by Leslie Cox; Saturday; September 1, 2018

As dry, hot, and dusty as it has been this summer in our garden, the sedums are putting on a grand display for us. A nice wrap up to the end of summer, I must say.

Ours is not really a true fall garden but we do have enough variety of plant species that spots of vivid colour and a few blossoms pop up here and there in the landscape. A happy circumstance as we are not ready to let go of summer just yet…as much as we welcome cooler temperatures and look forward to the fall rains.

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by Leslie Cox; Friday; August 31, 2018

Remembering my mom today. She left us 5 years ago on this day and there has not been a day since when I have not missed her. There is a hole in my heart that continues to ache for her loss. But, thanks to my mom, we have Sadie. On the very day we buried my mom, we picked Sadie out of a litter of 10 squirming puppies, just 3.5 weeks old. Losing my dad on Dec. 26, 2012, my beloved Bernese Mountain Dog, Molly on May 24, 2013, and then my mom…I could not go on without a dog in my life. I know my mom helped pick out the best puppy in the whole litter and while Sadie is not my beloved Molly, I love her no less. She is a very special dog…a final gift from my mom.

by Leslie Cox; Saturday; August 25, 2018

After another week of sun, I woke this morning at 4:30-ish to the sound of rain falling. What a glorious sound! And boy! Are the plants ever happier for the dousing…such as it was.

I recorded a little over 10 mm in my rain gauge…not nearly enough to compensate for almost a total lack of rainfall since the end of June. But after weeks with temperatures in the high 20s to mid 30s Celsius, and just 10 mm of rain on July 10th, we are thankful for whatever moisture falls from the sky.

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by Leslie Cox; Friday; August 24, 2018

Huge apologies. Due to an upset in my schedule this week, I have not had time to organize the information about the Spotted Wing Drosophila (fruit fly) for my website. I have been commandeered as a carpenter’s assistant this week instead which is hugely interfering with my writing time.

I will have the information about this introduced pest, and details on how to make a trap for it, posted by the end of the weekend. Promise.

Enjoy your weekend and hope you are attending a fall fair in your area. We must support agriculture!

by Leslie Cox; Friday; August 24, 2018

Had to do some snake wrangling this week. Caught this guy swimming in my pond, actively hunting
a couple of my small goldfish. He has been given a new home…far enough away that
he should not be able to find his way back to our pond.