We have a simple routine, slow walking, swimming in the pools, beach combing reading and we try to eat healthy meals.
We spend a lot of our day and early evenings on the deck
the weather has been marvelous
even HOT!
I posted a picture of these pretty periwinkle blue flowers on my Instagram page
and a reader mentioned that they were called wild chicory.
They grow tall and line the roadsides here on Pender Island.
So delicate and I love the colour...
they remind me of the South of France
where the doors and shutters are painted a similar shade of blue-y mauve.
Queen Anne's Lace grows wild
it is frequently growing right next to the wild chicory.
Another plant that thrives here is Yarrow.
I love the mustard shade and the bees like it too.
This bush is found dotting the landscape...
I must find out its name...
if you know its name please leave me a comment.
I have been enjoying fresh fruit and yogurt for breakfast.
It is so quick to prepare and the juicy nectarines are full of flavour.
Dahlias and fresh strawberries from the Farmers Market
I read both of these books and I highly recommend The Lost Vintage...
if you enjoyed The Nightingale I think you will love Ann Mah's book.
The Three Things about Elsie is about the elderly...
it delves into dementia but it is actually a fun read.
The characters are interesting
plus a mystery is woven into the text with an unexpected outcome.
I really liked Joanna Cannon's first novel The Trouble With Goats and Sheep
which I also recommend.
I have started reading Kristin Hannah's Home Front...
will share more on that when I have finished it.
We discovered a sandy beach at the bottom of a steep trail...
I found more sea glass here than on any other beach so far!
I love the aqua glass chunks as they are not as common as the brown and whites.
I am test driving a new nail polish...
this one claims to be chip free and I am tough on my nails as I garden so much and my hands are rarely idle.
I indulged in a wee bit of pampering yesterday afternoon.
A lovely pedicure by a delightful young woman who lives on the island and runs a small business.
The shade that I chose is a vibrant pinky OPI polish called California Raspberry.
It's a breezy day here...
the laundry is whizzing around in the machine.
I've tidied up, watered the outdoor garden by hand and am about to put my nose back in my book.
Hope that you are enjoying some restorative lazy days of summer.
~ Be Well and Be Kind ~
I've tried that nail polish. My nails stayed unchipped a bit longer. Wildflowers and sea glass are a perfect restorative holiday.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be holding up well which is encouraging!
DeleteI believe the mystery bush is a Snowberry (Symphoricarpos). Pender is so lovely...thanks for posting all the great photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you for telling us the name of the bush.
DeleteYes, a snowberry. Do NOT let the children eat the berries! Love your 'island' posts, by the way. Quite envious!
DeleteAll these long and frequent holidays must be nice for you, but what about your poor cats?
ReplyDeleteThey are in great hands, we have a caring kind and responsible cat lover staying at our house while we are away. She takes very good care of them...they are pampered felines.
DeleteRestorative - such good word. Your time at the cottage sounds lovely and just that - restorative.
ReplyDeleteThe views of the sea and surrounded by nature soothes us and we sleep well. We really feel very fortunate to be here.
DeleteYour cottage seems idyllic - so serene and peaceful and a perfect view. Do you ever paint there? I love collecting beach glass and shells, can spend hours doing it.
ReplyDeleteI bought a portable easel and a tub of paints with me last year and I did paint a few canvases. I will do so again when the weather gets cooler and we spend more time indoors.
DeleteYour days on the island sound ideal. Time to reflect, contemplate and enjoy the environment. Splendid. That blue periwinkle flower is lovely. I now want a dress or blouse in that color. Nature is inspiring in so many ways. Susan
ReplyDeleteIt’s a beautiful shade...I have 3 French pottery yogurt jars in that very shade and they are so cheerful. Good luck dress shopping!
DeleteI think that could be a snowberry. https://www.thespruce.com/common-snowberry-growing-profile-3269157
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see some flowers I have never met: my favourite shade of blue in the wild chicory, and the Queen Anne's lace which is so pretty. The mustard plant is stunning too. Great colours in the dahlias too - I think Pender Island must be a very fertile and sunny place! I like the sound of California raspberry, and will look out for it in the Spring when I get the toe nails painted again :)
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a fertile island as so much of the produce at the farm stands and markets are really large and incredibly tasty.
DeleteYour photos are always so beautiful, they transmit peacefulness; a reminder to slow down and live our surroundings. Thank you Leslie for sharing all of this with us.
ReplyDeleteGreetings Maria x
Since I started blogging I have really enjoyed taking photos to augment my writing, and frequently the photos are what inspire me to write a blog post.
DeleteThe sea and books-perfect combination
ReplyDeleteYour Pender Island looks like a paradise
Chicory was pretty common flower in the fields and I love its colour and modest beauty-it is beautiful,no? I don't see it so often any more lately,but it puts smile on my face every time I see it
Enjoy your holidays
Dottoressa
The wild chicory is especially pretty as it edges the dry grass that line the roads...I love the colour...so cheerful and bright. I was tempted to pick a few flowers but thought not after considering that I may be robbing the plant of its energy...often wild flowers die once the flowers are picked.
DeleteThis sounds so lovely! We all need the water and the sunshine in the summer. There is such a thing as chicory coffee, made from the roots of the chicory plant. I've never tasted it, but I think it was a good substitute for people in the past who couldn't get hold of or afford real coffee. I have been enjoying some quiet days of reading, too. So restorative, as you say. xo Deborah
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried chicory coffee either...I read about it in novels set during wartime and the Great Depression years. I highly recommend Kristin Hannah's novels...she lives in the PNW and so I know many of the areas that she mentions in her novels.
DeleteWhat are you reading ?
Such beautiful photos! And, from your narrative, I can just feel the peacefulness of this cottage.
ReplyDeleteIt's idyllic...just wish that Mom could have visited...she would have loved it.
DeleteLOVE YARROW TOO...............
ReplyDeleteSOUNDS like a BEAUTIFUL SUMMER!!!
Mine is racing by..........I put up a NEW POST on the SUMMER SOIREE IN THE GARDEN take a peek if you have time.
XX
I will pop right over and read it!
DeleteI think your plant is indeed snowberry. In the house I grew up in here in the Scottish Highlands it formed a huge hedge. One of my earliest memories is popping the white berries between thumb and finger and being told not to!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to see glimpses of a Gulf Island. My Canadian cousins have a cabin on Mayne Island and your post brings back happy summer memories.
Yes, I think so: Symphoricarpos albus - common snowberry.
Delete