Rental house memories

 Memories

 I've a special fondness for this species, a balloon flower. When the three of us moved out of our family home in 1993 in the divorce, we were living in a house I'd rented from my student's mother, whose house was up for sale. That didn't work out for us. 

This next rental was a newish bungalow in Manotick in 1994, me a newly single mom. It was built for the family's elderly in-laws/parents. The family lived in a mansion on the river at the back of the property, the bungalow at the front for the in-laws. The big house had an indoor pool, and a TV the size of PEI. They had an indoor pool, speed boats on the river, but a nice Italian Catholic family to take us in.

The father-in-law died, the mother couldn't live there in the bungalow alone. It was put up for rent. They liked that I had a full-time job, and the family wanted the house lived in until they decided to sell it or not. They didn't charge me market rent, thankfully. That first and last month's rent is brutal for renters. 

I had a meltdown at school, after my principal was bullying me at the time. (She was a childess non-cat lady!) We called her 'The Princess.' I took two weeks sick leave off of work. I planted a brand new garden while I healed from trauma. It was a great bungalow and my sanctuary. 

You can see the long driveway leading to the mansion on the Ottawa River.

Problem was, there was a spring going from under the ground by the highway towards the river, behind the house. The sump pump worked constantly in spring. I remember the sump pump breaking down once twice. My landlord came, leaving the Lamborghini in his three-car garage. 😜  The landlord replaced the sump pump with a new cheap one. It failed a couple weeks later, with much rain and meltwater. He bought a more expensive one for the house. My things were floating in 6" of water in the basement. Oh, the memories! 

The trees were planted after we moved, and, I presume, they sold the house.

Back to the present...

The Angel's Trumpet is doing well, aside from the potato beetles. 

Pumpkins to be! 

Calla lily

Wood sunflower:

The last of the flowers!

 I bought a dozen white and fuschia-coloured Hibiscus, on sale several years ago. I've only a few left and this one out front is spectacular. I preferred the pinker ones, but this will have to do.

The Angel's Trumpet flowers only last a day. But they are magnificent and I will have photos when we're in the depths of winter!

The orchid is finally getting new flowers. I accidentally broke off the last branch trying to rein it in back in the spring. It's indoors now, with the grow light on it. Tiberius is sitting beside it. It looks pretty at night. Soon I'll have to bring in all my house plants. Not for a couple of weeks, though. I keep checking the forecast.

I've still got a tree frog in the house. Of course froggie could be in the basement by now.

I found out some more information on the buck spotted on the trailcam. This was early August.

 

The goldfish pond pump is finally where and how I like it running. I likely only have another month to keep it going. Then, a sure sign of Autumn, goldfishies will come indoors.

The wild grapes are looking good. We have quite a few.

The phlox, trampled on by the eavestrough installation, have bravely bloomed. I hope they will come back with a vengeance next year!

Orchid spider eating lunch on a brown-eyed susan.

I could hear birds in the canopy. I didn't have the zoom lens on me, and figured they'd be gone by the time I fetched it. I could see they were red-eyed vireo. I have photos of them in my archives. It was fun watching and listening to them!

Soon they will migrate, bug eaters they are. Soon our bugs will be gone, too. She said hopefully. I was bitten by another blackfly when I was weeding, and had a tick on my neck, as well. Just a wee nymph, and I'll be glad when they are hibernating.

Another fun visitor was what I think what was a female rose-breasted grosbeak. They definitely nested nearby. So it isn't unusual, but fun to watch through the window screen.

Then there is Fred Groundhog... he was peeking at me. This is the hole he dug. I don't know if he has dug a burrow here. He'll run and hide.

The few milkweed we have will have some fine seeds. I might gather them and spread them in another spot, rather that on the lawn here. 

This little hosta plant has bravely bloomed, despite a trimming from Bambi.

The ferns are done! Too hot and too dry, although I watered them (infrequently).

I baked hubby some vegan irish soda bread (recipe). It was finally cool enough to put the oven on. 

Autumn approaches

I think we are at the end of the butterflies. This is the last, an eastern comma.


There are a couple of chrysalids up on the eaves. I tried to videotape them eclosing, but they didn't emerge. I don't think they are viable.


The moths on the trailcams are amazing. I've not seen any in the daytime. Not in years.

Imperial Moth 4", it was!

The Virginia creeper, wild ivy, is starting to turn.


Puffballs, they can grow very big with the right conditions.


This is one I found in the nearby park, in 2012.


Nature and art! I did the lawn and managed to avoid the leopard frogs in the grass.


They finally bloomed!


It was a lovely sunset.