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: plants


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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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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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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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Slowly making changes in the garden layout. And thinking about my gardening style.

 

Thursday, September 27, 2012

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Well .. I survived my birthday yesterday!   It was a beautiful sunny day!  DH asked me what I would like to do .. and since we couldn’t fly anywhere, the plane is needing some work .. I wanted to just be outside in my garden for a while.  So he said that it was my day and I could choose … so that’s what I did.

Spent some time soaking up the sun … looking at the work I”d completed thus far.    Opening up the garden space .. creating a little side path, 2 bricks wide. perfect for delineating some space at the side .. and also making a tidy route to the composters, when it rains and perhaps (hate to say this) snows!

Happy that I am able to spend time like this when I can … how very decadent .. from a lifetime of working away at jobs that paid the bills.

I do yearn for more organization in my life .. to make a schedule for my days .. that’s the way I’ve lived my life and it’s very difficult to change and just have no responsibilities.  Except for, you know, organizing the yard, decluttering, getting on with my artistic hobbies .. like sewing, which I do love very much; playing with my acrylic paints, painting on glass, beadwork.

Sigh.  Just some random thoughts, I think.  On another year, a new start to the year .. how exciting.  New energies.   Sometimes I think I am too hard on myself and so I’ll cut some slack.  I do get a lot accomplished.   And I do notice that I don’t often just relax and do nothing.  Even when I relax, I’m sipping tea, solving Sudoku puzzles and looking for birds up in the sky.

I’ve decided (after a talk with DH) to make changes in the veggie garden .. and then .. keep them that way, instead of changing the shape every year.  So today I dug out all the blueberries, red currants, raspberries and other plants that were randomly placed.  And increased the width of the garden at the very back of the yard.   This is where I am planting very tall perennials .. to add more privacy to the yard.

Privacy in the yard .. that is the number one thing that people want  … a place for solitude and  shut away the world.  It doesn’t take much to start with.  Make a plan is a good way to start.

Then choose the plants, cedars are great.  As are laurels (keep them trimmed so they will fill out more) Silverberry (same thing, I just pruned the 2 gigantic plants in the back), bamboo – depending on the type, most are shallow rooters, so just line the planting area with heavy landscape material and the roots will stay confined, they won’t spread.  Or you can just keep clipping the roots that grow from the main plant.

And raspberries .. well .. the raspberry canes this year grew to be over 7 feet.  And I believe that this was due to the EM that I fed them.  Even some plants that had been reduced to sticks, grew and flourished with the EM.  I’m serious!

My gardening style is rather hit and miss.   When I really want to make big changes and find that I’m initially lacking the drive and energy to do so, I actually trick myself.  Rather in a similar manner to decluttering, I think.

With decluttering, and feeling overwhelmed with the task ahead, I simply remove one item from the area.  Take it outside.  Repeat  Repeat.  Repeat.  Soon I have a nearly empty area and can then decide whether I want to recycle or re-use the items.

I find that I sort of work the same way in the garden.  Dig.  Dig. Dig.  Uproot plants.   Put in temporary containers and then leave the area .. maybe go inside, make some tea . .or wander around the yard.  Then I return to the original working area, look with fresh eyes at what I’ve done.  I always amaze myself.  What .. I did that?

And that is what I found happened yet again today!  I’ve left the yard to relax overnight.  Happy that I’ve really made a dent in reshaping the berry area and changed the energy flow of the yard.    And I also replanted some of the blueberries, raspberries and bamboo in different areas, sort of a staggered, layering design.

Trimmed some branches of the wild and crazy tree, letting in more light.

And left the yard happy that I have really accomplished some changes and look forward to continuing in this vein tomorrow.

And tomorrow, I must make the decision to harvest whatever little zucchini’s and squash plants that are there.  Fall has arrived.  And I really really really want to plant my garlic!!!
🙂

 

 

 

 


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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.


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Watching the birds figure out the upside down bird feeder. The Chickadee soon has it all figured out!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

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I wonder where the birds go during the daytime?  I think that they keep to some sort of schedule.   A pre-determined list as to which yard to visit at specific times.

Haven’t seen the Flicker or the Downy Woodpeckers, but that could be because they are out and about in the early hours of the day, before I go outside.

The sparrows seem to be here all day and they have a lookout for fresh birdseed .. whenever I top up the feeders, I hear a series of loud chirps and soon there are quite a number of them feeding away.

The demure little Fox sparrows visit .. but mainly the thistle seed feeders.  There are three, but they favour the two that are hidden away.  One of them is for birds who feed upside down … I’d purchased it on sale and hadn’t noticed this until I was assembling the feeder and thought, well, this is weird!

The Chickadee soon has it figured out.  And I reckon that the Nuthatch has also discovered the proper way to get at the seeds .. except that I haven’t seen them for a few days either.

Our home is on the flight path to the local Nature Sanctuary .. and so I am lucky enough to see a few Canada Geese flying overhead in the early evening, before the sun slips away.

Sometimes they catch me by surprise, flying low overhead .. so low that I can see the light of the sun reflecting off of their underbelly.  Flapping their wings in unison, resulting in that lovely swoosh swoosh sound .. and then their strong calls as they head to their nightly sleeping  place.

And sometimes there is a lone straggler, I don’t hear him till he swoops over, calling out a loud Honk!  ha ha . .you caught me there!

My camera isn’t quick enough to catch them flying so close .. so I content myself with blurry images as they fly over houses in the neighbourhood .. still hoping to snap a pic when they fly low over our yard.

Patience.

Taking time out to watch the antics of the birds is such a rich block of time .. to watch these tiny beings.  Taught how to survive by their parents.  They seem so defenseless .. how will they survive.  But their world is much tougher than ours and they are schooled well .. so they forge out their daily lives very well.

Loving the brilliant splash of colour that the surprise sunflowers bring to the yard.  Tiny or tall .. I love them all!

The mystery flowers that spring up .. they are welcome here anytime.  Perhaps the birds bring them in to decorate .. now that’s a lovely idea!

Yesterday I began the transformation of the veggie bed.  Dug up and potted some of the kale plants that are growing.   Several of the cabbage plants that are growing in the shade and should be in the sun, well, they are being added to the compost.   Yet, there is one little cabbage, it is forming a solid head, so I’m leaving that one to continue growing.

I dig away at this makeshift garden bed that I formed, simply to have a neater mulch pile.  There are bales of spoiled hay, alpaca manure, oak leaves, spent hops .. all combined to create a lovely garden soil.  So instead of leaving this in a mulch pile .. I’ve used it as a place to grow kale, squash and cucumber.

Moved most of this material into the middle of my veggie bed .. to prepare for my next garlic bed.  This year the cloves are larger .. and I’ll plant more, but will ensure that I space them with lots of room to grow.

I worked away for a few hours, then time for a break … feeling quite satisfied at the progress that I’ve made.   And more to be done.

So away .. the start of a new day …. out in the sun!