| Posted on Monday, November 01, 2004 - 03:36 pm: |   |
With Halloween over, I can now return to the pleasures of my garden. There is a whole stack of borrowed library books to read ("Artists In Their Gardens") at the moment.
I have just finished cutting down all the perennials and digging up the dahlia tubers. The season goes by far too swiftly.
To color up the garden in the absence of any flowers, I've wandered out to the woods and cut down some large branches from my Japanese maple. The branches are loaded with swaths of scarlet/burgundy leaves. They are outside my window in a huge container of water. The branches look like a miniature Japanese maple out there.
Also put in some winter pansies with the hopes of some color over winter.
Can't believe it is November and I still have impatiens in flower in a clay container on the patio.
Happy November, everyone! :) |
| Posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 - 03:16 pm: | |
The creek beside our house was raging this morning after the heavy rains we had. Happily, I can report that the water, even though higher than normal, is not in any way destructive to the creek project. In fact, as it turns out, floods are very useful! I have been wondering what the heck to do with all the branches and twigs that we've been chopping off. Enter the floodwaters. Most of the superfluous branches simply washed away! The rest I chopped up smaller and tossed in the creek to join their "brothers" downstream. I see now that floods are a natural way of washing things nice and clean. The creek area is really starting to resemble something wonderful now, rather than just a tangled mass of useless nothingness. The hardest part is clearing out the brambles of blackberry that seem to fight back, clinging to my clothes, hair and skin in a valiant effort to hold their ground. Like Patton, I persistently "Move Forward!" I refuse to be defeated by a VINE, for goodness sake! :)
After I finished down at the creek, I came back up into the civilized size of things (Summerlight) and planted 50 tulip and 50 daffodil bulbs. I also divided four huge hostas and moved some divisions into the new tulip and daffodil border. This tulip and daffodil area will be a cutting garden. I love to have cut spring flowers on my kitchen windowsill to observe them up close, but I hate to remove anything from the garden borders. This way I can "have my cake and eat it too!" Awesome. |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 07:14 pm: | |
A beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. The blue sky shows off the brilliant sunny gold, yellow, red and orange leaves on the trees. I feel so lucky to live here and to be alive.
Finished manuring the back right garden. Also, turned over the bark mulch paths so now it's nice and weed free. Am installing a drainage system to keep the autumn and winter rains from flooding the beds this year. Gosh, I hope it works. I just hate to look out the window and see my strawberries trying valiantly to swim!
Also worked down by the creek. Have officially named this area "Rosewood". There are old rugosas there that blossom a beautiful pink with yellow centers. I am creating a Japanese style garden here and can't wait to see the finished results. It's so exciting!
My hands are full of splinters and every muscle in my body aches from all this heavy work, but it's so satisfying I can't seem to stop myself. In fact, I'm going out now to do some more! :) |
| Posted on Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 02:56 am: | |
The creekside garden, aka "Rosewood", is coming along very nicely. My darling daughter, Jen (age 13) helped me today after school. We cleared quite a lot of the blackberry area away.
It sure is hard work, but in my mind's eye I can already picture the garden in its finished state. That dream keeps me motivated and going forward even when I feel like collapsing from exhaustion.
Jen really enjoyed working down by the creek. It was fun having her help out. It's so good for the children to do things like this. My wish for my kids, besides happiness, prosperity, and healthy long life, is that they could all be gardeners. Come to think of it, being a gardener practically guarantees happiness, healthy, and a kind of prosperity that money just can't buy.
I read somewhere (gosh, I feel rather sheepish admitting this - but I think I read this from Martha Stewart) "To be happy for a year - get married. To be happy for 15 years - get a pet. To be happy for life - grow a garden". I like that a lot. :)
Today I went to the garden center to see my friend, Rick. Rick and his brother Raymond own the garden center here in my small town, having inherited the business from their parents. Rick and Ray are lovely, delightful men. Even though their prices are often higher than other garden centers, I try to buy my plants from them just because I like them so much. In a world full of generic big name stores, small family businesses really need our support! The guys could probably nearly retire on the amount of $$$ I have invested in bulbs I've purchased from them! :)
I went to see Rick for advice on some trees and shrubs for my front garden borders. Not only did I get excellent advice, but I also got a great deal on some trees and shrubs I wanted! As it turns out, Rick is trying to unload extra stock. They are expanding the parking lot and don't have room for much of their existing stock.
