The weather here in Victoria has been pretty normal, what with the rainy days, the sunny days and the faintest touch of snow once in awhile. This is why everyone is drawn to this beautiful city.
Yesterday I was in the back yard .. topping up the bird feeders, tipping out the ice from the bird-baths (ok, we have had a few frosty mornings, I can live with that) … and my eyes were drawn to this (still) potted Hellebore .. which I will plant when the weather warms up a bit. It is a tough little plant and has been enjoying the balmy parts of the day when the sun warms up the yard here and there.
Yesterday, those darling little Bushtits were hungry and so they didn’t fly away when I approached them. They love these little ceramic and coiled metal suet holders .. this design is perfect for them and so I’ve placed several in this corner of the yard.
Here is another chunk of slag .. left over from a glass factory many years ago. Love how the sun brings out the blue/green colour.
I’d bought this at a garage sale, many, many, many .. years ago. It’s nice and chunky, someone’s prized stained glass project. Here I have placed it upside down … it’s nicely covered with some garden soil and it could serve as a night-time party surface for the wee faeries when they come out at night to party and enjoy the solitude of the garden. It’s placed far enough from the house so that their music and singing isn’t heard inside. Tempting to tip toe outside on a hot summer evening to see if I can see them frolic and play. That would be fun.
The frosty weather is nature’s opportunity to change things up in the yard .. a chance to show us her creativity. Here is a lovely display of ice .. so pretty, sparkling in the sun.. but not easy for the birds to drink! Maybe .. the faeries have donned their winter clothing and skates .. perfect surface for them to practise their skating techniques during the nights when we sleep. Perhaps the crackles were cause by a few of them, having had one too many little hot toddies as they demonstrated their triple axels?? (or whatever they do when twirling about on the ice in their tiny jewel encrusted skates!) Can’t you just picture this? I can!
So I tipped the ice out and added some water for the little birdies! To drink and perhaps have a little bath.
When I’d finished tipping out the ice, I looked at those round circles and decided to play with them and create a little ice path! For viewing only, for beauty only. sigh.
Today was brrrr in the yard … I know that birds who visit our yard are wild and can fend for themselves .. however .. I did invest in a rather fair bit of a variety of bird seed expressly for them .. so out I went .. and added a generous amount to each feeder and made sure there was a healthy chunk of suet in each holder. Good thing. As it turned out, this afternoon we had a surprise coating of snow. Pretty to look at. The yard transformed and magical again.
I took some photos through the kitchen window .. I knew that if I went outside to take photos, the activity would frighten the birds away and I just wanted them to enjoy some quiet time and a chance to fill up their little bellies for the cold night that approaches. Here is a beautiful Spotted Towhee …
Some Junco’s, sparrows .. the yard was full of birds flitting about and doing their little shuffle-shuffle dance to find sunflower seeds hidden in the snow.
Here’s another photo of that beautiful Hellebore ..looking lovely against the grass of yesterday!
So very excited .. am I!!! Recently received my order from Salt Spring Island seeds!!! This is going to be such a fun summer of growing peas and beans and a few other things. It won’t be long before there will be tunnels of these in the garden. A little room in the back where I can sit on my bench, glass of white or mug of Yorkshire Tea (depending on the time of day!!). A place where I don’t see any buildings .. only the green of the lush vines growing all around!
And today my order from Annapolis Seeds arrived! Lots and lots of beans for juicing, munching and freezing! This year will be abundant. And I’ll be freezing the beans whole (no blanching required as the beans won’t be touching the ground!)
My final photos is from Seedy Saturday, last Saturday, at the Victoria Conference Centre. This is the first year that I haven’t volunteered, since I retired and I really enjoyed my time .. happy to see garden friends there .. an exciting time wandering the tables and a choice of very informative seminars! So many knowledgeable speakers!
Normally I take photos every few feet but this year I found myself drawn more into conversations and so ended up taking only one photo and here it is!
I’ve really missed my daily blogging .. instead have been utilizing my time in a dozen different ways. Busy all the day long.
This past Friday, I decided to change that. When the weather is more conducive to being inside, I appreciate this opportunity to do those things that I find challenging when the warm weather calls for me to be outside.
Recently I decided to focus all my energies into starting to learn the theory of music. It’s something that I had decided was way to hard to me to comprehend. My fiddle teacher has been very patient in trying to help me understand this. But the doors in my mind refused to open. Then, at my 2nd to last singing lesson, my teacher and I were talking about theory and I realized that I must learn this. No more to use the excuse and stubborness to veer away from learning.
So, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I spent many long hours, at my computer, a stack of index cards to write on. A pile of beginner fiddle books. Many online sites. And the light is dawning. The doors are opening. The comprehension has begun.
Music is a language .. I love learning languages … and I love learning more about music!.
Well .. time for supper and I look forward to practising my fiddle and learning more!
🙂
Below, photo taken this week .. snow has gone (yea!!) and the flowers are still looking great.
My little garden bench .. where JaneE loves to perch and await her treats! I liked the way the sun brought out the shadows which always adds interest. 
Leaves decorating the frozen water in the bird bath. I replenished the water so that the birds could bathe. 
Honestly, these sweet little flowers just add so much beauty and carefree energy to the garden .. love them!
One of the many reasons I love taking photos in the fall .. so I can remember how beautiful nature is. Took this photo last week. Nothing like a cheerful sunflower to brighten the atmosphere, n’est-ce pas?
And this venerable rose bush, another tough as nails plant! I planted this – maybe 35 years ago? I swear it lives on love as I rarely water it even during the hot summer. It does not mind a heavy pruning and just seems to flourish. The Anna Hummingbirds love this one!
