the merry month of may...

The apple trees blossomed and the grasses grew...

...and down on the farm there was plenty to do.  That's how it always is in May. 

And on May third we had a few birthdays and decided to celebrate with a girl's luncheon this year...in honour of Ranen and Auntie Broni's special day.  And then we took in a local production of Anne of Green Gables together in the afternoon.  It was all good!

Mother's Day turned out to be a beautiful, warm day.  We gathered up some books, a picnic lunch and a blanket and headed for Silver Lake...a short 40 minute drive from here.  Though there were a few paddlers out on the water...we had the park almost to ourselves.  It was a lovely afternoon!  Once we got home...the kids came by. 

A few of them had fun frolicking in the tall grass with their 'mamma'!  Last chance...since the grass was slated to come down in the morning.

And it did.  It was a bumper first-cut crop this year...with far more grass than the bunker could hold.  I think that is a good problem!

They worked long and crazy hours on the farm...trying to get all the cropping done.

And while they were making hay on the ground below...they had live entertainment up above!  It seemed there was work to be done on the wires...though it looked rather like a circus act to me.

Maggie came for a sleepover one night...and we took a hike up to Bridal Veil Falls together.  Spring is the best time to visit the park...with the spring run-off creating a veil of cascading water. 

On our way to and from the falls...we passed by grandpa who was preparing a field to be planted in corn.  Maggie thought we might stop for a bit so she could ride along...and so we did!

Victoria Day is one holiday that is seldom recognized on the farm...since there is no time for playing when there is work to be done.  When some friends invited us to join them for an outing to the racetrack at Hastings Park in Vancouver on the holiday Monday, hubby decided that the corn planting could wait until 'tomorrow' and we would go.

Our friends had a horse racing for the first time that day.  Wind Hammer did them proud and placed third.  It was a great run for a young horse...and we'll be keeping an eye on that horse over the coming months. 

The corn got planted despite our time off to go to the races!  By now it is up...and before long the fields will be green.

Wisteria, clematis, lilacs and irises all bloomed merrily this month...and the red-winged blackbirds sang from morn until night. The month of May has once again come and gone...but the memories live on!

 The world's favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.

 ~  Edwin Way Teale

meanwhile back at the ranch...

Though I've been posting about faraway places that we visited this summer...

life on the home front has carried on as usual.

So I will leave Philadelphia for another time...

and share a few things from the here and now!

The grass fields were all mowed down on Wednesday...

and with a little lot of help from our friends...

the final crop of the year is now in the bunker for the winter.
The storms are on their way...
starting today...
so there was no time to spare!

Why does it seem the seasons come and go more quickly than ever?

It's fall.  

The sweet autumn clematis is in full bloom...

and there is fresh snow on Mt. Cheam peak this week.

The tomato season is about over for this year as well...

so I quickly made up a batch of salsa this week.

That should provide a little heat come winter!

 

I have a sweet grand daughter who is turning five years old this weekend...

and requested a treasure chest cake for her birthday party.

Since I'll be away the next few days...

(check out the book launch events in Vancouver and Victoria this weekend)
the cake got made and delivered in advance.

The years have flown by...
and I can hardly believe she is already five.

 But there she is...
quite fearless when it comes to rowing a boat on her own...

...or climbing a sheer rock wall!

But not quite so fearless when it involves riding the bus to kindergarten without mommy.

She is always lending a helping hand to her sister...
and looking out for her friends.


I treasure all the memories of the good times we have shared over these five years.
 Happy Birthday to our dear Maggie!


 

this 'n that...

I'm ending the week with a bit of this...

and a bit of that!

The second crop of grass came in off the fields last week.

Most of it is in the bunker.

Once the bunker was full...

the rest got wrapped up in plastic.

We know the drill quite well over here already.

As soon as the grass is off the field...

a nice thick layer of organic fertilizer goes on.

It doesn't smell so good!

It seems that is just when overnight guests arrive.

Right, Ellen?

On a brighter note...

...the last of this year's peonies are putting on a show along my rail fence.

They smell most delightful!

