Wordless Wednesday

 

Goodbye July

Another week (and a month) has flown by - where does the time go? It wasn't even a particularly busy week for me. When the weather wasn't steaming hot, I managed to get a bit of weeding done. The garden looks decent ...for the moment, and the front yard and new perennial bed were cleared too. Harvesting was limited to picking peas, a cucumber, and pulling the broccoli plants. I'm sad about the latter, but will try again next year.

I did my last Tuesday shift at the thrift store this week. There is no a/c in the old school building and even with the fans running, we were all sweating buckets in no time. Normally Saskatchewan is known for "dry" heat, but this year the humidity is very high and most of us are feeling it. It was 95% one morning, which explains why the baskets of pansies I have in the shade of the tree out front have not needed watering. 

The first few days were extremely hot (for us), with temperatures over 32C/89F and with the humidity felt like it was five or more degrees hotter. As a result, I spent time indoors in the heat of the day venturing out to water in the evenings, or weed in the early mornings. The dratted mosquitos are out in full force too, but I'm seeing more dragonflies. 

D and Eli went to NTO both Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and his afternoon activity on Tuesday was actually held here in town at the local arcade. Lots of fun! He had his library program on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, and the latter coincided with the afternoon Knit and Natter. A woman who hadn't met joined me, she had attended in the winter months when I was away, but has returned after having a hip replacement earlier this year. 

On Friday morning, D and I tackled the garage. As it no longer holds a vehicle (door is too low for her SUV), it has become a dumping ground for some things that were once in my garden shed; camping supplies, Eli's outdoor toys, the lawn mower, and other tools, as well as the new freezer. I had purchased a couple of plastic shelving units on sale at Walmart a few weeks ago. They are a good 6 feet tall, and certainly helped to get things off the garage floor, and make space. We have another shelf to put up, since we plan to go through things in storage in the basement too, and will remove some containers to the garage. It's a good idea - not only to get rid of excess items, but I've bought more things that will end up in my garden shed over winter so there isn't room for what once was stored there.

Garden update: As you saw on Wednesday, the day lilies have begun to open. I had a memory pop up from two years ago on FB that indicated they first opened on the same date! I'll have to keep track for next year.

I cut back the peonies and the lilies in amongst those plants these lilies are starting to bloom.

In the original perennial bed, the clematis I recently planted is blooming. It barely has any leaves but the flowers are coming.

Clearly it is happy and I'm hoping it will over winter well. I'll be sure to cover the roots with leaves to provide some protection. It is hardy to our climate and should be fine.

Here is a chuckle for you. One of these things is not like the other! 

Last year we had tomatoes growing in containers near that bed. I suspect I may have tossed a small tomato iinto the bed, and I've just recently noticed it growing. It's unlikely it will fruit but I'll leave it.

Speaking of tomatoes, one of my plants in the raised bed is proving to be prolific. I counted 15 tomatoes on this one plant, with more flowers still blooming. The other two tomato plants have seven or eight. The cucumber is coming along too, and I've found four more wee cukes. And the corn is showing signs of tassles though no ears as yet. 

 

Out front the Gerbera daisy appears to love the heat and is proving to me, I can grow them successfully (though I likely have little to do with it).

Behind it is a container with geranium, curly glass, and another annual which name I can never recall. Those plants are doing well, but not as great as the Gerbera.

Finally, here is a photo of the front yard after I finished weeding and cutting back of the peonies and rose bushes. The latter seem to be waning though there were a few more recent blooms coming on. (I still need to do some painting but that needs to wait until the plants die back.)

Today we're planning to visit a few garage sales in the morning and I expect D and Eli will visit the pool. I'll hang out with the cats and work on my cross-stitch. The weeding in the back yard can wait. :)

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

As the garden grows

The week I spent at my son's flew by; yard work, visiting with friends and family, and some thrift shopping filled the majority of the days. I also finished knitting a scarf and started a Christmas ornament for my brother's family - tbd when I'm finished making a few of them.

Monday, I was able to spend time with my friends K and L. K and I worked together for many years, and she is responsible for my love of ocean cruising. L was K's friend and travel agent and has become a friend to me as well. We met at a cafe where we sat and visited and caught up on each other's lives. It was wonderful to see them both!

Back at the house I finished a project I'd started on Sunday. The back patio had weeds growing around the blocks. I used a scraper to cut them back, and then pulled or dug out (with a knife) as much of the roots as possible. Since B doesn't want chemicals used in the yard, I sprayed a vinegar/water mixture. It's best done when it is hot because the remainder of the plants take in the moisture and it helps to kill off the roots. 

