Plant Now - Enjoy Later!

My traditional approach to planting spring-flowering bulbs is to push as many bulbs into the ground in fall as possible, with no plan in mind. This is a very effective way to guarantee a great splash of colour in spring, and then marvel at how lovely they look and what a good job you did of planting them..

If you are smart and pay attention to blooming times, you could end up with a great sequence of colour from early March through to the end of May.  Bulb-planting can also be a lot of fun, especially if you like to think outside the box and experiment with a little novelty planting.

For me though, I don't use a design, and I don't think outside the box. I just shove them into any part of the ground that I can actually dig into and not find rock.  This year, I planted about 50 English bluebells - the real ones this time.  Last year I bought the wrong bluebell bulbs and ended up very disappointed.  My neighbor-friend Bonnie also gave me 4 bags of bulbs she got through her garden club -  a variety of daffodils and narcissus. Wow!  It felt like Christmas for a moment.  Then reality set in and I had to plant them.

That's where the work came in.  I managed to plant a few down the driveway, but the soil is poor for digging so we shall see how many pop up in spring.  The rest I tucked into garden beds and a few patio pots and wherever I could find good soil.  Can't wait for spring now.  I have forgotten where they are, so it will be a surprise as each one pops up to flower.

 

The Pet and The Vet

If you have pets you'll know that at some point you will incur costs at the vet.  I can't complain when it comes to Smoke.  He's 8 years old now and basically has just had routine maintaince so to speak and nothing really serious or costly.   A couple of weeks ago I noticed a wound on his neck.  It was a long cut, very deep but seemed clean so I put peroxide on it and some polysporin and off he went.  A few days later I checked it and it seemed bigger and a bit bloody so I did the cleaning again.  Then I went away for a couple of days and forgot about it.  The next time I looked it was an open wound, no longer just on his neck but up by his ear.  Very strange! This picture does not due it justice.

Off to the vet.  They weren't convinced it was a wound from a fight, they seemed to think it might be from metal or a stick since it was so deep.  Who knows.  It was deep enough that he had to have a full surgery, complete with anesthetic and a tube down his throat.  He came away with 14 stitches, and a lovely blue fabric cone.  He prefers red but there wasn't a choice. It is hard to get a picture of the long line of stitches so this is the best I could do. 

Here he is looking his best after surgery:

Now once he was home, we realized he had lost his voice somewhat.  That beautiful meow was no more than a faded croak.  Gypsy hid from him and hissed for the first 3 days, and Jake was quite stressed and seemed concerned and protected.  Go figure - he usually doesn't like Smoke.  The poor cat hallucinated for about an hour, chasing imaginary things on the floor and onto the wall, but then konked out.

He is an outdoor cat, and he is now confined to the house or a room until his stitches come out in 14 days.  He is not a happy camper. On day 4  he got his voice back and now we have to endure the howls and have to watch him throw himself at the window. Its quite pathetic, yet sad.  Chris is always in and out one of the doors so the inevitable happened last night around 8pm.  Smoke made a bee-line out the door as Chris was coming in.  I figured we wouldn't see him again for a few days and instantly worried that his fabric cone would get all wet and get caught on something.  I went out with the flashlight in my bare feet and in the rain.  I think the rain was the only saving grace.  He hadn't run too far, and being a dumb male cat, just sat there as I walked over and collected him. Whew!!!    But he hasn't shut up since.   Aarrgg!!  7 more days of this.

Vehicular Needs and the Car I Drive

A first car is a ticket to freedom. It doesn’t matter what it is, if you drive your own car, you’re no longer a teen. You have a new found responsibility and you buy your own gas. My first car was a used Oldsmobile Omega from Wolf Chev Olds. I was 17 and I saved up my money and bought it with cash. Alas, I fell asleep at the wheel and totalled it. This meant I had to have a 2nd first car and it was a red 67 VW beetle in dreadful shape. I ran it out of oil and sold it for $75 and then bought a huge Buick Centurion with white leather seats and power windows. I was cool. After the first car stage was over, things changed. I got my first real full-time job with good income, so could buy whatever I wanted or could afford, and nobody could object. A good time in life it was, for the top down and an open road. I drove two different cars during this stage of my life —the first was a Pontiac Lemans, followed by a very cool Datsun B210. That was my cool car, sporting a sticker on the gas cap that read "Powered by Hawaiian Pineapple Juice. This car was rare and stood out on the road. A little pop-up roof and a great stereo system - I was even more cool. Even took it to California. Unfortunately I fell asleep at the wheel and totalled that one as well. Then came cars that made financial and economic sense. A few very used cars came next – another Datsun, an Acadian, a Sunbird, a Tercel. Then maturity set in and I bought the car I really wanted, not just for looks, but for safety, practicality, reliability and something to match my life style. It was the Rav4. An all-wheel drive for the island roads, and for great maneuverability in the snow. An early blog post this year will give you a sense of the satisfaction I had with that vehicle. After 12 years it was retired to the island and I moved to the Matrix for better gas mileage on my commute. That was January and another blog post past. Yesterday I traded the Matrix in after only 10 months. I know what you're thinking, but hey, you gotta be happy with what you drive. While it was a 2014 and offered good mileage and reliability, there was nothing about that vehicle I liked, except maybe the shade of red. There was no room in the front, the doors were too big, it was difficult to get in and out of, there were too many blind spots, and the cup holders were unsuitably placed to be practical. I had waffled between the Matrix and the Yaris back in January and opted for the Matrix only because I thought the Yaris might be too small, though I did like how it drove.
Well, today I am happy to say I now have a 2015 Yaris.  One of the first to arrive in Canada.

