The Weekend

The parents arrived on Friday before lunch and left again on Sunday. We kept busy for most of the weekend. When they arrived my father was taking a wooden structure out of the car. With out my knowledge he had made a, hmmm! not sure what to call it. Picture below.


He wanted it put on the lawn for all and sundry to see but I like things tucked away so I had it put among some trees where I think it looks a lot better.

Friday afternoon my mother and I went to a craft shop up the road and saw that they had Christmas items displayed at half price. It's a bit early to talk of Christmas I'm sure but I do get excited with the whole glitz and colour of it all. I ended up buying this item. It has mini lights across the mantle and on the tree.


Saturday we went to a yard sale where I bought nothing, then in the afternoon we went to the library as I had books to bring back. Yesterday the winds were very high and the rain came down in torrents. There was a small leak coming in around one of the windows behind the computer so had to put a couple of containers there to catch the water and turn the computer off and cover it all with plastic just in case some of the water hit it. We have to go on the roof when it dries off today and try to find where the water was getting in.

The chickens had gone into their greenhouse to get out of the wind and rain so in the afternoon I went in to check if they were okay and make sure they had lots of food and water. There was water running everywhere and I could hear the stream going mad. When I looked in the chickens greenhouse I saw that they were standing almost thigh deep in water. The water had run down the bank behind them, entered the greenhouse and couldn't find a way out. I had to dig a trench across the ground and under the structure. Finally all the water went rushing out and it was fine in there. Today there was just a fine rain for a short while and looks like we may get some sun.

A few pictures that I took on Saturday.

I was watering when I saw this Moth.






Lilies in Bloom

Not much excitement this week. I've been busy preparing for the parents arrival tomorrow. I've even been outside tonight trying to get a few things straightened up. There have been dragonflies about this week, even chasing each other around the garden. I've been dizzy at times trying to keep track of them hoping one would land but no luck.

It's suppose to be somewhat cooler tomorrow, only +14 C. Fall is definitely in the air. Still, we are getting some lovely days.

I did manage a few pictures this week. Just some of the regular stuff.

This I found interesting. It's a picture of a butterfly from underneath. Don't ask how I managed that, lol.


And more of the same flutter.







Teasel.



Bee.


This looked like a young woodpecker....not sure.

The Morning after Bill!

There wasn't much to it after all. It got down graded to a tropical storm. We had high winds and rain but nothing that we haven't seen before. Much ado about nothing! It's a beautiful sunny day here at the moment. The boys after a night out in the storm.

Stanley

Malachi


Frankie


The plant that I accidentally put bleach on has a flower. Although in the photo the flower looks big, it's very tiny. The plant has succulent like leaves.

This is a perennial that blooms this time of year. I've grown them for years and still I'm unsure of the proper name. People here call them Sunflowers and maybe they are right. I'd like to know for sure though, so if anyone knows please let me know.



This is another colour of Bee Balm that I have growing.


These are some of the red ones. There's quite a difference in the colour.


This bird is no fool. She's found she can get the seeds much easier by going through the hole the squirrel made in the top of the feeder.


A few more bird pictures.






My parents are coming on Friday for the weekend and I have so much to do this week. I have to finish wrapping their Christmas presents. I figured I might as well let them take them back. I usually give them money, after all they have everything they want but I also do up a large package for each of them as well filled with all kinds of fun and foolish presents. Then I have to make Black Currant Jam. I hate picking berries but this year the currant bush was so laden down with berries that I felt guilty about not picking them, hence the jam making. I have to get all the house plants watered. The guest room that I now have full of craft stuff, etc. and herbs hung around the walls drying.....well, I now have to find other spots for all of this until the parents leave. I want to make a coffee cake. Then there's the weeding outside. I've let it go for to long and I can see hours of work ahead of me. I want to get all of this done by Friday and am now starting to feel a little bit panicky.

Waiting for Bill.

Hmmm, let me think now.....Wednesday night, the rain came down in sheets. Worse I've seen in a long time. Thunder and lightening as well which I thought was wonderful. Very energizing. The power went for a few seconds but that was it. It continued through the night and there was one clap of thunder that made me jump a foot off the bed and woke me up for a few minutes.

Thursday morning on getting up I saw that there had been a leak in the roof over the chesterfield. There was a big wet spot on one of the cushions. We had planned on leaving for Gander at 7:00 am to pick up groceries, etc so couldn't see to the roof. Figured we'd do it when we came back home. We got back in the afternoon but figured we'd put off the roof business until this morning as rain wasn't in the forecast.

This morning after the sun got up we were on the roof, each with a container of roof patch, (a thick tar like substance), looking for what would be a tiny hole in the roof. Well, I don't know if we found it or not but we put the patch on anything that looked suspicious.

