It's like a scene from Teletubbies around here!

I really really like rabbits. I have never had one as a pet, but I think they are charming. I used to read Beatrix Potter stories to our children when they were little. I love greeting cards with rabbits on them, preferably upright, wearing something semi-formal. I have a couple of rabbit statues here and there in my gardens.

But this, people, this is ridiculous! Last night there were three THREE rabbits in the back yard. Brown cottontail bunnies eating their way through god knows what. The cat only brings home baby bunnies (yes, that bothers me). He has completely disregarded the bigger ones. No doubt they are bigger because they are growing large and healthy on my plants.

I have NO intention of fencing in my property. It's too large. I will also not be putting a fence around my garden, or flower beds. I might attempt the old Irish Spring soap trick. (Does it actually work??) I haven't captured any photos of the little darlings yet, so this will have to do.

Saying goodbye to a "family member"

This past week we had a very difficult, but responsible decision to make. We had to put our 20 year old Nelly cat to sleep. She was gravely ill, unable to walk, and not experiencing a good quality of life. All family members were around and a wonderful vet, who is a mobile vet and a cat specialist, came to our home and did a thorough, gentle exam. She gave us her best opinion and allowed for us to take the time to make the necessary decision. The vet was able to put her to sleep at our home and she was buried in a little simple coffin which my husband built for her. We buried Nelly in the corner of our lot with a cat statue beside her little "gravestone".

Am I making too much of this event? No. This is a little being who shared our lives for twenty years. We got her when I was pregnant with our eldest. So, both of our children have known this little grey cat their entire lives. She was a constant presence in all of our lives. There were the sweet moments where she purred very loudly and sat on our laps, especially doing her very important job of keeping company with anyone who was sick. There were the ridiculous moments where she was always one step directly in front of us, darn near sending me flying repeatedly. We called her Nelly the Bathroom Cat because she insisted on being with us in the bathroom, rubbing her face on the corner of the wall and purring. Nelly was very vocal. She kept a constant conversation, especially first thing in the morning.

Routine and habits were important to her. A ham sandwich could not be made for lunches without her receiving two small pieces of ham. NOBODY ate a bowl of cereal without her meowing at them, reminding them that she must get the bowl when they were done. When someone sat on the couch and watched tv, a lap had to be provided, but a blanket on that lap was even better. Although she was small, and older, she ruled the roost over our younger, bigger, stronger Samson. She ate first while he waited off to the side. If he walked a bit too close to her, she raised a paw and cuffed him as a reminder of the heirarchy.

And so, we say goodbye. We now have one cat. He is a very different sort. More outdoorsy and quiet, but with his own special quirks. He is currently curled up at the end of the bed while I type this. But later, he will arise and stalk chipmunks and maintain order around the perimeter.

Replant!

I thought I had dodged the frost. I kept my purchased vegetable plants in the mudroom overnight for two nights. I left them out on the porch for another day or two to get them acclimatized. I put my seeds, potatoes and onions in. Then I finally planted my plants. Well, I guess it was still too cold. I lost all of my tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini. Also, something ate my kale and my parsley. All I have left are some peppers. Why they didn't die, I have no idea. Also, nothing has germinated.


So... I have supported my little local greenhouse a second time and purchased more plants. I have also replanted beans, peas, lettuce, beets and now I have even thrown in some spinach and zinnias for colour. Tomorrow I will put in my plants.


I remember June weather that was HOT. I remember people getting out their fans in June. I remember people swimming in June. This will be our third cold summer in a row if this continues. I know I am odd in this sense, but I will never complain about the heat. I like the heat. Even humidity doesn't bother me. I was sitting in a sauna with my husband and a friend of ours. The friend looked over at me with disbelief and said, "You're not even sweating!!"


So, c'mon Mother Nature. Give us a summer, please. I live a simple life. I get a lot of pleasure from planting a seed, watching it grow and then enjoying fresh food. I will include in a future post when these newest seeds have germinated. Are things late in your neck of the woods?

