Welcoming August

I love August. The days are warm and bright and the evenings cool.
The gardens are usually at their best if the weather has been good. We are having a dry-spell at the moment so sprinklers are needed this month. My garden is small this year and we are enjoying everything we harvest; tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli.
yellow beans & zucchini. It's all delicious.

And we have raspberries from my grandmother's bush (over 75 years old) and one that we planted last year. These were enjoyed over ice-cream.

Wilson has no interest in our harvest.
This is where I find him after a full day of helping the retired-guy. Right now they are bricking the fireplace.

We have many family birthdays this month; one being my first-born. She is 37 this year. Goodness...how has that happened so fast. I guess we parents ask ourselves often when our children become adults and eventually have families of their own just where have the years gone. Oh well, beats the alternative.

Our little family of house wrens left the nest yesterday. Once again I missed their departure and will miss them terribly. We presently do not have any nests in our houses. :-( I'm hoping any bird that is always late for the show decides to have a go at late summer nesting. I sure miss the sound of mama wren calling from her roof-top.

I am waiting anxiously for our chickadees to return. That's another thing I love about August.  We don't see one chickadee all summer as they leave our area to nest. I believe they go into the bush and nest in the cedars and maples. They never use our houses (we have nine) like the house wrens and swallows. They will soon return and bring along their young to our feeders.
When I hear that first "chickadee-dee-dee" it's like welcoming back an old friend. And there's no bird cuter than a baby chickadee.

I hope your August is going well. I'll be busy cat-sitting for the end-of-summer travellers. It's always a busy time for pet-sitters.
I'll have some beauties to show off. :-)

be kind, Deb

As July moves on...

I thought I'd better put a post up before the whole month has gone. How we are heading into August already baffles me but here we are.

My little tree swallows have gone. They left their nest two weeks ago and as always, I missed their first flight.
We've had two families of swallows but I never seem to be around when mom gives the babes the heave-ho.
 Oh well, I so enjoyed watching them grow and have such respect for these mama birds that work so hard to keep them fed in our summer heat. It's been ghastly.
Right now we have a family of house wrens nesting behind our house and it has been wonderful to have them so close. I love the song of the wren and she sings her head off many times throughout the day. I find myself hoping for cooler days just for them. Can you imagine how hot it is in a birdhouse in +40C temperatures. 

My little veggie garden is doing ok. We have harvested broccoli, lettuce and zucchini so far. All delicious raw and cooked.  It's been a struggle to keep it going with the excessive heat and mosquitoes and it is not my prettiest garden, that's for sure. The weeds can surely get away on you when you only last a few minutes before you run screaming and swatting like a mad woman.
But still we don't complain too much because we remember vividly the longest coldest winter on record that we just lived through. Give me spring and fall. :-)

We have not moved in to the new house yet but seem to be in it more than not. The cats spend most of their time there and are enjoying the extra-wide sills on the windows that have been built just for them. Bird-watching has become a sport for them. Presently, the guys are finishing up the installation of the wood-stove and mantel; a must for the cold days ahead.
And the stair posts and rails that lead to the loft go in this week.  
This has been quite the project. Exhausting and exciting.



Here's a few photos of late here at Fox Grove...

Our little House Wren family

If it wasn't for their rumbling tummies they would never leave here.

"CROWS"

Lemon Cranberry Scones

Not home-made because it's too darn hot.

Yep...he had a bite. Well...because I can't resist that face.

I hope everyone is doing well. 
It's been so chaotic around here this summer with the house, landscaping, family get-together's and cat-sitting
that my blog has been sadly neglected. I hope August is a little less fast-paced and I can find more time to write. I'm off to visit your blogs. :-) 

Take care,
Deb

Spring brings much life to Fox Grove

There are babies all over Fox Grove; fox, squirrels, tree swallows, house wrens and chipmunks.

Mama house wren

Pa & ma tree swallow

 And I know by all the noise in our maples that we have blue jays nesting up there along with black crows. Yesterday I spotted two baby piliated wood peckers.
The woodpile behind the veggie garden is full of chipmunk nests and I hear babies 'chirping' in the wood-lot but have no idea what they are. It's like a maternity wing around here.

And my tree frog, Tao, is back in his bird house and settled right in.
Look up.
 I really hope he stays all summer. He is comic relief. He loves to watch me garden
and yes, I talk to him. :))) He moves his head from side to side when I do.
So he has an identity crisis. 

We have a lone wild turkey living in our woodlot and sleeping in the trees.
She is alone and that bothers me. So, I have adopted her in the way that I feed her daily and refer to her as Thelma. I feel sorry for her as I expect she has been shunned from her flock for some reason. Last fall we had many flocks of wild turkeys feeding here and now we have one lone female. Something happened. She is very nervous when she sees anyone and will run towards the woodlot only to return in a few hours to the feeders again. I put apples and seed out for her at dinner-time each and every evening so she can depend on something. I hope she finds a mate unless this is her preferred life-style. lol

The summer is when I enjoy displaying my pottery in my cluttered country cottage china cupboard. And hopefully find a few more lovely pieces on our excursions.

