BE STILL MY BLEEDING HEART

Thanks for asking: it's now going into the fourth week with no water in the house... 

The sunrises so far north these days that the dining room is lit up with a spring spotlight. The bay changes colour and pattern like a Canadian chameleon. But are those snowflakes on the rocks??

Gobs of colour fly, grow, or hop...

Putting fish and a small boy together near a pond --- what could possibly go wrong? Pat brought out the bags of gold. Then the crew had to go through hoops in the rain to get ready for the job. Atley threw the pond plants like a ring-toss game. Bullseye! But it's also the only time we've had flying fish in the pond.(Everybody survived, even me...)

The garden is bursting with perennials but you can't eat beauty, right? The Gardener is now putting in the edibles ---- tomato sandwich, (literally) coming up!

Still no water but we're adapting. Is the glass half full or half empty?

Maybe --- maybe --- the plumber will appear this week. In the meantime, be still my bleeding heart...

RBG BUT NO LOL UNTIL THERE'S AN OMG

Day 14 with no water in the house. The plumber who has experience in shore wells just isn't showing up...More below.

Last Sunday we were still on the road, avoiding the waterless house and driving around the Niagara peninsula. Very scenic with the Spanish Gondola over the rapids, the Floral Clock, and trees bursting into their annual colourfest.

We finally (it's nearby and garden-related, so why did it take all these years??) got to the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG), Canada's oldest, biggest and most famous public gardens. 2,700 acres, 3 zones, uncountable plants, impressive themed artwork, and a major component of educating kids and other visitors about amazing botanical diversity. A must-see...

Including great timing on blossoms...

...especially the Garden Girl's favourites --- magnolias --- and 60+ varieties of lilac!

The Car Guy was active too, sort of. the VW Eos is a keeper so a layer of paint protector was applied to the door sills and trunk edge. The BMW Z3 was finally taken out of winter storage but it's now for sale. The DNA of a rocket ship in a unique colour-and-feature combo!

Gotta mention the birds. Huge waves of goldfinches and whole teams of Blue Jays. Exotic visitors like this redhead. And many more...

It's a long holiday weekend in Canada. Ontario's official flower, the trillium, is right on cue. Long lines of feral flowering tree overwhelm local fields --- are they wild apple? hawthorne? Or??

But overriding all this good stuff is the problem of no water in the house. We've been going to local Y's and campgrounds for showers. And OMG, it's raining again this morning, so roll out the barrels...

THE WATER DOESN'T RISE ---- BUT IT FALLS

I cherish and think of my Mom every day, but Happy Mother's Day everybody!

Last week you read about our triple whammy of poison ivy, car trouble, and no water in the house. Well, the ivy itch is finally fading out. The car was towed in and the repair quick and reasonable --- a broken ignition coil in cylinder #1. But it's Day 8 with no water and a different type of itch is happening. The diver/plumber is booked opening cottages, so we're trying to solve it ourselves. Down at the shore well the pipes are ancient and rusty. I bail and Pat flails but no luck.

Meantime up the hill it's nearing Peak Spring. Fiery sunrises happen before 6 a.m. Exotics like the Baltimore Oriole are arriving. Hordes of yellows and blues still hoard at the feeders. Cherry trees blossom on cue for the hummingbirds. Tree frogs hop in the grass but those eggs in the pond are from watery leopards!

The grounds crew is outdoors for chores. First lawn mow. First gazebo. First asparagus!

Another itch is to see our Toronto Beach 'hood in May. Twice on the highway we saw families of geese crossing 6 high-speed lanes --- could you make it across?? But on the boardwalk many hundreds of special people made it across the finish line. The recent flooding is obvious with much of the beach still underwater. 200 beach volleyball courts are currently reduced to 2. In the parks are the best display of Canada 150 tulips (red-and-white hybrids, get it?).

But, still itching for water (hot and cold, anything!), where can we get a Niagara-size fix? Hmmmm....