guess where I was...again?

I just learned after six years of blogging...

that there is an unspoken rule that you never blog about the same place twice.

Well...since the rule has been broken time and again over here...

let me break it again!

I was at Minter Gardens...

 ...again!

By now you know there are a few things I never tire of.

Friends and flowers! 

And so I returned to Minter Gardens on Monday...

to meet a new/old friend.

 Guess who?

Pamela...

a blogging friend from New Brunswick...

who happens to be in my corner of the world visiting family.

She hardly seemed a stranger to me!

We had a wonderful afternoon...

strolling the gardens and chatting about...

this, that and everything. 

Like old friends do. 

 And playing with our cameras...

of course.

Pam's blog is called 

'Playing With My Camera'...

where she shares her life on the east coast...

in techni-colour! 

Check it out...

you won't be disappointed.

I'm so glad it worked out for us to meet up that way!

 

As we left the gardens...

and passed through the gift shop...

this sign caught my eye.

I like that!

So true.

On this Wednesday I am thankful for flowers and friends.

In particular...
I am most thankful for my best friend...
who is celebrating his 42nd wedding anniversary today.

With me,
of course!

memorable moments at minter gardens....

We were so sorry to hear that our local show garden will be closing this fall.

For good!

It has been a favorite destination of ours through the years...

and we have so many memories connected with gardens.

We went a few days ago...

...and the three grands from next door joined us for a walk-about in the gardens. 

They too have many good memories of the gardens... 

...as they have been there with us many times over the years.

It seems we took a photo at the very same spot on a July visit in 2008.

They always seem to find ways to amuse themselves in a garden...

and rolled down the hills on that long ago summer day.

Things haven't changed a whole lot over the years.

Now they amused themselves by running through sprinklers.

 I have many photos of the lovely 'church in the wildwood' in my files.

Now I have one of kids frolicking on the lawns where the wedding parties usually pose.

I told them it would likely be their last visit to the gardens...

 

...and so they had their last dance.

Emme and Spencer have fond memories of getting lost in the maze which was once a garden feature...
and of visiting Snow White at the gardens long ago.

Ryder joined me for a garden tour in 2009...

and took a break on a park bench.

This week he sat on the same bench...

for the last time.

Back then he found a dwarf in a wee cottage.

This week...

he found he same cottage...

with the dwarf standing guard.

We had a wee surprise as we strolled the paths the other day.

A gardener warned us of a bear...

that had gone up a nearby tree.

We looked up...

and there he was high above us.

That is the first time we have encountered a bear in the gardens.

And the last...
I'm sure.

So many memories!

As we left the gardens...

the grands visited the phone booth.  

They were most intrigued with the phone...

and that one would put in coins to make a phone call.

It had never occurred to me that phone booths are almost a thing of the past.

This one will likely not be around much longer either.

Sometime this fall I will do a 'tribute to Minter Gardens' post...
going back through my photos from the past three decades.
But let me just leave you with one of my most touching memories today...
and that would be my visit to the vintage car show at the gardens in July, 2000.

My dad had a few of his cars at the show...
and we as a family all went to enjoy the day.
My mom was there.
Little did we know that it would be her last outing.

Here she is on that day...
pictured with two of her grandsons.
Several days later she was gone.

That was thirteen years ago...

tomorrow.

She loved flowers and gardens...

and so it was most appropriate that her last outing was to Minter Gardens.

And that is a memory of Minter Gardens that I will always treasure.

Oh, the memories!

 

everything is coming up raspberries...

We live in the raspberry capital of Canada.

Well...

almost!

We live right next door to Abbotsford...

which lays claim to that name.

They even have a raspberry sculpture...

created by artist Manjit Sandhu...

at the roundabout on a main entrance to their city.

It towers high in the air...

and features five giant raspberries attached to an S-shaped tower. 

I like it!

But raspberries grow just fine in Chilliwack as well...

...and I have plenty coming from the short row in my garden.

What to do with them all...

is the question.

 

For the most part...

I have been freezing them on cookie sheets...

and then bagging them.

I'll figure out what to do with them next winter...

when I have nothing else to do. LOL

But yesterday I decided to try making raspberry perogies.

I'm not a perogy maker.

But I thought maybe I could be....

with the help of a little gadget I found in the Steinbach, MB giftshop when I was there.

I noticed Kathy's perogy (Wareniki) recipe in the MGCC cookbook

featured several varieties besides cottage-cheese filled ones.

Her favorites are those with a raspberry filling.

I decided to give it a try.

And now I am a perogy-maker!

Her dough was easy to work with.

They were great!

My mother-in-law used to keep us supplied with perogies...

and we always had fruit-filled ones in the freezer for a quick dessert.

They were my daughter's favorite.

She stopped by yesterday afternoon to eat raspberries...

and had a perogy afternoon snack while she was here.

 My favorite refreshing and cool summertime drink...

is a tall glass of Fresca (grapefruit flavoured) with frozen raspberries instead of ice.

It's that time of year.

Give 'em the old raspberry for dessert!

strawberry delight....

We have been enjoying local strawberries every which way this week.

Crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.

A feast of juicy strawberries over the kitchen sink.

Strawberry shortcake with a group of friends.

Yesterday we had strawberry waffles for lunch at Krause Berry Farms.

Yum!

We have heard much about this farm in recent years...

but this was our first visit.

It is about a 45 minute drive from our place...

and since we were in the area...

we decided to stop by.

We are glad we did!

Who knew...

there are gardens and a market...

and a bakery...

and a winery.

And u-pick berry fields open to the public.

And all things strawberry at this time of year!

The lunch kit reminded me of one my daughter had some 30 years ago.

The ceiling was lined with pie plates.

Rolling pins hung from the beam.

And one whiff of the fresh-baking-aroma...

was enough to make anyone hungry.

I saw this fresh strawberry pie leaving the store...

in the hands of a young gal who said...

'I love my dad!'

Her dad will be thrilled!

Who knew old church benches would one day provide ringside seating at a strawberry field?

I had to think about these washroom signs for a moment.

Cute!

Out in the fields...

families were picking strawberries to their hearts delight.

'Tis the local strawberry season.

Don't miss it.

They are the best!

I'll add one more garden photo.

Just because...

that's where I am today.

In a garden!

I'm enjoying the annual Rotary Garden Tour...

a ticket to view beautiful private gardens in my home town.

It's always a treat!

Have a great weekend!

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!