AJAX at 9 Weeks

We can't believe that this little guy is only 9 weeks!  He has grown so much! 

 

 

He is getting 2 tubes a day of raw food which is comprised of chopped chicken, chopped bones, & veggies.  Plus he gets chicken feet to gnaw on and eat.  This is what the breeder had him on and we will keep him on this until 12 weeks, and then see how he is doing.  

We have not started any training with him yet, in part we had company, and in part we wanted to give him a couple of weeks to settle in to his new surroundings and also to observe his behaviour.  He does like to talk back to you when you say no!!  Training will start next week at 10 weeks. 

 

I'm On The Top Of The World.....

Looking out on creation!!!
This week we played tourist in our own backyard.  It was the first day in 2 weeks that the forecast was for sun all day so we had to jump at the chance to try out the Sea to Sky Gondola.  Because of the height and the views, there is no point going if the weather is not fine. 

Both Chris and his cousin Eve are vertigo victims but they both amazingly faced their fears of looking down and up, and agreed to go over the suspension bridge once on top of the rocks!

We had not done the gondola before, which is a new addition to the sea to sky highway, and Chris and I were both impressed. Just a few kilometers north of Shannon Falls, the Gondola lift and summit offers great view of the Stawamus Chief, the2nd largest granite monolith in the world.

In comparison to the Grouse Mountain Gondola, this one has it beat!  And the trails and view points of Howe Sound are amazing!!

An Apple By Any Other Name is Still an Apple

Apple season is here!  It won’t stick around for long, so we have been forced to stretch our creative cooking muscles and make sure that all the apples, from all 4 trees are being used.  Now this is a stretch for me, but fortunately Chris's cousin Eve was visiting from the UK and helped me with the project.

We managed to accomplish 3 apple "jobs".  First was simply peeling and freezing 6 large bags of Braeburns.  I will need to do at least another 10 bags as the tree is still full!   Next was apple sauce.  The smooth and crisp kind.  No sugar, no spice!!  Yummy!  We chopped, we stewed, and then we churned out all the peel to make 6 pints of sauce.  Can't wait to try out some pork recipes!!

 

My neighbour Sandy loaned me her dehydrator, so the next thing we did was make dried apples.  This was fun!!! There were several stackable trays in the dehydrator, so we were able to do Braeburns, Liberties,  Pippins and Delicious; some with cinnamon and some without.

These came out just the way we like them after 6 hours of drying.  For sure I am going to do more of these.   And perhaps invest in my own dehydrator!

 

 Happy Applefest; Happy Apply Harvest; Until next year!!

Meet our "JAX"

Jax, short for "Ajax",  is our new puppy.  He was born on July 28th, 2016 and he moved into our home on September 19th, 2016,  just shy of 8 weeks old.  He is a German Shepherd, and while he will never replace our Jake, nor will we compare him to Jake, he has sure brought some life to our home.  

He has been with us for 4 nights and 5 days so far, and he is amazingly smart for his puppy age.  He has yet to have an "accident" in the house, no pees, and no poohs!  Can you believe it?   And he sleeps through the night; well from about 10pm to 5:30am.  That's pretty darn good.

On day two, all by himself, he figured out how to go through the doggie door. 

 It was a little difficult because he was not quite able to get his belly over the edge, but he managed to flop himself out, and seemed quite pleased with himself.

On day one, Chris wanted to put Jake's old bed out for him, and I said it was just too big right now.  Well he did, and within minutes Jax claimed it. Now he practically lives on it and takes all his toys there as well.

I don't know what kind of a dog he will turn out to be, but if he is as happy and bold as he is now, then I think he will be a great addition to the family!! Ours, and Bowen!   Oh, I should mention that Smoke and Gypsy are not impressed as all!!  I hope they will come around soon without any scratches to Jax.  Stay tuned!!

