Virtual Wildflower Garden

Can't wait until Spring?  Tired of snow?

My sister sent me a link via email, to grow my own flower garden.  It's fun and easy, just drag your mouse where you want your flowers to grow.  Click refresh to start another flower garden.  Here's one of mine.  Isn't it pretty?:

Wonderful Gardening Day

Today was an amazing gardening day.  On Thursday, it snowed lightly, then yesterday and today, we have had amazing weather - crisp but sunny, and clear blue skies.  Since my son is sick with a cold, we kept him home from soccer at noon today, and I went out in the garden instead, wearing a tank top and shorts, to get as much Vitamin D as possible.  I'm sure I'm terribly deficient, and have also had a sore throat and cough the past couple of days.

First I managed to squeeze in one hour, since my husband offered to make lunch.  Then in the afternoon, he wanted to enjoy the weather by going for a walk in the park, but I begged him to let me stay home in the garden instead.  So he ended up taking my daughter for a bicycle ride, while my son spent 2 hours in the garden.  I pulled lots of weeds, removed old flower stalks, trimmed back my grape vines to visible growth buds, and fought for a long time with the butterfly bush.  My son was a great help to me.  I chopped and pulled large branches down (it is over 10' tall), and he chopped up the branches for me.  I keep many of the straight segments of the branches I cut down.  That's what I used to build the fairy house years ago, for the fairy garden (photo on right from last summer), and I'm sure I'll find lots of uses for them in the garden, staking plants, etc.

It was not windy, so warm enough to continue to work in my tank top and shorts in the afternoon, as long as I stayed in the sun.  In the shady spots, there was still a light covering of snow on the ground.  By 4PM, it started to get windy and cooler, so I finally gave up.  It was only after I got inside that I realized how exhausted I was, and was glad that I had finally come inside.  But I think those hours to relax and soak up sun has already helped.  I am tired tonight, but my throat is no longer sore.

I feel sorry for my friends and neighbours who think of gardening as a chore.  Or my husband, who thinks that when the weather is nice, he needs to go away somewhere else.  When I am in my garden, working hard, it is one of the few times that I am completely at peace.  There is lots to do, but if I can't finish it all today (ha ha!), then it will patiently wait for me.  I often think of tunes or amuse myself with what I would like to blog about, but my head is not racing with problems from work, or other issues.  Even when I am trying to sleep, I am not at peace in that same way.  I often wake up in the morning trying to solve problems, or making notes to myself of all the "to do's" I need to accomplish.  If there is gardening in heaven, for sure I'll be there.

I have been trying out my Cobrahead Weeder and Cultivator recently, and have been very impressed with it.  I would like to say more about it some time, but it's getting too late.  I'll visit my husband at the TV for a bit, and then go to bed.

GBBD February 2011

The rain finally subsided this morning, so I was able to run to the top of the yard to dump my kitchen compost bin.  As I stepped outside, I realized it was Garden Blogger's Bloom Day hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  So I returned and took the camera with me.

The crocuses (does anyone say "croci"?) under the Fuyu Persimmon would be blooming if there were any sun to speak of.  But not this overcast morning.

I did find one mini iris blooming next to my granite garden bench.

At this point in the season, there are plenty of hopeful signs of new growth, but the garden "bones" of bare tree branches, evergreen bushes and the occasional garden decoration, dominate the garden view.  I like the shadow these decorations cast on the fence (on a sunnier morning a couple of weeks ago).

One evening last week, the setting sun lit up my contorted shrub (the name is not coming to me at the moment) in the front yard.  Although the photo doesn't fully capture the golden glow I saw, it conveys some of the magic of that moment.

Here's to dreaming of Spring!

Fun with Fabric Paints

My daughter's friends at school all have food nicknames this year.  My daughter's a cookie. One tough cookie.

One of her friends is a cupcake.  An evil cupcake.

Another friend is a brownie.  A super brownie.

I designed (drawing on some ideas I found on the internet - or outright borrowing the first one from David and Goliath - I hope they forgive me, in exchange for a link to their site, where they have some really cute T-shirts) and created all three shirts tonight, with puffy (dimensional) fabric paint I bought at Michaels. 

They may take a couple of days to dry, and then the threesome can wear their shirts to school.  It will be a fun surprise for her friends.  Oh, and the whites of the eyes are made with glow-in-the-dark paint, so that will be an extra surprise for them.