That only took a half hour or so, and I had plans to go shopping with my son. He needs to get a new front door - the fancy hardware had a small wee piece in it break and it cannot be replaced. And the door won't accept any other type of hardware....so new door it is. We went to local business that sells windows and doors, that I'd used on my previous house to replace windows. We left with a book of options, a business card, and a good idea of the cost. C will need to forward a picture of the current door, their decision on which door to replace it with and then the salesperson will provide a quote. He gave us a rough estimate and in my mind it is very reasonable. 

Next up was Canadian Tire, where we looked at barbecues and picked up hardware for the new doors. (Yes, there is an interior that needs to be replaced too.) We stopped at Rona, where we talked to a clerk to arrange for a call from their installation team. The door from the kitchen to the basement will be replaced to include a cat door to allow B's cats access to the main floor. The cats have acclimated to Sage, the granddog, and while Sage isn't permitted in their space, they are allowed upstairs most of the time.

While we were there we looked at barbecues and then wandered over to the lawn mowers. Even before I had my accident with the cord, C had mentioned he wanted to purchase a battery operated mower. After some hemming and hawing...he chose a mower and we loaded it into the back of the SUV. It is now in the garage, and needs to be put together. As he is a bit of a procrastinator I won't be surprised if it takes a few weeks before it is put together and in use. In the meantime the old mower is available along with the new power cord.

On Tuesday, I headed out to the farm to visit with my brother. The photo from Wednesday was taken from the near top of the hill heading down into the Qu'Appelle Valley. At this time of year, the grass and foliage is often drying up but with lots of rain everything is still very lush and green. However, the smoke from the forest fires was hanging in the air. The hill I drove down is just a few miles from the actual farm. There I was welcomed by the next door neighbour's dog, Wally. She's big girl and likes to chase cars, but is absolutely a sweetheart. Unfortunately, her owner isn't around a lot so she spends much of her time at my brother's place. R alo has a dog, Kola - a German Shepherd and was taking of his son's two dogs, Rider Whistler too. Quite the greeting party! R and I took our tea out to the front veranda, and the two youngest cats, Skodi (Scotty), and Moufette came to visit. I gave him the gears as the bushes in front of the veranda are so tall now the view of the valley is minute. They live in a fieldstone house that was built about 1906, I believe. Here's a photo of the house from the road. The haze in the air is smoke from the forest fires in Northern Saskatchewan.

Back in the city, I did a bit of housework and started packing for the trip back home. I got away from the city by 8 a.m. on Wednesday. I had intended to stay and mow the back yard one more time, but both C and B came home feeling punky the day prior, and I decided to forgo another chore to avoid whatever they had brought home.

D helped me unload the car and then I got to unpacking before dealing with dishes, sweeping floors, and straightening up the kitchen when the two of then headed off to the Library program. Hmm, I left one chore behind to come home to many more. That evening I went to Knit and Natter at the library, though again I was the only participant. It was quiet and J, one of the librarians sat and visited with me.

Thursday, D and Eli left for NTO for his morning program. I was in the midst of some housework when D called to say she had forgotten Eli's backpack. I offered to drive it in, but she decided to make the drive instead. We decided I'd go with her to NTO, as I needed to pick up a few groceries - and we made a quick trip to Value Village as well. I was well behaved and only purchased two clothing items. While they went to the Library program in the afternoon, I went through my drawers and closet pulling items that I no longer wear; some went to the bin, others will be donated to the thrift stores.

In the evening I went along to Eli's swimming lesson. He loves to dive to pick up a ring tossed by the instructor.

He can tread water very well, and is learning the flutter kick, front and back crawl. 

Garden update: I've been watering in the evenings, as the heat has continued and will do so for several days now. I do need to get out there and weed the garden, but that hasn't happened just yet. On Friday, I picked the first peas - unlike last year, I'm going to get more than one picking. Exciting news! I found a cucumber hiding in the foliage, and there are more coming on. The tomatoes are getting large, though something got to the largest one. It is nearly baseball sized, so a bit disappointing but there so many more to come.

I did learn something from the J (librarian). She grows peppers in containers, as they like the heat but they also like wet feet. Her peppers are nearly store sized, while mine dropped their flowers and are stunted. We've been eating fresh lettuce from the garden too. The potatoes have been putting out seed pods, which we've been removing from the plants. They are toxic to both humans and animals so they go straight to the bin. In addition, the corn is catching up in height and should soon tower over the corn. As you may remember I planted the seeds and seedlings closer than recommended. I wasn't certain how this might impact the outcome, and so far I'm more than pleased.

Today, we're off to check out a few garage sales around town. I'll spend a bit of time early in the morning, out tackling some of the weeds. With a forecasted temperature of 33C/91F the remainder of the day will be spent indoors.

Have a great week ahead everyone! Stay cool.

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday