Lori

my week: May 26 – June 1, 2025

Ah, June. *blows raspberry* My eleventh favourite month. It’s hot. It’s buggy. It’s sunny all the godforsaken time. And always at the back of my mind is the thought that it will only get worse from here. I am not a pleasure to be around these days, I’m sure, and won’t be for a long time. Every year, I’m already over summer before it even officially arrives.

The only good things about late May are Foster’s birthday (takeout Chinese food and homemade chocolate cake for #25) and lots of interesting birds in the backyard. Merlin hears dozens of species every day and I’d spend more time on the deck watching for them if it weren’t so hot and buggy and pollen-y. We seemed to specialize in Warblers this past week: Merlin heard Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, Canada, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Wilson’s, Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warblers, in addition to Red-eyed Vireos, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, Barn, Bank and Tree Swallows, Canada Jays, Bobolinks, American Redstarts, Veeries, Red-eyed Vireos, Grey Catbirds, Northern Mockingbirds, Purple Finches, Barred Owls and Common Yellowthroats. 

I got a few snapshots:

That last photo is a grackle youngster patiently waiting for mum and dad to come back.

The lilacs and flowering almond are on their way out:

On Saturday, Anna and I transplanted a million bean, tomato, zucchini, cucumber, watermelon and pepper seedlings and Charlotte dug not one but two whole new garden beds to accommodate her transplants and all the ones I’ve run out of room for. I overdid the seed starting, as usual. 

This girl is the garden supervisor:

She does not tolerate laziness.

We’ve been watching more episodes of The Brokenwood Mysteries in the evenings and I’ve been reading Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh and The Complete Father Brown Stories by GK Chesterton.

At this time of year, I’m always tempted to stay up reading really late, which would allow me to avoid more of the next day’s sun, but it’s hard to be nocturnal and still operate in our sunlight-obsessed society. I saw this the other day and it made me laugh:

Somebody out there gets me.

my week: May 19-25, 2025

May 19 was the 15th birthday of The World’s Cutest and Best Boy:

When you’re that old you get to stand on the table for photos.

We’ve been lucky enough to have a cool, wet spring so far, which means I’ve been willing to do more in the garden (weeding, transplanting leeks, lettuce and nasturtiums) and all the blooms have lasted longer:

Merlin is propped in the window pretty much all day long and is hearing some super cool birds, like Bobolinks, Dickcissels, Chimney Swifts, Soras, Eastern Wood-Pewees, Canada Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, Indigo Buntings, Northern Mockingbirds, Killdeer, Chipping Sparrows, American Redstarts, Great Blue Herons and too many others to list. There are Baltimore Orioles nesting in the copper beech, Song Sparrows nesting in the raspberries, American Robins nesting under the deck, and those are just the ones we’ve stumbled across. 

It hasn’t been a brilliant week for photos of anyone or anything because of the rain and grey skies, but I’ve tried:

Every single one of those bird photos was taken in the pouring rain so they aren’t the clearest, but what can you do.

I’m continuing to plough through the Phryne Fisher novels (The Green Mill Murder this week), which are good bedtime fare, and have been skimming Turning to Birds by Lili Taylor. I usually like reading about other people’s interest in birdwatching, but her frequent humblebrags about being A Famous Actress make me roll my eyes a bit.

Anna and I spent part of the weekend bingeing two of the three seasons of Motherland on BritBox – and have plans to finish the third and final season tonight. What a great show. Hilarious.

my week: May 12-18, 2025

I always feel like spring days need to be 30 hours long to even have a chance at getting everything done, but especially this year. Errands, appointments, the installation of a new router and cable box with a steep learning curve, our wedding anniversary (#28), the gardens in their springtime frenzy, and, most importantly, Anna’s nerve-wracking push to complete the conditions required to finalize her house offer, which is now officially completed. Exciting times, but I miss the slow, quiet days of winter.

