Me On A Monday - July 30th

Happy Birthday today to Neville Longbottom.  Happy Birthday tomorrow to Harry Potter.  They are 38 years old - what a grand age to be.

Such an over whelming sad time in the world, well for me at least.  Trying not to let these things seep into my view & feelings of the world, so time to intervene with some happy thoughts.

A few months back I received a lovely treat in the mail from Lady Ella at The Progress of Flowers.  A book called Smile & in it are many quotes to make one smile. I usually start my day by reading one of the quotes.   I would like to share a few with you today & I hope you smile, along with some accompanying photos from my garden.  My garden always makes me smile. 

All people smile in the same language.

Smiles are trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

A smile is the shortest distance between two people.

Friendship a dear balm, a smile among dark frowns, a beloved light, a solitude, a refuge, a delight. 

 What makes you smile?

2018 SPSH Second Check In - July 27th

This is our second check in for the SPSH 2018.  While we do not have a formal link in, I have listed all those that indicated they wanted to be "linked" in to their blogs for their SPSH finds.  If I have missed you, I apologize, just let me know in the comments that I missed you & I will add.  I hope everyone is having fun with the list.  Remember photos do not have to be taken or posted in the order of the list ...

Here are some of my latest finds:


#4 Wings - university art; Leda & The Swan

#5 Peddle Power - not that this is a great photo, but the bike did remind me of the wicked witch's in Wizard of Oz (not a favourite for me).  The lady who owned this bike, transports her adorable dog in the basket.  He was nothing like Toto.

 
#7 Unexpected Reflections - large mirrored urns at the end of someone's driveway

#14 A Trilogy of Three - university art; seed pods

#16 Something From A Favourite Book; Harry Potter; a magical beast (this is Univ of Guelph's mascot, a Gryphon).

 #17 Re-purposed - a bathtub filled with flowers & an angel in someone's garden (not mine)

 

Participants in no particular order:

Deb at: Debs14
Eileen at: A Bracelet of Days
Maggie at: Farmer's Wife Day by Day
Ruth at: This West London Life
Amanda at: Amanda's Scrapbook Pages
Karen at: Random Reflections
Jane at: Nanny Jane's
Cheri at: Scrap Dreams
Lady Ella at: Flowers of Progress
Leslie Chlingan: Once Upon A Time Happily Everafter
JoAnn at: Scene Through My Eyes
Karen at: Karen's 365 Photos    
Melissa at: Daily Life - Bits & Pieces
Joy at: Joy Knitt - Today



Here's the list again:

1. The Rosiness Of Red
2. Stripes
3. A Framed View
4. Wings
5. Pedal Power
6. Glorious Green
7. An Unexpected Reflection 
8. A Pile Of
9. Looks Smaller Than You
10. A Field of Plenty
11. Pretty In Pink
12. Bell(s)
13. Equal Portions
14. A Trilogy Of Three
15. Out Of The Blue 
16. Something That Could Be From A Favourite Book/Movie/Song
17. Re-purposed
18. Currency; Coinage or Paper (the odd, the different, the beautiful)
19. Picture Postcard Perfect
20. Mellow Yellow

Alternate A: a shopping bag (not the store's plastic)

Alternate B: a coupon to use

Take Three Thursday - Seeing Red

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.   The idea is to take 1 - 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 others have noticed:  
Maggie at Farmer's Wife Day by Day
Karen at Random Reflections
Eileen at  A Bracelet of Days
Melissa at Daily Life - Bits & Piece

The first item on the Seasonal Photo Scavenger Hunt is The Rosiness of Red.  I've seen lots of wonderful examples of this while we wandered about the university gardens. 

Bonus photo of my favourite one that I think I will use for SPSH

"a garden to walk in & immensely dream in what more could we ask - a few flowers at our feet & above us the stars".  Victor Hugo

Me On A Monday - July 23rd

Good Morning All.  I'm going to start the day with this quote;
"life is too short to start the day with the broken pieces of yesterday."

Not a lot happening on the patio or off the patio.  We had some much needed rain late Saturday & all day Sunday.  No complaints.  Mr Man was able to get the fertilizer down on the lawns.

Amazing Grace - daylily

I would like to remind everyone that this Friday the 27th is our 2nd link up for the SPSH.  I hope everyone is having fun with the list.  Don't stress & how ever you want to interpret the list, I say go for it.  One of my picks this week is certainly not going to be a quality photo, but that's not what this is about.  It just tickled my fancy.

Sunday Gloves - daylily

I am experiencing a really dry spell on reading, the last 3 books I've had from the library have not engaged me at all.  While I'm not looking for sugar coated stories, I don't want such dark, mean, characters.   

Cotton Candy - daylily

Comparison they say is the thief of joy, but I am going to compare types of onions because I find no joy in red onions.  I do like sweet white & in particular I like Vidalia onions. For me it's got to be the sweet taste of Georgia's Vidalias ... although I have had some sweet Texas Vidalias.

