Rain Drops Keep Fallin' on My Head

April showers will bring May flowers.  A walk in a wet garden is a good way to start the day.  While wandering around the yard at sunrise this morning, looking at all of the new green plants pushing up through the bark mulch in my flower beds, a feeling of anticipation came over me.  I can hardly wait to see the flowers that will soon follow.  Already, so many flowers are blooming.

I must try to do some flower photography today, in between the predicted periods of drizzle and rain showers.  Where there's a will, there's a way.  I'm reminded of that familiar quote "life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain".

Walking in the rain?  No!  Holly and I managed to get our walk in along the Harte Trail before it started to rain again, not that either of us care about a little rain on our walks.  The excitement today, especially for Holly, was scaring up a white-tailed deer that was crossing the trail (probably heading into some one's garden to eat their tulips).

After lunch, I hope to squeeze in some macro shots of some of my flowers between the period of rain.  Stay tuned ...

A Harte to Harte Day

We have had a few light showers over-night and this morning but nothing to get excited about.  However, more rain is predicted, possible 25 mm or so.  Here's hoping we get a good drenching to refresh the dry soil.

Holly and I just got back from a walk on the Harte Trail.  Our usual hour or so along the same route we've been doing for some time now.  Although we walked through the occasional light drizzle, it was actually quite pleasant, especially because we only encountered the odd jogger and walker along the way.  I think Holly must walk twice as far as I do on these walks, as she explores the smells to each side of the trail.

I noticed a few wildflowers starting to emerge in a couple of areas along the trail.  They should make future walks more interesting.  I expect, in a week or two, I may have to do an extra walk along this trail on some days, without Holly, but with my camera gear, so that I can photograph some of these flowers when they start to bloom.  I'm looking forward to that.

I don't have much planned for today.  I'll be working inside to catch up on some of my rainy day projects, I guess.  There certainly are lots of things I've been getting behind on inside my home.  Tonight, I'm looking forward to having dinner out with a good friend.

Windy Day on the Prairie

The winds started to pick up this morning and got worse as the hours passed.  Fortunately, Holly and I went out to Little Mountain Park for our walk today before they got too strong.  This large (about 160 acres), relatively undeveloped, city park is north of an industrial area on the NW edge of Winnipeg.  It's mostly aspen woodland with a spider's web of trails throughout and some large grassy fields.

Obviously, it's a popular place for city dog walkers.  There were lots of unleashed dogs running around while we were there, contrary to the signs posted everywhere.  People also seemed to ignore the signs saying to pick up after your dog.  Holly enjoyed the park and all its smells but I much prefer walking the trails at Beaudry Provincial Park.

It's my son's 38th birthday today.  The years have sure passed quickly.  I can remember when he was ...  Anyways, have a great day, Mike!

Looks like I won't have to water the flower beds in my yard for awhile.  Lots of rain is predicted over the next few days.  We sure need it, too.  Everything is much too dry in southern Manitoba.  The farmers who have already seeded will be very pleased to see their fields get a good soaking at this time.

A Break in Routine

This morning, I took Holly out to Beaudry Park for our long walk.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the two of us had the trails to ourselves.  Holly loved sniffing every thing along the trail.  I guess there had been a lot of dogs over the past weekend.  This trip, I avoided getting lost on the trails by walking out for a half-hour, turning around and heading back on the same trail.  One hour of ups and downs along the trail was more than adequate exercise for me!  I was tempted to turn in at Shelmerdine's Garden Centre on the drive home but overcame the temptation by reminding myself that I had more than enough plants to take care of at home already.

After lunch, I headed over McNally Robinson Booksellers to buy a couple of Deb Romeyn music Cd's and to order a couple Eva Cassidy Cd's that I wanted for my folk music collection.  I also picked up some greeting cards for my dwindling supply at home.  I then visited Bob and Pat for coffee and to tour their native perennial garden.  Their lady slippers were just starting, with the buds just breaking out of the soil surface.  Their white trilliums were starting to bloom, like those in my own backyard.  It's always great to visit these gracious friends.

