Week 14: Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

Debby

There is something mysterious about train tracks. I look out upon those empty tracks and wonder about the trains that travel along the way. Where are they going? What do they carry? Some of this interest may have come after watching the movie “Unstoppable” with Denzil Washington. And, of course, after the train wreck we had a few years ago outside of town, with its environmentally unfriendly cargo.

I have always loved the sound of the trains on a summer night. The repetitive clickity clack as they make their way through town. I realize, if the tracks ran directly behind my house I might not be quite so enamoured.

This picture was taken on one of the side roads east of town. It was dull and grey out, raining off and on. A perfect setting for some wistful thoughts.

Carol

Recently I had the pleasure of heading down to New Brunswick for a quick visit with my sister. Normally I would have driven, or taken the train, but time was short so I decided to take a plane. It had been about 25 years since the last time I flew anywhere and a lot of things have changed since then, so it was a real eye-opening experience.

I guess it’s just as well I didn’t have a real camera with me, because none of those pictures would have been eligible for this blog (being all about phone photos). To be honest, neither time I was at an airport was particularly good weather for taking pictures, but that didn’t stop me!

I think this shot is pretty self-explanatory – it was taken from my seat on the plane as the pilot started to rev the engine. I do love a window seat!

Week 13: Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Debby

I have never had much of a green thumb, as I seem to be in the drown or desert dry class of gardeners. I blamed the cats, when I had cats, as to why my house plants were all of the silk variety but it was really because I had a black thumb.

My little patch of garden here is thriving, but then it only consists of four hosta and one clematis. The red flowers are my Mother’s Day plantar on a stand. My neighbour waters the garden daily, so I can’t take credit. I did cut up the Irish Spring soap and place it around each plant to, hopefully, ward off insect damage.

We have squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits and I saw chunks of soap on the grass, so assume the wildlife quickly learned this green in the garden was not a vegetable.

The colour looks great, and at night the tiny lights come on to outline the metal frames against the brick wall. I rarely see it at night, but my neighbours tell me it looks pretty from their windows. Doing my small part to pretty up the neighbourhood.

Carol

Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
Will silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.

I have to admit, although I love looking at a flower-filled garden, I’m kind of an indifferent gardener at best. I start out with the best of intentions, but they kind of peter out as the days grow hotter. This is why the long garden across the front of the house is usually filled with petunias. The wave petunias fill in the space nicely and all I have to do is dead head them to keep them looking nice.

One of my favourite flowers, however, is the iris. So imagine my surprise when I went out to take a picture of my petunias and I found this iris in full bloom. I gave my husband hell last summer when he moved it to this location, but apparently he was right.

Just don’t tell him that!

Week 12: Pretty In Pink

Debby

Wandering through the court where I live, I saw a beautiful peony, large and full, a gorgeous, isolated bloom. Unfortunately I didn’t have my phone with me. When I repeated that walk, the flower was looking a little sad, past it’s bloom so to speak.

Lucky for me, peonies are a popular choice among my neighbours. I found another bush, full of blooms in a deep and delicious pink.

I had to laugh as I wandered home. What did my neighbours think when they saw me? Peeping Tom maybe? No, just someone who loves flowers and is in search of something pink.

Carol

When I heard this week’s topic was “pretty in pink” my mind went immediately to the 1986 movie of the same title, starring Molly Ringwald. It’s one of those teenage flicks no one ever admits to watching, let alone liking. LOL

My second thought was to pose the granddaughter in a pink dress against one of the peony bushes in the garden, but I figured that would be a little too obvious. Besides, she’s pretty in many colours, not just pink.

But looking in the garden I don’t think there’s anything prettier than columbines (unless it’s a sweet pea, but it’s too early for those blossoms yet). If you look at the columbines just right they even look like little prom dresses, don’t they?

Week 11: Wishes

Debby

Every spring when the weather warms, it seems as if millions of tiny yellow flowers bloom across our landscape adding colour to the green. They may look pretty at first, but to anyone who cares for the lawn they are an unpopular sight.

These dandelions eventually turn into white globes of exposed seeds that are called ‘puffballs’. Children love to pick them, so they can close their eyes and make a wish, then blow the seeds into the air.

Dandelion Wishes. Some see a weed, others see a wish.

Carol

One of my favorite movies is the 1954 version of Three Coins in a Fountain. It’s a romantic comedy about three American women in Italy who each toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain and make a wish. Their wishes come true, of course, but in unexpected ways.

I love fountains, and if they’re the kind you can toss a coin into, then all the better. Who doesn’t love the glitter of coins as the water splashes over them? Wishing fountains come in all shapes and sizes, and they can be found not only outside in parks and gardens but inside malls or restaurants as well.

The fountain pictured below is found outside the museum in the Saint John Market Square. I regret I did not find out what happens to the money tossed into it, but I’m sure like most fountains, it’s used for charity – making someone else’s wish come true as well.