AUTUMN THOUGHTS

My mother used to say a pink sky at sunset means a cool morning to follow...

Hope so - thanks Mum!

My antique pansies are showing some delicious Autumn tones..

and we have thousands of these orange berries on a tree  

some call Sheena's Gold - I am not sure if that is its real name.

It has blue flowers also.

In a triumph of hope over experience, I bought some potted tulips at Coles.

Tulips are not something grown in the tropics, but I am undeterred.

After they flower, I will plant them in the 'cold' garden at the back of the house.

It gets only morning sun, and is cool enough to occasionally produce a daffodil, much to my delight.

Why not tulips?

Little Aussie came to visit yesterday.

He is getting So Tall, and is such fun to be with. 

 We love that he loves visiting us...

Aussie remains crazy for Star Wars, so we watched part of the original trilogy..

Naturally, we played lego...

But, now we really know he is growing up -

the first thing he put together was 'A resort!'

I took these pictures of Lilacs in Canada in 2013..

Isn't it beautiful?

And the scent is divine...

Long-term readers know I sing with the Choir for Ladies of a Certain Age..

Last week we rehearsed the old war-time song: We'll Gather Lilacs:

sweet and sentimental, but so retro, it has to be back in vogue...

Won't be long now, and I'll be gathering lilacs in the Spring again too...

Have a lovely week.

XXXX

THE TULIP LEGACY

Hi,

I'm still loving the flowers of the northern Spring..

Every Spring, Ottawa hosts the Canadian Tulip Festival, along the banks of the Rideau Canal and Dow's Lake.

During World War 11, the Dutch Royal Family found sanctuary in Ottawa.

Then Princess Juliana, her husband and daughters lived here and participated in daily Canadian life.

In 1945 the Dutch Royal Family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs in thanks to Canada.  Now Holland sends 20,000 bulbs annually in an enduring friendship.

A Man with Two Hats statue symbolises this friendship between nations - 
there are two, one in Ottawa and one in Holland.

Park Omega, Quebec, where the animals speak French...

We were greeted by this statue of L'Orignal - the moose -
Sadly Spring is not the season for magnificent antlers and this is what we saw:

It's just not the same, is it!

The Arctic Fox - tiny and pretty

Lac des castors

Still no sign of red cardinals, so I bought Un foulard orange decore d'oiseaux!
(with thanks to Grandmama)

Bonjour!

xxxx