A Story - "Habitat" -Vinca (Periwinkle) and Changing Views of the Bay

A Story

Habitat

Perched on the side of the half-barrel planter filled with colourful pansies, the robin surveyed the front yard. He had a clear view all the way to the stand of lilacs that bordered the trees where he and his mate had built a nest.

Later, Sheryl noticed him and his mate poking at the front lawn finding worms and other insects. It made her happy to see them comfortable in their environment. It helped her to feel at home.  She missed the birds that she knew at her old home but this robin pair would be the beginning of new relationships.

On her usual woodland path walk, she found a large patch of wild columbine with red and yellow flowers.  They were a happy surprise.  She had tried in the past to grow columbine and hadn't had success. Here a whole swath of them were thriving in this unique habitat. 

Would she thrive in her new habitat? It would be an adjustment. Some things missed, some things gained.

 She could learn from the robins. They were content wherever they were, finding nesting spots in forests, or on a porch light in the suburbs.  Always with a cheerful song and never a bully to other birds.

Sheryl promised herself that she would start each morning watching for the robins, and opening her heart to her new life.
 

Vinca (periwinkle) can be an attractive groundcover in shady areas but it is aggressive. It should be planted where it can be contained and where it won't go over to the neighbours or invade a woodland area.  This patch came with the property.

 

The flowers are pretty at a time of year when not much else is blooming.

The bay is always changing.  Interesting patterns on the water even though the sky was just clear with no clouds.

At this time of year, we get lovely sunsets.

The dark blue of the water stands out well against the yellow green of the new leaves.

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 _ "Perfect Fix" and Feathery Muscari, Pansies, English Daisy and Mini Solar Birdbath Pump

A Story

Perfect Fix

Jenna was skating on the famous Ottawa Rideau Canal, thirteen kilometers of frozen delight. Figures skaters twirled and swirled.  Turbo-charged hockey players zoomed by her.  Jenna glided cautiously, a tourist soaking up the playful atmosphere.

Suddenly, her skate pick caught the ice, throwing her down hard.  Her right knee zinged with pain.  A hero braked sharply, held out his arms.  "You need a beaver tail."

Confused, Jenna gratefully grabbed his hands and hung on to his arm as he guided her to a snack shack.  He ordered hot chocolates and delectable deep-fried cinnamon doughnuts, shaped like beaver tails.

Perfect fix.

This is a feathery muscari which isn't offered very often by the bulb companies.  This is its third spring in my garden and this is the first year that it has opened properly so that may be why it isn't seen so often. We had a lot of rain in late April and early May so maybe that's what it needs.  It is flopping a bit as the location is fairly shady. It is a lovely periwinkle blue colour unlike the regular grape hyacinths that are more dark purple. The feathery muscari grows to about 6-8" high.

I had planted four columbine in a row.  They all came up just fine but then one died so I needed a replacement plant.  I decided on this pretty pink English daisy which, where I live, will likely only last the summer. If I see the same double columbine as the one that died, I may buy another one to replace it.

Some pansies to brighten a partial shade spot.

 

I saw a mini fountain set up on the internet and decided to try one out. It is a small submersible pump powered by a solar panel (4" square).  I bought a plastic cup and drilled a hole in the bottom and cut away a bit on the top end to allow the wire to go out.  I flipped up the cup and put the colourful top on the bottom that is now the top. The pump has a suction cup to keep it in place and it goes inside the cup. The pump works when the sun shines on the panel but not when it's cloudy or dark. I had bought a green bowl to go with the green cup but it was too small and too much water was landing on the deck when the pump was at full force. I am enjoying the sound of the water and it was so easy to set up.  I am hoping some birds might like it, too. 

A Day Out

 

We had a lovely day out spending the afternoon visiting with family. We were about 2 1/2 hours drive west of home at a park on the St. Lawrence in the area known as the Thousand Islands.  The grandkids and their dad went for a one hour boat tour around some of the islands on the tour boat in the photo.

The sky and water were incredibly blue.  You can see the clouds reflected in the water. Click on photo for full screen.

The highlights of the clouds were so brilliant. Click on photo for full screen.

This little guy kept hanging around our picnic table hoping for a hand-out but we didn't have any food with us as this is yellow-jacket wasp season and none of us like being bothered by wasps.

A little miniature lighthouse to add to the nautical theme.

