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: nature


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What is lost is found again! More photos of “Shopping on Fisgard” and we saw a lovely dog, Mosha (sp?)

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So I am quite proud of my recent decluttering activities .. it feels wonderful and energizing to look around me at my recently organized little office area.   I know where everything is and have begun to find things lost a long time ago.

Which reminds me of a recently read book by Cecilia Ahern (her first name is my middle name and we spell it the same way!  ) Anyway, this book is “A Place Called Here” .. and it is very well written, she knows how to portray philosophical thoughts in a most delightful way.  I won’t spoil the story for you about the very wonderful ending.  But I will briefly list the storyline.

I love time travel stories.  The kinds that are simple and believable.  And this one has those elements.   The lead character is called Sandy Short and she has a mission in life to find lost people and articles.   And she is successful, not 100%, but has a good success rate.

We are led along in her daily life, flashing back and forth from the past to the present in a most interesting little journey.  One that I didn’t really want to end, as her writings flowed on and on again.   So I’ll have to find more of her books to read.

Anyway, I had finished the book when I’d started on my decluttering activities.

And guess what!

I found:

– my red velvet gloves that I love so much (still looking for the black velvet pair!)

– 4 nail clippers and DH found another so we now have .. maybe 7 or so in our collection?

– various musical cd’s that I’ve been looking for.

… and there were other items found, but these were the highlights.

So, having read the above book, and coincidentally found the above listed items, I’m sort of wondering about where, really, lost items are kept .. in the interim between losing and finding?   Sorta makes me wonder!

I’ve posted more pics of a few days ago, when D & I went shopping downtown and visited some nooks and crannies of the lovely Fisgard Street shopping district.

Such a fun day and one that will have to be repeated.

We’d also shopped at Capital Iron .. this is a fantastic shop located on Store Street,  which is located by the waterfront .. where you can see hugs ships/sailboats anchored and being repaired by a local ship repair company.  Smell the beautiful sea air.

This store has been around for ages and carries everything you would need for your home (except furniture).  They used to have a large area in the lower area where you would find a treasure trove of artifacts, old magazines from the 40’s, bits and pieces from old ships .. you name it.  Now that is gone and is replaced by gardening and seasonal items.

Still, it is a wonderful store .. and now carries hot tubs, magnificent BBQ items, furniture, truly decadent and I can only wonder what it would be like to have a home with any of the BBQ equipment!

Anyway, my inner plant magnet drew me to the 50% area!  D pointed out a magnificent leaf on a tree, turns out (she found out) it is a Eucryphia X intermedia ‘Rostrevor” .. an evergreen (my favourite) grows up to 40 ‘ (wow, yes, another favourite) and is quite the sturdy plant (another bonus) … plus ..drumroll .. easy to propagate (oh, yes!) and the best times seem to be July.  So, I’ll be sharpening my pruning shears and doing just that next summer!

These were on sale, so I only bought 2!  And a few other perennials, resulting in a fully laden garden cart.  Once these were paid for and we were outside, a very helpful sales person, D and myself .. laying out the tarp in my car to catch any spilled soil .. determining the best way to place my recent purchases in the interior .. when my attention was caught by the most lovely Beardie walking along the parking lot, looking adoringly up at his dog-daddie.

What could I do … I left the sales person and D to load the plants and I rushed over to say a big hi to this dog and asked his daddie if I could take a photo of him (the dog!)  🙂

My heart melted when I saw how the dog politely looked upwards, listening intently  as he was told to sit!  What an obedient dog he was.  And then he sat patiently while I clicked away.   His body language seemed to say “Alright now, I’ve been asked to sit politely for a moment and I will do so.   But really, you see, I would rather be walking with my daddie.  However, I will comply and so I will stay here for a little.  Then we will be on our way.  Thank you very much.”

Ok, I’ve made the dog’s dialogue up, but that is my interpretation!

I returned my attention to the task of loading the plants and was delighted to discover that this feat had been accomplished in my absence.  Timing is everything.

We drove away, car fully laden. leafy branches of the Eucryphia extending into the front of the car so that D was really hidden from view as she sat in the passenger seat.  It was as if we were driving in a forest!

And I still haven’t shown you all of the photos .. so will share more tomorrow!

So ..on with this day ..lots to do!

 


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I decluttered with a vengeance and now I have lots of space! Plus, I decided to go to Cesar Milan show, yea!

October 31, 2012 … Happy Halloween …

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And .. no chocolate for me .. cause .. today .. is the day that my Ecological Landscaping Course begins.  Once again I’ll enter worlds of knowledge about gardening that will raise my awareness to a whole new level.  I’m quite looking forward to this.  I know that we will be learning how to graph out a landscape and that will be a challenge for me .. or .. will it?

Anyway, yesterday I found my “Inner Organizer/Declutter” energizer had taken over my being for the whole day.

I fought this at first.  Looking around my computer room, seeing stacks of books, papers and other things that just somehow accumulated bit by bit over the months.  You know, the things that are just placed on the desk “for a minute” or “till tomorrow” or some other such vague period of time in the future.  Relief at not having to focus on tidying up in the present time.

Things that are hastily stuffed into attractive storage boxes “just for now” and they slowly make a home for themselves on the shelves, gathering dust.

