Technically, as I’m writing this, it is September 1st. These photos have been sitting around, waiting to be posted, but I haven’t been in the mood to sit down at the computer and do it. So now, we’re going back in time, just a bit, to have a look at August…
We arrived home from a short visit to Nova Scotia on August 3rd. Frank & Zappa say thanks to Jim & Lynne for the box full of newspaper; once that teapot was unpacked, they enjoyed some excellent napping.
Things were not looking too bad out in the garden either.
August 5th - Tomatoes!
August 5 - I grew 2 blueberries this year; Cory ate them.
August 7 - Dug up my garlic
Look at those stalks!
August 11 - Jalapenos seem to be thriving
This is what happens when you refill bird feeders on your patio table….
And the hummingbirds visited often, not even the rainy weather could keep them away.
August 5th - Dinner in the rain
August 5 - not the level of nectar in the feeder...
Hungry, hungry, hummingbirds….
August 11 - Sunny day
August 11 - Notice the feeder level, 6 days later
Hummingbirds are not easy to photograph, but it’s been fun practicing.
And finally….
Showed up on Aug 7; filled in the big hole across from us and flattened out the hill, and was left there. A fuel truck showed up the next day. Still, it sat there. Then other trucks started showing up, and workers started tinkering with the engine. All this time, we are hoping and praying that it will go away and not come back.
Kinda sad that it’s the end of July already; feels like summer just started!
I was late getting my garden started this year, and it hasn’t been getting a lot of attention since then. It seems like either the weather is not cooperating, or I don’t have time. But, on the upside, I have not really had to worry about watering.
Tomatoes are looking pretty good…
Okay, yes…I maybe just wanted the picture looking down at the Tardis from the deck; but you may also notice that the pepper plants I have sitting outside the deer fence have survived just fine so far.
I’ve had mixed results with my deck planters. Exact same tomato plants, different types of container soil:
Lesson learned – stick with my usual brand of container soil.
So far have not harvested much from the garden – some green onions and herbs. On Saturday I did pick a bucket full of basil and we had pesto for supper.
And finally got around to cutting the garlic scapes, which should have been done ages ago. They were huge.
Not sure how easy that is to see, but I have 4 garlic plants on the left that were planted from Dad’s garlic – the scapes were almost as tall as me. Then on the right was a different type. They are looking like they are ready to dig up, and I am curious to see what I end up with. These plants are all much bigger than any other garlic I’ve grown over the years.
Still stalking wildlife around the yard…Baby deer!
In the past, I’ve found it hard to get photos of the fawns, but thanks to my shiny new deer feeder, they are hanging out on my lawn this year.
We’ve been seeing hummingbirds at the feeder we have outside our patio door. I would like to be able to stand near the window for a close up view, but they won’t come to the feeder if we are near the window. I can stand back and zoom with the camera, which means I’m taking photos through layers of glass…The sliding door was open in this case, so this was taken through two layers of patio door…
And, of course, they don’t stay still for very long either. But, there we were making dinner one night; Cory had the patio door open to go back and forth, and standing behind the kitchen counter I realized I had a perfect vantage point.
Monday, I happened to look out and see a woodpecker, sitting in my little blue glass feeder (which he barely fit in). So I ran to grab the camera, and managed to capture these:
He seemed to be checking out the feeders, then flew to the maple tree, so I sneaked around back and hid behind the bush on the corner.
It still amazes me that I get to see all these creatures, even though I’m living in a city. It’s a small city, to be sure, and we lucked out with our location. I never really wanted to be a city dweller, so I’m happy we ended up where we did.
August, here we come; bring on the tomatoes!
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For a long time, I did not have any bird feeders because I was afraid I would be luring unsuspecting birds to their death. I finally decided to try it last summer, and found that there were no more casualties than usual (the cats will get one or two most summers, it seems, no matter what I do).
We enjoyed watching the birds at the feeders, so I decided to get some different feeders to attract different types of birds, which seems to be working. We get a constant stream of birds coming and going these days.
In addition to the usual birds, we’ve had mourning doves, and a pair of cardinals that occasionally make an appearance.
Costco had a pretty bird feeder for sale earlier in the summer, so I picked one up. I got it home and realized just how huge it was; I thought I really don’t need a feeder this big! But I decided to give it a try. I only filled it half way because I was afraid it would be too heavy. And the next morning, the feeder was empty.
This has happened every time I fill the feeder. No matter how full, or what kind of feed I use, the morning after I fill the feeder, it will be empty but for about an inch at the bottom.