Birthday Season and Stick Bugs

Today was my son's birthday party with his friends from school, and the end of "birthday season" in our house.  I have discovered the joy of making cakes instead of buying them, so today I had fun decorating his, except that I couldn't find my icing decorating set, so instead ended up improvising with a plastic bug cut on the end, and holding one of the icing tips I did find against it, but it was a real messy job, with icing spilling out on all sides onto my hands.  You wouldn't know it, though, by looking at the cake.  I think it turned out pretty good, don't you?:

My only mistake was that I indicated that we would be done by 7:30 or 8pm, and some parents arrived at 7:30pm, and we were not done.  My husband only arrived about 7:15pm from dropping off my daughter at the church, and I had waited for him to return before opening gifts and serving cake, since I wanted his help with a few photos.  So it was a bit of a rush finishing up, with parents arriving.

In the midst of the chaos, Gary from Cinemazoo arrived (from another birthday party he was entertaining at) to buy a few of my stick bugs for his collection of bugs and creatures which he shares with kids of all ages for educational and entertainment purposes.  I was very impressed with him.  Gary is a true nature enthusiast, and a very patient and kind person.  He graciously gave me some eggs of a leaf insect, which I will be thrilled to add to my stick bug "collection".  He also took the trouble to go back to his van and bring in some huge hissing cockroaches, which I enjoyed holding (the birthday kids all backed away and couldn't be convinced), and this giant stick bug which he preserved (wow, I would have liked to hold it while it was still alive!):

I think it would be a really cool birthday feature, to have Cinemazoo bring in their weird and wonderful creatures, and share them with the kids.   Tonight, one of the little sisters of one of the boys shrieked when she first saw my stick bugs, but after explaining to her that it was a "nice" gentle bug, I convinced her to hold one, and within a few minutes, she had convinced her mom that she wanted to take one home with her, which she did.  I was thrilled to see her transformed from her initial terror, to proudly clutching the little box with her new bug "pet".  What a night!

Stream of Dreams Mural

In September, the kids and I painted wooden fish for a Stream of Dreams mural, during the World Rivers Day celebration in Burnaby, BC.

We were told to watch for our fish to be displayed on a fence in the park in the near future.  But we didn't return to the Fraser Foreshore Park.  At least, not until this weekend, when we went for a walk on the beautiful clear Sunday afternoon, and discovered our fish, in a Stream of Dreams mural.  We were happy to find our fish swimming happily in the stream:

For more photos of this particular mural, see this page, or to learn more about the Stream of Dreams, see their website.

Insect Art - Painted Stick

On our trip to Otter Lake this summer, we found a stick which had insect tunnels all over it (under the bark, which had peeled off).  I brought it home, intending to paint it in contrasting colours to bring out the funky patterns the insects had carved.  I finally found the time this past week.  I think it turned out pretty neat.

I originally planned to paint in red (for the tunnels), and finish in contrasting black, but as I started painting the red, I came up with the idea of painting in red and yellow stripes, evocative of a poisonous snake, which the shape of the stick suggested.  So that's what I did, making sure to get deep into all the tunnels:

However, at this point, the tunnels were not very evident:

Until the black was painted on (brushing a light coat of black using the side or heel of the brush, so as to avoid filling the tunnels):

I am pleased with the final results, although I am not sure where to display it.  For now, I have it sitting beside a large wooden eagle head carving and stone salmon carving, both of which we bought from real (successful) artists.  So there is a sort of loosely west coast nature theme to it, even if it doesn't look like any of our local snakes.

If I get any compliments, I'll give most of the credit to the insects, for creating their patterns in the first place.  All I did was recognize and highlight it for them, so their artwork would be enjoyed.

Rattie Boys Introduction

Our latest pet rat, Archie, is about 3 to 4 weeks old, and is now beginning to show that he is a male.  This is good news, since our poor boy Bear (who we hoped was a girl when we bought him 6 months ago) has been without a companion, and going crazy not being able to visit the 2 girls in the cage next door to him.

I decided that I would let the boys sniff each other through the bars of the cage, and when it seemed friendly, I opened the door and let them sniff each other directly.  Archie fearlessly jumped into Bear's cage, and that was that.  We watched them for some time, and the interactions have been friendly, and unlike the girls (who still tousle often, ending with Sam on top, and Jen squeaking at her), the boys chased and sniffed each other.  In fact, our dear gentle giant Bear seemed a bit afraid of little Archie buzzing about and climbing on his tail.  Often, Bear retreated to the top of his food dish, watching Archie from above.

So I secured the second platform which we picked up at the dollar store.  The original cage was designed for birds, thus the vertical bars and lack of accessories.  We borrowed the ladder from the girls' cage, since they easily climb or jump up to their platform without it.

Bear seemed very interested in this new lower platform.  Archie was interested in everything, it was all new to him.  He figured out how to climb the vertical bars in no time, checking out the lower and Bear's upper platforms with no problem, not even bothering to use the ladder we provided.

It looks like a successful introduction.  Just in case Archie needs a place to retreat, we added a small tunnel which he can fit through but Bear can't.  But I don't think that will be necessary.