Back home, I caught up with my handwritten diary, where I write my more personal thoughts and reflections.  I decided on dim sum for my supper tonight.  Afterwards, I took the beast for another, but shorter, walk.  I expect my evening tonight will be routine.  Nothing planned, anyways.

Germination Day

Today started with the usual morning walk, some household chores, a couple of emails, Facebook ( various comments, messages, and chats), and a pause for lunch.  The afternoon was spent watering flower beds (it may rain on Thursday) and finally putting seeds in my germination pots, some outside containers, and even a few in one of the flower beds.  The afternoon ended with more emails, some in-coming, some out-going.  After giving my beast, Holly, a short evening walk, I created a culinary delight (well, Delissio pizza, anyways).  This evening, I intend to just relax, read, and, maybe, watch something on TV, if I can find anything interesting.

Hikes and Family

Today started with a great hike along the trails of Beaudry Provincial Park, a few miles west of Winnipeg, with Margaret and our two dogs.  We started early enough to have the trails to ourselves for most of the time.  It was so quiet and peaceful out there.  Towards the end of our hike, we regretted leaving our water in the vehicle.  It was very warm by the time we finished.  After an hour and a half of walking, we returned to the starting point, having covered well over 4.5 miles of up and down trails.  I never realized Holly's tongue could get that long.  Two water bottles quickly emptied as we and the dogs quenched our thirst.  We're fortunate to have such a natural park where you can hike so close to the city.

In the afternoon, I puttered around home, taking time to give the flower beds a good watering.  The soil was getting very dry around the house.  Despite the dry conditions, the flowers are really coming along.  The trilliums, tulips, and several other kinds of flower blooms are now starting to open.  And, there are dozens and dozens of plants with new leaves coming up through the mulch on the flower beds.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time today to do any flower photography.  That will have to wait until tomorrow.

Later on, I went over to Trudie's where she prepared a great family dinner, to celebrate Mike's 38th birthday.  We had a very nice meal, topped with a chocolate birthday cake and ice cream.  We all enjoyed the get-together.  Holly, as always, was happy to see me when I returned home.  She got a few milk-bones and a short walk.  That's always part of her evening routine.

Tempting Fate

After my normal morning routine, I started potting up the annual plants I brought home yesterday.  Over the course of the day, I managed to pot up all of them in containers in the front drive and backyard.  I know I'm tempting fate, putting them out while there's still a risk of frost.  After all, this is Manitoba where frosts are quite possible up to about the May long weekend.  Hopefully, by watching the weather, I can cover them overnight if there is a frost warning.

I also managed to prepare about 50 germination pots today.  I'll seed these with my herb seeds and various annual and perennial flower seeds over the next couple of days.  I feels like I'm in a garden production line right now.

The weather has been really incredible here for a couple of weeks.  It almost feels like summer is here with high temperatures close to 25 degrees.  One can work outdoors in a T-shirt quite comfortably.  However, it does cool down overnight to only a few degrees above freezing.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping this warm weather continues right through the rest of April into May.  We Manitobans do love our summers.

That Time of Year

It was a busy day.  The normal morning routine, with a mix of household chores afterwards.  After lunch, I drove out to St. Mary's Garden Centre, hoping to find some water lilies but none were in yet.  I did manage to find an assortment of perennials for my large driveway and backyard pots.  Potting those up tomorrow.  After that, I drove over to Josi's to watch my grand-boys while Josi and Greg met with their banker about building their new home in LaSalle this summer.  I was rewarded with supper and some much-needed help preparing my 2009 income tax return.

More Threads to Follow

An afternoon of wandering around the home and yard, just doing odds and ends of things.  In the yard, I was pleased to see that the fern peony planted last summer, made it through the winter and is now coming up.  And, daffodils, dozens of heads appeared today.  They're catching up with the tulip buds that started a few days ago.  I also discovered that the Chinese egg pot that I'd filled with water is leaking slowly and in need of new caulking.  I will use this pot for my water lilies.  Of course, now I need to find and buy some water lilies in Winnipeg.  I see more garden centres in my future.  The life of a gardener is hard.

