End of June Flowers

July is prime blooming season in our yard.

I'm waiting in anticipation for the next wave of flowers - like the white daisies...

The orange lilies... and more... 

In the meantime, the peonies are fading...

The Persian cornflowers are diminishing...

Here and there solitary flowers are showing up - almost hidden by the invasive gout weed.

I've planted - and transplanted - so many perennials over the years.

Some have disappeared. A few return...

It's definitely a game of "survival" in my flowerbeds... Not all survive!

Now I'm looking forward to what July will bring!

Cheap Food

My daughter told me about an app that offers cheap food - no choice, however! Just bags of food that won't keep, so it's offered at discounted prices. Both supermarkets and restaurants have signed up.

The app is called "Too Good To Go"... (Not sure exactly what that means... Too good to go to waste?)

I'm tempted to try some of their offerings... 

One place I'm curious to try is a downtown buffet restaurant that Terry and I used to frequent before COVID. It shut down for several years, then reopened in a new location.

They rank high in the app's feedback. 

But there are also deals closer to home - bakeries and supermarket deli bars that offer bags of discounted food.

Maybe it's time to be adventuresome...

Two slight problems - for people with food sensitivities, like Terry, who is allergic to fish and seafood, there is no way of knowing what the mystery bag will hold. There's also no indication of quantity: Will it feed one or more?!

But I'm ready for some food adventure - so it's only a matter of time before I try! I just need the right deal!

Morning Walk

A few days ago, I slept over at my grandkids' house. 

It was a fun, busy time.

After they had caught the morning school bus - at 7:15 AM - my son asked if I wanted to join him for a walk...

He didn't have to start work until 9.

Great idea! 

So off we went around Almonte.

There was less water running over the falls than I expected.

Not long afterwords, Terry arrived to pick me up...

What a peaceful way to start our day!

Learning About Kangaroos

On my virtual walk along a coastal road in eastern Australia, I've reached the natural habitat of kangaroos ...

I was surprised to learn several facts about these animals. First, that there are different kinds of kangaroos - different sizes. 

(Much like we here in eastern Canada have different kinds if squirrels... Sitting on a Montreal park bench one day, I noticed that the brown and white squirrels in the park were about 30% larger than the squirrels in our neighbourhood. That's a significant difference!)

The second surprising fact was that kangaroos can swim - in fact, they are surprisingly good swimmers.

The third surprising fact was that, if threatened in the water by an animal like a dog, they use their upper limbs to push the animal's head under water to drown it! 

Wow! I had never heard that before!

(Makes me realize how little I know!)

Trees Fall...

Recently arborists removed a large tree branch that had snapped and fallen onto college property near our house. Arborists came to remove the fallen branches.

I took a few pictures and posted them on the blog...

Last week the rest of the tree toppled over - landing in the opposite direction! 

I don't think anyone expected that to happen!

Luckily no one was harmed either time - though the fence will need to be repaired.

Interesting Oatmeal Recipe

I prefer written recipes - but I recently came across a "reel" - a quick video - of an oatmeal-cottage cheese recipe I thought looked interesting. 

I had to watch the reel half a dozen times to catch the last ingredient - which I didn't get in the end. I assume it was a spice - so I used 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. (I omitted the nutmeg.)

It is supposed to be a mug cake, cooked for 1-2 minutes on high in the microwave.

I mixed the ingredients, then divided it into 3 custard cups - which I cooked together in the microwave. I didn't want it to overflow.

Mine was not brown on top but it didn't overflow either...

I enjoyed it - appreciating that, with cottage cheese in it, it was high in protein. I also like the tangy taste of cranberries (or rhubarb).

Another time, I would add one chopped apple and an egg - instead of honey. I'd probably have to use 4 small custard cups to cook it in.

I enjoy experimenting with food! Figuring out how to omit sweetener is my current cooking challenge. I find that adding a chopped apple - and/or chopped dates to most recipes adds sweetening...

But maybe that could be another blog!

Cat Feeder

We have this large plastic cat head in our basement storage room. I'd like it to find a new home for it - if it still works.

