Saturday Photo: Cosmos, the Star Flower of the Perseids

This week the self-seeding cosmos have begun to bloom.  Of course, there are places which have had them for weeks, but they were all started inside and some, like the ones I bought in June, are beginning to look a little ragged.  But cosmos re-seed themselves, and they're easy to grow from seed in a sunny corner.  They just take their own sweet time to flower.

And now is the time.  They are all over the place here, and looking great.  It's a delightful coincidence that their arrival coincides most years with the August shower of meteorites, the Perseids.  Shooting stars in the heavens, dancing flowers on earth.... 

 

Saturday Photo: Eight-thirty, Aug. 6, Parc Outremont

 Summer twilight: magic time.

Although I must add that the kitchen is full of fruit flies from the nectarines I left on the counter.  The advantages and disadvantages of the season. 

Saturday Photo: Walter Cronkite on Libraries; We Will Not Be Shushed

Well, actually I haven't been in a library recently where anyone has been shushed.  One of the wonderful things about libraries these days is that, while there may be quiet corners to read or study, there also always are places for activities that may make some joyful noises.

The "shushing" isn't coming from inside the libraries but from outside--from governments who want to cut budgets and from folks who want to ban books. 

We've got to resist both kinds...
 

Saturday Photo: Falling Water

This is not the first time that I've posted this photo, but I like it a lot on summer days.  The fountain is a nearby park, and seeing and hearing it is enough to feel 10 degrees cooler.

This year the fountains in the western part of Montreal island aren't running as an effort to slow down water consumption.  Major repairs are being done to a part of the system that serves about 100,000 customers, so to set an example, fountains have been shut off.

The splash pads are still operating, though--thank goodness for them on hot days. 
 

Saturday Photo: Mellow Yellow, Cool Blue..

The yellow loose-strife blooms are nearly all exhausted, but they bloomed for more than a month.  Now their place is being taken by hostas and creeping bellflower.  The latter is supposed to be invasive, but I believe in Darwinian gardening: that is, what survives, survives. 

Saturday Photo: Floral Fireworks

This is the month for shooting  off fireworks, it seems.  Canada Day, the Fouth of July, Bastille Day, and other holidays all seem to require pyrothenic displays.

 But it also is the time around here when day lilies are in bloom.  Their bursts of colour are truly gorgeous, and what's more they don't frighten animals with loud noises.

  

Saturday Photo: A Beautiful Library!

Been traipsing around and visited this lovely library last week.  It's the Bibliothèque Lucy-Faris in Aylmer, QC, jus across the river from Ottawa. The Friday afternoon I was there it was full of people, obviously enjoying this replacement for a library which had been in a corner of a strip mall.

Not only is the library spacious with plenty of room for more books, it has a number of well-thought special features, like a terrace on the green-roof which offers a   wonderful view of the Ottaw river. 

Nice to see what great place being used by all sorts of people, too.,