This is one of the mustard fields down the road. It is electric yellow on a sunny day.

I would love to go running through this field in bare feet.

Poutine. Fries, gravy, cheese curds. We went to “By the Bay” cafe to get this local favorite. We always came here with my nana.

Barachois Inn in Rusticoville. I love this building. they have done a great job in restoring it over the years.

We had dinner at my cousin Patty’s and her husband Shawn’s last night. Its always great to see them. Thanks for the awesome dinner and the video; we loved seeing everyone in that!

...And look who else we got to see; our cousin Gail and her husband Dan from Nova Scotia. They were up visiting the island with their family and stopped by. I loved seeing them both!

There are lots of little clearings along the trail that present beautiful landscapes.

There are lots of beautiful, tall majestic birches along the trail. They don’t seem to live nearly as long as many other trees, so its good to see them in their prime.

birch bark. I want a birch beer.

This is one of the original crossing switches (or something like that) that was restored and returned to its original site.

This is one of the placards at the trail. It tells of the one-room schoolhouse at Rennies road, which is right across the field from our house. The picture of the students is circa 1914, and there is a good chance that my great aunt is in the photo. I believe she would have been about 16 years old at the time, but I need to do a bit more research on it to be sure.

I’m lovin’ this little white crossing man; I think I see a little something between his legs. No?

Monday night on the beach

The dunes

Gooseneck Loostrife. What did we ever do without it?

First Purple Coneflowers; seems a bit early, but I’ll take ’em.

Had dinner with Kevin and Frank tonight, and after the fabulous Gazpacho we went for a walk to see what is possibly the last original gaslight in West Roxie. I would love to have one of these outside my front door.

My pink Peonies

can’t get enough

My False Indigo (Baptista); I put this in last year, but no flowers, so I am excited to see its blooming. This came from a huge bunch that I had at Oswald.

Mountain Laurel. I like these even more than Rhodadendrons. This one has been here for a long time as its fairly large, and only parts of it bloom. I am pruning it back and fertilizing it back to good health. I need more of these, maybe on the side or along the back fence.

My good friend Rick gave me this Rhodadendron from his home because it had never bloomed. It took a few years to open for me, but, alas, here you are Rhoda!

I particularly love this variety as it is what I call pinky-white; not pink, not white, but traces of both, with a yellow center. Yummy. Thanks, Rick!

Another fave, my Aunt Amy’s Irises. She gave me these back on Oswald Street, and I brought them with me to the ghetto.

I also call these my rootbeer irises. Not sure why, but when I look at them , I think rootbeer. A&W.

I have a bunch of Siberian irises next to my rootbeers, but they have never bloomed yet. Not sure why. Any suggestions?

Coral Bells. Want them. Love them. Need them. Need more!

My wild roses; another gift from Rick. They have come a long way. I have two; this one is the best; I have another that needs more love. I’m working on it.

These roses look like Peonies, but don’t worry; the Peonies are on their way in a few days. Stay tuned.

The roses live with the bluets.

These are my Amsonia. I F-Love these. They have tiny blue star flowers in bunches. Also, the leaf is really pretty. I brought these from Oswald Street, too.

I will bore you with this last photo of one of my Clematis. I really like this burgundy color. I think this is the first year its bloomed. Worth the wait.

Hmmm, nothing blue about these...

Ah, the smell of dirt and grass! This is the suckiest part, but it had to be done.

This fence is outta here, too with a little help from my friend sledge.

There will be two raised beds separated by a stone dust path. Hopefully this year.

Fence is down, and will be most likely replaced with a fence of Cosmos and Zinnias. Not sure yet. It does make my yard look bigger, but that was not the intention.

Its beginning to take shape. My neighbor Mark came over and helped me. I owe him a bottle of Rum.

I am also going to put a bird bath in the center of the path between the beds.

And what would it be if Ozzie didn’t come over and roll around in the dirt? I know the second I put the Catmint in he will tear it up.

Just another opportunity for cuteness!

No innocent birds were killed during the making of these images. I tried to distract Ozzie, hoping that Tweetie would get away, but my little ghetto boy is just baddd assss!

Poor little Tweetie. I don’t allow him to touch the red ones; but I do encourage him to go for the sparrows. He never listens to me.

Ozzie feels the need to pose with his victims. He is the Dexter of the Feline Family.

This is about when I had to walk away.

This is one of my Campions, which is proving to be doing better this year than last.

This is Miss Tiarella. Also called a Foam Flower. Part of the Heuchera family, I believe.

These tulips always come up a bit later than the standard red and yellow ones. I love these dark purple, almost black ones.

I like how these are delicately veined; it almost makes it look like it has pinking-sheared edges.

I like these candy cane-ish red and white ones.

Sweet Woodruff. Sweet, indeed! I want to lie down on a bed of these!

My Allium. This is still opening; they get even better as all the little flowers fully open.

This is my one and only Colombine. I have tried growing these for a few years now, and finally, I have one flower. I hope to have more next year.

Fothergilla shrub. I F_love these things. they remind me of a shrub that would grow in Whoville. Dr. Seuss would approve. And so too, would Cindy Loo Hoo.

And, of course, Let us not forget the Lilacs. Last year they were nothing much to look at, but this year, they are making up for it. I am hoping to increase the number of Lilac plantings in my yard this year.

Bury my bones under the Lilacs. That would make me happy.

Finally, I managed to get all the bedroom closets painted, and knobs put on. Now I just have to fill them and organize them. That might take another year or so....