Friday Favourites: A Week in May

 

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to 

think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read

and all the friends I want to see.

John Burroughs

Halfway through May. The days slip by, full of ordinary things. A friend took me on a tour around her new property. I used the Seek App on my phone to identify many unknown plants including the Leopard's Bane (doronicum) above. The bright yellow patch of flowers underplanted with bluebells is so pretty. 

My husband loves cycling. He rides for pleasure, but also to run errands. I find cycling enjoyable on flat ground. Hills and I do not get along at all. And to go anywhere from our house requires descending a short, steep hill, which means ascending on the way home. Yesterday friends invited us to go for a bike ride using their electric bikes. I was skeptical and dreading the outing. I soon got the hang of it, though, and found myself zooming UP hills. It was so much fun. Perhaps an electric bike is in my future, but there's more thinking to do first. 

On Tuesday Cora and I went to the park and around the pond. No baby ducks yet. We played a few rounds of hide and seek in the forest, and she posed on a tree trunk just made for sitting. I'm certain that she walked twice the distance I did with all her running ahead and then back.

We've enjoyed beautiful sunshine for many days. On a morning walk many things vied for my attention. Here are a few of them:

Himalayan Clematis

Birdsong in every tree

Swaths of Camas Lilies in the woods, dark blue with 

gold-tipped stamens

Creamy Pacific Dogwood blooms

Masses of horsetail in some new landscaping - a real nuisance,

but feathery green and soft just now

An elderly woman bundled in a heavy hooded jacket 

with her walker slowly moving along the street

A patch of Irises in half sun, half shade

A single weathered Adirondack chair sitting in a patch

of sunlight

Fawn Lilies all but disappeared now other than their

spotted leaves

Bellis Daisies against the taller stems of Camas Lilies

The wide smile of a young boy biking to school

Infinite shades of green leaves

The blue skies and warm sunshine have disappeared in the past two days, replaced by a sharp wind off the Pacific, and drizzle today. We need the rain, so I won't complain. Sweater weather again. 

I've thought about these Poet's Narcissus that I saw on our recent boating trip, wondering who planted them there in a grassy meadow overlooking the sea. Perhaps a woman longed to create spots of beauty in her life isolated from society. Her house is abandoned and falling apart, but still her flowers bloom, testament to her existence. Of the dock where she once arrived only two cement pilings remain.

My extravagance is my garden - it's the first

thing I look at every morning when I

wake up. It gives me so much pleasure.

Ina Garten

One peony plant has bloomed and the others have many buds on them. I'm eager to see them open, along with the roses. I made a sad observation to Tim the other day, admitting to myself that I don't have room for any more permanent plants in my garden. Instead, I'll content myself arranging pots of annuals and enjoy the shrubs and perennials as they come. 

Wishing you a delightful weekend.

Friday Favourites: Pretty Little Things

 

The world's favourite season is spring.

All things seem possible in May.

Edwin Way Teale (American naturalist and writer)

May is fully upon us and life springs up in every corner. I feel invigorated by the increasing light and warmth. Just a few weeks ago, a single bloom in the garden was noteworthy; now a plethora of colour and form greets me upon each garden visit, all appreciated. Sweetly scented wisteria perfumes the air and I catch bits of fragrance from across the garden. Lilac flowers are fading quickly and have been outstanding this year, in quantity, colour, and scent.

I planted two pots of tulips last fall, neatly covering them with netting to keep out the squirrels and raccoons. The bulbs were purchased as a set, dark and light bulbs - Joyful Dreams. They are beautiful, but differ greatly in height, not quite the look I was going for. Nature often surprises. 

Sea glass collected on recent beach walks. I'm always pleased to add to my collection. I am particularly fond of the pale blue and turquoise pieces, as well as the clouded white ones. Little bits of loveliness made beautiful by the process of time, waves, and sand. There's a lesson there, reminding me that beauty is not a matter of youth and fashion, but of strength of character and of a way of looking at the world with hope and optimism.

 

Rhubarb is flourishing in the garden and that means Rhubarb Cake. Rather than bake it in a rectangular pan, I made cupcakes. Most of them go into the freezer for my husband to pull out when he wants one. I eat one the first day, slightly warm, and then I'm not tempted by the rest. 

New loafers provide a spring in my step. Easy to slip into and comfortable to wear throughout the day for walks or errands. Soft leather and padded soles mean a lot these days. 

It's always exciting to anticipate a parcel in the mail. Particularly when one doesn't know exactly what's arriving. I ordered a subscription from The Bundle Bee Bindery. Unwrapping the pretty hand-bound notebook, an artist's print, and other bits and pieces was so much fun. The journal on the left was purchased at a local store purely because of the cover with its dainty flowers. 

Last but not least, I cut the first bouquet of roses yesterday. This unknown variety never lasts long in the house, but is faintly fragrant and always the first to bloom. 

This post was composed over a few days, in between gardening and laundry, a few appointments, and making pizza for dinner. Friday nights seem to call for pizza or tacos or another simple meal - a leftover habit from when we had children at home. Although days are much the same now, I still enjoy doing things that define the weeks and days. 

Wishing you a weekend filled with pretty little things around you. 

Friday Favourite: A Short Boating Trip

 

The weather forecast said sunny. Winds light. We packed our gear and enough food for three days and chugged off to Cabbage and Tumbo Islands. Solitude, our boat, hasn't been used much in the past few years - there was the driving trip to the Arctic Ocean one summer followed by a trip across Canada the next, and last year we went to Europe. This year we are staying closer to home and making an effort to use the boat. 

Doesn't the scene above look tropical? The water is very cold; less than 10 degrees Celsius, so no swimming for us. 

There is a lovely hiking trail on Tumbo Island, through the forest, alongside a marshy wetland, and by an old farm where buildings and rusting equipment lie drowsing in the sun. From the trail I took a photo of our boat, 25 feet, and just enough room for the two of us.

Two pairs of bald eagles provided entertainment. They swooped overhead, sometimes with small prey in their claws. Here the larger female is perched high while the male is down in the nest. We couldn't tell if there were young there or not. A few years ago we did see eaglets in this same nest. 

Oystercatchers in the evening light allowed our kayaks to approach quite close. 

Gulls of several varieties rose up in the air, swirling above us in our kayaks, filling the air with harsh screeching. I was thinking about gulls' penchant for leaving behind droppings everywhere and hoping my head wasn't a target. Luckily, we both escaped the indignity. 

Back on Solitude we watched the colours of sunset intensify and then fade into darkness before settling down to sleep on calm seas.

Home now. Unpacking and a few errands this afternoon. The wind has picked up and a bit of rain fell. I hope to spend time in the garden over the weekend. Now that May is here, everything grows much faster, including the weeds.