Garden Glory

It is just about that time during the summer when my used-to-be shade garden begins to succumb to the heat and lack of water. I thought I would take a few photos before it becomes too crispy and blows away!

A pale pink lily proudly displaying its freckled throat

One of many in the clump of brick coloured day lilies

My pink hydrangea bloomed beautifully for the first time this year

The porcelain vine is lush and provides cover for the fence where little birds hide

The astilbe is a vibrant hot pink

These weedlike blue bell flowers grow everywhere

Another of the day lilies shows its face to the sun

These purpley-blue spikes have multiplied into a sizable clump

My pals ~ "Quackers and Cheese" ~ the whimsical garden ducks made from bamboo roots!


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GG NANA UPDATE************************************************

I am so happy to let you know that Great Great Nana with the Cane was released home from the hospital this afternoon. She is very weak and sometimes still a little confused about where she is, but we believe that she will recover much better at home with the people she knows and who care about her.

Thank you for your messages of support and prayers ~ they worked!

Reflections...

Annie at Bimbimbie has nominated me for this Blogger Reflections Award. Do visit her blog where she shares her love of Australia's life and lore.

Thank you Annie for this!!

And now it is my turn to follow Annie's lead and nominate six other bloggers.

Holly at Holly Loves Art whose blog is filled with her creative handiwork which gives me great pleasure to look at and makes me wish I had talent too.

Betty Jo at Digi Scribbles whose beautiful pictures and layouts have inspired me to try digital scrapbooking. Thank you Betty Jo for your encouragement and help.

Karen at Scraps of Mind for challenging me to post my first digital scrapbook page. Her blog has lots of tips for newbie scrapbookers like me as well many other interesting tidbits about using other blog features/tools.

Ally at Simply Nice who has jumped headfirst into blogging with such enthusiasm. It's all Ally's doing that I am a doting Nana!

Nature Girl at Nature Trail who posts the most amazing nature photos. I always look forward to visiting her blog to get a glimpse of what new visions she is sharing with Blogland.

Betty at She's Sew Pretty who is a whiz at turning out creative pieces using more than her sewing skills. I particularly enjoy her no-cal confections!

Oh, oh ... I feel like I should be nominating more bloggers! I have tried to choose people that I don't think have been already chosen. BUT, if I missed you and you really would like to participate please consider yourself tagged and go for it!

Tag I'm It!!!

Karen from Scraps of Mind has tagged me to reveal 8 random facts about me. So ... here goes!

1. I am afraid of roller coasters and married into a family who love them. As a newlywed, I caved in to pressure from my new mother and father-in-law at a Midway and I went on one with them and my husband. I was never so terrified in my life and thought I was going to faint and fall out. One look at my green face at the end of the ride and my new mother-in-law apologized regularly for the next 30 years.

2. I do not like being touched by people's toes. Once he learned about this, my husband has repeatedly rubbed his toes on my legs until I smack him. He thinks this is fun. I think he is weird!

3. I love chocolate coated maraschino cherries - the ones with the cherry liqueur inside them. I like them so much I have learned how to make them myself! Mmmmm but being diabetic now, I don't have them very often any more.

4. I learned to Scuba dive when I was 50+. I was always fascinated by underwater shows and grew up watchingSea Hunt (she said, further revealing her age). I always wanted to do it but I was very afraid of being under water and not being able to breathe. I took lessons one winter at home and then went to Cozumel to finish my open water dive certification. It was wonderful ~ like being in a Jacques Cousteau documentary!

5. After getting annoyed with my three kids for getting tattoos, I got two of them myself 5 years ago after leaving a very stressful work environment. I have a blue butterfly on my right shoulder as a reminder to myself that I have "wings" and can use them. On my left foot I have pink and blue fuchsia to remind me to take time to "smell the flowers". I lost sight of those two things for a couple of years so when I see these tattoos, it helps me to stay focussed on the things that really matter in my life.

