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.,  

 

Saturday Photo: Evi in the Garden with Her 'Escape-proof' Harness

This is Evi in the little front garden, on the watch for interesting flying insects.  You'll note she's wearing a harness and on a leash.  That's because we don't want her to bother birds.

But the harness is not entirely what we'd hoped for.  I had thought I could put it on her (she learned rather quickly associate it with going outside which she really likes), attach the leash to a stake and do a little gardening.  She, however, wants to roam and she's figured out to back out of three different sorts of harnesses, including this one which is supposed to be escape-proof.

 The result is I take her outside and sit and read the papers on my phone.  Could be a worse situation, I'm sure! 

Saturday Photo: Help! I Need Somebody...

Those are gloves you see, seeming to come out of the pipes in this roadwork project.  Makes me wonder if anybody is having trouble getting all the work done.  Is this a real cry for help?

Certainly there are days when it seems that you really could use another pair of hands. Think how much faster you could wipe down kitchen cabinets (a job I've had on my to-do list for more than a week.)  I don't know that you could write that much more with four hands, since you only have one head to plan the work!

Saturday Photo: Bridal Veil, the Flower for June Weddings?

According to some studies, June is still a very popular month for weddings, along with (surprise! surprise!) October.  

 I presume the generally good weather is the origin for June's popularity, and, in the circuitous way things work aroumd,  why this lovely shrub is called Bridal Veil.  Technically, its name is spirea , which comes from the Greek and means "wreath." Aesthetically, it looks like an idealized bridal accessory, either a veil or a bouquet that a bride might carry.

 Whatever, it is in bloom here now, and is very lovely.   
 

Saturday Photo: May in Montreal, Chestnuts in Blossom

Doesn't sound as nice as "April in Paris, Chestnuts in Blossom,"  but the chestnut trees around here look lovely nonetheless.  

The heat wave in Europe certainly must mean that the chestnuts are long past blooming in Paris this year.  Here it's been quite cool, so cool in fact that I haven't moved my hibiscus outside which I usually have done by now.

The sun is out here though, so I have hope that all will be well.