Sunday, September 29, 2013

The Fall is More than Pretty Mums

 

Fall leaves collage 1

The fall of the year is not just all about the pretty Chrysanthemum that appear in the market place.  I like to see the colours in the leaves of the trees and seed pods.  Here in my garden I found the leaves of the Virginia Creeper, Yellow Coneflower seed heads, the seeds of the Butterfly weed and Eringium a feast for the eyes.

fall collage 2

I love the rich reds, yellows and golds of the Burning Bush, Boston Ivy, Clematis leaves and Sumac leaves.

I am joining Mary for Mosaic Monday.   Get out and enjoy the colours of autumn if you can this week and take your camera. 

66AE7BEF40CD6D8AC60DCB9E38DE63A0

Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Warmth of the Earth

Where we live is mostly rural. Our little village is between the built up area of neighboring Newmarket and the humungous growing centre of the Holland Marsh. It was once said that the world's supply of carrots and onions were grown here but over the last decade that has changed with the needs of different ethnic communities and the various vegetables that go into their dishes. Now there are Asian vegetables growing out there as well as Indian vegetables. It is a feast for the eyes and mouth.





The other morning at the intersection my husband I noticed what looked like smoke but it was over the Marsh and we knew that it was because the air in the mornings are cool but the earth is still very warm and the air In between can appear smoky or foggy. The farmers are busy harvesting the crops and getting them to market. Here a tractor with the large crates going to the processing plant nearby.

I really feel blessed to be living where the city meets the country. There is so much going on. As a side note this intersection will be gone in a few months and a new one built to accommodate the new roads being built.

Valerie


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad



Thursday, September 26, 2013

Colours are Changing


I have been out in the car a lot this week and have noticed that the trees are changing quickly. I want to stop and take pictures but I have just enough time to get to an appointment.


Why I ask myself does our lives become so complicated. When you retire you are supposed to stop and smell the coffee but often you fill it up with other kinds of busy. I haven't got the truck emptied of mulch for the gardens yet.

Thanks to my Tassimo I am sitting here in the dark this morning enjoying my coffee and wishing you a great day.

Valerie
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Not Yet

 

 

 

frog peaking out from the waterlily

I was reading a blog today of a fellow garden writer who said he was cutting back the water lilies in his pond this week.   When I ventured down to our pond this afternoon I found 5 frogs enjoying the sunshine in an around our water lilies so I said to myself that I would do that chore but not yet. 

another frog peaking out

Made a dash around the yard tonight putting pots of annuals away in the garage.  Going to have a heavier frost tonight.  Seems too early for this.  I was hoping that we would have some flowers until after Thanksgiving on October 14.

oakleaf signature

Sunday, September 22, 2013

First Day of Fall 2013

 

leaf paper with pink mosaic

Fall has finally arrived and I sadly had to say goodbye to summer.   It feels like fall with the temperatures in the cool region.  I saw people with winter coats on today.   Been up since 3am this morning as hubby is getting an infection and had to take him to the Emergency at Hospital.  He now has an antibiotic to take.  Need a nap.

I saw this poem on a blogging site this week and I thought I would share it with you too

Come little leaves

Said the wind on day

Come to the meadows with me

and play. Put on your

dresses of gold;for summer is past,

and the days grow cold.

George Cooper

I will be joining Mosaic Monday today.   I hope you have a wonderful first week of fall.

66AE7BEF40CD6D8AC60DCB9E38DE63A0

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Morning Mist

 

fog and mist in morning

The mornings have been cool lately and the last two nights have brought a light frost.  The earth is still warm though so in the morning there is a mist over the area.  I am shooting from the edge of the house towards our neighbour to the east.

 

asparagus fronds in the morning sun

The asparagus fronds even sparkle in the morning light.  I have been shoveling mulch around the flower beds this week and moving plants around.   The vegetable garden such as it was was cleaned up today.  What have you been up to?

oakleaf signature

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Cool Evenings

 

Pom Pom Cosmo with French Kiss Overlay

Last week I purchased some new overlays that French Kiss was offering.   I wanted to try it out on something and so picked one of my photos of the Cosmo Pom Pom that I  recently took.   I think the two elements go together well.