Here is a short video clip of the boys exploring together.  We are very happy for Bear that he finally has a friend to play with.

Five Year Blog Anniversary - and Thanks!

It's hard to believe I've been writing this garden blog for 5 years now.  It was my blog's 5 year anniversary this past week.  No hoopla.  No big giveaways.  But lots of good memories, photos and reflections on my garden to look back on occasionally, and an appreciation for the wonderful people I've "met" along the years, who share my love of plants and bugs and crafts and gardening.

I remember when I started my blog in January 2006, thinking that I would offer gardening advice and share my expanding plant knowledge.  My early posts included such advice as "Flowering Shrubs to Hide an Ugly Fence", and articles like "Mint : Lovely, useful and invasive!".

Very early on, I also discovered the joy of just posting "Garden Glimpses" or photographs of my garden and plants throughout the various seasons.  I still enjoy looking back on these, and comparing the garden and blooms from year to year.

In early 2007, I started my Garden Painting project, and posted my step by step series of additions to the painting, until I finally hung it on the wall, half finished, where it remains today, waiting for my next period of inspiration.

Early on, I used to track my visitors, and what searches led them to my blog.  Early on, it was photos and descriptions of my espalier trees which seemed to bring the most visitors.  Now, other than my regular readers, it seems to be Google Images searches which brings about 100 visitors per day.  Many who click further, and others who don't.

For the longest time, it felt like I was writing mostly to myself.  My brother checked occasionally whether I was making any progress on my garden painting, and then eventually gave up on me entirely.  Then somewhere along the line, I discovered the occasional joy of visitors to my blogs who actually left comments.  One of my first regular visitors and commenters I remember was Irena from My Roots Run Deep, a fellow Canadian gardener in the Toronto area.  I treasured those comments, which were a sign that someone "out there" actually cared enough to read or look at my posts.

I discovered the joy of reading and "following" other garden blogs, and leaving the occasionally comment to let them know, too, that someone cared and appreciated their posts.  Now I can spend entire evenings just following my regular blogs, and following their links and commenters to discover more good blogs to "follow".

In my reading, I discovered that although I loved reading about plants and enjoying photos of new plants (and bugs and crafts and recipes and photography...), I also enjoyed little glimpses into the blogger's world, their moments of pride or joy or sorrow, and quirky observations or discoveries or personal anecdotes they were willing to share.  That has helped to open up and share little quirky thoughts and experiences from my life also.  Whenever I have done so, I have felt very supported and encouraged by my regular readers and other blog visitors.  It is for EACH OF YOU that I am so very thankful, for you have enriched my life as I have poured a little of myself and my love of gardening into this blog for these past 5 years.

New Baby in the House

My son often surprises me.  Recently he decided that he would like a pet rat of his own.

When we bought our three rats earlier this year (see posting of Sam, Jen, and Bear), he was hesitant to hold them, and we didn't force him.  Now that they are nearly full grown, they are a bit intimidating.  So although he feeds them through the bars of the cage, and touches them, he is scared to hold them.  I offered that he could start with a baby rat, which is not scratchy, and he could get used to it.

Today we went to the pet store, so my son could try holding them.  I didn't expect that he would be ready on the first visit, but he found a rat he liked, held it, and decided to bring it home.  So we did.

He doesn't have a name quite yet, but that will come soon.  But he (at least we're hoping it is a boy, but not sure about it) is very cute.

We hope this latest little rattie is a boy, so Bear (who turned out to be a boy, so is in a second cage on his own) will have a companion.  Sam and Jen also have room in their cage, but since they already have each other, don't really need another friend.  But we're okay either way.  We'll find out in another 4 weeks or so.

Making Room for New Furniture - I'm Still So Excited

A most amazing thing happened a few days before Christmas.  We were driving back from a dinner with friends, and we passed our sofa (something told me this was the one!) in the window of a furniture store.  I shouted to my husband to circle the block again, and I wrote down the name and phone number (they had a Grand Opening sign) of the store, before we continued home.

The next morning, Dec 23, I phoned the store, and we arrived there in the afternoon, to check out their furniture offering, and ended up buying the whole living room of furniture before we left the store (which is very amazing for us, usually we need to go home and analyse and measure and think about it some more).  But after 6 1/2 years in our house, looking for the perfect furniture to match our living room, suddenly we had found it.

I am still giddy with excitement, and thanking God for that chance drive-by.  We have been shopping on and off for a long time, and not quite finding what we were looking for.  Disappointingly close, but the colours or fabrics or something was always wrong.  This one is beautiful, with a neutral-tone floral tapestry fabric, and intricately carved mahogany:

If you are thinking that we sound like spoiled people, you are absolutely right.  We are very blessed, with consistently good health, great jobs, a wonderful kids and supportive extended family, a spacious and beautiful home we designed and built, and many good opportunities in life.  We are VERY blessed, and we know it.