Alpine strawberries. I do not plant these in the ground as they are tenacious and would soon cover the yard, as I discovered a few years ago! Now I just keep one plant in a pot and that is enough. Yesterday, this caught my eye, I loved the dainty flowers against the broken clay pot. This .. to me .. is true beauty of the best kind.
A few days ago, I gathered some pumpkin seeds and scrapings, placed them on a Rubbermaid container lid for the birds to feast on. Our lovely JaneE (nearly 22 years old now) loves pumpkin squash and I caught her eagerly dining on this! She soon stopped and walked away to her little bench. The Stellar Jays noticed this food and quickly made this disappear. I noticed one of the Jays swallow a seed whole, snatched up another and flew away to rest in one of the trees!
Another one .. beautiful!! I did take some little wedge sections for my garden .. couldn’t resist doing that.
On the way home, little baby girl was so sleepy .. and worn out from pacing back and forth in the car, she finally succumbed to dreamland. Love her so much.
And the great scape escape. I had a feeling, while I was hanging bunches of garlic to dry beneath the sundeck, that I may have missed a scape or two. Proof here that I did!! I could plant the seeds and in a number of years of replanting, I might receive a regular garlic. Might just do that for the fun of it … but will need to clearly label the container!!
Everything has been carefully planted and watered – the water was obtained from Eagle Lake and brought up to the planting site, bucketful by bucketful. I simply had to encircle the plants with rocks. This, hopefully, would allow passersby to understand that these plants were intentionally placed there.
Important information for people to see and learn more about the turtles.
I also learned that one can have one’s property noted as a Habitat Steward! The information is on their web site. This is wonderful.
There are about 5 or 6 logs near the edges of the lake. These were placed there by HAT, so that turtles could bask in the sun!
Some aquatic plants floated in the water, a gentle breeze created some graceful arcs around them .. in a very artistic manner.
There is a cob house in the area and the owners take people on guided tours to show them how the house was built. I think that the same people built this cob building for the park. It certainly suited the surroundings. At any moment, I half expected Snow White to saunter out of a little doorway in the building, basket in hand, all set to harvest greens and mushrooms for supper. Really, that is how my mind works and I like my imagination a lot. We spend a lot of time together, and this is how it should be, for a creative person, n’est-ce pas??? 🙂
So my pal, D, whom I had visited just before driving out here, packed me a little picnic treat. She’d made a delicious apple crisp (made with the dehydrated apples I had prepared from our tree!) and insisted on giving me a portion to take with me, complete with a fork to eat it with! She also gave me the Red Green bathroom book .. he is such a funny guy! And there is my watch, ready to let me know when to leave for my lesson!
Back home, I kind of wandered around the yard with my camera .. and saw the Iris flowers blooming away. Beautiful, floppy, gentle, calming and graceful.
From the backyard .. more pretty flowers ( and yes, cannot remember the name).
Salal growing like mad at the front of the house .. and more evidence that the Leafcutter bees have been active!
Darling, lovely Bewick Wren .. perched atop our First Christmas Tree … so precious. I love them. This photo was taken from the back yard, about 30-40 feet from this 50 foot tree (or maybe higher than 50 ft., it’s hard to tell, but it is tall!)
I hadn’t noticed that my garlic was growing scapes, my pal D pointed them out to me!
This is the first year that I had planted all my garlic in containers. They are doing well.
Bizzy Bee …
On one of my (too) many trip to Michael’s Craft stores, I happened to notice this Guide Dog vehicle. I have the highest respect for what they do and this was the first time that I’d seen a car with the signage on it, so I just had to snap a photo.
Life has been pretty busy, now that the rains have stopped and the sun has begun shining.
Not far away is this lovely old rose bush .. the roots are deep so it doesn’t need much water at all .. my favourite kind of plant. Once in awhile I’ll add some EM or some other nutrient .. liquid seaweed. It’s a tough old plant and adds beauty and nectar for the bees and I’ve seen the Anna’s there also.
I planted some blue Columbines and now I see that there are pink ones also. Love garden surprises.
The blue Columbines that I planted …years ago ..now flowering away like mad .. a neighbour to the pinks!
So here I’m being “artsy” and applied a Slate shade to the blue Columbine.. glad that the flowers aren’t really this colour, but I do like the dreamy effect.
Some thornless blackberry flowers .. huge berries!! I wonder if the Leafcutter bees have been active .. as I’ve noticed some circular indentations on a variety of leaves. Busy Bees.
Sweet little Lady Jane .. this is one of her favourite places to have her treats. She keeps running towards this little bench, sits and stares expectantly upwards .. “where is my picnic?
Where are the rest of my treats?????
I finally decided to try growing potatoes in straw, having read many online accounts of success. I carefully unrolled some chicken wire, folded in half, lengthwise, inserted bamboo sections for the frame. Added some organic seed potatoes and covered with the straw. The potatoes had already started rooting when I planted them. Added some water and now I’ll just wait to see how they grow and will keep adding straw as the plants grow. I shovelled some soil on top, just a little bit.
These are the little potato sections that I had cut up, a few weeks ago, and planted them in little pots. 99% of them rooted and sprouted leaves .. see how strong the root section is!! And also, I see a couple of bean plants in the cells .. no idea where they came from as I had not planted them. happy to see them, though. Time will tell what kind of beans they are. One of the joys of using homemade compost, I think! the magic continues.
Every year I shape-shift my veggie garden. Every year I just cannot fathom how to come up with a new design .. and .. every year I do! This year is the same. We have had steady rains up until last week, so I haven’t gone outside to play. Now the sun is here and I’m all excited about work in the garden. It takes a few sessions outside before I’m really energized so patience is a virtue there.
Sunshine on the Lily of the Valley leaves … sweet. 
My Lovely Garden … Mon Joli Jardin 