Holidaze at Quarterdeck Cottage

The lazy daze of summer...

Simple meals

family

pooltime

Sun

Gazing at the Bees collecting pollen from the flowers 

can hold the attention of a sweet girl.

Sunshine 

 a bright bold yellow flower.

Buzzing Busy Bees...

bees on almost every bloom.

We had the grandchildren here for a week and it has flown by so fast.

They left on the ferry on Friday...

I will miss their happy laughter and energy.

Simple daisies

blooming at the side of the road.

Love these humble beauties...

there is something so classic about these blooms.

I like to pick a few and pop them in a jam jar.

Behold the beauty of this gorgeous Dahlia!

Mom grew dahlias when we lived in Oak Bay.

Her garden was quite lovely and she spent many hours every week tending to the perennial beds.

She had a dedicated section for her beloved Dahlias.

Some of the flowers were as big a dinner plates.

When dahlia season was at its' peak 

mom would pack a variety of dahlias to bring inside the house.

There would be vases in almost every room.

Oh those were the days...

We've got my sister and her husband coming to the cottage today for a visit so I will close for now.

Hope that your summer is ticking along nicely.

Stay safe.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

 

Thanks to the bees...

We would be in serious trouble if it were not for the many hard working bees.

They work tirelessly pollinating flowers and crops.

I applaud their work and am grateful that they visit our garden every day.

Agapanthus

I grow these in the garden beds out front and in pots on the patio in the back of the Humble Bungalow Garden.

We grow white as well as the blue variety.

A multi coloured hydrangea

pink blue and mauve.

Busy bees

Purple hydrangea

Artichoke flower close up...

Bee on the Wild Chicory

Alliums

French Bee glasses

These are our everyday glasses

we also have a pitcher and two flutes for bubbly.

Bee close up on our Allium 

Deep inside the digitalis aka Foxglove

Bee on an allium

The bees in our garden buzz in large groups on the lavenders and the sea holly.

We have the local mason bees as well as the honey and bumble bees

in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

Hope you have enjoyed this post...

thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Bee Well and Bee Kind ~

Busy Bees...flowers and food from The Humble Bungalow garden.

Hip Hip Hooray!
Sunflower season is upon us and bunches and bunches of these gorgeous flowers are waiting to be scooped up from the Farm Stands and Flower shops.

Such a cheery yellow flower...

so simple and when massed together they make a bold bouquet.

The bees are attracted to these beautiful big blooms.

Look at all the pollen that this worker bee has on its wings and body!

Another bee gathering pollen...looks like the pollen is dropping off the wings

I managed to capture another worker bee in flight...

with so many bees on the sunflowers you could hear them buzzing.

Bees seem to be plentiful here in The Humble Bungalow Garden and for that I am grateful as we have been enjoying the first taste of our tomato crop.

The greenhouse is proving to be quite valuable...

we had our first cucumber last weekend and the flavour was so sweet.

Heirloom tomato "Salad" variety served on top of butter lettuce leaves.

Sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper with a light drizzle of dressing...

yummy!

I was busy running errands and it was noon before I knew it

so I took myself out for a quick bite 

a curried vegetable wrap and a side of salad

sitting at an outdoor table in the sunshine 

with the sounds of the birds and the scent of the sea...

 a lovely summer holiday moment

and I did not need to travel far...

Hope you are having a fabulous week.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Shaken and stirred...

Last week I had a very unsettling experienced and it has stayed with me...
I am still trying to make sense of it.

It's something that has completely blind sided me

and left me quaking...

I was driving in my car...a Volvo estate, along a quiet street in Oak Bay.

 In case you are not familiar with these cars they are a very sturdy and heavy vehicle.

Anyway...

I was driving at 40 km, which is the new speed limit in our residential areas of town, 

when and I passed a cyclist.

The next thing I heard was shouting and swearing.

 When I looked back in my rear view mirror and saw the cyclist racing up to my window.

He was shouting and swearing saying I had clipped the mirror on his handle bar.

I said "oh my goodness I am So Sorry if I hit you I am SO very sorry."

"Are you OK?"

(I felt and heard nothing inside the car even though the windows were wide open)

He said "You are NOT SORRY"

"You are a terrible driver!"

"You were going too fast and passed me between two parked cars!"

I said "I am Sorry if I clipped your mirror."

"I didn't think I had passed that close to you."

By this time he was red in the face, and still yelling so I suggested that we call the police.

He was having none of this and yelled at me as he sped off...

"Respect the bike, Respect the bike!"

