Ants, Lemons, Squirrels and Tulips

I'm trying to make some connections...

We often have a large ant hill in our front yard. It's noticeable mid-summer when the soil is dry... Then a dusty mound emerges in the grass...

How to get rid of ants without chemicals, I remember googling...

Somewhere I came across an answer: Ants hate lemon peel...

Hmmm. I often buy lemons. Why not toss the peel into my flower beds and see what happens. 

So I did - all last summer and last winter - mainly into the large front flower bed... where NO tulip flowers were snapped off by squirrels this year... 

But in a smaller bed, where I had tossed NO LEMONS, two out of four tulip flowers were missing.

Is there a connection?! Does lemon peel deter squirrels?! 

I guess I'll keep tossing my lemon peels into flower beds - at least wherever I have tulips.

I have yet to discover if lemon deters ants!

Interesting Tree

One neighbour - in my son's neighbourhood - has been working on this large tree in his front yard.

Last year, the branches were trimmed - and it looks like they carved birds and animals into the wood.

(Or did they just attach them?!)

Now... I wonder if new leaves will sprout on the branches, shading these lovely carvings?!

Will more animals and birds be added??

An interesting work in progress!

"Strange" Animals

I usually have my phone in my pocket - because it also counts my steps.

So it's handy if I want to take a picture of something interesting - like our neighbour's cat with his head stuck in a cedar branch. I suspect he's spying on potential prey.

Then there's the squirrel with no tail... just a stump, that I see from time to time.

After noticing it the first time, I looked up whether squirrels can lose (and regain) tails. I discovered that, yes - one of their tail vertebrae can snap off, if the tail is caught or grabbed by an enemy. But no, the tail won't grow back again.

I'm seeing this striped chipmunk more frequently in our yard. Not sure where he lives. 

But I don't always get a good picture - even with my phone at my side. 

I looked up to see a large bird walking down the path... A wild turkey, perhaps? I've only seen one once in our neighbourhood.

But at the very moment I snapped the picture, it must have lowered its head to eat... I only caught part of its back bending down.

Why didn't I run out of the house to get a better view?? Next time, I will!

Where?!

This beautiful sunset reminds me of sunsets I've seen in Hawaii...

But it's not! It's Toronto ... last week! 

Lake Ontario looks big enough to be an ocean. (And it has islands as well!!)

Celebrate!

Last weekend, Terry and I planned to celebrate (Grand)Mother's Day and Terry's birthday at the same time. 

(This year, they were one day apart!)

To keep things simple - and to get a reservation at this busy time - we planned a family dinner a few days earlier.

It's always fun to go out to eat!

The food was delicious!

(Unfortunately, Ivy was feeling "under the weather", so she and her mom stayed home.)

But FORTUNATELY, summer brings lots of family birthdays - so it won't be long before we celebrate again! 

Amaryllis Growth

Such s beauty!

It's always exciting to watch an amaryllis bulb start to develop...

Daily changes are so dramatic, so interesting...

New surprises every day!.

Once this bulb started to grow, it didn't take long to bloom!

But at the same time, the top-heavy stem began to fall over...

Could that have been prevented by watering it more? Or by putting the bulb into a larger pot of soil?

I really have no idea!

I did put the second plant - which hasn't yet developed a flower stem - into a clear glass vase to give the stem support... if it ever starts to grow!

It always amazes me: All that life, that magnificent design - springing out of a small dry-looking bulb!

Mother Goose Update

Week three of my 'mother goose watching' sees her looking healthy and strong... more alert than ever.

She is sitting next to buckets of water which someone fills regularly...

According to one account I read online, the mother goose does not eat at all during the weeks that she's sitting on her eggs.

This week I saw the male - the "gander" - for the very first time. He was "patrolling" nearby.

I guess he spends his time guarding... and eating! 

(It doesn't seem fair, does it?! But I guess he needs to be strong - and ready to attack!)