I absolutely fell in LOVE with a little crab apple tree. It was loaded with tiny, delicate apples that were such a brilliant shade of scarlet they almost looked like bright little Christmas lights dangling from the graceful branches. I could just picture how fantastic those little red globes would look in the snow!
I have wanted a crab apple ever since I read about Tasha Tudor's garden. I saw charming photos of her crab apple trees in merry bloom, accompanied by hordes of golden daffodil waving in their cheerful golden trumpets in the spring breeze. I've always wanted to recreate that scene in my own garden. Now I will finally get the chance because Rick sold me the crab apple for $20!
The crab apple stands about 7 feet tall already so it's quite a bit of tree for $20!
I told Rick I wanted a forsythia, too. Guess what, folks? I got a HUGE forsythia loaded with buds for another $20. I admired a star magnolia (magnolia stellata) and got THAT for, you got it... $20! Wooooooohooooo!
I figure I will need about 8 small trees and/or shrubs to complete the new garden beds in the front yard. I will go back tomorrow and see if I can select a few more items from Rick and Ray.
I'd love another camellia (I have a pink one that I adore) and maybe a flowering ornamental quince, a dwarf pear tree, and a flowering cherry with double pink blossoms that also has gorgeous orange and yellow foliage in the autumn. The last item on my wish list would be a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. I love the way they look in wintertime when covered with snow!
We just came back from swimming and I am BUSHED! It has been a very physical day.
Book I am reading now: "Building My Zen Garden" by Kieran Egan. I highly recommend it. He writes of constructing a Japanese garden (including tea house) on his property. His writing style is very conversational and humorous. I'm enjoying it totally.
Also just finished "The Private World of Tasha Tudor" by Tasha Tudor and Richard Brown. It is a beautiful book full of color photos of the famous children's book illustrator, Tasha Tudor, and her marvelous gardens in Vermont.
Finished planting spring bulbs yesterday...50 mixed daffodils and 50 mixed tulips (got them from Rick and Ray!)
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| Posted on Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 10:30 am: | |
There is quite a heavy frost this morning. I feel pleased now that I hurried to get those dahlias out and the tulips in!
Winter will be here so soon with all it's hibernating type pleasures. Winter is my time for reading good books, cooking hearty soups and stews, and skiing our outstanding Pacific Northwest mountains (Whistler is my favorite!)
This morning there is a beautiful, rosy hue to the light. The sunrise clouds to the East are pink and rose colors, with beautiful blue sky behind them. Looks like another fun day in the garden!
Still reading about Tasha Tudor. What a fascinating character! Tasha illustrates children's books. From the time she was 70 years old, she has had a self sufficient farm in Vermont. She farms it all by herself (with the occasional help from her 2 grown sons). Tasha has goats for milk, chickens for eggs, and grows all her own fruits and veggies. Most of all, Tasha grows the most gorgeous flower garden you could want to lay eyes on. I just read on her website that she is now 90 years old and STILL taking care of herself independently on her farm. Isn't that incredible?
The last of the dahlia blooms are on my windowsill "altar of joy" now. It's sad to see them go until next year, so I am holding onto these precious flowers for as long as I can! I won't see my dahlias again until next July. The tubers are all safely and snugly tucked away in the garage in their little cardboard boxes for beds. |
| Posted on Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 11:24 am: | |
 
Rosy light this morning in the red maple, and beautiful autumn sunlight in the oak leaves |
| Posted on Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 05:18 pm: | |
Got a tremendous amount of work done on both gardens this morning. Have made a wonderful discovery! I am removing sods from the new bed in Summerlight (English garden) in order to prepare a royal site for the crab apple tree I bought yesterday. Suddenly it dawned on my slow moving blond brain that I can throw the sods into the wheelbarrow for transport and placement down at Rosewood (Japanese creek side Garden) Oh joy! This kills two birds with the proverbial stone. :)
At Rosewood I am building a dry stream bed and dry waterfall with craggy rocks to represent the banks, and smooth black, oiled beach stones to serve as the faux creek bed. A little bamboo bridge will span the phoney stream. Beside the bridge will go a Japanese stone lantern. In order to gain this (hopefully) stunning effect, I need to work my butt off building up the banks of the stream and hauling in tons of rocks from, as of this point in the game, who knows where?! (One simply has to let go of such concerns and trust faithfully in the goodness of the Universe!)
