Sunday Ramblings #89

Happy first day of summer and happy Father’s Day, too. I hope the weather is better where you are. We are sitting at 9°C (48°F) … brr! So, while we will be barbequing (it’s tradition!), we will definitely be eating indoors.

A patio table and wicker chairs, blue striped umbrella, on a rainy patio. A Romeo sour cherry tree in the foreground. — *There is never any water left in the birdbath as Berkie drinks it all.*

You’ll be happy to know that our caterpillar issue is nearly gone. We went from thousands to dozens. So glad that is over with!

I have a birthday coming up very soon (last year was a big one and the family did it up big for me, all a surprise!) so this is my week of indulgence. I like to go get a trim and deep conditioning. Luckily, my hairdresser lives right next door to me! I bought myself a pair of these vegan Sketcher’s sandals. They are super comfy! Now I just need a pedicure and I am all set. We’re doing a family coffee and Finnish birthday cake. Nothing better than spending the day with family and friends.

I have started a new Amazon Shopping Page on my blog. I am only sharing things on there that I really like, use myself, would highly recommend. I choose only 4+ star items and keep it Canadian whenever possible. Did you know that you can support small Canadian businesses through Amazon?

I have also added a few more links in this post than I would usually do as I am hoping that just 3 people will use one of my links so that I can get reverified. You do not even need to buy the item that I have linked, just open the link and do your shopping through the link.

I promise not to bombard you with stuff every week, I just want to be able to provide links to you when I am talking about a product on my what-to-do-now posts. I, personally, find links handy when I am reading other blogs or articles, so I can exactly what they are talking about. Such as the difference between an all purpose fertiliser, one that makes sad looking veggies thrive, and one that makes flowers bloom all summer. The numbers make all the difference, eh?

A picture of a ceramic birdbath bowl attached to a fence post on a rustic fence, with pretty lilacs blooming in the background. — *Don’t you just love this picture with the lilacs in the background?*

25 Spring Cottage Fence Decor Ideas for Curb Appeal Charm – This article has a lot of AI photos in it, which I absolutely hate. However, I really loved this idea in the photo above.

Get a ceramic bird bath bowl and a support ring. Easy to make, gets the bath off the ground (safer for the birds), looks amazing, adds a focal point, or point of interest in the yard. Think it would be an awesome addition to my front yard. I’ll just dig in a short 4×4 post and attach this to it, no fence needed. I also really love idea #4. It is something I have always wanted to do, but need to wait till we no longer have a kitty.

3 seed packets with sowing dates labelled on the packages.

Seed Sales

Seed Packets – Renee’s Garden – Renee’s fabulous seeds are 40% off.
June Sale 2026! 50% OFF Select Varieties – The Incredible Seed Company Ltd – sale ends TODAY, so get them asap. I love this Canadian seed company, always have great success with germination, and the prices are fantastic.

How-To’s

5 Natural Ways to Get Rid of Ant Hills in Your Yard & Garden
How to Create a Pollinator Corridor in Your Backyard
Xeriscaping 101 | Beginner’s Guide to Water-Saving Landscaping Tips | Almanac.com
When to Plant Fall Carrots: A Secret Trick for the Best Roots – you all, there is just one week left in the fall carrot planting window. Sow your fall carrot seeds by July 1st! After that, really, you are better off saving those seeds to winter sow instead. She uses a board to sow her seeds, I use a burlap sack. Both do the same thing : )

Two olive trees in clay pots with a rustic pencil post fence in the background. — *These were two of my olive trees back on the island.* *They love clay pots.*

What To Do With An Olive Tree In June
Backyard Garden Landscape Ideas that are Actually Doable – beginner friendly ideas.
A Greenhouse Make-over With The Frame! – have a small shed? Attach a greenhouse to it so that you have a potting shed attached right to your greenhouse. This one is set up as an entertaining area, but we’d use it for growing all the things! Right?

A white potting shed with blush pink flowers growing in a window box. A blue bench sits under the windows, and a couple of rustic zinc pails have herbs growing in them. — *Potting Shed and She Shed Inspiration for a Dreamy Backyard*

From the article that was written with this shed photo (above), I came upon two pretty potting sheds on Instagram. This shed above is from @tracey_hiebert, a Canadian (from Ontario, I believe). She also has a blog, if you want to read about how they built the pretty potting shed.

The second one is @downshilohroad for those of us who love a shabby chic vibe.

Homey Things

40 piece maple leaf prisms to prevent birds from striking your windows.

We used to have hummingbirds hit our big front windows so can honestly say that these things really work. There is nothing sadder than watching a bird suffer after hitting a window.

The 6 Best Air Conditioners of 2026 | Reviews by Wirecutter – that one from Costco looks like a fantastic deal.

The 43 best TV shows to binge-watch right now (June 2026) – I liked #8 , loved #30, kinda enjoyed the darkness of #43.

I binged the latest season of Sweet Magnolias Season 5, last week. It is sappy and feel good, as always. The series is based on books by the same name by bestselling author Sherryl Woods.

My daughter says there is no way people are that sweet and have such lovely lifetime friends. I told her to watch Inn This Together with Ben and Erin (from HGTV’s Home Time) in Laurel, Mississippi. Real people with deep friendships.

A Canadian hand soap company. — Foaming Earl grey & Fresh Cucumber hand soap. Canadian made!

A set of six bar soaps from a Canadian soap company. — Snowies Bar Soaps. Pack of 6. Canadian company!

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Recipes & Foodie Bits

A hand grating frozen butter over a bowl of flour.

The Sweet Stuff

*Tip- this may be redundant to you avid bakers but for those of us who rarely make biscuits or scones, I found it to be a game changer. Freeze your butter first. When it comes time to bake, take it out of the freezer and grate it on a box grater. Mixing the dough so easy when you’re not trying to smoosh cubes into smaller pieces with your fingers.

Peach Sherbet Recipe
How to Make a Fruit & Cheese Platter – it’s that time again. Christmas and summer are when I crave charcuterie boards/platters. Or, if you want a really great one for an occasion but have no time to make your own, shop for it, check out Boujee Charcuterie – Charcuterie – Red Deer, Alberta. They make fantastic boards!

Dirty Diet Coke – I’m not really a pop drinker, but must admit that this kinda sounds fun.
What Is Dirty Soda, and How Can You Make It at Home? Here is a link to the syrups. While they talk a lot about coconut syrup, I just can’t. Luckily, they make many other flavours for us to play with! Like, how about peach with Fresca or Sprite?