The forecast was for more heat so we got moving early and made a second attempt at our quest from yesterday. Specifically, walk to Hillside Mall to pick up some supplies from Walmart and Canadian Tire. We try to support the smaller stores in town but once every quarter, the big stores enter into the equation for bulk staples like cat food, olive oil and chocolate chips. We even replaced our small frying pan. A small enough pile to carry, large enough to take the bus home.
It's remarkable how we've changed in the five years we've lived in Victoria. I remember taking a Modo the 5km to Hillside to get our knives sharpened. That quickly became a bus trip and it wasn't long before it was a walk in one direction and a bus ride home. Now, if the weather is nice and our load isn't too heavy, we can walk in both directions. And I know Cindy would rather ride her bike.
The forecast was for another hot day but there was cloud cover so it was pleasant walking until we got to Fernwood. Then the sun came out and we stuck to the shadier path for the second half of the walk. The stroll through Oaklands was glorious. Most houses have front gardens with all kinds of flowers and vegetables and shrubbery. The community gardens in Fernwood were especially glorious, with robust, healthy veggies and lots of apples on the trees.
The lawns out here are either small or aren't there at all. Why waste space with a useless, resource intensive lawn, when you can have a pretty flower garden and some veggies in between? We dream about living in a little house in Oaklands or Fernwood or Fairfield, but then we wake up and realize we want admire the yards and not actually do any yard work. So it's the perfect situation right where we are.
Better than average labelling on this boulevard garden, Oaklands
What a wood shed! We couldn't spot a backyard oven though. 🙁