Hummingbird Photos

I was bragging to my Mom the other day, that almost any time I go into the garden, I see a hummingbird. So these are my photos to substantiate my claim. ;-)

We have a "hummingbird corner" in the upper corner of our yard, with dozens of shaggy red monarda flowers, a favourite of hummers (click on any of the photos for a larger image):



When the monarda blooms come to an end, the butterfly bush, which is just starting to bloom, will provide interest for the remainder of the summer. Nearby, there are lots of trees in which the hummers can rest, such as our small cherry tree:

...a medium sized alder tree beyond the fence:

...and a tall alder tree behind our yard:

This is an interesting photo of the hummingbird already turned around, and just about to dart away:

Garden Glimpses : June & July 2008

I'm trying out a slide show format, I think it's pretty nice. Click Refresh at the end, to start over (instead of viewing advertising). Or click "View All Images" to view larger images, in a more traditional slide show format:

Hamsters are Just Not Like They Used to Be

I was musing to myself today, as I was tugging out handfuls of clover from our lawn, that my hamster (from when I was a kid) would have loved this stuff. When I was a kid, I remember spending hours sitting outside, watching my hamster, Snowflake (she was an albino, white with the pink eyes), munch on and then stuff her cheeks full of clover. When she looked like she would burst, I would return her to her cage.

My daughter's hamster, Hammy, has not showed the same interest in clover. In fact, he shows very little interest in foraging when we take him outside. And come to think of it, rarely seems to put anything in his cheeks, never mind stuff them to the bursting point.

So it got me to wondering why the difference, and I can only speculate that it may be because Hammy already gets such a wide variety of foods... We have a number of different foods we give him regularly, including a "hamster" seed mix, hamster pellets, nuts, rice, split peas, oats, and sunflower seeds. I don't remember what we fed my hamster regularly, but I remember one time getting a large beanbag frog - I don't remember if we bought it for 10cents at a garage sale, or someone gave it to us, or what - but when we discovered that it was full of grain, that became my hamster's food for months. So perhaps that was why she so enjoyed our regular trips outdoors, for the variety in her diet.

It made me think about my kids, and how when I was a kid, there was so much to look forward to. The mandarin oranges which only came out at Christmas time. Strawberries in June. Toys at Christmas or birthdays. Cake and pop at birthday parties. What a different world it is for my kids, with almost all food and material things available any time, and all the time. When they were younger, I think I did well at resisting the urge to buy them lots of toys, treats, etc, but lately we have found ourselves buying just about anything that catches our interest. Partly because we can. Partly because it is so much easier to entertain them with something new, than to revive interest in what they have. Partly because time is always so short, if we see it, we just buy it, we might not have a chance to return later... I am always looking for new baked goods to try... Things my mom wouldn't think to buy, she would instead bake her own. On the contrary, I can't imagine spending the time baking, it is much easier to just buy.

Then I thought again about Hammy.... He seems interested in the foods dropped in his food dish nightly, but if he walks around outside the cage, where some of the seeds have been scattered, he can walk right by them without showing interest (to my dismay, that we need to pick them up or finally just vacuum them up!). If hamsters evolve with us, will they eventually lose their cheeks, since they no longer have the need to treasure up food and carry it to their nests? How can we retain any joy or thankfulness for what we have, in the midst of so much? How do we help our kids appreciate the blessings they have (without boring them with the "When I was a kid" stories)?

On a lighter note, I need to share this cute photo of Hammy, looking like he's playing peek-a-boo (not the obsessive cleaning he does, of course!)... I was mad when I first saw it, and the silly piece of grass which my son poked in front of the lens as I was shooting, but later I came to appreciate this extra element of him hiding behind the grass. What do you think?

6 Random Things About Me

It is fun on a rainy evening or late night (when I'm too tired even to play with DAZStudio 3D images) to wander through other people's virtual gardens, via their garden blogs. One of the gardens I like to "visit" is that of Irena from Toronto, Ontario. And I know she visits my blog also, since she graciously leaves me encouraging comments.

Recently I've been tagged by Irena in her "My Roots Run Deep" blog, to provide 6 random facts about me. So here goes:

1) My 2 kids were born in the same hospital as I was. Some 30+ years apart - Oh my, that's giving too much away! It was called "Burnaby General Hospital" back then, they now call themselves "Burnaby Hospital" (the distinction is too subtle for me, but someone reading this could probably enlighten me on the difference).

