Summer

 

 Summer has arrived with lots of very warm days. Fortunately it cools off at night.  My flowers are loving all the sunshine too. This old rose which was a wee little shrub when we got it has grown to be very wide and every year it is covered with blooms. 

 We walked at Willband yesterday. We made sure to get on our way before the days heated up. We didn't see many birds this time. Some ducks on the water, too far away to identify. Some Swallows that haven't gone yet.
 Later I decided to wash another cupboard full of teacups, this time they are all Royal Albert. It was quiet and peaceful in the kitchen as I took down each teacup and washed it before putting it back on the shelf.  Sorry for the slightly tilted photo. 

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 This morning we drove the short distance to Fishtrap Creek and walked around the perimeter. The water level is very low. The city has plans to dredge  the creek and get rid of a lot of the sludge that makes it less than lovely to look at.  I can't help thinking what amazing compost that sludge would make. 

As we go into the week I will continue washing my many teacups and generally tidying the house.  
Aside from watering my flowers early in the day I'll stay indoors.
What does your week hold?

 Thanks for coming by

 

 

 

Mainly about Flowers

 I went out early to work in the garden, before the day became too hot.  Even with the help I get from my grown children the weeds and overgrown plants are winning.  I still enjoy the challenge and the flowers when they bloom.  One thing I do not like is Miss Kitty lying in wait for unsuspecting birds. In an effort to prevent at least some of her tricks we put a wire circle as a baffle around the birdbath.  For anyone who doesn't know about the cat that came to stay I'll just say that we never wanted an indoor cat so when Kitty showed up pregnant and starving having been abandoned we fed her and in due time she had her 5 adorable kittens. They all found homes and Kitty got spayed. Now she comes and goes as she likes but stays outside.

 My flowers are doing great with all the sunshine. I do quite a bit of watering after supper.  Isn't it amazing that the month is almost over?  I know the 21st is officially Summer but for me the season starts at the beginning of June. 

 I have a number of pots of Carnations but this one is my favourite.

 

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

Around the Neighbourhood

We continue to enjoy lovely Summer weather.  By noon it's too warm to do much outside so I'm doing some organizing and tidying.  Since there's not much to blog about I thought I'd show you a few of the houses recently built, ones we walk past when we go walking.

The first one is different from most because the exterior is all concrete  including window trim.  DH worked in construction almost all his working years so he was interested in the way this house was being built.. I believe the owners have moved in now. If there would have been an Open House I would have loved to see the inside.
This is the side view...

 ...and this is the front.

 A less interesting house but no doubt very roomy.

 

I like what the exterior of this  one is made of... stone? or ashlar?  

 

More houses.

 Almost every one of these homes will have multiple generations living in them (as does ours although ours is much smaller and humbler ) In fact it was in June 2006 that Middle Son and his wife and 3 year old daughter moved in here to share this house.  It was a decision we have certainly not regretted.

If you're still here I thank you for visiting and I hope your day is going along pleasantly!!

 

 

 

Quiet Sunday

 

 
It's a quiet day. Very warm and sunny. GD Kate came for a short visit as she normally does on Sunday mornings. She brought us a Costco chicken...the kind that is predone, still hot and fragrant. IF I ate meat I'd eat that chicken. As it is DH has his next 2 or 3 suppers all planned.
 We had lunch and now she left and I'm ready for a nap.  Foolishly I drank maybe 4 oz of coffee last night and as a result I was unable to fall asleep until 2 A.M.   It's not that I don't know what caffeine does to me but I take the chance anyway. So foolish.  I will rest then later Youngest will come to play Dominoes. Maybe others will join in.  So the day goes.

Thanks for coming by.

 

 

 

Teacups and a Melted Bulb

 Lovely sunshine with a slight breeze today. 23C right now (almost 4 o'clock).

As most of you know I have a lot of teacups and from time to time they all need washing. I decided
that I'd take the ones from this cupboard and get them done. All 15 are the same brand which is Colclough. I actually was short one and yesterday Youngest Son came by with one he had found at the thrift store ( the apple didn't fall from from the tree).  

 The teacup that he brought is the middle one on the second shelf from the bottom. It came with a little white ribbon which I've left .

 For some time I've noticed that my oven light was very very dim. I found an appliance bulb at Canadian Tire and today grandson M removed the old stubby remains of a melted bulb from the back of the oven.  (There was no way either of us could reach back there and the oven door is not removable). 
He was quite intrigued by the melted bulb and took it with him or I'd show you what it looked like. 
Hopefully this new bulb will be more durable. It will be nice to have a light again.

That's the 'excitement ' for today.  Thanks for coming by.

 

 

Wordless Wednesday......can you see me?

