My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

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: transportation


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

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

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

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

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

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

And guess what!

I found:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 


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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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I drew the winning ticket! However, it wasn’t for me!

Monday, August 13, 2012

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We went to a car event on the weekend .. many hundreds of classic and stock cars of all kinds.  I took lots of photos, only to find out later that I’d accidentally smudged some sunscreen on the lens … so although I love the photos, they all have that slightly blurry effect!  Sigh.

As we were parking, dh pointed out the Martin Mars water bomber that was flying overhead, so I scrambled to take a picture and was able to take a quick one!  What a magnificent plane this is!  Wonderful to see it flying .. just for fun!

Several times on that day, Sunday, we found ourselves stuck in a long line of traffic … so during the first wait, I looked outside the car window and rested my eyes on the calming greenery of a little wooded area .. it helped me avoid the “argh” feelings of being stuck in traffic.  And eventually … traffic inched along and soon all resumed speed.

Beautiful weekend.   Lots of lovely skies.   Many birds sighted.  People in a holiday mood.

At the end of our day at the car event, we were on our way out and gave in to the volunteers selling 50/50 tickets and bought ourselves a strip of them.  We waited around to see if we would be the lucky winners.  The volunteers were busy tearing up the perforated tickets and mixing them up very well.  One of them called over to me and asked me to draw the winning ticket!  So, facing away from the large ticket container, I swirled my hand around through the tickets .. which one shall I choose?  Finally I plucked one up and handed it over to the gentleman in charge.

Woe, it wasn’t one of our numbers.  However, the money is going to a very good cause, so we are happy about that.

As we left the area, we could hear the announcer telling everyone the lucky number!  And I felt happy that somehow I was able to be a part of the connection in the outcome of the lucky winner!

It was wonderful being away and doing something very different from our everyday lives … on a sunny Sunday!

Today I spent some happy time in the garden . .visiting with my good friend D.  We spent hours and hours talking about creative things.   Good energy.

I happily showed her the changes in my garden since her last visit.  She has grown vegetables for years and so I ask question after question.   And get the answers that I add to my growing veggie gardening information bank.  I’ve really only started growing veggies last year .. so every year I get a little better.  Still haven’t tackled the whole tomato pruning thing yet.  Lots to learn yet.

Here it is, nearly mid-August .. we’ve really only had full hot summer since the beginning of July.  I feel as if I “should” be farther along in my gardening than I am.

There are half-finished projects here and there.  I have been successful in some things and have cleared away hundreds of gardening pots to give away. And washed (in the same water, so as not to waste) plastic bags that once held soil or manure.  Dried them in the sun and they are ready to take to the recycler.

Slowly, slowly, the hundreds of chores that I have listed in my mental “to do” list are getting done, a few at a time.

Recently, I’ve devoted many hours .. a whole day even .. to completing little jobs.  Like, one section of the front yard .. weeding, pruning, mulching.  Another involved one side garden .. that I am so happy with.  There are more to do.   And although I know that gardening will never be finished …I am truly enjoying the journey!

And tomorrow, I plan to get up real early and start again.

It is so tempting to just run outside in the morning, but, there are litters to be cleaned, floors to be swept, little daily household chores.  Better to be done with them first thing in the morning and then I don’t have to think about them till the next day.

It’s been a day!  Another great one, of course!

🙂


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Another day in the garden, moving plants, creating space, watching plants grow

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

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So yesterday, Tuesday, was quite a hot and sunny day!   I really made a lot of progress in the yard.  And later, stuffed my little Echo car to the maximum with 3 large garden bags, the paper kind .. stuffed to the gills with cuttings.

I even had two of them in the passenger seat, I love to use every bit of space in my car.  Then, in the back (I have the hatchback version) I stowed one more garden bag, full to the brim, plus 4 large Rubbermaid totes and 4 smaller ones.    I can really pack things into my little car … it is a wonderful vehicle.   Holds almost as much as a small truck.

I love using the car for a garden vehicle, tarps lining the interior, then when all the garden waste is taken to the Saanich yard for composting, I neatly pack everything away and all is back to normal, kind of nice and tidy.

Oh, how I love the spaciousness of the side yard now … and so will work on adding some hardy perennials in the foreground .. and leave lots of space for the cedars to fill out and grow tall.  they are nearly to the top of the fence and with the magical EM mixture, it won’t take them long to grow even higher.

I see that there are a few cedars that will need to be dug up and moved over a little bit.  Plus one Bay tree that will have to be moved, so that it will have lots of space to grow and fill out.

Oh, gardening is so much fun.  Always changes to be done.  Plants to move around.  Trimming to be done.

I find that sometimes I work hard for hours, without stopping and other times are just perfect for dreaming away, planning changes.   A balance it seems.

So yesterday I found myself being swept away in tidying up .. we’ve recently (I use the Royal “we” .. when really I mean DH, ha ha ha) installed new fence panels at one side of the yard .. and so there are lots of old fence boards that need to be sorted and piled up, ready to be reinstalled around the panels of the 3 remaining sides of the fence.

I have no idea how I started that chore, but start I did and spent a few hours sorting, piling, tidying, sweeping .. quite impressive, really.  I am so full of surprises.

Yesterday was a lovely day .. so I’ve posted some pictures taken on Monday.  Showing the “gently shoved aside by the giant Buddleia” cedars.  And the open spaces behind and in front of the cedars.  I’ll post pics in a month and I can only wonder at the growth that will take place as a result of the EM  .. which I definitely will apply tomorrow.

The plentiful raspberry plants are now resting quietly in a large garden pot … I’ve decided to keep them and to establish a few more garden beds.  Fresh raspberries are just plain fun to have in the yard.  Plus, they add lots of greenery.

Oh, it’s been a fun few days in the garden and tomorrow I  plan to start the day in the garden very early and to finish planting the potted plants.  Including Rosemary and Lavender.

Plus, you know, time to relax and study the lay of the land. Dream. Watch the birds.

🙂