Note to Self

When you are thinking about the lovely weather 

and enjoying the unexpected warm, summer-like days 

- just keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone, OK?

The karma fairies came to visit yesterday morning.

So note to self - any hint of smugness will come back and bite you in the arse!

My World Tuesday - Garden update.

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My Tuesday was white...

... with a hint of white added for good measure.

I've been trying for several weeks to update you on my garden work which is pretty much complete now. I waited through September to take some photos including autumn colours. That never came. Then the leaves fell off everything and it all looked bleak and dirty and I knew I'd never impress you with that.

So here is the clean, white, sanitized and completely useless update on my garden! This is the new vegetable patch. You're amazed at the design skills, aren't you?

This is one of several new prepared flower-beds-to-be. It is one of four areas I did the lasagne gardening, and when the spring comes around next year, this will be a huge semi-circle of fertile new ground ready for me to plant up. Or that's the theory anyway. Again, I can feel your awe.

And this is the new dog run. No more poop on lawns for us. Everyone else repeats that god-awful green chain-link fencing for dog runs, but I was having none of that. So hubby dusted off the tools and spirit level and purchased half the local store's supply of timber and made this fenced-off area at the back of the house, together with the gateway - and I'm really pleased with the results. Again, add some plantings and colour next year and it will all look fab. C'mon guys - you've really got to use your imagination here, I know.

But for now, I just sit and watch more snowflakes fall and dream of garden centres, lush green lawns and spring bulbs.

Skywatch Friday

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Looking westwards from my front door this afternoon, a mixed bag of clouds form over the mountains - which are wearing a brand new and rather beautiful coat of snow.

It's always exciting to see them once again iced with a fresh layer of glistening white - and it reminds us that the rather silly but thrilling sport of hurtling down a mountain on two slim planks is nearly upon us again (or one thicker plank for the stronger and more balanced amongst you).

Looking eastwards out of my back door, I am somewhat jealous of my neighbour's rather sumptuous pine cones adorning her tree. No clouds in the sky looking in this direction - just good ol' fashioned Alberta blue skies again.

A friend here told me a few weeks ago that early and plentiful amounts of pine cones signal a harsh winter to come. I'm not sure if she was just trying to cheer me up (!) and this is an old wives tale - or if it really is a true forecast for the next few months?

Remember my poor sunflower struggling to bloom by the end of the season? Well, he just about made it before a harsh frost cut him down in his prime.

If I leave the remnants of the sunflowers in place and don't tidy up for winter, will the seeds provide food for birds?

I have a mountain ash in my front garden - it is now laden with gorgeous brightly coloured berries. I know for sure that this will be a feeding ground for some feathered friends at some point.

This last picture (apologies for the quality but I didn't want to go outside and disturb them) is the same tree last winter, smothered in waxwings (I think) who gorged themselves silly on the berries from the tree, and stripped it naked in 8 minutes flat!

Have a great Friday.

Uh oh - again ...

W I N T E R ' S C O M I N G !!!!

Look here, it's not on! Everyone in blogland is currently posting their brilliantly colourful autumn photos of scarlets and reds, oranges and yellows; of cooler misty mornings and birds taking flight - and the landscape takes a gentle breath and winds down for another year.

Bang! Woke up this morning to a light icing-sugar dusting of the first snow of the season. It was a pathetic show really, it must be said, but 2 out of 10 for effort - and it followed on from some quite heavy rain overnight. It was all very light and gritty, and had disappeared after an hour or so - but it's a wake-up call regardless. It's nature's way of yelling out Warning, warning!! Winter's-a-coming!!

The white sprinkling on the BBQ, deck, and trampoline momentarily dragged my memory back to earlier in the year. Bugger! Is that summer gone already? It can't be!

It's too early of course for snow. By 'of course' I mean it's too early in my world - the Calgary climate usually has it's own agenda however - it doesn't seek my permission to let rip with icy white flakes - I am not ready, not interested, and the landscape already seems to have been sucked dry of the colour green. Brown grass and fields everywhere, and I'm sure it wasn't this bleak looking at this stage last year.

Even the dogs were a little taken aback - Smudge stuck his nose out into the cool 2 degrees breeze and thought better of it - he sat and looked at it all for a while, scratched to go out about four times, until his bladder got the better of him and he braved the great outdoors. He was none too impressed., I can tell you.

Shhh, I think there's a bit of short-term memory loss going on here though - he's actually forgotten that he loves the snow - won't be long now fella and you'll be up to your nose in it and we'll be pulling all the icy snowballs off your fur as it sticks to you !

So the heating has kicked in and I need to find out where I hid my skis - and does anyone know where the snow shovel is?