What would you do....

if the Universe handed you a cup of coffee?

About mid-morning, I head out to Tim Horton's drive - thru to pick up coffee for Hubby and I. We started this ritual years ago when raking leaves in the fall. Raking leaves was a days-on-end task. So we'd start out early in the morning and still be at it until supper time.

Of course, we'd take breaks for meals, or if the weather turned cold or wet. But most of the time we were lucky enough to have sunny, cool days in which to clean up our property.

Mid-morning we'd lean our rakes by the side of the garage, hop into the car and escape to our favourite coffee and doughnut shop. In those days, I'd even eat doughnuts too. Today, it's far easier to put weight on than to take it off! So, I skip the doughnuts.

The sun was shining brightly this morning, as I ran my errands and drove on over to Tim's.
"Two medium coffees" I gave my order, "one double-double, and the other one black with 2 cream on the side".

Now I'm very fussy about my coffee. I order it black (the cream on the side is for hubby - he luuuves cream). At home I put some homogenized milk in the bottom of my cup, heat it in the microwave for 25 seconds, and then pour in the coffee. I used to drink cream in coffee years ago, but now take milk. Not 1% or 2%, but the regular homo milk.

"Here you are," the lady handed me the coffee with a nice smile (the lady was smiling, not the coffee).
"Oh, you forgot the cream on the side", I reminded her.
"No, I put it inside the coffee."

"Eeks! Sorry, but it has to be black." There is no way I could drink their 18% cream!
"Oh, no problem." She handed me a fresh cup. "Why don't you just keep the other one."

I must have looked surprised.
"Really?"
"Sure, I'd only have to dump it down the drain. Give it to a friend."
"Thank you!"

Hmmm. Now what do I do? We certainly can't drink all this coffee. Who can I give it to? Do I stop someone on the street? I think not. But there is still a construction crew working on our water pipes over on the next street. Do I park the car, walk over and see if anyone would like a coffee? Well, they might think I'm crazy for one thing.
Or they might think I'm after one of the crew (ha ha....not!)

No, I don't think I'll do that.
I like passing on gifts, unexpected freebies, but maybe I should just enjoy this one. Bask in the glow of getting something for free. And then pass it on at a later date.

O.K., but we really can't drink all this coffee.

Alright, I'll tell you what (I was having this conversation to myself while driving home - good thing nobody could hear me), if the construction crew is near my house, where they can see me driving home (so they don't think I'm a crazy lady - they know where I live), I'll give it away. If there is nobody working nearby, Hubby will drink it later in the day.

Guess how it turned out?
Nobody was working near the house, so we (Hubby actually) got to enjoy an extra cup of coffee.

Now tell me......what would you do?

Mornings...

Some mornings begin with mist... Other mornings are clear...

Moon on a Stick. Ha! Looks like a marshmallow ready for toasting over an open fire!

Ah.. that's better.

Another morning, I caught Mistress Moon hanging out gossiping with branches and the last of the autumn leaves.

What are your mornings like?

Contrasts...

Empty... Full...

Half and half.

Dead...

Alive...

Pardon?



ALIVE!

(oh, sorry, I didn't hear you - ha, ha)

Half and half.

I couldn't think of anything to say about this last pic. I just liked the "aerial view", and the contrast of the pretty petunia still alive and happy amongst the dead autumn leaves.

As you can see, I love taking her picture.

Happy November!

Got Leaves?

Yes, do you?

Sure do!

Follow the path....

Around the bend.....

We've got leaves too...

No pushing, Leaves, and no peeking in the Window!

Looks like Rock Garden is buried in leaves....

And leaves are smothering Hedge!

We're full of leaves, thank you!

Hello Trees.....got leaves???

I certainly do..

I don't!

Clouds...

I took this pic one gorgeous sunny day in late summer. It was the only cloud in a clear blue sky.

On another day, I was in the backyard with my grandchildren. The afternoon started off being warm and sunny. Then a bank of clouds appeared, turning the air chilly and the sky gray.

"Go away Clouds!" I yelled up to the sky.



What??

"But Grandma, I like clouds!!"

Oops.

WANTED.....

Dolores Dottie Dahlia. Also known as: Dangerous, Dancing, and sometimes even Delusional!

Wanted For: Coming to dine decidedly drunk while dancing with delight on your table! Devastating!


Cornelia Claudia Coneflower.
AKA : Greta Gerbera Daisy, Blushing Beauty.


Be careful, she's a master of disguises. No one really knows her true identity.
Wanted in connection with: painting the Garden different colours during the night. Careless dropping of Seeds. Sleeping on her stalk!

The Marigold twins: Marie and Mahari. Mostly milling about together, misleading others. Malevolent. Mainly misunderstood. Think they are better than anyone else in the Garden!

Wanted for: Snooping. Stepping on ladybugs. Looking down their stems at others. Refusing invitations.

Distinguishing Marks: Ruffled petticoats.

Belinda Blabbermouth Begonia.

Distinguishing markings: beauty spot (disguised as a bug) on her left outer petal.

Don't be fooled by her delicate profile. Those ruffles are sharp enough to cut a daisy stalk.

Wanted for: blowing things out of proportion. Spreading nasty gossip in the Garden. Cannot control her wagging tongue. Blubbering.

Irmgaard Impatiens. Pictured here with sister, Isobella.

AKA: Icy, Ichabod.

Wanted for: Improper conduct. Impersonating Innocence. Illicit intelligence-gathering. Don't be lead astray by those tears....

Anyone with any information leading to the arrest of these law-breaking flowers is advised to report immediately to their local Garden Patrol.

The Quest

"Don't say I didn't warn you......... it's a loooong way off.... but if you've set yer mind on gettin' there, I ain't gonna stand in yer way..... See that horse-drawn wagon over there? You'd best start by following it for a ways..... but hurry...... it won't wait for you...

Once you come to the old-fashioned water pump, you can leave the horses behind. Now pump that thing as hard as you can! If yer strong enough to get the water flowing, then yer ready to move on. If not, then you'd best give up and turn around now......

Aw, don't bother asking that jackass for directions........what does he know? Oh well, if yer gonna bribe him with fresh grass......

What did he tell ya? Turn right at the hydrangea tree? Yeah, that's right, but don't go into the little house, or you'll be asking for trouble.....

Go past the little boy, dancing on the hay wagon....., but if you stop to talk, you'll never get there in time......

Stroll right on past the autumn tree (it's the only one that's changing colours, you can't miss it).......
.....but if you take time to explore that building, you just might miss out......

Carefully, carefully......tiptoe past the goslings....

And finally..........
...ahhhhhh.......here we are! At the pigpen. Did I tell you to bring some corn with you? They just luuuv corn."

We spent the afternoon at Cumberland Farms in Ottawa, a few weeks ago. That old man was such a character, I couldn't resist taking his picture.

He really was pointing the way to the pigpen. We could have hopped on the farm wagon, but preferred to enjoy the sights at a more leisurely pace.

The horse and carriage was part of a wedding ceremony being held on that beautiful Saturday afternoon.