Sunday 14 July 2013

It's too hot out!

It's far too hot out for me to think or do anything. My head hurts from the heat and humidity and I am drained of all energy. No more words now, too much effort! I leave you with photos of the garden and some recent thrifty purchases.












Monday 8 July 2013

Photos from my weekend

This past weekend was a hot, humid and busy one! I worked all through the day Saturday, then came home and did a bit of gardening in the evening - and I have the mosquito bites to prove it! Sunday was not as hot and humid but it was still pretty bad to me (have I mentioned how I hate the heat?). I spent most of Sunday in the garden but managed to get cleaned up in time for dinner at The Works in Waterloo. I had one yummy/spicy/greasy and fattening as all hell burger - it was good. My dinner date went for the butter chicken poutine, which I had to taste (obviously) and it was yummy! Anyway, I managed to snap a few photos around the garden this weekend - I did not manage to snap photos of my burger because A. I'm not really one for taking photos of food in crowded restaurants and B. I made a serious mess of that burger pretty damn quickly!









1 and 2 are some new additions to the front garden (2 was a real cheap/sad looking purchase that I'm hoping takes off!). 3 the hosta in the front is looking great and should have flowers in the next day or two. 4 the daisies have finally bloomed. 5 this is what it looks like deep in the "no lawn-mowing zone" where our teeny tiny bunny friend lives. 6 these tiny flowers are popping up in the wild part of the backyard (near bunny territory). 7 thankfully the ivy that someone tore off the back of the garage last fall is growing back lighting fast. 8 extreme close-up of extreme golden flower (still don't know what it is but I'm in love!).

Sunday 7 July 2013

Finally...rain barrel!

After sitting in our garage for two months, today we finally got our rain barrel in place! I had always wanted a rain barrel...but not having a house kinda makes that difficult. When we moved in last summer it was a bit too late to find one and we had so many other projects before us that the rain barrel (and garden) were left behind. This year I was determined to get my rain barrel. I got my hands on one a few days after we got back from Ireland but we were not ready to get it in place. There was some painting of the front veranda that needed to be done first, then we had to prepare the spot that the barrel would sit in - we couldn't just dump it in the flower bed, we needed some gravel and patio stones as a base.

Yesterday the flower bed area was prepared by the mister and today we got to work getting the downspout and barrel in place. Plenty of cursing, swearing and a tiny bit of name calling (yes, that happens when you are working on a hot and humid day) later and its done. Now all we need is some rain!


We chose to get the rain barrel in today (despite the heat and humidity) because we are supposed to have a thunderstorm and I want to finally start collecting some rain water. We have already had two massive rain showers recently and I don't want to miss one more! Another reason for getting that barrel in place is because the existing downspout situation on that corner of the house was pretty bad. The landscaping (stone walls of the flower bed) were not planned out with drainage or downspouts in mind so the spouts that were there were not at the best angles causing water to drip and collect in the flower bed and subsequently drain into the house. Fingers crossed this barrel solves (or at least alleviates) the problem.

Monday 1 July 2013

Happy Canada Day!

Today is Canada Day, so Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canucks! Despite today being a National holiday I went to work with a few others to get some essentials done while the store was empty. Lucky for me I was home before dinner which means I will still have some time to relax before heading out for the big Canada Day fireworks show at the park around the corner! I am prepared for crowds and plenty of mosquito bites (no Canada Day would be complete without them!). I will leave you now with some snap shots of the past few weeks. Buster cat cannot get enough of going outside for some sun bathing and a chomp on the grass and the backyard/flowerbed has really seen a transformation! I am happy with the flowers and wildlife the yard has attracted - there is even a teeny tiny baby bunny who has been hanging about next to our shed...I can't even handle the cute...if only I could snap a photo!


Buster waiting patiently (not really) at the backdoor to go outside. 
Getting ready...
...to sun bathe! 
I had no idea what colour this lily was going to be and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the hot-pink petals.
What kind of flower is this? Anyone have a clue?
This past Friday we had a serious rain storm (flash flooding closed two local shopping malls!). The flowers took a beating but managed to survive and are still going strong.
This has got to be one of the slowest flowers to bloom...I wish it would hurry up so I can figure out what it is!
It turns out there was a rock garden hidden under piles of dead leaves in the backyard! It is slowly but surely coming to life.