Inside, I was busy with such mundane things as changing my address with Revenue Canada so I can e-file my 2009 income tax return (not fun), doing laundry, doing dishes, setting up dozens of pots for seed germination, having the odd phone call, writing the odd email, heating up left-over Indian food for supper, going through about a 1000 old receipts to cull out all the garbage to toss, finding some camera gear in the basement, etc., etc., etc.  I didn't seem to accomplish much today but I'm getting tired anyway.

And, now that I'm in the habit of doing early morning walks, I'd better get lots of sleep tonight because 5 a.m. is not that far away.

Good Times

I really enjoyed having Mike and Tasha and my favorite grand-daughter, Katie, over for supper last night.  Mike and Tasha seemed to enjoy my cooking.  I like cooking for other people much more than just cooking for myself.

This fine, sunny, morning, Holly and I did the Harte Trail again, all the way to Fairmont and back.  We missed our pace-setter today but did pretty good anyways.  I'm starting to see the same dog walkers, solo walkers, and cyclists each morning.  It's nice to get so many hellos and smiles from familiar faces.  The lighting was great again so I took a shot of some catkins along the way.

Just Following the Thread

For the second day in a row, Holly and I had an early morning walk along the Harte Trail with Margaret and Molly.  It was a cooler morning today.  But it was just as gorgeous as yesterday.  There's something about the warm morning sun, when it lights up the fluffy, pale catkins on the trees and shrubs along the path.  The lighting is the kind photographers just love.  I didn't see any deer this morning but did scare up a couple of mallards from one of the trail-side wet areas.  'Twas an hour well spent.  Walking in the early morning is great.  It'll even be better soon because, as it gets even warmer in summer, walking in the heat of the day is not fun, for man or beast.

Later in the morning, I invited Mike and Tasha over for supper.  Now, I must figure out what to cook and serve.  Hmmm ... maybe I'll make an Indian meal for them ... a chicken dish, a mixed vegetable biryani, with asparagus on the side?  Maybe brownies for dessert?  Sounds good to me!

New Quilt Hanging

Today, I hung my new quilt on the living room wall, near the fireplace and photographed it soon after.  Hopefully, it will flatten out a little more over time.

All that Flickrs is Not Gold

I have just started a Flickr photo page, open to the public, where I'll be posting many of my photographs.  If you're interested, you can check it out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/papa-ellis 

Another Day Begins at Mosquito Flats

If you're wondering why I refer to 43 Carbutt Place as Mosquito Flats, it's because that's the sign over the front door.  The sign came from my former home near Carman, a small acreage with no neighbours in view.  Many people on such acreages or farm sites have a name for their property.  Mosquito Flats seemed like a good name for my 12 acres because, during the summer, mosquitoes could be a real challenge there.  The sign gives me a connection with an earlier dream of mine.  Not that I'm not glad I now live in the Charleswood area of SW Winnipeg.  I am.  The old Mosquito Flats was getting to be almost too much for me to handle.  It is so much easier, living where I am now.

This morning, I did something different in my normal daily routine.  I got up a little earlier so I could take Holly for a walk along the Harte Trail before the day warmed up.  During one of our walks yesterday afternoon, it was very warm and Holly was desperate for water when we got back home.  We walked from about 6:15 to about 7:30 this morning.  I'm not sure exactly how far we walked.  I think about 4 miles in all.  The morning lighting along the trail was beautiful.  Looking south at one point, I spotted four deer entering a meadow from a wooded area.  It was kind of amazing how many more trees and shrubs were leafing out, compared to just yesterday.  Spring is certainly a magic time of the year.

In any case, it was a good cardio workout for me and Holly.  But, it was good, too, to get home, make yet another cup of coffee, and settle into reading the last three issues of the Free Press.  Now, I'm thinking of the continuing yard work ahead of me today.  Maybe, I'll get out and do some photography first.  I'm trying to record the succession of flowers in my yard over the growing season.  Sounds like a plan.