Himself has been following the weather reports for a couple of days. Bill is suppose to hit Saturday night and Sunday. He's convinced that the roof is going to be torn off and that we should get boards to cover the windows. Frankly, I think it will be calmed down some by the time it gets to us, if it gets to us at all.

Himself makes walking sticks, canes and spears. Here's his latest.


Busy Bee, notice the pollen all over his "furry coat."


One of the forever present Woodies.

Jay

Plant, Hosta

Teddies and Plant

So, I go into the bedroom for something and this is what I see on the bed. My teddies that are usually sitting in a chair are now in this position. I start to laugh and himself comes in and says, "This is how I plan to spend my birthday, me on my back and you rubbing my head." lol His birthday is next month this is why it's on his mind.


This morning I decided to pot up a plant that I had outside in a hanging basket of mixed plants. I was thinking earlier this summer that I might pot it up and try to grow it as a house plant. As it's starting to get colder here now I figured I might as well get it done. I don't know the name of the plant so if anyone can help there I'd appreciate it.

Having put it by itself in a new pot, I saw that the leaves were full of soil as the plant was wet and taking it out of one pot to put in another soil got all over the plant. So, I go inside to get the spray bottle. There was a little water in the bottom of the bottle so I just poured more water in with that. Went outside and sprayed the plant all over to get the soil off. Then I was getting a strong smell of bleach. It hit me, the last time I used the bottle was to spray the plastic chairs with bleach to clean them. So, the liquid in the bottom of the spray bottle was bleach. I immediately got a large container of water and poured over the plant. Will it live...I don't know. I have learned a lesson though. Check to see what's in a bottle before using it.


That's how my day started! It's overcast and wet but not as cool as yesterday. I had planned on making some cinnamon buns this morning but only have one egg and I need three. The chickens have hardly been laying at all. I don't know what the problem is. They are only about 3 years old and nothing has changed in their lives. Last year I was getting so many eggs that I was looking for people to give them to at times. So I'm hoping for two more eggs today and have already been out to give the chickens a good talking to, lol.

I hear that hurricane Bill is going to make it's way up the Eastern Seaboard. They figure Nova Scotia will be hit. They haven't mentioned us yet but these things are usually weakened by the time they arrive here.

Bear in the Garden!

Yesterday afternoon we were out for afternoon tea at a friends getting home around 6:00 pm. Some of the plants needed watering so after getting my pajamas on, yes pajamas, I felt like being comfortable, I turned on the hose and walked around watering. After finishing that, I was standing watching the chickens by the deck when I looked up and there was this huge black bear coming down towards me. I can't express how gorgeous he was and so very, very black. He looked very healthy with shiny fur. Nothing for it but to run for the camera. Raced by himself in the kitchen and saying in a whispering voice "There's a bear outside." Himself came out but held on to the handle of the door. Guess he felt safer and more in control by doing that. I took a few pictures but unfortunately they were very blurry. I believe it was caused by the low light and that the bear never stopped moving for a second. He was only here for a few minutes then went off into the woods.

I'm putting these pictures on only as "proof of the pudding" as the saying goes.

Dragonfly, at last!

I've been complaining about the lack of Dragonflies this summer as I was looking forward to getting lots of pictures. Alas, I'd only seen one and that just flew around for a short while then flew off. So, you can imagine my surprise when I saw one this morning.....where?....on one of the rafters in the kitchen. After taking the picture, we got a container, managed to get him in it and then let him go outside where he went flying off.


After supper last night I noticed a white egg sac on one of the tree branches so took a couple of macro shots feeling quite pleased with myself that I even noticed it. Then friends came by for coffee and as they were leaving I mentioned the egg sac and said "Come have a look, you may be able to ID it for me." The husband on close inspection, not that close mind you, says "It's a berry." I was dumbfounded. He was right, lol.

My daughter and grandson were here for most of this past week and it was so good to see them. We had a nice few days together and the weather co-operated for the most part. We met them coming back from the beach and I took this photo.


A few more pictures of odds and ends.
I went in the bedroom and looking down at the bed, this was the sight I saw. I thought it was so cute especially with the paw under the chin.


I caught this Chick a Dee eating the seeds on the Angelica. He was going through all sorts of contortions.





And the bees.



These flowers, and I can't think for the life of me what they're called, anyway they were given to me by the man who owns the greenhouses. He was going to throw them out as they were in very sad shape. He saw me there and said if I wanted them I could have them and that if anyone could get them to grow it was me, lol. So, I brought them home and planted them with little hope of seeing anything happening. So, a couple of days ago I see these lovely flowers in among other plants and am thinking "Where in the world did these come from", when it hit me that these were the ones given to me earlier this summer.