4 O'clocks on Friday

It's time to share some flowers that are blooming for ...

This Friday I'm showing some 4 o'clocks - Marvel of Peru - Mirabilis jalapa.
This plant is named because the fragrant blooms tend to open around 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

I was thrilled to see this plant grow in one of the large tubs this year as I didn't plant any of the seeds.

This is one of the volunteer plants that grew when the seeds dropped last year.
It is a lovely big, bushy plant with numerous white blooms on it.  4 o'clocks do come in other colours as well.
Each bloom will produce a roundish see whichI will be saving at the end of the season.  For seed information on this plant be sure to look here.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

A Pet Peeve for Thursday Thoughts

 My pet peeve thoughts for Thursday. I've got to say that a pet peeve of mine is the word verification that Blogger uses.If you have your comments set to moderation, why on earth do you have the word verification on?You have to approve the comments anyways, so just reject the ones you don't want and save visitors the hassel of filling in the word verification.It just takes up time keying in those letters, sometimes way too much time if you don't get it right the first time.  For now I perservere but I just might have to stop leaving comments that take a long time to be accepted, especially if they get rejected the first time.I understand those bloggers that use word verification and after entering it the comment goes directly to being published.
Another pet peeve of mine is those people (not bots) that leave comments linking to non-family content blogs.  They have a profile with nothing showing except a lot of foreign symbols. I know they don't read my posts, but just leave their nasty little message. It is so easy to hit the rejct box and they are never seen again.
How about you?  Do you have a pet peeve?  Thanks for listening today.

The Many Faces of Susan

The many faces of Susan ... black eyed Susan, brown eyed Susan, gloriosa or redbekia.
I love this native/wildflower that grows in the garden each year. There are over 20 varieities, sometimes called coneflowers. I have at least 6 different varieties, but don't know the technical names.  One is rudbekia fulgida or goldstrum (I think the middle one) and another is rudbekia hirta or gloriosa (I think the bottom left).  They require little very care, self seeds itself and displays varying colours of blooms.

I do snip off the blooms as they finish to encourage more.  At the end of the season I leave the blooms to turn into seed heads. The birds, especially the goldfinches, will feast on the seeds.  The seeds will also drop and grow more plants for the next year.  You can see some of my photos for identifying the seeds in this post.
 Why don't you join Clay and Limestone for Wildflower Wednesday on the fourth Wednesday of each month and share some of the native/wildflowers that bloom in your area.
 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Crochet Strap Cover

Awhile ago I finished a second camera strap cover up for another of my digital cameras.I love to hide the advertising that the company puts on the strap, plus a cover makes it more comfortable on my neck.With a 3.5 cm hook I used up more of my stash of embroidery thread.

Starting with a chain of 15 and then just added rows of single crochet till it was the length of the strap.  I joined the piece together with a slip stitch and then slid it onto the camera strap.  It is easily removed for washing.  If you decide to make one of these you will have to guesstimate (don't you just love neat words?) how many stitches you need to wrap around the strap and work from there.

 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

2sDay On The Go

It's 2sDay and I've got two projects on the go.   I like to have some simple projects that can be picked up and taken out and about with me.
Yesterday I used a gift certificate to purchase a new pattern book titled Take Along Knitting. It has 20 projects that are easy to do, don't require lots of yarn or needles and can easily be slipped into a bag and taken out with you.
I chose a scarf pattern, Lacy Accent Scarf, and decided to use the yarn I was lucky enough to win from the NicolaKnits blog.  I just have a few rows completed on this project.  The pattern is just two rows that are easy to remember so I don't have to take the book along with me.

The other project is a pair of fingerless gloves.  Last fall I made a pair from the same pattern in a brown colour.  I'm using sock yarn in blues as it is very soft and just the right weight for these gloves.
 Knitting (or crochet) in public is fun and usually someone will ask a question or two.  I was working on another crochet camera strap while I was waiting for my van to be serviced and I had an interesting conversation with another lady who had only done the odd bit of crochet. Happy 2sDay.  Thanks for visiting today.

