An Evening Stroll

I think August has gone faster than ever this year! We are finally experiencing a bit of rain today, and feels and looks rather autumnish. Nobody is complaining because the last rain was in June, I think. The sundeck is finally completed ~ just in time for the rain ;) I had to oil a few more boards to finish it off, so hopefully when it clears up again, I'll be able to relax out there.

The other evening I went for a stroll to the beach, and have made a little movie of the event. Certainly nothing as dramatic as Dragon Fire, but very pleasant just the same.  I met a couple of pets out for their evening exercise, so you'll see Mollie and Max as well.

The setting sun cast a glow on the maple tree giving a very clear impression that Autumn leaves were indeed touched by 'dragon fire'.  ;)

Dragon Fire

Glorious Sunset video

I took these photos Saturday evening ~ a spectacular sunset ~ as dragons blew in and drifted in clouds. :) I hope you can fill your screen with it. It's now a clear night with a full moon shining brightly.

Deck, Dock, Doe

Here we are suffering through another heat wave of 30 C temperatures. Fortunately the next few days promise to be cooler. In the midst of all this, my back sundeck has been removed and a new one is in the process of being built. I had been replacing boards over the past few years, but it was in need of rebuilding according to those 'in the know'. My job is to oil the boards ~ which gives a whole new meaning to "oil a-board". Probably the fumes getting to me...affecting my humour ;)

Although the caption reads, "All Hands on Deck", it is actually just the builder and me who are on deck.

Speaking of "oil a-board", the cruise ships were docked at Ogden Point. On a recent day trip to Victoria, I was able to take photos of them at various times of the day and evening ~

I met my brother at the Oak Bay Marina and took the opportunity to take a few photos ~

Looking in the other direction, I caught a glimpse of Mount Baker in the distance, but I've had to 'doctorfy' this photo in order for it to appear somewhat visible. The white ship passing through the gap is a BC Ferry heading to the mainland.

Back at home, Bandido the raccoon seems to have been replaced by Deer Dora. Not sure if she followed me home from the golf course where I had lunch ~

She wasn't eating my apples, but a tub of pansies I had moved off the deck.

Well, that's the Deck, Dock, Doe of the blog ~ what's left is a family/friend reunion that I attended. This is my 14th year and each year I take a cake and other goodies ~ the best cake being a large motorcycle cake about 6 years ago. This year, two of the boys who I met as kindergartners have now completed Grade 12 and have graduated. Therefore, I thought it fitting to make a Grad cake.

That's how I've been spending the last little while, and I will be more than happy to have the new deck completed before I melt into a puddle :)

No picture of a puddle, sorry ~ we haven't had rain for ages!

The Frog and the Rose et al

The inspiration for this fun poem was through the following linked blog posts :)

Frog's rescue by Flighty and his watering can

Louise finding a snake when she lifted the compost lid

John's crazy flies on video

Uphilldowndale's photos of a magical wooded ancient lane

Most of the graphics were downloaded from *The Graphics Fairy*. I converted the graphics into Photoshop brushes and "stamped" them to illustrate the poem.

If these images are too large, could you let me know and I will make them smaller.  Thanks :)

PS

Wiki history ~

The term "watering can" first appeared in 1692, in the diary of keen cottage gardener Lord Timothy George of Cornwall. Before then, it was known as a "watering pot".

In 1885 the "Haws" watering can was patented by Michael Deas. He replaced the top mounted handle with a single round handle at the rear.

Nature's palette

The sun has appeared as a large red orb as sunset approaches. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to capture the brilliance of this amazing sight. The sun shone brightly, disappeared behind the clouds, and then showed its face again before being swallowed by the ocean. This slideshow doesn't come close to showing the glorious spectacle!

I loved this combination of pastels ~ perhaps  nature's brush that would colour the evening sky with an amazing blend of pinks and blues.

The hanging basket on my sundeck has popped out something new! The purple spikes have produced pink flowers ~ I'm not familiar with this particular plant, so have no idea what it is called, but it's lovely :)

With Bandido and the cherries being things of the past, I have been surveying the rest of the fruit to see if there will be any prospects for humankind. There are loads of grapes hanging from everywhere. I've noticed the ends of the vines have been nibbled by deer, and some of the flowers in the back have been food for a rabbit. I will take photos of the pears and apples as well.

I noticed this young robin today, looking a little puffy-scruffy, and it seemed to be pondering about something.

Meanwhile at the birdfeeder, a nuthatch was quite entertaining, and I got the message to top up the feeder. Hence my movie, entitled, "The Nutty Little Nuthatch".