Monday, May 2, 2016

April ~ moments to remember

Where to start? We enjoyed the blooms of spring all month long...so I think I will begin and end with flowers!



One can never have too many tulip pictures! :) We had our own local tulip fields this year...


...and I went on several drive-bys with camera in hand phone in pocket!



Sis-in-law Martha came out from Kelowna for a visit...and that called for another trip to the tulip fields.  They are here only briefly...but make a lasting impression!  Until next year...


We had plenty of sunny days and foggy mornings...with this being my morning view from my pillow.


This was one 'morning view' we weren't real happy about!  It seemed someone decided to do donuts on our front lawn while we were sleeping.  They left their mark.


Besides the blooms...we have enjoyed the birds over here this spring as well.  Some more than others!  I'd be quite happy if the crows kept their distance.


Blackbirds have been singing 'in the dead of the night' at the first sign of dawn...and I've been rewarding them with treats.



The eagles usually leave for the summer months...but these four decided to stick around and watch while the first cut of grass was being harvested. 

Now for some 'personalia'!


Uncle Jake and Aunt Maggie celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  And then they celebrated again at a surprise party earlier this month!  They are near and dear to me...and have been since that day 60 years ago when I was the wee flower girl.  I wish them many more wonderful years together!


And then there was the wedding of this lovely young couple.  They make the car look really old!  So glad we could share their special day with them.



Dad has been coming out to the farm several times a week this spring...to work in his shop.  He completed a few wooden bowls...like the ones he gifted his oldest two great-granddaughters.  Now he has moved on to another project.  Not bad for 93 years old!




Our Maggie has a soft spot in her heart for anyone who is hurting!  Her little lemonade stand raised a lot of money for Alzheimer's research and got the attention of the local media.  So proud of her!


We have a new community forest trail on the eastern hillsides just a few miles from 'my front porch'.  We decided to check it out a few weeks ago.  Beautiful!  The trail work is all being done by volunteers...and meanders through old growth forest and past babbling brooks.



I joined a busload of women on the annual 'Ritchie Smith Ladies Getaway' sponsored by our feed company. Destination?  Victoria.


Butchart Gardens have never looked so lovely!  (They got their own post right here.)



We happened to be in Victoria during a spring heat wave...when temperature records that had stood for over a century were falling.  It was the prefect weather for walking along the inner harbour.


So glad these two 'farm women' have connections to the same feed company!  We had such a fun time together.  Thanks for sharing your room with me, Lovella and Mary!


We enjoyed the ferry ride back to the mainland in the dining room on the Spirit of BC...where we had a lovely dinner and a ringside seat to the best scenery anywhere! 

Every trip seems to come with a little adventure...or should I say, misadventure?  We will never forget the bus ride back to the ferry...where the bus ran into mechanical problems and finally limped onto the ferry.  We made it across...and then bus rolled off the on other side.  But that was as far as it could go!  50 women sat on the causeway wondering how they would get home. Another bus was called out...and we all arrived home safe and sound.  Just a little later than planned!


On the farm...a new bunker silo was completed this month.


And then it was 'the hosting venue' for a hockey tournament by Ryder and his 10-year-old hockey friends.  And now...it is full to the brim of grass silage!


From the field to the bunker...next winter's feed for our dairy cattle.

Let me end this post with a few more of the blooms of April.


The irises have come and gone.  They came from my mother's garden originally...and I think of her every spring.  They used to bloom for Mother's Day...but have been several weeks early these past few years.  Did I mention that this was the warmest and driest April since the 1930's over here?



Never before have my hydrangeas bloomed in April! From now until fall...there will be hydrangeas to enjoy.

That was April through my lens!  Wishing you all a very merry month of May...


18 comments:

  1. And what a special month April was!!! Loved it all from the flowers to your family pics - especially your dad and little Maggie!!! You really do have such a lovely life and I thank you for sharing it with us!

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  2. So much to comment on. I'll start with Maggie's Lemonade stand...what a tender heart! Gotta love a tender heart with a plan, too.

