May 23/10: Flowers to Plant

May 23/10: Flowers to Plant, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I went to the market and came home with a plan. It has been very dry here. First I would water these candidates for my garden. Then I would wait until evening and water my flower beds - give them a good soaking. Then the next day - planting!
But no.... I took the flowers out of the car and put them in the shade. I went to use the hose and..... the pipe from the house to the spigot broke creating a geyser which was aimed at me. It took a few attempts until I got the water to the outlet turned off (down into the basement, up to the side of the house, check and then all over again until it was really shut off). So with watering can in hand, I watered these flowers and tried to figure out when I could get a plumber here to fix it.
It's a long weekend - I'm not going to pay holiday rates. I have meetings all week so I won't be home in the day time except for short periods. Haven't worked my way out of this dilemma yet - but I really can't plant until I get some water into my gardens and there is no real rain in the forecast.

Day 74: An Old Tree

Day 74: An Old Tree, originally uploaded by susanvg.

This old tree has witnessed much in its lifetime. It must be in the vicinity of one hundred years old. The houses in this neighbourhood are more recent. Some have been around for about 85 years - mine was built in 1936. Was the tree part of a forest and allowed to remain? When the homes were built, there were not many at first. Now it is right in the middle of the city.

Back when this tree was young, some milkmen still delivered their products by horse drawn wagons. There were streetcars in the neighbourhood. Now a subway system transports people around the city. And supermarkets have made most milkmen redundant. This tree has seen so many changes.

What has this tree sheltered? Despite being in a city, there is abundant wildlife in the neighbourhood: squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, skunks, raccoons and even an occasional fox. There are a number of different birds, both those that stay and those that pass through on their way north or south. Is the hole in this trunk serving as a home? Do animals burrow under the roots?

If only trees could talk, what stories they would tell!