The banks of the dry stream bed need to be built up and so, much to my delight, this is the perfect place for the Summerlight sods to go. Finding a suitable home for the sods is such an enormous relief! What the heck else was I going to do with a virtual mountain of sods?? I know, in theory, I could compost them, but there simply isn't any place in the yard isuitable to accomodate the Everest of sods that are going to come out of that new garden bed.
While I was working at Rosewood, a lovely bright blue stellar's jay came to visit me. He's there quite often. I refer to him (very respectfully, of course) as Lord Snively. Stellar jays are absolutely gorgeous birds but they make the most awful sounds: "Rak rak RAKKKKKKK!"
The voice doesn't suit the creature at all.
It's like a man's voice emanating from Paris Hilton!
Also heard seagulls chanting in the distance. We are 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean here. When a storm is coming the seagulls signal it's advent long before the weatherman gets around to it. The gulls fly inland and take up temporary residence in fields and on neighbourhood golf courses. Sigh....I suppose this means that foul (or should I say "fowl" hehehehehe) weather is upon us.
Come to think of it, that's probably a good thing. My poor hands and muscles need some time to recuperate. If it wasn't for a spell of nasty weather now and then, I would no doubt work on my gardens non-stop for as long as daylight lasts. This is not great for the somewhat feeble female body.
Each morning I grant myself permission to invest 2 hours in working on the gardens. Ok...so sometimes I go OVER that limit and the laundry gets neglected. During the alloted time, there are inevitably chores that are firmly decided upon which need to be accomplished. The goal is always to drive myself mercilessly to get the assigned chore done before the time limit elapses. Ha!! This almost never works out as anticipated and expected. The problem is, other "sub chores" seem to continually crop up, evolving mysteriously out of the originally intended chore. What is with that?! God and gardens must laugh at the ridiculous plans of humans. :)
The sub chore that presented itself had to do with a long standing, niggling problem. The path I am using to access Rosewood will also be inviting to other people. To explain, the creek garden is accessible to anyone who happens to wander across a public bridge path and spot the little side path I've created to get to the creek. During the warm weather months this would be a very inviting spot for wandering bands of teenage revelers to declare my new garden "party central".
The solution finally made itself known this morning. During my planned chore of moving those sods, I was forced to uproot a couple of wild willows and a salmon berry bush that were smack dab in the middle of the dry stream bed I am attempting to create. Hmmmm...a light came on! These willows and salmon berry bush, I reasoned to myself and to Lord Snively, would make the ideal "blockers" for the entrance to the garden's currently inviting path. Shovel in hand, I set about to plant the blockers. The current small size of these new installations still leaves room for my wheelbarrow to pass back and forth now. Eventually they will shoot up and conceal the entrance. These are both very fast growing plants! The willow, in particular, is an absolute MANIAC! I will also plant a prickly holly bush in this area to further reinforce the obstacle course I am intent on creating to thwart any possible invasions.
Less got work done on the gardens than anticipated, however these blockers are a mandatory item that needed to be addressed NOW, before the groups of teenagers make their appearances and cause goodness knows what damage to all my hard work at the creek. (I've heard this type of situation referred to as a "pre-problem"...something that can be taken care of in advance, therefore solving future larger hassles. I like that idea!) The sub chore was satisfactorily completed, and much sod was moved and placed from my original chore as well. It was a good morning; a great morning!
Picked up 3 new books from the library about Japanese gardens. This will provide inspirational reading should the anticipated stormy weather arrive.
