Sylvia's Simple Shots

It has to mid June because the Alberta Wild Rose is in full bloom.

They are so nice this year.  The perfect combination of sun and rain I guess.

They range from light pink to deep pink like this one!

Insects visit them regularly which will produce rose hip berries in the fall.

They are always in bloom at my birthday and I was able to spend the day with my sister which was wonderful.  My brother-in-law made a fire so I could have fire roasted hot dogs.

Of course, there was ice cream cake, my favorite birthday cake. 

In the Heart of the Garden by Helene Wiggin is a book a finished recently.  It chronicles the life of a garden established in 912AD by Fritha and still cared for by Iris in 1998.  Iris is elderly and she is thinking of moving and leaving her cherished garden.  She walks through it every evening,  touching its special places and plants as she strolls.

Iris Bagshott strolls down the paths of her ancient garden, close to Lichfield in the heart of England, wondering if it is time to sell her house and land for development.

She is unaware that around every corner myriad family secrets from the past unfold.

From a Saxon clearing to a monastery, Tudor dwelling to the present day, this sacred plot has nurtured her ancestors. Generations of Bagshott women have found refuge and solace tending it through years of plague, civil war and beyond.  This is their story

I found the early years of the garden hard, life was hard especially for the women.  I enjoyed the recent history a lot more.

I found some healthy sunflower seeds.  They are very low in sodium which is why I stopped eating the regular ones.  

I find I eat less when I start with them in the shell.

They are available at several stores in my area.

They make them in a variety of flavors but the original plain ones are fine with me.

I have found this a nice healthy snack.

I took this photo this morning on my walk.  

The piece of grass had collected fuzz and it looked cool.  I forgot my hat so seeing the screen was hard.  

I'm glad the shot worked out.

Look at that beautiful Alberta blue sky.

We just had a big rain shower as I am writing this on the longest day of the year but this morning was wonderful.

A good variety of grass in this shot.

The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs.  Another strong female character in the character of Grace Bennett. A naval officer's wife with regular moves, 3 children, putting supporting her husband ahead of her dreams of a business and a place to call her own where she make plans knowing she will be there for years not just 1-3.

Wives of naval officers posted to an aircraft carrier are granted power of attorney so they can handle every situation while their husbands are gone for 6-12 months at a time.  Grace buys the house of her dreams, moves her family and sets up her relocation business which she developed on her many moves over the last 20 years.

With several secrets coming out of the woodwork and a sudden crisis which is a wife's nightmare the family needs to communicate, come to terms with the crisis, listen to each other, and love  most of all.

All things come down to family comes first.

I washed the afghan from my bed recently, which was really needed.

For now, it lives on the couch instead of the bed so the bedroom has a cohesive looks of blues and greys.

It was a gorgeous day so instead of putting in the dryer I just hung it on the balcony rail for several hours.

It was dry and smells wonderful.

I'm not sure what the neighbors thought but I think it was worth doing.

I have been enjoying this old series which I found on the Roku Channel.

Based in a fictional county in England, the seasoned detective and the rookie investigate murders in the area.

British TV is so much less sensational than American TV.  I don't believe I have seen them draw a gun or shoot any one.  Lots of talking and listening.  Questions and more questions to get to the bottom of the situation.

There are 11 seasons so I likely will not get through all the shows before it is replaced by something else.

Loving it for now!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I have been laid low with health issues and finally this week my energy is back.

I have gotten very few shots of Blue Jays but last week I got this one.

I was so excited.  He had been foraging on the ground which helped me spot him.  I did get a few shots on the ground but would prefer a tree shot.  

He then accommodated me and sat there for a very short while before he flew off into the wild blue yonder.

I finished this book during my low energy phase.  It is a memoir so a true story.  A woman of the world but struggles with mental health.  When she decides to settle down and have kids she suffers a miscarriage first then has a baby but by then the partner is gone!

She builds a group of people to be her "family".  Her mom and brother are involved but there is the nanny Tita which I believe saved her life.  She became an employee, a partner, and a friend during the critical first 3 years of her baby's life.  There were several others who came in and out of her life at critical points.  She had the capacity to embrace these folks which is wonderful.

Great story of adapting, going with the flow, discernment, hurt, process emotions and just moving forward when you are lost.

This is an afghan I crocheted in the 1970s.  Can you tell?  The oranges, the browns were primary colors in that period. 

Interesting how being sick makes some things clearer.  I have decided that I would like a more "me" afghan for my bed so I put the call out of free yarn when I researched the price of new.

My aunt dug through her stash and donated some.  My Mom called the other day and said she had some I could have.   I have no idea how much I need so I will have adjust along the way.

This is the stash I was given with no orange or brown visible.  

I have to dig through my box of patterns to see if I can find the original "granny square" pattern and the size of hook I used.

I have decided to assemble the squares with navy which Mom has donated.

Great watching TV project for the winter.

This book I gave up on about half way through.  Having sex is what everyone here is doing and that is mostly what the author was focusing on.

Not my idea of a great book.

I am back to getting outside for photos.  This is a pond on my road trip this week. Decided to head to the country rather that compete with people at popular destinations.  We still have Canada Geese here as the weather overall has been great. No frost or s**w yet. I love the reflections of the old sticks of wood in the water.  A goose feather where they had been bedding down.

The challenge at Flicker Macro Monday is Translucent.  Here, I have shot a glass star behind a textured glass tile.  I love how just the wire which is closest to the tile is in focus and the rest is not.  You can check out Photostream SMDPics to see the shot I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #100 and

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #261