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: outdoors


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Revisiting the beach .. time for soup at Mom’s Cafe .. and enjoying some relaxing time!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Brrrrr … no snow (yet)  and we are very lucky so far.  At least, for those of us who don’t leap at the thought of cross-country skiing or downhill or other winter sports!

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I’ve spent a few hours here and there out in the back yard.  Using the weed eater to chop up some of the many bags of oak leaves that I’d collected over the past month.  I think I had about 30 bags and so far have about 15 or so to chop up.  Using the weed eater certainly speeds up the process for the leaves to compost.   At first I put some leaves in an empty garbage container (only used for the garden, though).  Eventually the cords on the weed eater would become entangled so I changed my method.

Now I just empty a bag of leaves in one area of the garden and then proceed to break them up.  Works like a charm.  And no worries if the occasional bits of leaves tumble onto the lawn .. this only serves to feed the soil.  That wonderful ecosystem that I’ve learned to pay more attention to.  All that busy microbial universe that, until I took my Organic Master Gardening course this year .. I was (sadly) totally unaware of.  Now that my awareness has been raised .. I pay more attention to how I treat my garden.   And so happy with the results.

Anyway, just wanted to share some photos of a trip to the beach a week ago.  D & I collected some lovely chopped up seaweed!  The kelp was lovely, sliced into perfect circles .. perfect for the garden.   If the weather permits, we’ll make another trip there this week to gather some of this lovely broken seaweed!

On this trip, we went to Mom’s Cafe!  Lovely place .. has been under various ownerships in the past few years, but the food is still delicious, even if the tea was a tad on the costly side!  We each had a bowl of the salmon & corn chowder (wild salmon of course!) and it was delicious to the last drop.

I’ve been a little busy in the past few weeks .. making soaps and spending zillions of hours in packaging them.   Quite enjoying this and rediscovering the joy I used to have, many years ago, in concocting various recipes.  Sort of like revisiting the past, with a modern perspective.

So I’ve allowed myself to be a little lazy (that is, not going 18 hours a day) over the past few days .. and quite enjoying this, for a change.  Realize that I’m not the kind of person not to be involved in 2 or 3 projects simultaneously … I think that this is normal for me.   Boredom hits me when I don’t have deadlines.

sigh.

Anyway .. just wanted to share my photos .. and so now I’m going about my day .. in my most lovely life!

🙂

 


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Enjoying the creative journey to my soaps .. watching the birds in the yard .. and dreaming of the sailplane flights at Port Aberni. Sigh

14 December, 2012

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So here we are … mid-December … celebrations going on all over the place .. and I’m happy just playing in our back yard.  Oh, and making soap of course.  Can’t say that this isn’t a clean hobby, hee hee hee.

The hours disappear as I carefully mix up various concoctions .. such as Calendula & Citrus, Citrus, Parsley & Poppy seed and Poppy seed.

Hours spent meticulously cutting up the tulle to enfold the soaps.  Making labels, labouriously cutting them out and posting the type of soap on the back of the cards.  A ridiculous amount of time really, but I find myself terribly happy as I spend all these days in my creative little world.

And as I’m doing all this I’m dreaming of a variety of other herbal mixtures I will make, in the new year.  I’ll play around with shapes and colours.   Various ways of wrapping them.  All the wonderful new ideas that keep popping up.

Yesterday I was excited to find a treasure of clear oblong containers … only a supply of about 20 . .. so I took them home.  Lined them with colourful wrapping paper.  Arranged that pretend mossy material on the bottom.  Carefully nestled in some small shaped soaps and was so happy with the result.

Have decided that I’m not going to go into a snit if I can only find a limited number of containers to use for my soaps.  Whatever I find interesting .. I will use.  And venture further along the creative process.

As an example (and I”ll post pictures tomorrow) I have a lovely little collection of little wine glasses, including aperitif, liqueur, etc.  I nestled in some gold sparkly fabric in the bottom of the glasses and then arranged some sliced soaps in the top.  And I find myself adding more sparkly things for interest.  Sparkly flat marbles, that sort of thing.  The result is sweet and I’ll be selling them tomorrow at a 3 hour craft sale.  If they all sell, well, I’ll simply continue on my search for more unusual items to showcase my little soaps.

