Another Walk

 Some pictures of the beautiful park where we walked yesterday morning. All these pictures were taken by another walker, NOT me.   It's a little ways out of town and so quiet ( except for the noise of traffic on a nearby highway).

There's the beginning of a beaver dam visible from this bridge. Others have been lucky enough to see the beavers but so far we haven't been early enough I guess.

It was a quiet Sunday. There's a wildlife program I want to watch and maybe read until my eyes fall shut. Thanks for coming by,  GM
 

A Picture from the Past

 16 years ago to be precise. Myself and my granddaughter who is now 20. Where has the time gone?
 This was taken in Jasper, Alberta if I remember correctly. 

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

RAIN

Yesterday we finally got the rain we were hoping for. All day a soft rain fell...the only unfortunate thing is how bent down the Hydrangeas are.  I suppose it's a small price to pay.

 

 Next to this Annabelle I sprinkled some Cosmos seeds in Spring and now they're blooming. I'm not sure why I chose orange  because I already have enough of that colour in my garden. I used to have Cosmos ( pale purple) and they self-seeded every year. Until one year none came up.

Droplets of water on Lady's Mantle

 I took advantage of the coolness today and did some baking. I made a baked rice pudding with raisins,  and cheese biscuits. Forgot to take pictures so here are some from the 'net.  Since the oven was already at 400* I decided to set it to self-clean when I was done baking. I don't clean it more than maybe twice
a year. In between I try to wipe up any spills.

Thanks for visiting today,  GM

Tiger Lilies, Soup, and an Accident

 Another lovely warm day. One of the things we wanted to do was drive out into the country and buy more blueberries. There is such an abundance this year that the price keeps coming down. We bought another 25 pounds ( most will be shared with our children).

My Tiger Lily loves the sunshine and more than half her blooms are now open.

I know soup is considered more a Fall and Winter meal but we enjoy it in all seasons. This time I made Borscht which is a soup of Ukrainian origin and  has dill, tomato, cabbage and beets as  important ingredients. I didn't have any beets but the soup turned out just fine. (That's sour cream on top.)
 

 Middle Son was on his way home from work yesterday when a car full of young people came straight through a stop sign, not even slowing down,  hitting the truck so hard it spun around and ended up facing the opposite direction.  MS has a sore chest ( from his seatbelt) otherwise he fared better than the driver of the other car. We're thankful that nothing more serious occurred.
Here the truck is already on the tow truck.

I'm off to have some of the leftover soup. Thanks for visiting,  GM

Peaches

 

One of the pleasures of summer is the abundance of fruit available. GD Kate and her partner drove up to the Okanagan* and brought back a box of peaches for us. They were just 2 or 3 days until ripe and were so tasty.

 I made a very rustic peach pie and some jam. The pie would not win any prizes for looks but it was so good ( with a bit of ice cream on the side).  There were some left for eating and we enjoyed them. (Now they're all gone).

 I never used to drink plain water. I found it very Blah. Now I keep a handful of fresh mint in the pitcher and it makes all the difference. I have several kinds of mint. Today the one I cut was Chocolate. Not that I find it tastes like chocolate but it is a little different from the others.

 * The Okanagan is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It's known for its wineries and fruit orchards.

Thanks for visiting.

Garage Sale Finds

In Sunday's post I mentioned the garage sale where I found lovely treasures. I forgot  to show the two Royal Albert teacups that were two dollars each!!  I'm always looking for the flower-of-the-month series and I was happy to find the May cup. I already have February (Purple Violets) and July ( Forget-me-nots). The May one is Lily of the Valley.

This teacup has no special name but is very pretty too.

Here they both are in the cupboard where most of my Royal Alberts are displayed. Middle of the third and fourth shelves.

 One last thing I got was this set of pot holders which I didn't even notice at the time  are not identical. Just imagine the precise folding and sewing necessary to make such a set.

 

Once again I hope I haven't gone on and on about my finds. It's a hobby that's fascinating to me but I realize it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Thanks for visiting. I always enjoy your comments, even the anonymous ones *smile*.

Monday

 It was 20C when we left the house at 7, cloudy with a cool breeze. Now, at 2:30, the temperature has risen to 25 but the breeze is keeping it pleasant for working.  Youngest Son came for an hour of serious digging for a new path in the back garden. He began laying down ,I think they're called patio squares that we already had.  It's going to look much better plus as he dug he removed many invasive Lily-of-the-Valley roots. I think they're a lovely flower but they are so very invasive.  I wish I had never planted any.

Our pole beans are doing well. We have sowed them in 3 different spots ( wherever there's sunshine).
These are Scarlet Runners . Hummingbirds like the red blossoms.

Below is also a picture of one of our Clematis. Blogger has chosen where the picture goes.

I'm taking advantage of the coolness and baking  bread. What are you busy doing this July afternoon?

I saw this and thought of those of you who do various crafts ....  