I’ve been starting seeds (cucumber, zucchini, various beans, melons, winter squash) and weeding and transplanting seedlings (lettuce, beans, strawflowers, calendula) and harvesting kale, chives, chard and lots of asparagus, in addition to many vases’ worth of tulips and daffodils. I don’t enjoy planting bulbs in November, but boy am I glad come spring.

This is also a great time for bird-watching and -listening. Merlin is hearing so many species that are just passing through or are here for the summer: American Redstart; Least Flycatcher; Wilson’s, Magnolia, Yellow, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers; Dickcissel; Chimney Swift; Ovenbird; Willet; Bank, Tree and Northern Rough-winged Swallows; American Pipit; Killdeer; Grey Catbird; Least Sandpiper; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; and, in great abundance this year, Baltimore Oriole.

There must be other nests, but here’s one they’re building in the copper beech tree:

Anna and I sat on the deck for a bit on a couple of afternoons and watched Orioles fly back and forth across the yard dozens of times, yelling their heads off the whole way.

I haven’t had a lot of photo opportunities, but I did nab a Yellow Warbler (albeit a bit blurry, like all my Yellow Warbler shots) and a less exciting, but still beautiful European starling:

I also captured Evie mulling over her ability to leap 20 feet into the air to catch one of these noisy things in her mouth:

At night, I’ve been reading Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood and The World According to Cunk by Philomena Cunk. With an empty cable box, I’ve had time to get back to watching library DVDs of The Brokenwood Mysteries, an enjoyable series from New Zealand.  

my week: May 5-11, 2025

Just this past week, all the trees have fully leafed out and the serviceberries are blooming and the gardens are taking off. Spring has sproinged. I’ve been picking lots of asparagus, daffodils and tulips:

Anna’s house-buying preparations continue and wow, is there a lot to keep track of. Mortgage brokers, insurance brokers, house inspectors, septic inspectors, appraisers, lawyers, real estate agents – emailing people and attending appointments has been almost a full-time job for her for more than a week now. It has completely cured me of any desire to move. What a hassle.

Buying a house has also been instructive for her (and me and our immediate family) when it comes to what we all thought were reasonably good relationships. There’s nothing like taking a big, scary step to show you which people in your life are supportive and excited for you and which people can only criticize or, almost worse, can’t be bothered to say a thing. It will never fail to amaze me how certain people who are more than old enough to know better do not in fact know better. 

On a less infuriating note, it was a pretty good week for wildlife:

While I’m always watching the trees, Charlotte spotted this handsome devil in the grass:

Evie was a capable assistant in the garden on Friday afternoon, shredding weeds for the compost and breaking down old corn stalks and trying to eat bumblebees and barking at birds and following along behind me to remove little twigs I inserted to help identify where I’d sown seeds.

Sunday was Mother’s Day and we had a nice lunch here with the kids and my mother. I spent the afternoon on the couch with my feet up, watching the ball game and taking no responsibility for meal plans and it was great.

With so much to discuss in the evenings, I still haven’t been reading or watching as much as usual, but that’s okay because there will be more than enough time for that all too soon. In the few minutes before bed each night, I’ve been enjoying Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood. On Saturday and Sunday, Anna and I binged on several episodes of Stath Lets Flats, which I adore. It’s brilliant.

my week: April 28 – May 4, 2025

Holy cow, what a week.

Monday evening: Anna spots a very nice, brand new listing on realtor.ca

Tuesday evening: we attend a viewing and love it

Wednesday evening: the agent tells Anna an offer has been submitted already

Thursday evening: we view it again

Friday evening: Anna submits an offer

Saturday afternoon: her offer is accepted

And just like that, months ahead of schedule, Anna now owns a house. (Conditional on the house inspection and all that jazz, but still.) It is a beautifully renovated old house on a lovely parcel of land with an amazing view. Yes, I am jealous. But the best news is that it’s five minutes away, max.

Between all the house excitement and a last-minute trip to the vet with Evie (nothing critical, just a small sore that needs a bit of ointment) I haven’t had much of a chance to do a lot else.