Our lilac season is nearing the end. It's been wonderful having these beautiful and fragrant blossoms to enjoy.

And these two are doing great.
Annie's health is good and Wilson has a love for life.

And we sure love them.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

be kind,
Deb

Catching up.

First off, Annie is doing well. Thank you for your good thoughts and prayers for her.
Her stitches have been removed since this photo and we hope that will be the end of it.
She is very precious to us.
And she is happy to let you know she is not wearing
her onesie anymore even though she rocked it.

Spring is everywhere at Fox Grove.
So much green and yellow to enjoy.
We have bird houses filling up with nesting birds such as house wrens and tree swallows.
And recently have welcomed a pair of mallard ducks to the feeders. I imagine they are nesting in the ditch somewhere.
Even our little red squirrels are nesting and of late we only have two black crows coming for food.
We are hoping, and expect, really, that the female is on a nest as the other two, after eating, fill their beaks and head off with food daily.

Our Easter Egg Hunt this year was so much fun. We picked the best day for it. No rain and the kids had a blast in the wood-lot.
Even the big ones, I think. :-)

Mother's Day was wonderful. My family joined us for a lovely vegetarian dinner at a local restaurant; yes, even the men went meat-free for a meal. It was amazing. And as usual I was a spoiled mom.

                                                              Now ...Do not over-water.

And now it is the Victoria Day long weekend and we are so busy getting the outside ready for gardens that there is no time for festivities. That's ok, though. I'm just glad to have spring and feel the warm sun when it isn't raining. 

I hope it is sunny where you are and flowers are blooming. We have to wait another week to plant because of our cool nights. Next week there will be no excuses.

Annie and Wilson say "Howdy".

be kind,
Deb

Our little Annie.

Our Annie has gone through major surgery again to remove a malignant tumor;

much like she did two years ago.

The surgeon is very hopeful that it will not re-occur.

I am staying by her for the next few days in hopes that she has an easy recovery 

from this ordeal.

So far she is moving around, eating and getting lots of rest.

She sees the surgeon again on Monday.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I will be back to share our Easter photos

(although I'm sure you are all done with that )

of the egg hunt in our woodlot.

It was so much fun and the day was perfect. :-)

Thank you in advance,

Deb

Happy Easter

We are preparing for Easter and it's been pouring rain all day.

The good side of it is that all the snow is gone, the grass is showing (what there is of it out here) and all my spring flowers are up. 
But there is lots of mud as we have not seeded much of the lot yet. I tell anyone who visits to wear their wellies. :-)

Watching to see what birds find our bird houses adequate is quite exciting. Already the tree swallows are back and checking out the blue bird houses. Last year we had a sweet family of them live in one  and a house wren and her family as their neighbours.

And the chipmunks are our comic relief.

We had to postpone our Annual Easter Egg Hunt in the woodlot until Monday as it will rain right up to Easter day this year.  I'm so looking forward to having all the family, which include five excited grands, out for the day. And I'll be checking to see if the Easter Bunny arrived and hid lots of chocolate-filled eggs amongst the maples.
I've posted lots of signs for him and raked a path to invite him in. I planted pansies; swept around the outhouse, picked up scattered branches and twigs and added a new feeding station with seeds and peanuts next to the stone bench. I know, I know...I will leave him some carrots.
The chipmunks are nesting in the twig piles and I've made friends with a special one. There is no sign of Simon yet. I'm still hoping.

Annie and Wilson say "howdy".
Easter decor is bringing out the best in someone. After the tree flew through the air a few times I kept introducing him to it again and again and now he has become totally bored with it.
Sometimes you can actually outwit him. :-b

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful time of year.

"Happy Easter, everyone."

Deb

Spring is showing her face.

We are still waiting for our snow to leave here. It's taking it's time but the weather this weekend is doing some damage. We are having temperatures up in the teens and sun; glorious sun.

I have been back in the woodlot picking up branches, checking the trees and looking for any signs of spring. There are many. :)

The snow is only a few inches deep now. Only weeks ago I needed snowshoes.

The snow is piled up along the stone wall but throughout the paths it is melting. It's wonderful. 

I have met one of last years chipmunks and she spent much of her time watching me work.
Of course she was rewarded.
Imagine looking this cute while eating lunch.

Painting is still going on at the house. Poor Wilson has been hell bent on helping and I see now he is finally exhausted.

I had to step in and remove a broom that he was munching on; something on it held his interest and I also had to remove him from the top of the cupboards in the new kitchen. It was a piece of cake to get up there, I guess, but to get down was another story. 

The sun pours into the main room throughout the day. When the retired-guy stops for coffee Wilson grabs a few minutes in a sun-puddle to re-charge.

I'll just say I'm glad we aren't paying him by the hour.

The sun is so warm now.

                                                Annie

I'm getting ready for Easter. We have the annual egg hunt in the woodlot scheduled so I hope we lose the snow. It won't be the first time if not. The grandittles don't care. It's all such fun for them but it can't be easy for the Easter bunny to hide the eggs in melting snow. :-(

"Happy Sunday" to all.

be kind, Deb