It’s interesting how the creative energy happens.  At first, when I bought these glasses .. I was all excited about using them for my soaps .. it’s what I’d originally wanted, before my packaging took another route.  So yesterday, I’m thinking .. ok .. now I have the glasses that I wanted .. now .. how to use them!  No ideas popping up .. oh no!

I let the question sit for awhile.   Then last night I started playing around with the materials at hand.  Started cutting the sheer gold fabric (oh how I love sparkly fabric!)  then played around with how to use on the glass .. wrap it around .. or use for a base in the glass and that won out.  Next I started arranging the little soap squares and circles .. liked that.  Finally, placed a flat marble against the front round of soap .. perfect!  Today I’ll play around with the fabric wrapping and a bow .. fabric or raffia?  I’ll find out later.

The weather here has been mixed .. right now it is sunny and I am so tempted to run outside and play in the yard for a bit.   At the beginning of the week .. I did just that.  And spent a very enjoyable few hours outside .. chopping up more oak leaves & spreading them on the garden, in particular, the garlic beds.

Next I unloaded the magnificent chopped seaweed that D & I collected on Monday .. some onto the garlic beds, some onto the area where the kale is growing.   If there isn’t any snow next week, we’ll be away for more shopping adventures and collect a bit more of the seaweed.

After I’d spent some time actually working away .. it was time to just savour the sight of the birds playing in the yard.

They have discovered the suet in that I’ve placed in that lovely “made in BC” suet holder that D found last week!

Happy to see the little Anna’s flitting about.

The Fox Sparrows .. I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen so many in our back yard before .. I love their speckled plumage.

The Downy Woodpecker struck the most wonderful pose and I was so happy to get a good picture of that.

The Juncos .. well .. they are a delight to watch.

And again .. time to look upwards at the ever-changing beauty of the sky up above.  And dream of next spring .. when we return to Port Alberni and the overwhelming beauty of another sailplane ride(s).    For now I will just dream of them (and watch my videos!!)

My favourite video is from the early morning flight .. flying above the valley .. fluffy clouds beneath us as we flew and flew and flew.  I was the passenger and so didn’t have to think about a thing, just enjoyed the magic of soaring the skies ….sigh.

Well…on with this day .. I think I will escape to the outside for a bit .. before I return to my craft rooms .. to continue preparations for the craft sale tomorrow.

 

🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Went on a lovely little walk, sort of got lost and then found my way! Lots of fun!

Saturday, November 10, 2012
A few days ago .. I treated myself to a long long walk outside in the sun.  It had been quite awhile since I’d indulged in this type of activity and so I was quite looking forward to what I would see, what types of dogs and how many times I could just stop awhile and enjoy the scenery.

A lovely long walk with a few intended stops along the way and the rest … well, I was just going to “wing it” as it were.

Well .. to start off with .. not too long into my walk –  I got lost!  One of my intended stops along the way was going to be a local shopping mall.  Normally I would drive there or follow the long and winding walkway that was on the other  side of the highway.

I’d stopped off at a building supply warehouse to inquire about some building materials.  Enjoyed a good chat with one of the sales reps.  Told him that I was taking a new route to the mall .. so  – to save me about 20 minutes, he unlocked  the back gates of the large service area so that I could take advantage of a short cut.

And here my little adventure began.  Amazing how different the city appears when suddenly a new street appears out of the blue.   I ventured along a peaceful quiet  neighbourhood.
In a few minutes – I happened upon this lovely little dog, named Dougal .. so gentle and kind:

Gentle little Dougal

and then, continuing along  .. I noticed a playground nearby …

Funky little red car in a local playground

I kept looking up skywards …  lots of cloud formations, birds flying … such a beautiful expanse of blue and white ..

Blue skies .. nothing but blue skies

And then I came upon the most delightful home and yard, loved the whimsical artwork & everything looked so creative and carefree .. a very happy place to be!

Creativity knows no bounds on this house

Lizards abounded in various places and they were a myriad of colours!

I stopped to gaze at these two magnificent totems …

And I will return for another walk on a sunny morning so that I can capture the top of this totem … this is where a viewfinder would greatly help me.

And now I realized that I wasn’t really lost after all!  My sense of direction had righted itself and I knew where I was.  And very happy that I’d discovered a new route to the mall.  A very relaxing and pretty route.

