My Lovely Garden … Mon Joli Jardin

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

Tag Archives: blue skies


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Organic straw for the garden and a few more bird feeders for my friends in the yard…

So yesterday was one of those days .. one where all I really wanted to do was go outside and tackle some outdoor chores.  I have a long list of these things to do outside and somehow quite enjoy ignoring them while I wander around the yard … soaking in the beauty of vines, plants, flowers .. all growing vigorously … watching the darling birds.

But .. yesterday I had a few places to visit throughout the city and I am really glad that I did.   One of the reasons that made me happy was a chance visit to a garden centre by Sears!  There was a sale!  And my lovely DH had given me a gift card for this shop (Cannor’s!!) which I happened to have with me.  He gives me a card for my birthday (recent) and one for Christmas.  I always try to get the maximum use out of these great gifts, so a sale just beckons me!

I bought a few (8 of them!!) items that were actually for air ferns.  Well when I looked at them .. I saw “bird feeder” instead.  So I now have a good supplies of these feeders for my little winged friends.  Here is one which I filled with sunflower seeds and am now waiting to see little birdies happily munching away.  These are shaped just nicely for the little guys to settle in, and feast away.  I can hardly wait to see them using it!

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Here is a second type, sort of bowl-shaped, with cutouts!  I have 2 of these .. and as of today I am still waiting for the little birds to discover them.  They will, it’s just a matter of time.  However, seeing that I’m impatient I would love to see them “Now”!  🙂  Nature is patience so I must wait.  sigh.02Here is another lovely item that I bought at the garden shop yesterday … right now I put a little bit of water in it to see if the birds would like to bathe in it … no takers so far.  And I might be tempted to put birdseed in it sometime, who knows!  Not sure if it is meant to be outdoors in the winter .. time will tell.  It is made of metal with a type of clear coating over the metal.  Should it happen to weather during the winter, well .. that will add more of a personality to the patina!

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And I travelled to the heart of Central Saanich to buy 2 bales of Certified Organic Straw .. a treat for my garden .. no chemicals or pesticides.  Lovely.  I’ll be spreading this over my garlic once it is planted and then will add some as a winter mulching around my perennials.  It isn’t easy to find Certified Organic Hay or Straw and so I was quite happy to find Ryan Vantreight’s organic farm!   He is passionate about organic gardening .. we need more people like him!!   🙂

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Sweet little squash flowers .. growing on.  I can see tiny squash here and there in the yard .. there is still a month of growing let so I think I will be able to harvest a handful of tiny squash.  How fun that will be.

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This is the little bird-cage that I bought last summer in Port Alberni .. the top of the cage is hinged and hangs at the back.  I’d placed a cheerful geranium inside and look at the tiny little sunflower that is growing alongside of it!

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Some afternoon skies from yesterday.

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My running around yesterday also included a trip to the Casino, for my yearly $5 Happy Birthday gift.   I had troubles with my card at first, it kept showing up as “invalid” and then after 2 trips to the Customer Service desk I finally had everything right.  I chose to play the 1 cent machine.  And I could do no wrong!  Kept winning 8 free draws and line wins and then my $5 gift had blossomed to $10.62.  I went wild and bet the 62 cents and then decided to cash in my winnings and walked out, $10 richer than when I went in.  There is a slippery slide to gambling and I choose to not do the slide.  Tempting, though .. and they know it!  All those bells & whistles and free spins with lots of credits piling up.  As I walked away, I thought .. should I just play a few more games?   No …………. and off to Lee Valley Tools I went!

Wise choice and I spent a few happy minutes in there .. love that place.

So yesterday was a fun day, caught some sales, won some money and finally .. oh joy .. was able to spend a little time in my garden … my favourite place to be!

🙂


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Enjoying the beauty of Cherokee Trail of Tears beans … and other beautiful growing plants in my little garden

My pals, R & D & I went seaweed collecting last week … we carefully chose the seaweed that was battered and torn up … nothing fresh and growing.  Anyway, part of our ritual is to stop for lunch at the Little Vienna Cafe in Sooke!  Delicious food .. happy atmosphere.  We sat outside and there is the most marvellous water feature there …

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And if you happen to have an old wooden boat handy on your property and are at a loss as to what to do with it .. here is an idea!  Plant a garden!   Hmmm … wouldn’t it be lovely to see garlic growing away in this? (I love garlic!)

