This and That

 

 

 June is done and so is the awful heat wave that we experienced.  School is also done and M  is SO happy about that.  

My new point and shoot camera arrived and I like it.  It's nothing special but it suits me fine.

A few years ago I made banners of little dresses and had them up for a while. Then I put them away and forgot all about them. Recently I found them and have put them up again.   To me they look summery.

Yesterday, in all the heat, M wanted to paint rocks so we found a shady spot and had an hour's fun. He intends to place them along the path in his favourite park.

Many of my perennials suffered from our heat wave but the lavender sure didn't. It's as lovely as usual.

Tomorrow is Canada Day and we always have a family BBQ to celebrate. Everyone pitches in but still, I have last minute things that need doing. So I better get busy.

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Heat Wave and a Grad

 

 We're experiencing a heat wave the likes of which western Canada has not known previously. Every day new records are made.  My poor shrubs and perennials are suffering greatly. I go out late in the evening and early in the morning to water the most needy ones. We don't have central A/C so the house is terribly hot. Thankfully we have a couple of window units and the free standing one although the latter hasn't been able to do much at all.

In the middle of this hot weather and with Covid restrictions still in place granddaughter C had her graduation ceremony. If you can call it that. She and her parents were given a 5 to 10 minute window of time where she would walk across the stage, have her picture taken with her parents, then whisked off . The auditorium was empty. M and I watched the proceedings here at home via live-stream.

A bit of humour in the midst of last minute details. Miss C is a smallish young woman and had been given a very large gown which trailed on the floor. Fortunately when she arrived at the school a teacher noticed the problem and quickly got her a size appropriate.

Other than the heat there's not much happening around here.  We're taking things day by day and hoping for cooler weather soon. Right now as I look at the thermometer it reads 41C which I checked, is 105.8F.

Thanks for coming by,  GM
 

Cherries, Foxgloves and Keeping Cool

 It's cherry season and when we did our grocery shopping this morning we picked up several bags of them.

We froze 4 bags and kept some for eating and maybe a Clafoutis. Who knows?  It's been so very hot that I have avoided using the oven.  We bought an air fryer yesterday. Walmart had them on sale. I hope to use it often in summer and experiment with doing various foods in it.  I thought it might come with a basic sort of 'cookbook' but it didn't.

 A new camera has been ordered and hopefully arrive soon. The UPS van stopped here this morning but the package left was for my son.  We were out in the front yard watering the roses and cutting down some of the Foxgloves that look so strange at this point with their tall spires with a few last blooms at the very top.  With no camera I was forced to look on-line for something like mine. This will have to do.

Thanks for visiting, 

I hope you're keeping cool.   

Granny M

Lilies

 When middle son was home at lunchtime I asked him to take a couple of pictures of my Lilies . In this hot weather they won't last long. I seem to have best luck with Lilies when I grow them in pots. In the ground they seem to disappear after a year or two.  Not long after he left I saw a beautiful butterfly land on the orange Lilies ( I believe it was a Tiger Swallowtail).  We don't see pretty butterflies around very often and this one was the first  of the year.

I've decided which camera I want and again middle son will help in ordering it from Amazon ( I do not enjoy the process of ordering on line and manage to find someone to help me every time). It's a simple point and shoot camera quite similar to my lost one.

 

 Thanks for visiting,  GM

HOT Weather

 

We're in the middle of a heat wave and although we waited for warm sunshine I must admit this is a bit too warm for my comfort. 

On Sunday we left early while it was cooler and took a drive past the heron reserve to go walking the trail by the Chilliwack River.  We walked a big loop trail in sunshine for the first half then in shade on the way back. I got very tired and we sat down a few times to rest. It must have been on one of those times that my camera fell out of the backpack. We've carried it that way many times and never had a problem but this time it did fall and neither of us could face retracing our steps. So I am going to have to buy another one but until then I am pictureless.

I'll be back soon!!   

 

Thanks for dropping by.

Granny M

First Day of Summer

 

 

 ....or first day of Winter!!  Whichever it is I hope it's a good one.  Isn't it unusual that it's also Father's Day!! I don't think that happens too often. So______

Thanks for coming by,  GM

 

Roses and Morning Glory

 On my way home from my walk I stopped to admire a rose bush  loaded with yellow roses!!
I hadn't met the neighbour that was puttering nearby but she came over and we chatted. She said since I liked her roses and she was getting ready to go away for a few days maybe I'd like her to cut me a few, which she so kindly did. She included more roses from other bushes so I had a lovely bouquet.

Once home I saw that my Morning Glories are starting to open. These grew from seeds I gathered last year. So far I see 2 different colours but there were more so we'll see.

