July 31, 2013

Midsummer Mosaics

Where did the month of July go? Well, part of ours was spent in the beautiful Muskoka region of Ontario.

Meeko is always up for a road trip. He will often hop into the van before we even get a chance to pack it. He's like a space marker. "Don't forget me!"

We spent nine days with family (cousin time!), reading, walking, cooking and swimming. We visited the lovely Wednesday farmers' market in Gravenhurst. Always a treat.

Meeko swam in the the lake and then swam some more.

We saw some forest creatures--several deer and two sweet fawns (in the photo above). I got a fabulous photo of a toad. Who would have thought that a photo of a toad in a rusty old wheelbarrow could be so beautiful?

I did a bit of painting while I was there. There's something wonderful about painting on a screen porch while listening to soft music and accompanying waves.  ChloĆ© made a video of me. I didn't realize what she was doing. I'm very camera shy and probably wouldn't have cooperated if I knew what she was up to. Then she posted it on my Instagram account. The rascal! You can see it here. I'm not looking particularly glamorous but I am definitely deep in the painting 'zone'.  At the end of the video, you will hear a steam whistle. Meeko barks every time he hears it--even when I play the video. :) It's the whistle of the historic Segwun steamship that is North America's oldest operating steamship. It tours Lake Muskoka on a daily basis during the summer months.

I'm always amazed how much a garden can change when you are away even for a short time. It looks great thanks to our wonderful neighbours who water my flowers when we are on vacation. The garden is definitely in the billowy midsummer curve towards fall. I came back to hydrangeas blossoming and echinacea is in full bloom.

We have another short trip planned before the girls go back to school. When I was young, we would never go back to school in Ontario until after Labour Day. In Quebec, schools start in late August. I can never quite get used to that.

Hope you all had a beautiful July. I'll leave you with some photos of my mid-summer garden.

The photos in this blog post were all taken with my iPad. I did the mosaics with a cool little app called 'Picstitch'.

8 comments:

  1. You have a lovely garden. Thanks for the app tip for creating photo mosaics.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Carol! My daughter found that app. It works well!

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  2. What on earth is that gorgeous plant in the lower left photo? It is exquisite! Meeko looks so cute! Off to see your video.

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    Replies
    1. It's oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). Do you know the crazy thing? It didn't bloom at all for over ten years. Last year, it had a few blooms and this year, it's gorgeous. A real test of patience! :)

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  3. Nice pics, and I always love to see Meeko! :-)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tina. Meeko thinks I should post photos of him more often!

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  4. I love your summer garden, Kathleen ! And I loved seeing you in action on IG !! :) What a treat !
    I too wonder where July has gone !!
    Have a glorious weekend !
    xoxo

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  5. Dear Kathleen - wonderful pictures...I am impressed with the frog - at first it almost looked like a painting. Glad you had fun on your vacation...sounds like somewhere I would love to go. Have a great week.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog and to leave me a comment. I love reading them. -- Kathleen

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