We arrived back from our trip to Otter Lake on Jan 2, and had the furniture delivered Jan 3.  So that meant tearing down and chopping the beautiful Christmas tree, which this year was amazingly fresh, even though on our instruction my Mom, who was watching the house for us, didn't water it the whole week we were gone.  It took us about 3 hours that night, before we could go to bed.  Here's the tree on Christmas Eve, before we tore into the presents:

That morning, our living room was bare again (as it is most of the year), with only the piano on one side:

Then came the furniture:

It is everything I had hoped.  I don't even mind that it is quite floral, since the colours are so neutral.  The fabric is really strong, it looks like it will last 40 years or more.  I know, since it is similar to the fabric on my first sofa, which has survived some 18 years as our main sofa, and when we bought our set of 4 LaZBoys for the family room this summer, we moved the old sofa into the basement, since it still looks as good as new.

The neutral tones, and pink highlights in the floral pattern are very similar to our dining room set.  The wood styling / carving is also very similar, although a bit more reddish in tone.

Now we just need to buy a rug (I think that would tie it together nicely, and soften the look of the wood floor), some lamps, and we are done.  Hopefully it won't take another couple of years.  ;-)

Winter Wonderland

We are at "our" cabin for New Year's again.  At least it feels like our cabin, since is the second year we will enjoy New Years here - we were here last winter, as well as during the summer.  The cabin was recently sold (listed for just under $1M), but we were glad that the new owner continues to make it available to rent.  We have already pre-booked for New Years next year.

We are on Otter Lake, in the interior of BC.  So instead of rain and mild temperatures in Vancouver, we are enjoying snow and clear cold weather.  The snow here is drier than we are used to, and due to the cold, hangs in the trees for a long time.  In fact, there is no sign of it falling.  It makes for some beautiful winterscapes.  Enjoy!

I wish you all a happy New Year!

Spreading the Christmas Cheer

...but not intentionally, this time. 

Yesterday my kids came home from school to find a package on the front porch.  It must have been dropped off during the day, giving one of our local squirrels enough time to tear his way into the box, and, being that there were only 23 cookies inside, to sneak one.  Well, at least he didn't bite any of  the others, so we have been enjoying the remaining 23.

I wonder if I should let the sending party (a company we have done business with during the year) know about the squirrel's break-in?  So they will know not to leave cookies on front porches anymore?  Or just let it go?  By default, I will likely not say anything.  What would you do?

Last weekend we finally made time to decorate our Christmas tree (click photo for larger view).  Since at 14' it is much higher than I can reach with our step ladder, I decorated the top from the loft.  I was a bit skeptical when my husband brought home icicles for the tree.  They seem to me a bit old fashioned, and also can be pretty messy.  But I am quite pleased by the effect, and how they shimmer with the light, and sway when someone passes by the tree.

We stayed with the lighter ornaments, not placing all of them this year.  But I think it's still pretty loaded.  Many of them are hand made creations my kids made at school or church, so it was fun pulling those out.  My son cut a lot of paper snowflakes for the windows.

I feel like I'm not quite in holiday mode yet, but by next week, hope to start taking time off work, and enjoying the family.  We are scaling back the shopping this year, or at least that's the plan.  I hope for spending time together and enjoying Christmas carols and Christmas concerts.  My daughter planned out the songs yesterday which our family will sing around the piano, including a couple songs she will perform as solos, and the kids are practising "We Three Kings" as a guitar duet.  That will be highlight of Christmas for me.

Christmas Tree - Beauty and Beast

We are blessed with a beautiful living room with 18' ceiling, so when we pick a Christmas tree (we've been cutting a fresh one for the last 6 years we've been here), it needs to be big enough to fit the proportions of the room.  Every year I think we find a bigger and prettier one.  Yesterday we cut down a monster of a Noble Fir - 14' tall, even after we took about 2' off the top.  The kids (who insisted they keep their brooms for the photo, after sweeping up needles we left on the ground from dragging it in) give the photo an idea of scale:

I strung up the lights on it today, reaching from the loft to string up the top branches, and a from a ladder for the remainder.  The two strings of lights sparsely cover, but still look lovely (click for a slightly larger view):

  

It was fun driving home, a lot of people were staring at us, thinking we are crazy.  Of course, once we got home and had to tackle the tree off the car, up the stairs, and into the stand (wow, it just barely fit, leaving almost no room for water!), then we also knew that we were crazy.  But what a beautiful tree it will make for Christmas.

By next year, hopefully we'll have furniture in the living room (we've been shopping for some time now, but haven't found the right furniture yet), and then maybe we won't be able to drag in a monster tree anymore.  So in the meantime, we'll enjoy it while we can.