A Story - "Fly on the Wall" - Ring-billed Seagull

 Fly on the Wall

It was the beginning of the new season of the neighbourhood social hour. Darker days and damp chilly weather were pushing people inside. About a dozen guests were either perched on stiff dining room chairs or sinking into oversized couches or slithering on a shiny leather lazy-boy.

The hostess offered an assortment of drinks for any taste: beer, wine, non-alcoholic beer, soft drinks, tea. Nibbles were picked up with tongs and nestled into azure-blue glass mini bowls. A couple of floor lamps cast a dim light over the living room. No one was in the spotlight.

A couple of extroverts carried the conversation as newcomers to the group tried to see where they might fit in . Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle first attempts to connect didn't always work. Alcohol helped to blur the awkwardness for some of the people.

A nondescript senior woman sipped her tea and studied the others, noticing slight tensions here and there, little bursts of friendliness, maneuverings to get some attention. She joined in when necessary but mostly she blended into the background.

It was interesting to be the fly on the wall. More fodder for her stories.

A ring-billed seagull in Lake Ontario catching some waves on a bright autumn day.

A Story - "Mousetrap" and Burning Bush and Eastern Red Cedar

Mousetrap

The November days were shrinking and growing damp. The young mouse scuttered below the low bushes and approached the older bungalow. She knew where the small spaces were where a mouse could squeeze through and get to the shelter of the garage. Her mother had shown her the way to get inside last fall.

Tonight she  wiggled her way into the garage where she could look for food. In a corner was a metal garbage can that smelled tantalizingly of sunflower seeds.  The young mouse leapt for the handles and then managed to get to the top of the can.  She chewed at the lid but her teeth weren't strong enough to get through. 

 Giving up on the seeds, she dropped to the floor and started sniffing along the base of the wall. She found a chocolate bar wrapper that still had a tiny bit of chocolate on it. She licked it bare.

Then her nose caught a whiff of peanut butter. In plain sight, was a hefty blob of it. She got a hit of dopamine and crept forward.  All her efforts so far had yielded little but here was a chunk of food ready to be gobbled up without any struggle.

But peanut butter on a trap is never free.
 

November can be a drab month so the sight of a burning bush (euonymus alatus) is cheering to see. The bushes can grow to around 6' tall and wide. The best colour is produced by a bush that is in full sun.  It is deciduous so the bush is bare during the winter and will sprout its new green leaves in the spring. During the summer, it just stays as a green shrub. It is hardy in zone 4  but can be invasive especially in the warmer zones (5 and above).

It has shiny little red fruit which are poisonous as is the rest of the plant.  However, some birds eat them.

Eastern red cedar is actually a juniper - juniper virginiana. It is a tough small tree native to North America that can grow in poor, dry soil. It can be the first tree to establish in disturbed ground.  It grows slowly and can live for a hundred years or more.  The blue seeds are not edible for people but birds and small animals  eat them.

A Story - "Pick-axe Hard" - Red Leaves and Pickaxe for Loosening Hard Soil

A Story

Pick-axe Hard

"It had been a dry summer and the untended garden space had solidified into unyielding hardpan.  

Carol's mother, Margaret, lived overseas, far from family.  She stubbornly refused to move closer.

A regular shovel wasn't going to make much headway with the garden soil.  It called for serious action. A pick-axe would be needed.

 Margaret wandered around her house, dusting old photographs, rearranging decorative items bought years ago.

The pick-axe easily dug into the earth.  The heavy sharp point loosened the soil and any interfering rocks.  

The heart attack that landed Margaret in the hospital had come without warning. Painful and earthquaking.

The blade of the pick-axe dug a wider swath and prepared the flower bed for the spring bulbs.

After Margaret was stable, Carol made arrangements for her to come to her home.

In May, the daffodils sprouted and bloomed their cheerful yellow trumpets.

Margaret sat in a garden chair and couldn't help enjoying the daffodils. When her granddaughter came to visit, she drew her grandmother a picture of the daffodils with a heart above her signature.  Their relationship was blossoming."

 

When confronted with very hard soil, I usually use a pick-axe to loosen it up. Because a pick-axe is fairly heavy, I don't have to lift it much above the soil surface, only 8-10", for it to easily go into the soil. I start by digging with the sharp pointed end, and then continue with the blade end. I find it much easier than trying to dig the hard soil with a shovel or a garden fork.