Raindrop Obsession

Do you have this obsession like I do to take photos after the rain and try to capture the perfect raindrop photo?We had a steady downpour of rain last Friday morning and I couldn't wait for it to stop so I could go outside and try to capture the raindrops through my lens.

Here are some flowers from the borage plant with the raindrops about to drip off the petals.  These blooms fit in perfectly with Smiling Sally's Blue Monday.

Raindrops are collecting on the large canna leaf and some on the red petals.  The last plant, an Angel Trumpet, is a volunteer that is growing in the garden.  I haven't grown this plant for several years once I found out it was poisonous to animals and children.
Mosaic Monday was created by The Little Red House. You are encouraged to create and share a mosaic/collage of some photos. Why don't you stop by and see what some other participants have created. Then try creating a mosaic photo of your own and join in the fun. You just might get addicted too! Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Singing for my Dinner

The robin has made a nest on the front light over the garage. A couple of years ago they had chosen the same spot.
I recently captured some photos through my lens of the baby singing for its dinner.

At first I thought there was just one baby.

But then up popped another little head.

I could see Mother Robin on the garage roof, waiting to bring in some food.  I stood very still beside the van for several minutes before she felt comfortable enough to return to the nest with a juicy worm.

Check out other bloggers that are sharing photos of Camera Critters.
 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Displaying Birdhouses

This building can be passed on Country Road 5 heading into Frankford, Ontario.  It has always caught my attention as I drive by.  And probably many others, like me, have stopped to take photos of it.

The owners have a large collection of birdhouses displayed on the sides of an old building.

It's the perfect thing to share for Birdhouse Thursday.

Why don't you stop by for a visit to Cheep Rooms and maybe be tempted to join in sharing photos of birdhouses.  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Zucchini Casserole

Zucchini is in season.
Do you have an abundance of it from your garden?  Or are you like me and buy fresh veggies from the farmers market?

Here is a delicious tasting recipe that is quick and easy to make.
2 cups sliced zucchini
about 1/3 of a sweet onion, diced
3 eggs well beaten
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
sliced mushrooms
sliced tomatoes(not shown in photo as they were an added after thought)
1 package of crescent rolls
 Saute the onion and zucchini in olive oil or butter in a frypay. Drain and set aside. Beat the eggs, mix in cheese, mushrooms and zucchini mixture. Spread half the crescent rolls on the bottom of a casserole dish, top with egg and zucchini mixture, add sliced tomatoes on top and cover with rest of crescent rolls.Bake in a 350F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until crescent rolls are golden brown.

Serve and enjoy.
I originally found this recipe on a site somewhere, but can't remember the url. As usual I adapt recipes to suit myself by taking out all mention of salt, pepper, garlic and seasonings.  I added the mushrooms and tomatoes for some extra flavour. Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Glorious Glories

The morning glories are glorious for Mosaic Monday.  We have a trellis set up at the back of the deck.  It provides a great place to hang my windchimes and other dangly things.  And looking out the window in the morning is a glorious site. 

The trellis is just about filled in now with the plants.  After some very early morning rain some of the blooms have water droplets on them and some of the blooms are ripped from the force of the rain. The blooms are in shades of pinks, blues and mauves and make a wonderful mosaic image.
Mosaic Monday was created by The Little Red House. You are encouraged to create and share a mosaic/collage of some photos. Why don't you stop by and see what some other participants have created. Then try creating a mosaic photo of your own and join in the fun.  You just might get addicted too!   Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

A Gardener's Wreath

My project today is turning some old objects into a re'find' item for the garden. A few years ago I made a gardener's wreath from an old piece of hosepipe.  The outside elements caused the flowers to fade and the wreath to lose its shape. Making a new one has been on my to do list for quite awhile.  I've been gathering bits and pieces, some new and some from the old wreath and finally this afternoon I got around to gluing it all together.

