Garden and Flowers

 We've had more than our share of rain this past week. Today we even had thunder which is a rare thing for us. Heavy downpour and then some ice pellets. Crazy Spring weather. Hopefully we'll get some sunshine soon.

During one break in the weather Kate took some pictures of my back garden. 

 I'm amazed how the tulips have  held up to the weather.  The Leopard's Bane has bloomed for weeks but now is starting to lose petals.

It's been a very ordinary Monday here. I'm rereading my Rosamunde Pilcher books and enjoying them once more before donating them. 

Thanks for coming by.

Hard work

 A few months ago our tiny back lawn was ravaged by hungry raccoons looking for grubs. This week finally DH rented a tiller and youngest son came to work the sod through. When  grandson M came to help that made 3 generations out there at work. Now do you understand why I bake so often?
( I made cinnamon buns today )

We were given more rhubarb.

 

 I thought this was so cute. Hopefully no one is offended but isn't it just like a little child to  'misunderstand' what grown-ups say?  

Thanks for coming by.

 

Chit Chat

 

It's a rainy day (in a rainy week) so I'll be doing some baking later today. The rhubarb cake is gone and there's a need for some sweets :)
Connie mentioned in her comment that she'd like the recipe.  If you google Oma's Rhubarb Cake it's almost identical to the recipe I have except 3/4 cup of rhubarb was not enough.

Did anyone else have trouble with the Wordle today? I had to message Sheila for the first letter then I was able to get it in 3 tries. I know, it's cheating.  But I was stuck.

 

Miss Kitty has not had a good week. We were not able to get the exact flavour of her favourite cat food. Right brand, but wrong flavour. She was not impressed. It's taking her a while to get used to this new food. I contrast her fussiness with the dogs we've had in the past ( Black Lab and a Shepherd/Rottweiler cross) who would eat absolutely any thing edible. And sometimes not so edible. 

Obviously this picture of her is from a few months ago. The snow is a dead giveaway.

Hope your day is full of sunshine!

Thanks for visiting.

Rhubarb, Tulips and Soup Mix

 DH came home from working at Gleaners and brought a handful of rhubarb that a fellow volunteer had grown in her garden. I'm amazed at the thickness of those stalks. Once chopped it was enough to bake a rhubarb cake.

 

He informed me that today marked 250 million portions of soup mix that Gleaners has produced in the 22 years that it has been established here in the Fraser Valley. In case you're new and haven't read about Gleaners, they are an organization that rescues surplus vegetables and turns them into dry soup mix that is sent to feed hungry people  around the world.  For instance they might get 50,000 lbs of carrots that for some reason could not be sold in grocery stores. ( Maybe they got too large or were deformed. Sometimes it's hard to know why they were rejected by the stores.) It's not unusual to get such massive amounts of any vegetable.

Tulips are so pretty and I love having them in a vase but do you find that they open up excessively?
I couldn't find a satisfactory answer on the internet. I'd sure like to know how to prevent it from happening ( it doesn't always but I'm not sure what I do differently).
 

 

 Thanks for visiting today 💗

This and That

 

 Starting my week with flowers delivered yesterday 💗

 From the beautiful to the disgusting. I bought a bag of carrots about a week or so ago. I used some for a carrot cake then a few more in a soup I was making. Yesterday I reached into the bag to get one to give to my bunny and discovered a disgusting rotten mess. I was able to save a few that I washed thoroughly.
Buying a 5 lb bag didn't save me any money this time, that's for sure.

 A trip to the plant shop to look around and also buy my tomato plants, petunias, and snap dragons.
For now I have them on the porch ( it's enclosed) just until the night temperature stays above 10C.
A few miniature Hostas and more Hart's Tongue ferns also jumped into my cart. Weird how that always happens.

 

Today is the last in a stretch of reasonably sunny days so, knowing it would be cloudy by evening today,  I made sure to go out last night and look at the moon. Tonight is the Pink Moon apparently named  after the flower called "moss pink" or wild ground phlox which apparently blooms around this time.

Thanks for coming by,  Have a lovely day   

 

 

Evening Sky and an Amaryllis

 

 The evening sky over Willband Creek last night.  Photo by another Willband Walker J.M.

This was my Amaryllis on Monday....

...and this is this morning

Yesterday the day started with temperatures around 6C and by afternoon it was 18. Needless to say I'm outside as much as possible. Today will be much the same.

I just have to share this ....I usually do the Wordle in the morning before starting any housework and today the most unusual thing happened.  I always start with the same word and today that word was it. I actually got it in ONE TRY. Probably never happen again.

Thanks for coming by

* Linda wondered if the wind had ever blown any garden teacups off their saucers.  So far that hasn't happened but occasionally a bird will land on the edge and tip the cup over. Even if it were to fall it would land on soft dirt.

