Merlot & Sherlock's Tails

Sunday, 2 August 2026

Hello August

Happy Sunday everyone! It's 6:30 am, we're on the deck and it's very muggy. The sky is looking a bit angry. Rain and thunderstorms are on the menu for today.

There is something about the beginning of August that feels different. The mornings are a little darker now. If you're up early like us, you can sense that quiet hint of the seasons beginning to turn. This morning, we had to turn on the lights outside. Yikes!

Our garden is putting on a nice show. Our perennials are at their peak, overflowing with colour. The bees are busy going from bloom to bloom. Everything is full and abundant. For us, August is a month that invites us to slow down a little...to linger over a cup of coffee on the deck and soak up every warm, sun-filled day before Summer gives way to Autumn. Thankfully, we should have another three months of deck weather to savour.

Our crabapple tree is going through its normal cycle at this time of year, mostly due to a fungus that seems to be affecting all the crabapple trees in the neighbourhood. It causes olive-brown spots on the leaves, then yellowing followed by early leaf drop by early August. We find ourselves raking them or the pooches bring them in the house.

Merlot & Sherlock are doing well. It seems they have moved on from their fascination with the Brown-headed Cowbirds and have returned to their favourite pastime - squirrel chasing. Those little critters have made their way back to the crabapple tree trying to get the fruit. Yesterday, the boys must have burned a zillion calories just trying to catch a squirrel!

Russell is doing good. He still keeps busy by being an "agitator" with the City of Beaconsfield. No doubt a few people at City Hall see him coming and think "here we go again" LOL!

That's my blog for this first Sunday of August. We're having our family over for lunch today. It will be nice to get together. Have a great week everyone!