Staycation and Good News

We are very lucky here in Toronto in that there is so much to do, especially in the summer. My partner and I are taking Stay-cation this week and we've done so many lovely things together, many of them free. We rode our bikes to my old neighbourhood of High Park on one day and up the street to Allan Gardens on another. We caught a play at Soulpepper Theatre (definitely not free but worth the price). We drove to Elora to look at the Gorge. Yesterday we walked to the local farmer's market where we bought our entire dinner, meat, veg and potatoes, from local sources. It's been a grand time. Admittedly, a  couple of days we spent lazing about doing nothing and that's been nice too!

Allan Gardens has been around since 1910. It's open all year providing a tropical oasis in the centre of the city.

"There's sometimes an egret in this pond," I said as we turned the corner of the bike path into High Park. And there it was! We watched it fish for several minutes until it caught a snack. 

I visited Taste of Regent Park on Wednesday as part of the local chapter of The Fight for $15 and Fairness. It was Bollywood Night. I had a delicious meal prepared by community members and bought some pea shoots from these young enterprising gardeners. This event continues every Wednesday for the rest of the summer. Come if you can!

And finally, good news! I found my missing sock. I had a chill last night and put on a hoodie. My heart soared to discover that the lump in the pocket was the dearly missed sock. Now how did it get in there?

See the Pretty Flowers

My friend Sally and I recently went for a walk in the gardens of Spadina House. It was a beautiful summer day and the garden was in full splendour.

The gardens are maintained almost entirely by volunteers. 

The design is traditional kitchen garden. Thus there are vegetables planted in alternating rows, with the flowers - all just a few steps from the kitchen back door for easy picking. The aroma of these ripe cabbages in the sun was fantastic. Later, we saw a goldfinch feasting on insects in the patch.

This, Sally tells me, is a zinnia. Those beetles you see were everywhere.

Sally on a leisurely stroll.

This is the view from the top of the huge staircase that travels up Spadina Hill. Brilliant.

The Rental Garden

Slowly over the past three summers, I've been converting my landlord's garden into a slightly more wild, definitely more perennial affair.  I buy a bit here, transplant a bit there.  He's happy not to have to deal with it.  Frankly, judging by the recently observed lack of enthusiasm, I think he and his wife were starting to resent the expense and trouble of planting all those geraniums year after year.

The poppies are almost at the end of their glory.  I wish I had photographed them earlier.  They don't last long and look like hell when they're done. but their peak is spectacular.
Then there's the ratty little foxglove I bought from the variety store for a dollar.  It was droopy and sad all last year in the shade garden... but this year!  It's threatening to become the plant that ate Manhattan.  It has three flower heads and is huge already.  It may need to be transplanted later as it's dwarfing and shading everything around it.  It needs to move back about a foot.  But not now.  First, let's see what it can do.

Yarn On A Garden Tour

I've gone over to the Tanis side.  Tanis Fiber Arts seems to be everywhere lately.  It's spread throughout the blogoshpere and was one of the most popular booths at the Frolic.  Then, I was gifted a skein by Debi for my birthday.  So the other night, at The Purl, I just felt compelled to support local business by purchasing another. 
Today, my new yarn went for a stroll in the garden.  Good thing they went early before the skies opened up washing away much of  the city, though not unfortunately, the G20 fences. That's the Teal and Stormy colourways admiring the purple flowers and checking out the huge tomatoes.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Knitting is failing me lately.  However, the lillies are in bloom,

the kitchen garden in the park is budding and welcoming,

and there are cool thing to see on a walk.  All in all, a good day.

Poor Plant

I got two birthday presents this year; a jar of hand cream from my sister, and this plant from The Daughter. It's called a Somona or Forever Flower. Lately, it's not doing too well. Not only is it not flowering, the leaves are turning yellow and shrivelling up. I've read up on it. Apparently it likes full sun and occasional fertilizer. I'm doing that but no improvement. The Chinese lucky cats aren't helping either. I'm thinking it just doesn't like the cooler temperatures?

I'm sad. Any ideas?