Chicken stew in whole wheat bread bowls for dinner! |
| Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 02:57 pm: | |
My neighbour, Andrew, has a particular fondness for birds. It is entirely possible that Andrew has the world's largest collection of bird apparatus in his yard. There are bird condominiums, bird baths, bird feeders, and everything else pertaining to the attraction of wild fowl.
Not only does Andrew appreciate wild birds, he also has two pet pigeons. One of the pigeons goes by the name of Riley. Every morning, while I am working in the yard, I hear Andrew with his familiar morning call: "Riley...RILEY...Riiiiiley...where are you boy?" Today a woman was walking past the creek and hollered back to him: "Hey...is Riley a cat? There is a big cat over here." Andrew had to sheepishly admit that Riley was, in fact, his pet pigeon. Riley has a roommate, a fellow pigeon with the rather amusing name of Herma. Herman started out as Herman, but the name got changed after Herman laid an egg in Andrew's flower bed, thus revealing her true feminine gender. :)
This morning I planted forty more miniature daffodils: "Tete-a-tete". I couldn't help myself, folks! Rick and Ray sold me the bulbs for 30% off. The weather is still glorious and the ground continues to be workable, so there is no excuse for NOT buying and planting those bulbs. It would have been criminal NOT to do so. That's what I keep telling myself anyway in a rather lame attempt to rationalize the insanity of continuing to buy more and more spring flowering bulbs. I swear it must be an addiction. Does anyone know of a "Gardener's Anonymous" type support group for those of us who "just can't seem to quit"? The saddest part of all is that, I feel compelled to confess this, dear friends: after writing this journal entry, I intend to head straight over to see Rick and Ray to get MORE "Tete-a-tete" bulbs!!! What can I SAY??? While I was planting the others I found a few more spots that really need bulbs!
Also moved a small ton of sods and planted 10 hosta divisions down by the creek. Now I have officially created a garden bed there. It's coming along!
Whole wheat toast with peanut butter, fresh green grapes, and coffee for my late breakfast. I refuse to eat until after I've put in my two hours in the garden. I read somewhere that you burn 300% more calories if you exercise on an empty stomach, so I am testing out this theory. So far I still have too much fat on my thighs and belly so I remain cynically unconvinced.
In my garden borders, "Tete-e-tete" flowers early with the crocuses. "Salmone" is a later blooming daffodil with creamy white petals and soft apricot colored trumpets. "Salome" blooms
with the tulips. Both varieties of daffodils get tucked under the large hostas or daylilies. As the bulbs finish, the hostas and daylily foliage emerges. The fanning leaves of the large perennials perfectly hides that nasty looking daffodil and tulip foliage that has to be left to ripen to assure next year's blooms.
Early flowering "Tete-e-tete"
Later flowering daffodil "Salome"
Tulips in the background are "Renown" |
| Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 12:27 pm: | |
Jen went to the garden center with me yesterday. She is beginning to develop a keen interest in gardening. Am trying to get her addicted to this very healthy, wholesome hobby. Suggested she choose some bulbs for a container garden. She selected burgundy tulips and some blue pansy flowers.
Showed Jen how to make a container with a bottom layer of tulips, a middle layer of early blooming "Tete-a-tete" daffodils, and a top layer of winter blooming pansies. She was so thrilled with this project! After her job was completed, Jen asked "Can we go get some more bulbs and do another one?" My enthusiastic (ok...addicted) response was: "YEAHHHH!" Today we will go and get some MORE bulbs and pansies and Jen can plant another container.
Went to "Chapters" bookstore last night. It's one of our favorite places to go. We all snuggle down with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate from Starbucks and feast ourselves on good books. Found an amazing book called "The Complete Gardener" by Monty Don. Came home and ordered the book from the library. Can't wait to read it!
Stopped on the way home from Chapters to cut some more large branches of beautiful foliage from wild trees along the road. It's really fun to put these branches in the back yard for some easy to change autumn color. These ones are bright yellow.
Tidied up around the yard yesterday and discovered the little wooden bench that the children used to use in their playhouse. The children have outgrown their playhouse and its accessories. The bench has a new life looking really sweet as a garden decoration.
Moved more sod from the front beds to the creek garden. Am working hard and hurrying to get the front beds ready to receive their new tree and shrub residents before winter slams down upon us.
Manured more of the back garden beds. Turned over some of the bark mulch paths.
Ended up working in the darkness, determined to finally finish that job!
Stuck indoors today with laundry to iron, coffee to drink, website to post on, and good books to read.
Later on we will go swimming at the indoor pool complex.
Just glanced outside and...oh crap...one of the gutters is leaking onto the new tulip and daffodil cutting garden!!! Darted outside to install a shield of lumber to keep the bulbs from drowning. What a sight that must have been for the neighbours, me with my messy morning hair, slip on black muddy garden moccasins, and powder blue housecoat trailing behind me, bare legs sticking out beneath, hauling sheets of plywood across the yard in the pouring rain!
My friends tell me that my life reminds them of episodes of "I Love Lucy". You just never know what's going to happen or what zany thing you're going to see next.
Noticed the creek is rising with the rain. Will continue to observe it to see how high the water floods up. Hopefully it will not rise up high enough to wash all the sods away! That was a lot of hard work to place those there.
Brought in a few little blue miniature pansies to "keep me company". Miss my dahlias, but the pansies are so darling. They have sweet little whiskers which make them look like tiny blue kittens!
New item on my wish list: six half oak barrels to put on the patio. These will house clematis to grow up the poles supporting the patio and an ever changing, all season display of annuals, perennials and bulbs.
Here's Jen planting her first spring bulb container:
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| Posted on Sunday, November 07, 2004 - 07:54 pm: | |
Gorgeous foliage of Sweet Gum "Liquid Amber"
Have seemingly gone stark staring crazy about trees.
New project idea: Seriously need an arboretum. There is one niggling little obstacle standing in the way of the realization of this great dream: it requires ten plantable acres of land and a collection of some two hundred trees to put there. Hmmmm...land and trees, manifest thyselves!!! :)
Have long admired a group of trees at the library. These mesmerizing trees bear a hefty crop of leaves that slowly metamorphosize from green to the most amazing autumnal colors: a brilliant assortment of red, gold, orange foliage, all wildly mixed up together on the same tree like a scrambling of crayons strewn across the floor. The leaves are such clear, bright, glossy colors. They look like candies. We smilingly refer to them as "Jolly Rancher" trees.
The Jolly Rancher trees are something out of an imagined and longed for paradise. They have seemingly stirred some latent desire within, igniting a passion that seemingly rivals my adoration of flowers.
Come...let us reason together, folks. Let's think this over carefully now...something of interest is most definitely required in the garden during the autumn. It's so bare and lifeless out there after all the perennials are cut down and the dahlias are finished and their tubers dug up and tucked away for winter.
Trees with colorful autumn foliage seem to be one ingenius solution. Hmmmm...it therefore stands to reason that it is only right and fitting and that one of these trees should most definitely take up residence here in Summerlight. It's practically a sacred requirement. Yes...there is little doubt that it's destiny that this type of tree be brought here to live, thrive and prosper.
Sound like an infatuated teenager with her first crush! Am turning into some sort of bizarre, warped tree romantic. Ugh! Will no doubt soon be sending Valentines and other tokens of affection to trees! Does this gardening depravity know no limits?! Never thought something this weird could happen to a sweet little innocent Canadian gal like me. :)
Took a branch from one of the library trees to Rick at the garden center. Tree in question was readily identified as "Sweet Gum, var. Liquid Amber". The name "Liquid Amber" sealed the deal. It's so highly appealing and romantic! As luck (or destiny) would have it, Rick had some of these types of trees in stock. Bought one on the spot. Regular price: $70. Rick sold it to me for $50. God bless you, Rick. :) (Rick also said he would sharpen my clippers for free if I bake him a blueberry pie. Since he sold me the blueberry bushes it seemed a fair, reasonable, and rather humorous request. Sounds like a heck of a deal for both of us!)
Also, went crazy and bought still MORE bulbs: twenty more "Tete-a-tete". Came home and immediately tucked the new bulbs into the flower borders. Upon planting discovered this: surprise...surprise...desperately need forty more "Tete-a-tete" bulbs. But NO!! Absolutely not!!! That is IT for bulbs for the year!!! No more bulbs!!!!
.
NOTE TO SELF: Important chores for tomorrow - Go back to the garden center for more "Tete-a-tete" bulbs.!
Dinner tonight: Feel very English/Japanese so it's sun-dried tomato basil chicken with water chestnuts and bean sprouts. |
| Posted on Monday, November 08, 2004 - 02:47 pm: | |
Sunday:
Took today off to enjoy the afternoon with my friends Annie and John and their darling daughter, Kate.
Annie makes the most delicious pumpkin pie. She whipped up this culinary masterpiece from a bright orange pumpkin she grew in her garden. Today's pie was worthy of an award! It was so tasty and very pretty, too, with little leafy motif cutouts of crispy golden pie crust on the top.
After pie and tea came a tour of John's garden. John is quite a plantsman, very knowledgeable and highly entertaining. The garden tour was utterly wonderful! John's father is somehow connected to the botanical gardens at UBC. As a result of this happy connection, John has a marvelous collection of fantastic rare plants and trees. He knows all the Latin names of his plants and trees and they roll off his tongue so easily. Admirable. John is enormously enthusiastic in the way he shares stories about his garden and the plants that dwell there.
We are on our way to mother in law's for dinner. Mary is the world's greatest cook. Tonight's menu is taco salad with apple crumble for dessert. Mary makes her chili with giant meatballs in it to go on the taco salad. It's scrumptious! My sister, Laurie, will be there also. It will be lovely to be all together again.
Stopped to see Rick and Ray. Bought a pretty little magenta miniature rose for my mother in law as a hostess gift. Also got a delightful purple and white african violet for my sister. May it bring them great pleasure and joy.
Monday morning:
Fog rolled in this morning, sheathing the garden in a vale of mist. The sun came out and burned off the fog, so it's outside work today! Wooooooohoooooo!
The last few brave dahlias are steadfastly holding fort on the kitchen windowsill "altar of joy". The flowers are long past their prime. They look rather sad, but still can't bring myself to heave them into the compost. There won't be any more dahlias until next summer. Dahlia time came and went all too quickly.
There was a sweet little family of beavers living at the creek last summer. Once the trunks of the willow trees were safely wrapped up with chicken wire, the beavers were most welcome and enjoyed. The family was comprised of a mother, father, and two adorable babies. The babies were so much fun to watch. They would play in the water for hours, rolling, scrambling, wrestling, and yip yipping. Last summer a team of city workers came in with their noisy diggers with the intention of "improving" the creek area. For days on end the noise of their machinery and shouting back and forth was unbearable. The beavers sensibly moved out, leaving a big mess of tangled logs, twigs, boards and leaves in their wake. Today's job was to clean up the vacated beaver manor.
Finally managed to fall into the creek this morning while cleaning up the debris from the beaver dam. Ok, so it was just my right foot that went in up to my knee. Still, that was enough! Verdict - that water is darned tootin' COLD! A plunge into the creek was inevitable, what with the acrobatics of dangling precariously from overhanging tree limbs that was necessary to do the clearing work. It was a relief that it was just my foot that tested the waters and not the highly anticipated graceful swan dive with face plant into the water. Perhaps the swan dive is yet to come (hopefully in the summer when the water is a bit warmer!)
Breakfast = museli toast and scrambled eggs.
Jen went on a field trip with John, Annie and Kate. They are taking the Albion ferry across the Fraser River. It's a nice day for a drive.
Back to the garden for me.
Happy Monday! |
| Posted on Tuesday, November 09, 2004 - 10:27 pm: | |
Got up rather early and went out to work at the creek. Put in 5 hours of very hard labor. Am exhausted and sore. Threw out my lower back with that plunge into the creek yesterday. Every movement and effort today was an agony of pain and back spasms. Had to do some of the work crawling on hands and knees or while sitting on a rock.
However, good tidings of great joyous news! All the major cutting back of undergrowth at the creek is done now. All that remains is the willow branches to cut down, the battle of the blackberries, and mulching with leaves. In the spring, the real fun of planting can begin. This is tremendous and very encouraging progress, albeit a hard won battle.