Thursday after work, I filled it about half way. Then I went about my business, doing some things in the house, getting dinner started. About two hours later, I happened to look out and the feeder was empty. I decided it was time for a stakeout. Friday was my usual work from home day, so I filled the feeder around lunch time, grabbed my laptop, and parked myself by the living room window.
The birds came, and went all afternoon. Our squirrel was back. It was a very entertaining afternoon, but I saw no clues to help solve my mystery. Friday evening, I took my kindle and my camera out to the yard.
Frank and I spent a pleasant evening relaxing, we saw birds, a butterfly, and deer. I told Cory I felt like I was in the middle of a Disney movie.
I managed to capture the Cardinal (above) on my camera. Up til then, we’d mainly see a red blur fly over and say “that must be the cardinal.” We’d seen the female hopping around on the lawn, but too far away to get a good photo. I saw a hummingbird a few times, but was never ready with the camera.
Finally, it was time to go in for the night, and the feeder was still plenty full.
Of course, the next morning it was empty. So I filled it again, with the last of my bird feed.
Saturday evening, I went back out in the yard. I actually managed a photo of the hummingbird. My chair was farther away from the honeysuckle, I think the night before I’d been too close; the hummingbird came back several times, but wouldn’t stay. Last night it went right for the honeysuckle blossoms.
Our squirrel was up a tree and refusing to come down. I looked around and discovered Zappa napping under a bush. Smart squirrel. Zappa left, but it took the squirrel a long time to come down.
Eventually, Frank came out and let me know the he wanted me to come around to the front of the house. My cats have me very well trained.
So I brought out a lawn chair and settled in the driveway while Frank snoozed on the front steps.
The light was actually better from this side of the house, since the sun was setting behind us. I was hoping maybe the cardinals would come back and be more cooperative about posing.
And then…
Based on the time stamps on the photos I took, this deer stayed for at least 4 minutes. It would stop and look at me, but I was staying pretty still in my chair, and that must be some tasty bird seed. She was finally spooked by Zappa walking around my chair, yowling for attention, and ran off across the street.
Then two minutes later…
I kinda like that last one because it looks like she’s grinning at me.
So mystery solved. I thought I was buying a bird feeder, but apparently I purchased a shiny deer feeder. And, predictably, the feeder was empty this morning.
I was watching the birds at the feeders, it looked like they were enjoying the break in the weather as well.
I saw this guy, a new one that I’d never seen before.
Who are you?
I thought maybe pigeon? But he doesn’t look like the usual grey pigeons we get around here, so I googled and it is apparently a Mourning Dove, also known as a Turtle Dove. I’ve been seeing him quite regularly over the past week.
Next thing you know, I see this guy…
He made three trips to the peanut feeder, that I saw. I waited a while after the last trip but he didn’t come back. I very much enjoyed watching his antics though.
This is the biggest squirrel I’ve ever seen around our yard, I think. As a matter of fact, it’s the first squirrel I’ve seen in a while. We used to have a few of those little reddish ones around, they would sit on the wood fence and scold for all they were worth. I don’t think we’ve seen any in the past couple of years though – too many cats around these days I suppose. Hope this guy manages to avoid all the hunters!
When I went out to check on the garden, I noticed that my peas are coming up and the strawberries are ripening.
So I missed the actual full moon. I was too late going out to look on Saturday night, and it was behind the trees ~ which did look kind of cool…
And Sunday night it was foggy here.
We had sun when I got home from work yesterday, so I finished all my planting…
Oops! An empty garden...
…Except I have a newly empty garden on the side of the hill.
For the past three years, our landscapers have been spraying a nest of some sort of stubborn, waspy insect that was determined to make it’s home in this garden. It was sandy, rocky soil, and we weren’t getting anywhere. So Cory wanted the whole thing dug out and replaced, which we found them doing when we arrived home on Monday after work. So now I get to start a whole new garden. Haven’t quite decided what I will do yet…May just put in some annuals for this year, while I decide what I want to do.
Back to what is done; I had herbs and pepper plants left to put in containers, which is what I finished last night, along with tidying the deck.
And I may regret this, but I have put some plants down on the ground outside the gate. I would really like to be able to have some things growing down here, but anything outside the fence is at risk of becoming deer food.
I’m hoping, where this is an enclosed space right next to the house, and there is so much other green stuff around right now, I might get away with it. Stay tuned to hear about how wrong I am.
I was in town all day, looking out of 16th floor windows at fog. It was so nice to come home to a sunny evening. I am feeling accomplished at the moment, having everything all planted.
I have pretty colors.
I have lots of green strawberries, promising good things to come.
Cory refers to my bird feeders at cat torture devices, which was never the intention, but…
I actually held off on putting up bird feeders for a long time because I worried about the cats catching birds, but it really hasn’t made any difference. It does entertain them though.