About the Garden Teacups and Other Flowers

 

 

Good Morning!! It was a frosty 2C when I first looked out at 6 o'clock. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. Lovely 💗.

Thank you for all the comments on my garden teacups. For those who are interested I've taken a couple of pictures that hopefully explain how they're made. 

The dowel that's glued to the bottom fits into a half inch hollow pipe which easily pushes into the ground and supports it.

 I glued one cup to its saucer but found that dirt gathered around the base of the cup and was hard to keep clean.   Now the cups sit loosely on the saucers and I just go around and tip the water out after it rains. There's usually a fly or bug floating in it and I can easily wipe it out.

What's blooming in my garden right now?

Leopards Bane

Rock Cress

I know my son looked this beautiful blooming shrub up and told me what it was but I've forgotten. Maybe it's an ornamental plum?  Technically its not in "my" garden. It's growing in my DIL's part of the garden but I walk by it and stop to admire it often.

One last plant to show you and that's the Calla Lily that Eldest Daughter brought me. I've read that Calla Lilies mustn't dry out so I'm trying to check it every day ( which isn't easy because the leaves are very full right to the bottom.)

Thanks for coming by today. I hope your day is a pleasant one.

Garden Teacups

 We've had some days of mixed sun and showers. In between the showers I've been puttering outside, checking what is coming up and what isn't. Sadly there seems to be quite a few empty spots.

I put out the garden teacups. That always means Spring to me. I see I'm going to have to go out there and adjust the height of some of them. Strange that I didn't notice that right away.

We heard so many birds on our morning walk but now that the trees and shrubs are leafed out ( is leafed even a word?) it's hard to see the birds. I'm fairly sure I spotted a pair of Golden-Crowned Kinglets though.

That's it for today. Thanks for coming by.

 

 

Woodland Walk

 

Yesterday's walk was so foggy that we saw very little of interest. The sun did eventually break through the fog and we had a lovely sunny day. Today was clear and sunny right from the start. We went farther afield and walked with our DIL and Grandson M in a wooded area with many trails all of which seemed to be up  one ridge and down another. Although we only walked a little over 3 km it took us an hour and a half.

 Lots of Skunk Cabbage

 A tiny Trillium maybe?

 Needless to say the two of us old folks came home quite ready to sit down and have a cup of coffee and a scone.    What does your day hold?

Thanks for visiting

Downsizing and some Muffins

 

Another ordinary day. Started with doing the grocery shopping and a trip to get rid of garbage and some recycling.  Later I continued my downsizing efforts and went through my collection of tiny ceramic purses and shoes as well as pretty pins ( brooches). It wasn't easy deciding which ones I'd keep.

before

after

One more thing I needed to do was to bake Oldest Grandson's favourite peach muffins.

That's done and it's time to sit down with a cuppa. 

Thanks for taking the time to visit 💗

An Ordinary Day

 

We had a pleasant walk around Mill Lake.  Saw the Eagle on the nest (just a white head barely to be seen). Came home and took my second cup of coffee out onto the porch, watched an excavator filling dirt around the building that is being built behind us. The part that will be underground parking is mostly done now and all the earth that was hauled away now has to be brought back. Well, obviously not ALL the earth, but many dump trucks keep coming and unloading.

I brought in a few tulips to set on the able.  I try to have something pretty there at all times. I find it's very cheery.

The day lies ahead of me and I plan on doing a bit of scrapbooking, a small load of laundry that didn't get done yesterday, small chores that need doing. So it goes.

Thanks for coming by

This and That

 My Pasqueflowers (Pulsatilla) are not doing well at all.  They grow and try to bloom but they never really spread. I have 3 colours...white, light purple and dark. I wonder if I should give them a dose of fertilizer.

Other Spring flowers are beginning to bloom.

The area in front of my garden shed is sinking.  Before we bought our lot this was a farm yard and there was a well right there ( my shed was the pumphouse). We filled the old well with sods  and such years ago but of course it all sinks as it compacts necessitating some shoring up which is what my Youngest Son is doing.

 Hard-working helpers need to be fed and I am baking today. Cheese buns are rising in the warm oven and I made an Impossible Coconut Pie.

 

That's all for today,

Thanks for coming by,  GM 

APRIL

 

 Happy April and happy new week. I like it when the week and the month start on the same day, No special reason, it just pleases me.  The weekend went by quickly with a lovely Easter service and lovely new people to meet. Sheila hosted the family Easter lunch and that was delicious. Most of the family managed to make it.  Here's me and my DH ready to leave the house. I cross stitched that Home Sweet Home sampler many years ago and still love it.

 

 Kate, oldest granddaughter, and Callum, oldest grandson.

Usual Monday laundry this morning. We were out of jam so I made cherry jam and also strawberry. By making them one after the other I managed to avoid having to wash the saucepan in between.  I'm all for getting maximum done with minimum dishes. 

Now it's time to sit back and read for a while, maybe even have a nap.