My mom - the gardener

I was reading a blog post about gardening in the winter and planning for the next season. It is that time of year again - a New Year’s resolution for the keen gardener.

My mom would study the seed catalogues and her own notes about last year’s garden. Some vegetables did well and some did not. Fortunately tomatoes did. They were my dad’s favourite.

So on the Ides of March she planted her tomato seeds. She tended them very carefully. If she came to Ottawa at Easter she would bring them with her - they were just too fragile to leave alone for a few days.

Usually they survived and thrived and produced many tomatoes. I liked the red plum the best.

Flowers that bloom in the summer

The flowers at the front of my house do not quite look like this yet but maybe later on. I am not much of a gardener but I do enjoy looking at other folks efforts.



One of my gardening friends was telling me how his garden was doing. I must admit that some of the flower names he was telling me were not familiar at all.

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I have been watching “Six Feet Under” and at one point the 3 siblings are singing this silly little song to young Maya.
　
I'm a lonely little petunia in an onion patch,an onion patch, an onion patch
I'm a lonely little petunia in an onion patchand all I do is cry all day
Boo hoo, boo hoo
The air is so strong it takes my breath away
I'm a lonely little petunia in an onion patch…

My mom often had petunias in her garden but she never had onions in her house. They were her least liked vegetable.
　
　

Picnics and BBQs in the past

So was this picture taken at one of Kathi’s birthday parties?

Very possibly.

We would go beforehand to the local swimming pool. It was a very short walk from the house on Princess Street.

There were also Sunday School picnics with food and fun and games with friends.

Later on there were back yard picnics for riding companions. Some time in August I will be hosting some of these folks at my house. We met up a few years ago and we enjoyed it so much that we are doing it again.

Picnics and BBQs

This past week I have been out and about at 3 different outdoor events - eating and socializing, etc.

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Tuesday evening was the last meeting of the Parish Council until the fall. One of the wardens provided the setting at her house - a nice deck and garden to admire. We had the meeting first and it went on for quite some time. The husband was busy on the BBQ and it started to smell very good.

Finally we finished the business and the food and drinks could start in a more serious way.

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Wednesday afternoon one of my former work colleagues had a potluck BBQ in her backyard. It was a holiday across the river for St. Jean Baptiste. There were not a large number of people there but those who were enjoyed themselves. A swim in the pool was offered. We were entertained by the 2 dogs. One of the younger staff was there. I thought to myself - did I look that young when I started working?

It was nice to see her house that she and her partner have been renovating.

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Saturday afternoon I was at a potluck for the women’s breakfast group that I attend once a month. I was able to drive someone there. It was a lovely drive in the country and it was very pleasant to be there. This time we were entertained by the 2 cats. A swim in the pool was offered. I talked with new friends and old ones.

It was in a lovely setting along the river and the gardens were quite extensive.

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I declined to swim on both occasions - I must get myself a swim suit.

The gardens remind me of my mom and Princess Street in Lachute and Kathi’s efforts in Vancouver.

Meeting other animals gives me a chance to talk about Abracadabra and bring out her pictures.

Chatting with friends old and new is always a good thing for someone who lives alone.

Eating and sampling new foods is fun. Not eating too much is somewhat of a challenge. I did not do too badly with the desserts. There was always fruit available.

I am glad that I went to all 3 of the events. Now I will stay at home for a while and enjoy my cool basement.

Lawn care

Recently I had some landscaping done around my house. There was some dampness in my basement. I hope that this will be the end of that problem.

It was quite an undertaking to dig up my lawn and put in some new soil and sod. There were various pieces of equipment that were used. The first one could not do its job properly and it had to be replaced. The young men moving the sod and soil and using the equipment were quite efficient and they worked very hard.

When they were all done I was left with new sod that needed to be watered. I have 2 long hoses. One came from Lachute and is probably 10 or 15 years old. I must admit it works better than my newer one. I also gave up on fancy nozzles. They never seemed to work as they should. They leaked more than they did their job.

The rain we have had recently has helped a lot. The grass is growing rather well.
　

Pests in the garden

He is not one of them! He is guarding his blueberries. This is Dennis the Bear in Kathi's garden in Vancouver.

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I was reminded of wildlife in the garden by a news story about someone finding a snake.

My mom was not overly fond of them and would beat a hasty retreat to the house when she met one.

Gardening friends complain of unwanted visitors - especially bunnies in one part of the city. The get into everything - even eating the rose bushes. As this friend said - they are very cute. I would agree with that - more about bunnies later.

Green Acres is the place to be

For several years my mom and dad had a second garden in the country at the farm of the dad of Kathi's godfather.


It was close by so they could easily get there in the evenings. As you can see the crops were plentiful.

So were the groundhogs - they had lots of tales of trying to keep them away. The pleasures of gardening - there are often uninvited guests.

They called the garden Green Acres which name came from a very silly TV series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a farm in the country.

This was the theme song.

Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide.

My dad and mom and Kathi's godparents enjoyed their time at Green Acres. There were extra vegetables when the groundhogs did not get them first.