Good Morning! We have been enjoying some lovely weather over the weekend, which encouraged me to spend lots of time in the garden.
Currently In The Garden: this spring the tulips were glorious & lasted for several weeks, which was because the initial installment of spring was chilly. I still have a clump of hot pink tulips & a clump of white tulips blooming. I also have iris that are blooming after several years of sulking. And speaking of sulky, one of my Sarah Bernhardt herbaceous peonies has decided after several years, that she will bloom this year. Her daughter plant when separated has never not bloomed. The photo below is of the Tree Peony which I had thought would not have any blooms - there are still 4 very plump buds to bloom. These flowers burst open quickly & fade just as quickly, which is so sad, because they are the most gorgeous flower, petals just like a thousand tissue paper sheets in one flower.
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| Tree Peony - 2022 Bloom 1 of 5 |
Currently Watching: we watched the 2nd series of Manhunt with Martin Clunes. This was just as good if not better than the 1st series. I hope for more.
Currently Reading: I had a few books from the library that were not for light reading, more textbooks for an online workshop I am preparing for. I did get the summer magazine issue of Creative Scrapbooker from the library, which had a few pages I would want to try to recreate.
Currently Wondering: who our new neighbours will be. Our westerly neighbours are splitting up (very sad) & have decided to sell their home. There's been a lot of interest so far & I must admit I am finding lots of reasons to be in the back garden to check out the potential buyers. Mr Man & I have a wish list of who we would like to buy the house. I know, you cannot pick your family, you cannot pick your neighbours.
Currently OLW: I'm just half way into the 2nd Quarter's OLW of Return & I must admit, I'm not doing so well with it or with returning to LBC, aka Life Before COVID. I have Returned twice to in person church service. Thankfully it is still required by the church that everyone wear a mask & keep 2 meters apart, which makes me feel a little more comfortable. Plus there are SO few in church; yesterday including the minister (1) & choir (3), there was a total of 17 people in church. I have Returned to cat/house sitting for my friend with the pool. She's put the heater on in the pool so there's a chance that this week I may get a swim in. 👸
Your tree peony is stunning! We also have a tree peony which bloomed and finished the week we were in Wisconsin. Matt kindly sent us photos so we know there were more blooms than usual. Many years ago, when he lived with us, he picked one of the blossoms and floated it in a large clear round vase. It was beautiful and allows you to enjoy it inside.
ReplyDeleteI thought about doing that with the first flower, since it turned quite hot & humid which wilts the flowers all too quickly. I have been thinking of getting a 2nd Tree Peony, a lemon yellow one but I've no room ...
DeleteThat's exciting having a peony bloom that hasn't bloomed! I have one peony which only produces one bloom each year. I don't know what kind it is. The best of luck with getting new neighbours. It can be a real challenge when you have people living close by who are less than ideal. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteSo far the prospective buyers have all driven nice cars (col). My biggest fear is that someone will buy to rent out!
DeleteYour garden sounds lovely, but our tulips are done except maybe for a hanger-on. I’ll have to have another gander. Yes, Manhunt was very good, and I also hop for more. We have just watched Signora Volpe on Acorn. I found it very pleasant, which is somewhat of an odd thing to say about a mystery.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that recommendation. I'll look for Signora Volpe, & hopefully the library will have.
DeleteSounds like you will be spending a nice amount of time cat sitting while your friend is away! Good luck with neighbour watching, it's always a bit anxious when new people move in, we've always been lucky, so I hope you are too.
ReplyDeleteThe tree peony is just beautiful isn't it? Just a shame the flowers are so short lived.
I did have my first swim & it was marvelous. I know a pool is expensive & a lot of work, but I so like swimming.
DeleteI enjoyed the Manhunt series and hope there'll be others. I read that they are discussing another series but nothing has been confirmed yet.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the cat sitting is going to be fun... enjoy your swim!
Martin Clunes is so versatile in his acting abilities. Hard to believe he was Colin in Manhunt & then Martin in Doc Martin (which we did not like at all). My swim was one of those fabulous moments in a tough day :)
DeleteGood fenced make good neighbours so I hope you have a sturdy fence separating you. I have been gradually returning to small gatherings - today our Bridge table went maskless for the first time, more by accident than design. Living dangerously! Hope we all survive.
ReplyDeleteWe do have a good fence on both sides, on the side that will see us with new neighbours, we also have the shed for added privacy. Maskless indoors, you do live dangerously Chris (col); I see that the Ontario numbers for new cases was well under 700 yesterday, just maybe summer is giving us a much needed relief break from COVID.
DeleteGood luck with the new neighbours, whomever they may be!
ReplyDeleteBad neighbours can make us long for the winter months when everyone is inside (col, but not).
DeleteI don't know what is going on with my peonies this year - most are all leaf and hardly any bloom! That said, one is blooming for the first time (a single flower) in four years. Another, small, plant has 12 buds on it. I am glad they have not yet opened as those which had have suffered in the rain today and yesterday. Not that I am complaining - apart from one day a couple of weeks ago, it was the first rain in quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed both series of Manhunt. That second one was all creepy thrills! While Colin Sutton's operation was excellent, I was not impressed that no-one had checked traffic cameras on routes between crimes before! Relying on a flawed DNA database, treating it as gospel and just going round in circles - totes ridic, as the cool kids would say.
Good luck with the new neighbours. (Mine have nice cars - make of that what you will! Hehehe.)
As for LBC ... I have just booked a ticket for a literary lecture in June. I had been watching the website for weeks, and this morning it showed fewer than 10 tickets left so I have gone for it despite still being in two minds. I might still opt out but at least I have the choice. It's not a massive amount of money so if I decide against, so be it. Our COVID figures are no longer publicised and as isolation is no longer mandatory and neither are masks, it is hard to make an informed choice. However it would be an interesting talk and nice to attend a live event should I reach the conclusion that being crammed (and it will be!) into a public space is a welcome experience...
LBC seems so long ago & I know that I really have to get out of this COVID coccoon funk, it's becoming too much of a habit now & more like normal than it should be. Our COVID numbers are still published, new cases for the province are under 600 today. As for possible new neighbours my fear is an investor will buy to rent out! I think my garden is coming back to blooming life since we cut down that huge dense maple last spring. There's more light, more water for everyone.
DeletePretty peony. I need to see if Creative Scrapbooker is available in a Kindle version. I could use some more current inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susanne. Creative Scrapbooker is a good magazine, it's just one that does not usually inspires my style of scrapbooking. Your recent uTube layouts were quite inspiring!
DeleteYour peony is beautiful! I hope you have many more peonies, as well as other flowers, to enjoy over the summer.
ReplyDeleteI hope your new neighbors will be good neighbors who become friends, over the years. Good neighbors are such a blessing!
As for returning to LBC, for me, it will take a long time.
Thanks Bless. Returning to LBC is really stalled for Mr Man, not that's I'm out there pushing for a return. I worry that we are in too much of a habit of cocooning now. You have been fortunate with very nice neighbours.
DeleteYour tree peony is beautiful - our has been and gone. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks goodness for friends with swimming pools!
Thanks Ruth, the Tree Peony is a favourite. Oh yes, bless friends with toys I can also play with :)
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