we live a stone's throw away from the local highway, and the main street that leads into the heart of downtown Montreal is right at the top of our block. as a result, the soundscape of most days is dominated by the not-too-distant sound of passing cars.
but it was still that quiet part of the morning, and i fully intended to enjoy it while it lasted. why do i look like i am about to rob a bank, you ask? allergies, i reply.
this meant having to remove said barrier and hold my breath every time i took a sip. hello.
we have arrived at the point in the season where one small phrase fills me with dread most days. high winds!
the middle of Canada is a vast, flat expanse in which you will find the occasional farm or a field full of grazing cows. what you will find the most of, however, is lots and lots and lots of weeds. [it should be noted that while i have never been to the Canadian prairies, i have seen every single episode of Corner Gas at least twice, so i feel fully qualified to make that statement.]
it is ragweed allergy season, and there is not a single mountain or even a tall hill between me and all of that histamine-inducing pollen blowing in from the prairies. and, no... i do not go out into the world looking like that, but it sometimes helps to have a filter between me and the world while waiting for my antihistamines to kick in. good times. i have a proper face mask for said purpose, but i seem to have lost sight of it in the reshuffling of furniture to make room for the plants.
speaking of which...
i am happy to say that the balcony garden project has returned to its intended setting.
i mostly stood by and watched while he lugged one ten-gallon container after another back through the sliding glass doors, and i am happy to report that there was only one injury. his toenail will regrow... eventually... i hope.
naturally, i was out there spraying everything with my homemade peppery concoction long before the squirrels got out of bed this morning. Baby Bear was most not pleased with said fact, as she kept shooting me dirty looks after she took a nibble at the ferns.
i just carried on taking sips of coffee in between trying to figure out how repair the (non-functioning) auto-focus feature on my go-to lens. there is a story in there somewhere, which i will save for some other day when i am done being frustrated with myself for that one.
it was then that i noticed that the Little One staring at something with a definite about-to-attack gleam in her eye.
it was a cute, fat bumblebee. here he is crawling into a snapdragon. so cute.
there is one solitary bee that seems to spend most of the sunlit part of the day going back and forth between all the flowering things out there, and i would like to think that it is the same one i see every time.
i can just imagine the adorable bumblebee turf wars as they decide who gets what territory, and i would like to think that he fought hard to claim my tiny garden as his zone. hopefully the other bees did not give him a hard time for not making his quota on the days when the plants were indoors.
oh... and i am calling him George. so cute.