A Book in Hand

I love reading. Mostly books that involve some kind of mystery to be solved. One of my favourite authors of all times is Louise Penny. She writes about Chief Inspector Gamache. Often set in the Eastern Townships of Quebec (but an English read), they are incredible, rich, multi-layered, well-thought-out, breath takingly beautiful books with interesting characters and gripping story lines. When I am reading these books, I want to see what the characters are seeing, read what they are reading, eat what they are eating, and I never want them to end. I am currently reading, The Long Way Home in which the Chief Inspector is retired (but is he ever really retired?) and I am in chapter nineteen of forty-one. I am actually happy that the day here is gloomy, cold, overcast... I love the quiet of a "reading day". I will likely finish the book today and be a bit depressed that it is over. It is her most recent book and I am always awaiting her next.

I am "old fashioned" in that I take books out of the library. I like going to the library and being excited about finding another good book to enjoy. Because I often read mysteries, I very rarely read them again (already solved!), so I do not buy many books, although I do buy some so I can take them on vacation, or if they are particularly special for some reason. I have a Kobo reader, but rarely use it now. I like a book in hand.

What's Blooming?

Today we are receiving a much-welcomed gentle rain. It also must have rained through the night as the dastardly young raccoons "cooed and sighed" outside our bedroom window, but that's another story.

I planted some of my vegetable garden yesterday after supper after coating myself liberally with bug spray. (I had a black fly bite right under my eye to which I reacted in such a way that it looked like I had taken a blow to my eye! But that's faded and not itchy anymore, so I didn't want a repeat performance.) I managed to put in potatoes, onion sets, green beans, peas, beets, and lettuce. With my wonderful strawberries this year, my garden seems so much smaller. This weekend I will put in tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and a zuchinni plant. It sounds like a lot, but I do not put in much of each.

So, in between rain showers I went out to take pictures of what is currently in bloom at this old house on May the 30th. I feel like things are a little bit early this year. While dodging the mosquitos and taking pictures, I also saw lovely fat bumblebees and a hummingbird. I wasn't able to capture any in photos however. Please resist the urge to reach into the photos and pull out any grass and weeds infiltrating my gardens!

This is the first peony to bloom. I must have planted it at least four years ago. It is very small and has only ever given me one bloom. But it's beautiful when fully opened.

Centaura- in the twilight it almost glows. It also self seeds in lots of places, but it easy to control by digging it up.

This cranesbill (perennial geranium) is a mainstay on the property. I have no clue what its specific name is, but I have put clumps of it in various locations and it always does well.

Purple iris- I have "weeded out" many of my irises over the years due to despising the grass that grows up between the roots, but it is still a beautiful shot of colour early in the summer.

Pale yellow iris. I prefer this to a rather golden colour that I have seen in other places. It teams up nicely with the purple colours that arrive at the same time.

One of my favourites, Siberian Iris. I love its long, slender, elegant look. I had this type of iris in my July wedding bouquet many years ago!

Purple salvia. These are lovely, and if cut back, will rebloom later in the summer. They also self-seed, often becoming a bit of a nuisance, but the bees adore them.

I call this our lilac tree. I don't know if that is actually what it is. It was a gift many, many years ago. It virtually hums with bees when in full bloom and smells like heaven.

I love lupins but am not able to keep them growing for any length of time. These are just coming into bloom.

This is the brand new Red Prince Weigela (yay, an actual name!) that I planted a little while ago. It is obviously happy because it is about to bloom soon. I have a couple more of these on the property and they are a beautiful showy colour.

Hope everyone has a well-rested, or productive weekend (depending on what your plans are) and enjoy a coffee on the porch with me.

A Girl's Best Friend

With a post title like that, you might think I am talking about a dog.

We do not have a dog. We never have. With both of us working full time, we felt it would not be fair. Also, neither one of us wants to get up extra early to walk a dog. Cats on the other hand are fine with solitude. They decide if they want you around or not anyway.
But I'm not talking about a cat either.

I'm talking about this.

Today the husband helped me get this beauty out of our very organized and neat and tidy shed (note the sarcasm) and put some gas in it, and then I got to work!! I do not have a big vegetable garden by some people's standards, but it is big enough for us. My neighbour gave me some wonderful weed killer to deal with the horrible weeds that set up camp in my yard, therefore, in my vegetable garden. After a week, most of them had curled up and died a horrible death. Please don't hate me, those of you who are organic. I've gone that route for MANY MANY YEARS, digging and digging and digging. I am 48 years old and my back wakes me up on a nightly basis. I do enough digging with my perennial beds and around my shrubs, without having to dig all the weeds out of my vegetable garden.