Lucy came to visit earlier this week.
She immediately wanted to go see the cows...
with Grandpa.
She came without a jacket...
and it was drizzling out.

 So we found an old sweater that was once her mommy's...
...and it did the trick.
She wore it home...
along with a smile!

It is only mid-June...

and I have been to Minter Gardens three times already this season.

I'm thinking the annual pass will pay off this year!

Strolling through the gardens right after shower is a good thing.

Who knew rain drops could look so good?

Raindrops on roses...

...and Beethoven's  'ode to joy'  played by my grand daughter.

I so enjoyed her year-end recital.

Now those are a few of my favorite things.

Have a wonderful weekend!
 

joy-riding...

The text said...

The girls are coming across the fields to return the wiener roast sticks they borrowed.

Did I know they borrowed our roasting sticks?

I looked out the window...

and they were already on their way.

Why walk...when one can take the 'scraper tractor'?

And it seems their friends like nothing better than getting behind the wheel...

when they come for a visit.

They were bouncing through the field...
without a care in the world...
when suddenly there was a German Shepherd dog hot on their tail.

They looked a little concerned!

Whew...
they arrived safely at 'my back porch'...
sticks in hand.

The dog owner arrived shortly thereafter...
all out of breath...
coming to retrieve his run-away Shepherd.

 

Joy-riding in the fields with a friend...

late Saturday evening...

all wearing pyjamas.

That is what Emme and Spencer do for fun on a long weekend!

Oh...

and I hear they had their first real babysitting job over the weekend as well.
Time hurries on!

just visiting...

 We get visitors over here on occasion.

Some are invited.

Some just show up.

This one came by at breakfast time the other morning.

I watched him from my kitchen window.

When he confirmed that we had not left him any scraps...

he carried on across the fields.

Though there are lots of coyotes around here...

they are quite spooky and don't usually venture close to our yard.

We had summer weather for two weeks.

It's gone now...

but I have photos from a few days ago to remind me!

Maggie and Lucy came to visit.

They love filling up the bird feeder.

Grammy is sometimes negligent in keeping it topped up.

They always check!

We pulled out the hoses...

and set up the sprinkler...

 and they had fun!

Cheap entertainment!

Grandpa wonders why we go through so many sprinklers.

It could be because they don't always quite make 'the jump'. :)

I suggested we bake cookies...

with smarties.

Not little ones...

a big pizza cookie-cake like we had for Ranen's birthday

...was Maggie's request.

What fun!

Surprisingly...

there were even Smarties left to decorate the pizza.

Smartie pizza on a beach towel in the summer sun hit the spot.
(Click link for recipe.)

And the rest of the pizza went home...

to share with mommy and daddy.

I had another visitor this week.

Pondside was in the area on business...

...and we had such fun catching up.

We always do.

She wasn't driving her little red car.

She won't be anymore.

Check out her story here.

Today I plan to be the visitor.

I'm off to visit my granddaughter's brand new school.

They moved into their new facilities last month...

and I'm going for a tour today.

Have a wonderful Wednesday...

whatever it may hold for you!

 

meanwhile...back at the the ranch

It's that time of year.

When the sun shines there is work to be done out in the fields.

The winter wheat all came off the field last week.

I brought lunch out to the field one day...

and found that it was not a welcome interruption for some!

Micah was riding along with Grandpa...

and really did not want to stop for lunch.

I got a message from my grands over at the farm on Saturday...

that I needed to 'come see'.

Indy had her pups.

Five in all.

What fun they will have...
the grands and the pups!

Emme, Spencer and Ryder were not all that thrilled with Indy's timing...
since they were all on their way to the provincial jump rope competition...
where Emme was competing over the weekend.
(Emme on the left in the video clip)
She did us all proud...
in a category where she was the youngest.

.

We took Lucy and Maggie over to see the puppies in the evening...
but kept our distance.

And then we had to do a quick barn tour as well...

...since every trip to the farm must include a visit to the cows.

This week the sun is shining...
and it will be downright warm by the weekend.
The plan is to harvest all the grass fields on the farm before the week is done.

And that is what is happening on the farm these days.