A Fine Dusting

This morning I woke up in a bit of a fog.  Or should I say in a bit of a dusting ??  I have been fighting  a sinus and chest infection all week and I looked forward to relaxing all weekend. With the time change allowing for the extra hour of sleep I can't lose right? Wrong.  Instead of waking up at 2:30 in the morning as I have all week,  I now wake up at 1:30.  This recovery is not as speedy as I thought it would be even with my antibiotic.  BUT, at least I got that extra hour to relax anyway. 

So I thought I would be smart and take my iPad to bed with me and when I wake up with a coughing fit at least I can entertain myself until I can fall back to sleep.   Pinterest and I have become good friends this week.  So much so that I have probably lost several of my other friends now from annoying them with a tsunami of emails of 'look what I just found!'.   You know... just like the 'non-computer' person who suddenly decides they should get on the information highway and invest in a computer and they forward you all the jokes they've just discovered and you've already read for the past 20 years.  Dear friends, please forgive my new-found excitement.  Yes I'm a little bored, but I really was thinking of you when I saw that idea. .. and that idea.... and oh ya... THAT idea.

Back to the dusting.  Ok, so this morning (at 2:30 am 1:30 am) I thought - Ok Bonnie, Stop looking at the remodeling, decorating and craft ideas because you aren't well enough (or rich enough) to do any of them yet - go to the Christmas cookie ideas and see what you can find for this year that will be different.  Oh my goodness, so many ideas are out there to choose from I just don't know where I want to start, but I do remember drifting back to sleep between powdered donut snowmen, and powdered snowflakes, powdered donut kabobs, powdered cupcakes.

Now, back to the beginning of the story.  This morning I woke up in a bit of a fog.  Looked out the window and thought I saw a giant Pinterest 'Pin' of powdered sugar.  We had our first dusting of snow.  It was so pretty to see all the coloured leaves peaking through the snow.  So I smiled and thought, what a pretty way to wake up first thing again this morning. I stood there admiring for a moment, then I had a cough attack, peed my pants, and was brought back to reality and I thought I would capture the moment with my camera. 

I have a perfect spot in front of the window when I sit to relax. All week I have been admiring the vibrant colour
of the roses peaking in at me.

Hydrangeas are one of my most favourite flowers.

Simple beauty.

I wish I could take this inside and keep it like this.

Oh !!  I hear geese approaching. 

Had the sun been shining, this would have been a great shot of the glistening tree.

It really does look like someone just dusted the gardens with pwdered sugar.

The Yucca looks kinda Yummy.

For the life of me I cannot even remember the name of this bush.

.... still cant.

These are the four foot tall burrs that I keep forgetting to dig up.

Even mushrooms like a bit of dusting.

OH!  Found the neighbour's ball.

A canopy of evergreen.

Oh dear, I left the kids in the garden.
They seem to be happy enough; yep, he's got her covered.
What a guy!

Sugared driftwood anyone?

Snow angel.

Pull up a seat and set a spell.

I love the random spattering of snow on the fence.

Yes... that is the pumpkin house still sitting in the urn.
The birds seem happy enough.

A few snap dragon's left.

Another one peeking out.

Last week I picked some of the snap dragons that were still making their appearance and so today I thought I would bring the mini-roses in and enjoy them for a few days.  

Time to go make a cup of tea.  Of course, 'you know who' just HAD to join in ....

 

As I write this, the dusting of snow is all melted away now.  I'm glad I grabbed my camera when I did.  I guess that extra hour today turned out to be a benefit in more ways than one. 

Off I go now... the tea is long gone, but chicken soup is calling my name.

Bonnie

Today's Find

Today on my way home from the flea market, I stopped at a local fruit & vegetable stand to pick up some fresh produce for dinner.  Besides local produce they also carry annuals, perennials and gift items and while I was perusing the gift section my eye was immediately drawn to a most unique wind chime and I just had to have it.  I have a fascination for antique glass door knobs and skeleton keys.  They remind me of my grandparents home and how I used to lock and unlock - lock and unlock - lock and unlock their cupboards and cabinets. There was no way I could go home without this treasure. 

