mid-summer blooms

I showed you some pictures from my garden the other day and today it's just blooming like crazy.  I also took some close up shots to share with you.

The Jackmanii Climatis just popped in the last few days.  This is one side of it

where it grows from the ground.

This is the other side of the trellis and the climatis is flopped over the top.

You can just barely see the blossoms forming on the Pee Gee hydrangea bush.

It looks like it will be loaded again this year.

These lilies are as tall as I am - about 5' 2"!  Aren't they gorgeous?

I transplanted them to this spot last summer and they seem to like it.

Hosta blooms.  There was a bee crawling right up into the blossoms.

Purple Coneflower bud almost ready to burst open.

Shasta Daisy

Hydrangea blossom.  This plant was a purchased at Easter in 2009 as a house plant.

I planted it in a garden and it actually grew - lots of leaves - until this year

when this one blossom came.  Love it!  I hope it survives another year.

There was 3 feet of snow drift on this garden last winter!

It was a beautiful day after a few cool, cloudy and rainy ones.

I went for a walk and when I came home decided to go and get those

raspberries picked.  I have to say I've never picked them before!

Just off a wild patch but not at a U-Pick.  It was so easy!

The rows were nicely kept with lots of space between.

The view was gorgeous.  I could hear birds singing and the neighbour's

rooster crowing - a lot!  I need to take my camera there just to take pictures.

When I got home I made this:

Two Medium and 1 small freezer jam with some left over for dessert!

This is the first time I've made raspberry freezer jam, which is hubby's favorite.

It is a long holiday weekend here in New Brunswick and many other provinces.

Monday, August 1, is the New Brunswick Day holiday.

We hope to go to Cornhill Nursery on Sunday afternoon.  It's about 1 1/2 hours away

near Moncton.  It's a very beautiful spot with many wonderful plants (for sale) and a

 lovely lunch room called the Cedar Cafe. I'll be taking my camera :-) 

Go to http://www.cornhillnursery.com/  to learn more.  According to

the website the roses are still blooming and it's daylily week!

And for all you U 2 fans out there.  Moncton is the place to be, or maybe not, on Saturday evening!

Bono is finishing up his 360 tour for an outdoor concert at Magnetic Hill - THE best

outdoor concert site in the Maritimes.  We won't be there.  :-(

I finally got around to weeding the flower beds yesterday.  I've been putting it off for weeks.

 I seemed to have so much energy so I just kept going.

I even drove the John Deere around the yard last night! (mowing grass!!)

Thanks so much for all your visits and comments.  You are all so kind!

One of you asked if I'd be building the retaining wall around the garden myself.

Hubby will be doing the work and I'll be wearing the white hard hat! 

In other words, I'll be telling instructing him on how I want it done. :-)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, especially my Canadian friends

who will be celebrating a long weekend!  Stay safe and have fun!! 

I am joining a new party for the first time at Tootsie's

Fertilizer Friday - Flaunt Those Flowers.

Go to http://tootsietime.com

See you soon!

Blessings,

Pamela 

a country walk

I love living in the country.  I love going for walks along the road with the dog.  I love just walking around the yard checking on the flowers (and weeds!).

It's amazing to see the dips and hills along this road from this spot.  When I'm walking

I hardly notice them at all.  Also, that church only stands out like this from

this particular spot.  Otherwise you only see the steeple peeking out from the trees.

hydrangeas in bloom in a garden along the road

There are two of these old iron pots at the end of a farm driveway.

They are huge!  At least 2 feet across.  Probably they were used in

olden days for making lye soap or doing laundry outdoors.

Now they are filled with pretty flowers.

I must pick some of these soon!  I want to make jam.

This deer was watching me from the side of the old orchard.

I imagine he was feasting on the grass or perhaps checking out the apple crop.

The cattails are already forming and turning brown.

Back at home:

My perennial rock garden is coming into full bloom.  So are the weeds!  

See those ugly 4 x 4's?  They are going to be replaced with a stone retaining

wall in the near future!  I can't wait.  I'll be sure to post about it.

The climatis is in full bloom now.  I should have it growing against a taller trellis or a wall

as it has flopped over the top and is hanging down the other side!

