May Two-Four Weekend

Hello everyone and Happy Victoria Day Weekend...or as many people call it, the May 2-4 weekend, which actually falls on May 24 this year. From what I read this morning, the last time this happened was in 2010. Interesting little fact.

Our weather now is beautiful, sunny and much less humid than previous days, although I quite enjoyed the heat last week. We woke up to a bit of rain but not nearly as much as we were hoping for. We need it badly. We also woke up earlier than normal this morning, thanks to the chirping of our smoke detectors following a short power outage at around 6 am. As usual whenever that happens, Cooper was on alert, laying on the bed probably wondering if the chirping was going to lead to something else. Russell & I just laid in bed and told him "it's OK".  You see, Coop had a bad experience in Huntsville. The story goes as follows: at around 3 am one night, our smoke detectors went off for no apparent reason (we were told later by our electrician that it was most likely caused by a spider). The security company called and we said all was good except that we couldn't shut off one of the battery operated detectors. It was in the corner of our 20 foot high ceiling.  Thankfully we had a 12 foot ladder so Russell was able to reach it but with great difficulty...he even had to step on the "Do Not Step" step. Removing the battery was a chore in itself.  During that time, not only was the smoke detector emitting a loud screeching noise, it also had a voice alert.  The sound was deafening for Russell and I, so you can imagine how bad it was for Cooper.  Some 10 minutes later, which seemed like an eternity, all was quiet again. To this day though, Cooper remains leery of any type of screeching alarm sounds but he quickly gets reassured that all is good.... he understands when we say "it's OK".   A little throwback story.

Last week was good and very busy for us. Russell and I continued with our yard work. We seem to be on a roll this year. We decided to change up our front flower bed. I planted lots of Hostas a few years ago but strangely enough, only a few came back this year. We've come to realize that the soil is very poor so nothing is growing. Rather than remove the soil and start fresh, we decided to cover the area with river stone...1,600 pounds of stones to be precise and a few sore arms/backs . We ordered three more whisky barrels, which will come this week, and we will put them on top of the stones, with some colourful annuals. It should look very nice and clean. 

Cooper had a great birthday and was pleased with his gifts....a new Lamb Chop from Spicy and an assortment of fancy ties from his human parents. It was a fun day, filled with treats and happiness all around. The highlight of Coop's birthday was when his daddy played Happy Birthday with his acoustic guitar. It was so sweet 💖

Not much else is new with us. Quebec announced its gradual "re-opening" plan. It won't change much for us other than eating out once in a while and being able to have gatherings with family/friends in our backyard. Towards the end of August, it is expected that masks will no longer be required in public. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. 

That's my blog for this holiday weekend. We're not doing much today. We are still recovering from hauling those river stones! Have a great long weekend everyone! Continue to stay well and safe!

Spicy and Cooper stopped to smell the tulips on
our walk at Edgewater Park.

Cooper looking dapper with his new tie and an
assortment of others plus his Lamb Chop from
Spicy. He had a great birthday.

Nothing better than a birthday romp with a
new toy!

Laying down on the job, watching
the yard is hard work.

Bearded iris.

Front bed blooming with Jack Frost framed by
the cut-leaf Japanese maple.

Close-up on the pretty Jack Frost flowers.