A pick-axe is also great for grubbing out shrubs and small trees.  The blade is powerful enough to cut through the roots and then I can pull up the whole plant so it's less likely to reshoot. The pick-axe is not a fancy high tech or new tool but it is very useful.

I planted my daffodils and will be happy to see them next spring.

A Story - "When the Festivals Covered Tears" and a Lovely Fall View

A Story

When the Festivals Covered Tears

After Dad passed away, Mom's loneliness drove her to festivals: musical, cultural, gardening, fireworks.  Any kind would do.  She'd return with souvenirs, food containers, posters.  Her apartment began to fill with festival bling.

As her apartment grew messier and more crowded, she stopped having visitors.  When I suggested decluttering, she got angry.  Her collecting escalated to hoarding. Her living space became dirty and unsafe.

When Mom died, I ruthlessly purged her possessions.  I scrubbed every room spotless and tastefully arranged the pieces of furniture I had kept.  I put up a few colourful festival posters as a tribute to her festival visiting days.

When visitors came over, they exclaimed," Her apartment is beautiful. The festival posters reflect her vibrant life."

I kept my comments to myself.  They didn't need to know Mom had lived in squalor.

 

A beautiful view on a warm October day. The fall has been very dry but it is hard to complain when the sky is so blue, and the trees are turning colour. Soon I'll be planting some daffodils in a blank slate of a garden. I'll be happy to see their cheerful yellow blooms next spring.

A Story- "Nature's Friendship" and Coneflower, Sweet Pea, Bicolour Phlox, Lily, Pink Polka Dot.

A Story 

Nature's Friendship

After a last word of encouragement to the dependable perennials, she gazed round the full view of the gardens.  It made her smile to know that her drops of sweat had soaked into the soil.  Something of her would still be here.  A hummingbird whizzed by on its way to the feeder.  The different birds who had nested on her property and raised their families would be part of her legacy.  The next generation would know to come back to this haven.

She leaned her head back and admired the trees that had grown so tall over the years.  They had sheltered the house in winter, cooled it in summer. The wind in their leaves had whispered sweet songs to her.

But it was okay to move on.  It felt right to start a new chapter.  She walked over to her car.  As she pulled out of the driveway,  she prayed that the new owners would be blessed with many happy moments.

 All the echinacea flowers from the center to the right of the photo are on one plant. I've never had so many blooms on one plant - I counted at least 15 flowers and buds.

Some lovely fragrant sweet peas that I grew from seeds I saved last summer.  So many of the seeds germinated that the plants are rather crowded in the pot.  That means each plant has fewer flowers but it doesn't matter.  They still smell lovely.

This is all one plant. It was originally all bi-colour but now some stems are solid.  I like the combination of the different stems. The solid pink flowers match perfectly with the bi-colour flowers. Phlox has such a wonderful fragrance.  It's one of my favourite scented flowers.

I also really like the fragrance of lilies.  Some people find it overpowering but I enjoy it. Lilies are a dependable plants as long as you aren't plagued by red lily beetles.  I used to have trouble with them but I started inspecting the plants in May and getting rid of any beetles I saw and after a few years I was no longer troubled by them. I just squashed the beetles.  With beetles, I find the best way to catch them is to put one hand, palm up, under the leaf with the beetle and then try to trap the beetle with your other hand.  Usually the beetle will suddenly drop off the leaf but it will fall into the hand below.

Three pink polka dot plants that I started in spring  2024 and overwintered last winter in the basement.  They are in a nine inch pot and add a nice pop of colour in a part-shade spot that tends to dry out. I water fairly regularly but they can stand some dryness.  They can be  an alternative to coleus.

A Story - "When Baby Came" - Calla Lily, Native Black-eyed Susan, Astrantia, Hostas and Cherry Bell Campanula, Bridging colours, Aggressive Purple-flowering Maple.

A Story

When Baby Came

 Lisa sighed gently as Peter brushed her hair, stroke after stroke. His hands tickled her neck as he gathered her hair together to make a ponytail.  He playfully swung her hair and then kissed her on the cheek.  She turned to him, and drew him into a full kiss. They had always been deeply in love but now that she was pregnant, they felt even closer. Peter rested his hand lightly on her swollen belly and smiled when he felt the baby's foot pressing outwardly. They were already connecting.