Moonbeam Coreopsis or Tickseed is so pretty and dainty.

After all that walking I think I'll sit a spell and enjoy the view. 

There is so much to see and smell and hear.

Flowers, birds, farm tractors, lawnmowers.

Then there's the traffic on the road and planes in the sky!

Yes, it is sometimes downright noisy out in the country.

But, just try to block out the loud noises and listen.

So many bird songs can be heard.  Some I don't recognize.

But, most I do. 

 Robin, sparrow, crow, chickadee, blue jay, black bird, goldfinch,  mourning dove.

It's a lovely sound.  Just stop and listen.

And breathe in the sweet scent of the air.

Thanks for joining me today.  I hope you enjoyed our country walk.

Blessings to you,

Pamela

teatime on the back deck

It is a lovely day today so I thought we should have tea on the back deck.

We can sit here and listen to the birds and enjoy the beautiful warm sunny afternoon.

This pretty pale yellow table cloth was my mother's.  I don't think she

ever used it.  The cloth has pretty yellow and pink roses appliqued on it

and there are 6 matching napkins, 4 of which are  tucked into the folds of 2 of them.

I have chosen 2 vintage teacups by Paragon.

I don't have any roses in my garden so I added a tiny bouquet of sweet smelling sweetpeas.

Would you like a lemon shortbread cookie?

It's been much too hot to bake so these were on hand.

They are quite tasty.

This is the back of one of my Aunt Henri's chairs from her tearoom.

I think I take after her in my love for tea, teacups and pretty tables.

The sun is coming around.  I hope your brought a sunhat.

It was a lovely afternoon and I hope you enjoyed coming for tea

on my back deck.

Today I'm joining these parties:

Tea Time Tuesday at Sandi's

http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Victoria - A return to Lovliness at Kathy's

http://blissfulrythm.blogspot.com

Table Top Tuesday at Marty's

http://astrollthroughlife.blogspot.com

I hope you will visit one of these parties too!

Wishing you all a blessed day.

Pamela

this is what I see

When I go for a walk along the road.

Roadside wild flowers ~ Purple Loosestrife, Queen Anne's Lace,

Goldenrod and Daisies

When I look up in the sky.

When I pull over to the side of the road.

Canola field.

It's Mosaic Monday at

Mary's Little Red House

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

I hope you come over and see Mary's mosaic today along with many more.

Blessings,

Pamela

another day another year

My birthday has come and gone for another year.  It was a good day.  In fact, it was a great day!  I want to thank those of you who left a sweet comment on my post on Friday.  You are so thoughtful and kind!

Looking out our front door at 7:00 a.m. or there about.

As most of you know it's been very hot and humid over most of the continent

and Friday was no exception. 

It rained hard in the morning, at noon and late afternoon.  Torrential rain.

And the air after was like a sauna. 

I rather enjoyed it.

I had a wonderful lunch with 3 of my best friends.  And,

my lunch was free cause it was my birthday!

Do you have restaurants that do that too?  Gotta love that!

Then for dinner, Murray took me to Bruno's at the Delta Hotel

along with our good friends.

We wanted to dine on the patio and it was iffy due to the heavy rains we had all day

but the sky cleared up around 5:00 and when we arrived at 6:30 our table was waiting

on the patio.  It was a gorgeous evening and we had a delicious meal.

This is the view from our table. 

You are probably wondering why the other tables and chairs are not being used.

This is a separate patio, the Dip, which is beside the pool.

They had to 'make a call' in the afternoon as to whether they should bring

all the staff in and open or risk closing it due to the rain.

Unfortunately they kept it closed.

Many people came out and wanted to eat there.

The view from the patio of the setting sun.  What a gorgeous spot!

After dinner we went to a local ice cream parlour for our dessert.

Mint chocolate fudge!  YUM!!!

This is the sky at 8:40 p.m. with a huge thunderhead blocking the setting sun.

We had a pretty severe thunder storm around 9:30.

Saturday was so hot and humid I could barely move. 

Last night a cold front came in and today it's only 20 celsius with a northwest wind.

