May Long Weekend

Much of Saturday and Sunday were spent in gardening. I have been seeding into this bed for the last month and I have carrots, chard, beets and lettuce all germinated. I seeded each for the last time this weekend. Hopefully this means that my harvesting will be spread out too.

 

In this bed, and in containers at the front and on the deck, I have 12 tomato plants and 12 pepper plants. The green material on the cages is "row cover" that I wrapped around them the first day they were planted because they needed protection from the very strong wind that was blowing that day. Once they are established they wont need that protection any more.

I had purchased a number of plants from a person in Port Dover who sells them every year (hosta, lily and coral bells) and some "driveway plants" (primulae, hosta). So those all got planted this weekend too. 

The apple tree looks great this year. Usually there is just a couple of clumps of blossom and sometimes none gets pollinated.

 

It was planted 5 years ago and this is the best blossom show yet. I have never had more than 3 apples off it!

Next door's pear tree also looks great this year. Last year, not a single pear.

Rick did some work on Spellbound and also helped me put the deck furniture out. He also whipper snipped the bank and I cut the grass.

By Monday we thought we had earned "a vacation" so went for a walk in Backus Woods.

It was very hot and muggy

and we were thankful whenever the wind found us.

I recognized the foliage of the lupines before I realized that the meadow was full of them . I had not realized that wild lupine is native to Southern Ontario.

Lots of wild strawberries too.

We were past the peak for trillium

but there were still some around. Rick mentioned he had never seen a red one.

Challenge accepted!

We had planned to go further but we just weren't accustomed to the heat yet and only did about 4km.

In Port Rowan we stopped at Tims and the grocery store to get what we needed for a picnic in the park by the marina.

It was difficult to get a photo of the osprey in the nest on the lighthouse as she was crouched down most of the time, perhaps sitting on eggs.

She appeared to be panting, too hot for her too.

I had assumed that the swallows swooping around the boat houses were barn swallows but this looks like they are tree swallows.

End of the long weekend, drinks on the Edge.