A Yard is Work (and Fun)

Today marked my first real day of spring yard work, here at 43 Carbutt.  With sunny skies and a temperature of 23 degrees this afternoon, it was both fun and work.  The fun came as I found more and more plants coming into bud and flower.  I'll be getting out my camera tomorrow to capture as many new flowers opening as I can.  Just to tease you, I discovered I have yellow crocuses in bloom in one of the front flower beds this afternoon.  That was a very pleasant surprise.

The work came in the form of cutting back dead vegetation in both the front and back yard.  I'll be at it again tomorrow.  There's lots yet to trim back.  I also cleaned out the old annual vegetation from all of the pots on the deck and in the back yard today.  I even started to cut back the old cattail foliage in the mini-pond from last year.  I was pleased to discover the cattails were putting up healthy new shoots.  I'm up to four large garbage bags of trimmings now.

With the sunny, warm weather that we've been having lately, it became obvious today that hand-watering selected plants wasn't enough so I've been running the slow-drip watering system in the backyard all afternoon.  Tomorrow, I'll have to get the sprinkler hoses going, front and back, to moisten all the dry flower beds that are not reached by the soaker hose system.  Another tease: the tulips along the west side of the house have started to put up flower heads now.

My Sunday So Far

Another gorgeous day in Winnipeg.  I made a lazy start to the day, looking at photographs on Flickr River and exploring various Flickr photographers from there, over several cups of morning coffee.  Somehow, I ended up looking mostly at photosets involving nature and flower gardening.  I guess that reflects my current photographic interests.

I especially enjoy looking at photographs of flowers where the photographer goes way beyond the simple documentary photograph and has made the image into an artistic jewel.  Sometimes, it's extremely hard to figure out how they've done it.  There are some pretty amazing photographers on Flickr.  I also appreciate those photographers who clearly identify the flowers that they are photographing.  Unfortunately, they're in the minority.  With good identifications given, I'm able to learn something new or to reinforce what I already know.

Later, Holly and I walked the Harte Trail.  It was very crowded late this morning, with other dog walkers, strollers, joggers, and bicyclists.  I don't think I've ever seen it so busy.  But, it was understandable, considering it's Sunday and it was 18 degrees already (going up to 21 again today).  I may have to start going further afield on Sundays for our walks.

By the way, I finally decided to hang the quilt I bought yesterday, as it was originally intended.  I purchased the special hanging rod today.  After it has hung for a few days to straighten out completely, I'll post a photograph of it here.  The more I look at it, the more I'm glad that I got it.

Holly is staring at me right now, waiting for her after-supper walk, so I suppose I'd better take her now.  If I don't take her now, she'll start making those pathetic little whimpers she's so good at (sigh).

Another Super Day

Today was awesome. The weather was fantastic, a slight breeze, brilliant sunshine, and a high of 21. And, it's only the 17th of April. Not to mention that the forecast is for at least a few more days of the same. I feel so lucky to live where I do right now.

Today was also extraordinary because my friend Margaret and I drove up to Gimli. We had a lot of fun, starting with a fine lunch of pickerel at the Lakeview Resort and Hotel. By coincidence, a friend of Margaret's just became the General Manager of the complex where we dined and he came to visit Margaret at our table. After our meal, our server brought us a couple of wonderful desserts, "compliments of the Manager". Very nice of him!

After lunch, we did some window shopping, visited the Icelandic Museum, and did lots of walking. The long harbour breakwater (seen below), with its increasingly long row of murals, was really neat to walk.


Out towards the end of the breakwater, there was ice pushed up on the rocks. The large crystals of ice were amazing.


At the last store we visited, a quilt and fabric place, I even found a beautiful, wall-hanging-quilt which I just had to buy for my home, despite the price. I may put it on my coffee table or I may hang it on my living room wall. I'm leaning towards hanging it on the living room wall. It just seems like too fine a piece of fabric art to put on the coffee table.

We took the slow way back to Winnipeg, not wanting the day to end. There are a lot of neat little towns between Gimli and the Perimeter. Most of them are "old cottage country" type places, with many of the cottages dating as far back as the early 1900's. These days, the vacant lots are being in-filled with large new homes, probably retirees from Winnipeg. This province has so much to offer in so many out of the way places. I'm looking forward to doing more exploring this summer.

