Washing Lines

I am in love with my washing line!  What can be better than a line of laundry blowing in the breeze on a sunny day?   There is something so therapeutic about hanging each and every piece of laundry out on the line.  No dryer noise, just birds singing, and for a few short moments, life seems so much simpler.   Hanging washing on the line, peg by peg, has always been one of my favourite chores, and the end reward is that wonderful, “no-mistaking-it”  line-dried fresh air scent.  Crawling into bed with line dried sheets and pillow cases at night is breathtaking!  You sleep so much better with that fresh-air scent.

RIP Jake: 2004 - 2016

A 110 pound German Shepherd mixed with special magic entered our lives 12 years ago.  We walked together, snuggled together on the couch, played ball, we swam, we chased herons from the pond, we did everything together.  Jake, Chris and me.  I yelled at him and Chris coddled him!  He loved us both!

Jake left us this week, and the silence in and out of the house is deafening.  No animated dreams, no nails clicking on the floor, no woofs at the kitties, no calling the koi at the pond for their dinner.

He always had a bark to give us when we came home or had visitors.  He knew when it was his dinner time and didn’t even wait to remind you.  He touched so many lives with his gentleness, and made us crazy by stealing slippers or bras when we went out without him.

His sudden  passing has come with much reflection.  We loved his mannerisms, his attitude, and his personality - all elements of his Spirit. We didn’t care about his fur, or his goofy underbite, or all the hair he shed (ok, maybe I did a little with the shedding).  Mostly, we loved him for what he was – a constant and faithful companion, and a gentle giant.

 

 

Beautiful Specimens

Beauty of course is in the eye of the beholder, but I can't help sharing some of my favorites this year in our garden:

Crocosmia (Lucifer)

Cranesbill

Yes - it's a Sunflower!

Stargazer Lilly

Bear's Breeches (watch out for the thorns)

Agastashe (Hyssop)

 

A Weed By Any Other Name is Just a Beautiful Wildflower!

Feelings of chagrin never enter my mind as I try to cultivate some of the most beautiful perennial weeds, which I call wildflowers. 

This one, called "Fireweed" is one of the most beautiful wildflowers in my opinion, especially when you see them growing in mass in mountain meadows or areas that have been cleared or burned in forest fire.   It's one of my favorites and I am slowly getting a field of them along the back fence line.  This year some of them have reached almost 6 feet and could get to 8 feet.   Fireweed forms cottony seeds (like cottonwood seeds only smaller and lighter) in little seed pods that are spread by the wind.  Blow where you will my little fireweed friends.

Now the "Feverfew" plant is often thought of as being an invasive weed to the garden, but it is actually a species of chrysanthemum that has been grown in herb and medicinal gardens for centuries, and even harvested from the sides of roads.  Herbalists would use feverefew for headaches, arthritis, and yes, for fevers.  The plant self-seeds so if you deadhead you can control the spread, but I have a fair number of plants and I don't mind where they pop up because they add a splash of brightness to every garden,

headaches, arthritis, and as the name implies, fever.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Growing Feverfew Herb In The Garden http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/feverfew/growing-feverfew-herb.htm

headaches, arthritis, and as the name implies, fever.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Growing Feverfew Herb In The Garden http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/feverfew/growing-feverfew-herb.htm

My other favorite is Milkweed.  Also known as butterfly weed  this wildflower is a butterfly magnet, attracting many kinds of butterflies to its blooms which are filled with nectar.  The hummers like them too.  There are many kinds of milkweed, and many different colours.  Mine is the common Milkweed and a favorite for Monarch butterflies

My dream is to have a wildflower meadow in the back instead of all grass, or at least as a back drop between the grass, the pond and the back trail.  There would be nothing to do but enjoy the flowers.  There would be more birds, bees and butterflies in my wildflower meadow and it would simply be a "window" into  nature.  I'm getting there slowly, as I try to convince Chris to like the idea.

Surviving Major Surgery!

Well Chris had his colorectal tumour removed on June 17th.   After his 4.5 hour surgery he seemed to be in pretty good shape.   The Doctor attempted laparoscopic surgery but ended up having to use the traditional surgical technique of opening up the abdomen. This meant his stay in the hospital was 6  days instead of 3.

He came through with flying colours and really wanted to get home.  Fortunately they got everything they went in for and no surprises.

Chris ended up with 19 staples on the outside  which came out June 30th.

And inside he has 24 staples in his colon holding the two ends together after removing 9 inches of the sigmoid junction.  Those staples will stay there and eventually new tissue will grow over them.  

 I thought I knew what to expect when Chris came home from his surgery in June.  For the most part, things were as we expected or as we were told, but boy can it throw you for a loop!   Here’s what I learned. 

- its hard to do everything by yourself

- you get no time to yourself (unless you go to the bathroom often)

- you feel guilty every time he is in pain, even though there is nothing you can do about it

- you feel better when the baby steps get bigger (oh you can cut your toenails by yourself now!!)

Its  been 3.5 weeks since Chris came home, and it is a very slow process.  They say 6 to 8 weeks before he may be feeling better and able to do more things.  He is taking Jake for one walk a day now, so that is good.  Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps.  Our summer plans, and fall too, have all gone by the wayside, but that's just a small price to pay for Chris being well again. There is always next year!