A Great Day!

By eight o’clock in the morning, the beautiful dawn of yesterday morning had turned to rain. I was disappointed, but I knew that being Springtime, it could change back again. And it did! At 8:20 I was out in the yard in my slippers weed whacking. It felt good to see the weed fields bear closer resemblance to lawn. It makes the yard look so tidy to attend to the edging and to clip the weeds down to a very low level.

I had to quit whacking to take Her Highness for a walk because I had to leave her at home and go to the dentist for a cleaning, and then I went into the village to do some shopping and to fetch a prescription. By the time I got home, it was time to feed the brood our lunch. And then I got back to work on the weed fields, whacking, picking up shite, and raking up the cones.

I’m particularly chuffed by how Pinecone Park presents to the street. The front weed field looks like nice low lawn from the distance, and the edible garden is magnificent. The Raspberry canes are over two meters high, and the Blueberry bushes are laden with blossoms. It looks so vibrant and healthy! People might think that I know what I am doing.

Wed whacking the weed fields is tiring, plus the vibrations make my arms and hands useless for about half an hour after I use the whacker. But boy does everything look good when it is all trimmed and edged! When I must recharge the whacker, I rest, and yesterday it was very pleasant to rest on my recliner in the sunshine.

Then it was back to work, exhausting myself with transplanting and raking. Still, it felt very good to be outdoors and being constructive. It also felt very good to rest after each bout of work. The final chore of the day was to empty my four jerrycans of gas into the car because gas goes bad over time. I can’t keep last Winter’s gas for next Winter’s emergencies. If filled up my car and sadly, at one point, some gas got in my eyes. Man, that stung.

Next up was our afternoon walk., but we had to wait for an afternoon shower to stop before we left. I didn’t have the energy for Elder Cedar, so we just walked a short route close to the house. And that was the end of my working day. It was a good day. I got lots done and I was very happy.

It was an excellent day for the garden. We had several healthy showers and several periods of brilliant sunshine. I was happy for all my plants—especially the fruit trees and shrubs. It’s been a wonderful Spring for the garden. It’s been cool and wet, and it shows in all the beds that are bursting with blossoms and fresh growth. My huge deep red Rhodo is ablaze with bright new leaves, there are millions of them. Last year was a blooming year, this year is a growth year.

I couldn’t stop. I cut a large carpet that was in the studio into two large pieces—one for in front of the sink where I do so much work, and the other at the entrance to the kitchen from the deck. It’s going to make cooking more comfortable for me, and the mat by the door is going to keep more of the needles and crap from coming into the house.

I didn’t stop moving until 5:45. Finally, I was done working and ready to feed the brood and make my own dinner. What a great day!

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Today has dawned wet and cool. I’m loving all this rain. The gardens are getting a vital deep soak after three weeks of sunshine. I’m sure that there’ll be a break in the weather at some point today, and I hope I get some work done outside. Otherwise, I may have to bake something for Colleen, my neighbour, who came over and cleared all my paths when we got our big dump of snow. I want to bake her a thank you cake.

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Last night was yummy. I lit a fire to feel cozy after a hard (for me) day of work, and I wrote a long letter to my friend, Allyson, in Ontario. Below are photos from last night’s walkabout. I’m posting them so that I can send Ally a link to them to see my garden beds and yard as it is now.

Those white flowers are the mock orange I smell whever I am in the
backyard. I love their fragrance as I soak in the tub.

Two years ago, I gave these gorgeous Ferns company. I planted Peonies
and some lovely blue crawlers (that aren't blooming yet) to make it a 
proper bed. This is what you see as you come in the gate to the backyard.

I planted the Ive to give the place a feeling of age. And the Skimmer did
an excellent job of creating a nice big clump of light green in contract.

The trellis has been a huge success. The Climbing Hydrangea and Rose have
thoroughly covered it, and I love my fountain looking so good in its Ivy coat.

Two years ago, I laid the concrete pads to my path, replacing the wood I'd
originally used. And I planted Scotch Moss along the edge and it has very
nicely filled in. 

Look at that Butter Burr! It's huge and I love it.

Each year, I add something to the circle patio and each year I like it more.
I. haven't added anything this year, but I will soon.

All around the tree in the background, everything died in the Winter
of 2023. I built that wall and planted around the base of the tree last
yeah and it has come along vey nicely.

All that grey/blue ground cover you see is Campion. It is a gorgeous 
shocking crimson flower that will bloom in June. It's a native plant that
grows easily and is very hardy. I am thrilled to have so dense a patch in
Pinecone Park.

This is the garden that is so hard to manage because the trees soak up
all the water. This bed takes a LOT of care.

This is the back of the yard. I planted things here and there just for
fun, and I have three Apple trees here. 

The two closest beds are densely berried Blueberries, and in the back 
you can see the abundance of Raspberry canes I got this year.

This is the garden in the front yard that has no protection from Deer.
Slowly, slowly, it is maturing. It bakes in the sun and takes a lot of
care. But each year it looks better.

The front yard requires Deer fencing around everything.

This is the Virginia Creeper I planted two yeas ago. It is gorgeous in
Autumn when the leaves turn brilliant red. Hopefully, I will get lots of
new growth this year.