B’s favourite flower, the bleeding heart, is in full bloom in the shady space beside the house. She’s in heaven. Meanwhile, I keep finding little pink hearts scattered around everywhere I go — sweet little gifts from a sweet little girl who loves me so.
Today marks the Vernal Equinox – that moment when the Earth’s axis points neither towards nor away from the sun and we celebrate the first day of spring. It is, officially, spring. Here in Ottawa, March is a winter month. Temperatures hover around freezing, dipping well below some days, and climbing to 3 or 4 [...]
We like birds around here. We have quite a few in the house, and we take great pleasure in watching for the wide variety of feathered friends who stop by our feeders for a visit. It isn’t unusual to see a half dozen species nearby at any given moment. One of our favourite bird families [...]
K was curious yesterday. Curious about what he was reading in his book. Curious about the spider happily spinning beside the house. Curious about the sky, and the clouds, and the huge, fat raindrops that soaked him to the skin. Curious about how first The Man We Call Dad, then Mama, then B all come [...]
With the impending arrival of fall, the garden is starting to wind down. Not that you’d know it – we’re in full harvest mode around here. The garden isn’t very big; in truth, it is quite tiny. A little raised bed alongside the fence. A second bed at the back, just for potatoes. A small space nestled [...]
It never fails to astound me how a garden that is little more than bare ground and withered brown sticks in March can become so lush and full of colour by June. It also never fails to sadden me when, as summer progresses, blooms fade and wither and are done for the year. There are [...]
I’m in love with this cabbage at the moment. His lines. His shadows. The way he stands out in the middle of a garden full of small-leafed things. Completely in love. And I don’t even like cabbage all that much.
This week has been a week for visitors. B put a handful or three of birdseed on the deck rail and we’ve been beseiged by adorable little sparrows hopping all around in their excitement. We’ve also been visited by the larger and more stately mourning doves who gracefully settle on the rail and spend a minute [...]
Just a little thing, a spot of beauty in this wonderful world we inhabit… A single daisy, brilliant white and sunny yellow against a background of dark green, reflecting the morning sun in a way no other flower can. The single harbringer of what will soon be an explosion of blooms. So many blooms that [...]
We grow a lot of things in our garden beds. Flowers, to be sure. Shrubs. Lilies, hostas, irises, and all sorts of pretty things just for looking at and smelling and touching. Food for the senses and the soul. But we also grow things that feed the body. Lots and lots of things that feed [...]