Laundry Day

First Sunny Saturday

I did a bit of work on the front bed today. The perennials have come back nicely. I know it's just hole in the concrete but I've worked very hard on this patch the past three years and I shall miss it when I move.

Sunshine

At last, there was sun today, though it was still so very cold. I'm tired of winter, dragged down by chill and gloom. Today was day 11 of a twelve day work marathon. On three of those days I worked one job in the morning and a second in the evening. Come Tuesday I get to rest.
For cheer, and the memory of summer, here is an FO garden shot from last year. Sweet basil, sunshine and yarn...aahhh.

In Memorium: Zucchini Plant

Monday it was fine. By yesterday, it was dead. Curses on you Powdery Mildew! Curses I say!

Oh well. At least the tomatoes and eggplant are doing fine.

Holiday Monday

Wasn't it a beautiful day today? Such perfect weather for a summer holiday. We spent the morning building a bean pole at the bottom of the garden.

Then I sat beneath the grape arbour......and worked on the lace stole.

I believe this pattern will take me the rest of my life, or at least the rest of the summer. Tis a very slow knit indeed. It's quite intricate and thus far, I've not been able to memorize the pattern. Still, I love it - so light and delicate. I only pick it up when I need concentration style knitting and the deck with CBC playing softly in the background is the perfect venue. Next week I'm visiting a friend in BC and this is the project I'll be bringing for the long flight.

A Scarf In A Garden and Gertrude

I mentioned earlier that while in NYC, we had plans to have dinner with an old friend and his family. It was lovely to see him again and finally meet the wife and kids. For though we have kept in touch by post and email, we haven't actually been face to face for about sixteen years. He works for the UN and spends years at a time in other countries. I rarely travel. In fact, this visit was planned largely as a way for us to finally get together.

The visit was lovely. His kids are cute (one boy, one girl - symmetrical, yes?) and his wife didn't hate me. He and I talked and talked with nary an awkward moment. Except one. When asked by the wife what we had seen and done in the city, the reply was "The Museum and Central Park and several Yarn Stores. And what beautiful yarn stores you have in your city" ...Then the confused stares. And the questions about 'why' and 'what' that inevitably arise with non-knitters. One attempts to explain about the re-emergence of craft and the community and the meditative qualities of colour and design but, one never quite gets it right.

So, I'm knitting for the family. I've started with this scarf in the Karaoke I bought at Knitty City. Can you see the gorgeous slight variegation in the colour? Isn't it fabulous? I'll knit three more items TBD later and send them off. Hopefully, the work will be self-explanatory.

I leave you with a pic of me hanging with Gertrude Stein in Bryant Park. Gertrude would have got it, don't you think? She loved a good Salon. Can you imagine her at an SnB?

Life This Week

A fair amount of work,
A bunch of Christmas shopping,
A personal loss with tears,
A pretty meme:

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

I like that I'm a snapdragon. It reminds me of my garden in August. Apparently, this result means that I'm slightly mischievous and a good friend. Go figure.

Tomato Pickin Packages

A package arrived this morning hand delivered by my friendly postal carrier. Yes, she really is friendly and actually knocks on the door when I have a package. Inside the envelope were all these individually wrapped gifts. I was so excited, I almost forgot to photograph them before ripping them open. My SP sent a vintage glove pattern book, a set of dpn's and some cute posty notes. There was also a bath bomb that didn't get in the picture. Perhaps it didn't receive the memo? On a more personal note, there is a New Brunswick fridge magnet and a beautiful postcard of Fredericton. This increases my resolve to get to the East Coast someday. The flower photos I can only assume, are from her garden?

Best of all - FLEECE ARTIST!!! Check out the stunning colour! It's good enough to eat. Thank you, thank you Secret McSecretson!

Since today is Tomato Pick Out day here at the farm, the SP photo shoot took place in the garden. Here is an anonymous farmer deep within the tomato plants.

Right now, a giant pot of sauce simmers on the stove. It will be frozen into individual containers for the winter. Mmmm...

Zucchini, Snapdragon, Basil