My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

Tag Archives: Christmas tree


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Walking in the rain .. under a sky blue lined umbrella .. enjoying the peace and quiet .. how very lovely yesterday was!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Yesterday, the rains poured down from the heavens .. and this was a perfect day for a walk .. so I set out.  However .. firstly .. here is a little photo of the little Fox Sparrow, who had a serious problem with his left eye.  Today I noticed that the problem is much worse and, sadly, I saw another with the same problem with his right eye.

I’ve read, from some birding blogs, that these issues are more readily viewed when there are bird feeders closer to the house.  Otherwise, they wouldn’t be noticed.  Nevertheless, I brought most of the birdfeeders & suet holders inside for a good scrub, a light bleach rinse and lots of clear water rinsing.  Amazing the amount of seeds were tucked away tightly.  Washed, rinsed, dried and fresh seed & suet.  The world was a little happier place.

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Next, at the front of the house, I’m just about ready to leave when I notice a neighbour’s cat .. very friendly … came up the front stairs … apparently quite ready to come inside for a visit.  However, a branch from our Christmas tree appeared to capture his attention.

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Sorry, sweetie .. another time … love that face!  02

I began my trek … along local pathways … no one else out at this particular time .. so only me and the rain and my umbrella .. quite  tranquil time .. loving this.

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I love walking in the rain  … especially with this very cheerful umbrella … the top side is solid black and the inside is blue… with fluffy cumulous clouds .. very happy indeed.  So in contrast, the sleet ridden roads all of a sudden don’t seem to be so gloomy.

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This pathway is new … it allows runners/bikers/walkers to enter Rainbow Park more easily and it opens right off of McKenzie Avenue.  This is the first time I’ve walked this way .. kind of curious to see how it works out .. previously, this was all a grassy hillside.

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Just before this , though, along McKenzie Avenue .. is a lovely little green area with magnificent trees …

09 And further along .. a massive amount of ferns growing along  .. very lush and beautiful …  07

And more berried bushes .. food for the deer?  Lovely to look at ..06

What a cheerful sight .. lots of flowers …

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And  .. just a few minutes from starting my walk I arrive at Rainbow Park .. a lovely place, well named.

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And what do we have here … another route to my favourite place!  There are quite a variety of routes to Swan Lake Sanctuary and it’s fun to try a different one for each visit.

13At the little observatory (once I reached it!) I could see a little Mallard out in the middle of Swan Lake .. and I think he saw me ..but, alas, I hadn’t brought any flatted oats with me .. so I left before I could draw him over in false hope for food ..

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Farther along .. you can see the fence posts, still here, from the dairy farm that once flourished here.  My pal D remembers this quite clearly .. she and her family used to purchase their milk from the store that once existed.   Kind of nice to see these posts, though, a salute to previous times.  19

I love everything about Swan Lake .. and there are some areas that are just so much more awesome than others.  This is one .. and see the nest up in the tree to the right?  Cool.

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Rain .. rain .. rain .. everywhere.  But I’m not worried .. my waterproof walking shoes are about the only dry apparel that I have .. it’s taken me awhile to walk these shoes into a comfortable state of being .. and I can quite enjoy them now.17

Some Mallards enjoy the peace and quiet.16

Moi mes souliers ont beaucoup voyagé (grace a les mots de Felix Leclerc) 15

And this signage just never gets tired!!  See the last line .. so true.14

Sigh …


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A variety of things, including flying, gardening, mulch .. etc.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

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So, August is zipping along.  Lots of gardening.  Lots of flying.  Now that summer is here in full force, it’s so easy to forget those cold rainy days.

Veggies are growing well.  I finally shovelled the last of the 5 yards of the miracle mulch and so the perennials have a nice soft blanket to retain moisture and keep the soil cool.

And yesterday, so lucky .. woke up to the sound of branches being buzzed and then ground up as a few neighbourhood trees were being trimmed.  These included an oak tree.

Quickly grabbed my mug of Yorkshire Tea and dashed out the door … and politely asked the working crew if I may have the chips!  Well, lucky me .. they said yes and I was ecstatic.  These are things that only a fellow gardener can understand!

So at least 1 ½ yards were gently deposited on a tarp in the driveway and I spent a few happy hours shovelling up this lovely mulching material and spreading under our first Christmas tree … the 2 yards that I placed there yesterday has nearly disappeared.

And I noticed that this tree only has a very few cones on it this year .. this means that the tree is not under stress.  Finally, I’m giving it the love and attention that it needs.

Once all this shovelling was done, I decided to clip some roses for drying.  But first, I:

–          Discovered that the branches of an old apple tree in the back were in my way, so went to find the clippers to trim away some of the ones that were at eye-height

–          Then I thought it would be a good time to drag out the soaker hoses for the recently updated side yard .. this took a good chunk of time as I sorted through the two sizes of hoses and too late remembered that I couldn’t attach the 3/8 to the 5/8 .. so undid my work and started again

–          Put aside a tarp to take to the front yard, to help when I weed that area

–          Became enthralled with the sight of the bees buzzing around flowers, so took pictures

–          Again, became enthralled with the skies up above and more time spent there

–          Took a few minutes to search for berries

–          Had a look at the various squash, basil and pea pods growing

–          Then finally I walked to the rose-bush, clippers in hand (after searching for a basket to hold the flowers) and finished what I’d wanted to start over an hour ago, that is, clipping roses

Then, time to go to the front yard and begin pulling out some invasive perennials .. they’ve served the purpose of greening up the yard, but time to remove these, fluff up the soil and then go shopping for some ferns and things to complete the woodland look along the front of our first Christmas tree.

And now I must go outside and continue what I started yesterday.

I forgot to mention that my work was stopped by a thunder & lightning storm …  heavy raindrops, thank you for watering my garden!

🙂