Great Day on the Prairies

Fine weather returned today, as the strong winds dropped. Holly and I got in a good long walk this afternoon. It's nice to be back up to speed, so to speak. I think we both missed those long walks. The wind didn't seem to slow down the aspens and willows as they pushed out new leaves and catkins. There were all sorts of variations in shapes and colours. And, it looks like we're going to have more fine weather for the weekend. Yes!

Not much new to report in the yard. Lots of new plants starting to emerge from the mulched areas but they're too small to tell what they are yet. I noticed one of my neighbours was repainting their deck. Mine is already on my "to do" list. I have this feeling that not everything that's on that very long list is going to get done this year. But, hey, it's not a race.

When I was at Safeway this afternoon, picking up some groceries, I walked by the florist section. Then, I circled it a couple of times. So many plants were crying out "buy me, buy me" but I resisted. I think I have spring fever. I must be patient.

Those Flowers That Appeared Yesterday

Some of you were wondering what the tiny flowers were that appeared in my backyard yesterday. Well, here are couple of photos that show you what they look like.

Siberian Squill

Striped Squill

Obviously, they must have bloomed a day or so before I spotted them in the backyard.

21 Degrees C Today!

It's hard to believe but that's how warm it is right now as I write this (nearly 7 p.m., Wednesday evening).  It'll probably cool off a few degrees over the next few minutes, as I note the approaching thunderstorm coming in from the west.  But, what a great day here in Winnipeg!

During my walk along the Harte Trail earlier this afternoon, the buds on the trees and shrubs were bursting, with catkins on many of the willows and aspens.  Spikes of bright green grass were poking up through the old dead grass straw.  Holly was glad to get home so she could get a long drink of water.  Come to think of it, my two cups of coffee went down rather quickly too.

Wandering around the back yard, I was surprised and pleased to see a couple of small spring perennials blooming here and there.  One patch of small blue flowers was "spring squills" (Scillia sibirica).  The other patch was "striped squills" (Puschkinia scilloides).  Several other plants were just emerging from the leafy debris/mulch.  Too early to say what they might be: possibly some are mini-daffodils.

Of course, some oregano and lots of chive clumps are growing in the herb plot.  The ornamental rhubarb is just starting to push up new growth.  The tulips are still in the rampant leafing stage.  Most of them have doubled in size over the past week.  It's all very exciting to me as I stare at that huge learning curve ahead of me.  I hope that the passing thunderstorm leaves some rain on my yard.  Otherwise, I'll be out watering the flower beds tomorrow.

Yet Another Trip To Carman

When you stop at the Carman Coop Food Store for a few groceries and one of the clerks you know there asks you if you've moved back to Carman yet, you have to wonder.  Maybe you are getting back there fairly often.  Maybe you do miss that sleepy little town.  Certainly, the people I know there, in all the businesses I used to deal with (that included most of the businesses in town!), are amongst the friendliest in Manitoba.  I still deal with the RBC there.  I know everyone there and they all know me.  That's important when it comes to banking.  Today, though, my business was with my lawyer, Brock Lee.  Just getting some of my affairs in order, as they say.  Funny thing about lawyers, even after dealing with this one for over 20 years, you never get a discount on the fees you are charged.  Oh, well ... we all have to eat.

Speaking of eating, that was the other reason I went to Carman today: to have lunch with Denis and Gwen at Tidbit, the Chinese restaurant.  We don't even have to tell Kim, our server, what we want.  She simply recites our usual orders to confirm what we want.  And, she always brings me a little side dish of hot sauce because she knows I'll want some.  It was good catching up on what's happening with Denis and Gwen.  As I expected, they've started their spring yard work.  Denis has been busy cutting grass and using his new little tiller to turn over the flower and vegetable plots for Gwen.  I also began to wonder if I go back to Carman too often when Gwen mentioned that she sees more of me now than she did when I lived there.  At least she had a smile on her face when she said it.  Good people.