A few weeks later, Lisa went into labour.  Peter, who had attended pre-natal classes with her, knew to massage her back. He sang her favourite songs and wiped her brow with a cool cloth. He told her how much he loved her and how special it was to have a baby with her. When she was finally delivering, he held her hand and never flinched when she squeezed with all her might. Lisa was so thankful to have such a devoted husband.

Baby made a grand entrance, crying heartily and turning a bright rose red. Lisa cuddled her and laughed at her comical face.  Peter, on the other hand, stared at Baby mesmerized, totally enraptured with her.

That was the beginning of the competition between Lisa and Baby.

The summer before last I got these calla lily bulbs for free at the end of the season in August.  I potted them up and they grew a bit before the frost.  I overwintered them in their pot inside, basically just neglected them in the basement.  Last summer, I put the pot outside and they grew nice leaves but no flowers. Finally this summer, I have blooms.  Very pretty and worth the wait. They like a sunny location with ample moisture in the growing season.

Gardening is always full of surprises.  This year  three native rudbeckia (hirta) have popped up around the garden. They are a biennial plant unlike the usual perennial rudbeckia (goldstrum).  Their leaves are narrow and hairy. I guess some bird dropped their seeds in our yard. I'm enjoying having them.

Astrantia is such an unusual flower - spiky yet soft. The white ones have subtle colour variations with touches of green and pink here and there. They form a nice big clump but do not wander.  They prefer a half-shade location and adequate moisture.  A mulch around them to keep the soil from drying out is preferable.

Some of my favourite hostas, especially the green one with buttery yellow centres. I don't remember what varieties they are.  In front of them are some cherry-bell campanula which for some reason decided to make a nice ground cover this year in an area that I have struggled to find a plant for.  Campanulas in general like sun but also adequate moisture. These ones are flopping because they are not in full sun. However, they are growing well because the soil is not drying out.

To transition from the hot orange campion to the cool pink lily, I planted in a couple of miniature red roses.  The red serves as a bridge colour.

Purple-flowering maple has attractive flowers and will later make red raspberry-like fruit.  It is native to my area (zone 4).  It makes a shrub up to 5' tall. Sounds nice? Not really.  It is very aggressive and I would gladly do without it.  I spend considerable time trying to root it out of my gardens. It is sometimes sold as a garden plant  but it is a real thug. I didn't plant it in my yard - it was already here as it is a native plant. The bees like it though and birds will eat the edible, but not tasty, fruit.

A Story - "Secret Pleasure" - Pink Winky Columbine, Air Plant Blooming, Old-Fashioned Iris, Foamflower, Gerbera Daisy

Secret Pleasure

The book club met every Thursday morning.  Lisa enjoyed the discussions about the books, but also the joking banter that got the group laughing.  Over the years, the group had become close.  

The members liked to share their latest projects.  Susan had started taking singing lessons.  Pamela was making stain glass ornaments.  Laura was volunteering with vulnerable children.  Tanya was trying out recipes from around the world.  Lisa was busy knitting socks but she also had a new hobby, one she didn’t feel comfortable sharing with the group. Even good friends can find certain interests unsettling.

In the evenings, Lisa was working her way through a college calculus course.

This is a pink Winky columbine. I have found that the Winky (blue and pink) columbine variety blooms better than the single types.  They like part shade and adequate moisture. Lovely little flower to start off the summer blooms.

One of the air plants sent up a couple of blooms this morning.  Fascinating plants that don't need any soil. They do need to be soaked in water every week or so, and occasionally given a weak liquid fertilizer in their water. I always use distilled or rain water.  This plant was put outside on a rainy day which is another way to water them. They like to be in a window that gets gentle sun.

Old-fashioned iris.  Not frilly or fancy but still very attractive.

The foamflower is literally growing on top of a rock. I guess the moss on the rock provides enough medium for it to hang unto and there would be a small amount of soil under the moss. Very pretty with blue Siberian bugloss and pulmonaria around it.

All six gerbera daisies that I overwintered in the basement survived until spring. I put them outside late April bringing them inside if there was frost.  In May, I planted them in the garden.  Now they are starting to bloom in the outside garden.  One of the plants was big enough that I was able to divide it into two plants.