Saturday 2 April 2022

A very good week

It was a very good start to the week. While our Canadian women lost the semifinal, they did play for the bronze and won. They were playing Sweden, a very strong team and the game went back and forth but our women prevailed. We haven't won a medal since 2018 in women's world curling so it was a huge success for our team.  

On Monday, I went for my first outdoor walk of the season. While I walk daily indoors, I sure the feel the difference when I get outside. I suspect it's the speed at which I walk and the changes from sidewalk to grass, etc. Of course I took my camera!


I've heard the merlin, but hadn't seen it before. It flew across the street just as I was walking down the sidewalk, so I crossed to get a few photos. My brother R says it doesn't generally prey on small birds, usually bugs and mosquitos, but since neither of those are prevalent at this time of year, I suspect my poor wee bird friends are in danger. The first time I saw the merlin it was in my front evergreen feasting on a sparrow. :(


I walked through the park nearest to my house and won't do that again for a week or so. The paths aren't entirely clear and in many spots there is a build up of ice. This hare was staying out of the wind. Not much brown on this one.


Lots of water in the large park near the creek. Most of it covered in ice. But I spotted a duck flying in that appeared to be landing on the creek so I walked through the grass to check it out.

Open water! You can see the ice along the edge so I can only imagine how cold the water would be. There were several pairs of geese and a few ducks on the water and a few more on the banks of the creek. (I didn't get one of the ducks because they were further along the creek and it was a bit muddy)

From there I headed over to the pond. No open water there! FB memories tell me that on March 29 last year the pond was swarming with geese and ducks. Much quieter this year!

It was so nice to get out for a walk, even with a cool wind. It was -1C (30F) when I left the house and two degrees warmer when I arrived home 45 minutes later. I made a cup of tea and settled in to relax and watch some home improvement television. Have you seen Backyard Builds? I do enjoy the work they complete but the amount of money that gets spent doing it, not so much. I know I have work to do in my back yard and I'm not looking forward to it.

The rest of the week was generally quiet. I did get out for walks on both Wednesday and Thursday. The new header photo was taken at the pond on Wednesday. I had waited until the afternoon for my walk when the temperature was above freezing. The goose was standing in the water on top of the ice. I thought the color of the sky reflected on the ice was pretty. 

Thursday was also grocery day. I'm shopping sales for the most part and am lucky to have three grocery stores within a five minute drive of my home. I did a circuit of the three stores, with a stop at the drug store to pick up a prescription for my daughter. It seems prices at the grocery store are going up every week. I keep my grocery list electronically (use my Google mini) and check the Flipp app for the flyers before I head out to the store. That morning, I asked Google to add "my bread" to the list and when I pulled up the list in the store I laughed because it read, "Mike red". Apparently I have a speech impediment or something. :) Just to give you an idea of the crazy prices, I bought my whole grain bread at Walmart, 2 loaves for $6.  The same loaf of bread at the Co-op store was $4.99. It wasn't much less at Safeway either.  Perhaps I need to start baking my own bread.

At some point, I wandered into the craft room and did some sorting. There is a box of items that can go to the thrift store as I know I won't use them. There are few things that have been sitting around too, mostly mending, and my sunflower wreath. It isn't perfect, and I'll never consider myself an artist, but I like the way it turned out. I used a wreath ring, a couple packages of clothespins, a piece of black felt, paint, and some hot glue. It's meant not only to welcome summer but as a homage to the people of the Ukraine.

Regular cleaning was completed in between walks, shopping, and catching up on television programs. The men's world curling starts later today. You all know where I'll be. :)  I had picked up a set of sheets at the thrift store last week - those were laundered and put on my bed on Friday. I had been using a cheap set of 300 count sheets and these are 500 count. What difference that makes...and all for $15. I also got a couple of new to me books that I hope to get to sometime in the next week. In the meantime, I had bought a bag of lightweight yarn at the thrift store and have started a little dress for a 2 year old. There isn't enough to make anything for Eli but I know D has friends with small children and this will make a gift for someone in the future.

I'll end this post with a photo my brother sent me from his camping trip last week. He had a wonderful time with his friend C. They had to trek into the lake, about two miles, so loaded their supplies on two sleds. It's a bit hilly there so he told me they would ride the sleds down the hills on top of their items! On the way in they passed a couple of park outhouses so they shovelled their way into those. At the camp site, they had to dig an area out for the tent. Their first choice was thigh deep on my brother (he's 6'3" tall), so they moved to a different spot where the snow wasn't as heavy. They did some exploring and visited three different lakes in the area. Ice fishing provided their dinner one night, and C took a few fish home with him. R said that the wood stove kept them warm most of the night and he's looking forward to his next opportunity to winter camp.


Have a great week ahead everyone!


28 comments:

  1. I had no idea those were clothes pins on the wreath. Well done. Food shopping today is a challenge.
    your brother really is a spartan camper. Having to shovel your campsite shows determination. That last picture even looked cold.

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    1. Thanks Patti.
      My brother loves being outdoors - his first career was with the parks department here in the province. Mom always said he wanted to be able to fish while he was working. :)

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  2. I always love seeing your pictures. Neat bird, that merlin is. Never heard of that one. The wreath is just too cute!
    What a beautiful and peaceful picture your brother took. Thats is frameable!
    Have a great weekend - enjoy your walks.

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    1. Thanks Cheryl. I love the nightsky shot too. It was taken on an I-phone so I'm not sure it would look as good enlarged.

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  3. Love love love that garden wreath. I'm a sucker for sunflowers anyway and I grow all types of sunflowers on my property every year. I'm the sunflower lady! I'm going to have to try and make me that wreath...

    You live in a very beautiful area. Never been up that far into Canada. Must be nice.

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    1. Thanks Debby. If I can do it, anyone can do it...it truly is that simple.

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  4. You did a very nice job on the wreath. Isn't it wonderful to actually be outside and walking. I seem to walk farther and faster outside.

    God bless.

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    1. Thanks Jackie. It truly is wonderful to get outdoors. I'm looking forward to having my morning tea on the deck or patio soon.

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  5. Oh I like your wreath! Nice photo of the night sky! Yes groceries increase in price every week:)

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    1. Thanks Connie. I thought the photo of the nightsky was the best of his photos.

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  6. Your photos are gorgeous but they make me cold. I tolerate heat much better than I do cold!
    I have watched prices skyrocket. A 5 lb bag of my favorite flour was 4.95 this week. I bought the same during the holidays for under 2 dollars.

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    1. And here I am thinking how nice the weather has been. :)

      I don't even want to think how much a bag of flour is here now.

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  7. I saw two weeks ago that a simple box of saltine crackers is...or was..who knows what it is today! $3.19!!! I would do without crackers for my soups and chilies before I pay that. Saw a Coopers Hawk this past Spring feasting on a sparrow too. Raptors gotta eat too. I will have to google a Merlin's sound! Wish I could see one. We may not have them in my immediate area. Enjoyed the blog...every paragraph.

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    1. Thanks Carole. The Merlin has a key, key, key call. Very shrill and I tense up everytime I hear it. I know that it needs to feed too but I'm happier when I know there are lots of bugs for it to feed on. Leave my little birds alone! :)

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  8. I like the wreath. Might give it a go. Always looking for a different way to display a wreath on my door.

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    1. Thank you - it really is a simple one to make.

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  9. The price of everything is far too high. I may not have much money but I worry about people who are genuinely poor. How are they coping?

    I like the last photograph. A peaceful end to any kind of day...

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    1. It's scary out there John. I belong to a Free Regina group here and the number of people looking for care packages (food) is staggering. Our provincial government is excited to have offered an extra $1 a day to those receiving benefits. Besides the food bank there are several local community fridges in certain neighbourhoods and the Sikh community provides a truck load of food every Sunday. It's just not enough.

      I love the last photo too, and told R I was stealing it. No artificial light. I miss that from my time living up north.

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  10. That wreath is sweet, very creative! Love seeing the critter pics as always, especially that merlin!

    Your brother's photo is amazing. It's been since many years since I've seen a night sky filled with stars, away from the lights and pollution of a city.

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    1. Thanks Kim. It's been a long time for me, and the photo just touched a part of me I didn't know I was missing.

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  11. Thank you for visiting my blog. I enjoyed yours and will add it to my feed.

    That was an enjoyable walk. How wonderful to get outside again after a long winter. The Merlin is a beauty. I saw one last summer for the first time. It was exciting to observe it for some time.

    The birds are returning here in large numbers now. Yay for spring!

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    1. Thanks Marie. The return of the various birds are definitely a sign of spring.

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  12. I'm glad you are able to get outside for your walks again. It is so much nicer than indoors. I don't have to tell you that!
    Cute white bunny, huddled in the cold.
    Love the sunflower, there's that creativity of yours shining through. 🤗

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    1. Thanks Patsy. Walking outdoors certainly beats the indoors anytime. Especially the scenery. :)

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  13. Glad you got some of that Saskatchewan fresh air Maebeme. Enjoy the rest of the men's worlds!

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    1. It's going well so far, our men are 5-0 and looking strong.

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  14. It is so nice to get out this time of year for some fresh air and take some pictures. Soon there will be bird galore as they migrate north to their summer ranges.

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    1. I'm seeing more and more each day. So grateful for spring.

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