Not bad here today looking for high of 92° with a little breeze and sunny . Temps going down to 80's next couple days . Did have a little earthquake few days ago 5.2 magnitude . 

We had over 20C today - with sun! Pretty wild how the temperature can fluctuate from the suburbs to the waterfront.

My bike computer measured 24C... down to 10C... then back to 15C when I got closer to home.

A gorgeous day yesterday, sunshine and a rather nippy breeze. I went to a historic shopping mall (it used to be a beer brewery!) where my niece and her husband had a table at a “Dog Carnival” - they have a dog training business and were offering information and treats. There were a lot of dogs there, all on leashes and well-behaved. It was also high school prom night and there were teens all dressed up going out to dinner at the restaurant before the dance. Some beautiful dresses. It was a fun afternoon.     Next, however, I ate some Korean-style grilled Brussel sprouts - not a lot but made for an uneasy evening. Wish me luck today!

Beautiful weather for our federal election day! 18C and a sunny blue sky!

It’s 21C and sunny out right now, and I’ve spent the day working in my garden, which is my happy place. Yes, perfect day for our election, although I voted in the advance poll over the Easter weekend. Now for the nail biter evening!

 Laurie 

The last several days have ended with complete fatigue but my heart is so joyful! There is something special about dirt on your hands, under your fingernails & damp knees from kneeling & weeding out last years dried up growth! My flower garden perennials were already saluting hello at a good 10 inches high!!  My peonies are already another foot taller since my last post here!! I've strategically planted the flower garden to have several plants blooming all spring, summer & fall, but at different times, drawing the eye to look all around & at colours of blues, purple, pinks, reds & whites.  I'm especially loving the scent of flowers that volunteered & surprised me in the back garden. I didn't know tulips smelled so lovely, until Gwen made me stuff my nose into each of them and "sniff hard Munga! Then she said daffodils were boring scents!" Five year olds are so honest aren't they?  It's taken me 4 visits to spend in the front beds bcuz I'm cautiously spreading out my energy, allowing for rest periods so I'm ready to care for Gwen after-school.  

On the weekend she insisted we set up the "back outside limmaroom" , she can't say livingroom yet! Those V's get her everytime. So, we dragged 4 big bags with 2 chair cushions each out of storage & to the back doors.  We rolled out the blue & white carpet, found some rocks for the curled up edges. Washed down the furniture & dragged them into place. The day before Gwens big step brother, came upstairs & swept dried dirt & winter leaves away & then washed down the deck for me, so everything was fresh & ready to be put in place.  You should have seen that little girl dragging a big bag with 2 strapped together bright red chair & love seat  cushions in them & then as soon as one chair was washed & dried, she was already undoing a twist tie & tho she struggled on hauling the bags off the cushions, she did all 4 & even figured out the right chairs they went on...  I just kept an eye on her & I let her do it too, praising her accomplishments & thanking her for all her help with each set. She brought me the bags & twist ties to put away for her safety too. It's awesome to be out back again reading story books & learning math from Gwens homework as she explains each equation to me. Tired from her days, I  wrap her burrito style on the double lounge so she could nap in the tent we made over it. We have such fun together.  

The weather has been just lovely. Always a  gentle cool breeze with warm sunshine just make me want to stay outside as long as I can handle.  It's so fun with Gwen being older & wanting to be with me out there as well and ofcourse Missy my pup loves it too.  Though not a large area, the back wide & all fenced in, so there's no need for a leash & I'm sure that helps her enjoy it too. 

Laurie, my gardens & back deck area are my happy place too.  I can loose any stress I may have just pulling weeds! Lol!  My 1st time garlic has grown in so well & seems to be loving where I planted it. The cactuses have grown & I'm hoping they bloom again this year.  I've been feeding them already & I'm sure that has to help!! Fingers crossed! 

Robert, we heard about your earthquake on our 5 p.m. news. South Okanagan B.C. 🇨🇦.  Then a few nights ago there was one the town over from us also had a 5. something as well.  Yikes! I'm pretty sure my dog sensed it, as out of the blue , she sat bolt upright, whined & stared at me. I still had my light on. So I checked the time & the next day it was confirmed. 