That's a 10 degree difference plus the humidity the past 3 days made it

feel like 35.  Very unusual for us here in New Brunswick.

I'm finding it rather chilly.  I really prefer the heat. :-)

I do feel sorry for my southern friends who have had so much

heat and humidity and no rain this summer.

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting. 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that the

week ahead will be blessed!

Blessings and hugs!

Pamela

vintage things and a celebration

It is Vintage Inspiration Friday at Debra's blog Common Ground. 

This is a vignette on the china cupboard that caught my eye the other day, so of course I took some snapshots of it.

Some of my favorite pieces gathered together in one spot.

The green plate with the pink roses is hand painted. 

This is a smart man.  His horse is pulling him on his bicycle.

I'm not sure if the horse had run away and he was 'leading' him home

or what, but my father took this photo in the 1930's.

I think it's funny and a classic.

Milk glass vase with a sprig of lavender, lady's mantle and a mum.

Here's vintage photo of a vintage gal.

This is a photo of me when I was about 2 years old.

That was 59 years ago!

Yes, I'm celebrating my birthday today, July 22.

I rolled over the big one last year.

I didn't mind turning 60.

It was a milestone and I was grateful to have made it that far in life.

However,  it seems my body is noticing that I hit that

milestone last year and doesn't like it at all!!   :-)

I guess the best part about the past year is that I became a Grammie!

Sweet Ewan is 10 months old today.  We got to skype with him and

his mother last night.  They are so precious to me and I am really looking forward

to their visit at the end of August.

 

This is my 10th birthday party and my brother's 9th.

Yes, he will be 60 on the 26th!  He's behind me on the right.

Our baby sister is 3 years younger than I (on the 19th!) and we often shared

our birthday parties.  I can't remember why she isn't in this picture.

That is me in the middle in my favorite dress ever!  It was black

and white poplished cotton with a crinoline under the skirt.  Boy, did that

crinoline ever itch around the waist!

Do you remember dressing up in a pretty dress for a birthday?

This photo was taken last July 22 on my 60th birthday.

Murray and I went to my hometown of Moncton and had dinner at our favorite 50's style diner.

I had a fried clam platter, my favorite special treat once or twice a year. ;-)

Oh, and we also went to the Stone Cold Creamery at Tim's.  YUM!

Today I am going out for lunch with 3 of my best friends and

tonight Murray is taking me out for dinner.

After all, a girl shouldn't have to cook on her birthday!

So, as I  celebrate another year that God has been very gracious to give me

  I am very thankful and blessed beyond measure! 

I hope you will join me with Debra for Vintage Inspiration Friday at

http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Have a blessed day and weekend!

Pamela

sunset on the Mactaquac

With all the hot days we've had there have been some beautiful sunsets.  It seems I missed them all until Monday night.  We had been working in the yard cutting down a cedar clump that is half dead and we were very hot and tired so decided to quit around 8:30.  We noticed the sun setting a lot earlier these nights already!  That means the days are really getting shorter my friends.  And that makes me sad, but, I won't start dreading the shorter daylight hours yet. 

I decided to hop in the car and drive down to the causeway across the Mactaquac Headpond to take some pictures.  I'm so glad I went.  Here's what I saw.

I carefully walked down the very steep embankment to the narrow shore.

I like how the setting sun reflected on the driftwood laying on the shore.

A flock of Canada geese out for an evening swim.

Such a beautiful evening to be on the water.

Wasn't that a beautiful sunset?

I didn't edit any of the pictures.  The colours are true.

God painted the sky and I captured it with my camera.

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my posts about Kings Landing and St. Andrews-by-the-Sea.

It seems I've inspired some of you to visit these places the next time you're in New Brunswick.

There is plenty to see in our beautiful province so I hope to keep posting about it

and draw some visitors in.  I have pictures all down the right side of my page too.

And, if you do come to New Brunswick, I hope you'll take time to pay me a visit

in person or meet somewhere.  I'd love to meet you!

I am joining Outdoor Wednesday today at

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful day!

Blessings,

Pamela

The weather map for North America for Tuesday, July 19, 2011.

In the summertime it's HOT HOT HOT!

It's going to be 30 today (90F).