Spiky!

I usually like to look at other plants like perenmials and succulents, but the garden centre had very few of these.  They did however have one little tray of cacti.  Once we got home Mrs. F.G. started putting the plants out to harden off, right at the front of our garage where she can simple close the door to protect them at night.

A couple of small but very spiky cacti!

And one very small tray of succulents.

Here they all are hardening off at the front of the garage.

A tray of herbs Mrs. F.G. picked out for their fragrance, including sage, Lemon Thyme, Greek Oregano and Rosemary.

And finally a tray of tomatoes and a pepper that our son grew and gave us.

Garden Centre!

Yesterday, for the first time in two months we went for a drive, to a Garden Centre in Owen Sound.  It was on the opposite northwest corner of town, so we had to drive all the way through, but there wasn't much traffic.  It was so nice to see those flashing bright spring colours of the flowers.

The social distancing measures you'd expect were there, one-way arrows, separate entrance and exit, and a request to stay 6 feet apart, which most people respected.  But there were aisleways where my chair wouldn't fit around corners.

You know me, it was just about bright colours!  The selection was a little limited, but all the common spring annuals were available.

Mrs. F.G. is going for Marigolds this summer, but we'll inevitably end up with Geraniums too.

A Calla Lily, a bit unusual among spring flowers.

And my favourite colour among the Geraniums.

It's raining this morning and quite foggy, but we do need the rain.  But it's warmer finally, and it looks like the warm temperatures are here to stay.  It was warm air moving north that brought a mass migration of Orioles yesterday, and I expect that over the weekend we'll see a sudden burst of green leaves opening out.  Spring is finally here.

The Orioles Have Arrived!

We love seeing the first Orioles visit, with their bright black and orange plumage.  Today we saw a flash of orange and shortly had two males flying back and forth between the feeders (on which Mrs. F.G. had squeezed some oranges halves) and the trees.  Later we saw a female too.

The first views were of two males sitting in our still-bare Sugar Maples.

Soon though, they were at the feeders, dipping into the oranges.

In our opinion this is the most strikingly coloured migratory bird in the garden.

Then a female landed on the feeder right outside the window.  It stubbornly sat looking the opposite direction until I had wasted about 20 shots and finally lifted its head long enough for a picture.

The return of the Baltimore Orioles is one of the delightful highlights of spring.

By the way, if you're wondering about the moniker 'Baltimore', it comes from the colours of the coat of arms of the Baltimore family in England.  In the mid-1600s Lord Baltimore was trying to arrange settlement plans for what is now the state of Maryland.  The city of Baltimore was also named after him.

More Exploring!

There's lots more to report from my rides around a few blocks here.  Since this is my main opportunity to get away from the living room window and take a few photographs, I'm looking pretty closely for things to aim my camera at.  And this year, after exploring these streets all year, I can recognize plants that are just emerging, even though they won't flower til later.

Just around the corner is a beautiful Sugar Maple, standing isolated in a yard.  I know from seeing the leaves last summer.

It's buds are swelling and about to burst.  After this weekend with much warmer weather forecast, I expect to see these opening into leaves.  Never in my life have I seen all the trees without the leaves at least half open by Mother's Day.  Spring is WEEKS behind this year!

Around the next corner I come across a patch of Hyacinths whose leaves are starting to hide the blooms.  Already the first round of early spring flowers is fading as we move on to the species that would normally have already bloomed, like Tulips.

On the other hand these bright green leaves are a sign of thongs to come.  I know from last year that these will bloom as bright orange Daylilies.  I expect I'll be posting a number of new pictures that illustrate the changing season this year.

A little further on there's a back lane into the works yard for the golf course.

And in the distant back yard of the neighbouring house I saw a nice patch of Daffodils.

Here's the second of the immovable old tractors down the street.

And at that point I get a very bumpy ride for a bit.  This eroding patchy pavement is evidence that this street was never actually paved; rather it's had probably more than one coat of tar and gravel in the distant past to make what was once a smooth surface.  For 100 yards I actually go off the edge and ride on the shoulder, or else go right out in the middle of the road to avoid the bumps.

Finally, a pretty little stream at the end of the street, already dried to just a trickle.  We haven't had the usual spring rains this year and things are very dry.  This same stream flows under our street, where it has carved a steeper and deeper ravine. 

Probably more photos soon as the warmer weather will let me get outside.

Exploring!

There was a day in the distant past I think, when it was sunny and at least a little warmish, sometime in an earlier world like last week, before our return bout with winter,, when I could get out for a longer explore in my chair, keeping a very careful eye on the battery all the way.  It was certainly a lot warmer than today!

This is my regular summer ride, Nelson Street West, just around a few short blocks.  Ride to the end and back and it's longer than riding downtown.  Lots of variety in trees and houses, and a few wild corners, so lots to see.

This street is on the edge of town, and has obviously been built up slowly, with a wide variety of homes, large and small, new and old, on a wide variety of properties, also large and small.  This family is anxious to get their Canada Day flags up early!

The homes include at least four that appear to be old farmhouses, this one hidden behind a massively branched big old Sugar Maple, and very typical in architecture of houses built 100 years ago.

I was surprised to see under the shade of the big old maple, a larger patch of May Apple (in the background) and a few Bloodroot leaves (in the foreground), flowers long gone.

Two different homes have an old tractor parked outside, looking like they haven't moved in a decade or two.  Collectors items by now!

The occupants of one house enjoy decorating their front yard with an interesting assortment of hand-me-down bric-a-brac  that changes regularly.  There are a number of those signs popping up around town; a volunteer comes and places it for you if you give a donation to the local hospital.  We have one on our yard.

They have a new Great Blue Heron sculpture beside their welcome sign.  I enjoy checking it out to see what's been added recently, though I'm not sure what the neighbours think of it.

It is a nice-looking day outside, even if it's still cold enough!  I may try to get out for another explore after lunch.  Have a great week.

The Pansies Survived!

I'm still amazed at the ability of Pansies to flourish right through cold weather.  I keep attributing human feelings to them and thinking they'll be cold!  Of course there's no rational reason to think that.  They are actually adapted to flourish in the cool spring weather, and to struggle in mid-summer when it gets hot.  They got snowed on again, but popped right back up yesterday.

Late Thursday.

Saturday morning.

Late Saturday

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

A picture is worth a thousand words so they say.  You don't want to hear the words, but here is the picture!

Saturday May 9, 2020