2) My favourite brand of facial tissue is Kleenex. Some brands are too hard to pull from the box, resulting in the whole box lifting, and requiring two hands to pull out a tissue. Others don't stay up enough, and tend to fall back into the box. I find it has the right balance of allowing a one-hand pull, but doesn't flop back inside. I only buy the 2 ply. Not that thick 3 ply stuff (just fold it over or pull2 when you need so much bulk!), nor lotions or any other additives. And of course, I buy the bulk pack, but try to find the colour combinations that will colour-match our rooms (beige for our master bathroom, purple for my daughter's, green or blue for my son's, burgundy for the powder room, and other colours for the other rooms).

3) On a similar note, my favourite brand of bathroom tissue is Purex. Yes, the "pillowy soft" stuff. White kittens rolling down the carpetted steps & all (do you remember those great TV ads, or am I dating myself again? I couldn't even find any images for this, or the later pillowy soft ads). Anyhow, similar story. It is soft enough, but not too fluffy & tearable. I won't even try other brands anymore, it is all around the best. I'm strictly a 2 ply girl, but double roll is great, it reduces storage requirements in my closet.

4) We don't have cable TV in our house. We really don't watch TV very much at all. My husband will occasionally watch late news on one of our two available channels. And on the occasion we want to watch something together, we just rent movies (or borrow some of those great "oldies" from the library). We had a 6 month cable trial (one of those real sweet deals) once, primarily so we could test out our wiring (we wired just about every room with cable, and even a satellite run from the attic, when we built the house). In the end, we didn't really test out more than the connection in the family room. And being able to watch re-runs of "I Love Raymond" or "Friends" on different channels at different times, just didn't justify the monthly fees.

5) My favourite cut flower is the Stargazer Lily. It was featured prominently in my wedding arrangement, so the strong scent invokes wonderful memories of the wedding, and the overwhelming scent in our honeymoon suite afterward. It is a good buy, if you can find one in full bloom in the store, since it can be planted in the garden afterward, and reward you with flowers for many years. I once made an online puzzle from a photo of my stargazers.

6) I always wear a seatbelt. I guess I just learned to drive a car that way: sit down, put the seatbelt on, start the car, adjust mirrors, ... So it drives me crazy that my husband will start the car and drive several blocks (or until my daughter or I point it out!!) before pulling on his seatbelt.

Now it is my turn to pass along the fun. But first, let's get the guidelines of this game out of the way:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

I would like to "tag" the following people, whose blogs are also well worth a visit. In fact, I have been considering to pass along my "Creative Blogger Award" (from August 2007!!) to them, but just haven't set aside the time to write up the post!

1) Catherina from Virginia, USA, in her blog "Shabby~Chic Cat's Gardening Close~ups!" Her photos are lovely, prepared as themed collages of prints.

2) Pam from Austin, Texas, in her blog "Diary of an Austin Gardener". I love the garden close-up photos.

3) Melissa in Ontario, Canada, in her blog "Empress of Dirt". Great garden & wildlife photos, and witty commentary, too.

4) Kylee in NorthWest Ohio, USA, in her blog "Our Little Acre". Fun little anecdotes, gorgeous photos and lots of flower closeups.

5) David in Australia, in his blog "David's 'Images of Nature' Photography Gallery". He has some great nature photos, and I enjoy his "Sky Watch Friday" series.

6) David in Gloucester, Massachussets, in his blog "Flower Mandalas". David is a psychotherapist, photographer, digital artist, and writer, involved in healing and transformation through art. Perhaps since my life - by God's grace - has been filled only with blessing, or perhaps since I spend most of my time in the busy-ness of material living, I find I don't really relate to this whole area of healing, but I am nonetheless spell-bound by the beauty of his flower mandalas.

Tag, you're it!

And thanks to Irena for tagging me, this has been fun!

Aiko in the Forest

Tonight I was much too tired to work, so I found myself downloading more accessories for Aiko. It has been a long time since I played with DAZStudio. Made sense at the time, except now I'm tired and my eyes hurt, too. ;-)

Okay, here goes, Aiko as a fairy in her new "Tink" dress, with a texture applied (which happened to fit okay, even though designed for an entirely different outfit), and her new wreath headband, courtesy of faerie-dreams.com (click the image for a larger view):

What do you think? Was it worth staying up until midnight, or should I have caught an early night while I had the chance?