Lots of boats of various shapes and sizes at the marina.  We saw quite a few motor boats on the water but no sailboats. It was quite chilly down by the water but we even saw an intrepid man in t-shirt and shorts zooming around on his sea-doo.

The park had a nice playground for the children to amuse themselves in while the adults had a chat.

We may not see the grandkids until next spring if things continue the way they are with Covid so we were very thankful to get in a visit.

Ice

Lots of interesting icy shapes in the little stream.

Some rain and freezing rain over the weekend moulded this clump of branches together over the stream.

 Some high-bush cranberries knocked off by the stormy weather add some bright spots of colour in the drab landscape.

 There's even a patch of green.

Dangling drops of ice.
Next week we will get our usual January deep freeze.

Orchid

I got this Phalaenopsis orchid last fall when it had beautiful magenta blooms.( Little Jaws is wondering what is on his carpet by the heater. The orchid normally sits on windowsill -it's only on the floor for the photo)
I have never been able to get an orchid to rebloom but this one has put out a new shoot!

In the past, I cut the spent blooming stalk back to a node as the gardening expert on the radio advised but then the stalk would just dry up and die.  This time I decided to leave it intact and a node has sprouted on the flower stalk. I'm thinking that our house is so dry in the winter that cutting the stalk allowed too much moisture to escape and so the stalk died. In a couple of months as the new shoot gets bigger I will trim the stalk.

Some nice new roots are growing out of the center, too.
I know orchids can be fussy about the quality of the water they get.  Our well water is very hard so we have a water softener but the salt in the soft water isn't good for plants, and the hard water can leave residual minerals. I have been watering the orchid with bottled spring water but now that it is showing new growth I think I will switch to distilled water.  In a few weeks I'll give it some dilute fertilizer and hope for the best.

Arboretum

 We went to the Arboretum in Ottawa.  We parked at the top of the hill and had a lovely view of the sweeping grass and trees below. It was supposed to be sunny but it was cloudy and humid. Appropriately, when we got out of the truck we heard a pipe band in the distance.

 Where were they?

 Here they are -about half a kilometer away on the other side of the canal. I think that's about the right distance to be from a pipe band to really enjoy it.  It's amazing how the sound of the pipes and drums carry across the landscape.

A nice big droopy willow.

A couple of kayakers in green boats enjoying the canal.

In the arboretum, a couple of smoke bushes give colour to the otherwise green landscape.
All the rain we've been having will be good for the trees.

Merrickville Locks

Click on photo for full width.
We were in the Kawartha Lakes region(about 2hrs. north-east of Toronto) for a family gathering. On our way back, we stopped in Merrickville to stretch our legs and enjoy the locks. I find it fascinating how one person can crank open the lock gates and manage the water levels. It was a perfect summer day and the water looked lovely.

I didn't take any pictures in the Kawartha area. It is an attractive area of rolling wooded hills and some farms, but the traffic was quite busy and the roads didn't have a good shoulder to pull over on. It is close enough to Toronto to be a popular recreation spot so lots of weekend visitors.

Watery Colours

 Some photos I took along the walking trail in Morin Heights.

The autumn colours were reflecting in a variety of interesting ways.

The water is shimmering like metal, or, not so pleasantly, like an oil spill. Thankfully, the water is, in reality, very clean.

A bright red maple reflects beautifully in some still water.

A flash of bright yellow glows in a shadowy spot.

The Joy of a Brook

 I wish you could have heard the song of the brook, and smelt its freshness, and experienced the beauty of the clear, crisp water. It was such a treat to spend time near this stream.

 The froth is  just clean water mixed with clean air. So refreshing.

Someone has a tree house right by the bank. What a wonderful spot !

The trail leading by the stream is an old railway bed that is now used as a walking, biking trail in the summer, and a skiing trail in the winter.

A bridge further upstream crosses water that is tranquil. View to the west.

 View to the east.

 Yet another bridge as this is a very windy stream.  A little pond has been formed here as someone has made a small rock dam to slow the flow a little.

 How could you not want to splash in that pond?

 The water is so clear that the gravelly rocks on the bottom pick up a yellow tone from the sunlight.

 As you can see , this bridge sits in quite a dip.  Years ago, a railway trestle  bridged the two high points. Occasionally when we were kids, we crossed over it even though the decking was gone.  I found it scary to cross it with the water rushing by below.
I am hoping to walk this trail later in the fall when the leaves have turned colour.  It should be really nice then, too.