I finally reached the mall …and stopped for a few minutes to look at the brightly painted furniture for sale .. how cheerful these are ..

I began my walk back home … stopping at a local little strip mall.  Which contains some very lovely shops, cafes and this most accommodating laundromat:

I then ventured into a little cafe…. and took come photos of the signage .. yum yum!  If you look closely, you can see a reflection of me taking the photo .. I’m still wearing my summer straw hat .. this is Victoria, you know!  We don’t conform to seasonal dressing .. anything goes here.  Even (shiver) shorts ..

I’d ordered lunch to go, for DH and myself .. so I really enjoyed looking at these very colourful posters, all well framed:

I’d always wanted to try one of these Naanwiches .. so decided now was the time .. one for DH & me … lunchtime was approaching & I was hungry.

And tonight is Diwali, the Festival of Light  …and there will be a big show at UVic!  The young server in the cafe is going to dance in the show .. she is so happy!!

I tucked the delicious, warm, freshly made & well wrapped  Naanwiches (packed in colourful little cardboard boxes)  into my carry bag and headed for home!  Looking forward to surprising my DH with this scrumptious meal.

Well .. I hope that you enjoyed my walk which included getting lost!  These walks are always treasures that I love.  New places, new streets, new adventures!


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Lots of apples tumbling from the tree! A real Louisville Slugger .. and .. a magnificent Twin Otter flying high in the sky!

Friday, November 9, 2012

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  Again and again ..we have been so very fortunate to have some sunny days .. mixed in with the rain!

A few days ago I gathered up apples that had fallen from one of our trees in the back yard.  Now .. this tree is over 30 years old (how time flies).  And it had only every grown just a few apples.

However, this situation changed last year .. when I began seriously removing the tent caterpillar nests ..and even though I was unable to reach a few of them (too high) .. I believe that this action alone helped the blossoms to reach maturity.

That and the addition of EM! (of course)

I was thinking of having cider made from the apples, but don’t believe that I have enough for that.  Looks like we’ll be having lots of apple deserts of all types over the winter.

The birds love feasting on them .. so I’ve left a generous supply of apples scattered around the base of plants that are tucked away by the fence line.  And more apples, tucked into the crevices of trees throughout the yard.

A few days ago we traipsed (ok . .we drove) out to Dakota Cafe for Won Ton Monday!  What a treat.

We saw one of the locally produced Twin Otters going for test flights.  This one of six that were  purchased by the Vietnam navy.   What lucky timing .. to be at the airport and actually see one of these beautiful works of art.

Viking Air is one of those hard-working success stories.  The company bought the rights to build the de Haviland planes and brought the Twin Otter back into production.  Inspirational story of hard work and dedication.

After our delicious lunch, we left the restaurant and were heading towards the car when my eyes caught sight of a most unusual walking stick!  At first I wondered what it was, the shape was totally unlike any other I’ve seen.

Close up .. I saw that it was a real Louisville Slugger!  The real deal!

The owner, an interesting gentleman who spoke with a soft Southern accent, reminiscent of warm syrup. bourbon and all those comfy images .. recounted that he’d gone on a tour of the factory, down in Louisville, Kentucky.  The pronunciation of this place drew me in and momentarily I was transported to the southern climates.

Anyway, he’d gone all through the tour, admiring his restraint on not buying anything .. when he saw these genuine baseball bats transformed into walking sticks. So, out comes his wallet and soon he is the proud owner .. with his name engraved on the side!

To think that I would have missed this .. if we hadn’t gone for won ton!

And yesterday .. I treated myself to a long walk around town.  And I’ll share what I saw tomorrow!

On with this most lovely, sunny day!

 

 


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Shopping in the Fisgard Street district, kind comments .. and I’ve started my Ecological Landscaping Course .. new doors are opening for me.

Friday, November 2, 2012

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So here are a few more pictures from Monday .. the day that D &  I wandered around the Fisgard Street shopping district in Victoria .. along the waterfront.  We rediscovered old shops, new shops, alleyways nicely inhabited by funky little stores.  And then, Capital Iron.  I love this store … you can buy everything (except the kitchen sink .. but .. perhaps they do and I missed that).

The rustic atmosphere is not contrived ..it’s real!  No pseudo antiquing of the exterior walls .. how wonderful this is.

