Month: April 2017

All spruced up!

What a gorgeous day!!

Definitely a day to spend in the garden and on the lawn getting things spruced up. With the two days of rain…everything SUDDENLY turned green and colours popped. Ahh…this time of year!

David raked all the dead grass and started at the task of digging the weeds from our lawn. The weeds are unbelievable!!!! We put new grass on our front garden two years ago. And it doesn’t look great this Spring. Last Spring it was  gorgeous! This Spring there is weeds and bare spots. Last summer’s drought and bugs ( because of the drought) did a number on it. ( Besides it’s never good to go on a 3 week vacation in July when there is no rain. No one to water the grass causes problems) Ughh…so…I feel like we are back to square one! Well, not quite that bad BUT it’s not as good as we like. This year we will be at it again when we figure out what the best solution is. The “crazy” weed that you just can’t get rid of or spray for, keeps coming back! Then there is the back lawn…same thing. And the crows have a mess made. So David put seed in an area. We’ll see how that goes!

While David raked, I was in the flower gardens again. It’s surprising how many weeds had grown since I was there the beginning of April. But it took a lot less time to get through them all. *Note to self- Weed gardens regularly!!

We also got out the lawn furniture and cleaned out the garden shed. “Junk Day” is Monday this week and we wanted to put some “junk” curbside so it could ” magically walk away” or get picked up with the trash on Monday.

So while the deck still needs staining and the vinyl on the house washed, and the wooden furniture stained or painted, most things are in place to use this coming Spring/Summer season. We will get at all those jobs checked off the list one at a time!

It just feels so wonderful to be outside!! What did you do this weekend?

 

Colourful visitors

So I put my bird feeders up this week because I was hearing and seeing lots of birds in my backyard garden and today I had so many colourful visitors. MORE than pictures can really capture.

Here are a few of my favourites of the little yellow finches.

Tomorrow looks like it’s gonna be a beautiful day. Time to get back in the garden!

April showers

bring May Flowers!

We are finally getting the typical spring “April Showers”

Today and tomorrow are supposed to be rainy days. Two days of rain is really not enough and it is not typical of April.

It has been cold this month and a few small snow days, mixed with a few hot sunny days BUT colder than normal weather, and not rainy to make everything pop with color.

It seems as though this year is a late start and I really hope it doesn’t mean that we will have another dry summer…

As much as I’d rather a sunny day…I’m thankful for the rainy day! Hmm? What to do?

Abby says nap 😀

Sunny Monday ☀

It’s a sunny warm Monday here in Nova Scotia. A PERFECT way to start the week.

I had a few colourful visitors this morning ( did’t get my camera quick enough) telling me it was time to fill up my bird feeders. I love watching these little feathered visitors in the morning and Abby gets excited about the word “birds” . So first thing on my list…put seed in the feeders ✔

This weather gets me thinking about summer and before you know it, it will be vacay time! David has time off in May, June, July & September this year ( for summertime vacation) Yay!!!!! Even though we don’t have any big travel plans this year…it’s a “stay at home” “enjoy our own province” kinda year…I’m planning, oh yes I am! 😂 May vacation will be mainly yard work. I’ve got his “work order” started. June and July we will relax at home and do some day trips and exploring.

I will give you a sneak peak at one little “getaway” I am planning. We are going to spend a couple of nights here in July.

What do ya think? I can’t wait!!

There’s no time like the present to start getting things on my list! ✍

It’s a PERFECT day for a BBQ dinner.

Well, that’s all for now…have a great day!

 

We’re in this together

Here are just a few ways Nova Scotia is doing it’s part in environmental protection. ( taken from the Government of Nova Scotia website)

We lead all provinces in cutting Greenhouse Gas emissions

In 2009, Nova Scotia released the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations establishing GHG emission caps on the electricity sector. Amendments were also made to the Air Quality Regulations to set tighter limits on Nova Scotia Power Inc., sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions for 2015 and 2020. As of 2014, Nova Scotia has already reduced GHG emissions 17% below 1990 levels, the most of any province in Canada, and is on track to reach 24% by 2020. This far surpasses our target of 10% below 1990 levels by 2020.

Nova Scotia is the first province to require efficient LED streetlights

Nova Scotia is the first province or state in North America to make LED streetlights the law. LED lights are expected to use less than half the energy of traditional lights and when combined with reduced maintenance costs, the estimated annual savings could be $18 million. They’ll also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30,000 tons.

More than 25% of Nova Scotia’s electricity comes from renewables

Nova Scotia’s Renewable Electricity Plan is a program to move Nova Scotia away from carbon-based electricity towards greener, more local sources. The plan set renewable electricity generation targets of 25% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. In 2015, almost 27% of Nova Scotia’s electricity was supplied by renewable energy sources, like wind, tidal, biomass, and hydro, and we are on track to reach 40% by 2020.

Nova Scotia has more wind power in our mix than 8 other provinces

As of September 2016, there was almost 600 MW of installed capacity from wind generation in the province.

Nova Scotians are the leading composters in Canada

Nova Scotians are the leading composters in Canada on a per capita basis (combined curbside and backyard). More than 95% of residents have access to curbside collection, and 48 of 51 municipalities use clear bags to enhance diversion of organics and recyclables from the solid waste stream.

Over 100,000 Nova Scotians have renewable heat in their homes

Nova Scotians are doing their part to reduce their energy consumption and replace more of their energy with sustainable sources. Today, over 100,000 Nova Scotians have heat pumps in their homes. Of those, at least 80,000 use a heat pump as their primary source of heating. Over the last five years, Efficiency Nova Scotia’s work alone has helped roughly 56,000 Nova Scotians reduce their reliance on oil.

We’re in this together, let’s everyone do our part!

Quietly at home…

Today, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, is celebrating her 91st Birthday!

This lady is a picture of royalty, style and grace.

Here are a few stats of her reign…

— Elizabeth has reigned for 65 years and 75 days. On September 9, 2015, she became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, passing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.

— She has had 13 Canadian prime ministers and 13 British prime ministers serve during her reign, from Louis St. Laurent and Winston Churchill, respectively, to Justin Trudeau and Theresa May.

— She has met 12 U.S. presidents, from Herbert Hoover (after he left office) to Barack Obama, more than a quarter of all U.S. presidents.

— She has travelled more than 1.6 million kilometres on official trips, visiting 106 countries.

— She has visited Canada 22 times — the largest number of trips to any nation.

— She has four children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

— She has cut back on her official duties in the last few years, but Elizabeth still conducted 332 official engagements in 2016.

And a few pictures…

Happy Birthday!!