LOVE IT !!

I just know this wind chime will always
chime in the right 'key'.

While I was outside taking the photo of my new trinket, I decided I better check  the gardens and see how everything fared in today's heat. 

The birds seem to be doing just fine.

Love the colour of the geraniums I got his year.

The stars and dragon fly didn't seem to mind the heat.

Petunia's seem to love the heat.
Tracey was walking by one night and said this plant just 'pops' out
at you as you are coming up the street.

He Loves Me. He Loves Me Not.

More Poppin' Petunia's.

ohhhhhhhhh... these ones didn't do so well today

But the snail is ok.

So far so good... the chicken poop fertilizer is keeping the
squirrels away from my impatiens.

Here comes' neighbour kitty' 

She knows I'm upset with her today,
but me thinks her eyes need to be a little more sorrowful than that.

Neighbour Kitty is a most affectionate cat.  Each morning that I go out the door for work, she is sound asleep and contentedly curled up on my lawn furniture and she jumps right down to greet me.  Only yesterday, she wasn't on the porch - I saw she was on the lawn and she was giving me the evil eye.  It was then that I discovered she was terrorizing a chipmunk and she had injured it.  It was trying desperately to get away from the cat and it had one injured leg, so he could only use three legs to run.  It would only get so far and she would capture it again.   I went to rescue the chipmunk ... and well... let's just say, I hope the neighbours weren't watching.  Did you know that in injured three legged chipmunk can run faster than a two legged Bonnie?

I've been trying all week to get a picture of the beautiful oriole that has recently joined our neighbourhood, but without any luck.  Tonight there were 3 cardinals, the oriole and a couple of robins flitting around, in and about the trees, but they were making it very difficult to get a good shot.   I'm surprised this photo turned out as clear as it did because this robin was right at the very top of the neigbour's tree and my camera was zoomed in as far as it could go.  I'm hoping to capture a good one of the oriole one of these days soon  - his colours are so vibrant and it would make a gorgeous shot.  Til then....

Well the weather certainly didn't allow for us to sing
"Robin In The Rain" today...
Who remembers THAT song????

 

Where the Heck Did My Garden Go???

Each year I take my holidays at the end of May and I bust my butt off getting the heavy spring clean up in the gardens done before the hot weather comes along. I usually spend 3-4 days non-stop in the gardens and I finish the week off by going to Brentwood to our annual Cross Stitch Retreat and sit on my butt for 4 days, stitching, recouping, laughing, eating, walking on the beach, recouping, laughing, stitching and eating. This week the weather was particularly cooperative and I got so much accomplished.  However, I have one garden that is quite a challenge every year and I wasn't surprised when I saw the mess it greeted me with this year. 

Man!!  I've got my work cut out for me. 
Could that be a tiny blue flower peaking out of the weeds.
I believe it's saying "Forget-Me-Not! -- I'm choke-choke-choking"

Is there anything in here that isn't a weed?
"Romper Bomper Stomper Boo,
Tell me, tell me, tell me do,
Magic Mirror please tell me today, have all my friends had fun at play?"
"Why I see Charlie, and Dandi and Clover ....Oh, I think I see Iris"

My favourite birdhouse kicked the bucket and rotted off its stand.
Dare I hope there is a neighbouring follower out there who is especially handy with repairing bird houses? 
And remember the story of the neighbour's dog who greets me at my door with my earwig traps in his mouth?  I have a sneaking suspicion he has something to do with the meat tray in the garden??? 

Before

After

There is still a lot of work to do in this large garden, but I look forward to working away at it each weekend.  In the early morning while it's still shady, I grab a cup of tea, my garden tools and I pull up a blanket and start working the earth; as luck would have it, there is a robin who likes to keep me company when I'm in the gardens.  (I call him Rob) He knows an easy meal when he sees one and I keep tossing him the occasional worm inching him closer and closer to me each time.  One of these days, I've got to remember to grab the camera and take it to the garden with me, but I would have to be careful not to set it down or I'd never find it amongst the weeds. 

Bonnie