6. I moved all by myself away from home in a small town when I was 18 to go to Teachers' College in a big city. I met my husband at the college and got a job in the city. For about 4 years I only knew my way around the city by subway. I didn't get a driver's licence until I had lived in the city that long! Once I got it, I learned how to get around the city quickly and learned more short cuts than my husband who has lived here all of his life.

7. I hate leeches and although I have only had one on me once, I can nearly walk on water to get out of the lake if I think there are any there. This has been a source of great amusement to my little sadists ~ oops I mean my wonderful children ~ who are highly entertained when they yell "Leech!" and I run for shore. I don't know why I have such a need to run as I have never had any problem salting them off of other people! Maybe I was traumatized watching old Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller (further proof of my advancing years!) or theAfrican Queen with Bogart and Hepburn!

8. I love to read and enjoy all genres except horror. I do not like being scared so I avoid this genre in books and movies. Currently I am into mysteries and am up to date with Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson, Kathy Reichs, Patrica Cornwall and a few others. I also like historical fiction and with my son, I read a fantasy series (Forgotten Realms) which I began reading with him when he was in his early teens to encourage him to read - he is 34 now and still reading them and passing them along to me! There are four waiting for me now and he keeps asking if I have read them yet. I am currently waiting to read the last Harry Potter book! (Did I mention I retired from teaching where I had been a Jr. High librarian and computer teacher?)

So there you have it! Blame Karen for having to read this fascinating bit of trivia about me!

And now to pass this challenge along, I will tag:

Ally at simply nice

Annie at Bimbimbie

Carmen at Srawberries and Champagne

Okay girls - you're it! I will look forward to reading your lists!

More Cottage & Area Photos

Well, we're home earlier than expected from the cottage. Great Great Nana with the Cane (age 104) was taken into the hospital last night with what now appears to be a urinary tract infection. The Doctor feels she will recover but, "We must remember she is 104." She is one feisty lady and it is hard for me to see her feeling unwell and in pain. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Here are some pictures I took for fun this week. I seem to be getting into photographing barns. There are so many different kinds and styles in Ontario and it has occurred to me that these older barns are going the way of split rail fences, silos and windmills. Once replaced, they are often metal prefab structures. I have decided I am going to try to take pictures of all of the barns we drive by this summer. I think many of them must be nearing 100 years old if not older. The Darling Man and his family have been driving this route for 60 years and they weren't new when they first saw them.

I also found a web site that takes aerial photos of lakes and cottages around Muskoka. Here are some links that show my cottage and the 'hood' from the air ... if you are curious enough to take a peek.

Kahshe Cottage View 1

Kahshe Lake View 2 ~ our cottage (top left) and looking into the little bay where our other cottage Hummingbird Hollow is nestled into the woods.

Kahshe Lake ~ the entire lake is here if you are curious about it and other cottages.

Looking down our 700 foot driveway
(aka Mosquito Alley) towards the cottage

One of the Kahshe Cottage Daylilies after a sunshower

One of the older barns on the Doe Lake Road

Love the stone foundations ~
the stone varies with the region as it was usually fieldstone.
In this case I am quite sure it would be local granite.

A neighbouring barn on Doe Lake ~ "Wits End"

Further south on Highway 169.
See the older bales of hay in the foreground?
Many farmers are now on the second crop for this summer
and the newer bales are lighter in colour.

A watchful raven - "Nevermore"?

Downtown Gravenhurst looking northward at the coming storm clouds.

Hard to believe a little town like Gravenhurst
would have an Opera House!
It is a historical building.
Every summer there are lots of productions performed here.

A touch of whimsy on a lawn in Gravenhurst.

Cottage Again...

Sunset from our deck on Kahshe Lake

Hello from beautiful Kahshe Lake where we are spending a long awaited week away from the hustle and bustle of the city! Unfortunately I don't have Internet access here so I came into town to a coffee shop which has Wi Fi access so I could visit and leave short messages until the battery in my laptop runs out!

We have had storms off and on since we got here so that means I have had lots of time for reading. I have been through two books already and am on a third. I am now caught up with the James Patterson and Jonathan Kellerman books. And lucky me - I have a stack waiting for me!

