Woke up this morning … checked my e-mail .. found a message regarding Monsanto introducing GM alfalfa! to Canada!! The Federal government’s Agriculture Secretary has decided to allow this.
As everyone knows, this will kill organic farmers and will ruin their farms.
We don’t want and we don’t need this.
There will be a day of protest ….April 9.
Scary and must be stopped … watch his video .. if you aren’t aware of the evil of Mosanto ad GNM .. this will shed some light on what actually happens.
I’ve been wanting to blog for weeks, I have so much to say and so many wonderful photos to share! But .. the big but!! DH and I have been busy, busy, busy, preparing our little rental for new tenants. Mainly landscaping and sheer hard labour .. but enough about that.
I had an interesting conversation with neighbours today. They were out for a walk with their lovely grand-babies and their grand-dog. So we fell into conversation about this magnificent black Lab. He was not very old … but he’d had a full life of service for a disabled person.
Dogs like this are the closest to angels on earth in my opinion.
As our conversation continued, I learned that this little dog had been on duty, 24-7 for someone, working around the clock for their every need. For years. And absolutely no time off. And I learned that it is common, for dogs worked as hard as this one had been .. to simply burn out at approximately the age of 4. Working dogs for services like police, for example, are treated much better. They work a normal day, then they are “off duty” and they get the chance to play. Resulting in a more well-rounded dog. Like people, dogs need to play.
Now .. here is where I learned more information that I didn’t like. This little dog suffered “burnout” and just couldn’t work anymore. Can you blame him? Working every minute of every day, without the opportunity to go off duty and just play … he lost all will to serve. I would too.
So guess what was going to happen to this lovely hard working dog. He was going to be euthanized. Because he was from Ontario, from a private group that trained these dogs … he was considered to be “private property” and he wasn’t allowed to be given to anyone, no way, no how. I felt just sick. How could this be? He’d worked hard and he deserved the right to just be a dog.
Well, the new owner had to go backwards, through hoops. Even though she is a registered veterinarian .. she had to sign a mountain of forms just to prove, legally, that she would not breed the dog, sell the dog, give away the dog.
Now .. I feel the need to check with these private organizations to see what their policies are, with regards to how the dogs are treated after their service is finished.
Are they re-homed? Or are they … simply done away with?
Time to find out what happens to these angels who deserve the right to live a happy healthy life after their service.
Anyway, that’s my rant for the day.
I do plan to write about the lovely wedding we went to a few weeks ago. Post photos of the lovely dogs I’ve been meeting. And just chatter away about my garden. Oh .. and my garlic … is going to be stupendous this year! A few days ago I carefully placed seaweed around all but bulbs … they look so pretty. D and I went seaweeding again! More about that in a few days or so!
Happy gardening!
::)
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Yesterday, the rains poured down from the heavens .. and this was a perfect day for a walk .. so I set out. However .. firstly .. here is a little photo of the little Fox Sparrow, who had a serious problem with his left eye. Today I noticed that the problem is much worse and, sadly, I saw another with the same problem with his right eye.
I’ve read, from some birding blogs, that these issues are more readily viewed when there are bird feeders closer to the house. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be noticed. Nevertheless, I brought most of the birdfeeders & suet holders inside for a good scrub, a light bleach rinse and lots of clear water rinsing. Amazing the amount of seeds were tucked away tightly. Washed, rinsed, dried and fresh seed & suet. The world was a little happier place.
Next, at the front of the house, I’m just about ready to leave when I notice a neighbour’s cat .. very friendly … came up the front stairs … apparently quite ready to come inside for a visit. However, a branch from our Christmas tree appeared to capture his attention.
Sorry, sweetie .. another time … love that face! 
I began my trek … along local pathways … no one else out at this particular time .. so only me and the rain and my umbrella .. quite tranquil time .. loving this.
I love walking in the rain … especially with this very cheerful umbrella … the top side is solid black and the inside is blue… with fluffy cumulous clouds .. very happy indeed. So in contrast, the sleet ridden roads all of a sudden don’t seem to be so gloomy.
This pathway is new … it allows runners/bikers/walkers to enter Rainbow Park more easily and it opens right off of McKenzie Avenue. This is the first time I’ve walked this way .. kind of curious to see how it works out .. previously, this was all a grassy hillside.
Just before this , though, along McKenzie Avenue .. is a lovely little green area with magnificent trees …
And further along .. a massive amount of ferns growing along .. very lush and beautiful … 
And more berried bushes .. food for the deer? Lovely to look at ..
What a cheerful sight .. lots of flowers …
And .. just a few minutes from starting my walk I arrive at Rainbow Park .. a lovely place, well named.
And what do we have here … another route to my favourite place! There are quite a variety of routes to Swan Lake Sanctuary and it’s fun to try a different one for each visit.
