Last Days of Summer

Summer good-bye,  Summer good-bye.

You may no longer stay 

Autumn is on her way -

Summer good-bye, Summer good-bye

...autumn comes this week...

I revisit a few favorite spots in the garden today...

...the surprise lupines...

 

and red dahlias at the South side of the house...

...patient impatiens at the back of the house...

 

...nostalgia sets in...

...my indoor fern, a tiny sprig six years ago-

a souvenir off my Mom's fern-

which I put outside for the summer, 

on the front East side of the house,

where it thrives... 

...another blue blue blue sky day...

-so peaceful, so serene-

...I count my blessings...

Discovery Trail...again...

What will I see today?

Apples galore fallen from this tree...not unusual...but what was unusual was that I had just witnessed a large black squirrel, with tail extended -to make him look so low and long or else to help him balance - I saw him from a distance with one of these big apples in his not so big mouth carefully scuttling away out of view.  Now you just have to take my word for it!

 

This dogwood caught my eye the other day and so with camera in tow, I got a few shots this morning.  Although the flowers and leaves were not stellar in appearance I loved the contrast of the dark green leaves with the white flower off set by the bright red seed centers.

Here is the entry to one section of the recently completed trail.

 

The trail winds down the hill against a gorgeous backdrop of mountains. 

Mt. Baker was hidden today but I know it's there!

 

Ahh... a nice rock...maybe it can be a resting rock on my way back up the trail.

The rock reminded me of the delightful childrens book:

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

... probably just a  plain old weed but I found the colors so bright and interesting..

In this case, what goes down must come up...I'm puffing a little bit more as I wend my way back up...but I encounter Gurmeet...

I see her almost everytime when I head out to the trail... 

she takes her walking seriously.  

Although we'd chatted briefly at times and even walked together, I'd never gotten her name.  I introduced myself and as she was rolling my name over her tongue 

she told me in her halting English that she'd have to call me auntie since her culture teaches the younger folk to show respect in this way-by not calling an older person by their first name only.  There should be a title, like aunty, in front of it. 

I think I can learn something here.  

Gurmeet is 37.  I discovered this last time after she asked me, out of the blue, how old I was? ...and then we hadn't even exchanged names.  I asked her then, to guess how old she thought I'd be...she was kind....she carefully ventured a "maybe sixty?"  I liked that!

 

Heading back up the street I can hear what I know is one of the regular jets from Vancouver that daily fly overhead.  I'm delighted to catch this shot just as he's getting ready to disappear behind the clouds.  He's heading East...I wonder where he'll land...

It's such a beautiful day!

Letter to our Grandchildren: Things that are Fast

Dear Grandchildren,

Today I was thinking about some of the things that are fast in our backyard, like...

...this little green tree frog that darted in front of me while I was getting parsley from the garden...but he waited for me while I hurried in to get my camera- I tried to be fast but Grandma isn't so very fast anymore...then on my last shot, while I was checking the picture, that little green tree frog leaped out of sight...I didn't even see him...that fast...he was gone while I glanced away for a few seconds...now that is fast!

Earlier this summer, on a very hot afternoon, I noticed this dragonfly basking on the hot cement block - he really liked it because he stayed there for quite sometime as I took pictures...but once he took flight he was gone - fast!  Can you see that part of his wings are see-through?  You can see the gray cement through his transparent wings?  I think he's beautiful.

 Then there was the hummingbird that visited our backyard twice a day, usually early afternoon and once around supper time.  Now the hummingbird is very fast.  While he's sipping nectar his little wings are flapping so furiously that the picture becomes a blur.  I took this picture from inside the house while I saw him perched on that little twig of wisteria.  I had never seen him perch before.  He is very tiny and oh so fast.  Do you see his long beak?  He needs it to sip nectar from his favorite flowers.

Sometime in the middle of summer the little hummingbird didn't come to visit me any more.  Earlier, whenever I saw him, always hearing his whirring wings before I actually saw him, I welcomed him into the garden, so happy to have a hummingbird visit.  But then he didn't show up for tea anymore...I hope he didn't get scared away or hurt.

This swallowtail butterfly also came visiting, especially on very hot days.  He loved the bright flowers in this basket.  The butterfly uses his proboscis, or tongue, to sip nectar from these flowers.  A proboscis is something like a straw which can roll up like one of those party noise makers you like to have fun with.  Isn't that amazing?  It was a bit tricky getting a clear picture of the swallowtail too since he kept flapping his wing.  He can be very fast too.

But I was thinking of something else in our backyard that has been very, very fast....hmm...what could it be?  Something so fast that Grandpa and I have trouble catching them?  Can you guess what I'm thinking about?  I'm thinking about...

YOU!

You are very fast!  We've seen you running up and down the grass, chasing each other, playing "What Time is it Mr. Wolf?, and playing baseball, running fast to get back to home-base before we can catch you.  Much as I like to see the fast birds and creatures in the garden, by far our favorite fast things to watch are you having fun in our back yard!  We love it...we love you.

ps we still can catch Joshie though, since he isn't old enough to be running around fast just yet...but it won't be long and we won't be able to catch him either 

Lupins In September?

The lupins bloomed beautifully in July - tall, elegant spires of deep pink sat at the top of our sloping flower border on the South side of the house.  Lupins are stunning in their elegance but short-lived.  Because of the untidy and unattractive foliage after blooming, I cut the two plants back severely filling the space around them with petunias and later ready-to-go dahlias.  Over the past few weeks I noticed how lush and green the new foliage was, attributing it to the copious amounts of water and Miracle Grow with which I'd blessed the surrounding petunias and geraniums throughout those hot, dry months.  

Just take a peek at what's happening right now to these hearties:

Not quite so tall, yet vigorous and most welcome.  I checked online to see what the flowering status of lupins was and found comments from different gardeners all saying that, "Lupins bloom once a year."  Bonus for us!

This afternoon was hot and beautiful and I spent time pruning rose bushes and one large hydrangea whose gorgeous spring blooms had burned badly during the initially torrid July sun.  I cleaned up a few flower beds and mixed what I think will be my last barrel- a large rubber garbage can-of fertilizer with the hopes of  nudging the flowers into just a little more glorious blooming.  This evening has gotten to be chilly...those long summer evenings are gone....and oh so many beautiful green tomatoes still waiting for a little more sun to push them into flaming orange-red beauties. No hint of blight - so glad for that.

This aster plant was lucky enough to be next to a rose bush and so received more water and fertilizer by default than its friends in other parts of the yard.  Not spectacular but delightfully colourful.

Here's what my transplanted-into a larger pot-"Brown-Eyed-Susan" looks like today:

This is how I received it on my birthday on the last day of Spring:

Jared proudly presented it to me then..with so much love shining from those beautiful dark eyes!  And now I've been able to enjoy them throughout the summer and gratefully remember my grandchildren...thanks again, Jared.