbirds

 

 Some days I don't see any Hummingbirds in the garden and I wonder if they've left  but then I'll spot one or two visiting the Red Runner Bean flowers or the Montbretia, both of which have the red blooms that attract the Hummers the most. 

We have both the Rufous and the Anna's  here. The Anna's is known to stay year around but the Rufous normally migrates. Last winter during a very cold stretch we are fairly sure we lost whichever ones that had stayed.

I wondered if they migrated in groups but looking it up I read that they fly alone. Youngsters on their first migration have to navigate without parental guidance.

They fly by day and relatively low so they can spot any potential food source to top up their energy.

I took these images off the internet...first is the male Rufous

 

....and the female

The male Anna's...

                                                   and the female

 

Well, that's probably more information on Hummingbirds than you wanted . 

On a different note I found that my Casa Blanca Lilies, the ones that grow 3 to 4 feet tall, were almost completely hidden by the white Phlox. Those Phlox are needing to be kept back because soon they will have covered a good part of the area where Lilies and White Delphiniums also grow.

So I cut the Lilies and brought them inside where we can see and enjoy them.  This was taken the first day that I brought them in.  I had to cut off the stamens later because pollen was falling onto the petals , spoiling their beauty.  Then I was finding very sticky drops of what I assume is nectar on the table.  There are times when I think that bringing flowers inside makes a lot of extra work. My mom loved flowers but I don't remember her ever bringing any indoors.  Could be she had more sense than I do!!

 

It's a much cooler day here and a good day to putter outside.  What does your day hold?

Thanks for coming by to visit, G.M.

The Back Garden

 

 We had a much-needed rain yesterday. Today we're back to mostly sunny with a few clouds. It's so pleasant when the temperature stays below 23 or 24C ( mid 70's F).

A lot of my perennials are getting overly large and the path isn't usable because of overhanging plants. I started clearing some out but soon realized I'd never be able to do it. One call to youngest son and he came over and in no time at all he had reduced the size of many of my oldest Daylilies.  There's more to be done but for now it looks a lot tidier. 

This Clematis has grown both up and also down winding itself through the Daisies. I'll wait with cutting it back until it has done blooming.

These strange little tomatoes will be red when they ripen ( or so the tag says).

I know I post about these Rattlesnake pole beans every year but some of you might not have read how the single bean plant that M sowed in either kindergarten or grade one, I forget which it was, but it  grew and we eventually put it in with our regular beans. It did so well that we saved the seeds at the end of the season and by now it has become one of our favourite varieties.

 

I realized that I had not answered a question that came up after I posted about freezing cherries.  Some wanted to know if we froze them without pitting them. We do because we find that when we make jam the pits float to the top and can easily be scooped off. However, we are aware that we miss some and are careful when we eat the jam not to chip a tooth!

I have a SIL that pits her frozen cherries when they're half  thawed. She says it doesn't take her long to pit as many as she needs.  

Thanks for coming by today,  GM

Rabbits and Thrifty Buys

 Saw these 2 rabbits while on my morning walk.  They seem quite used to people and only hop away if you come too close.

My pet rabbit needed her nails clipped so GD Kate cut them on Sunday while DH kept the squirming bunny from escaping.

We ordered some more masks. Two more for me and 3 for daughter Sheila who needs to wear one every day at the hospital where she works.

I had not been to the thrift store for quite a while so this morning off we went to see what we could find.  I found some interesting looking books and a lovely floral bag, fully lined and it even has 2 small pockets inside.

Now it's evening and time to relax and get some reading done. I hope you had a good day too.

Thanks for visiting,  G.M.

In the Kitchen

Thank you everyone for all the good wishes for my injured hand. It's still swollen ( when I fell I landed on it) but I'm able to do most everything now.

Just before the day I fell I had bought quite a bit of fruit which needed to be dealt with.  DH offered to do the work and all I had to do was tell him what to do. Hmmm. What's not to like about that?\

Knowing how often peaches that look good don't have much taste I only bought a few. Good thing, since they were not at all tasty. Not wanting to throw them out DH had the great idea to make rhubarb/peach jam. It's a strange combination but quite good.

We had also just bought another 20lb box of cherries.  I was able to wash them using my left hand and between the two of us we got those in the freezer.

A bag of apples that were marked down at Walmart needed using up and DH peeled and chopped while I got out the ingredients for apple pies. I wanted one with a top crust while he opted for one with crumble topping. Since he's the one who usually makes the pie crust around here that went just fine. The last apples became apple crisps ( in the ramekins).  Needless to say we're still not done eating all this! 

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So that's what we've been doing while making sure we take time to sit outside on the porch and enjoy the August sunshine. 

Thanks for coming by,  G.M.