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Such magnificent blue skies.  I love blue skies and take a zillion (seriously!) photos .. so many, in fact, that D suggests that I create a “Cloud” blog .. well, that is certainly food for thought.

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A crow flying overhead … just one crow!  Where are his buddies?

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Definitely eye candy overhead on a sunny day …

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And here is eye candy of another sort .. out in the garden …

06There is always one in every crowd .. you know .. the one that stands out and seems to say “it’s me .. see me” .. in a nice way, though!

07Lovely Clematis flower … soon it will be time to sleep and rest during the fall and winter months.  Ready to spring forward and bloom anew in the warmer seasons.  Thank you for adding to the magnificent beauty in my backyard oasis.

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How lucky am I .. strawberries are still growing away and it is the end of September.

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With the promise of more berries to come.  Way to go, strawberries!

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More of Nature’s garden art .. how delicate and sweet ..

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Doesn’t this make you smile?  I don’t cut the sunflowers down .. just let them grow away and provide food for the birds when it is time.

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I love these Cherokee Trail of Tears beans .. they are a very vigorous plant and the vines are super tough ..and talk about fast growing!  I had put out a few tall stakes, however, their rapid growth caught my by surprise.  I was concerned that perhaps their intertwining might mean not so many beans, but as you can see, that is not the case!

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Their diminutive flowers are so gentle and calming .. funny thing for me to say about a flower, but that is the sense I have when I’m outside, admiring them.

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So I’ve learned yet another thing about planting beans!  Planting these Tiger Eyes bush beans next to the Cherokee Trail of Tears was not such a great idea as they quickly became shadowed out.  However, a few pods have grown so I will save them for seed for next year.  When I’ll plant them in their own area!

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See how the Cherokee beans grow right up through the trees!

016Yesterday was a most beautiful sunny Sunday.  And I was able to spend the complete day outdoors!   I spent so much time wandering around .. soaking up the beauty of the flowers, beans, vines, plants.  It was just such a wonderful day.

And I finally spread around the seaweed that my friends and I gathered last week .. it was getting to the stinky stage and I put lots in the compost containers and dug in the rest into the garden soil .. with lots around the pear stock tree!

I dug up a brick path that I’d installed last fall .. to create a pathway in the veggie bed.  Time for change.  My gardens are all about change and moving things about.

Anyway .. time is speeding up and I have my exercise group to join .. so more later!

🙂


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I felt like a country mouse in the city .. happy to be back in my lovely little yard ..

I love Nasturtiums and it is a good thing for they have been growing like crazy all summer.  Something else that loves them also are aphids. I hose off what I can and depend on the Ladybugs to feast on the rest.

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Some late season raspberries .. they were a surprise!  I love garden surprises and I am going to mark this plant with a ribbon so I can differentiate it from the hundreds of others that surround our yard.

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Lots of insects in the yard .. this was a strange one and I was able to take a few photos before it flew away.  Wonder what it is??

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Spider basking in the sun .. enjoying a break in the daily routine of living in the garden.04

We went to Vancouver a few times recently … I felt like a little country mouse in the big city

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I was so happy to be back home .. in our yard .. admiring the beauty of the Crown Peas (Heirloom).  To dissuade the hungry sparrows, I tied some cd’s to sparkle in the sunshine  This seems to have worked .. since they have stopped dining on the shoots.

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Dainty sprigs of Sweet Annie growing softly … graceful plants.  This year I’d started them, ever so carefully, in single cell plant pots.  Next year I will just throw little amounts of the tiny seeds throughout the sunny parts of the year.  They will grow taller I think.

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Mmmmmmmmmm … blue skies, wispy clouds .. still seems like summer .. I like it!

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Little baby squash growing randomly in the yard … I learned another lesson the hard way this year.  It is very important to rinse the soil off the squash, once picked.  And rinse in a very light bath of water and some bleach or peroxide to avoid mould growing.  I’d picked a sweet little orange squash a week ago.  Enjoyed how lovely it looked.  Of course, I hadn’t rinsed it.  And DH went to move it from the tea towel it was resting on and noticed that it had seriously started deteriorating.  Sigh.  But not this one, though.

