Solstice, Flowers and Construction

 

 

 Happy First Day of Summer!!  Our sky was totally clear this morning and we're in for a real summery day.  30C if the forecast can be believed.

I found this information so interesting...

This year's vernal equinox occurred on March 19, at 11:06 p.m. EDT. It was only the second time that the equinox had fallen on March 19 in more than a century. In fact, it was the earliest spring equinox since 1896 — 128 years ago.

This year's summer solstice is also the earliest we've seen in a long time. However, we have to look back a lot further than 1896.

Even taking into consideration that there was no daylight saving time back then, 2024's summer solstice is still earlier. We actually have to go all the way back to 1796 — 228 years ago — to find an earlier summer solstice.

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My flowers are loving the sunshine and my Campanula persicifolia  has never done better. I just call them my Bluebells but I have as many white ones as blue.

Work continues on the medical building that's going up behind us.  Massive 3 story-high  walls of concrete are being lifted into place by a crane. It's very interesting to watch although everything is done so slowly and great care taken. I wonder how much one of those walls weighs.

I'm taking a break from doing housework but I think I better get back to it now. AFTER I check on the construction progress.

Thanks for visiting

 

 

I'm adding this next bit for my own information.

1752 was when the calendar went through a major shift, skipping over 11 full days in September of 1752, to correct 17 centuries of celestial drift and bring the equinoxes and solstices back into alignment with our calendar.

Once that was done, the Gregorian calendar then added in a correction to leap years to prevent that problem from recurring. After 1752, every year evenly divisible by 4 would be a leap year, except those years that are evenly divisible by 100, but not 400 (1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300, etc.).

Wednesday Happenings

 Thank you for the concern  after I mentioned my fall. Really, nothing but my dignity was damaged (well, maybe a few plants were flattened).

Quiet walk on this side of the lake this morning....

 ...but on the other side part of a movie was going to be filmed.

Looks like it's going to be a Christmas one

 They were putting down what looked like white fibrefill and covering it with artificial snow. You can see the "snow" piled up at the other end.

 A light post and wreath

 We've had this kind of thing before. Apparently Abbotsford has some good places for filming.
They have missed the bad weather and now we're to have 2 or 3 days of sunshine. No doubt by the weekend this will all be gone. We've noticed other times that they leave no mess at all when they go.

The sunshine is very welcome.  Two sons took the shop vacuum up on the roof and cleaned the gutters.
Eldest daughter did some much needed cleaning along the side of the house. We sure appreciate all the help we get.

(That gloved hand that accidentally got into the picture is grandson M holding a very wet butterfly that he just discovered).

Never a dull moment...LOL

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Tuesday Chit Chat

 

 

 
Good Morning!!  The sun is trying to shine and it looks like we'll have a lovely day.  I took my camera along on my walk earlier but found nothing picture worthy so I stole a picture off the 'net.

After I got back I thought I'd spend some time deadheading in the front garden. All was going well until I lost my balance and fell crushing a poor Campanula.   Kitty, who had been 'helping' me, was no use at all. If she were a dog ( think of Lassie) she would have gone for help. As it was I was left to struggle to my feet on my own. Strange how in recent years I've lost the ability to get up off the floor/ground. In any case, no neighbours saw me ( I hope) and all ended well. 

I've heard it said that unfortunate things tend to happen in three's.  Yesterday I turned the toaster oven on and after a few minutes the interior was filled with flames!  I quickly unplugged it but the bottom element is finished :(  . We mainly use the upper (broil) feature so can continue using it while keeping a look out for a replacement.  Now that's TWO things. Should I be watching for a third?

Thanks for coming by,  I love to read your comments so don't be shy.   GM

Is Rhubarb a Fruit or a Vegetable?

 In spite of less sunshine than it would like our rhubarb didn't do badly at all.  DH brought in (more than on the picture obviously) and I chopped up some partially frozen cherries to make 5 little jars of jam plus a bit.  We like our jam on the tart side and I don't use a recipe so I hope it will be sweet enough.,

 I found this information on the internet and thought it was interesting.

