Busy world

Life has never been busier and that's a good thing.  First of all, thanks to everyone who emailed to check up on me and to make sure that I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth.  I'm still here and the only thing that's kept me from writing on a regular basis has been other commitments to family, friends, doing respite and now that spring is here in all its glory, the garden.  I had my grandson here on two different occasions and we had a fabulous time together.  He talks a mile a minute, is interested in everything and loves to hang out with his nanny on the beach, wearing his own version of green wellies...

Casper, Indy and I walk the beach twice a day and lately, we've been heading out to hike some trails on those weekends when I have a foster child here for respite.  Until we decided it might be a good idea to read the map properly, one 2 kilometer hike ended up being a 5 kilometer trek...we got lost, but the birdsong, the masses of Dutchman's Breeches and the woodland sunshine made every step a delight...

The garden is coming along in leaps and bounds.  The rhubarb has become a bouquet of mass proportions and will soon be ready to be transformed into bottles of nectar...

The lovage is knee high to a donkey and I should have transplanted it last fall, as it's threatening to take over this tiny bed...

Taking inspiration from one of my flickr contacts, graygoosie, I'm in the process of making a narrow strip of the side yard between my place and the neighbour's fence into a tomato patch.  Because it's a sun trap, the weeds were prolific and it was an odd spot to get into with the weed-eater.  I dug up weeds, laid landscape carpet, covered the lot with cedar mulch, moved in an old blue bench and planted tomatoes in large pots.  It's another attempt to foil the deer.  They ate the flowering tops off of all my tomatoes last summer and I'm hoping that they won't wander into such a confined space.  Time will tell. 

The side of the house looks patchy.  It's been power-washed in preparation for a new coat of paint...

Using an old tap that my sister gave me, I fashioned a new spout for the front fountain.  The tub is from an old wringer washer, so the tap just seems to suit it better than the bamboo one I had before.  Trying to explain to the men at the hardware store the parts I needed, became a lesson in patience.  I could see it in my mind's eye, but they couldn't!  We managed to work things out in the end...

And while I garden to my heart's content, the dogs are kept busy chewing on bones.  Casper has his special technique...

Indy has his...

If all goes well tomorrow, I'm heading to as many blogs as I can to see what everyone else has been up to.  It's good to be back on board!

 

Comments

[PG]

Rhubarb wine? Yummy - or should that be Barb's 'barb wine?

[Becky]

Good to "see" you back again.
Your photos are great! I don't have lovage. Is that the same as rhubarb??? Looks like it.
I'll have to do some reseach.

I'm into Bees and Sunflowers just now.
Becky

[colette]

I have followed your blog for ages. And I did think you'd quit blogging or "fell off the face of the earth". Your posts always bring serenity into these hectic times. And I missed that. Glad you are back. Happy gardening!