I played around with sorting at first.  Casually picked up a few pieces of paper for recycling.  Looked through some books.  Went to the kitchen.  Made tea.  Searched on the computer.

Debated about this upcoming Sunday .. suddenly there are two activities that tug at my heart and they are both happening in the same time frame.  What are the odds?  (I know, a Canadian band, as my DH tells me!).  http://oddsrock.com/

Cesar Milan will be appearing on Sunday!  I went to his show a few years ago, and stood in the rain for several hours beforehand, for the opportunity to meet him and I was fortunate enough for that.  And he autographed a photo that I have of my little Oreo, looking into a mirror up at me.  I’ll post that on one of my posts during the winter.

So, dilemma.  Go to the show .. or go to the fall Friends of the Library book sale.  This one is going to be a great one and will be held in a huge sports arena.

The only trouble is that they are both occurring in about the same time frame.  I play with the idea of rushing to the sale, wait for the doors to open at 1:15 or so, gather up about 10 bags of books, rush to the car, drive to the arena, try to find a parking space and then go to the Show.

Or ..I could relax, and not go to the book sale, leave early for downtown, find a parking spot, casually enter the arena and this time look at the items for sale.

I know that DH and D both tell me that I have enough books ..and looking around me (and thinking about the shelves of unread books in the basement) .. I do have to agree with them.  So I’ll read like crazy in the winter and then will have some empty shelves, ready for the January book sale!  Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions!

Anyway, after I came back from town, with my ticket, I realized that I must focus on the decluttering.  And you would have been proud of what I accomplished, starting out, bit by bit.  And I decided that I could take my time .. I had the balance of the morning, all afternoon and evening to focus on this task.

Mercilessly I went through boxes of Christmas cards from over 20 years ago .. shred .. shred .. shred.  Puzzle books from that era .. to be donated, along with quite a few books that were purchased, new, not read .. from years ago .. time for someone else to read them.  (I donate these to a literacy program).

Ended up with 2 huge bags of paper recycling and one of those gigantic Ikea blue bags with items to donate & recycle.

This little room feels so much better and I’ve accomplished much, but there is still more to go and I’ve reached the energy level where I will be culling things that aren’t necessary any more.  What a freeing feeling!

Anyway, I’ve posted more photos of our little shopping trip on Monday, that lovely sunny day when D & I wandered around our famous old Chinatown shopping district, the Fisgard Street neighbourhood.  It’s been years since I’ve done that and it was quite a fun experience.

There are still more photos to post and I’ll try to post them tomorrow.

Anyway … on with this lovely rainy Halloween day ..

🙂


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Recent rains decadently decorated the garden! And I went shopping downtown!

Raindrops on the Pyracantha berries, from Sunday

So it rained a bit on Sunday … it being a lazy day for us .. I decided to not do any intensive gardening, despite the fact that Sunday is the only day of the week that is free from the constant dynamiting and construction noise of a nearby building site.

But, I did wander outside and savoured the silence.  I treasured the quiet in our yard and the beauty of the rain drops gently gracing the structures of the fruits, leaves, stems et al .. that are  growing so happily in our yard.  So I’m sharing some of my precious moments with you.  Please enjoy.

How delicate are the raindrops on these tiny apples

These little apples are wild, as the tree that is growing is the root-stock of the tree, the grafted apple has died away.  However, even though the apples taste bitter ( I just compost them) they are jewels of colour in the yard and for their beauty we are thankful.

Luxurious translucent crystals of water adorn the Mock Orange bush.  They sparkle in the sun’s rays (when the sun does trickle through)

Oh .. sweet pea .. won’t you dance with me …ta ra la la la la …

My gardening neighbour gave me the seeds for the lovely coloured sweet peas.

I always love the silvery droplets –  spheres rolling atop the surface of the leaves.  They seem like so many ethereal and  magical decorations by nature.  Or .. are they the work of little night flower fairies?   Busy through the long evening hours, while we sleep –  painting such exquisite designs on flowers and leaves .. for their nightly secret parties?  I wonder ….

And just look at one of my beautiful kale plants!  My lovely gardening neighbour gave me handfuls of the tiny kale seedlings months ago and look how they’ve grown!  I’m excited about these plants, never having grown them before.  And I love them .. as we can keep cutting away at the leaves until the early spring.   Then I can save the seeds for the next crop. Oh, and they are very nutritious also .. a bonus in addition to the beauty & rich colouring of their leaves.

And the little maple tree has shed its leaves … see the last yellow leaves tumbling down.  This is a little souvenir of my home town, taken from my brother’s yard.  DH & I will plant this one when we have a larger property.  It will be fun to watch this grow skyward.  A place for birds to play and nest.

A decadently entwined mixture of kelp … all twisted up.  I wonder if I should just gather up these ropes, let them dry and then create some kind of decoration out of it?  Hmmm .. food for thought.

Oh, sweet lovely blue skies .. a nice surprise today .. totally unexpected and so very appreciated.

For quite a long time in the backyard this morning  .. I stood still .. watching the cloud formations twirl and swirl  and dance around in joyous abandon …  way up above me .. high  in the clear blue sky.  Constant movement, delightful to watch.  And then there was one, two, three .. and more .. seagulls .. all sailing along in a thermal that was developing along the way.   So I thought … am I really outside to garden?  Or do I just use that as an excuse so that I can just go outside and gaze upwards?  And thus, neatly avoiding housework!! I’m starting to wonder about myself, ha ha ha.

For awhile, the construction noise hushed, I believe it might have been a lunch break, for which I was truly grateful.  Thus allowing me the luxury, the sheer joy of momentary silence .. in order to savour the ordinary garden sounds and just drink in the beauty overhead that was in constant play up in the warm blue sky.

So I played around in the yard a bit .. repotting some plants.   Did I mention that I happened upon another great plant sale last week?   I think that I did.  Anyway.  My wonderful, thoughtful DH had given me a gift card to a local nursery, oh, he is so thoughtful!   And as luck would have it .. there was a sale on the day that I decided to go plant shopping.  (I use the term of DH for Dear Hubby, so that is who I am speaking of .. )  🙂

Anyway, after that .. I set out to pick up my pal D .. we were going shopping downtown!!  And as I haven’t been downtown for simply ages, I was quite pleasantly surprised at the changes! I’ve taken quite a few photos today and will share a few today and then the rest tomorrow, so be prepared to feast your eyes.  I’ll present them in a slideshow tomorrow.

Victoria is quite a lovely town, and there are some amazing pockets of fantastic little shops.  With the most amazing people who work away in them!  I really enjoyed our shopping session and think that there will be many more.   See, above .. D noticed the play on words!  The Y.A.M. (for a Victoria magazine) in the forefront .. and the JAM Cafe sign behind.  That was fun.

And this little alleyway was interesting ..I love the brick. I don’t think I’ve ever been here before .. D knows where to go .. everywhere in this city.  So I’ll be showing more photos of the city as we go about our walks during the fall, winter and spring.  You know, the times that are too wet and cold for gardening.  That is walking weather.


And another little alleyway.  I just love these .. and for all the years I’ve spent shopping downtown, I just don’t recall these.  I love them.  And I apologize for putting my little logo thingy in the middle of the photo .. but I went ahead and save the photo . .and then couldn’t figure out how to move it!  Anyway .. you can see how inviting the brick lined walls are and the herringbone design of the walkway’s surface.

Ok .. here’s the last photo for today.  Isn’t this lovely .. it’s the outdoor seating area for a magnificent little restaurant. Union Pacific, on Herald Street.  So lovely and peaceful at this time of the year.  Great service, there was a special on Mocha today, so D & I each ordered one.  With whipped cream!   And there were a bazillion sprinkles .. I ‘ll show you tomorrow.

And I’ll natter on about the plants I bought today.  I tell you .. plant sales are my best friends!  I always find them.

Oh .. and I’ll show you the pictures I took of this lovely Beardie, named “Musha” (I’m guessing at the spelling.

One more thing before I sign off tonight.  I was outside talking with a neighbour when suddenly we heard the loud noise of flapping wings .. and saw a shadowy shape flit among the trees.   Then we saw it sitting on some overhead roadway wires (hydro or ??)..  the owl wasn’t having the best experience of stabilizing its feet on the swaying surface and so it fumbled for awhile .. and then rose up and flew away into my back yard!!
I went inside, grabbed a flashlight, went outside and shone the light through the yard and there he was!! Perched atop one of the rounded pvc arches that I had installed in the yard (for growing sweet peas and other climbing plants).

He was huge!!  And quietly sitting there .. until I shone the light on him and away he flew!

I know that this is a nightly occurence, but I’m normally not outside at night .. so it was a thrill to see bird activity!  Although, not for his prey!  I did notice that the owl had taken a little, ahem, shall we say, bathroom break at the front yard.  So tomorrow I will venture forth and try to find that .. to see what little artifacts are therein.

Anyway, it’s been a fun day and I look forward to more tomorrow!
Yawn ….

🙂


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Sharing some photos of my sailplane ride in the early morning skies at Port Alberni, way above the clouds!

Friday, October 26, 2012

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  Too quickly October is ending.  Halloween approaching and so is the start of my Ecological Landscaping!  This I am looking forward to.  And, thankful that I will not have to hand out chocolate bars (and sampling them over and over from those gigantic bags!).
Today the weather was overcast and rainy … a perfect fall day.  No photos from today. Although I did have my camera with me, just in case I saw something interesting in my travels.

What travels .. well .. I made my way to one of the local Canadian Tire stores .. and had fun wandering around.   Picked up some oversize, heavy duty ziplock bags to store my dried seaweed in.

Then for a greater part of the afternoon, back at home, I tried to find sources of luffa’s!!  A few years ago, these dried gourds were just absolutely everywhere.  Now, it’s a struggle to find a source for them, at a reasonable price.

That does it, next year I will plant them again in the garden.  They are really easy to grow and produce quite a good supply of seeds for the next year’s crop.  Except, the last time that I grew them, a few years ago, some savage insect cut down each huge flower when they bloomed.

But .. next year .. armed with my EM and seaweed .. and vigilance, I don’t think that this will happen again.

Anyway … I looked through my files of photos taken in October and realized that I hadn’t posted photos of my lovely early morning flight in the PW5 at Port Alberni .. so I’ll share those with you.

The day started with a sky full of clouds and I was fortunate enough to be able to go as a passenger .. way up in the skies .. above the clouds.

Such a peaceful place to be .. .magical and mysterious!

Now .. I love the skies .. I love being up there, far above the earth .. and since I’m not a pilot, I am in massive appreciation for my DH, who has introduced me to so many varieties of flying up in the skies!  He is part bird and I think I must be also .. to love the skies so very much.

And it is so much nicer to be way “up there” looking around at the clouds, blue skies and earth formations down below … and this gives me the impetus to gaze up at the skies when I’m gardening, or walking … sweet memories.

So I’ll end this little blog for this day .. and hope that you enjoy the photos that I have posted from this early October flight!

🙂


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It helps to know what kind of a person you are! Especially with procrastination.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

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Nearing the end of October already!  Fall is here.  And brought with it the rains. But .. there are still sunny breaks now and then.   And the weather reports show that Thursday is to be a sunny day .. so guess I’ll be going outside to plant.

Yes, plant.  For I have again succumbed to the plant sales and purchased yet more and more perennials!   Some magnificent plants and way cheaper than wholesale!     And I need to get them dug into the ground before the frosts arrive .. so I think I have a few weeks yet.  Is that procrastination?  I think so.

Our yard is starting to look like a little park, but not the kind with clipped grass.    Instead, the kind that you wander around, seeing a mixture of plant types all growing well together.  Both the taller screening plants and the mid to low-level bushes and ground covers.  A relaxing, comfortable place to be.

I’m starting the Ecological Landscaping course in 2 weeks and I just know that I’ll be learning how to properly space plants and also what to plant where.   So I might be moving a lot of these plants around next spring.  Or not.  Depends.  That gives me leeway for more procrastination, eh?

Right now I’m in blissful ignorance of all that future learning.  I do, however, look at the plant labels to see if they have preferences for sun or shade, so that is good.

I refilled the bird feeders and happy to see the Juncos’ returning.   Or maybe they’ve been here all summer and I’ve just missed them.   I make sure that I buy good bird seed suet for them.  I just can’t bring myself to use the Miracle Grow Scott brand, as they had put poison in their bird seed a few years ago (so that vermin wouldn’t eat the seed).  I was so upset, that I called the company and when I checked the coding of the packages that I had, I found out that this batch was fine.  However, this has clouded my vision of their product and so I now use other brands.

We consumers trust a lot, don’t we?   Is that trust misguided?  Shouldn’t we check the products that we buy to ensure that there is nothing harmful in them?  GMO‘s (they are voting in California, Proposition 37, to create a law that requires that GMO’s be listed on food labels:

http://action.ewg.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action

But there is good news on that link also, about Johnson & Johnson (their  many products are listed) will  remove dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde-releasers and triclosan. Johnson & Johnson is the first major personal care products manufacturer to take such an important action in favor of its customers’ safety.

Now .. isn’t that good news!!

Things are slowly changing for the better, it only takes the Power of One and then progress happens.

But enough about that .. I just started out chatting about my garden and procrastination and whew .. I went off on another path!

So during the past few days, I’m walking through my garden ..looking at the recent plant purchases, playing around with where to dig them in for the winter.  I can always move them, right.   Now that I’m armed with the amazing EM (effective microorganisms) I feel that I have magic for the plants.  And I do.  I’ve mixed up a batch of 16 litres (8 – 2 litre plastic milk containers).  Started 3 days ago .. and have them all covered with a towel and sitting on my plant propagating sheet, which I plug-in for an hour or so a day.  I think this batch will be ready in a few weeks.    It mixes up quicker in the warm summer.

I  noticed that the sweet peas have grown to be quite tall, nearly 7 feet!  And producing a great quantity of seed pods, which I’m collecting when they are ready.  I’ve already planted some for the spring …my gardening neighbour gave me lots to plant in the fall.  So I’m looking forward to a veritable of forest of flowers in the spring.

I’ve procrastinated about planting, about gathering, about many things this year.  But the most obvious sign of this habit was noticed by me yesterday.  When I looked at the container of garlic seeds and little garlic buds (from the hardnecks) that I’d placed “just for now” in a container outside.

With all the recent rains, the seeds have started to sprout!!!  Now, I can’t just leave them there …you know that I have to plant them!  I know that these seeds will take years to produce cloves, so here goes, I’ll be putting them into those lovely styrofoam rooting flats and let them grow till next spring.   Then I’ll decide if I’ll actually plant them up in beds or pots or whatever.  sigh.

Well, that’s enough rambling for now .. time to get going with this day.

🙂

 

 


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If I hadn’t gone for a walk, I would have missed seeing so many beautiful things, and met some lovely dogs along the way.

Monday, October 22, 2012

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The other day, I decided to go for a little walk, to catch some of the sun’s rays before evening set in.  And I am so glad that I did.
Otherwise, I would have missed seeing some beautiful cloud formations way up in the sky.

And I would have missed seeing more dogs … this is one of my favourite rewards on my walks.

Lovely happy dogs!  The first one, Mojo, was a rescue from the Mainland, Vanderhoof, I believe.  What a sweet gentle fellow he was!  I asked his doggy parents  if I could take a photo for my blog and they were happy to oblige.  He sat obediently when asked.  His trusting gaze looked up at me.  My heart melted.  I felt so happy that someone, somewhere, found him and others who were badly treated and enabled them to have this safe life.

And I thought again, for the zillionth time, how could people mistreat such loving animals.  Dogs, well treated, give their entire beings to people.  Actually, even if not treated well, they give their trust to those who care for them.  I’ve seen that, and wonder how this happens, but it does.

Dogs provide such true companionship.   I think back to the wonderful dogs that I have had the great fortune to have in my life and I’m extremely grateful for having them.  Such love.  Unconditional.   I miss them all.  Each one unique.  Each one wonderful beyond compare.

I truly believe that each dog comes into our life to teach us a specific lesson.  The main lesson, of course, is unconditional love.

And they give us a reason to go outside and discover the great outdoors and to have long interesting conversations with other doggy people.

Anyway, this all flashed through my mind as I left lovely Mojo and continued on my way.

I’d decided to walk along the path which led between the highway and the local allotment gardens.   I’ll have to go for another walk and take more photos.  This year I don’t expect them to flood, as there have been some repair done to the drainage systems  in this area.  Fingers crossed for the gardeners!

There were still gardeners happily working away.  Fetching loads of yummy oak leaf mulch to cover some areas.  Some were making sure that plastic coverings would be firmly attached to little greenhouses.   I felt that I should be at home, working away, but it was nice to just get out and walk.

Met another happy dog walker and stopped to chat about the pathway.  I normally don’t walk along this particular route and was surprised to discover such a winding walk just in our neighbourhood.  How lovely.

Anyway, now the path divided into two so I had to decide which one to take.  A decision to go left was made!  So I found myself in a lovely little cul-de-sac with a bit of a sidewalk that led up to the greenhouses on Glanford, near the corner of McKenzie !  In all the years I’d lived in this area, I realized now that I had never entered this particular neighbourhood.  Too busy driving to work or shopping.  Well, no more excuses.

So then I decided to go on this walk again yesterday.  And this time, I took the path that went to the right.  And I discovered another little neighbourhood tha led to the first one!  Gollee … see what happens when I venture out into our neighbourhood instead of walking across town.

I discovered one dead-end street that had quite a hill to walk down and then back up.  A good workout for my legs.  I marvelled at the tranquility of this neighbourhood.   And saw that little auto with the skeleton in it.  Now, this wasn’t real, ha ha . .it was for Halloween!  (At least I think it was!)
There was a lovely bit of marshland at the foot of this street, which added to the feeling of calm… and I hoped that there wouldn’t be townhouse developments built there to ruin their country atmosphere.

Anyway, I have begun my fall walks and, combined with renewed exercise sessions three times a week, I’ve begun to feel my old zest for life and energy returning.  Feels great.

Besides experiencing the beautiful outdoors, discovering new places in our neighbourhood, I’m also getting to meet the most lovely, happy dogs and this brings me great joy.

Mini-adventures available for free.  No tickets to buy.  No planning to make.

Lovely!


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Sharing my photos from Thursday’s adventure, gathering seaweed, visiting thrift shops and then lunch at Little Vienna Bakery Café

Saturday, October 20, 2012

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So I’m back to the slideshow method now .. this works much better for me, as I love to share photos of where I’ve been.  Maybe sometimes I’ll just insert a few photos.  But not today, though!

I’m sharing photos taken last Thursday.  A day that started out in a sunny fashion.   And my pal D and I were set to embark on another seaweed gathering day.  But first, I noticed the roses still blooming at the side of the house, so I gathered some and put the petals in a flat tray on a little table in the backyard,  Envisioning that they would be mostly dry in the lovely sun.

As it turned out, though, the rains poured down while we were up-island .. so as soon as I returned back home, I quickly gathered them up and put them on paper towelling so they would dry .. and they did, quite nicely!

Anyway, we began our day, driving to some lovely thrift shops.  We each picked up some treasures!   Including some black computer chairs, which we tried out in the thrift store, sitting on the chair and swirling around in circles.   Why even bother trying to be a sophisticated shopper anyway!  This was way more fun.

Everytime I buy a little knickknacks, I’m justified in the purchase.  Even though I’ve been busy decluttering at home!   DH asks me, when I show him my treasures .. well, actually, he just shakes his head and doesn’t say much … he’s very patient!  I try to explain why exactly I “need”these new things .. how they add beauty to the house!  Especially those decadent tureens (one with a lid) and the platter.

So, we visited 3 thrift shops and then it was time to go to Little Vienna Bakery Café  The rains had started in earnest, so we decided to have lunch inside!

I had a magnificent butternut squash soup, so rich!  And D had the sumptuous dumplings with a wicked mushroom sauce!  And desert!  Well, that was wrapped up and taken to our respective homes … for a later treat.

Well, finally, we reached Whiffen Spit.  The waves were crashing to shore and I asked someone nearby if my car would be safe where it was .. and I was assured that it would be!

Normally when we visit this place, the tides are out a bit .. and even the high tides weren’t as high as they were on Thursday.  So it was a change to see the waves come rolling in and then crash to shore.  Bringing with it enormous amounts of bull kelp and seaweed.

So we walked along a bit.   Then ventured to a sheltered area, to gather some seaweed.  Which was broken up into pieces by the powerful wave action as they were plummeted to shore.

We were in seaweed heaven!  Soon we had a few bags gathered and I put them in the back of my car .. being careful not to dislodge our recent treasure of purchases!