Wrap an old hose around about 4 times to form the wreath shape.  Tie with twine in a couple of places to hold the shape. Then glue on any garden related items you can find. I even found an old hosepipe hanger to fasten onto the door and hang my wreath onto.  I think the hanger will help the wreath keep its round shape as my old one had been stretched out of shape. Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Get a Grip

You know when you see a project and you think, wow, that was easy, I can do that. That is how it was when I saw this idea mentioned on a couple of crafting message boards. Do you have a hard time opening jars?  This little gripper just might help you.
I started with a set of placemats from the dollar store.  And low and behold these actually did cost a dollar.  So many itmes in these stores are priced $1.25 or $1.50 or $2.00 and more.

 These are made with non slip fabric, rather like soft plastic canvas. This type of material is also sold in rolls to use as non slip shelf liners.  I like the placemats as they come in all different colours.  You can faintly see where I traced three circles on one of the placemats.  I used the sandwich plate from my dishes but if you used a smaller circle you would easily get four circles out of one piece.

Once I cut out the circles I did some crochet around the edges just to fancy them up a bit.  Row 1 was just to do a single crochet in the holes around the edge of the gripper.  Row 2 was a double crochet in the first sticht, a double crochet in the second stitch, and then two double crochet in the third stitch.  This was repeated around the edge.  By adding the extra double crochet every third stitch it stops the edge from curling inward.  The final row was a chain of 5, skip the next stitch, then join chain into the third stich.  Repeat around the edge till finished.

Now you can use your gripper to help you undo that tight lid. Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Friday's Flowers

It's time to  some flowers for Friday.

Friday's flowers for this week are heliopsis and echinacea.
 These are two very hardy perennial plants that flourish in my garden. Both are in bloom right now and I'm out there taking all sorts of photographs of them.

Heliopsis or false sunflower, really isn't a sunflower at all.  It grows in large clumps and blooms for a very long time.  The blooms are lovely for cut flowers. Deadheading will extend the bloom time and done at the end of the bloom time will stop the seeds from dropping and growing in other places.  I do leave some to self seed and then get lovely new little clumps the following year.

Echinacea or purple coneflower is a gorgeous plant.  This plant loves the sunny spot in the front garden and it will tolerate dry conditions, which is great for this summer as it has been so hot and humid.  The plant attracts butterflies and bees. It is a must for every garden.
 If you have time to do some blog hopping stop by May Dreams Garden for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I'm a day late for GBBD, but that is okay.  Others plants in bloom right now are morning glory, a few varieties of daylilies, shasta daisy, liatris, rudbekia and coreopsis.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Birdhouse City

Birdhouse City is a great attraction in Picton, Ontario.

It is in the Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area, on County Road 8 in Prince Edward County. A former superintendent of PERCA built the first birdhouse and it was decided if one birdhouse could be so attractive then a whole city of birdhouses would be fantastic. You can read about it here and see the first birhouse.

It was started in 1980 as a community involvement project.  Groups, individuals, schools, and businesses could design and create reproductions of famous buildings, landmarks and local attractions.
  We did see a few birds flying around the birdhouses, but I don't know for sure if many of them are occupied.It's the perfect thing to share for Birdhouse Thursday. Why don't you stop by for a visit to Cheep Rooms and maybe be tempted to join in sharing photos of birdhouses.
 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

I Can Almost Taste Them

Look at what is starting to turn red.
I can almost taste them!

I'm growing 4 different types of little tomatoes in the garden this year -tiny toms, yellow grape, red grape, and husky cherry reds.  There are lots of little tomatoes just forming, so it looks like I will have lots to munch on. Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

2sDay Garden Art

It's 2sDay and I showing you 2 pieces of garden art in the front garden.

The first one is a gazing ball stand that I bought just yesterday.  It was a sale item at Lowe's, and who can resist a sale.  I'm hoping it will be sturdy enough to support my gazing ball made from an old bowling ball.  That is a lemon scented geranium in the front of the photo and some cosmos that self seeded themselves from last year in front of the stand.

The second is a black iron piece that was also purchased at Lowe's last year. This is a new area of the garden and the plants are just getting established.  You can see a heliopsis in bloom on one side, the other side is a pink bleeding heart and in front are two grasses.  I imagine when the grasses get bigger this piece of garden art will be moved to a new location.  This year it is filling the space on the blank gray brick wall.
 Edit: have a look at this webpage to see my garden gazing ball with directions how to make it Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Coleus Colours

The coleus are growing well in the big pot in the shade at the end of the driveway.