Something that made me a little sad was that we had to dig out and destroy an entire bed of Daylilies that were once again infested with the Gall Midge which deforms the buds by laying eggs in the buds. In spite of my efforts to cut off all the affected buds last year and the year before the damage was done and I suppose that area won't be having Daylilies in it any more.  I do still have other beds where so far I don't see any deformed buds. I'm not sure just how far this pest has spread. 

It's a lovely warm day here in B.C. and I have lots to do. I just came in to cool off and maybe have a cuppa before I go out and get more things done.

I hope you're having a lovely day,  GM

 

 

New Tea Pot

 This morning we went to pick up a tea pot that I had bought through FB Marketplace. That is also where we found the electric fireplace. It sure is a nice and easy way to buy used things at a good price and best of all no need to go to any store. 

 

I'm going to love using this tea pot. Now I have to go and decide which of my old ones I will donate.

It's cool and mostly cloudy today. The forecast is for clearing this afternoon so that's now.

 Hmmm.  Maybe later. 

I hope you're having a lovely day,

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Sunday walk

We walked in light rain this morning. We chose an urban wetland with a loop trail of 1.8 miles  (4000 steps) . Not many others walking and surprisingly no one with a dog. When we've walked here before there have been many walkers with their dogs.

With the help of M I can get my photos onto my computer using a card reader.   It takes me a bit longer but at least I can do it. He had never done such before but took one look and knew just what to do.
11 year olds are smarter these days and so comfortable with all things to do with computers.

None are visible on this picture but there were so many swallows swooping over the water. Besides the usual ducks and Canada geese we did see an Eagle (being harassed by crows).

 The grass beside the path was taller than me!!

A pretty shrub that I don't know the name of.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope your Sunday is a lovely one.

 

Granny M

Tea Cups and a Fireplace

 

 Still having problems with pictures so I've chosen some from a while ago.  Here are some tea cups that I have in the dining room.  DH built both cupboards.

 I'm sure you all know how much I like sitting on my swing on the enclosed back porch. I'm always sorry when it gets too cold for comfort out there so  I had the idea of lengthening the season by at least a month in Spring and also in Fall by getting a little electric fireplace. Found this one very lightly used and reasonably priced.  It will fit perfectly in the one available spot which just happens to be where an outlet is.

Our weather is quite cool and there's a chance of showers every day.  I took advantage of the cool and did some transplanting today.  Youngest son came to give the front landing and stairs a fresh coat of paint. DH rigged up a tarp over the area in case it rains. The paint dries so quickly that I'm sure all will be well.

So that's about it for what's happening here. I hope you have a great weekend whatever your plans are.

Thanks for coming by,  GM

 

The Taste of Summer

 I'll start by thanking everyone who had some tips for me in solving my photo downloading. Seeing as I know nothing about computers ( and it seems that's where the problem is) I've given the problem over to middle son who will no doubt solve it sooner or later.  Meanwhile I can get some pictures from the internet and they'll do just fine. 

Strawberries are ready now and to me fresh strawberries are the taste of summer.  DH picked up a flat (15 lbs)  which were $3.30 lb. Not the cheapest fruit by far but worth the price. I'd be very interested in what strawberries cost in various regions.

 It's on the cool side again today. I went out after breakfast to do some weeding and wore a light sweater. I noticed that more poppies are opening their fuzzy buds and Foxgloves are looking wonderful. So far I've only seen white ones and purple. Last year there were a few peach coloured ones and I've been keeping an eye out for those.

picture from the internet

I finished a book that I had requested from the library. It was quite interesting and a quick read. It's all in the form of letters back and forth between 2 people who have never met but have a common interest.

The sun is shining and I must go sit on the porch swing. I hope you have a wonderful day.

G.M.

This and That

 

 

I'm still not able to get my pictures from my camera to my computer without help but for now it seems that it's the way it is. I did manage some pictures of the Peonies I brought in and some of the pictures I took around the yard.

 

The lavender is looking good....
 

In the back yard the Mock Orange is just starting to open.  I can't remember the name of the big Hosta that's just in front of it.

After several very hot days we're enjoying more reasonable temperatures with some clouds and an occasional shower.  Yesterday I tidied up my garden shed. Packed up 2 big boxes of pots I'll never use and other things to donate.  With the cooler weather I'm more inclined to do housework and baking.

So that's what is keeping me occupied. What are you busy doing these lovely June days?

Thanks for taking the time to visit and maybe leaving a comment :)

Granny M.

Poppies

 

I'm still having a problem getting my pictures off my camera but my DIL kindly took lots of pictures of my poppies this morning and so these are some of the ones she took.  There are several kinds including the big exuberant Oriental poppies as well as smaller, annual Shirley poppies that self-sow, even some California and Welsh poppies.  I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Thanks for visiting today,  GM