Garden Glimpses : Mid June 2008

June is a wonderful time of year, since the many blossoms are a-buzz with many fuzzy bumblebees. They are busy on the chives:

...and the Physocarpus opulifolius "diablo" (Diablo ninebark):

...and the Spanish lavender (Lavendula stoechas):

...and the Geraniums (this first one is "Victor Reiter"):


...and the raspberries:

The butterflies are now flitting about the garden also, like this cabbage butterfly, enjoying the osteospermum flowers:

Everywhere, there is the hope for summer fruit, such as these strawberries:

...apples (on the espalier tree):

...and pears (Bartlett pears, in this case):

The campanula glomerata is in full bloom, and looking beautiful this year (even if the long stems have flopped over again - each year I tell myself I need to do something to support them, maybe next year I will finally take action):

(As always, click any photo for a slightly larger view.)

More Glimpses of Osoyoos, BC

The low rainfall levels in Osoyoos qualify it as the only "desert" area in Canada. But to its demise, the soil & weather conditions also make it a great place for vineyards and fruit orchards. So there is little of the true "desert" left, around the fringes of the town. It was such a neat experience, coming from the wet and lush Vancouver area, to visit such an arid place, and and for me to see the unique plants growing there.

I didn't catch a name for this little grass, but isn't it gorgeous?

This is a sort of desert phlox, being only a few inches high, very tiny in comparison to any phlox I am familiar with:

This tiny but cheery thread-leaved daisy (Erigeron filifolius) seemed to be everywhere in the desert areas:

This Brittle Prickly-Pear Cactus (Optunia fragilis) was almost hidden in the desert grasses, but once we spotted it, we could also see it almost everywhere. A few of them were blooming, and many others bearing plump pinkish buds:


This wild rose didn't seem unique to the desert, but was beautiful also:

Finally, the classic "desert" scene (and note the clumps of Brittle Prickly-Pear Cactus):

Glimpses of Osoyoos and Manning Park, BC

We pulled the kids from school 1.5 days, and escaped to Osoyoos BC this weekend. We have talked about camping again, but this weekend we stayed in style at the Walnut Beach Resort. Check out the view from our balcony:


The clouds rolled in and out, but for the most part there was blue sky to be spotted (unlike Vancouver, where I understand it rained most of the weekend). Anyhow, we toured both desert centres in Osoyoos, and I took LOTS of photos there (click any photo for a slightly larger image)...

I love thistles, and they must taste sweet, too, if these bugs are any indication:


I was really hoping to spot a rattlesnake somewhere during the trip, but was still very happy to see this western yellow-bellied racer [thanks to Jake for correcting me], which raced through the sagebrush and grasses beside us, crossed the path, and seemed to stop for a moment to look at us before speeding on:

While we're on the topic of wildlife, what trip through Manning Park is complete without a spotting of a black bear? This little guy was on the side of the road leading to the Lightning Lakes:

And of course, the Columbian ground squirrels (Spermophilus columbianus, but commonly known as "gophers") around Lightning Lakes are so charming, it was worth a number of photos:


It might be hard to see, but this little guy is chewing on a blade of grass:

I'm too tired tonight, but I'll try to post a few more photos this week, of the many beautiful flowers found in the desert areas.

Bunch of Baby Bison in Beautiful BC

On the weekend we went to visit the bison in Agassiz (yes, there are bison in BC!), since we heard they had a baby bison. But when we arrived, we realized that there were a number of babies. As we climbed the hill to see them, the mothers quickly moved into a huddle, with the babies between them, except for one little guy who didn't seem concerned:

Fairly soon, they realized we were armed only with a camera, and went about their business with only a few stares at us (which makes for better photos, anyhow). We were able to count 6 calves among the 7 females, with the last female visibly pregnant also. One male. Here are 3 of the moms with calves:

Here are a couple more pics (click any photo for a larger image):

Fairy Garden

I guess it was last year that a offered my daughter her own "fairy garden", but then other than her adding a small stump there and the occasional sticks and such, the plants were not particularly unique to a fairy garden. Just more of my usual, such as crocosmia and Japanese anemone. So I finally decided something had to be done, especially since I have had this fairy house on the counter for too long. So today I started clearing out the crocosmia and such:

Hmmm, I think that hosta has to go also...