I also gathered some sea water, to use in the garden .. and thus add precious minerals to the lawn and garden.  Still working on getting the pear tree back to health and avoid the pear trellis rust.
I’ll be composting the leaves from the pear tree in a separate compost pile.  Adding lots of EM, seaweed and seawater.   The resulting mulch I’ll be using on the side garden.

As I noted before, last year, before my shift of paradigms (garden wise) I had just raked up all those lovely leaves with orange spots and composted them.  Hadn’t had any problems.  However, this year, with my new knowledge, I’ll be treating them differently.  And curious to see if this rust doesn’t return next year!.

Well, pouring rain thundering down, we decide that it’s time to return to the metropolis (ha) of Victoria, so we make our way back.  I keep to the posted highway speed in this type of weather … respecting the highway, the downpour and other vehicles.

Soon we are at D’s place and together we take her treasures inside, laughing as we remember what we bought at which store!  Another fun day.

Then, time for me to take my little car home and start the process of emptying the contents.   Sea water and sea weed taken to the back yard, about 4 trips.  Then I carefully gathered my rose petals to dry inside.

Next, my treasures are unloaded and brought home .. all freshly washed and dried!.

So much fun and such a low-cost.  My car gets great mileage .. up to 60 mpg on the highway, so that was negligible.   Then, the total cost of my treasures were under $40, so I had great value there.  Plus all the happiness they bring.

When it’s time in the future to pass these treasures along to someone else (so I can make room for more, as D says!) then I’ll enjoy the process.  It’s all fun anyway.

I must admit, I’ve quite enjoyed picking up little treasures for low costs … challenging my creative spirits and laughing along the way!

Well .. on with this day ….

 


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Here are some pics of some blue skies, some crows, lovely flowers and proof that I’ve planted my garlic

The crows were not pleased with the presence of the Great Blue Heron on “their” roof!

Last week on one of those rainy/sunny days, I decided to use my Cannor’s Nursery gift card, the one that DH gave to me for my recent birthday.  I wandered around outside, not many people there, just enjoyed the ambience of the proximity of thousands of plants.  Wondering which ones would be coming home with me.  Suddenly, the sound of crows cawing away directed my attention to the top of a nearby roof.

I watched for minutes while one crow in particular tried to scare the Great Blue Heron away from the roof.

So this one particular crow tried scare tactics .. but the Heron just yawned and continued preening.

The crow would fly up and then swoop down on the Heron, but the Heron just ignored him and continued his grooming.

 

Beautiful water flowers at Cannors Nursery

These flowers attract insects for fine dining .. I believe.  Quite beautiful in their arrangement.

And it was a rainy day, perfect for wandering the garden nursery

Aren’t the glistening drops of rain beautiful . . transforming the leaves into amazing natural works of art .. finer than any jewel could ever by.  Fashioned by Mother Nature.

 

Ok, this photo was from last week .. lovely skies

The beautiful blue skies from last week .. the clouds were constantly changing shape and so I was busy clicking away, taking little breaks from planting my lovely garlic.  I love the skies and  am constantly looking upwards, there is so much to see.  Always.   And thus the beauty.

One little block of garlic ready to be nestled in for the winter

Here is one little block of garlic.  I dug little trenches, put in the cloves, pointy side up.  Then watered them well with EM.   Next, I carefully covered the cloves with soil.

After the soil was spread over the cloves, next came a layer of seaweed/grasses

Then I covered them with a thick layer of seaweed.  Which D & I gathered over the summer months.   Followed by a cover of dried sea grasses.  (All of the grass was washed up by the tides, gathered gratefully and dried in the sunshine)  A lovely blanket for the garlic.

Sigh ..

 

Sigh says it all!

One of my recent “treasures” found in a thrift shop, for my garden

When D & I went for our seaweed gathering, we began to add little routines to our day.  When we began, we would collect spent seaweed,  then we would go to a nearby cafe for lunch.   We started adding variety to our trips a few weeks ago.  This included a visit to the Casino

I collected my $5 Birthday voucher,  and then she chose the machine.  It was Egyptian, of course!  Every time the points would increase, the costumed guard of the tomb would do a pretend arm “dance” ..so we giggled quite a bit at that!   Wisely, she suggested that I cash out, once my winnings were at $19.  So I did.  But then, I put in $10 and when that rose to $18, the reminder was given again, and so I cashed out again!  Actually walked away from the Casino with cash!  Usually on my Birthday $5 vouchers, I just make my yearly visit, spend the $5 in less than 10 minutes and walk away.  So I was quite pleased to walk away with more than I started with!.
Anyway, next we visited the local St. Vincent de Paul.  Oh, my, and thus began a series of “must have” purchases for home.  Above, is the garden mirror that looks great outside, leaning against a tree.

Then, I bought a cat scratching recliner thingy for JaneE.  Beautiful decanters and bottles.   Lovely.

One of my plant purchases at Cannors Nursery

One of my recent purchases for the garden!

Lovely Canna Lilies

Including a gorgeous pot of Canna Lillies!

ha ha ,, DH, adjusting the labelling of my oat bran!

So I opened up the kitchen pantry doors a few days ago and saw this and thought “Goat Bran” .. oh, DH was having fun changing the wording of my “Oat Bran“.  🙂

D’s 3rd crop of basil, from the same plants! The magic of EM!