At the little observatory (once I reached it!) I could see a little Mallard out in the middle of Swan Lake .. and I think he saw me ..but, alas, I hadn’t brought any flatted oats with me .. so I left before I could draw him over in false hope for food ..
Farther along .. you can see the fence posts, still here, from the dairy farm that once flourished here. My pal D remembers this quite clearly .. she and her family used to purchase their milk from the store that once existed. Kind of nice to see these posts, though, a salute to previous times. 
I love everything about Swan Lake .. and there are some areas that are just so much more awesome than others. This is one .. and see the nest up in the tree to the right? Cool.
Rain .. rain .. rain .. everywhere. But I’m not worried .. my waterproof walking shoes are about the only dry apparel that I have .. it’s taken me awhile to walk these shoes into a comfortable state of being .. and I can quite enjoy them now.
Some Mallards enjoy the peace and quiet.
Moi mes souliers ont beaucoup voyagé (grace a les mots de Felix Leclerc) 
And this signage just never gets tired!! See the last line .. so true.
Sigh …
A friend sent me this video … please watch … and rethink plastic …
thank you ….. and please .. forward this one to all you know …
Thursday, October 25, 2010
I’ve done a lot of this and a little of that, during the past few days. You know the kind of days that these are. A little bit of housework. Some reading. Some walking. A few exercise sessions (Callanetics by Callnan Pinckney) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callan_PinckneyI have the book and had the video, but gave that to my sister, as I know all of the exercises. I loved her first video, but subsequent videos/dvd’s were just to spacey and new age for me. The first time I saw her demonstrate her specific types of exercises was on a Johnny Carson show, many years ago.
She was very straightforward in her approach and the exercises were simple, no machines were needed. You could exercise anywhere. So I’ve started doing them again and can feel those muscles in my legs and tummy shouting … yea .. at last … so am slowly marching down the road to getting back into shape. Already my posture is better, I carry myself taller, shoulders back. Feels great.
Baby steps.
Anyway, yesterday and part of today was spent bundling up my containers of dried seaweed, to store them over the winter so I can use them from time to time.
And a few days ago I think that I called upon my Inner Chef because I found myself cooking up a storm! Using recently purchased bags of eggplant and some special long green peppers! I scoured the internet for recipes and soon was making a variety of foods. Which included: eggplant hamburgers, which called for peeling & cutting up the eggplant into cubes, steaming, mixing with eggs, shaping into little patties, light dusting of flour and fry in the pan.
Next time I’ll mash the eggplant into more of a mush. Good tasting.
Then there was the eggplant au gratin. This recipe simply said to peel & slice the vegetable, cook in water till tender, then mash (which is the way I will prepare the e/burgers if I make them again). Next, simply place layers of the eggplant and grated cheese into a greased casserole. This looks and tastes delicious!
Finally, I prepared the stuffed special green peppers. I say special, cause I’ve not seen these type before, they are not hot, and they are longer than the regular green bell pepper. I have saved some seeds and will try and grow them next year.
So I mixed up quinoa/organic beef/garlic/rosemary and a few spices from the cupboard. Then I cut the tops off of the peppers, ran a knife down one side and popped them all in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Removed them from the pot, placed, cut side up in a casserole dish. Spooned the meat filling in each one. Poured salsa sauce over it all and baked in the oven. When done, after about 30 minutes, I sprinkled a liberal dose of crumbled mozzarella cheese on top.
Didn’t think I’d like these, but they remind me of lasagna, without the pasta calories. Delish!
Finally, came the soup. Why soup? Well, I guess I had the freezer part of the fridge kinda overstuffed with my zealous supply of frozen fruits from the garden. DH opened the freezer door and out onto the floor fell frozen bags of tomatoes, packets of meat, etc. So I decided, instead of trying to make everything fit into that small space again, it was time to make soup!
And also, this is when the idea formulated inside my head .. to make the stuffed peppers!!
So I thawed out the tomatoes, put them in some chicken soup base in a pot. Cooked it all. Tried to remove the skin on the tomatoes, finally whipped out the hand blender and soon the soup was looking nice and rosy. Next I grated one of those lovely potatoes from the garden, to try to thicken it up. Added a little bit of garlic and rosemary. Whipped in some sour cream .. and yum, delicious soup!
Lots of food at a very low price and our fridge is full!
Today I went for a drive in the country and obtained some lovely large plant pots … for potting up my recent sale purchases! So happy am I!
I love driving through the local countryside .. such a beautiful time of the year .. lovely fall colours. Beautiful farms … lots of work, though, I’ll bet.
Next I went to visit my friend D! I was invited to try some of her borscht soup. Now, I’ve never tried borscht soup .. somehow the idea of having beets in soup has never appealed to me. However, today I ventured forth and realized what I’ve been missing. Now I want to try to make some. Absolutely delicious. And I understand the beets are full of good things too! Oh, I’m learning so much now.