After spending some fun time purchasing plants, cramming them into the car, it was time to visit a local health food store.  It opened up last year, I think.  The dream of 2 very hard-working young women … here is their website for lots of information on their story:

http://ingredientshealthfood.com/

I wish them every success … as it was such a fun experience shopping there.   The bright colourful signage and paintings on the walls were very cheerful.  I don’t know what occupied the building previous, this is the first time that I’d been inside.   Slight slopes led shoppers to areas that held dried spices and herbs, lovingly contained in large jars .. no plastic here.

And there was an upper cafe seating also I noticed .. .quite ample seating.  While below there was a smaller version of this.  It was my first visit here .. and the atmosphere was quite relaxing so I plan to shop here again.  Plus, parking is available outside, so that is a plus!

Anyway .. that was a fun day.

I’ve taken all the plants to the back yard.  The same plants that I bought 50% off at Capital Iron, then stuffed (carefully) into my little Echo .. taken home and now awaiting potting up into large containers!

Well, I’ve actively started on that chore .. began yesterday afternoon .. when there was a moment in time when the rains stopped .. the sun shone through.  And .. wonder of wonders .. the cessation of construction noise.

Gardening bliss.

I’ve started my Ecological Landscaping course (Gaia College course .. held at Royal Roads University)  and our first 3 hour session dealt with the history of garden design through the ages.  Very interesting .. lots to learn.  I’ll be creating another series of hole-punched lined index cards, to begin my little library of terminology and plant design ideas.

Tomorrow we go on our first field trip .. to wander around the Fairfield area …. and find out more information on what to do and what to look out for in garden design.  We are all bringing our cameras so as to capture these ideas for discussion.

The class is a nice size, 11 of us.  So happy to see some familiar faces!  Two young ladies from the Spring session of the Organic Master Gardening course!

And you know … how little things are the most precious gifts beyond measure when they are sincere?

Well, our instructor asked us to introduce ourselves and to say something that made us happy that day!

One of these young ladies said something that made me happy!

She told that class that when she walked in the doorway of the classroom and saw me sitting there .. that made her happy!   Wow.    I am glad that I decided to take this course now!

It is so lovely to be appreciated, I cannot tell you.

Maybe that is what is missing in our day-to-day lives … a few words of acknowledgement to each other.  Random acts of kindness.

Long may they reign.

PS   If we pass these acts along – I just know that we will add joy to the lives of others.  They might not acknowledge this on the surface, but inside, I know it will make a huge difference.

Go on … do it!!    See what happens!

Tomorrow I’ll share with you my newly purchased landscaping design tools.

I think that having to make drawings, in ink … will push me through that creative door that has been cemented shut in my mind all my life.  All my life I’ve been gathering art books – how to draw, how to paint … with acrylics and watercolours.  Special papers. I’ve even taken a few art classes.   But still, that door won’t budge open.

I think that this Ecological Landscaping course will blow that cement away.  And I’m scared and excited at what I will find through that doorway.  I have a feeling that this will unleash my Inner Artist .. where no books or art classes have succeeded.

Up … Up .. And … Away!


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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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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.


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Some happy photos from my garden .. and, thank you, Yorkshire Tea, for remembering my birthday!!

Monday, September 24, 2012

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Oh, shiver, my birthday is looming!  My favourite day of the year!  And how sweet .. lovely Yorkshire Tea sent me a birthday card along with a Yorkshire Gold teabag!  What a lovely surprise that was to receive in today’s mail!

So I’ll be brewing up a cup of that, the day after tomorrow!

Random acts of kindness.

Today was a day spent mostly in the garden .. actually getting things done!  That is, aside from watching the skies above, the birds, solving some Sudoku puzzles and, oh, yes .. mugs of Yorkshire Tea!

I had surprises each time I returned from the house to my lovely universe in the yard.   Once, I  happened to look up and see several hawks, lazily soaring overhead.

Another time, I’d just set up my little garden chair, set to spend some few minutes in the sun with my Y tea and Sudoku .. looked up and there was a flock (?) of Turkey Vultures … wings casually spread .. sailing along slowly .. .on a cloud street.   Soon disappeared and I felt so privileged to have seen them, by chance, as it were.

Spent a fair bit of time searching for things, seeds, tools, extension cords (for my lovely “fountain”) .. thus began my creative search for changes in the garden bed layout.