I’ve been out picking flowers:

and checking on the asparagus, garlic, lettuce, chard, peas and strawberries, all of which are coming along nicely. 

The spring migrants are here: last week, Merlin heard Baltimore Orioles, Eastern Kingbirds, Eastern Phoebes, Belted Kingfishers, Yellow Warblers, Great Blue Herons, Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, Indigo Buntings and Yellow-billed Sapsuckers in addition to all our usual crew.

Sunday afternoon, Foster spotted an injured American Goldfinch on the deck:

I think he is a breeding male, but I could be wrong. He must have flown into the last remaining plexiglass panel along the edge of the deck. Ugh, how we hate those things. We kept him warm and dry until he felt a bit better, then put him in an open-sided cage until he was ready to leave:

Foster saw him fly off, so other than the cracked beak, he must have been okay. Poor little guy, I don’t like his chances with such an injury, but here’s hoping he can learn to adapt. 

I’ve been so tired every night that I haven’t read much and have only half-listened to ballgames because we’ve been discussing house stuff. After reminiscing a couple weeks ago about how much the kids (and I) liked the cartoon Phineas and Ferb, I ordered some DVDs from the library and we watched a few Sunday night, which was fun. Boy, did it take me back 15 years or so.

my favourite reads of April 2025

April was such a crazy busy month around here that my reading routine really took a hit. I got bogged down in a few books that I should have given up on – when I ask myself if I should keep reading to see if it gets better, the answer should almost always be NO – but I did read a few worth mentioning:

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025)

A memoir of her time as Director of Public Policy at Facebook and wow, does it sound absolutely miserable. Eventually fired for complaining about the unrelenting sexual overtures and innuendo from her male boss, Wynn-Williams decided to go public about the toxic people and attitudes at FB HQ and I don’t blame her. 

Interesting, appalling, and infuriating.

Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh (1935)

An actor is killed on stage during a performance, but the amusing and appealing Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn just so happens to be in the audience and solves the crime.

Good fun. I liked it a lot

.

Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz (2014)

Shortly after Sherlock Holmes and super-villain Professor James Moriarty have apparently battled to the death at Reichenbach Falls, a Pinkerton’s agent and Scotland Yard detective team up to hunt down an American super-villain quickly taking over where Moriarty’s evil-doing left off.

It took me a while to get into it, but that’s probably because I was rushed and distracted. It grew on me, though, and I enjoyed it.

The Twat Files by Dawn French (2023)

A memoir of stupid, insensitive, reckless, silly, selfish, hurtful, short-sighted things she has done – the kinds of things you lie awake at night torturing yourself over.

Funny, relatable and perfectly human.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (2024)

Elite bodyguard Amy is being framed for a series of murders and enlists her father-in-law Steve and current client Rosie to help her figure out who is trying to destroy her and why.

Fun, quick-paced, humorous. I seem to enjoy everything Osman writes.

my week: Apr 21-27, 2025

Busy, busy week of cooking and cleaning and gardening and baking and errands and trying (and failing) to deal with the chaos created by adding another household to one that was already over-full.

Luckily, there were birds:

And not birds:

The weather was perfect for walking:

But not for much longer because things are definitely heating up. Boo hiss.

I’ve been reading The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh and The Tempest by Shakespeare, and watching Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. So good.

my week: Apr 14-20, 2025

The big excitement of the week was, of course, the arrival of Anna, Cam and Evie (and all their stuff) so Anna can begin her new job. This is a very busy and stressful time for them so my job has been to keep the treats coming. Treats are my love language. So are flowers.

The spring bird migrants are beginning to arrive. This past week, Merlin heard the Red Crossbill a few times, as well as Purple Finches and Eastern Phoebes in addition to all our usual suspects. I didn’t get any photos of the visitors, but I did take these:

One of these things is not like the others…

My entertainment time has taken a bit of a hit lately, but I did watch another Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and read The Twat Files by Dawn French and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth and Twelfth Night.