Love Affair with Lilacs

I got to thinking ~ are Lilacs wildflowers? You find the most beautiful bushes at old homesteads, farms and such. Where did they come from, who planted them there? I do not think my grandmother went to the garden center or mercantile to buy a lilac bush….

So I tried to do some research and although there are plenty of websites out there about lilacs ~ I could not find anything to suit my curiosities. I guess I will just continue my love affair with them ~ don’t try to give me anything lilac scented ~ I want the real thing, or nothing at all!

Although I love them all, I like the darker purple the best This lighter mauve is what I have now ~ once we get a new house, I will have a new lilac bush!

Mama's Revenge

Cooper's new "do"

He does not look impressed at all ~ but he is really very happy to have shed a pound or so of hair for the summer season.

Cat Grooming 101

While Miss Molly gets most of the spotlight here at home, a huge chunk of my heart belong to my handsome boy ~ Cooper.

Well ~ he is all boy ~ and like most small boys ~ Ab-so-lute-ly HATES to be brushed. As you can see he has quite the coat on him, so it is a major event when the time comes to get at him and try to brush out mats that seem to appear overnight. It helps when before I even touch him he "screeches" and it sounds like I am stabbing him with a butcher knife. I now take him into our half bath, settle in on the floor with my grooming tools and usually comb a kitten or two out of him. Well ~ our last trip was eventful and full of blood, sweat & tears! He got the best of me, I am sorry to admit....


Did I mention I love shaving around these types of wounds??

I will become the victor though in this little war as he is off to the groomer's tomorrow for his annual summer cut ~ then he will become my little lion.

Watching & Waiting

A couple of weeks ago while clearing our the flowerbeds I came across these ~

So in I came to grab the camera and do a bit of research on my find. I suspected right away that they were pheasant eggs and I was correct. In reading up on them I found that the hen can lay anywhere from 6-15 eggs (average is 10-12) over a two/three-week period. (depending on what web site you look at)
A pheasant egg is about 1 1/3 x 1 2/3 inches. It can be a light tan to pale olive green color. The hen doesn't start incubating the eggs until the last egg is laid. That way, all the eggs will hatch on the same day. It takes 23-24 days for the eggs to hatch.

So now we have 12 ~
And there has been 12 since Saturday ~ no more since and she has not started to incubate them yet. I suspect that she should be on the nest the entire incubation period ~ I will have to research that some more. I just hope that something has not happened to the hen and the nest is abandoned. ~ along with I really need to clean up that side of the house!

Monday, Monday....

Happy Monday! Spring is here and the sun is shining upon me here again today. It has been a little weird weather wise today ~ sun, rain and hail in some places! I was going to do a bit of planting tonight after work, but there is a chance of frost ~ so that tells me that although some days it feels like summer ~ it IS only spring in the Maritimes!

Around the yard we are seeing all kinds of color and loveliness ~


And it won't be long now ~
I hope all my US friends have a wonderful Memorial day.

~Lori
xo

Sunday at the nursery

Mom came down this afternoon with Samantha and we headed to the local nursery.

I found everything that I was looking for and more ~ especially with my little helper this year....
We came through one of the greenhouses and saw these ~ they are beautiful ~ wish I had a place for one here....
We then headed home and Sam picked out a spot to plant her very own flower ~ we stepped back and hidden behind the hydrangea ~ we found this Buttercup ~ isn't she pretty....

The sun left us around noon today and the wind came up, rain threatened ~ we decided just to hang the baskets and save the planting for this week.


Have a beautiful Sunday.....

Week-end Projects

I am looking forward to this week-end and for the sunshine in the forecast. It puts my thoughts towards my garden and getting my hanging baskets along with my containers planted. I so want some of these:


Along with some of these for my baskets:

And these because they remind me of the farm.....

And I always get these for my old enamel bowl:

And aren't these just so pretty....


And last but not least ~ for this trip ~ lots and lots of these:

Don't you just love their little faces?? They were Dad's favorites.

Have a wonderful week-end!

Not Worried Anymore

Miss Molly did not need to stay at the clinic ~ instead she came home with some medication, which dare I say *knock wood* seems to be working already! Poor little thing had 2 accidents in her crate yesterday, but has not had any "episodes" since early this morning. A good sign I would think.
They also gave her some cream for her behind as she has a very irritated little bottom, so we will put that on her once she settles in for the evening.
She has some very sad puppy dog eyes happening right now, but I can tell she is starting to feel like herself again. The power of prayer is a wonderful thing......

A Little Worried

My best girl is off to the vet this morning and although deep in my heart I know she will be OK ~ I can't help but be worried. She seemed to be getting better yesterday, then was up again early this am with no change to her bowel movements, even after a bland diet and a couple of doses of medicine. I think she now has a fever and may be dehydrated. I will keep my fingers crossed that she will have that "Boston spring" back in her step after some meds and some quality time with an IV.

Miss Molly

This is my pride and joy ~ my daughter shall we say. She is spoiled rotten and knows it! This week she is a little under the weather, so is currently on a bland diet with no treats, which I think is harder on her Mama than it is on her. Hopefully she will be back to her old self soon or we will be heading to the vet's office for a little visit.

Wildflowers....

These are the shots that inspired the title ~ although they are not recent, they remain favorites of mine. I hope to take more this summer!

It's A New Day....

I have decided to "jump on the bandwagon" here and start my own ramblings. Whether or not it will be of interest to anyone, I have no idea, but here I go.

We just celebrated Victoria Day here in Canada and it was a rain event for the most part. Saturday we had beautiful weather but Sunday & Monday both were rainy, damp and cool. Perfect days for snuggling up with a mug of tea or cocoa and reading a book ~ too bad I did not do that! I spent an entire afternoon in our office shredding documents ~ oh what fun! It is something I have been putting off, but at least now it is done.... It was back to work today though and Mr. Sunshine decided to grace us with his presence this afternoon ~ I hope he sticks around for a bit.