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Sweet darling little Bush-tit .. I think this is a female, can just barely see the yellow outline in the eye.

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The yellow is more evident in this photo.  This is a bird that would not live in a cage.   Freedom in the wild (as wild as can be in urban areas).  They are the most joyous little birds, singing as they whirl into the yard .. never fail to make me smile.  Thank you …

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Teasel .. the seed that keeps on growing now matter how much the plants are pulled.  Pretty plants although the bracts along the stem are a trifle sharp!  ;l believe they were used to comb wool in long ago days.

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Loving the light shining through the eucalyptus tree …I think this was mid-afternoon.

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A close up of those lovely Crown Peas .. I love their delicate beauty.

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Cheerful sunflowers all throughout the yard .. brightening up all the corners .. lovely!

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Hearing the raucous cries of the crows flying overhead ..  stopped to look up.  They are so brave in a group and here they are chasing a hawk.  This continues for a while and then they slowly disappear from sight.

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A short while later, the hawk has eluded the crows and now soars quietly overhead.

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These are the reason why the hawk often flies nearby … Passenger Pigeons are kept nearby.  The hawks are swift.  The pigeons .. not so much.

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More wispy clouds ….

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Now it is time to go back outside .. into the sunshine while it lasts .. a marvellous day to look up at the sky … harvest beans, tomatoes, the odd strawberry.  Dig around .. and think of ways to change the layout of the garden.

Oh, and another year of learning things in the vegetable garden .. but more about that tomorrow.  I just had to come inside and post a few pics.

Time now to fill my mug with a fresh brew of Yorkshire Tea.

🙂


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Oh my where has the time gone and I’ve been having fun and now it is the eve of my 65th Birthday!!

Well .. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and will repeat “where does the time fly to anyway”?

Back in March I thought I’d take a few days away from blogging and then things started happening, days passed, I missed my blogging terribly.

This is really my precious time .. when I can let my fingers fly across the keyboard and let my mind wander and dream and think and reminisce over the day and weeks gone by.  Decadent time .. akin to indulging in a sinfully rich chocolate cake.

I really do miss this .. and so I will continue.

And share that today is my eve of my 65th birthday!  Every birthday is wonderful and I think of each celebration as a new year in my life.  I am so lucky I know.  And I am so happy .. so I thought I would share some photos of things that bring me joy in my garden!    This is a tiny little tomato .. how sweet ….

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More tomatoes ripening on the vine … I usually don’t have great success with tomatoes but with the heat of the summer plus some organic molasses mixed into the EM that I watered the veggies with .. I seem to have been having a decent crop of tomatoes.P1070553

 

 

One of the many things I’ve been involved in doing this summer is creating glass garden totems . .here is one, beside the “sump pump” fountain (to drown out construction noise) .. I’ll blog more about my totems with lots of pics .. at a later date.

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Scarlet Red Runner Beans.  Now, being a gardener and loving things that grow and attract  bees and hummingbirds .. why on earth did I only clue into these lovely beans this year?  I vow to always plant these beans for these most exquisite beings .. the happiness from seeing them visiting the flowers knows no bounds!  I’ll post pics later on, for I do have them.P1070571

The power of EM (effective microorganisms) knows no bounds.  Here is a potted up Bay tree .. I’d dug it up from one area of the yard and then just left it in a pot for a few months.  And so it seemed to have not survived .. until I watered it liberally with EM and look at this vigorous new growth.  Oh, I am so happy.   I’ll have to cut away the part that isn’t thriving but that is for another day.

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Baby Scarlet Red Runner Beans .. along with the joy and excitement of veggies growing in my garden is the fact that I now have a marvellous new camera!  I bought it in the early summer .. the Swallowtail butterflies were visiting the Buddleia and I so wanted to get some good photos (I’ll share them later).  I splurged on a Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS40 30X Super Zoom camera … love learning about it as I go along.P1070586

Squash growing in the garden … from the compost!  Outgrowing the beans I planted in this section.  The random beauty of the squash, the squash flower and the clematis caught my eye ..P1070595

ahhhh … sometimes I’ve been forgetting to look up .. at the sky art ….what I would have missed!

