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.

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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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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.


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Watching Turkey Vultures soaring high above ..

Friday, September 28, 2012

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Another beautiful sunny day .. and a busy one!

First thing, I loaded up quite a few, maybe 7 …paper yard bags, full to the brim with branch cuttings and weeds gathered from the past few weeks.  Even had one in the passenger seat .. didn’t want to leave any at home!   And soon I’d arrived at the local municipal yard and emptied their contents into one of the large bins there.   Next step, they will all be shredded and composted.

Back home, felt great that I’d actually accomplished something, early in the morning!  Soon, outside and digging away.  Happy with the way the re-shaping of the back yard is going .. in particular, the veggie garden.

I’ve been digging up a small mountain of mulched material from last fall .. a mix of alpaca manure, spent hops, spoiled hay and oak leaves.   Nearly a year later and this mixture has resulted in the most loveliest of soil!  So I’ve been placing this around the newly created “berry forest”!

I had a good growth of perennials against the back fence and had a wood chip path extending in front of that.   Decided to ditch the path and just add more soil and then create a little jungle .. composed of an intermixing of blueberries, raspberries, some thornless blackberries, some bamboo and a few other plants.

And I just love this.  No point posting pictures yet .. not much to see .. but I can feel the difference and will post pics next summer.

These changes are giving a different feel to this area of the yard.   A richness of plantings.   Really amazing how many plants I’ve dug up and moved around.

And surprised at how the Chickadees have taken notice of the changes.  I’ve seen them flitting about, sitting on the branches of the plants as they are now in their new locations.   Quite nice to see!

After this little jungle .. then .. I am placing the garlic beds!  They will sit in full sun and a perfect place for them.

Looked at my zucchini, squash and tomato plants .. these are still growing in what will soon be  .. the garlic bed!  Almost dug them up tonight, but decided to give them another week and then .. kerpow!

Spent a fair chunk of time looking up at the sky today .. as I happened to notice the Turkey Vultures soaring overhead.   They soared yesterday .. and I know they are getting ready to migrate south.  It’s just a matter of days.  In the meantime, though, I cannot tear myself away from the grandeur that is high above me.  Their majestic soaring compels me to watch.  I was able to take some photos .. they might just look like dots in the sky, but they represent  the power and majesty of nature, which far surpasses what happens down below, on terra firma.

How lucky I am to spend as much time as I like, just gazing upwards, looking through the binoculars at these huge birds.  And then taking the time to create new areas in the garden.

Very lucky, indeed.

🙂


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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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How Friday went .. in my garden

 

Saturday, September 22, 2012

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So Friday started out overcast .. but I could see the sun way up high, working hard to fight through the overcast layers and before long it had succeeded and the day turned out to be sunny.

And I enjoyed the look of one of my newly painted found objects.   A little plastic table, found on D’s and my little adventure day on Wednesday.  Transformed with some flat black spray paint .. now ready to be used somewhere in the garden.

A large plant pot, painted green with gold overtones .. I think I’ll add more green paint and will post a pic … then there is a metal filigree plant holder, painted black .. looks kind of cool and I’ll post a pic tomorrow of that.  One of those funky things that looks good in a garden.

Played around with my garlic crop .. separating them into baskets.  I saved the largest cloves for planting this year, in another month .. my gardening neighbour plants garlic mid-October and I’ll follow her lead.

Besides, right now there are some squash plants sprawling all over the area where I plan to grow the garlic and i want to give these plants some time to produce some squash!

Patience!

Then I sorted garlic to be given away .. and some to be sent to my sister .. oh, and some for me to use also!

A basket of garlic that hadn’t a covering on their cloves .. guess I dug them up too early .. more patience needed for next year, it seems.

Finally, a little basket of garlic seeds and one of those little yellow bulbets .. I’ll put some in pots and see if I can grow garlic greens for eating now!

I tried an experiment that I saw posted all over Pinterest, that of re-growing green onion greens.  It’s magic!  Day one, there were little new shoots and now, day three, they are growing  larger.

Now, today, I will separate them into two groups and in one jar I will add some EM .. just to see what the difference will be.

And I bought these green onions from a local greenhouse, so, no chemicals!!  Yeah.

So that was pretty much my gardening time yesterday .. and I plan to continue today.

Time to plant the Dragon kale that my gardening neighbour gave me …. this type turns blue in the sun and stays green in the shade.  Lovely, I say.  I’m really loving this kale and have fun just clipping away the lower leaves when I need some for a meal.  Fun in the garden.