It's a food dispenser once used to feed one of my daughter's cats - the one who always seemed to be hungry. He would wake her up several times during the night wanting to be fed.

To dis-associate herself from food, in her hungry pet's mind, she purchased this feeder - which we affectionately called "cat mom." It was programmed to portion out dry kibble at set times during the day (and night)!

It worked well for years, until one day the cat got angry at "cat mom" - and knocked off her head, spilling a large quantity of kibble on the floor!

The dispenser was never used again!

Now I'm hunting for instructions - to test the feeder. If it still works, I'd like to include the instructions with the feeder when I pass it on.

Shopping Centre Fan Zone

When I first noticed this World Cup "fan zone" in the shopping centre where I walk, I wondered if anyone would use it...

A larger TV was added - and they are! Yes, they are!

Snow "Mountain" - Gone!

All winter long, snow from the college parking lots is pushed onto a field nearby.

On May 31, at least a month after our last snowfall, there was still a sizeable grey mound of dirty snow covering a walking path.

How long would it take for all the snow to disappear?!

Yesterday, I walked past it again - only to find a tiny pile of snow in a muddy patch of ground - with a few puddles nearby. 

In a week's time - by the beginning of July - I expect that all sign's of last winter's snow will finally be gone.

Rabbits in Our Neighborhood

I don't notice a lot of rabbits in our neighbourhood -  maybe because they're nocturnal - like skunks.

Or maybe because they blend into the background so well. Great camouflage! No flashy colours!

They also look different when they sit DOWN LOW (like the first picture) or UP HIGH (like the second one).

Our local rabbits - with their smallish upward-pointing ears - don't resemble this rabbit statue I came across in a store... Garden art.

The statue's ears are definitely much larger! 

I know there are lots of types of rabbits in different parts of the world. I wonder where this rabbit is from?!

Latest Walking Medals

I recently received this double-sided medal on completing my 2,052 km virtual walk along the coastal road in Vietnam. It took me a little over 5 months to do it.

My goal was 10,000 steps a day!

This time I also received a new pin that marks 5 challenges completed.

When I first started these virtual challenges, I wondered how motivating these physical tokens would be.

Turns out, they're very important. I need a tangible reminder of every virtual trip.

I think they are also significant for others - like my grandchildren.

The beautiful medals make it more real!

Living and Learning

We're never too old to stop learning from people - young and old.

A few weeks ago, I read an article about a 100-year-old man who had walked his first 5k race - with his children and grandchildren - at age 100! What an adventure that would have been! 

I then jotted down a comment he  made: "If it hasn't been done before, why wouldn't I try it?" That's something to think about... Do I have his indomitable spirit?! (And I'm not 100 yet!)

Then last week, I saw a story about another local centenarian - a woman who was celebrating her 106th birthday!

Her mother once told her that she wouldn't amount to much, she recalled... so she left home and joined the army. Eventually she became a code-breaker in the war.

But she did heed her mother's advice when she told her to eat 2 eggs a day to be healthy. It became a lifelong habit.

And she's still healthy at 106!

Hmmm... Maybe I need to eat more eggs!

Early Morning Sky...

We have reached the year's longest days...

The light of dawn arrives before 5 AM.

These photos were taken by my son at 5:15 AM - sunrise - as he rode the bus to work.

I hate to miss these "gifts" - but I slept through this one!

"I hope you didn't miss this beautiful sunrise," he texted me. "Here are some pictures, in case you did!"

Glad he thought to share!

Birthday Nostalgia

Birthdays have a way of churning up nostalgia from by-gone days - especially for parents!

(Were they ever really that young?! You know they were - but that was so long ago!!)

Today is a family birthday...

And I've been looking through old photos...

I came across this one - our first-born on her first visit to the farm at Upper Canada Village - a one-year-old fascinated by the horses and cows... I WANT TO TOUCH THEM!

And here she is, 8 or 9 summers later, on a  visit to Kelowna (where my parents seem over-dressed for summer weather in the Okanogan!)

And here - a cousins' get together... Was that on the same visit to Kelowna?!

Lots of great memories!

And happy birthday to the birthday girl!! 🎂🎉