 There are so many colours and pattern variations on the leaves.  Here is my mosaic photo to share for Mosaic Monday. Mosaic Monday was created by The Little Red House. You are encouraged to create and share a mosaic/collage of some photos. Why don't you stop by and see what some other participants have created. Then try creating a mosaic photo of your own and join in the fun.  You just might get addicted too!  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Homes on the Water

A couple of years ago we had a fantastic holiday visiting family in Victoria, British Columbia.  The recent ad on television by Via Rail makes me want to take the trip again.  If you haven't seen the ad, it shows moving photos (very Harry Potter-ish) in a couple's house and the view from their windows is just like looking out the train windows.  We just love this ad and the memories it creates for us.

While browsing through all the photos we took I came across these of some float homes and their perfect reflections in the water.

 These were taken at Fisherman's Wharf in Victoria and who wouldn't fall in love with the float homes there.

I certainly think the experience of living on a float home would be amazing.  I'm not sure if I would want it to be in such a busy location though as there were always people walking by.  I would love a peaceful setting where I could sit and enjoy Nature.

Take a look at some other bloggers that are posting photos of Weekend Reflections.  Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Ornamental Sweet Potato Blooms

It seems that all my posts have been about birds, birdhouses and ducks lately.  But there is plenty happening in the garden as well.  The hot, humid weather continues so I try to water the plants, especially those in pots early in the morning.  The smaller pots get an extra soaking at night too as they dry out so quickly.

One of the plants in my containers is Ipomoea Batatas or ornamental sweet potato.  This genus includes other plants including morning glory, and there certainly is a similarity in the flowers.

This is a lovely dark leaved plant.  I've been getting two blooms per day for the last little while.

I've run out of my liquid fertilizer so I need to make a stop at the store and pick up some more.  What is your favourite plant fertilizer to use?  Maybe you can influence my purchase.

 Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

A Bargain Birdhouse

Who can resist a bargain?  I found this birdhouse at a garage sale for only $1.00.  That is even cheaper than items at the dollar stores, as most of them are at least a $1.25 now due to the rising cost of everything.   And no tax had to be paid to the taxman!

It's a decorative birdhouse so I probably won't have it outside but will find a place for it with my birdhouse collection. (Click the label below to view most of my collection)

Each side is nicely decorated and the lid is hinged for cleaning out.
It's the perfect thing to share for Birdhouse Thursday.  Why don't you stop by for a visit to Cheep Rooms and maybe be tempted to join in sharing photos of birdhouses. Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

Baby Woody

Look at the cute baby woodpecker that I captured though my lens.

He sat on the peanut feeder for the longest time and didn't mind that I kept creeping a bit closer to get a good photo.

We are in the midst of a heatwave with temperatures in the mid 30's Celsius, but with humidex factored in it feels more like the low 40's Celsius.  So my time out stalking the birds with my new Canon lens has been a bit restricted.  I'm ready for this heat wave to go away, and I'll even wave it goodbye.
Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

2sDay Squabble

It's 2sDay - the day when I post photos of things I have captured in twos.Today I captured 2 goldfinches having a squabble over the same perch on the feeder.

The goldfinch in flight won out and chased the other one away to another perch.
Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

'Tree'mendous Reflections

We went for a lovely walk down by the bay early in the morning a few days ago and I captured some 'tree'mendous photos of the trees and their reflections in the still water.

I knew these would be the perfect photos to share for Shadow Shot Sunday.  I guess technically they aren't shadows but reflections, but I'm going to stretch the meaning of shadow so that I can use these today.

Thanks to a visitor, Lorac, who pointed me in the direction of Weekend Reflections, and these photos fit in there perfectly.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.

The Duck Family

On a stroll down by the bay we saw a family of ducks enjoying a morning outing on the water.

 Mother Duck was keeping a close watch on her five ducklings.

Aren't they just the cutest little critters to capture

  Check out other bloggers that are sharing photos of Camera Critters.
Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can take a moment to leave a comment and say hi.