The creek area now looks like a park or a garden in the making instead of a convenient place to dump garden refuse, garbage, or (shudders) a body.
What remains in the wake of all this activity is a HUGE pile of cut down branches and twigs to deal with. Perhaps the best solution would be to just tarp it all, let it dry out, and then have a bonfire and weenie roast in the summer. All the neighbourhood kiddies would just love that scenario.
Was absolutely shocked to notice this morning that the beavers seem to have returned! There is a small tree across the creek that has been chopped down. Obviously the work of beavers. No sign of the critters themselves yet.
A woodpecker kept me company today. Wanted to see what he looked like, but he was elusive, tricky, and very hard to get a peek at. He would stop pecking whenever he was approached. It was impossible to spot him in the heavy growth of cedar branches without some sort of movement to give away his exactly location. Finally managed to outwit him by PRETENDING to walk away, so he commenced his peck, peck, pecking just a little too soon. Have named him Professor in honor of his crafty, analytical ways. He was a big bugger, too, about the size of a small crow.
From this window, there is a glorious view of the cottonwood trees across the street. The leaves are all brilliant golden yellow. The area across the street remains to be developed also. It's very exciting to have a whole new project to look forward to when Summerlight and Rosewood are completed.
Had scrambled eggs and museli toast for breakfast . Did some more research on Japanese style gardens from the stack of books I ordered and picked up from the library. They are great books with scads of terrific, creatively stimulating ideas.
Museli toast is very good. The bread is whole grain and they bake it with nuts and raisins. It's available at the supermarket here, baked fresh daily. Lots of times their bread is still warm from the oven. The other day, there were some whole grain buns, perfect for making stew in a bread bowl. These buns were just fantastic...still warm, so fresh and fragrant. I said to the guy that works there (without thinking) "WOW! You've got such great buns!" We both had a good laugh about that when the double meaning sank in!
Jen is doing the dishes. When she is done we are going to Subway for lunch. After lunch we will work on a social studies project Jen brought home about the fall of the Roman Empire. Wooohoooo! Sounds so mentally stimulating! My body needs a rest anyway. It will be nice to sit down for awhile and read.
Barely remembered that we had an appointment for cleaning of teeth at the dentist. Got there JUST in the nick of time. Nice clean cavity free teeth for me...Jen has two cavities...darn!
Crashed out when we returned from the dentist. Woke up just in time to have
chili with salad for dinner. More museli toast with blueberry jam on it for dessert. Delicious!!!
Happy Tuesday. |
| Posted on Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 03:17 am: | |
In bloom in my garden today :) |
| Posted on Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 05:35 pm: | |
Oh I do so LOVE snowdrops! Their little green snouts are already emerging.
Mine were rescued from an abandoned farm field that was being made into a sub division. It was such a joy to drive past the old farm and see the snowdrops emerge and then open into full flower. There was never a prettier sight than those brave little flowers popping back to life with the old dilapitated barn behind them. To me, those snowdrops flowering was always the sign that springtime had officially commenced.
It would have been a sin to remove them from that setting. They belonged in there with the old barn. Sadly, though, the inevitable eventually occured. The land was sold to developers for new housing. It was unbearable to see those gorgeous flowers plowed under and destroyed by bulldozers. It felt as if someone was about to kill some very dear friends and ruin a lovely little piece of history. After all, some devoted gardening soul took the time and care to lovingly plant them years and years ago, possibly a sweet little farm wife with a love of nature and beauty.
How sorrowful it was that the old farm was about to be made into new houses and the snowdrops lost forever. Unfortunately it's so much easier to destroy than to create.
While harvesting the snowdrops, one of the oafish workers came lumbering over and "scolded" me for "stealing" plants! He got scolded right back! The snowdrops were heirlooms about to be destroyed and in need of protection. That shut him up. (Perhaps he was intimidated by a furiously mouthy blond with a shovel in her hand.)
