Little Country Girls first trip to the big city - Canada Blooms

On March 24th, Little Country Girl and I got on a charter bus and headed to Toronto for the Canada Blooms flower and garden festival.  While I was born and raised in the city, this was Little Country Girls first trip beyond the northern suburbs. Her eyes were open with fascination as she noticed a definite change in the landscape ... "there are so many buildings Mom!"

And so much TRAFFIC!

The first thing we saw as we entered the building was this display of wood, Forsythia and Daffodils 

This cart of blooms greeted us on the inside, and Little Country girl willingly posed for me

I wasn't sure how far she would be able to walk - this was a large show and her enthusiasm was great, but I wondered how long she would be happy looking at gardens. We walked around the show, snapping photos all the way around. It was such a great show that I just have to share some of our favorite photos :)

 A mass planting of Tulips

 A garden dedicated to Ireland

 Little Country Girl decided this was her favorite planter because it had green flowers

 In the Sugar Shack

 I loved this tabletop display!

 Brightly colored theme garden

 A walk among the tulips

 Peeking ahead, the curves enticing her

A beautiful waterfall

 In front of the children's exhibit

A beautiful garden in a boat, part of a water feature

We both thought this cake looked good enough to eat, but it was made entirely of plant material

Making a new friend

One of the last things we saw before we left was this display from the wizard of oz

We were exhausted and decided that the big city was fun, but there really is no place like home

:)

Walkin' Wednesday - exploration!

Every Wednesday during my off season, my friend Gary and I get together. We take this time to catch up, drink a bit of coffee and exercise.  When the weather is bad we rely on  'Wii Fit' and when the weather is nice, we like to walk. Really, we like to explore.  I've been eying up an area nearby and was afraid to explore it alone so I took Gary.  Even from Google Maps you can clearly see that once upon a time there was SOMETHING in this area and I wanted to go see WHAT!

So we set off on our walk. I was determined to find treasures from the past and Gary was determined to see some deer. It wasn't long before I thought Gary might be lucky today...fresh deer poop...and LOTS of it!

  We made our into the forest. The vines we so thick that we were sure we never would make it in if it were summer. The trees all appeared dead as the branches were snapping at the slightest touch. Some of the vines were very old and their trunks were bigger than my arm!  As we continued on Gary was first to spot this

A well!! The top had long since rotten off, exposing the rocks that made the well walls. I KNEW that something was here!!  As we got to exploring we found other objects that showed that someone once lived here.

                                                   And that something once died here

 This spot was long forgotten. Many treasures are probably buried here under the layers of leaves and soil.  3 rolls of farm fence that never got used made me think that this spot was quickly abandoned and it made me wonder why.
  Continuing on our walk, we decided to go and see a pond behind a neighbors house. Walking through farm fields we stepped thru a tree line to see a beautiful sight

There were a few ducks and geese swimming around, and had I not been making so much noise, we would have seen the blue heron. It flew away, but still a magnificent sight to see. This was only my third time to this pond and  I know from the owners of this land that this is where all the wild life is. There has been sightings of many deer, birds, coyotes, cougar, and bear. I must admit I am always on high alert when coming here. This huge canine type track reminded me of the reason why

So off we went, much to Gary's disappointment. He didn't say anything, but I know he wanted to explore this spot further. (Sorry I'm such a chicken Gary~animals are really HUNGRY this time of year!) We headed back home to re-hydrate and chat a little.  I'm sure we will come here again and maybe I won't be such a chicken next time.