Tag Archives: Summer

August Marmots

I haven’t recently been seeing many of our local marmot colony members. I think it’s just too hot for them and so they’re staying in their burrows where it’s much cooler.

On an early morning walk a couple of days ago – it’s too hot for me, too – I did see a few of them out and about. Someone had left them some fresh cherries which is a healthy food for marmots, so they were busy transporting them inside.

One decided that napping was much preferable to moving the produce, though!

It’s always a treat to see these sweet little animals. They seem so happy with one another and are certainly very chatty and affectionate.

Happy Friday; happy weekend.

Flower Power

Right now we have beautiful hydrangeas blooming everywhere. They are very sensitive to soil conditions which is why we can find a wide variety of stunningly attractive colours.

This blue and light yellow is caused by a higher aluminum content in the soil.
A lower aluminum content will tend to cause pink flowers.
Red hydrangeas aren’t common, but their gorgeous colour is caused by exposure to iron.
I’ve never tried this, but apparently, adding coffee grounds to the soil will cause hydrangeas to become a deeper blue as this allows the plant to better access aluminum.
The ever-lovely white hydrangea. These aren’t affected by soil pH; they maintain their creamy colour no matter the conditions.

Have a flower power day.