Hello dear friends, it has been a very hectic last few weeks so I have not had much time to work in the gardens. This past week has been a vacation week but with scorching temperatures and humidex values in the 40's it has been very uncomfortable to work outside or inside!
With the recent passing of my father I have spent most of my (free) time helping my mother prepare for the next chapter of her life. As a result the gardens have been neglected and I have only just managed to plant up some of the annuals I purchased in May. I love these planters we purchased a few years ago from a local company and the Wave petunias should fill out nicely over the next few weeks.
Yesterday was the perfect day for working in the gardens. After some quick and heavy rains on Thursday evening the temperatures fell and the humidity vanished. Temperatures in the low 20s with a lovely breeze are just perfect for working outside.
This is Kodiak's garden. Most of our gardens have perennials as the foundation with a few annuals for additional colour. This garden also contains a waterfall...more on that another day!
Kodiak came to us as a 1 year old pup with a very difficult past. He was the smartest (and sometimes most difficult) dog we have had at the farm. Kodiak loved to work the sheep and took his job very seriously. Unfortunately he was also a fearful dog and had a history of fear biting. We were always very careful to control who had access to our home so as to avoid any mishaps. Kodiak came from a very abusive family whose owner eventually burned their house down. For as long as Kodiak leaved with us he never got over his fear of strangers, raised voices or fires. We loved him very much as it was very emotional for us when he passed away.
Abigail is a great puppy! Friendly, inquisitive and now we know that secretly she is also a thief. We now know what happens to my gardening gloves!
Lucy and Abby have bonded quite well and love to play together even though Lucy is a senior! Lucy always carries a toy with her and when she stops to rest whatever she is carrying is placed on her paws.
Yesterday my husband started cutting hay in the field in front of our old stone farmhouse. This is a small field, we have another much larger hay field that needs to be cut and also cut the fields on a neighbour's property.
Unfortunately he didnt get far before he broke down. Hopefully we will be repaired later today.
I love this plant that was a gift from a friend.
This one is a mystery to me. It pops up everywhere and even though it has buds I have never actually seen flowers. We used a plant identification program on a smart phone that tells us it is supposed to be a lily. We shall see!
Some of our girls are getting old. They love to feast on wheelbarrow loads of weeds and grass clippings and are quite excited if they see me coming.
The waterfall in the koi pond. The waterfall runs constantly and at night we can hear the sounds of falling water from the bedrooms.
Finally we have a proper door on the garden privvy! I was so excited to see it and didnt realize it had been completed several weeks ago.
A robin's nest in a maple that needs to be pruned and cabled. A closer inspection of the nest reveals some sheep's wool and strands from a feed bag. The young robins have hatched and flown off.
Every year we are astonished that this apple tree hasnt died or come down in a wind storm. It is essentially completely hollow! It is just a shell yet each year it produces leaves and apples.
Here is our darling Willow. The heat earlier this week took a toll on her. In February of this year she was operated on to remove a tumour from her neck. It is so sad when our pets age as we know that we will lose them eventually. She is a very sweet girl and looks very wise.
A view from the kitchen deck towards the koi pond.
The pond from a different angle.
And a view including the water fall.
And one last photo which I quite like. Do you see the bugs above the plant? Although there is still work to be done on the koi pond we are enjoying it very much.
And here is a view towards my little garden shed. This old lawn tractor is about 23 years old and was one of our first "investments" in equipment when we purchased our farm. Many parts of it have since rusted out or dont work but it reliably pulls along a utility trailer which at the moment contains composted sheep and chicken manure mixed with compost to add to the gardens.
Unfortunately tomorrow is the last day of vacation for us before going back to work. I wont have vacation again until September but should have other photos of our farm to share with you before before then!
Wishing everyone a great week. Thank you for visiting my blog!