...to make room for the fairy house. And then I have started planting miniature plants, such as the tiny hosta in the bottom left corner, and sedums and sempervivums, and a small violet, and whatever else I will find around the garden which will fit the scale of the fairy garden:

I will leave the lilies (they look like huge trees behind the house), and the Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon) behind, but will eventually clear out more, so that all the "gardens" surrounding the house will be more to scale. If I didn't know better, I would even leave the horsetail which pokes up in spots, to form tiny trees. But the horsetail is much too successful already to give it such encouragement.

Fairy Discovery

Last weekend while we were walking Lighthouse Park (one of my favourite parks), my daughter discovered a fairy (click for a larger image):

Friendship Tulips

I almost forgot to post a photo of my friendship tulips... Last fall, I found a fairly large bag of what looked like very pretty bi-colour tulips. So I decided to surprise my neighbour Helen, who has a wonderful little garden next to her driveway, which is quite underutilized (ever since she got tired of and removed the beautiful daffodils from there, and gave them to me). So I snuck over there, and planted up the tulips and also grape hyacinths in between (click the photo for a larger view). This Spring, we were all pleased with the result (photo from 2 weeks ago):

My own were not as noticeable, tucked in between plants in my fairly crowded front garden:

Then when I visited my friend Lily 2 weeks ago, I noticed the same tulips in her front yard. I had forgotten that I had shared some with her also. So I guess they have truly become "friendship tulips".

More Garden Glimpses : Late May 2008

One of the many rewards of gardening is the continual surprises. Such as this daylily, which came along with a small masterwort plant (gift from the garden of a friend of my mother-in-law), and which bloomed for the first time this year. I'm glad I resisted the urge to pull it out last year, when it showed up as a few blades of what looked almost like grass.

Then there is this gorgeous tri-colour honeysuckle, which is full of blooms this year. I received it as a tiny shoot in a plant trade about 2 years ago, and had no idea what colour to expect. What a lovely surprise to see this wonderful mix of pink, white and yellow!

Of course, not all surprises are welcome ones. I try not to even think about the Carex pendula which has seeded itself all over my entire upper garden and down the hillside. It is coming up by the thousands, and if I don't find them in the first year, they get pretty hard to pull the second year, and pretty hopeless for me after that. I received a tiny shoot in a plant trade one year, gave it what turned out to be an ideal spot in the moist side of my garden, and it grew to a monster with a base maybe 4' wide within 2 or 3 years. At that point, it had flowered, but seemed to only have a few offspring. However, I began to fear the size and growth of this thing, and being not very impressed by its looks, I asked a neighbour help me remove it last year (over-filling a wheelbarrow to haul it away to add beside his pond). It seems that right after that, the ground exploded with seedlings, and I've been pulling and shovelling ever since, with no sign yet of any hope of completely removing it from my garden. I'm afraid to ask him yet if he's noticed any seedlings. I can only hope it is not so successful in his garden!

Speaking of unpleasant surprises, I opened the barbeque last week, to get it ready for the BBQ season, and found this weird ball of garden clippings inside:

My first thought was that someone had played a joke on us, cramming that in there. But when my husband went to clean it out, and found the BBQ full of droppings, we realized that a mouse had made a nest there during the winter. Good thing I didn't open it until Spring! What a creepy thought, those little guys scampering up & down the barbeque without our noticing.

Anyhow, back to some more pleasant images. I can never seem to get enough of this Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry). I hope it will survive and thrive in my garden:

I can't help adding another photo of my white tree peony:

I also can't get enough of this Campanula glomerata, so here goes with another photo:

I don't know the name of this orange flower, but the yellow version of it grows wild in the neighbourhood ditches and lakeside parks (and along my East fence, near the ravine).

My son painted this birdhouse last year (the rainbow colours was his idea), when he was 6 years old. We finally set it up outside. I was ecstatic to find a chickadee checking it out within a couple of days (probably looking to find out if it was a feeder).

The espalier apple tree is bearing small fruits now, so I thinned out each clump, from the 3 or 4 fruits...

...down to 1 fruit each (in some cases, I've left 2, to see which one will be stronger).

This lupine is a cheery pink colour. I have a few of them in the garden, but wish I had a few more. I should plant some of the seeds I gathered in previous years: