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.

 

 

Change of Plan

 It's cloudy and cool this morning. I had planned on spending an hour hoeing weeds but showers are forecast and any weeds I hoe will most probably pop right back up when they get wet. Yesterday was sunny and very warm. Eldest came and together we worked until we got too warm. Then we sat in the shade.
My pictures are from yesterday's walk. The lake is slowly getting covered with water lilies again.
Can you see the turtles?

 

 

Remember the Apple cake I baked on Tuesday?  The second half of the cake was in the pantry in a tightly covered container and when I opened it it was sitting in juice that had formed from all
 the apples (?)  It was unappetizingly wet so I put it in the air fryer for a while. DH declared it even better than when it was just baked.

Since my plans have had to change I think I'll settle for a day of puttering.  A lot of small odd jobs get done on such a day. Things no one else notices but I do. 

Thanks for coming by 

 

Food and Flowers

 

 Eldest Daughter, GD  Kate, and I went plant shopping today. We had a fun morning . When I got tired I went to sit in the small sitting area that is provided by the place. You can see the cart with some of our choices beside me.   In the afternoon I planted out most of mine. I think I have enough now. lol

 

 

 What's happening in the kitchen....I baked a cheesecake then I made an Apple cake using a recipe that Gina posted on her blog The Cannary Family.  Since the oven was on and the day was cool I made a pot of baked Beans.

 Here's more Full Moon information from the internet for anyone who is interested.

May is ending with a rare celestial event: a Blue Moon.

The second full moon of the month will rise on the night of Friday, May 30, into the early morning of Saturday, May 31. The month's first full moon, the Flower Moon, rose on May 1. 

June will bring the Strawberry Full moon. That will be on the 29th.  No doubt by then the strawberry harvest will be in full swing. We had our first taste of local berries this past week and they were very delicious. The price of those first berries is quite high but will come down, hopefully.

That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting. 

 

 

 

Planning my Day

 

 
Happy Monday!!   What's happening at your house today?  Here the weather has changed and showers are expected for today and tomorrow. Unfortunately my Peony is in full bloom and will no doubt bend low when it gets wet. It can't be helped. I did bring some flowers in and they look ( and smell) heavenly.

Other than the usual laundry I plan on doing some scrapbooking today after getting some pictures developed at Walmart ( where I saw dark purple Gladiola bulbs marked down even more and was forced to buy them). Youngest came to drag a very heavy ceramic pot out of the wild area and into a more prominent (sunny) spot. I took out the weedy plants and planted those glads in there. Now I really don't have any more room. Well, I do have 2 containers that are earmarked for Snapdragons and also one for Petunias. Those I have yet to buy.  Maybe later this week. 

What those Glads will hopefully look like in a couple of months.
 

Thanks for coming by!!

 

 

Flowers and Muffins

 It was another beautiful  day. I may have mentioned that I was looking for Poppy seeds. I wanted mixed colours but only found these red ones, which I sowed yesterday.

 

Walmart had a big display of different kinds of bulbs outside near the entrance. I looked at them every time I walked by hoping they would soon be marked down.  Finally they were. 50% off.  Eldest came by and helped put all 18 into a smallish area that I managed to clear of perennial Bleeding Heart and Lily of the Valley.    I'm hoping they make a lovely display in a couple of months.

 Something happened and my picture shifted.  At least it didn't disappear. 

This lovely bouquet was delivered to my door today thanks to one of my sons. You might think it would be  Coals to Newcastle  but I don't think I ever have too many flowers!!

(No doubt you are familiar with that term but just in case you are not it refers to bringing something to a person who already has an ample supply of that product.) 

I did do a bit of baking this afternoon. DH brought in some rhubarb from our rather pathetic plants and there was enough to make Rhubarb Muffins. I used a recipe called Aunt Norma's Rhubarb Muffins.

 That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.

 

 

 

 

What's Blooming Now

 It's a lovely sunny day and I thought I'd show you some of what's blooming in my garden right now. 

I only have one Peony left and it's this white one with the dab of red in the centre. It has just begun to open and I'm so glad there are lots more buds.

 A few more Irises have opened.....My pictures don't do them justice.

 

 Every year I get told what this lovely spreader is and I promptly forget. It has jumped the edge and keeps right on growing on the cement (?). That's one of my tomatoes in the pot.

My Allium have grown so tall again. This is actually city property where I've made a flowerbed. Next to it is the gravel parking where the guys park their trucks.

The strange looking bulbs blooming beside them are nectaroscordum.  They also grow tall and some of them have curved stems. These two were the only straight ones.

In case you're wondering about them here's what the 'net has to say...

Nectaroscordum siculum (Sicilian Honey Garlic) 

This perennial exudes a strong garlic scent when bruised, hence its common name of Sicilian Honey Garlic. Easy to grow, undemanding and beautiful.

What's blooming in your garden right now?  I'd love to know.

 

Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

 

Random Things

 

It's a wet morning here. Finally we're getting much needed rain. The house feels chilly and I'm thinking that some baking would warm it up. Not much to blog about so I thought I'd post some random pictures.

A clematis growing near the mailbox by the street.

Our row of Rugosa roses from the next door neighbour's side.

 

My kitty teapot which you may remember from other years. 

 

The people across the street must love their kitty a lot. They just built this outdoor pen for her. The window behind has a small window that opens to allow the cat to come and go ( although I notice that  she mostly comes out when they're outside. Otherwise she's content to stay in and look out that big window. 

 

I saw these pretty bags on Pinterest.  Are they not sweet?

 

That's it for today. I hope you're having a lovely day.

 

 

Thanks for visiting