Sure enough, the rescue came just in time. Within a week, a huge dumptruck arrived and load after load of soil crashed down on the remaining snowdrops, forever burying the remainder of wonderful little treasures! How fortunate that some of the snowdrops were saved. They will be naturalized down by the creek and in our local park where everyone can enjoy them for years to come.
Here is a photo of me with my little "babies". I managed to save about 10 clumps like this.
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| Posted on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 06:18 pm: | |
It has been a very busy morning here, as are most mornings, and the days in general. They fly by, don't they?
Jody, my homeschooler, slept in. He really wasn't feeling well at all after his meningitis and hepatitis shots. He had a bit of a fever this morning and his arm was swollen. According to the info sheet they gave me, this is a normal reaction, albeit annoying for poor Jody. He also said he had a bit of a headache which is also normal.
So Jody slept later than usual, which turned out to be an ok thing. Tuesday is garbage/recycling day in the neighbourhood. It is also compost day. In my humble opinion, I think that community composting is one of the great wonders of the Western modern age. People put out bags and bags and bags of raked leaves, which, to me, are a gold mine of garden value! Leaves are an ideal fertilizer and soil builder for the garden. Drove around the neighbourhood and managed to gather up about 25 huge bags of leaves (it took several trips to accomplish this with the car !)
The big bags of leaves were wheelbarrowed, two at a time, down to the creek area. We have spread bag after bag of leaves around for a thick mulch. This should hopefully keep the weeds at bay until each area can be developed and planted. The leaves will also slowly break down and amend the soil. Will probably need about 20 more bags of leaves to totally finish the job, but first a few more unwanted roots, shoots, brambles, and other things must be removed.
Also hope to plant one of Reverend Ken's dogwood trees down there, as well as an oak he is volunteering to our project. We are hoping to somehow find the time before the freeze to plant a few daffodils, snowdrops, and crocuses at the creek.
Anne, Gardenbuddies member, is sending us some aquilegia seeds in the mail which we shall use for our creek project as well. Aquilegias will be a grand addition to the creek garden! According to Anne, the seeds should be planted directly in the area where they will grow. This means another bed will need to be prepared at the creek for this purpose. Mushroom compost shall suffice for the planting material. Can't wait to see if any columbines result from this international seed exchange, Looking forward to photographing them so that Anne can see her aquilegias growing here.
After all of these chores are finally accomplished, we will be content to consider our labors a good job well done and everything can then lay and rest until springtime. :)
The wind has picked up again something fierce and the rain is pouring down as well. It is blowing the cottonwoods across the street like crazy. The trees are all doing a leafy, fluttering, golden ballet dance in the wind. It's very pretty and a lively form of entertainment. This morning it was clear and almost warm outside. Perhaps it was just the eye of the storm. The foul weather appears to be coming back in for another blow. Hardly slept at all night before last with all the banging and clattering around of objects being tossed and blown by the gusts of wind.
My little gang came home for lunch today. On these cold blustery days it's great to be able to give them some good, warm soup to fortify them for the afternoon's work. My Johnny was here (all 6'4" of him!) and also my darling Jen and her best friend, Chantal. Sometimes John's friend, Aaron, comes too, but he had something else going on today at school so he didn't join us. It was nice to be with my little group. We ate some hot soup, sandwiches made with bavarian meatloaf and havarti cheese, and fresh grapes.
Stopped and grabbed more leaves on the way back from the school. Just can't seem to resist those free leaves sitting there like bags of gold! hahahhahaha
This afternoon the cat decided to go AWOL and jump over the fence into the neighbour's yard. Luckily, I just happened to be glancing outside at the wind and saw her take the nose dive. We went over to rescue her. The silly feline is smart enough to find her way over to the neighbour's yard, but unfortunately not quite brainy enough to find her way back yet. Had to climb over the fence like a SWAT member doing a search and rescue mission, getting the backside of my last clean pair of jeans all dirty on the fence in the process.
Now Jody is awake and rather more lively than this morning, so we will take this opportunity to finish up our novel and do some math and typing.
Here's a cute ditty from a garden book: No flowers, no leaves, no garden...No-vember!
Roasted chicken and wedge fries for dinner. Oh joy! Happy Tuesday to all! |