 

An Old Rose

 

 

 

 
We have a very old Queen Elizabeth Rose that started out in front, along the driveway but because she got terrible Blackspot every year we moved her to the Wild Area in the very back. She has been ignored there for some 15 years or more and has grown very tall. Every year she produces some lovely blooms which DH has to access with a short step ladder.  Here is yesterday's bouquet and there are more buds that will bloom in a week or so. 

We got more rain overnight but it has more or less stopped raining now. Hopefully we;ll see the sun this afternoon.  I hope you're having a good day.

 

Thanks for coming by. 

 

 

 

Mainly about Birds

 Sunday evening and the weekend is over. We took several walks and saw some birds that we don't often see. The Little Green Heron is one of those. It flew right in front of us on the path. 
I didn't take a picture; there wasn't time. So these 2 pictures are from the internet.

Because I have so many pictures today I've left them quite small but you can embiggen any one by clicking on it. 

 

Cedar Waxwings are so sleek and beautiful. They show up at Willband  because of certain berries that grow there. I looked them up and will copy & paste a few bits about them. Reading this I learned a new word! 
Cedar Waxwings are highly frugivorous birds that gorge on small fruits and berries, often stripping entire trees in massive, nomadic flocks. Their absolute favorites include serviceberries, cedar/juniper berries, dogwood berries, crabapples, and mulberries

A small goose family....

...and a slightly bigger one.

These youngsters are already at the long-legged gawky stage.

The Great blue heron was busy preening his feathers and refused to look up.

Pretty clouds this evening. The forecast for our coming week can be summed up in a word or two.
Chances of showers every day.

It was a long post. If you're still reading then THANK YOU.  I'll be back on Tuesday.

 

Donna: Thank you for letting me know about Dori. Please let me know if you find out more.  You wouldn't have her mailing address would you?  If you do and if you send it I won't publish it. I just thought a get well card could be sent.

 

Raindrops and Pretty Plates

The weather today has been strange. Sunshine then clouds with heavy downpour and back to sun again.

I love the way raindrops sit on the leaves of  Lady's Mantle.

We dropped off a box of 'stuff' at the thrift store then went on to visit Eldest for a short while.
I promised DH I'd be quick when I went into the store and I did my best to be. I found a pair of brand new slippers to replace my old bedroom slippers that did not look presentable any longer. I like fuzzy slippers to slip my feet into at night when the wood floor is cold no matter what the season. I would have liked these to be pink like my old ones but I'll be content with brown.

 I also saw a complete set of Royal Albert china in a pattern I didn't know existed. 
Peach Rose has very pale Roses and gold trim around the edges. I wouldn't want a set of this pattern but I did choose a single 8" plate for my collection. ( In case you think I don't actually use my china.....I use a different plate every morning for my breakfast). 

 Here is the corner of my kitchen where I keep some of my plates.  DH made the sort of stand for them but it has no room for more. I think I have a plan.....

 That's it for today.  I'm so glad you came by.  Thank you for all the lovely comments on my messy and disorganized garden. 

 

 

 

My Messy Garden

 

I've read that "Cottage Gardens" thrive on organized chaos.  That you should layer your plants with tall ones in the back and medium in the middle etc..  I'm afraid my garden is disorganized chaos and although it may have started with tall plants in the back I've never been able to pull out a Foxglove that grew near the front or a Hollyhock likewise.  My Spiderwort refuses to stand up properly and my tall bluebells (Campanula persicifolia) pop up in unlikely spots. Incidentally, this year I have more white bluebells than blue.

 

The article also advised ivy and vines go a little wild. I have Honeysuckle that takes over the nearby Deutzia shrub every year so I'm on the right track there. Here you can see how it's growing up the left side of the Deutzia. We leave it because the hummingbirds love it.

 Yesterday was very warm (30C) but today is more reasonable. It's cloudy and just 16C now at 10 o'clock. I think I'll go out and wrap the hoses up because I won't need to do any watering for a while. 

In the kitchen...I made a Lemon square.  It doesn't look as lovely as the one on the internet but it tastes good and that's the main thing, right?  It doesn't require heating the oven so it's great to make on a warm day.

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

 

 

 

 

June

 Happy Monday and the First Day of June.  It started out at 10C and most probably will rise to close to 30. Summer has arrived. I think we missed Spring. Our Winter was quite mild and sort of slid into Spring and now we're in Summer. 
I'm doing laundry as usual on Monday but I plan on doing some outside puttering before it gets too warm. I've already done some much needed deadheading of a white Rose. The faded blooms look so bad. The pink Roses and the red ones look far less ugly as they dry up.

We had some lovely walks on the weekend.  I like the way the tall grass grows on either side of the path.

See the bunny? 

Sheila took this picture of the Blue Moon.  Did you stay up to see it?

I'm off to work outside.  Thanks for coming by.