Yesterday after the rain seemed to be a particularly busy time at the feeders. I was able to take some photos through the window.
Then I went out the patio door and around the house to see if I could snap a couple of photos from outside.
So far, we’ve been having a beautiful week. Shame to spend it sitting in an office! But I’ve been enjoying the evenings. Last night I planted tomatoes, and tonight I was out weeding. This is when I really enjoy being outside – the temperature is pleasant and not too many bugs around yet.
The cats are enjoying it also! Cory says they do a lot of lounging on the deck during the day. Tonight they were hanging out with me.
Apparently we are coming up on our largest (closest) full moon of the year. Maybe that is why it seemed so large & bright in the sky tonight.
Mondays are usually my Zumba day, but last Monday since the sun was actually shining I decided to spend the evening in the garden instead. I had a few weeds to pull….
Tuesday and Wednesday were gloomy again, and Thursday didn’t start out well, but evening the sun was out. I went out and pulled a few more weeds.
Frank was hanging out with me, and seemed to be quite convinced there was something interesting in these rocks.
Friday was another nice day – I think this many nice days in a row is some kind of record this year. No gardening though. I went to a TRX class at the fitness studio after work instead. I’ve been thinking about trying it out for a while, and decided Friday was the day. Cory’s not feeling well, so after my class I picked up Japanese takeout for dinner.
We definitely enjoyed the sunny day though.
Yesterday & today we not only had sun, it was hot, summery weather. Yesterday I went out and did the grocery shopping, etc, but today was garden day. Time to get planting!
My little patch of herbs…I have more to put in planters on the deck.
And, uh…I planted Smurfs…Okay, I couldn’t resist. 🙂
I decided to try some cucumber plants this year, not sure how well that will work since I don’t have a lot of space, but we’ll see. The white stuff is diatomaceous earth which is supposed to help deter slugs. We shall see. I also put in some peas and beans.
I’ve still got some empty space there at the end, plus I have a bunch of things to put in containers, so more work ahead but I am happy to finally have started.
When I came in, Cory asked if I’d had fun. Why yes, yes I did. It was a beautiful day to be outside. I love green, growing things. I was hot, tired and dirty when I came in. But it was fun.
Saturday it rained all day. We took the cats to the vet for their yearly check up in the morning. We went to Kannon, the new animal hospital where we boarded them last month. It is much closer than the vet office we had been going to, and we know we like this vet – we met her when we took the cats in for their check up last year.
Both cats were out of their carriers, exploring the examination room. There is a chair in the corner of the room with a basket, which Zappa hid away in while Frank was getting checked out by the vet. When it was Zappa’s turn, Frank settled himself in the basket. It is really a perfect hidey-space for a cat. After Zappa’s check up, the vet let him loose in the room, while we were chatting and he went right back to the basket and crawled in on top of Frank. I was surprised that Frank put up with it, but they both stayed there until we were ready to leave. It was funny. 🙂
We took the cats home, and we all stayed home for the rest of the day, while it poured down rain.
The sun did come out on Sunday. We had to go out and do all the errands we didn’t get done on Saturday, which seems like a waste of a sunny day at this point. Ah, well.
I did go out and poke around in the yard a bit. Despite the lack of sun, things are happening out there. And everything is very green.
Frank likes to hang out with me these days, Zappa tends to disappear.
At the end of April we moved to a new office on the 16th floor of the Brunswick Square tower (Hello again! It’s been a few years…Every once in a while I have to stop and think about whether to push ’14’ or ’16’ on the elevator).
Fog is pretty common uptown, and we’ve been getting a lot of it lately. Often we look out the windows and just see white. But today the sun was shining, the view was clear and vividly colorful, so I snapped a few photos with my iPhone.
8:57 am – A Bright, Sunshine-y Day
I can see the ferry terminal from my desk, and every day at noon I see it heading off toward Nova Scotia without me.
11:43 am - The ferry is at the terminal
Kind of hard to see, but it’s there…That dark blue boat just left of center.
Looking in the other direction, I can see a clump of trees leafing out in King’s Square.
5:20 pm - Barely visible, the windows of my old apartment on the far side of King's Square
It’s a pretty nice view, and we have a pretty nice office.
5:21 pm - Leaving my desk for the day
I’d still rather be out enjoying the sunshine-y day mind you, but if I have to be at work, at least I have a nice view.
Showed up on Aug 7; filled in the big hole across from us and flattened out the hill, and was left there. A fuel truck showed up the next day. Still, it sat there. Then other trucks started showing up, and workers started tinkering with the engine. All this time, we are hoping and praying that it will go away and not come back.