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I’ve been growing tri-coloured beans in pots, they have been growing quite well.  As my pal D notes … the purple beans turn green when cooked.  Eye candy to a gardener, eh?P1070610

 

Clever birds know where the food source is .. as I discovered when I noticed the empty sunflower seed heads!

 

 

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Oh the delight of the Bush-tits as they joyfully swarm around the yard … cheerfully chatting away as they nibble at the suet …P1080362

 

This smartly capped Chickadee was nestled onto a bamboo length and I discovered too late that he was chatting away to another Chickadee which was only about a foot away from me when I clicked this photo!  Oh, they must have chuckled over that, when I realized this too late and missed the close up photo.P1080399

 

Oh, the magic of a garden .. to witness up close the amazing power of a plant to grow from a single seed …into the rampant elegance of, say, this squash plant.
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The scarlett red runner beans were growing merrily up the tripod of stakes and the sunchokes were just as tall .. they tower above me and I’m guessing they are about 15 + feet in height!  What wonderful privacy plants they are, don’t you think???P1080426

 

Scarlet flowers and tiny beans .. oh, Red Runner Beans you are so amazing!  Alongside this Peppermint stick grass (I love this plant too!!)

 

 

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Buddleia still flowering away .. butterflies and the Anna’s love them.

 

 

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A circle of sunflowers .. thanks to the birds who scattered the seeds …

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Up close …

 

 

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Some of the peas that the sparrows had been feasting on .. I dug them up and planted them in containers .. see how strongly they grow?  Peas are not fragile little plants, bless ’em!

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Surprise red strawberries .. these caught my eye when I was looking at the little squash.

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Well .. there you have it!

I’ve re-entered the world of blogging and have so very much to share and talk about.

For now though .. I just wanted to share some of the very many things that bring me joy.

And to share that I’m celebrating another Happy Birthday!

🙂


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Friday was a rainy day but the sun came out in the afternoon

Monday, March 31, 2014

Amazing to me how quickly the days are passing .. especially since January just didn’t seem to want to move ahead very quickly.  I think that it just seems that time is moving too fast .. when I think about the lovely longer days with more things to do especially outside.

Take Friday, for instance.  The day was a long one and it started out in a rainy fashion.  Our boot camp group met at the designated location for the Friday session.   Brrrrr .. it was grey skies, a light rain and off we went.   I am glad I went but really I was sorely tempted to stay home.  And if I had stayed home .. then I would have missed seeing this Great Blue Heron looking for breakfast!

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And as we went along the pathway, I turned and snapped another photo, so very glad I had decided to get out and get going.

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Another one of those lovely bridges/footpaths .. leading us into another area of the forest.

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I have recently been salvaging native plants (I belong to an official salvaging group) and had collected a good supply of Sanicula, which boasts the most beautiful yellow flowers.  Glad to see this plant growing naturally, to be left alone.

04Also lots of luxurious moss … with many tiny wildflowers waiting their turn to grow.05

A great grouping of Low Oregon Grape .. this is what I will plant at our next home .. mass plantings!

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Dainty little ferns growing at the base of a moss-covered tree trunk.

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After traipsing uphill through muddy sections and slightly steep (for a Friday morning!) walk .. we arrived at a viewpoint.  Lots of lichen on the trees .. a very tranquil spot.

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And on our return trip .. we noticed how high the water was at Elk Lake.   Usually there were Mallards at this area .. but they must have relocated till the waters recede a little.

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Oh, and here is another most wonderful reward for going outside!  What a very stately and handsome guy!

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D said hello to him and he patiently stayed in place for that.

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After a minute though, he had to race to catch up to his doggy-dad.  Enough time spent here … thank you very much.

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Pretty shades of green … the pale green of the Indian Plum intermixed with the deeper shade of the Horsetail … again, Nature’s Beauty is best.

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Can you see the laughing face in the tree?  and also the drooping mustache?    Quite a handsome tree.

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The contrast of the light/dark/shiny/dull image of the lake/trees/background struck a most appealing sight.