Well .. time to go outside and plant those kale plants …  🙂

 


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Spending time decluttering and taking time to watch the birds.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

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Such a beautiful time of the year .. sun is still shining, veggies are still growing.  Birds are flying and playing.  A perfect time to continue decluttering, with some time out to just stop and watch what is going on.

I’ve recently been busy sorting out, decluttering and organizing various areas in the yard and quite impressed with my results.

Start out dreading the task I’ve undertaken … then I get totally involved with the decision making and before the end of the day, I’ve succeeded in weeding out what I need to keep and what needs to be sent along to recycle, donation, etc.

And so a few days ago I began this decluttering activity in my little wee garden room in the basement.

This is the place where I’ve put things “just for now” and “until later” .. well, later has arrived.

And I’ve discovered that I have way too many gardening gloves .. if that is possible.  I gathered up all the gloves, tossed them in a container and brought them outside for sorting.  Only found a few unmatched sets and ended up with a lot .. I didn’t actually count how many .. but believe me when I say that I have more than 20.  Too embarrassing to actually take a count, so I won’t!  Threw them all in the wash and dried them in the sun. Now, they are all in one container and I have absolutely no excuse for going shopping for more.

This is one good reason why decluttering is good.  When you can’t find something and buy more just to save time searching for things (say, um, gardening gloves) .. then it is high time for decluttering.

I set up a large work table just outside the back door.  And began the million trips of emptying shelves and baskets,  taking one or two things outside.  Putting them on the table.  Decision making.   Keep, recycle, discard .. one after the other.

Slow going.  I searched for tips on decluttering, as I was finding it challenging to muster up the energy to just get rid of everything.

I found some good inspiration.   that clutter is blocked energy.  Life doesn’t stand still.  Life is a flowing river.  It’s okay to change the course, it’s good to have it flow and bubble around rocks in its path.

I found these gems here:  http://eliminatecancer.hubpages.com/hub/Declutter-Your-Home-and-Re-energize-Your-Life

There were other inspirational sites that I found, but this one resonated with me.

So downstairs I went.   Back to my little room.   And I was discovering that the room was feeling better, more spacious.  Less clutter.

Soon I had a stack of empty baskets.  A huge Rubbermaid container full of things to give away, things I no longer use .. time for someone else to play with them.

I’m halfway finished.  Spent a lot of time moving things around.  Making progress.  Feeling more energized.

Unearthed some crafty projects, purchased years ago from a sewing convention.  A little kit for  beading, weaving ribbon, embroidery .. to make a little sewing needle case.  Well, really, why did I ever buy this?  Never in a million years will I ever tackle this little delicacy.  What was I thinking of, anyway.  Plus, the two extra packages of eyelash embroidery!!!

Took an old shelving unit outside, slapped on some neutral paint to freshen it up.   Today I’ll splash on some leftover lavender paint to brighten it up and then will use this for storing empty baskets on.  Something to brighten up my little room.

And in between times, lots of breaks .. taken outside.   Watched one of the local eagles soaring overhead.   Flocks (gaggles ??) of Canada Geese, flying so low overhead, I could hear the strong silky swoosh of their  wings as they flew over .. the late afternoon sun cast a mellow golden glow over their feathers.  Beautiful nature, wild and free.

The local little band of Bushtits swirl in .. chasing away the sparrows.  They are so darling as they flit about the branches.  Taking turns nibbling at the suet cakes.  Busy chirps.  Then suddenly they depart.  Love these energized little visitors.

Chickadees visit the hanging water bath that I’ve placed in the cherry tree.

Lovely sights and sounds.

Then I walk around the garden patch.  Squash are still growing … I’m impatient to prepare this area for planting garlic, but there is still time.  My gardening neighbour tells me not to plant till October 20 .. so I’ll leave them to grow another month.

Sweet peas are still flowering, fruiting, growing.  Ok, I’ll leave them also.  Some zucchini plants are still growing.  As are some tomato plants.  Sigh.  I’ll let them flourish in the sun for a few more weeks.  I’ve been picking some tomatoes and freezing them for future stews and lasagna in the fall months.  Mmmmm.

And yesterday, I was preparing supper, brought out a bowl of peas from the fridge .. I’d only picked them a few days ago, it seems.  And .. a lot of them are sprouting.  So I quickly searched growing peas in this part of Canada and lo and behold, there are a fair number of people who have successfully planted fall peas .. so I decided to try that!

Lovely times.