Favourite Store

We all have our favourite stores.

This is one of mine..

I could happily shop in every department...

The joy of creativity, of making things! To me, this store sells JOY!

Mall Walking

Ottawa hosts a lot of races over the summer. I've never participated in any - but, a few weeks ago, my grandkids and their parents did a 1K walk in support of the local children's hospital. 

I'm interested in another walking competition as well - not because I plan to participate or because I know any of the participants - but because a local man who just turned 100 will be competing for the first time. In fact, they had to create a new age category for him!

Like me (and my mother before me), he is an avid mall walker.

To me, that's exciting! Not saying that mall walking is a sport - or that it's as healthy as walking in the great outdoors...

(Though it might be!) 

But it definitely keeps you active and in shape... in case you decide to walk in a 5K race, even if you're 100!

Beautiful Back Roads

We were recently in Toronto for a few days. We hadn't been there since last October.

En route home, we took the "backroads" from Kingston to Prescott.

Tourist season hadn't begun yet, but there were boats in the water.

Then we had an experience we've never had before... Suddenly a large bird, flying low, flew towards the top left corner of our windshield. Terry and I were both shocked - it happened so quickly and unexpectedly!

I waited for the familiar thud of a bird hitting a window. We hear it at least once a summer as birds fly straight into our windows at home.

Would our windshield crack?!

But no! No thud, no crack. It slid over the roof of the car. The vehicle behind us swerved so as not to hit it.

All I can say is - I hope it survived.

Tiny New Neighbour

We have a new neighbour!

Did I hear correctly?! One and a half pounds? Hard to believe!

She's so perfect - and so small!

Looking forward to watching her grow!

Flowers in Bloom

Yellow flowers predominate in our yard at this time in spring...

I wish the tidy bunches of euphorbia flowers (like those above) were most prominent...

But (alas!) dandelions fill lawns and college fields in our community - in spite of our best efforts to control them.

One bright spot in our front yard is this patch of white anemones.They are among my favourite summer flowers. 

I also noticed a little red iris - near where I planted a lilac bush a few weeks ago.

Some lilacs are in bloom - on the old bush we've had for years.

Lily of the valley are beginning to bloom.

Also these pink and blue flowers...  (Sweet Williams?). I remember planting them years ago from seeds.

I also noticed a few fancy tulips in the back yard - almost hidden by the gout weed, which has been growing tall with all our rain.

Like the dandelions, the gout weed is almost impossible to get rid of!

Little Elf ❤️

My grandson's fascination with Christmas elves started when he was four - and has continued for two and a half years.

His Christmas elves have "flown to the North Pole" - but they aren't forgotten. Often when he hangs out with me, he asks me to crochet him another elf.

"They don't have to be red or green, he said when I told him I'd have to see if I have any red yarn.

He proceeded to pick out this turquoise yarn, and we both worked on it. I did the crochet and he drew on the face.

Don't they look happy together...??

(Each time I make one, I wonder if it will be the last...)

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!)

Ottawa's Tulip Festival

Ottawa's Tulip Festival has begun!

The gardens are always so lovely.

I often wander around near Dow's Lake, where there are numerous beds.

These were taken downtown - at Major's Hill Park, near the National Gallery - by my son who works nearby. It's another lovely place to view them.