PEAS ON EARTH, SHOWERS ON THE MOON?

Warm sunny spring weather has brought out Peak Green in the woods and frogs do what comes naturally. The Foxy Lady boldly cruises the feeder area, hoping for a tasty chipmunk --- why not take one of those fat turkeys?? The male hummingbird displays why he's called Ruby Throated.

The first waves of butterflies are finding pollen, even on bitter dandelions. That fox made another daytime appearance. And the female hummingbird has no ruby...

Jobs and chores are mostly outdoors. Look out --- the Mower is back! The shady gazebo went up for its third summer. The pond is yucky even with a wetsuit on, but the gross gassy growth has to come out. (And for those of you wondering about the bathroom upgrade --- yes, the finishing touches of tile and caulk have been done...)

4,000 pounds of cedar mulch made it up the hill via a 600 hp. 4-wheel drive brute (is that the truck or the driver??) Great dressing for around the house, or under the deck.

The Princess couldn't resist trying out the bed, as soft as 10 mattresses. Remember the Aesop fable --- did the Princess feel the pea? We'll never know --- she ate it!

The bathroom is now finished, so bright white you might need sunglasses. What next ---showers on the moon?

TULIPS OR TWO LIPS? I'VE GOT AN AXE TO GRIND!

Ships glide by, small and large. And it's great to glide by the local woods ---- "forest bathing" is good for your soul...

But there's always work to do. The bathroom upgrade continues. Asparagus couldn't be any fresher! The pond gets a new layer of floaters. And I've always got an axe to grind around here...

In the pond, the frog eggs have hatched by the hundreds and individual tadpoles can be seen. On a daytrip to Toronto the magnolias were bursting and city-style forest bathing was bloomin' beautiful.

After hearing about it for decades, we finally took a drive to Ottawa for the Canadian Tulip Festival. 250,000 tulips in bloom at once! Originally a gift from grateful Holland, the acres of awesome have 10,000 more bulbs added each year. Dive in for tulip bathing!

Did I mention there are a lot of tulips??

So many hybrid varieties, but also a bigger event including giant tulips decorated by dozens of embassies in this capital city.

The riot of springtime colours in Toronto and Ottawa this week was topped off by the royal wedding. Wonderful to see new diversity and music infused in an ancient tradition. New-found admiration for Harry and Meghan. But as those two lips met, the tulips in our gardens outside are just as happy-making. How are your 'lips doing??

BIRD BOOM! (plus, honouring Canada and Mom...)

Spring has been late in springing, so some rituals have been late this year. For example, the first "hang" and the delayed bacteria-baptizing of the pond.

The main reno job has been the upper bathroom. For the record, here are some steps along the way...

But the annual delight has been the awesome bird boom, a frenzy of arrivals and spotting. The usual suspects like male and female grosbeaks have declared their turf. The Goldfinch Mob gorge on the nyjer and sunflower --- how many can you count? Even this raccoon was acting like a bird in the maple tree...

First hummingbird! First Baltimore oriole! First bashful towhee! First and very rare bunting! So, extra props to those beautiful blue nomads...

Now let's get personal here, first in sharing the love of my country. The (American) coach of the Toronto Raptors was declared Coach of the Year but then promptly fired. Go figure. But in a Thankyou Letter to his 7-year stay here he wrote a heartfelt and poignant tribute. Considering all the terrible things going on in the world today, he has a unique perspective on how great it was to live with his bi-racial family in this remarkably diverse and tolerant nation...

It's Mother's Day! Around here, mothers are nesting outdoors (robin) and in (wren). I honour and love the memory of my mom every day --- she was up for anything.

And Sophie Chmill Wyszynski had a special love for beauty and colour in nature --- like flowers! So for everybody's Mom who is or ever was, here's a bouquet just for you...