Toyota took a new approach to the 2015 model, and went for a more European look, having it assembled in France to boot!  I ordered it and it was shipped overseas to Halifax about a month ago, and then made its treck by rail across Canada to Vancouver.  I had gone through a Chilliwack dealer, so had to further wait for it to be shipped to the dealership by truck.  It was worth the wait when I picked it up from my sales lady Yolanda!

This car is totally practical for my city commute as it does 38 miles to the gallon. I got a 5 door hatchback with manual transmission, and after 48 hours of driving it – I am so far extremely satisfied. It is small, but amazingly roomy inside. It is peppy and handles well and it feels more like driving my Rav did.   It’s got a touchscreen audio system with Bluetooth for my iphone which I really love!  Oh, and I love the the cup holders; they are in a practical and functional spot.  Yes!!
Now I know this will likely not be my last car. The last car will be automatic (my first) because my knee or hip will probably not be able to handle a clutch in my aging years.  In the meantime, between now and then, I plan to enjoy my Yaris for at least 10 years.
So no matter what kind of car you drive, you’re bound to have certain feelings about your vehicle.  It does help to know you’re driving the right car for whatever stage of life you’re in.

A Show of Monkshood!

How can you not fall in love with a perennial that has such a beautiful color, and is a late bloomer for your fall garden? Monkshood is that plant. It produces tall spikes of hooded purple or blue blooms in early to late fall. As I sit at my laptop, I have a full view of this splash of vibrant colour on an otherwise grey day.

When not in bloom, its mounds of coarse foliage look great, too. All parts of monskhood are poisonous so gloves need to be worn if touching the leaves or petals.

A Symphony of Fall Colour

There is something both familiar and reassuring about fall: the leaves begin to change their colour and drop to the ground; and the rains begin to fall and wash away the summer's dust, quench the soil, and refill the ponds and wells. At the same time, the garden plants are readying themselves for the winter ahead, dreaming of spring. Three of my favorite shrubs in fall/winter are:  
Barberry: As well as being beautiful, barberries are easy to grow, and give us four-season enjoyment They have small, yellow flowers in spring, vivid chartreuse, orange or burgundy foliage in summer and fall, and bright red berries that appear in October and last into winter - like this one below. I also love barberry because they are one of the earliest plants to leaf out in spring and the last to lose their leaves in fall!  Just watch out for their very sharp thorns.

Skimmia Japonica: This evergreen is a delight all year with lovely delicate flowers. The female plant, like this one below produces beautiful, but poisonous red berries in fall.

Sarcococca: One of my favorite evergreen shrubs that blooms in winter is already setting its tiny white buds. The leaves are dark shiny green, leathery and pointed and in winter the stems bear many very small white flowers. Once you smell the strong, delicious honey perfume which is produced by the flowers, you will want to have this plant in your garden.  I now have 2.

A Simple Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving in our part of the world. The second Monday in October is always reserved for Thanksgiving in Canada.   I believe that identifying one day a year as Thanksgiving Day  implies that thanks is due on this day, but not on others. We face a similar problem when we designate the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Shouldn’t children honor their mothers more than one day a year?

When you think of Thanksgiving, most think of roast turkey ~ pumpkin pie ~ watching football. If you think about it, however, the actual events of Thanksgiving Day can be rather underwhelming. Millions of people cook mass quantities of traditional food. Then they all get together to eat more than they should, only to top off their gluttony with pumpkin pie. Then there’s clean up amid the folderol and even arguments, and that just about sums up the day for many of us. It’s more about eating voraciously than about being thankful.

Giving thanks and expressing gratitude on a regular basis should appeal to common sense – gratitude improves your life.  I am not talking in a biblical context either.  Gratitude draws attention to our experience of the good things in life, and helps us to endure the hard things in life. Gratitude is like savoring a fine meal, enjoy every bite, rather than racing through a meal as if it’s some sort of race (which I am often guilty of)!

For me, my life has been about gratitude.  My father died when I was about a year old so our family resources were limited.  A mother raising 4 girls on her own in the 50’s and 60’s was not an easy job.  There were no freebies and you were thankful for the food on the table even when it was only noodles and prunes, or the shoes on your feet -  even though they were pre-worn by an older sister. When you are on the receiving end of the Christmas hampers or clothing donations, you learn gratitude. You learn to be grateful for what you do have, not to be resentful for what you don’t have.  There was no sense of entitlement.   I am grateful for the privilege of having grown up in a home that had little. To have had an education, and part-time jobs in my teens that helped me learn the value of money.   It instilled the desire to work hard for everything I needed and to say thank you for everything I received.   I’m grateful for the ability to feel thankful. 

Today I live on a little island by choice.  It’s a small community, quiet, safe, and surrounded by nature.  We use the lakes and oceans to swim in, and our symphonies are in the sky with song birds or owls in abundance.  We grow fruits and vegetables.  We are fortunate and blessed to be able to do so.    Heaven’s all around us if you’re looking. Every day is a day of gratitude.

Don’t forget the heart of Thanksgiving. Let Thanksgiving be more than just a day. Why not take time during this week to remember your blessings and say “Thank you.”

Apple Harvest

Fall is a one of my favourite times of year, and what could be better than picking crisp, fresh apples from our trees. Yup - that's what we did. No decorations left on any of the trees now. The liberties are awesome. It's the first year they have produced, and boy are they yummy. We have no shortage of apples now.

Pesto with a Twist

Basil is not a herb I have success growing. For reasons unknown, it is rare for me to manage to keep it alive long enough to do anything significant with it. This year, my sister suggested keeping the little pots inside on the kitchen window. It worked - my 2 basil plants thrived. Then I killed them and turned them into pesto. Found a Jamie Oliver recipe but I didn't have any pine-nuts so I used hemp hearts instead. Just as good. I love pesto. Storing it in the ice cube trays makes it easy to use a bit at a time.