 

A New Place to walk and a Garage Sale

 

Yesterday we drove 6 km to a lovely walking place. There's a  loop trail around a body of water that I think may be man-made. This picture was taken by someone else, a fellow walker. Some of the people we meet along the way have what looks like very fancy cameras and they obviously take much better pictures than I ever could. The setting with the hills in the background is quite lovely. Unfortunately the last 2 Saturdays when we've walked there I got bitten by some bug that has resulted in a red and swollen ankle :(

 

On the way back we stopped at a garage sale. The prices were very reasonable and I added to my doily collection. I don't know much about yarn but these seem to be made of fine thread??? 
They are pale tan in colour.

 I also bought a small tablecloth that has cross stitch designs on the corners and beautiful crocheted edging.  It fit perfectly on the Teddy Bears table. I found some teacups as well but I forgot to take a picture of them. Next post.

 Thanks for visiting,   GM

Beans and Blooms

 Lunch is done and my daughter, who comes for lunch on Fridays, has gone home. The house is quiet. Company expected this evening and I have things that need doing this afternoon. Luckily I baked a cake this morning while the kitchen was cool because now it's 30C  86F.

Perfect weather for beans. DH picked these last evening. He planted purple ones just to see how they'd be. I find them very stringy and also they turn green once they're cooked so I doubt we'll grow those again. Those are bush beans. The yellow ones are pole beans and I see a few green ones came in too. I prefer the green ones and we have some of those growing as well.

I planted 4 Sunflowers and 3 are now blooming.

My Montbretia ( or Crocosmia, if you prefer) is blooming and the Hummingbirds love them.

 Thanks for visiting today, GM

 

 

 

Starched Pillow Covers

 I got it done!  It was frustrating because I put too much cornstarch into my water and after drying the pillow covers I realized I was never going to be able to iron them. They were incredibly stiff and hard. So I put them through a rinse cycle and hung them up again.  Even then they were very stiff but with a very hot iron and lots of steam I got them all ironed.

 Besides that I got some garden work done and not much else. I would have gotten my post done much earlier but I had some problems with my computer. #2 Son has ordered a new hard drive and hopefully that will help.

Thanks for popping by,  GM

Monday

 The lake was calm and the sun was trying to shine when we walked at 7 this morning. Not many ducks or geese around, just an occasional bunny or squirrel.

 When we got back DH left and I continued doing laundry ( which I started last night just to get a head start.) A once-a-year chore I don't look forward to is the washing, starching and ironing the shams and pillow covers of the pillows that I like to pile on the bed for the daytime. I love the look and I know it isn't that big of a job but I still don't like to do it.  I make my starch by boiling up cornstarch and a large quantity of water then after I've washed the covers I dip them in the starchy water and hang them to dry.  In order to avoid the marks left by clothes pins I hang them over the lawn swing.  A friend sewed these shams some 30 years ago and they are so well made. Once I get them all back on the bed I'll take a picture.

 Once I got that done I went out to do some weeding. Continued until my back said STOP.  Now I'm in and about to have a cup of coffee.
What's your Monday look like?  As someone else said  Curious minds want to know.

Thanks for coming by,  GM

 

 

This and That

 

 It's a wee bit cooler today and also yesterday. I noticed that we were low on cookies so I did some baking. Those Biscotti were the last of the cookies. I baked a Blueberry Cobbler with some of the blueberries that we bought earlier this week.  Looks like it sunk in the pan when it cooled.

 

 I had a volunteer blooming in the front flower garden. I recognized it as Campanula rapunculoides and had Youngest Son dig it out.  It's bell-like flowers are pretty but I am afraid of this plant's invasive nature.  I don't think this is the first time a bird has gifted me with this particular flower.

Here's what the internet has to say:

Campanula rapunculoides, known by the common names creeping bellflower, rampion bellflower, rover bellflower, garden bluebell, creeping bluebell, purple bell, garden harebell, and creeping campanula, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae.

 
 

Why is creeping bellflower bad?

The problem is, creeping bellflower has a very strong and extensive root system so it spreads quickly and will easily take over your garden and choke out other plants. It's also hard to get rid of.

 

Is creeping bellflower native to Canada?

It is native to Siberia and was brought over to North America as a garden plant by some of the first European settlers. They thought it had so many attributes.

 I hope your weekend is a peaceful one. Time to relax and enjoy summer.

Thanks for coming by,  GM

 

Flowers

 Oh My but it's hot. I go outside and do what needs to be done early,  then when the day heats up I go indoors. I hesitate to use the oven  but yesterday I made a Blueberry Cobbler and had a fan blowing in the direction of the stove. It didn't help  much.

Since not much is happening worth blogging about,  I thought I'd show you some of the flowers blooming in my garden.

 Rudbeckias

Maltese Cross (Lychnis Chalcedonica)

The first Morning Glories

Daylilies

Daisies

More Rudbeckias some Lychnis Coronaria, white Campanula and in the corner some pink Geraniums

Spiderwort

Nasturtiums

Thanks for visiting today,  GM