Sun Followed by Rain

 

Some mornings I go out to the garden and find drowsy bees curled into flowers waiting for the warmth of the golden sun. On other days the rain drips down in misty curtains and softens the landscape. I wonder where the bees find refuge. I know I am content to stay indoors on those days. I did walk with a friend one morning and came home looking like a drowned rat, my hair dripping. It rained more than we'd anticipated. 

Every few days I fill a vase with water and take it out to the patio table where I arrange the flowers, snipping leaves and stems to discard later. I take note of the symmetry of the blooms no matter what the variety. A vase or two of dahlias, one small one with roses that lose their petals quickly, and a jug of zinnias brighten up various corners of the house. 

A tea party on a rainy morning for a daughter celebrating her birthday was a short but delightful affair. Candles, a vase of roses, and pretty tea cups added to the convivial mood. 

Scrumptious soft madeleines with a hint of lemon. Scones with butter and jam - no Devonshire cream available here. Earl Grey tea. A fun little celebration.

Cora accompanied her mother (the birthday girl) to the party, drinking cambric tea and being very careful of the teacup. Her older sister is now in kindergarten all day. This little one goes to junior kindergarten in the afternoons.

Our eldest granddaughter, now in high school (where have the years gone?), is part of a program teaching students leadership and other skills. The school has a greenhouse and students grow produce, harvest, and market it. I signed up for four Harvest Boxes and received the first one this week. I'll be making the included recipe soon. 

The fallen leaves in the forest seemed to make

even the ground glow and burn with light.

Malcolm Lowry 

October Ferry to Gabriola

This morning I heard the wind sighing in the poplar trees. Wood ducks and mallards paddled on water covered with green pollen. Leaves twirled down to the ground. I was filled with an immense sense of well-being. 

Three September birthdays will be celebrated tomorrow. The day is predicted to be fine, full of golden light. 

Wishing you mellow days filled with contentment.

Five Things I'm Loving this September

 

In the summer you want fresh, light and sort of quick things; in winter you want things that are comforting, so your body really tells you you want to go towards potatoes, apple, fennel, things that are warm and comforting. 

Ina Garten

1. Nothing says Autumn like the first bite of a crunchy fresh apple. Our own apple trees bore abundantly last year, and sparsely this year. No matter. We've been gifted apples from friends, and the market is full of apples of multiple varieties. I most like sweet Honey Crisp and tart Granny Smith apples, with lots of juicy crunch. An apple, quartered and cored, on a plate, makes for a satisfying afternoon snack. Our trees did supply enough to make 11 pints of applesauce, delicious with yogurt, pork roasts, and sausages. Apples are so versatile - apple pie, apple cake, apple crumble - oh, so good to eat. And the fragrance while baking fills the house with comfort. My mouth is watering even as I imagine these delectable goodies. 

The leaves are changing:

I feel poetry in the air.

Laura Jaworski

2. There is some colour showing up on the trees here, but the photo above, taken last year on our trip across Canada, reminds me of the brilliant colour in the temperate forest in Quebec and Ontario. Our leaves are more muted in comparison, with more gold than red. I love a windy day when leaves fly about the streets and gardens. There are still a few weeks to go until we see that here, but I'm anticipating the delight. 

Meanwhile, purple wild asters bloom in the woods, and pale cyclamen glow alongside the path I often walk. 

3. The pantry shelves in the basement are fuller this year than they have been for a few years. Several types of jam, applesauce, and salsa line up like jewels. In the freezer are a year's worth of blueberries, raspberries, and green beans. Preserving food for the winter is not a necessity as it was in the past, but I still enjoy making a few things when fresh produce is in season. I have a lovely crop of beets in the garden, but they can stay there throughout the winter. I pull them as needed. 

Sense of beauty is the gift of God, 

for which those who have received it in good measure,

can never be thankful enough.

Gertrude Jekyll

4. I've been cutting flowers with abandon, filling vases with hydrangeas, dahlias, rudbeckia, feverfew, zinnias, and roses. I know that once the first frost comes this abundance will disappear, so best to enjoy it while we can. The roses seem to lose their petals more quickly now than in the early summer, and each morning I collect a few soft petals from beneath the drooping stems. I take long sniffs of their sweetness knowing that I'll not smell their heady fragrance for long months ahead.

 

There ain't nothing in life better than true love

and a home-grown tomato.

An old saying

5. Tomatoes. Sweet, juicy, and oh, so full of flavour. Nothing can compare to a vine-ripened, sun-warmed tomato. Every day or two I pick another few of them. Simply sliced, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a scattering of fresh basil - it's a dish fit for a king. 

And there they are - five things I'm loving this September. How about you? What do you find to admire about this month? 

Wishing you a lovely weekend filled with the delights of a changing season, be it autumn or spring, depending upon where you live. 

Waterton Lakes National Park

 

We returned last night from a lovely two weeks exploring not too far from home. "Far" might be rather subjective, as we left our Island home and drove across British Columbia into Alberta to spend time in a few provincial and national parks, driving about 3000 kilometres in all.

As we followed our map crossing through the the Rocky Mountains and into golden grasslands, I wondered if and when we would see the mountains of Waterton Lakes National Park. They rose up on the horizon abruptly, jutting into a blue sky somewhat hazy with wildfire smoke. After settling our camping trailer into its spot, we walked around the town of Waterton to get our bearings. 

Tim's brother and his wife joined us for three nights. One place we visited was Red Rock Canyon. The canyon walls, carved out by thousands of years of water erosion, are a gorgeous red colour punctuated by white bands. This is argillite, layers of mud and sediment compressed over time. The red hue is due to the presence of iron oxide. Clear water revealed stones of many colours in the stream bed. 

Along the Red Rock Canyon Parkway we stopped to watch a couple of groups of bears. They are currently feeding up for the soon approach of winter and mostly kept their heads down while munching on berries. I was happy to see this one turn his head towards us for a few moments. One group of bear was a mama with three cubs, one very black and the other two honey brown. What fun to see them. 

Another view of the canyon. I loved the undulating shape of the rock here.

An enormous wildfire burned much of this area in 2017. The skeletons of trees remain, but renewal is happening. Willows and pines along with grasses and shrubs provide habitat and food for wildlife. Eventually, the burned trees will fall and become part of the ground cover. 

Wildfires are devastating and tragic when homes and lives are lost, but a natural part of the forest cycle. The majority of forest fires are caused by lightning. I found hiking through the burned forest quite interesting. It was easy to see through the tree trunks to the view beyond, a view that would be obscured if the trees were alive. 

We watched an American Dipper bobbing his head looking for food and causing ripples in the clear water. Waterton Lakes Park was named for an English naturalist, Charles Waterton, who was an early conservationist. 

The weather was lovely during our trip, with rain falling only on the day we left the park. Today I've been dealing with laundry and seeing what's happening in my garden. I picked 12 pounds of tomatoes and a huge basket of green beans. The pumpkins are fat and orange. There are radishes and beets and carrots to bring in, and lettuce gone to seed that will be fodder for the compost bin. 

It's lovely to go away for two weeks just as school is beginning. As a retired teacher, it makes me feel like I'm skipping class - with no consequences! As nice as it is to go away, coming home is always lovely. I'll be catching up on blogs over the next few days. 

Wishing you lovely early autumn (or spring) days.