River Rafting down the Grand

What else do I do besides gardening activities? Well, I've invited my family to go down the Grand River river rafting but received a lukewarm response except for my sisters. So, we made it a "Girl's Outing".

This particular trip stretched from Bean Park in Paris, Ontario to Brantford. Do check out this very interesting link.



















Roger, the proprietor of Blue Heron Rafting, is the guy with the hat above.



















Here's the truck that hauled the trailer.



















The adventurers: Liza (family friend), Chalkie (my sister), Mayette (my other sister), and Judit (Mayette's friend).



















All aboard! All outfitted with an adventurous spirit and ready to roll.



















This is a geological example of the riverside (Stuff to make the plaster of Paris, hence, the city of Paris is named). There is a stream flowing on top of that rock above the shoreline but too shallow to get a good close-up.


















Here's our tour guide and master paddler/steerer, Terry who is Roger's brother, setting up this portable table for our picnic on an island. He states that this table is about 100 years old that's been with his family for generations.

Potluck lunch included egg salad & tuna wraps, grapes, pears, homemade pastries & squares. To drink: roasted coconut juice, ginger ale or water.


















We passed by the Brant Conservation Area camping ground with a few people still have their trailers & tents up. (it closes in the winter.)



















With the Brantford Golf & Country Club in the horizon, our trip was completed.

After we retrieved my car, we continued our adventure (on foot) downtown Paris to shop.

So, a Fall morning on an inflatable raft , a friendly tour guide with a sense of humor while one sits back & enjoy what nature has to offer, to be entertained with bits of local history & moments of heart thumping water-maneuvering paddling... a picnic on a deserted island in the middle of the Grand River....what else can one ask for?

End Season Blooms

Is it really time to relinquish summer?
Here is a mosaic of my garden blooms in September. Although most of the plants look raggedy & spent, they are still smaller blooms soaking in the last warm sun rays of the season.

Just as I was slowly tucking some of the plants in for hibernation, another new bloom surprised me: a toad lily! (Trycirtis 'White Tower')-below.
This is a woodland plant that was given to me by one of the Master Gardeners. A 3" plant with 3 stems which was constantly being dug by the squirrels and trampled on by some mammal (neighbor cat, I suspect) all through summer! So you can imagine how surprised I was to see it in bloom! The diameter of the crown is less than an inch but the petals look as sturdy as an orchid.

Just to show that nature is always full of surprises and one never knows what's there unless you poke around a little bit!

More rights

These are my week's worth of garden gloves that go through the wash (and hung to dry as seen in this photo).

Michael uses the same type of gloves when he goes out West tree planting. However, he only uses the left hand glove. After 2-3 years, he finally unloaded his "leftover" right gloves to me! As it happens, as a right hand dominant, I wear out my right hand gloves a lot faster than the other hand.

So, who says your gardening gloves have to match?

A gardener's bag

When the Brantford Garden Club had its Plant Sale this summer, it also had a table with used gardening items. This handy bag was by big purchase ($3.00). While I just use a good old pail for my hand tools around the garden, this bag is the one I tote around when I volunteer at the RBG. Look at how much it holds! My lunch, a reference book, camera, cell phone, wallet,etc. all fit inside this spacious bag. Now, that is worth the investment!

Harvest pictures

Vegetable gardening this year seemed almost effortless after all the rain we've had and the fact that I chose to plant a limited amount.

As the end of summer draws near, the Roma tomatoes struggled with the weight of its fruits.











Initial scallop squash harvest: bite-sized, ready to steam & devoured with or without butter.












Beet greens were ready to be harvested all summer but the beets themselves took their time to mature.











Peas, of course, are cool weather veggies, so they were the first harvest to grace our table. We were able to freeze a little bit as we enjoyed the sugar snaps at the same time.










Swiss chard is one of my favorite leafy vegetable because it is jam packed with nutrition for such a mild tasting veggie (compared to the beet greens which taste like beets).


While I sound obsessed with gardening ever since I started with the winter's indoors sowing, I feel just utterly satisfied and gratified with each garden visit. Writing it down helps validate this feeling of gratitude.

Garden projects completed at last!

There are two important outdoor improvements in the garden this summer.

One of Bob's projects was installing the rain barrels which he purchased last May. This is a state-of-the-art rain barrel installation. The PVC pipes are removable for winter storage and reconfigured to attach to the underground drain pipe.

But before he could even begin to install these, the brick walkway had to be put in place first. This walkway leads to the tool shed at the side of the house. Note the herringbone pattern of the bricks as it curves around the deck.

Not only does the walkway go around the deck, it also bifurcates (Michael really likes this word) towards the compost bin behind the garage.

As these areas are the most heavily traveled, it sure is a welcome improvement!

The rain barrels will prove their worth in the years to come as well.

Discovering Rosamunde Pilcher

I finished reading Rosamunde Pilcher's novels, back to back: September and Coming Home. What a refreshing style of writing! Her descriptions of Scotland and England transported me to these magical countrysides. This is one way of traveling vicariously.

It looks like Coming Home was a TV mini series which I obviously missed. I have to look that up in the library.

While I get the flower beds ready for Winter, I am getting my book list ready at the local library. What fun!

Other authors I've enjoyed is Jennifer Chiaverini who writes Elm Creek Quilt series. She has a few books out since I last checked the library. Then, there's Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series which are on the hilarious side of crime fiction.

Yes, I am getting a break from Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series which I had been reading since my aunt from Michigan introduced me to his writing in 2004. While I like his style of writing, the subject matter gets a little heavy, dark and "unhealthy". So, off I go on the lighter side.