Happy Halloween

Wishing bloggers everywhere a spooky thrill or two this Hallow'd eve!

The Great Pumpkin Quest

Somebody whispered in my ear it was a good day to go pumpkin hunting. I couldn't deny any longer it was that time of the year...

So we gathered the wee toddler up and headed out to a local garden centre for a stroll about to find the perfect pumpkin...

or two....

Ok, maybe I got caught up in the exuberance of it all...

So, yes, ok, we got five pumpkins and an assortment of gourds. They just looked so happy together we couldn't break them up. You understand, right?

Hope the Halloween spirit is bringing you some fun this week!

Walking in Wonder and Grace

The freeze lifted yesterday, too late for my potted mums and asters. Only the flowering kale carries on. So I wandered out this morning looking for the remains of beauty.

I was not disappointed as I found a few shimmering beauties in the soft morning light.

If I were a bird I would be very reassured by all the berry goodness.

The morning light revealed silver and gold.

And even some liquid gold dancing in the fresh, earthy breeze.

These copper leaves found their foil against the chartreuse moss.

And the lichen that lay like brocade along the branch swelled and bloomed after the rain.


Some kind people even left ornaments to remind the overwintering birds that merriment is still to come.

Crystals lined the sprays of spruce.

When I looked down I saw someone left me a note but I don't understand the language. It must be very old.

I think it says something about walking with wonder and grace.

Happy Sunday :)

It All Happened So Fast...

It was a simple relationship, really.

They met. They shared a meal. She smiled, he blushed.

They danced. He led, she giggled.

They settled down together and after breakfast he read the paper in one room and she painted watercolours in the other.

The grandkids held a party on their 60th anniversary and everybody hugged and cried just a little.

~ The End ~

Boy meets Butterflies

My two-and-a-half year old son’s favourite book lately is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. It's a charming story of a "very" hungry caterpillar that eats his way through the week and then builds a cocoon and transforms into a beautiful butterfly. It's a really fun book to read aloud and one that my little guy loves.

We read it nearly every night and he puts his little fingers in the holes and waits with a little smile that turns into a grin when we get to the page with the chocolate cake, ice cream cone and pickle. Some nights he sleeps with the book. So we decided on an early September day that waffled between rain and sun to take him to the Devonian Gardens to the Butterfly House. I had been there before so I don’t know why it seemed so magical this time. But it did.

The flowers were more exotic.



The textures more fascinating.

And, of course, the butterflies more beautiful.



I don’t know, maybe it was just the joy of seeing it through my son’s eyes that made everything seem a little more luminous. Or maybe gardening is heightening my awareness of the world around me.

Either way, it was one of the most enjoyable family outings so far.

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine. ~Jeffrey Glassberg


PS. If anyone knows what any of the butterflies or exotic plants are, I would love to hear from you.

PPS. I will share some photos of the gardens in upcoming posts.

Have I told you lately...?

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my hubby? Thoughtful man that he is, he got me a new camera (beginner DSLR) for my birthday a couple of weeks ago! Not that I didn't hint. Oh, I did hint...you know, musing aloud while reading camera ads in the paper, mentioning how I missed my old film SLR that tanked ages ago, sighing that I could never get a decent picture of our toddler because he had long since left the frame by the time our 'point and shoot' got around to actually taking his picture...how when we were old we probably wouldn't remember him at this cute age and all the pictures would simply be a blurry shot of blue that was his shoulder or back.

[Ladybug taken with my new(!) Nikon D3000 with an 18-55 mm lens]

What I really love about my husband is not that he gets hints - most guys can conquer that. No, what I love is that he acts on the hints. Now that is a man worth holding onto!

Thanks, honey! I really, really like it! And, um, I promise to stop taking so many pictures of you when you are reading your paper ;-)