Cottontails and Flowers

 

 We had a blustery day today. Youngest son came to help and we put in a few pavers to make a bit of a path through the front flowers.  Now that the earth is dug up I will plant Thyme between the pavers and hopefully it will spread.

On our walk we stopped to look at this young bunny. Another person also stopped to watch it and told us that our rabbits are actually called Cottontails which was news to me. I thought Cottontail was just a cute name for them. I looked it up and found out some interesting facts.

 

Nuttall’s cottontail are the smallest rabbit-eared animals in the province. Their coats are grayish brown above, and white below. They have black-tipped ears.

Range & Habitat

They are found from British Columbia to southern California, and east through Saskatchewan, Montana, and New Mexico. Cottontails live in rocky wooded or brushy areas.

Cottontails eat mostly grass and other green plants. They are nocturnal—most active at dawn and dusk. When they are threatened they thump their hind feet on the ground as an alarm signal.

Breeding occurs throughout the summer months. Females build elaborate nests of leaves and twigs and then line them with their own fur. Cottontails can have up to nine offspring and they are independent from the mother after only one month. 

 

I'll end my post with pictures of some of the recently opened flowers in the front garden.

Astilbes

 

Daylilies (I think these are Stella d'Oro) and  Yellow Loosestrife  (which used to be variegated but has reverted. Yes, I know it's invasive but I keep an eye on it).

Campanula

Not sure about this one

That's it. Thanks for coming by and staying till the end. I love to know who came by so please leave a comment even a very short one will do.   Granny M
 

Scenes from our Morning Walk and Info on Savory

Another beautiful morning. This little duck family was well camouflaged.

 We walk right under this huge old Catalpa tree which is blooming at this time of the year and has a wonderful scent. 

 Regarding Winter Savory and what I use it for....I have always grown Summer Savory which has self-seeded until this year when none seemed to come up at least not where I expected it to grow. Then when the Winter Savory showed up I cut and froze some and will see if it is as useful a herb as the Summer S.  Our absolute favourite soup is Green Bean and a vital ingredient in it is the Savory.  When I freeze the cut up beans I include the little bouquet of Savory right in the bag.  I'll include some info from the internet that you can skip if it doesn't interest you.

Summer savory is among the best known of the savory genus. It is an annual, but otherwise is similar in use and flavor to the perennial winter savory. It is used more often than winter savory, which has a slightly more bitter flavor.

 

Satureja montana, is a perennial, semi-evergreen herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to warm temperate regions of southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa. It has dark green leaves and summer flowers ranging from pale lavender, or pink to white. The closely related summer savory is an annual plant. Wikipedia

Thanks for visiting,  GM

 

 

My Messy Herb Bed and More

When I come out the back door I have many of my plants in pots right there.  Several pots have mint, the concrete urn has thyme, other pots just have succulents. The old lawn swing still waits for someone to sit for a while.

 This area is a jumble of Foxglove, Hollyhocks, Feverfew, Chives, Parsley, and other plants that I no longer remember their names.  There are 2 Clematis growing under the small window.

This is the same area last week,  before I cut the Chives down. Oh yes, there are tomatoes in there as well. 

On the other side of the path things aren't any  less of a jumble. Hidden in all the greenery is where my girls discovered the Winter Savory which I put in 2 years ago and thought it had died. There's more Thyme on this side and Rosemary.

Winter Savory ready to tie in little bunches and freeze.

As you can see I am unable to keep my herb/flowerbeds in any kind of order. For a person who can't abide mess inside I manage to live quite comfortably with it outside.

If you're still here....thanks for visiting.   GM

Quiet Sunday and an Invasive Honeysuckle

 

 

Sunday evenings have a different kind of feeling, don't you think?  After a quiet day one looks at the week ahead and what it will bring. We have doctor appointments on Wednesday. For some reason our doctor insists on seeing us every 6 months or so ( maybe just to make sure we're still around?)  Once we get that done we might as well keep going and go browse at the thrift store that's further away and we don't go to very often.  There may be treasures to be found. You never know.