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That was the early part of my day … I then went to do some volunteering at Fort Rodd Hill .. and will share some of those photos tomorrow.

Although Friday wasn’t really a sunny day … I am pretending that the afternoon was like this .. what’s the harm, eh?  Smile

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Spring is here and the Bees are buzzing

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

This week is meant to be a rainy one but … the sun is determined to shine and I’ve seen lots of blue skies.

I’ve also seen teacups for the garden at the Burnside Home Hardware:01

Yesterday morning I made a list of things to do and shop for and was all around the town.  At one point, the overcast skies parted and there was lovely sky:

02When I got home, I realized I had taken a sky photo with part of the logo of the one of the few Safeway stores that were being morphed into SaveOn stores ..so the familiar Safeway logo will not exist at the Tillicum Mall any more .. I decided to keep it in the sky photo.  Memories.   03

Back at home I decided to take a little tour of the yard and to see what is going on.  Here is a flowering Salmonberry ..04

Seen from another view (note my “magnificent” water feature -a sump pump in a washtub .. very effective at drowning out traffic noise!)

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The dwarf weeping willow (I have 2) is in full pollinating mode and there were several  bees, one big fat one which didn’t like me being so close, I was wearing a black and white shirt and forgot that black is a threatening colour to bees .. and a smaller, thinner bee .. both just bouncing off the flowers.  I took lots of photos, but none show the bees.  I had fun taking them though!

06Again with the blue skies overhead!07The Broccolini is growing away:

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And the shallots are looking healthy also!09I see a flower on the Red Currant .. the Anna’s will love these.

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Finally .. memories of yesterdays blue skies …

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And now it is time to dash out the door.

I was just practising with Windows Live Writer to see if I could create a quick posting.  A bit of a learning curve and it seems to be quite efficient!  (Thanks Timethief!!)

Smile


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A lovely sunny February day ..

28 February, 2014

We have had several days of sunshine and cheerful skies ..

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I find it challenging to “not” look up at the sky .. it is so addictive when there is such incredible beauty up there …

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Constant changes, artistic shifting of fanciful clouds …

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See that  little mark up there against the blue .. that is a magnificent eagle.  I could see clearly with my binoculars 

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lovely …

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Isn’t this a peaceful sight .. the owner has lovely veggie gardens, he used to keep bees, and see the rustic old fence … and the magnificent trees in the background.1

Sadly .. this is a fuller view .. big box homes being built onto the hillside adjacent from that pastoral view.   Wonder how many trees were cut down for these boxes.  Creepy. And that is what is happening around this town, all over.

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On a happier note .. our group had just finished an energizing walk/hike for nearly 1 1/2 hours and now we were doing some warm down stretches.  When suddenly .. Casey appeared!

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He was a very social dog and made a point of going to each of us, to say a cheery hello!   Isn’t he so sweet … and loving …

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Back at home .. I fed Squirrely some peanuts .. here she looks like she is going to score a touchdown, left arm to the ground, right arm poised to throw the football .. ha ha ha
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And now she is taking her treasures elsewhere, playtime is over.

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Then I spent a happy few hours, shifting leaf mulch/hay from an area where I had tucked a lot of potted plants into a protected area against the winter.  Now it was time to move them aside and dig up the composting material.  I drilled holes in the bottom of several waste bins …and later filled them up with the material.   Lots of holes so the water can drain and breathe a bit, before I use this lovely stuff throughout the yard.

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I discovered this lovely packet of Irish Shamrock seeds & Irish dirt, a gift from my SIL years ago.  I’ll finally plant these in a pot .. tomorrow!12Well, I realize that I didn’t talk about my trip to the Llama farm … so will do that tomorrow!
🙂

 


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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Today the weather was sunny and a bit of overcast ..but last Sunday, there was snow!  My garlic is all covered … but it is very resilient.

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My winter sown summer seeds are safe in their individual greenhouses

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Monday .. more snow and some rain .. here is my wonderful garden cart … I really should have put it away from the elements .. but it is a tough little cart.12

My little crop of lettuce, spinach and Mizuna and other greens were doing well, during the snow/thaw/snow/thaw routine.   And a few days ago I removed all of these containers from the old hot tub cover and took down below to my potting area.   There was lots of cilantro .. I potted some of that up .. will show later.

