Photo Scavenger Hunt - First Check In Reminder

Link Ins For the Photo Scavenger Hunt & in NO particular order.  I have gleaned the list from the comments of the original post.  I hope everyone is having fun & success with the list.  If I have missed your link, I apologize, please let me know in the comments & I will add your link.  If you don't want to be part of the link list, please let me know in the comments & I will remove your link.   Thanks. & Let the fun of a photo challenge begin!    I will see you all on Thursday the 29th with my first finds!


The List:

1.       Something fuzzy

2.       Bubbles

3.       A web

4.       A zig zag

5.       A seasonal relaxing space/item

6.       A pipe

7.       The inside of something

8.       Rust or something derelict

9.       A kite or balloon

10.   Something Yellow

11.   A toy only found out during June to September

12.   A wedding

13.   A dome

14.   Someone fishing

15.   Something crafted from wood

16.   A baby (human or animal)

17.   Circles or crosses in architecture

18.   A fan

19.   Feet of man or beast

20.   Something found under ground

21.  A plaque

22.  A dial

23.  Something powered by wind

24.  Seasonal food or drink

25.  A hat 

Willing Participants List:
Maggie Farmer's Wife
Karen's 365 Photos
Ruth's SAHM

Jane's Blog
Jenn's On A Tangent
Susan's Paper Passion
Karen's Random Reflections 
Deb's World 
Ladkyis Ramblings of a Little Old Lady 
Amandas-scrapbook-pages 
Eileen's Playroom 
Scene through My Eyes 
Leslie Robert's Library 
Joy's StationHarry 

Memo, Mail & Me - It's Monday June 26th

Another storm rolls in

Good morning & hello to any of those still doing a Monday check in. While our official Monday Memos hostess, Sian, is taking a summer break, I thought I would try a new format for the Monday check in.

Memo To Mother Nature:   I would like to thank you for the rain as the trees are still recovering from last year's drought & appreciate the big drink.  BUT, having said that, the nearly 7" of rain in less than 2 hours was a bit drastic even for you!  So much flooding in the area & there's rain forecasted everyday this week.

Rain gauge from Friday's storm

Mail: technically not post mail, but an email received Sunday night from the latest hire at the clinic; she's quitting.  She's had enough of the boss forgetting to pay us, allowing us to run out of very necessary supplies along with far too many business disasters to mention.  She is done July 3rd.  I am feeling very sad as she was such a good fit for the clinic, but I do get why she is leaving.  I am not looking forward to the resume reading, interviewing & training bits again ...

In The Shopping Basket:  Both of our fur girls love water & spend a lot of time in the bathroom sink when water is running, so this weekend we bought them a water fountain.  So far they haven't been that interested.  I have suggested that we put on the bathroom counter to see if that doesn't spark their interest.

Also in the basket was two kits for making special Canada Day cookies.  Lots of celebrating & fun activities planned for this Saturday July 1st.

Summer Reading List:  I read The Women In The Castle.  I liked.  In this one I was interested in what happened to the characters.  It is the story based around the attempted assassination of Hitler in 1944.  The reality was that after the dust settled & Hitler survived, he ordered the round up, via the Gestapo of over 7,000 people even remotely connected to those that plotted & executed close to 4,500 of them.  This book is a fictitious account of three of the widows of the men involved in the assassination plot & what happened to them during the last years of the war & up to 1991.  An interesting perspective woven in with real life events. 

Hoping everyone has a marvelous week ahead.  Don't forget this Thursday is our first check in for the Photo Scavenger Hunt - see you then.  

Take Three Thursday - Ugly, But Beauty

If an effort to notice more in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.  The idea is to take 3 photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.  What have you noticed this week?

See what these folks have noticed:

Karen at Random Reflections 
Maggie at Farmer's Wife Day BY Day 
 

 NOTE: next week, June 29th,  I will not be posting a TTT because it is the first of the three Photo Scavenger Hunt link ins. (sort of a threesome ...).

This week what I have been noticing are the number of Turkey Vultures soaring & floating over head. It seems like hundrerds.  I am not sure if Turkey Vultures are only found in North American.  They are legally protected in both Canada & the U.S. of A.

I was recently drawn to know more about these scavenger birds along with observing more because of a letter to the editor in a local newspaper.  Our region has been experiencing a rash (18 to date) of arson set abandoned building fires.  In this particular letter, the author lamented the loss of one old barn which meant the loss of home to the returning Turkey Vultures.  He then went on to explain how social these birds are, living in large groups & how they do eat carrion, but they themselves never actually kill anything.  Nature's own tidy up team.  They don't have a syrnix so the only sound they make is a grunt or hissing sound.  Also when a single bird finds something dead, it will alert the rest of the group with wing flapping & a grunt.   Its primary form of defense is regurgitating semi-digested meat, a foul-smelling substance which deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest. It will also sting if the predator is close enough to get the vomit in its face or eyes & it is for this reason, I am using an internet photo for my close up!
 