Driving there and back, with Holly riding shotgun in the back of the Escape, I was a little surprised to see there was still some snow in some of the wooded areas where the drifts had piled up during the winter.  Otherwise, the fields looked almost ready for spring harrowing, fertilizing, and seeding.  I imagine some of the farmers are getting eager to begin.  Judging by all the field gear being readied in some of the farm yards that I passed, it won't be long now.  Which reminds me, I've got some spring yard work to do myself!

A Dream Come True

For years, I've wanted to take some exceptional photographs of prairie crocuses.  Yes, I have occasionally photographed these beautiful wildflowers before but I was never satisfied with my earlier shots.  There was no 'magic' in those first shots.  Yesterday, I had another chance.  I had heard of a location in Sandilands Provincial Forest, south of Hadashville, where prairie crocuses were reported to be very common, usually blooming around Mothers Day.  That's a month from now.  But, considering the warm weather that we've been having lately, I figured there was a chance that some crocuses might already be in bloom.

So, about noon on Sunday, I got my camera gear and Holly in the Escape, tanked up on gas, picked up my friend, Vladimyr, and headed east on the Trans-Canada to the crocus area.  After a fair bit of driving up and down main and side forestry roads, stopping frequently at possible roadside locations and not seeing any crocuses, I concluded that it was just too early yet.  I was ready to give up.

Fortunately, at the last stop, Vlad said, 'well, we've come all this way ... let's at least photograph some of these great lichens and mosses, for art's sake'.  His words made me realize that I had been too focused on my one objective.  That I was missing everything else, all the other beauty around us, while I looked for those elusive crocuses.  So, I quickly agreed.

No sooner did I start looking for some photogenic lichens than I wandered into a small clump of prairie crocuses.  This last stop had been the lucky one!  Yes, I do know there is 'an important life lesson' here.  I've already figured it out.  Anyways, with macro gear in hand, I began taking photos of these beautiful flowers.  I ended up taking about a dozen shots, most of which I was happy with.  I knew a few of those had the 'magic' that I had wanted for so long.  Here is one of my shots.

A Pretty Good Day

This morning, when a took Holly for a "medium" walk, south of Carbutt, we were greeted by a large flock of robins, scattered through Fraser's Meadow.  Although the odd robin had been spotted over the past week, this was the first flock of them I've seen this spring.  It was reminiscent of my years living near Carman, where each spring and fall, such flocks could be seen moving through the acreage.  Such simple things warm my heart and make me glad to be alive.

After our exercise, I gathered up some beef soup, a frozen pizza, and my camera gear and I drove over to Josi and Greg's for brunch.  This was another chance to be with my family ... to share a few hours with Josi and Greg and "the boyz", Mike and Tasha and Katie, and Trudie.  Josi assembled a great brunch.  Before and after, I was able to photograph my grand-kids, once again.  It's something I never tire of doing.  A few of these photos turned out well and, when I returned home, I posted them onto my Facebook page for all to enjoy.

Later, at home, I wandered around the yard, looking at the flower beds, shaking some dead leaves from some of the cedars, and marvelling at how much the tulip leaves had grown in one short week.  Today, the winds were too strong to do any yard work.  Raking the lawn would have been a waste of time with all the old dry leaves being churned around by the wind.  So, I simply looked at everything and planned a few more little jobs.

Every time that I wander through the yard, I think of a few more things that I must do and a few more things that I'd like to change around.  Don't get the idea that I know a lot about gardening.  I don't.  What little I know, I've learned from watching and helping others and from doing some reading.  I have a tremendous amount of learning ahead of me before I will begin to approach the expertise of a real gardener.  But, I'll do my best this summer.

Another Day, Much Like Yesterday

I'm feeling better and doing more today.  I even vacuumed out my Ford Escape this afternoon, after doing some grocery shopping and other errands.  I noticed the gravel piling up on the floor mats.  I wish the outside of the Escape was clean too but, every time I wash it, it rains and gets filthy again.  Life is hard.