Linda, it sounds like you had a lovely time out. I follow a dog trainer or 2 on line & I really appreciate their tips! Doesn't it seem the prom dresses are such grown up styles for the girls! Ugh! It makes me feel very  ancient!! Lol.

ERIC... BIKES have computers on them??? Forgive my ignorance, but, what for...?  

I'm so glad the election is over & though a snuggish race, I think the 2 main parties may create some rowdy sessions when making decisions in parliament. 

So, is everyone ready for Summer? 

20C with  clear blue skies 

Yesterday was a whirlwind of weather! I had thunderstorm and tornado watches pinging my phone late afternoon. The sky went black, and it poured for like 20 minutes. The temps dropped from something like 22c to 16c in under an hour as the storm passed through.

Then the clouds went away, and the sun was out until it set. Like a totally different world! 🤣 

But the winds remained very strong. I can handle cold, heat, rain, and snow... but wind is so damaging, and it always has me worrying.

My husband’s and my stoma’s birthdays today. It’s a nice day, sunny out and 46 Fahrenheit. Our daughters and some of their families will be coming over for subs and cupcakes with ice cream. 

@llholiday  ... HaPpY HaPpY BiRtHdAy to you three!  That sounds like a nice way to celebrate!!  I have no clue the exact date of my stoma. I suppose my gp will know & asking the Surgeon, well, he has retired.

Eric, we get a lot of wind here in the South Okanagan! I don't mind a breeze or even a wind as when our temps 🌡 hit the highs, that's when I worry.  It gets pretty crisp here & forest fires are on my mind in that sort of weather. Folks around here tend to call spring, summer & fall,  🔥 🔥 season. 

It was just so beautiful again today, 26°c. & a bit of a chill in the breeze. It's so wonderful to walking in weather like this. 

I'm going to try a field trip tomorrow with my Grands K class again,  for the 1st time since I had bronchitis in November & drastic vitamin & mineral numbers. I'm hoping It doesn't put me in bed for a week afterwards.  I'll be wearing a mask on the bus!  In spring, the classes go once a week to businesses around town & learn what they do & the important roles they play in our community. With so many farmers in our community, the kids get a wide variety of farms to attend as well. 

Beautiful day here today 24C with clear blue skies, sat in the shade ,read.a book and listened to music.

Another lovely day here 22C 

@dlkfiretruck Thank you, Linda - have fun on your field trip!

@tony-h I just finished a book Autism Out Loud, written by three mothers of children with autism. It was very, very interesting. My goodness, the strength of those ladies.

Well, it's been so beautiful outside again. I love these shirt sleeve warm breezy days  that just make you want to be outdoors & get your hands in the soil.  Our cactus our back has grown so big & tall !! 

The field trip was so much fun! The kids were taught about annuals & perennials & were encouraged to stop and smell anything that interested them. They were allowed to touch the different types of pine trees and feel their hard sharp needles verses the softer ones.  Last year Gwen & I learned from a kids you tube video that Ponderosa Pine tree bark smells like Vanilla. So when she walks my dog with me, she still  has me sniffing tree bark!  The kids on the trip were buddies of the K & Gr. 2 class. They were encouraged to sniff any plants that interested them & they all had their noses in so many flowers it was so fun to see!  To end the short trip, the nursery provided each child with a purple pansey to repot into 4 inches pots. It was easy to tell the kids who were taught this process at home & those who were not.  I thoroughly enjoyed helping the kids & encouraging them in planting there own flowers. They all did a pretty good job &  telling them they did, had them all smiling at their efforts. Name tags were placed in each child's plant to take home. I thought it was so generous of the Nursery owners who do this for several classes every spring. 