Edge of Darkness - daylily

Padora's Box - daylily

I made my first potato latkes this weekend - wow that is a lot of work but oh my the deliciousness of fresh hot latkes.  Now that is joy.

Nameless (Spider) - daylily

Many of the Winter Wheat fields around us have been harvested, the grain has been taken & the bales of straw are read to be made from the wheat stalks.  These fields are part of the University of Guelph's & the straw bedding will be used at the university's vet college for the many beasts that are there as part of the school's patients.  They compost the bedding & after several years use in their gardens like the one I showed you last week.  A circle of life.

Harvested & ready to bale Winter Wheat fields

The field behind us has been ripening but not ready to harvest yet.  I hope I'm home the morning they start as I, like a kid, like to watch the big harvester do it's thing ...

 

Take Three Thursday - Ballooning

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.   The idea is to take 1 - 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 others have noticed:  
Maggie at Farmer's Wife Day by Day
Karen at Random Reflections
Eileen at  A Bracelet of Days
Melissa at Daily Life - Bits & Pieces

This week I have been admiring not only in my garden but several other gardens the wonderful of balloon flowers.  I have blue, white & pink balloon plants.  Mine do not get really tall but some I saw at the university were about 3 feet tall!  

Again I marvel at nature - I think The Universe was having a fun moment when creating the balloon flower.  
 

"we do not see nature with our eyes but with our understanding & our hearts"   William Hazlett
 

Me On A Monday - July 16th

Good Morning - I hope & trust everyone had a good weekend.  In this part of the world the heat & humidity shook hands again & gave us a summer weekend.  It's not good for the gardens or the crops, so please Mother Nature some rain, soon, for several hours, please & thank you.

On Sunday Mr Man & I went out on a mission to find some items for the SPSH.  When the list for SPSH 2018 was set, I had decided that I wanted to capture the finds of things not found in my garden - I wanted to get off the patio.    

Returning from the dentist last Wednesday, I had seen one idea for re-purposed. So we decided to take the afternoon to capture that particular item & to visit the university grounds in search of some more items.   The University of Guelph has its roots as a agricultural college with a world renowned vet college but now can boast several other major programs taking in the humanities, the sciences & technology;  There has been some recent grant money for grounds improvement throughout the university. University buildings are intermingled within the city of Guelph.

I saw this magnificent tree & thought it looked like the weirwood tree from Game of Thrones, although it's not white like the weirwood tree ... or the party tree from The Lord Of The Rings.

We wandered about the conservatory gardens.  These are gardens that over the last 10 years  have been designed, built & improved upon to show off the renovation of the university's original glass conservatory.  For us, this was the first time the building has not been locked so we were finally able to wander inside. It's small & doesn't take more that a few minutes to walk around but it did take us over 30 minutes because we stopped at each planting & made lots of oh & ah sounds.  I did find several items to tick off my list at the gardens & at the art centre also within the campus grounds.   
The conservatory gardens are divided into 4 sections;  each section is planted with one of the four seasons;  spring, summer, autumn & winter.  Each show cases plants, trees, shrubs that have their moment of glory in one particular season.  There are also gardens bordering all of the parking lots & the central university bus depot.

 The pond's water was rather cloudy but we did spot several large carp (goldfish).  There were lots of baskets with dirt in the bottom of the pond so maybe the intention is eventually to plant water lilies.

 Inside the conservatory

From the front of the conservatory, the walk that leads to the four gardens.  The large urn has dedication/donation plaques. 

Outside the gardens were full but looking a little thirsty.  The lawn was bristley & brown.

Red Explorer Roses bordering the walk to the bus shelters

Blue Russian Sage

Some of the newer glass university buildings

A dying pine in the winter garden - an invader beetle killing Ontario pines

An entire grove of Rhododendrons in the spring garden

Summer roses - most are Explorer Roses - developed specifically for the Canadian climate

"Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts."  Max Griswold

Take Three Thursday - Nature's Wonderment

In an effort to notice more of the ordinary in my life, I have decided to share what I have noticed this week in Take Three Thursday.   The idea is to take 1 - 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 others have noticed:  
Maggie at Farmer's Wife Day by Day
Karen at Random Reflections  
Eileen at  A Bracelet of Days
Melissa at Daily Life - Bits & Pieces


Wandering in my garden I noticed three odd things within the beauty of my garden;

1) there was a perfectly round hole in one of the lily's petals - it did not look like an insect chew hole.  Was this formed in the early stages of the bud development?  

2) this leaf was threaded with a spider's web so that it attached at the top & at the bottom but nothing in between.  It allowed the leaf to dance in the wind.  Was this the spider's way of entertaining himself?

3) Mr Man is holding a maple key that has sprouted & grown leaves, but no roots, it was not in any dirt but caught in the cement easement line of the patio.  How determined is that plant?

"To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles."  Mary Davis

I couldn't agree more Mary Davis.