This past week we had some visitors in our back yard. One evening at dusk I saw something moving across the grass, noticed the white stripe down its back and in a moment I realized it was a skunk and where was Miss Kitty? I was so scared she'd go investigate this new arrival. I knocked on the window, the skunk ran off and Kitty hadn't even moved off her favourite chair. Another evening we had 2 raccoons come right up to the house, probably to check if there was any cat food left in Kitty's dish. Again, a loud knock on the window sent them packing. 

We had a bit of rain on Friday; not enough to make a difference but enough to weigh down the shrubs. The Deutzia was leaning down and we noticed that a Honeysuckle has invaded the middle of the shrub. Once both have finished blooming we'll have to pull the honeysuckle out and cut it back. Maybe move it somewhere where it can wander freely.

I hope you have a lovely week. Thank you for coming by,   GM

Waterlilies, Books, and Petunias

 Our weather continues to be hot and dry.  It's such a pleasure to walk in the cool of early morning. I can't see myself being outside in the afternoons.  There were lots of squirrels and bunnies in the park and when we walked over the boardwalk a cheeky raccoon peered up at us from the murky water. I wonder what it found to eat down there.

Gretchen Joanna asked what will happen to the waterlilies in summer.  They stay green and cover so much of the lake. Where the strange machine has access it pulls them out but it can't get to the areas between the shore and boardwalk. This picture from last year shows the machine ( I have no idea what it is called) dumping its load onto the shore.  Apparently waterlilies make excellent compost.

I dropped off some boxes at the thrift store yesterday and found some reading material for those afternoons on the porch.

 Diane in northern wis....Yes, I have seen those dark purple  speckled Petunias. Isn't Night Sky just the perfect name for them? This picture is off the internet.

Thank you for visiting and leaving lovely comments!!

My Day

 The lake is getting clogged with waterlilies especially on this side by the bridge.

 Farther along, near the dock, many geese hang out. They sure can make a poopy mess.

 

I spotted this little fellow seemingly unafraid of me until I got a bit too close then he hopped into the blackberry bushes.

There's not as much variety by the lake as the walk around Fishtrap Creek where, on Sunday, we saw a deer on the small island in the middle of the creek. Apparently there was also a fawn but it was too hidden for us to see it. Others told us they had seen it running and jumping around.

After some lovely cool days of temperatures in the 20's C  today it is 31*. That will mean some watering this evening. Hydrangeas and Astilbes dry out quickly in our sandy soil.

Knowing it would get hot by noon I did some baking first thing after getting back from our walk. I baked an Angel Food cake and some chocolate cupcakes ( both from mixes). On the way home from Gleaners yesterday DH stopped to pick some strawberries. Strawberries call for cake, don't you agree? We were disappointed in the berries which are not at all sweet. Next time he stops to pick it will be at a different farm. Hopefully those berries will be tastier.

I've rambled on long enough.  Thanks for visiting,  GM

Aprons

Do you wear an apron when you're working in the kitchen?  I do because I'm a messy cook. I  seem to get flour on myself and sugar on the floor. An apron doesn't keep sugar off the floor but it helps keep me tidy. I think the main problem is that I'm constantly wiping my hands.  If you follow Henny Penny's blog you know about the pretty aprons she makes. I can't sew but.....

 

 ...my sister does and she recently sent me this cute apron that is almost too pretty to wear. I just love the fabric!!

What's happening in your kitchen these days?  With DH and Youngest Son gone for a week I had a wonderful break from all cooking ❤❤❤   Now things are back to normal again.  I think tonight's supper will be a Savoury Impossible Pie. One of those Bisquick ones that always turn out. My kind of recipe. Easy and Tasty.

Thanks for coming by,   GM

If you have time to spare please visit Mary's blog ( Visits with Mary) and read what she has posted today. We need reminding over and over of what's important, don't we!!