….thanks to Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge
Spring may seem far away but March 21st is just around the corner. This year I’ll be in London, England when spring arrives and I’m hoping to see blossoms on the trees and some early spring flowers.
….while waiting for the bread to bake I took a stroll around the inn to check out the gardens
On the east side of the inn the tulips are in full bloom.
The front of the Inn is green and lush. The irises are already withering but the peonies are just about ready to bloom and the lilac blossoms are fully open.
The west side is very shady. The phlox spread out a beautiful blanket of purple flowers and some of the bakers changed hats and became gardeners while waiting for the bread to come out of the oven.
….thanks to Nancy Merrill for hosting A Photo a Week Challenge
I think I can safely say that winter has come to an end. Here’s proof.
….I feel like I’ve waited forever for this tree to bloom
Thanks to Becca Givens for hosting Sunday Trees
….even if the weather doesn’t want to cooperate
After a stressful morning on Tuesday my husband suggested that I drive to Hamilton to spend some time with the family. I had originally planned to go there on Thursday but my father’s CAT scan appointment came through and it turned out to be on the same day. On the weekend we didn’t see Gaelan, Brendan or Winnie because Gaelan came down with a stomach flu.
I was in desperate need of some ‘Winnie’ time so I quickly fed the neighbour’s cat (a story for another time), put the car seat back in the car (in case we decided to drive somewhere in Hamilton) and headed out for the highway.
Just before I reached the onramp for the QEW I remembered that I had left the dog outside and forgot to lock the front door. Back I went.
Eventually I did get to Hamilton and spent the day playing games and reading to Winnie. While I was there I noticed that the sun was trying to come out and it seemed to warm up. After much coaxing we finally convinced Winnie to go for a walk to the playground at Dundurn Castle.
We spent about an hour there and then we had a hard time convincing Winnie it was time to go home.
….everything is about two weeks behind schedule
Walking through the neighbour in the last two days it is abundantly clear that spring is not where it should be. The leaves are only now starting to appear, the blossoms are hesitant to open and the ground is sopping wet. My planter boxes are swimming in water, making it impossible to plant anything and the winds are cold and unforgiving. Our daily temperatures are well below normal and the precipitation is above normal.
You’ve probably heard of the flooding we’re experiencing in parts of Ontario and Quebec. On my walks along the shoreline I’m beginning to notice that the water levels in Lake Ontario are rising. To alleviate some of the flooding further east the water from Lake Ontario has been held back to keep the water levels in the St. Lawrence more manageable.
The islands off of Toronto are in danger of flooding again this year and the sea walls along the edge of the city are completely under water. Climate change is truly a problem and for those who are still naysayers just look outside your own windows. Hopefully things will start to dry up by the weekend when the temperatures are suppose to get closer to normal. Hard to believe that the long weekend is in a few days.
….the temperatures go up and then they go down but surely Spring is in the air
On the weekend we attended a soccer (football) game. The tickets were gifted to us by our daughter and daughter-in-law who had other plans and couldn’t use them. The forecast wasn’t very promising but we decided to bundle up and bring along a stadium blanket to keep us warm.
The seats are very high up in the stadium but the view is spectacular.
I wish I could say that the game was exciting and that we were victorious but TFC was off its game and we were quite disappointed in how they played. In the second half my husband wasn’t feeling well and just couldn’t get warm. We left when the game was tied 1-1 and made our way to warm restaurant for a meal. There were TV screens all through the place and by the time we got there the game was over and Toronto lost 2-1.
On Sunday, the temperatures were up slightly but the best part was the sun and no wind. I took a walk through Col. Sam Smith Park and took a lot of wonderful shots of the lake, the beach and the trees and plants that are getting ready to erupt with colours of green, pink and yellow. You know when the weather is good because everybody and their dogs are out walking.
Mama Cormier 