I had to go out to the garden and pick the remaining tomatoes and peppers as the weather people on the news said we may have some frost tonight.  It seems a bit early but you never know.   I hope we don’t as I have some more flower pictures to take.  I finally got the weeds out of the flower bed under the cherry tree and put some mulch down to reduce the need to do it again before winter.

Have a great day.

oakleaf signature

Sunday, September 15, 2013

End of Summer View

 

Bugs and Flowers Mosaic

It is the beginning of the last week of summer 2013. Can you believe it!!  I am supposed to be out cutting the grass this afternoon but I wanted to show you some of the late summer blooms that are in the Sandbox garden.   I love this showy variety of cosmo called Pink Pom Pom in the top left corner.    I spotted under a shrub the colchicum flowers.   I never know when they will show up as one day there is nothing there and the next they are in bloom.  The rest of the pictures are showing you that the bees are still busy gathering pollen.

I am joining Mosaic Monday with Mary at DearLittleRedHouse.   I hope you have a great week.

oakleaf signature

Friday, September 13, 2013

Rushing Out

This is me sitting at the rail crossing waiting for the Go train to pass on its way to Bradford. As a matter of fact I am on the way there too to go to the hardware store? I made a pot of chilli sauce today. My Mom's chilli sauce is something I make every year when fresh tomatoes are abundant. I serve it when I cook a nice roast of beef but I could eat it on anything.




I noticed at the last minute that I did not have any lids and seals so that is why I am out in the car.




I took this photo on my iPhone and edited it in Snapseed.
Better get back to the kitchen and get those jars filled. Have a great day.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Time Slips Away

 

black and white daisy

Have I said this before?   I feel like there is Monday and then there is Friday.  Where did the days in the middle of the week go?  Here I am tonight getting the garbage ready for pick up tomorrow when it seems like I just did this for last week.   Is it as sign I am getting old?   I just want time to slow down a bit and let me catch my breath or at least get my house cleaned up. 

I like to look at the back of flowers as well as the front.  This daisy looks a little wonky; like the gardener who’s garden it grows in.  With the help of Lightroom 5 and OnOne Softwear  I spiffed her up.

oakleaf signature

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Pretty Cleome

 

annual cleome

Just curious!  How do you read your blogs?  I used to use Google Reader exclusively for reading the posts of the blogs that I follow.  Google Reader went defunct and I signed on with Feedly as my reader.   I like the format but when I try to read blogs on my iPad in the morning it always crashes.   I have searched the web looking for an answer and from some of the answers it is supposed to be fixed but in my case it isn’t.   After a few crashes I give up and don’t read any more.  I hate to miss what you all have been up to lately.

oakleaf signature

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Having a Heat Wave

 

White allium flowers

We are having a mini heat wave today and tomorrow before the weather dips again into fall.  I tried to do a couple of things out in the garden but the humidity was intense.

I am falling behind on some of my comments as the week has been busy but I will get to them.

 

216BB4260259063935A65C621413E93F

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Stone Road Parkette


Stone Road triptch
Stone Road wildflowers diptch
Another little parkette with a lovely walk through the wildflowers was found off a street in Newmarket, Ontario.  I love the purple of the thistle and on one of the sunflowers I spotted a snail attached to it.
I am joining Mary for Mosaic Monday  Have a wonderful week. 

66AE7BEF40CD6D8AC60DCB9E38DE63A0

Lake Simcoe on a September Afternoon

 

Lake Simcoe on a September day

Normally on a summers day this beach would be filled with kids making sand castles in the sand and people on beach towels enjoying the sun and the water.  This day as I was driving by last week along Lakeshore Drive,  there was no one about,  just the seagulls. 

Willow beach shore on a September day

Should have put my foot  print in the sand to say I was there but I didn’t.

Are you enjoying this weekend? It was raining buckets this morning for our Horticulture Society fall plant sale and so did not make many sales.  A couple of the gals did a pair of wonderful fall arrangements for the Home Show. We have some amazing talent in our small group.

 

66AE7BEF40CD6D8AC60DCB9E38DE63A0

 

 

Friday, September 6, 2013

Water Art

 

Valerie sitting on the bird bath

I am joining Bonnie at Pixel Dust Photo Art for PhotoArtFriday. The theme for this month’s artwork is “water”.