The borscht was served in lovely blue Period Pyrex bowls … so pretty! And these were placed on delicately painted dishes! Did I mention the dollop of sour cream on top! And D also make these terrific rice cake sandwiches! She spread some grainy mustard & organic mayonnaise on the top. Next there was large, flat nasturtium leaf! Ok, I’ve never eaten a nasturtium leaf (or a flower) before, so this was another tasty treat! On top of this was a lovely layer of baked salmon.
Now this was a gourmet lunch and very delicious. Dessert was a decadent square of chocolate!
She is such a magnificent cook, and is always preparing lovely ingenious meals for her family! I’m learning a lot from her and trying out some of the things I’ve learned at home! Food is fun, especially this type of food.
After a lovely visit, spent talking non-stop about creative things for several hours, it was time for me to head home and go outside to play around in the garden.
Which I did!
Cause we are supposed to get lots of rain in the next few days!
🙂
This person is a shining example of looking after the environment by keeping useful items out of the garbage stream!
I went out this afternoon to try to get a trumpet I have fixed up. The valves don’t compress, basically (I found this in the trash a while back). He told me it probably just needed a cleaning, but that it would cost 65 bucks plus tax, and that’s not really in my budget right now.
Maybe I can clean it myself. This guy online says all it really needs is valve oil and some grease, so maybe I’ll try that.
Regardless, on the way back I saw a few things, some of which bothered me.
First off was this old laptop. Not old enough to not have XP, but old enough to have a floppy drive. I just tried it out and it still turns on, but it seems like the screen is busted. I may just give it to the computer place on St Laurent. As least they…
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positivity .. we each have a voice to share and little by little we can make the positive changes .. 🙂
Positive thoughts on not giving up! I like that reminder to keep on going.
What a wonderful idea for staking tomatoes and lots of good information on this blog!!
The tomatoes are growing great guns around these parts. Nothing turning red just yet, but another week or two and we’ll be seeing the first blushes. I’m a little excited to tell you about my solution to the inefficient tomato cage dilemma.
The problem with conventional tomato cages are they are just too damn short. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an indeterminate tomato just two feet high. Hell, even the roma’s will get three feet tall at least, and they really only need a stake to help hold them upright.
So my solution to the problem was this. Rather than put a cage around the tomato plant when it’s young, I would build the cage around the plant as it grew.
I stuck 8 foot rebars into the boxes at each corner as my uprights. Then each week, as the tomatoes grew I added cross bars of bamboo. they…
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Wednesday, August 8, 2012
So, August is zipping along. Lots of gardening. Lots of flying. Now that summer is here in full force, it’s so easy to forget those cold rainy days.
Veggies are growing well. I finally shovelled the last of the 5 yards of the miracle mulch and so the perennials have a nice soft blanket to retain moisture and keep the soil cool.
And yesterday, so lucky .. woke up to the sound of branches being buzzed and then ground up as a few neighbourhood trees were being trimmed. These included an oak tree.
Quickly grabbed my mug of Yorkshire Tea and dashed out the door … and politely asked the working crew if I may have the chips! Well, lucky me .. they said yes and I was ecstatic. These are things that only a fellow gardener can understand!
So at least 1 ½ yards were gently deposited on a tarp in the driveway and I spent a few happy hours shovelling up this lovely mulching material and spreading under our first Christmas tree … the 2 yards that I placed there yesterday has nearly disappeared.
And I noticed that this tree only has a very few cones on it this year .. this means that the tree is not under stress. Finally, I’m giving it the love and attention that it needs.
Once all this shovelling was done, I decided to clip some roses for drying. But first, I:
– Discovered that the branches of an old apple tree in the back were in my way, so went to find the clippers to trim away some of the ones that were at eye-height
– Then I thought it would be a good time to drag out the soaker hoses for the recently updated side yard .. this took a good chunk of time as I sorted through the two sizes of hoses and too late remembered that I couldn’t attach the 3/8 to the 5/8 .. so undid my work and started again
– Put aside a tarp to take to the front yard, to help when I weed that area
– Became enthralled with the sight of the bees buzzing around flowers, so took pictures
– Again, became enthralled with the skies up above and more time spent there
– Took a few minutes to search for berries
– Had a look at the various squash, basil and pea pods growing
– Then finally I walked to the rose-bush, clippers in hand (after searching for a basket to hold the flowers) and finished what I’d wanted to start over an hour ago, that is, clipping roses
Then, time to go to the front yard and begin pulling out some invasive perennials .. they’ve served the purpose of greening up the yard, but time to remove these, fluff up the soil and then go shopping for some ferns and things to complete the woodland look along the front of our first Christmas tree.
And now I must go outside and continue what I started yesterday.
I forgot to mention that my work was stopped by a thunder & lightning storm … heavy raindrops, thank you for watering my garden!
🙂
My Lovely Garden … Mon Joli Jardin 