 Rhubarb is a vegetable often thought to be a fruit. There's actually a good reason for this confusion: in 1947 the USDA classified it as a fruit because the tariffs on bringing fruits into the country were lower on fruits than vegetables. In actuality though, rhubarb is a vegetable - a member of the buckwheat family.

 

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What I'm Reading

 Things are very quiet and peaceful around here. Grocery shopping this morning.  A bit of puttering in the garden after lunch.  Reading. I finished reading the third book that Susan Branch wrote about her life; the first is about her life as a child, teenager and then her first marriage. The second is about her move from California to Martha's Vineyard on the east coast after the divorce. The third book, and in my opinion the best one, is about meeting Joe and  her second marriage and their 3 month trip to England. Of course visiting Beatrix Potter's home was the highlight of her time there. 

 

 Also this week I reread the shortest of Miss Read's books...Early Days, in which she writes of her life until about the age of 11.  It's a lovely story written in her inimitable style which has endeared her to so many of her fans.

So that is what I've been doing.  Father's Day is this Sunday and that will mean family coming over.
The weather forecast is not too promising so we'll hope for the best. We do have a fairly large covered area where we can sit comfortably even if there are showers. I just hope there won't be any wind. We seem to have had quite a few blustery days recently.

 

Thanks for coming by

 

 

Sunday Walk and Some Shrubs

 Some pictures taken on our walk on Sunday morning. The clouds were so lovely!!

 

 

 I didn't realize that Mock Orange grew wild but apparently it does. From the internet..

Native to western North America, from northwestern California in the Sierra Nevada, north to southern British Columbia, and east to Idaho and Montana.

 Doesn't look much different from the one in my back garden.

 Also blooming in the back is my Deutzia which is absolutely covered with flowers again. 

I know you'll be fascinated to find out that it was named for Johannes Van Der Dutse, a sheriff of Amsterdam.

Alright...it's back to doing laundry on this Monday morning.  Have a great week.

 

Thanks for visiting

 

 

Another Day, Another Walk and a Creation

 We're enjoying a mix of sun and cloud today. It's still chilly but we're hopeful for some real early summer-like weather soon.  On our walk the goose/duck family were close to the edge of the water so I was able to get a better picture.

 

Out there on a rock there's a turtle.

 Came home and continued  with my ongoing decluttering.  I decided to donate this "creation" that I made years ago from an old lamp base and the glass bowl from a ceiling light.  Then it occurred to me that I could put it out on the front stoop, which is what I did.  A rose and a couple of Clematis flowers and Voila!!

 

 Thanks for visiting today

Morning Walk

 Light rain was falling when we left on our walk. I took some pictures as we made our way along our    usual path .  Construction continues on the building overlooking the lake.  We've heard say that these places are very expensive, obviously only the rich will be buying them. 

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 The lake is once again becoming covered with waterlilies.

 Something unusual we saw was a number of ducklings being cared for by a duck and also a goose. We stopped to watch to see if the goose was just  passing by, but no. It was actively helping mama duck with her brood.  You can just barely see the little ones but they're there, in both pictures.  ( It was raining and they were not close by hence the poor pictures.)

 more geese

 An interesting stump

 Today is the last day of rain for a while. We're looking forward to seeing sunshine!!

Thanks for coming by,  GM

Flowers

 More rain again today although we did get our walk in before it began. In spite of all the dreary days flowers are blooming.  I went around with taking pictures of a few starting with some Irises.

 And the Oriental Poppies. Did you know they are native to northeastern Turkey and northern Iran?

 I can't remember what this low-growing plant is called. I have quite a lot of it along the front of this bed.

 The big old Mock Orange is in full bloom, half hidden in the very back.  Behind it is where the Weigela is just finished blooming.

 The weather forecast if for an end to the rain by Wednesday and temperatures in the high 20's by Thursday. As unaccustomed as we are to warm temps we're apt to be in shock . We'll go from wearing sweaters to A/C.  I'll let you know. Meanwhile I think I better bake bread for the week tomorrow. I won't want to have the oven on when it gets hot out.

Thanks for visiting