The Darling Man has been hard at work on the renovations of the little cottage we bought two lots over from our cottage. It had belonged to his Mother and he bought it from the estate when his brother decided he didn't want to keep it. We are hoping to be able to rent it out before the end of the summer. The cottage is over 50 years old so it is getting a much needed face lift. This year, he has put in new wood and porcelain floors, new doors, new electrical wiring and fixtures and has some painting to do. We have re-arranged the layout a little and now it is an open plan which gives a lot more space and takes advantage of the beautiful view of the lake. Early in the spring we had 20 trees (old poplars) removed as they were threatening the cottage. What a difference it has made in terms of light and breeze - but what a pile of wood he has to cut up and brush to chip! Over the next couple of years we will put in new windows, new decks and put up new siding. I will have pictures at a later posting.

I hope everyone is having as relaxing a week as I am!!

Cottage Weekend

The holiday weekend at the cottage passed in a blur of activity. The grandkids had a great time playing in the water and going on 'hikes' to look for bugs and interesting rocks, not to mention the crafts and toys that were spread over the inside of the cottage. The men didn't have as much fun as the pressure tank for the water supply broke down on Saturday evening - just as the dishes were done. It took all day Sunday to fix and fortunately the hardware store was open so they could get the parts they needed. Everything was operational again by supper time though and other than a huge pile of dishes, things were back to normal in no time.

Later that evening, one of the cottages put on a fireworks display and the noise of them plus the hooting and hollering of the other cottagers kept us awake until after midnight. While I love fireworks, I am not a big fan of having them at the lake as I am always concerned about the number of trees there and the possibility of fire. Fortunately it was a clear and windless evening and they were being shot from the dock out over the lake so the danger of starting a forest fire was minimal ... but...

I didn't have my camera going for most of the weekend - too lazy I guess but I did take these shots of things that stood nice and still for me!

A particularly pretty dragonfly - its wings glistened in the sun 
and I managed to capture it with the camera.

My Ceilidh (middle) with her brother Devil on the right and her granddaughter Shayla on the left. They sat so nice to have their picture - I wish the gate hadn't been in the way. They were watching me chase the dragonfly! We had 3 dogs visiting our 3 this weekend. I bet the neighbours were thinking they were seeing double!

Lots of Monarch butterflies were around this weekend. The milkweed is growing. The Darling Man said he saw Monarch caterpillars but didn't think to find me and the camera! Maybe next time I'll see them. I would like to get a picture of their chrysalis as they are a very beautiful jade green in colour.
I wonder what lives in the hole in this rotten tree? It is the right size for the Pileated Woodpeckers which we have seen in this area. Any guesses?

Now how is this for a vacation home? Note the helicopter on the back of the truck!!! (Click the picture for a closer look) We were in a gas station when this rig pulled in. I couldn't believe my eyes and so I grabbed my camera and took a few shots as it pulled out.

Canada Day Weekend

On July 1st, Canadians celebrate our national holiday - Canada Day. When it falls on a Sunday as it does this year, the statutory holiday will be on Monday. Most everyone will have a holiday from work so it means a long weekend.


This holiday first began back in 1867 when the first three colonies were united into the Dominion of Canada and the day was then celebrated as Dominion Day. Although it has been considered a holiday since then, it really didn't become an occasion of major celebration until 1958 when the Canadian government began formal activities to mark the event. Trooping of the Colours by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, concerts and evening fireworks are put on for the public in Canada's capital city - Ottawa. In 1982 the holiday was officially re-named Canada Day.

Trooping of the Colours in Ottawa

Many homes will display the colours of Canada's Flag (red and white) or will put flags outside their homes. I have bought some small ones for the grandkids to wave from the cottage deck as we haven't got a flag pole there yet although we will have a flag at our home in the city.

The weather report indicates a fine, sunny, but not humid, weekend. We will have a whole weekend of fun with two of my children and their families. Of course most of it will be centered around the children so there will be fun in the water, games on shore, BBQ and marshmallow roasts in the evenings. Lots of laughing and memories will be created and hopefully, my camera will capture some of it to post next week.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!