I'm starting to think about the weekend, as it draws closer.  I'm looking forward to going for brunch at Josi and Greg's and seeing "the boyz" again.  Guess I'd better take my camera along, just in case.  I'm not sure if Mike and Tasha and Katie will be there.  They might open up our cottage near Vermilion Bay this weekend.

I'm starting to get an itch to get outside the city myself these spring days so I may go for a drive in the country on Sunday.  Not sure where yet but I'm considering several possibilities.  Stay tuned ...

Walking Holly Felt Good

I finally got out for a longish walk today with my canine friend.  It is a fine, sunny afternoon here in Winnipeg.  Being cooped up for several days, other than getting out for a few short walks with Holly (at her insistence!), it felt great to walk through nearby Fraser's Meadow and enjoy the fresh air again.  Also, I found enough energy to finally do some needed housework, including 3 large loads of laundry.  Funny how the laundry piles up, even when you're sick.  But not enough energy to tackle the vacuuming.  That'll have to wait another day or so.  Hopefully, in a few days, the brain fairy will come back and I'll think of more interesting things to write about here.  Please be patient.

Recovering

I'm recovering from several days with a severe sore throat and a seemingly continuous cough.  My rib cage still hurts but I know I'm getting better because now I'm starting to feel guilty about spending so much time in bed and getting so little done around the house and yard.  I'm also slowly recovering from a severe case of 'foot in mouth' disease that happened yesterday.  But, that's another story, best left unsaid here.  Suffice it to say that I let anger get momentary control of my thoughts and words and, despite saying that I was sorry afterwards, I know that I caused harm.  Not a good thing for someone with an already over-burdened guilt complex.  Hopefully, I will be better tomorrow.

Easter Sunday

Today was a lazy day.  I spent the morning tidying up inside the house and looking everywhere for a couple of missing items, neither of which I found.  I also organized some potting supplies to get ready to start a variety of herbs, seeds for which I picked up at Shelmerdines earlier in the week.  I think I should be able to start these herbs in small pots indoors this coming week.  They should be ready for transplanting outdoors about the time when the risk of frost is small.  Nothing beats fresh herbs for cooking and salads.

I'm also looking forward to the annual buying spree at Vanderveens in Carman in late April or early May, to purchase tomatoes plants for the big pots on the deck (amongst other plants!).  Sun-ripened tomatoes are so good!  I've also got to start some flowers soon for the three big driveway pots.  They'll brighten up the driveway and entrance area a lot.

It's going to be a steep learning curve for me this summer, tending to all of the different perennials and shrubs that were planted here by the previous owner.  But, I'm looking forward to learning everything I can about flower gardening this year.

Holly Happier Now

Although the weather was only slightly better this morning, my dog is happier because we had a nice long walk east down the Harte Trail to Fairmont with Margaret and Molly.  I'm not sure who needed the exercise more; me or Holly.  But it sure felt good.  I won't work outside this afternoon, in my water-logged yard, but that's okay.  There's always lots to do indoors.  Maybe, I'll finish that mystery I'm reading first?

Nasty Weather Today in Winnipeg

We had overnight rain and light rain with off-and-on light hail today.  Coupled with strong winds and cool temperatures, it obviously was not a good day for yard work or much else outside today.  Tomorrow doesn't look like it will be much better.  Maybe, Sunday?  Holly is not too happy because she's only getting short walks today.

At least, I got some house work, laundry, and a couple of other necessary things done today.  And, my big pot of beef stew is almost ready for putting into freezer containers for later meals.  I'd be much happier, though, if it was sunny and warm.  There I go, stating the obvious again.  Better stop while I'm ahead.

Celebrate

Last night, I was fortunate to attend Celebrations Theatre’s fantastic production of “Greased”. I was hosted by my friend, the General Manager of CT, and was treated to some fine food (we sampled four entrees!) and great entertainment. Over the course of the evening, I was privileged to meet many of the friendly and talented cast and servers. Some truly amazingly young people sang and acted their hearts out with hits from the 50’s and 60’s. If you live in Winnipeg and you like old time rock and roll, this is a show you won’t want to miss. I guarantee that you’ll go home smiling.