And, oh, wow .. this shows the power of EM!  D had bought this pot of basil, kept it in the same soil.  Added EM .. and this is the third crop of basil that she has gathered.  And the same soil, now totally enriched with the EM.  Are you sold on this EM yet?  🙂

D’s little tomato plant, soldiering on, still bearing fruit, despite the weather! (EM!!)

And this is one of the famous four tomato plants.  The plants grown from the same seed as last year, small bushy plants.  This year, D watered them with EM.  Results were towering plants, a crop of way over 400 tomatoes from 4 plants.  And this plant is still growing.  Leaves and fruit are smaller, but still .. power to the EM!  And beyond.

D’s yellow tomato .. quite the interesting shape.

And D always is finding unusual fruits and veggies in her wanderings.  Here is one example of a strangely shaped tomato!  Like a quadruple tomato, eh?

Oh, Duncan, our little darling …

Darling little Duncan .. he’s wandering around the yard .. and he doesn’t like the camera!.

Well, I just wanted to share some photos from last week and yesterday.  To show my garlic, finally planted.  I created some rectangular areas in the garden and tried to plant one type per section.  So I have  mostly hardnecks, and I’ll be collecting the scapes next summer for more garlic pesto.

I planted the golf size and larger round bulbs in one section.  So looking forward to see the results next year!   And then the gigantic elephant garlic.  Lots of garlic.  And I saved one block for some winter veggies . .must go looking for some.

My lovely gardening neighbour has given me more Dragon kale, so I’ll be planting that soon.

I’ve been feeding my pear tree (the one with the pear trellis rust) with lots of seaweed solution and placed a fair amount of actual seaweed at the base.  And sprayed the branches as best as I could with the liquid seaweed.

After wonderful advice from the Gaia Community Board, I’ve been reminded that “healthy plants don’t get sick” … of course, now I remember that from my Organic Master Gardening Course, Gaia College!!   I’ve also learned that what I thought was the root stock of a plum-tree is actually pear stock.  So much to learn, how exciting.  We’d planted this tree about 30 years ago, so I forgot what it was.  🙂

D and I have been adding activities to our seaweed gathering days.  These now include 3 thrift shops!  Oh my.   I’ll post the pictures of my recent treasures tomorrow.  I think there are enough photos for today.

So today I tried a new way of posting photos.  And I will revert back to the slideshow method tomorrow.  As this posting of photos, one by one, just takes so much more time, and I’m the kind of person who wants to get on with things.

Anyway, I’m back to blogging.

So much more to talk about.  Including, ta da .. .another gardening course!  This one is Ecological Landscaping .. so I’ll be talking about that as I go along.  It starts Oct 31 and ends Dec 8 .. so another whirlwind session of learning is about to start.  Two sessions a week, 3 hours each.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these photos and tomorrow I will post pics of the crashing waves at Sooke and the pics of my recent purchases!
Now .. on to either gardening or decluttering.  Wonder which will win out?

🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Life is funny .. sometimes .. but it has its ups and downs

Thursday, October 11, 2012

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Have I been lazy, not writing every day?  I’ve missed quite a few days.  Frankly, my energy level has been quite low lately.  Due a lot to the loss of our little Youbou cat .. we loved him so very much and it’s been a struggle to deal that.  But we’ve dealt with that.   Duncan is spending more time inside and we spend a lot of time with him.

Also with JaneE cat .. she’s started a new habit.

Now, when I’m at the computer, she sits on the floor beside me, meows hello, then stands up and stretches, gently putting her claws against my leg.  So I pick her up, she sits on my left arm, like a little armchair, and rests her paws on my left shoulder.  And purrs happily.  So we sit like that for a while .. I continue clicking away at creative sites and she is content.

The other factor in my lack of energy is the constant construction noise that is taking place in our neighbourhood.  Huge buildings are being built .. that will soon shadow the streets and take away the sunshine for most of the day for those who live nearby.   We are far enough away that our light won’t be affected.

That noise is intrusive and nasty …and takes away the joy that I normally have in the garden.  So I relish the quiet times, at the end of the workday and the weekends, when I can sit outside in the quiet and hear the birds sing.   And the lovely silence.

I did stock up on some of the lovely silence during the weekend, so my creative and artistic batteries have been recharged.   And suddenly, I feel happier, more optimistic and more my usual self.  Lovely.

So what have I been doing in the past few weeks?  Well, I’ve been playing around with the layout of the veggie garden.  Still haven’t planted my garlic, but nearly there.   I’ve decided to plant the garlic in blocks, so am making little paths between the blocks and have been putting a thick layer of that wonderful miracle mulch between them .. great for walking on and it will eventually turn to soil..

Then I’ve been thinking about how to relocate some large rocks in this area.  I want to make a little grouping and then place some of the little rounded, flat rocks (gathered by the seashore) and tiny little rocks amongst them ..to make a casual place where I can sit in the sun.  I’ve been playing around with the rock arrangement .. and will post a pic when done.

I’ve also been planting the Dragon Kale that my lovely gardening neighbour has given me.   These will grow blue when placed in the sun and will stay green, when they are planted in the shade.

I’ve also discovered that what I thought was a wild plum root-stock (the wild and crazy tree) is actually pear stock!   This is the tree that we planted many years ago, the graft tree died and I nursed back one of the root growths.