Turkey Vulture - source, Internet

These birds have a large wing span & love to soar on the thermal currents of which in our region are abundant & constant because of the location up on the mountain (escarpment actually).  Mr Man likes to watch them soar, there is little to no wing flapping.  We often wonder when they circle the fields near us, are they finding maybe a rabbit or raccoon killed on the side of the road. 

... beauty is in the eye of the beholder! 

Memos, Mail & Me: It's Monday - June 19th

White Peonies in My Garden - So Many Possibilities of Bloom

Good morning & hello to any of those still doing a Monday check in. While our official Monday Memos hostess, Sian, is taking a summer break, I thought I would try a new format for the Monday check in.

Memo:  we received an email memo from the arbourist that two years ago, inoculated our two ash trees against the invader, Emerald Ash Borer, saying it was time for the second treatment.  When I started to blog 2 years ago, one of my early posts was about this treatment, which is required to be done every 2 years.  The arbourist did not increase the cost from 2 years ago - so very thankful for this.  He says there is no sign of any borers & it seems that our region has not reached a peak invasion as yet.  He says that if that changes over the summer, he will advise whether we should do another treatment next summer rather than wait for the 2 years.  Keeping ahead of the invader until a cure is found is important to us as we love our trees.

  Reading: making great progress through my summer reading list. I do wish I could write book reviews that would engage & entertain but mine always end up sounding more like school book reports.  The last book I read, Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout, at the end of it I said to Mr Man "I have no idea what this book was about."  It did not leave me wanting more, I didn't bond with any of the characters, nor did I care about any of them.  I was hopeful but felt like I had wasted my time.    I found on line, Oprah's summer reading list & from that list I added just 2 (again because I could get at my local library) to my Summer Reading List.   Books on my list are with the intention of reading books I wouldn't normally choose & hopefully finding new authors that I adore & books that have characters that become like friends.  So far I haven't met anyone in the 4 that I have read that I would ask for lunch ...  I'll say no more for now.

Mail:  we receive a package (for free) from the local tourist board for, 4 possible drives/outings within easy reach of us.  Each brochure highlights a different theme & area.  Each drive/tour would take just over 2 hours & take us on roads we probably haven't travelled as yet & see some local landmarks & historic sites.

Saying goodbye: to Reign the TV show.  I enjoyed the clothes/costumes on this show but as for history, well I think how the show ended was about the only correct historical fact.  Some of what I enjoyed about this series was that it was not only filmed in Ireland but locally in our conservation park  & it was neat that I could say "I've walked there".   Megan Follows played the role of Catherine de Medici & for those of you that are Anne of Green Gables fans, Megan in her early days as an actress played Anne in the 1985 TV series.


Garden:  we have been experiencing rather unsettled & unpredictable weather this last week.  It has been so very humid which is causing "pop up" thunder storms - several had the possibility of a tornado embedded in them - always a scary time.  My poppies & peonies are really out doing themselves this year & have not suffered from the high winds or heat.  The pinkish poppies have never had so many blooms.

Single Petal Peonies - Such a Beauty

Pink Poppies - My Favourite (don't tell the others)

Adventures:  Last Friday we had a tour of a local National Historic Home; Castle Kilbride.  We had booked not only the tour, but tea on the lawn served by the Maids of Castle Kilbride & it turns out, we were the only booking for the day.  This home was built in 1877 by James Livingston, The Flax King of Canada & the home is named after his place of birth in Scotland, Kilbride.  The building has wonderful examples of trompe l'oeil throughout.  The overall style is Italian Renaissance, which is very symmetrical & rather pleasing to Mr Man's  logical eye.  Our Maid was very knowledgeable about the home & family's history & you could tell she really enjoyed sharing this with us. We even got to climb up to the tower & look out over the area.   Our tea outside thankfully was under the shade of a large beech tree & we thoroughly enjoyed our  treats.  This is such a gem & I would recommend any of the locals to visit.

 

Today, June 19th, is World Sauntering Day although in some parts of the world it is celebrated on August 28th.   This day was created in 1979, with the intent of encouraging people to slow & appreciate the world around them.  

I hope that everyone has the opportunity for a saunter in their day & a wonderful week ahead.
 