Last year we were in the same nursery and I let Gwen choose several plants to repot into one of my larger ones with the timed watering system I had previously installed myself. Afterwards, we prepped the soil in the back garden to direct sow her 2 packs of 🫛 peas, then her two cucumbers & several types of our tomatoe plants that had we started indoors from saved seeds. This child just loves fresh 🍅 tomatoes & corn on the cob too. We are in the process of groeing seeds again this year.

If you don't have a young child or grandchild around I'd fully encourage you to borrow a neighbour's kiddo & ask to teach them with a plant or two of their own to grow & eat the veggies when they produce.  So many veggies can be grown in a large pot & many can grow together too. Seeing the joy & wonder in Gwens' face as her 🥒 cukes would grow several inches over night and watching her 🫛 peas develop into something she could eat fresh, along with mini 🍅 tomatoes, right off the plant was so much fun last year, we've already chosen new seeds for this years garden. 

Have a great & beautiful day everyone! 

Yesterday was beautiful. Sunny, warm, with only a little wind. Temps were over 20c. 🤗 

It's been so beautiful here the last 10 days or so, temps the last few days dancing around  26°c / 78.8 °f. Here in the Okanagan of B. C. 🇨🇦.   Yesterday I sucked up a spider about 1 1/4" in size, tore open the vacuum cleaner bag, removed the spider & then I released him into my tree to nibble on tiny bugs & leaves. He was on my cieling & traveling pretty fast like he had business to do. 

I had a light bulb moment yesterday about Spring, lol!  I just love it!  Spring and all the amazing changes that it brings is mighty spectacular don't you think??  The world seems to go from dull boring browns & wet black colours, with the exception of snow giving us brighter days, to fabulous shades of greens & the bright fresh colours that  start to pop out everywhere. On seeing the bright pink shades of my very tight Peony flower balls peeking out, showing the tops of their petals & dark green leaves, it made me really stop and have a look at the colours promising to burst open in my flower beds. 

The huge tree across the street from us popped out all its leaves in 48 hours time & then less then 36 hours later the leaves seemed to have all opened up & really filled out the whole tree which I'm sure made it more inviting for small birds to hide from birds of prey.  

My snowball tree had been sickly the last 3 years, so I've been working on 'fixing' it.  But this year., it seems all my efforts have payed off as it is bursting with snowballs the size of a hard baseball, all going from almost a dark lime green to beautiful creamy white. Its so good to see it going from 11, if that much, smaller flowers balls on it to fully loaded! Yay Tree! 

I hope you all appreciate your eyes & noses too for that, lol. Take time to have a good look at the colours around you as Spring preps to get ready for Summer then fall & back to the time of winter.  Its interesting how even nature takes a rest in winter, hunkering down to start all over again in Spring. 

I hope you all have a great,healthy, safe, fair weather day today! 

Been lovely here the last week or so ,mostly warm with clear blue skies 18/20C.

@llholiday Happy belated birthday to your husband and your stoma. Hope the celebrations were lots of fun. Were you able to tolerate the Korean food? It’s become a favourite in our house in the last couple of years. If you want to try cooking it yourself, look up Aaron and Claire on YouTube. He’s the chef; she’s the taste tester. Lots of easy to make delicious recipes presented clearly, and with humour. 

Laurie

There’s a reason this month is called May. It may be sunny and warm. It may be cool and wet. It may snow. Sigh. And then add geographic micro climate. Two days ago, I left the shores of Lake Huron at noon, in fog, and 9C. I arrived in the city 90 minutes later, in sunshine and 22C. I kept peeling off layers of clothing - jacket, vest, as I made my way south.  I love to see the crops progressing as I drive through the countryside. Right now, the winter wheat is a beautiful emerald green, and waving in the breeze. The corn won’t be planted for a few weeks yet - we had a frost warning last night, although I didn’t see any frost when I got up today. I’m back up at the lake today; it’s sunny but cool - only a high of 11C expected today. Warmer temperatures coming over the weekend and into next week. My tomato seedlings are nearly a foot tall now! I’ve grown a dozen - some to keep, but lots to give away when it’s time to plant them.

 Laurie