The sky is blue ...

...the sun has riz, I wonder where the birdies iz?
Here is the little film clip I took last year of our own little birdies. I couldn't remember how to add the music, so it's accompanied by the sound of the wind and some chirping instead (please feel free to turn down the volume if it becomes irritating!)

I love this time of year, everything is looking so springlike and fresh, while the hummingbirds are quenching their thirst on the sugar water, the blossoms are out and looking exceptionally pretty having opened up 10 days earlier than usual. Amber took a walk and snapped a few pics for this post.I am on the hunt for a couple of hanging baskets full of blue lobelia this week (as seen above), they have become a standard summertime fixture that works well and gives the hummingbirds a little nectar variety, which they seem to enjoy.Archie, such a typical puddy-tat took full advantage of a sunny spot on the front veranda this morning. I have decided to reduce my working hours at Wheaton's to just a couple of days a week for a while. This will give me the opportunity to keep busy at home through the summer, which I am relishing, especially being able to spend more time with the girls again when they come home from school and during the school holidays. A young student has taken on some of my shifts and is happy to get the hours in before going back to college in September.
Back on the familiar tractor mower it felt quite rewarding as I eradicated all the bright yellow dandelion heads that had shot up, neatly mulching them row by row. It didn't however take very long for the black flies to find me. Even wearing long sleeves and protective netting over my peeked cap they managed to find their way inside and give me no less than 8 little itchy bites on my first mowing session!! I have tried everything in the past from regular bug spray, to a diluted spray of Listerine mouthwash! The latter just gave me icky sticky fresh minty hair! This week I am going to try a new product called No-Bite-Me , a soap, which is a popular seller at work. I shall report on the outcome next week. The black fly frenzy should die down a little in a week or two as the weather gets warmer.

I also wanted to share this lovely blog with you, Daisy Pink Cupcake

I was thrilled and honoured to have some of my own home photos featured on one of her colourful posts a few weeks ago. Every week she manages to find some wonderfully diverse eye candy, which I enjoy browsing through when I have the time.

With Jemma's AP calculus exam out of the way, her thoughts have turned to the fast approaching graduation prom dance. She has decided to design and sew her own dress. I admire her determination and work ethic and look forward to seeing what she comes up with. Even Amber was spotted on the sewing machine recently, completing a home economics assignment, recycling a discarded top and turning it into a cute little bag.

Happy thoughts and wishes :)

Hazel x

One blustery day.......

.....we put up our lovely gazebo to protect us from the mosquitoes.

After writing such a chirpy post last week I can now tell you that our gazebo didn't get a lot of use this year! Craig and I spent over an hour assembling it and managed to sit inside for one cup of coffee before an unpredicted super strong wind blew in the following day, and did this!! It took us much longer to dismantle the tangled collapsed version, as all the screws and metal bits had buckled and jammed. There is also a huge tear in the canopy :(
However, on a more positive note, the building of our new deck is now in progress. The back wall of the house has been repaired after the wood was found to be rotten (hence a few leaks from driving rain in the Autumn last year) The pink and white blossoms look very pretty this week and opened up 'after' the strong wind, but just in time for the apple blossom festival in the village this 
weekend. Amber left this morning bright and early on her Duke of Edinburgh award hiking trip up in Kejimakujik National Park. I drove her to school to meet up with the other 

participants. She looked a little nervous, as did her friends. They didn't seem too excited about the 5 hour hike or spending the night in a tent with the predicted heavy rainfall. The biting insects are out in full force so she is armed with a strong repellent spray and a rather fetching mosquito head net! This weekend was supposed to be her 'official' birthday (postponed from Dec 1st) so actually she is 14 and a half tomorrow! But, because of the hike we will celebrate next weekend instead by taking a drive into Halifax and having lunch out.
I began my painting project (the Old Canadian Crate Company shelf unit) yesterday. This turned out to be a mistake, those sneaky little black flies were quietly landing on me and I am now sporting some huge and ever so itchy bites on my neck face and arms. I am told that I will gradually build up a tolerance to them and create my own antibodies? Not sure I am entirely convinced of this theory.
The HB's are still managing to feature in my posts after I sold two of my 'new design' this week ;) Hazel xx

Blossoms!!

Another perfect summer day :) Pleasantly warm with a nice breeze. My shoulder is 100% better, even after painting the garden bench and the coffee table, only the mirror to do this afternoon and all 3 yard sale finds will have had a 'make-over'. (I will upload photos of them on my flickr site soon)

Most of the orchards are in blossom now and look very pretty, the Annapolis Valley apple blossom festival is next weekend, so the timing is just right, as long as there isn't a really strong wind, which could blow all the flowers off!

Our little bird feeder adaptation is working nicely, I glued a margarine tub lid to the underside for the tiny birds to rest on, (some feeders come with little ledges fitted, but I didn't know that when I bought this one) there are about 5 birds so far that are feeding regularly, so I expect there will be lots of little babies before long!

Here is a male hummingbird, having a little rest between drinks!

Yesterday I got a lovely long and newsy letter from my friend Keriann, who lives in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. Her hand written letters are very special and I like to read them several times. Enclosed was a newspaper clipping about a local artist Deirdre Helmore who published her memoirs a couple of years ago and I was lucky enough to be given the job of typing them up for her over the last few months we lived in Hawkes Bay.

Craig is now only working part time for the company he joined a month ago. The owner's girlfriend came back from vacation and decided she actually wanted her old job back! I think it is for the best anyway as Craig was 'not' enjoying being stuck at a desk being an Accounting clerk for 9 hours a day, especially after being up and about for the last 3 years. I have hardly seen him this week, he has been super busy, painting the driveway, preparing the back deck, sorting out the basement and garage, cutting wood with the neighbours etc.

Well, this is supposed to just be a mid-week quick blog, so I'm off now to hang out my washing!

Hazel x