Winter Garden

There is a certain beauty about a garden after the snow has come.
This is our hydrangea.

Cranberry shrub.

A weed that never got pulled!

A raspberry that nbever got picked!

Climatis.

Ladybugs and Such

I got up at 6:30 this morning and noticed there was a pretty dramatic sunrise, so I put some sweat pants and a jacket over my pyjamas, grabbed my camera and rushed out to take some pictures. It was amazingly beautiful and warm, so I stayed out for about half an hour just taking pictures. Great start to the day!

A month ago the air was thick with aphids and they were devouring our plants. I guess the ladybugs prospered with all that food and now we have ladybugs all over. My sunflowers, our trees, the ground and even the deck are loaded with them. I've tried to catch a picture of one flying so I can see what they look like up close when they fly. They look like it would be impossible for them to fly - even more so than a bumble bee. I did get one picture of a flying ladybug, but not clear enough to enlighten me.

This one flew away just a milli-second after I snapped. I could see he was getting ready to go with a wing stuck out behind him, but I missed the take-off.

This butterfly is called Mourning Cloak. It was enjoying our apple tree when I snapped him.

Mal is pretty pleased with the size of his green peppers. We have them up against the south side of our house where they get lots of sun. We're eating his tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans, and peas now. Yum!

Canoeing Adventure

We were camping with Rob and Linda when Mal and Rob decided to canoe down the Little Red River.

A mother Merganser and her brood led the way for about an hour of the trip. The mother is at the back with the bright orange bill. There were 9 young, and they will also develop orange bills.

When they got close, the birds would run ahead. Mergansers typically run along the surface of the water to gain speed until they can take off in flight.

The Little Red had flooded earlier in the summer and banks washed away, leaving trees and debris in the water. This made the trip quite a challenge! They had only gone a short distance when they came across the first tree trunk, and tipped the canoe trying to get around it. This was the first of several soakings! In other places the river was very shallow and they had to get out and walk down the river. All in all, there were continual challenges!
Meanwhile Linda and I drove to a Saskatoon Berry Farm and bought some great pies. Then we went to the bank of the river to await our returning heroes!

They arrived, very tired and soaking wet! Mal went off in the vain search for a hot shower, and Rob comforted himself with some hot chocolate.

Now comes the best part of the adventure: "Remember that trip we took down Little Red...!"

Marlene's Surprise Birthday Celebration

Ron and Marlene happened to be here on her birthday,
so it was a good chance to plan a surprise!

She knew we were taking them out of dinner, but she had no idea sister Irene had come back from B.C. with us, or that Kristen and Keith and these good friends would also be joining us.

Irene and I decided an appropriate theme for the celebration would be BLING!

"BLING! BLING!
Marlene loves BLING!
These sparkly gifts will make her sing..."

Marlene and her BLING!

The cake.

(I didn't tell them which birthday it was, honest, Mars!!!)

The Saga of the Fledging Hawks

While camping with friends Rob and Linda we happened to set up near a tree with hawks in the process of leaving the nest. They kept us entertained with their antics as they stretched their wings and tried to fly.
Double click on these pictures to catch the detail and take particular note of the leg positioning. It's hilarious!
We start in the nest, of course.

This getting out of the nest isn't as easy as I thought!
(Note right leg!)

Maybe I'll just sit here for awhile!
(Again, note right leg.)

Awk! It's a long ways down. I think I'll walk along the branch for awhile.

I'm determined to do it - my maiden flight!

(Continues below)

The Fledging Hawks cont'd

Wheee! I've got air!

This is going great!

Oops! How do I land?

This is the Big Jump - from tree to tree!

That wasn't so bad!

British tea Party!

Our Associate Pastor is marrying a girl from British background and her bridal shower was a dress-up British Tea Party complete with hats. Here she is pictured with her mother who brought her hat on the plane from England. Apparently they don't have bridal showers there.

Here is a sample of our clothing. It was fun looking around to see what everyone had come up with for hats. Some were 50's hats.

I wore a black hat with mauve feathers which don't show up well in this picture. Wearing a hat made me feel like a little girl playing dress-up! It was a fun evening.

Luke's Birthday

Grandson Luke had his first birthday on June 10th. Shortly after Tim and Juanita stopped in for a bit, so we were able to have a birthday celebration with them.

Luke is into handclapping lately, so it's a sure way to get a smile out of him!

We're thankful our rain held off long enough to enjoy some time out in the yard.

Kaleb heads for his hat and sunglasses whenever it's sunny.

Luke seemed to remember us, which is always a thrill since we don't live close enough to see them often. Skyping helps. I was playing peek-a-boo with him with the camera, and that effectively brought a smile.

It's always a blessing to see the kids and grandkids again!

Blossom Thieves!

Last week I opened our bedroom curtains and
much to my surprise I saw our apple trees full of cedar waxwings!
I was even more shocked when I realized they were eating our beautiful apple blossoms!

I thought this guy looked pretty guilty!
There were close to 20 of them having a feast.

Our blossoms had been at their height of beauty.
Now half of one side looks rather stripped.
We're hoping that just the petals are gone and not the fruit.
I didn't realize they would actually eat the petals.

However, it was fun watching them!

Hummingbird Visit!

I glanced out our window today and saw something moving quickly in our honeyberry bushes, then saw a flash of red-orange. I thought the bees were in our bushes. When it flew out of the bushes and into our apple tree I realized it was a hummingbird!
We get them sometimes in May and August on their way through to warmer places.
Last summer I put out the hummingbird feeder and never saw one, so I was pretty excited to see this ruby-throated hummingbird!

Here he is cleaning his bill, moving it back and forth over the branch.
He sat there for quite awhile.
I took pictures through the window and between the railings on our deck,
so the focusing was a little tricky.
His throat was sometimes bright red, at other times, like in the picture below it was dark.

I hope it doesn't get too cold tonight because at about 7 degrees they go torpid and can't move until they warm up. As soon as I saw him I got out the feeder and started boiling sugar water.

According to my bird book, hummingbirds weigh about as much as a quarter.
They are capable of speeds up to about 100 km/hr!
They beat their wings 75 times a second. How is that possible?
Their migration across the Gulf of Mexico is a non-stop journey of 1030 kilometers!

I marvel more and more at the incredible variety in God's creation!
I find it more and more amazing that some people can study nature
and still not believe in a Creator.

Fun with Raindrops

This morning I noticed the trees were budding nicely so went out to take some spring pictures.
I got sidetracked on raindrop reflections.

Some of the drops showed reflections, others didn't.

I had to crop some of the pictures rather severely.
I guess I need a macro lense!

I love macro because you can see things that you can't see with the naked eye.

This was one that I cropped severely, but its fun to see a clear refection close up!