Life glimpses

Gardening

July is half over and my garden has had its share of garden troubles!

Slugs & snails feasted on the Hostas and perennial tender shoots in the early summer. Then, there were itsy bitsy black insects chewing on the maturing leaves. I am too busy weeding to identify these little rascals. Now, the Monarda are plagued by the mildew. Last night's rainstorm bent the bamboo cane support for my (only) grape tomato plant & snapped the stem right at the base. One heritage tomato plant succumbed to the juglone wilt (walnut tree evil poison). Another heritage tomato plant was attacked by some kind of a borer; now half of that plant is wilted. And other garden troubles too many to mention.

Looking at the macro side of my garden (bird's eye view!) it looks beautiful!

The plants in this part of the front garden was transplanted this spring. Aside from the Iris 'Starship Enterprise', all the other plants are division from my existing plants.

















Sunflowers volunteered throughout the garden as I have been planting these North American native 3 years ago. The birds & squirrels just snack on the seed heads all summer long & reseed all over the garden.This is the tallest they've ever grown!

The staked plant on the right foreground is one of the 4 heritage tomatoes ('Brandywine') I sowed indoors. I've already harvested 2 tomatoes off it.












This is the middle of the north facing garden which is on its third summer.

Previous plants have taught me a lot about garden pests & diseases but I need a reminder calendar for all these garden chores in order to have a healthy garden. That will be my project this winter.






Cycling

Bob & I are still with the Roaming Riders. We have done a few out of town rides this year including the Greater Niagara Loop. The first day was approx. 80 kms from Welland to Pt. Colborne to Ft. Erie to Niagara Falls. We stayed overnight here and finished the (50 km.)loop through Niagara-on- the-lake to Thorold and back to Welland. Those were 2 hot & humid days & the group gave me all the moral support to survive the course! Click on this link for the Niagara Loop photos.

Visitors

Kilian's first visit to Ontario was in May. What a beautiful boy! He had tripled his weight since the last time we saw him. His personality is certainly showing through as he progresses through his development. This is the time when I wish that we lived closer! Richard and Valerie have excellent parenting skills; as Bob would say, "They're naturals". I have posted some photos in Facebook.

My cousin Jeanette & her family (hubby Randy & children Cameron,11 & Jaclyn,8) came at the end of June as tourists from Indiana. They visited some popular Ontario spots (Niagara Falls, African Lion Safari, Royal Botanical Gardens, Canada's Wonderland); we had supper together for visits. They managed to go to a Master Gardening garden tour the day they arrived and a Grand River rafting experience with me on their last day in Brantford. Did I have all that energy when my kids were at that age?

We are here and there for the rest of the summer. Give us a call when you are in the area; we'd love a visit from friends & family.