And I’ve discovered that the orange spots on the leaves are pear trellis rust.   Argh.  Felt very dismal when I first noticed the spots and the protuberances on the underside of the leaves, they looked like ugly barnacles.

Now …. this tree affords us tremendous privacy in the yard during the growing season and we do not want to cut it down.

So today I’ve learned that the Juniper is the host for this fungus disease.  And that there are organic ways to rectify it.  Oh, I am so very glad that I took the Gaia Organic Master Gardening course .. for that is where the positivity for the healthy repair  came from!

So I’ll be composting the fallen leaves in a separate container, with lots of EM, vegetation, etc.   And then I’ll be placing healthy composted soil around the tree, lots of seaweed.   Lots of EM.   And I’ll be spraying seaweed and kale liquids on the leaves.   Looking forward to next year at this time to see the results.  This is so very positive and I’m so very happy ….  yea!!

On the weekend, DH & I went for a “little” walk to a magnificent restaurant.  Along the way, on the Blenkinsop trail, we had a happy time.  We met Cowboy, the Quarter-Horse, whose owner was taking her little brother for a ride .. and then she let him lead the horse while she rode.   I told her that she was making a lot of people happy  .. seeing that handsome horse, and she smiled!  Lovely.

We saw the random garden artwork that is well displayed at a property that is up for development.  Thought I’d better take more photos, cause one day, with the development, this personal touch will no longer exist.

Finally we reached our destination and had the most delicious meal, seated at a window overlooking the ocean.  Sigh …

The meal over, we began our homeward trek … and I found out that we’d walked over 10 miles (there and back) .. didn’t seem like much of a walk .. we love walking.  Especially in the sun.

Lots more happened, but I’ll talk about this tomorrow.  About a day trip with a friend that ended up with us visiting a casino, a beach and a second-hand store!  🙂

I’m back in my normal energy level .. loving the exploration of my world and garden.   Oh and the birds!   I’ve got to say that there is this huge robin in the yard .. he’s massive!   And I’ve been taking photos of him as he poses around the yard.

ha ha ha ….. 🙂

 


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Sharing the beauty of flowers, ocean waves .. and little Duncan communicates with JaneE

Sunday, October 7, 2012

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  So I haven’t been blogging for a little while.  It does take a little bit of discipline.  And it is eerily like exercising.  As I was doing last year … for months…. then skipped a week.  And well, um, time does go by quickly.  Tomorrow is always the better day.

So I just want to share some lovely pictures from my garden.  I now have 5 roses in my yard … including one tea-rose.  It is so beautiful and is aptly named “Perfume”.  The other roses are so pretty to look at, but lacking in scent.

We are still enjoying lovely sunny weather but the grounds do need rain.  As do the salmon up-island.  There is quite serious concerns about the Chinook, waiting to spawn and for now are filling an estuary … instant meals for the seals.

Lucky me .. ordered and received 6 yards of that lovely miracle mulch.  Finely ground leaves, twigs (no bark!) and have been busy loading up containers and placing a thick layer on all of the perennials that edge our property.   Great way to burn calories, I say.

I was going to write about gratefulness today .. this being Thanksgiving weekend and all.  And I’ve been thinking about all many, many things in my life that I am truly thankful for.  Too many to list, but I will mention a few.

  • Today is quiet .. bliss.  Normally there is heavy construction taking place in the neighbourhood .. thus taking away the joy of being outside in my garden.
  • Today is sunny . .and I will go outside soon .. time to plant my garlic. And this year I will clearly label what is planted where!
  • Thankful that I have my good health and can bend and stretch and shovel .. all the attributes needed by a gardener.
  • Grateful that our two cats, Duncan (brother of our little Youbou, who we lost a few weeks ago) and JaneE (our little girl cat) have started communicating to  each other.
  • Thankful for good friends .. wonderful to discuss the world with and learn more about gardening and how to grow various plants.
  • My lovely DH ..
  • Happy to see the lovely birds flitting about the yard .. chirping, drinking at the little water containers in the yard.
  • Ecstatic to watch eagles, hawks, seagulls and, yes, even crows …. soaring overhead.  A reminder to look up at the skies from time to time.
  • Lucky to be surrounded by so very many beautiful places to wander, here on the island.  Wild ocean beaches.  Cool woods.  Sandy paths.  Nature Sanctuaries.  So many places to visit and enjoy the natural beauty that is here.

Yesterday I was outside in the sun, enjoying a cup of Yorkshire Tea .. when I noticed JaneE wandering in front of a mirrored window that I had just left leaning against a container.   At first she was very cool and ignored her reflection.  But, curiosity got the better of her and finally she stopped, and just stared at this “other” cat!

She sniffed all around, couldn’t find out where this other cat was, so she walked around to the back to see if the cat was there.

Then Duncan noticed that JaneE was outside.  He seemed quite agitated and ran over to where she was sitting and stopped.  She just stared back at him.  He began a conversation, composed of short and long meow-chatter.  Ending with a mournful howling sound that brought tears to my eyes.

I know that he was communicating with JaneE, wondering where his little brother was.  He still misses him.  We hope that eventually, they will communicate more and perhaps, some day, they will cuddle up to each other.  Companionship.

So many more things to be grateful for.  But time is marching on and the sun beckons me outside.  That garlic won’t plant themselves.