    It looks like May there... so green and lush and the tulip fields so nearby. It is still pretty brown here. I looked at the leaves today and there are many trees that have none. This is very different for my corner. Tomorrow is an anniversary that I remember well and so I have always paid attention to what the weather is like and where spring stands. Not standing so well here these days and another week of below normal temps at least. Enough of that. I'll just revisit you.

    Happy anniversary to your beloved aunt and uncle. So cool. Many more to them!

    Boo hiss on the doughnut maker on your front lawn! Some people's kids!! Perhaps a motion camera is in order. This isn't the first time, is it?

    Those twins have become such beautiful young women. What a special gift from their great-grandfather.

    Here's to May and all the fun it will bring you folks!

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  3. Love that view from your pillow!

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  4. I always enjoy your monthly posts. This is an April that will go down in history for the weather for sure. Early blooms and blossoms are really interesting this year. I've never had to water in April before but this year is different for sure.

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  5. April was a beautiful month up your way! Thanks as always for sharing photos of the lovely place you call home and of all the gorgeous places you visit. I have to admit, the photos of your hydrangeas each year are my favorite. I just love them and they don't do well here in the heat of the desert.

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  6. What a fantastic month! Beautiful post!

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  7. Beautiful pictures from over there Judy! I just love the newspaper article about your kind hearted Magdelyn and Lucy is so darling as she admires her sister! Super sweet! Your dad's smile says it all - such beautiful bowls he has created for those very special young ladies. BTW that "old" car looks timeless as does the young wedding couple! The feed company trip always looks like such fun. Here's to the merry month of May...

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  8. April through your lens is just beautiful! Love the flowers, the blackbirds (with reminder of the song), Lucy's lemonade stand and life away from and on the farm.

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  9. Imagine hydrangeas blooming already! So beautiful! About the birds singing in the not yet quite morning.. yes, I have sometimes looked at the clock to see what time it is since it still seems dark to me. Your Maggie! There are no words for that sweet little girl. God bless her. He has given her a heart of compassion and she'll bless many people in her life if her gifts grow each time she uses them.

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  10. Bless Maggie - what a sweet thing to do!
    You had a busy April - and a blooming one, both home and away. I like the view from your pillow, but then I love a foggy morning.
    So sorry to read about the donuts on your beautiful front lawn. I'm sure the blackbirds could tell you who the culprits were!
    It was lovely to visit on your porch - Happy May!

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  11. What a sweet thing for Maggie to do - such a tender heart is lovely to see. Tulip fields are beautiful things; I'd be doing drive-by "shootings" too. Lovely to see Jake and Maggie, as well. I hope your May is equally beautiful.

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  12. You really are having an amazing spring there Judy. I love the tulip fields and your hydrangea that will bloom for the next several months. Your father is doing amazingly well for 93 years young. He certainly is talented with wood carving. My sister, Margaret, is coming home for a visit for the month of July! I'm pretty excited about that as I know we'll have fun running the roads. She will have one overlap day while our daughter and family are here (for the 2 weeks before she arrives) so will get to meet our grandkids for the first time. It will be a busy summer for me but I'm looking forward to it. Now I must visit your post on the Butchart Gardens that I missed.

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  13. Lovely to look back on your wonderful April moments! It was a great month for you and your family!

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  14. Such beautiful photos Judy... Love the bowls your Dad made, very impressive and does he look great for 93! I recognized the Victoria photo, we so loved the ferry ride adventure last summer...


    Hugs!

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  15. We are visiting your lovely province and find it most beautiful.
    Looks like we are a bit north of you in Terrace, BC.

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  16. You had a wonderful month of April, Judy! Your Dad looks great and the bowls he made your granddaughters are treasures they will always cherish. That was so sweet of Maggie--she has a kind heart. I love tour tulip photos and amazing hydrangeas. It is worrisome about your overly warm weather. I read recently that the arctic ice is melting at an alarming rate and is effecting weather everywhere.

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  17. Isn't it amazing what one can pile into one month? I almost got dizzy reading this....from travels to crops from grandkids with Granpa's. So many special occasions that signify 'happy memories'

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  18. Your month couldn't have been better if it was script-written! and so beautifully recorded, as always. No lemonade stand needed to preserve these memories ! smile

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