What to do, where to plant things, which plants to move.

Finally, grabbed my shovel, began digging up some Salmon berry plants, raspberries and sundry other plants established in the last year.

Dug away at some clay soil … watered .. added lovely mulched soil and repositioned the above plants.  Top dressed with Miracle Mulch (finely shredded leaves, tiny branches … absolutely no bark!!)

Looking good.

Began playing with creating another temporary path with bricks.   I don’t do “structured” gardens and each year I play around with changing the shape and paths of my veggie bed.  Always fun and always surprised with what I come up with.

So today I created a little brick path by the little berry bed .. this path will go straight to the back of the yard.   Then, to the right, I will create two rectangles for the garlic bed.  However, I have to wait for the squash to finish.  argh.

The Bush-tits swirled in .. oops .. time to replenish the suet block.  That done, I could enjoy watching them attaching the fresh suet.

Thought back to yesterday .. I’d been watering various areas of the yard .. which included an apple tree.   The leaves were dripping with water when the Bush-tits flew in and I watched as they all used that moisture from the leaves to enjoy a little bath .. fluffing out their tiny feathers, chirping to each other.  Hopping from one leaf to another.  So very sweet.

A pleasant, creative, energized day ….

And looking forward to tomorrow.


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Wednesday was a lazy hazy kind of summer day

 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

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Yesterday was a day full of beauty, adventure and surprises all day long.

It was also a day of sadness as it was exactly one week ago that we lost our lovely little Youbou cat.

coincidentally .. my good pal D had contacted me to start our usual wandering/adventures that we started a few years ago.

So we discussed where to go and decided on starting out at Swan Lake.

I took lots of photos of the day and have posted some, but not all of them.

We had the most marvellous fun day .. I really felt like a kid again, although one with a driving license, all grown up and ready to go.

Started off at Swan Lake .. walked the pathways through the beauty of the woods.  Stopping to watch the aerial activity.  Saw Bushtits cavorting in a tree.  Then a pair of yellow feathered darlings flew about .. sorry, can’t remember the name .. will post later.

Several groups of loud talkers passed our way .. I shut out the noisy conversations and settled into the lovely peace of the woods and nature surrounding us.

Finally .. I feel so happy to be back at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary.  It’s been a few months since I last visited this lovely place and heavenly to be back there.

Saw the Canada Geese, majestically paddling about the lake .. and the Mallards.  D noted that the Drakes were moulting, turns out this happens twice a year.  Some of them looked a little bedraggled.

We threw flatted oats to them all and soon were surrounded by lots of these feathered beings.

D found a cricket .. sadly unable to walk .. perhaps a heavy footed jogger caused some harm?  she gently placed him amongst some tall grasses .. perhaps he will heal and soon be hopping around.

She discovered fruit trees (she’s an apple tree magnet!) and gathered a variety of apples, then later, pears from a boulevard.  It was here that I started feeling like a kid.  Car parked on a side street.  We wandered around a pear tree, trying to find any ripe fruit.  No worries, no schedules .. fun!

From there we made stops at various places.  Chez moi, to gather some fruit from the trees.  Oh, and to drop off some free treasures found in a driveway along the way.  A funky trellis for the garden.  Some plant saucers, a plastic little table, ready to be painted.  Talk about decluttering and then I bring these things home.  I daren’t tell DH!  What would he say?  Well, I think he would laugh, but I’ll leave that subject for now.

Next we went to a local greenhouse, the owners have been there for 50 years!  Bought some terrific produce.

Next we made our way to Saxe Point.  Now, I thought I’d been there years ago, but really, I discovered that in all the years I’ve lived here .. I’d not visited this jewel.

Wandered through paths, made our way down the rocky bluffs to the shore (if you can call it that).

We noticed a couple of scuba divers, happily exploring the waters along the shore, finding treasures in the water.

Such beautiful scenery … ocean lapping at the rocks.  Small areas of dried ocean salts.  D found some coins tucked away in a rock.

Fun times.

It was an amazing, fun, relaxing day .. one of those old-fashioned summer days.  The kind where you just explore areas of the city and find unexpected scenery, flowers, things that don’t cost money.

Just having fun.

So .. more tomorrow .. must head out to the garden now .