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These stair photos are from last Friday .. here is a view at the top looking down (and thank goodness we only made one trip down and one trip up!)

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This is the view from the bottom (at the beach part) .. lots of stairs..

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Last Wednesday, as we walked briskly along .. I happened to notice this beautiful formal pond and statuary down below .. can you imagine having such a garden?  So peaceful.

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We continued on to the most wonderful Finnerty Gardens at UVic

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Ok, this was a bit funny to me .. this is obviously an oak stump .. talk about excess signage .. still, rather sweet..

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I believe this is a deer tongue fern ..2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in the city of Rhodo’s .. here is yet another …There is another park, Playfair, in Victoria, which has a forest of rhodo’s .. the park is also a doggy park and I spent many many hours there with my lovely dogs.

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Back at home, I noticed many daffodils, snowdrops, tulips and other bulbs that were preparing to show their flowery wonderfulness .. here are some daffs …

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Our neighbourhood squirrel was trying to get a drink of water out of this bucket .. however, I had emptied it .. so she was a little surprised.   There are lots of water sources in the yard for the birds and squirrels.

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Here she is, attempting to hide her cache of peanuts .. oops .. she sees me ..

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Yesterday’s glorious skies …

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Lovely …. sky art ..20So, some snow, some rain, some sun, some rain.  Typical Victoria weather .. aren’t we lucky!

And today I went to get some lovely Llama manure .. more about that tomorrow.   Today also I attacked my triple compost bins .. emptying, sifting, mixing, spring is definitely on its way!
🙂

 


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Thursday, February 13, 2014

An Great Horned Owl Eastern Screech Owl was visiting my sister’s home a few days ago!  Her DH took some photos and look at this!  Doesn’t look quite real, but it is.   It is still winter  in Peterborough, Ontario and so it is ok to have Christmas garlands decorating the house outside!

Horned owl Pictures 003 (2)

Here in Victoria, BC .. the skies were so blue a few days ago .. this was on Monday .. what a treat.  Note:  I no longer brag to my eastern relatives about how lovely the winters are here in Victoria.  I stopped doing that in 1996 when we experienced a heavy snowfall that brought the city to a crippling halt.   We haven’t had the same situation since, but, I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut and not tempt fate!  🙂

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On Monday our little boot camp started our vigorous walk at Gyro Park and this is one of the most gorgeous views along the way.   It was a group decision to hike up a rocky hill to this lovely vantage point.

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What a view!  I felt transported to some far away country .. this is a view quite spectacular, indeed.  It is good to traverse our beautiful city in order to see such beauty.  Of which there is a bounty, n’est-ce pas?  Notice the lack of trees which surely must have existed here .. long, long ago.49

This view was actually seen at the sidewalk level.  Notice a cargo ship off in the distance.

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Incredible skies on Monday!  I love how they frame the faraway mountains, the ocean and the land below .. everything in layers ..

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Puff … puff .. we went up and down these stairs several times.  I just had to click a photo of the shadows of the railing .. painting the surface of the cement steps.

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At one point we saw the bus .. how tempting it would have been to just hop on and travel around the city.  But, no, we were exploring, having adventures, exercising.  No bus for us today!

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Some funky garden art .. au naturel …

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and a heart .. for Valentine’s Day?  A heart for everyday!44

Look .. a baby cloud!  oooohhhhh how sweet!

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Now we were wending our way through streets and neighbourhoods unknown to me.  This area was lovely, a collection of homes that gardened with care … there was a good feeling to the homes.  Sadly, this little home seems to be abandoned, awaiting demolition .. I would have passed by without a second thought when D remarked on the lack of a front stairs!  Sure enough .. there was a weedy garden established there.  She notices everything!!
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One more sky shot … so very cheerful .

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And here is a house being prepared for removal to another location.  Nickle Bros. are well established in this business.   Beautiful home.  Glad to see that it has not been dismantled and will live on in another location!

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Some seagulls were enjoying the quiet calm of the morning, paddling silently in the clear ocean waters ..

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Back home, time for a treat and I started to peel the sticky label off of the organic banana and noticed the words.    Good words.