He then rode right through the stop sign and swerved onto the road ahead...

my heart was pounding and I was shaken.

I looked around for witnesses and saw no one.

I slowly drove away looking to see if he was in sight.

He was nowhere to be seen.

As soon as I got home I got on the phone to the police and made a full report...

I explained how shaken up I was by this event.

It was all the yelling and swearing that had me so upset.

I was not even sure that my car came in contact with his mirror but if it did I wanted them to know.

(I looked at the passenger side of my car and could find no evidence of any marks or scratches)

The report was filed and within the hour I received a call from the Police...

The previous week there was a report exactly like mine...

a driver reported a cyclist who intimated that his bike had been hit 

the driver had no idea or evidence to that effect

an apology was forthcoming ~ despite lots of shouting from the cyclist.

The driver had filed a report with the station and the cyclist had not.

The officer assured me that I was right to report the event and counselled me not to lose any sleep.

I consider myself a very careful driver and I look for cyclists.

I obey the speed limits and am very aware of pedestrians.

I drive defensively...

Now I am left uncertain, shaken and wondering...

and I'll never know for sure.

Sitting with a mug of Lapsang Souchong Tea

on my wee patio

by the back door

listening to the birds

watching the bees flit from flower to flower

trying to make sense of this event.

What have I learned from this?

I'll never know if my car clipped his mirror...

but one thing for sure is that I'll be on the look out for this same cyclist

in case it happens again.

Life is full of unanswered questions...

Thank goodness for the roses...

they are such a cheerful tonic and I hope in time this feeling of unease will fade.

Hope you enjoy your weekend.

Hostess

XO

OOTD ~ Boots!

Today I wore boots and the weather is sunny and hot...
boots were required footwear as I spent the better part of the day mucking about in the dirt.

I just finished rinsing them off as they were caked with mud.

Did I mention that I am a really messy gardener?

There is no way I can stay clean...dirt smears on my face and arms.

I wear gloves but I somehow still get dirt under my nails...

I clean up fine afterwards when I come inside.

I often wonder what the neighbours who walk by and stop to chat must think.

They must be amused by my state of dress.

I garden in Yoga Capri's and a Tee shirt.

Socks and Boots!

I worked out front of our Humble Bungalow today...

I was focusing on a bed that has had a massive cull of weeds...

well they are not weeds exactly they are just behaving like weeds.

Invasive euphorbia and dog violets.

Both are on my "naughty list."

This bed is a bit of a mixed bag...

once the weeds were removed and a few random pieces of slate there was a lot of bare spaces.

Original plants are:

Japanese Red Maple planted in a pot

Eryngium (Sea Holly)

Lavender

Giant Rudbeckia

Boxwood Hedge on one side

Rose (placed on the boulevard for free)

 Libertia

Anchusa

Lady's Mantle

Ground cover the name escapes me

pot filled with spurge and a hosta

New plants:

Blue Fescue grasses

 Bugbane

 Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker) with lime green flowers

a variegated spurge

Blue Salvias 

Russian Sage 

Yellow Rudbeckia

Limelight Hydrangea

All of these are reported to be deer resistant plants.

Eryngium

slightly prickly 

The bees love it!

Black Mondo Grass with a lime green rock plant.

Sum and Substance Hosta Boxwood in urn

Hydrangea and Gertrude Jekyll Rose in background.

Coreopsis 

Lily of the Valley (used as a ground cover)

McCartney Rose (on the left)

Jude the Obscure David Austin Rose (on the right)

Hydrangeas

Nerine Bowdenii

Limelight hydrangea

on pergola Constance Spry David Austin Rose

Area at head of the gravel driveway

Assorted Grasses

Hostas

Hellebore

Variegated Iris

Variegated Sedum

Potted Hens and Chicks

Crocosmia

Mr. HB printed off a garden plan and we have been discussing some of the options to reduce the time spent toiling in the garden in order to leave some time to actually sit and enjoy the space!

On his list is a green house which we plan to have installed so that we can grow tomatoes and a few veggies.

The overhaul of the lawn is probably the biggest job and will make a huge difference.

We plan to grass in most of the north side yard behind the gate in the back and fill in many of the beds and redo the entire back lawn and remove a few other beds.

Anyways those plans are a bit off in the future.

So I must content myself with small improvements that I can do by myself until I can find a strong garden helper.

I must close for now and prepare dinner...

I've worked up quite an appetite with all the digging and planting today.

We are indulging in a seldom served treat...

BBQ Beef Burgers with coleslaw.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog...

I appreciate you stopping by The Humble Bungalow.