You can tell that the weather is bringing us outdoors again. Lots going on around the neighbourhood, including a visit from the arborists to tend to the trees in the Villa. I first hired arborists as a DYS to tend to some our trees at Camp Selkirk and found it to be very beneficial. So in Calgary I did the same and kept our trees in good shape – it’s also part of being a good neighbour.

The gardens are coming to life. Praise the LORD the poppies survived the winter. I piled lots of leaves on them this year and they are up! Of course the bleeding heart continues to surge. They grow early and fast and they flower early.

The plants are doing well indoors. But this week it was time for them to begin to get a bit of outdoor sun and breeze to begin the hardening process.

I’m really looking forward to the Brandywine red tomatoes – they have the very large leaves in the picture. Wendy caught this beautiful house finch up in the tree. He had quite a bit of red! And he has a beautiful song. We thought a first it was a female cardinal, but my Merlin App gave me the identity. Have you got your Merlin App?

The next news from The Villa actually only relates to Wendy and I, from our past. These two photos landed on my phone recently from Fiona. On the left she is with Roger Davies, center, and Paul Jones. Paul and Fiona worked for us at Camp Selkirk, and on the right she is with Bev Pitt – who was our cook at Camp Selkirk. They also have connections with us through what was the Ontario South DYB which Roger led. We travelled quite a bit, to Colorado, to England, and of course around the division. Roger was always a delight to work with. I was so pleased to see these photos of them together at an event in Ontario.

This news which is from The Villa, we have new neighbours – one couple have just moved in. They have returned to Canada after some 10 years of working in China. They seem delightful. The unit next to ours is currently for sale by the people who just bought it a few weeks ago. They are trying to flip it, and in the judgment of the other members of The Villa, they are dreaming in technicolor when you see the price they are asking. Well, having lived in Ontario during the ramp-up of house prices, we will have to see if someone is willing to pay what they are asking.

Lastly, two years ago I bought this plant. It was small, had one flower and was in a small pot. Since then I up sized the pot twice, have been fertilizing it, and it has created two other plants and numerous flowers. I really love growing things.