 

Take Three Thursday; Abandoned & Cared For

If an effort to notice more in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.  The idea is to take 3 photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.  What have you noticed this week?
  See what these friends have noticed this week:
Maggie: Farmers Wife Day By Day
Eileen: In My Playroom 

This week on my walk about town, I discovered a patch of oriental poppies growing on an abandoned lot where the house was recently torn down.  The traditional oriental poppies were growing with purple lupines, purple Siberian iris & some wild white phlox.  

When I see poppies growing like this & in similar colour combinations, I am reminded of a favourite Agatha Christie book "Cover Her Face" because there's a chat in the story about the troubled young lady wanting to decorate a room in wallpaper with poppies & bunches of blue corn flowers.  I haven't read any Agatha in quite a while.  There was a time when I borrowed the videos from the library of the BBC productions of Agatha's stories, again my favourite was with Joan Hickson in Cover Her Face. Umm maybe I need to put on my summer reading list another old favourite book.

But back to my poppy finds.  The other patch of oriental poppies that caught my attention with an on mass planting in a revived cottage garden.  The display was eye catching & quite impressive.  The lady now living in this cottage has a keen eye for floral colour combinations of which inspire me.

While I don't grow this traditional colour(an orangery red) of poppy in my garden, I really do enjoy the vibrancy of both these gardens.

Oh so tempting to bend & stretch to more photos, but where to stop as my own poppies are coming into glorious bloom!

Me On A Monday - June 12th

My Garden - White Poppy In Evening Light

Good morning & hello to any of those still doing a Monday check in. 
 

Reading:  Wanting to have more than my re-read of HP series, I created a summer reading list & I found several suggestions from this blog site:  Modern Mrs Darcy Summer Reading Guide   Before I put any on my list, I made sure I could get the ones I liked at our local library.  First up was a re-read of Quiet & then a very quick read of the sequel; Quiet Power.  My 3rd summer read was Hourglass which I read over 2 days.   Not sure why but I thought it was a novel so very surprised that it was a memoir.   I liked.  Next up is, My Name is Lucy Barton.

Watching: F1 Racing - this weekend it was held in Montreal Quebec Canada.  We have a Canadian driver in F1 again & he scored some points.  Here's some trivia in case anyone should ask; Peter Phillips, Princess Anne's son, met his Canadian now wife, Autumn, at the Montreal Grand Prix.  

Preparing: for a visit from my California relative Monday afternoon.  California Girl is staying with sisters in the the city but they want to show C.G. the countryside so I get to be the mid-stop for a drink & some nibbles.  I have been informed instructed that I should not provide too much because they are taking her for dinner later & that the stop over is limited to a couple of hours.

Helping:  a friend sort through her closet - it's a huge walkin & I feel a little envious of that amount of space.  Two bags of donations & a lot more room to see what she actually had. What was left we broke into piles of needing washing/repair; winter or summer & then sorted by colour.  It was a lot of work but also a lot of laughs & everything found a place neatly folded or hung back in the closet.  Next we tackle her space room's closet!

Learning: that when people show you who they are, you do have to believe them & not waste time wishing it was otherwise.  AND some people are jerks.

Buying:  a new pair of white pants/slacks & two sleeveless tops, one is black & white & the other is red/white.  After helping my friend tidy her closet I was inspired to do some updating to my wardrobe.  I was very happy that all 3 pieces were on sale - a favourite price range!

Wearing: as little as possible today (Sunday) very hot & humid - with the humidity temperatures are 40(c).  No fears, neither flowers or neighbours were shocked at my attire, still decent & covered!  

 

 
Drinking: The first batch of Bengal ice tea.  My blend is 1 Bengal Spice tea bag with 2 regular black tea bags with about 6-7 cups of water, boiled & brewed first, then chilled to make a large pot of ice tea. 
 
Planning- for a day out on Friday to visit Castle Kilbride & have tea on the lawn served by the Maids of Kilbride.  It's part of our summer manifesto to sip our way around the region this year.

Castle Kilbride Hallway - source

Take Three Thursday - Different Names

If an effort to notice more in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.  The idea is to take 3 photos that are linked some how; by theme, by colour, by date, by moment,  by points of view. There is no formal link in but please feel free to join in.  What have you noticed this week?
 
See what these friends have noticed this week:
Maggie: Farmers Wife Day By Day  
Eileen: In My Playroom 


I have a beautiful blue/purple flower in my garden right now in full bloom & two of my visitors have commented on it.  Both called it by a different name.  Jenn called it Centaurea; Penny called it Cornflower &  I call in Bachelor's Button.

Centaurea cyanus

Bachelor's Button

Cornflower

Regardless of what it is called, it seeds itself freely, the bees like it & it is rather pretty in a floral arrangement.