I decided to do a little composite using a birdbath filled with stones I found on Google images and placed me on the edge.  My husband had taken a photo of me sitting on a stump in a local park.  I used the quick selection tool in Photoshop to cut me out of the photo and put me on a separate layer.  Then I resized it to look like I am sitting on the edge.  I used two textures of Bonnies called Antique deskpad and sweet thoughts.  I added a filter of grain.  The whole photo was supposed to look like a polaroid.  Hope you get a laugh out of it as I did making it.

66AE7BEF40CD6D8AC60DCB9E38DE63A0

Thursday, September 5, 2013

A Walk in the Park

 

Scanlon Creek Pond

Monday of the Long Weekend my husband and I went for a walk in Scanlon Creek Conservation Area, a park not far away.  This pond was full of water for swimming and canoeing until a few years ago when the parks people decided that that the pond should be drained and go back to its natural habitat.

 

light on the trail Scanlon Creek

Here the sun was pouring through the trees onto the trail going up the hill.

picnic table among the wildflowers

This picnic table looks like it has not had anyone eat at it for a  while. The goldenrod is pretty tall around it.

We had a good day today. Went to visit our daughter in law and our granddaughter.  Had to have a little cuddle time with grandma.

66AE7BEF40CD6D8AC60DCB9E38DE63A0

 

 

 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Goldfinch in the Thistles

 

goldfinch in the thistle seeds

Last week my husband had a doctors appointment and on the way back from it we stopped for a little walk at a little park in the middle of Richmond Hill, Ontario called the Mill Street Pond.   As we were walking along the boardwalk along the edge of the pond I spotted this goldfinch pulling apart the thistle plants for the seeds.  He did not seem to mind that I was sneaking up on him with a camera.  Note that he still has his brilliant yellow feathers for a little longer.  Later on he will take on the olive colour that is his winter colours.

goldfinch on the thistle 2

Thanks to Isabelle LaFrance, ilafrancephoto.blogspot.com for this lovely little damask frame to show of the little bird.

 

216BB4260259063935A65C621413E93F

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Wrong Train


Bradford rail tracks
Sometimes I think I may have got on the wrong train.  Life just sends you off on side tracks in life and you wonder where your going or not going.   I have been playing this game on my iPad called Candy Crush. For three weeks I have been stuck on level 29 and I can’t seem to win it and go on.  My daughter in Law Karen, is way up in the level 80s and her sister is close to 200.   Is somebody trying to tell me something!   My husband says I should just quit and do something else but now I’m mad and I will just keep trying until I get it.    Wish me luck.
Hope you are enjoying this short week.

I am joining Nancy at the Rural Journal today for Tuesday Muse


66AE7BEF40CD6D8AC60DCB9E38DE63A0

Monday, September 2, 2013

Soft and White

 

white clematis with kk texture

The Guernsey Cream Clematis was growing up the arbor in the front garden but I dug it up and moved it to the back to the obelisk,  when we had the front walk redone earlier this summer.    I hope it will do well there.  I am growing some morning glories on the arbor for now until I decide what to do there.

I suppose I should have used the spot healing brush in Photoshop to take out the brown  post but I didn’t.  I put a texture from Kim Klassen on it to soften the look.

Happy September.  

66AE7BEF40CD6D8AC60DCB9E38DE63A0

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Mabel Davis Trail

 

Mabel Davis Trail collage

The other day my husband suggested that we walk along the Mabel Davis Trail in Newmarket, Ontario.   He is unable to go too far but a short walk would be okay.   I brought my camera along.  It was a lovely day and the late summer colours along the trail were lovely.  The Go Train track runs along the one side of the East Holland River.   I love the colour of the sumac in the fall and the teasel is a photographic favourite.  I have not been able to identify the pink flowers yet.  They look like a beardstongue but grow 6 and 7 feet tall with long leaves. 

This is the last day of the August Break but I seem to have a rhythm here posting a photo in the evening so I will carry on for a bit.  Hope you will stick with me.

 

AB1216BB4260259063935A65C621413E93F

Hoping You Have a Blessed Easter