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A little walk around our own back yard and I could see some daffodils growing away .. there are quite a few in the yard now.  Strong leaves and the flowers will be bursting forth in a week or so.

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Well .. that was a lovely day .. now it is time to sign off and get some zzzzzz’s for another boot camp tomorrow .. Fridays are always the most strenuous!  Makes us appreciate the upcoming weekend.

🙂


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Monday, February 10, 2014

A few days ago we had snow!!  Here is my little car looking nice and cheerful in the snow.  I was waiting for R & D to pick me up for our Friday exercise outing.  I thought we were going to have a big snowfall and don’t have winter tires, don’t like driving in snow so was going to stay home .. but .. D convinced me to go.

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I tried to capture the fluffy snowflakes on the bamboo leaves, they looked so pretty.
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And there are iris rhizomes, bulbs, climbing vines, flowers … just waiting for the warm weather so they can grow .. grow .. grow ..

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To think that I would have missed this beautiful vista if I had stayed home!!!

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I could easily see a tiny faery door in the interesting textured bark of this tree .

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Our little group of four were among a few others up early to walk along this marvellous pathway in the woods.  We were at Thetis Lake park .. quite a beautiful place to be.

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Majestic, handsome, rugged, ancient .. the roots of this tree run deep and .. you know that they communicate with all of the other trees in the forest.  Instantaneous messaging of any changes.  Magical. And I can clearly see a little faery door at the front base of this tree . …how fun.12

Salal growing out of a decaying tree stump .. which feeds the soil and provides a lovely home to this plant and many other creatures besides.

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Such incredible beauty … 08

The water in the lake was still .. like glass .. doesn’t it make you feel that there is really another dimension living in that space .. and we can only catch a glimpse of it when the water is quiet like this.

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Silent beauty speaks for itself …

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There were two Bouvier des Flandres or just “Bouviers” happily trotting along with their doggy daddy .. I was just able to snap one quick photo before they were gone.  This one had just been called away from the water’s edge … where he was testing the weight of the ice and we could all hear a distinct crunch as his paw made contact with the icy surface.  Good thing he obeys right quick!  It would have been a big struggle to get him out of the water, with all that heavy fur!05

The thundering noise of a fast-moving creek caught our attention and called all of us to a side path to see what was going on.

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Ok, we had a little discussion about whether the sign was warning everyone of a possible UFO sighting.  It was much more interesting to make that interpretation!

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We continued along our way .. footbridge looming ahead, our session is nearly done.  But perhaps we will see more interesting sights along the way.  We usually do.

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Blue skies are appearing overhead .. a lovely sight to see …

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And here is sweet little Lilly … a little doll!

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This dog was just priceless .. his doggy daddy was trying his best to have him pose with his stick in his mouth, he kept picking it up and dropping it and looked so cute.  But he just wanted to either play with his stick and jump around or just sit , stick on the ground and look up, adoringly at his dd!

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So I took several photos … while he was temporarily still! (edit:  I just looked closely at his bandana and this is what I found . … fantastic!  http://dogbeach.org/  oh, to think that I would have missed this if I’d stayed at home!!)

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Back at home, I’d been taking the hummingbird feeders in at night as the temperatures were low and the nectar was freezing. (I make 3:1 for the winter).  While I was holding 2 of the feeders, a little Anna came up and started feeding.  Don’t you just love those special moments in the garden ….
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And this little one visited the other feeder once I had hung it back in the tree.  I’ve read that hummingbirds don’t depend on these feeders, they eat insects and drink moisture from the leaves .. but when the weather is freezing, we all want to ensure that they have nectar.

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Looking out through the basement window I saw this little White Crowned Sparrow ..30My decluttering is coming along in bits and pieces.  I’ve been finding all sorts of positive posts about this issue.  Many have struggled .. as am I … and I love reading the stories of their progress.  So I thought that this subject would deserve a posting .. perhaps in a few days.

Anyway …here I go again .. to try to fill up some of the empty boxes that I picked up a few days ago.   I was going to have a garage sale with my “wonderful” stuff .. but have decided to donate to a charity shop.  So I’ll give everything a quick clean and a polish before filling up the boxes.

🙂