So I did dig a few things up because they were huge, even though they were dead, and then my best friend and I tilled up the garden going one way. Then I stopped for a bite to eat and we continued tilling going the other way. It looked like this.

This is also the first year that I am putting on granular fertilizer. Honestly, I have never done that! We kept backyard chickens for years and I have always had natural fertilizer for my garden, as well as compost and bagged manure from garden centres. However, I have stopped being a chicken lady and my source of fertilizer is gone. So... I have decided to try this out. My gardening results were disappointing last summer with NO (honestly, NO) tomatoes, poor peas, poor cucumbers, no beets... the only things that did well were green beans, pumpkins, and potatoes.

Then I took my trusty rake and raked the whole thing smooth. With wrangling my rototiller and raking my garden (yup, I am now sitting with a hot "magic bag" against my back as I type this) (Oh, and a glass of red wine!), I would like to introduce you to my second best friends.

For all the years that I have been a gardener, I have used gloves. There are some tasks that go better without gloves, but usually I wear gloves. Those times when I think, "Oh, I'll just grab my trowel and get rid of a few weeds," and an hour later I have blisters, I think, why didn't I just put on my gloves? Because I am one to always try to save money, I usually have those cheapy cotton gloves with grippy bumps on them. I usually go through a thumb in a few short weeks. Then I hold onto them and use them and get filthy, hurty thumbs. Then the mice eat through them in the shed over the winter. (the very organized and neat and tidy shed) So... lately I have been "treating myself" to good gloves. It is worth it. They are all leather, soft leather, and they fit well without seams that rub and cause more blisters. (Funny, some women treat themselves with spas or clothes or shoes... I am pathetic).

Lastly, I am quite pleased with my strawberry plants which I put in last year. I got maybe 4 strawberries. I actually watched a squirrel run across the lawn with one!! But now this year, they have sent off runners and there are lovely white blossoms. (No, they are not in nice, neat rows, just a big clump of them over on one side of the garden). But all I see is lovely sweet potential!!

Check out my rhubarb! (Still have bags of it frozen in my freezer, but who doesn't like rhubard, strawberry pie, or crumble??) (Mind you, I HATE stewed rhubarb, does something wierd to my teeth!!)

The Battle

This past weekend I waged a war. The enemy in this particular war was a gal named Black Eyed Susan. (Rudbekia for all you proper Latin folk out there). The enemy is so prolific and mighty that she springs up everywhere and takes over territories that don't belong to her.

Reinforcements have arrived in the war against Black Eyed Susan.

I planted Black Eyed Susan on purpose a long time ago. I love the vibrant yellow with the dark centre. I love the late August colour it provides, often teamed up with purple blossoms on other plants like asters. But enough is enough. And this was just one bed. Trust me, they are in many places. As they die back in the fall, their seed heads drop over and the hundreds of black elongated seeds fall and spread to germinate and turn into more wonderful blankets of yellow. But my gardens are just WAY TOO YELLOW!! 

As recently as last year, when I would lift and divide perennials because they were overgrown, or I wanted to change locations, I would feel obligated to save them. I would pot them up in left over plastic pots from previous plant purchases. I would bag them in plastic shopping bags. I would take them to work and offer them for free. They got planted in a garden outside my workplace. Friends and family have taken them over the years. I've replanted them in other beds. I even had a "nursery" bed in part of my vegetable garden where I would separate irises or daylilies or anything else that I felt deserved to live on. 

Not this year. I gleefully and without guilt tossed hundreds of these invaders into the wheelbarrow (along with other weeds and a devil of a sedum that I should never have put in) and drove it down the "lane" to dump onto the fallow land to the south of us. Yes, they will likely take root there, some of them, but they will be quaint and lovely there, away from my other plants.

Here is what my bed looks like now.

That pedestal normally has a sundial on it, but it fell off during our winter. It will need to be reattached.

My next battle may be waged this coming weekend. The enemy? A gal called Lily. Lily of the Valley that is!