Flowers of a Different Kind

In the past, I've often felt sad when the garden winds down in the fall, and the pretty flowers fade and die.  Now I look forward to fall, as the leaves turn themselves into pretty flowers of their own kind, and we can watch them change colour right before our eyes, brightening up the garden again; like this Virginia Creeper out the back.

Apple Harvest

Apple picking has become an annual ritual now that all 4 of our trees are producing.   We have more than enough for ourselves, so the neighbours welcome the chance to pick the fruit fresh from the tree during the harvest season, which is now.  Below is a basket of our Braeburns.

 And these are some of the Liberties that were ready yesterday.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away", or so the saying goes.  Perhaps I should start eating them!!

Going Plum Crazy!

Yes they are finally ready!   To me, a fresh picked Italian prune plum has always been a delicacy in  summer, and I've always said that plums are for eating, not for heating.  Chris on the other hand, likes them fresh but is constantly asking for something baked with plums.  I shall find some recipes for him and he can get to it.

 I think this year is a bumper crop for sure.  We have been picking for a few weeks now, and I think this weekend we may come close to stripping the branches - but who knows.

This tree is  a late bearing Italian;  large size with a dark purple skin and a greenish yellow flesh. They have an excellent sweet flavor and are not all juicy and messy to eat.  

 To me, they are the best of the best!

Pain in the Head! Literally.

How can you go, in minutes, from being happy and pain  free, to howling like a baby and nursing a severe head ache?  I'll tell you how, it can happen in a second.

We have a wooden storage bin where we keep out garbage containers; you can see it below.   Last Tuesday night I went to get a container out and I forgot to hook the lid up.   As I leaned in to get the container, "bang", the lid smacked me right on the top of the head.    Oh my God did it hurt, and I could only scream for Chris who came with a bag of ice for my noggin.  

 When the ice finally melted, my first reaction of course was to maybe go to emergency, but it was evening and on Bowen Island this would mean likely not getting home because  the ferries stop running at 9:30.    So I just cried for the rest of the evening and went to bed.

I made it through the night and went to work as usual for the rest of the week, but oh my head hurt.  In retrospect I maybe should have gone to my doctor.

My head continued to hurt and throb like it was in a vice.  In particular at the base of my skull, which is not where I was hit.   Yesterday was Sunday, and I decided I needed to go to emergency to make sure I was ok.   Chris drove me and I checked in at 11:30am.

I was seen by the emergency room doctor at 1:45.  He did a series of neurological tests with hands, eyes, feet, and balance and coordination.  I passed them all, and he said he did not think I needed a scan.  He thought the pressure I was feeling at the bottom on my skull was soft tissue damage from tensing up or moving with the blow to the head.  Go home, rest your head and take ibuprofen and it will get better in a couple of weeks.

So here I sit, still with a headache, wondering if I should go back.  I have a colonoscopy tomorrow and will be in hospital anyway, so who knows.  I just don't do headaches very well, and this one won't go away and it is 6 days now.      If the  doctor is right is his assessment without doing an xray or scan, then I consider myself extremely lucky that my injury did not crack my scull or  cause a fracture.  I just hope I am not bleeding inside my brain. That would not be a good thing.

Succulents and Shelf Art

I love growing succulents.  Makes sense, since I love growing flowers, plants, shrubs and trees.   I have some succulents on a little shelf outside the spare bedroom window, and every time I come through the arbor onto the patio, the shelf with succulents and owl and pussy cat statues greets me and makes me smile.

We have succulents on the log up by the pond as well, and they do extremely well with no maintenance at all. 

Mr. Smoke is the guardian of some of the log succulents!

Cats Rule!

Well at least this one thinks she does!  She's claimed the "man cave"!

That's our little Gypsy!  A cat with "altitude"!

Outside Our Kitchen Door

 You can see the back of this little old garden shed. 

 Right now it is surrounded by this lovely late blooming Hibiscus bush.

And outside our kitchen door and beyond the little shed are these beautiful purple cone flowers, otherwise known as Echinacea.

And outside our kitchen door and beyond the little shed and on the other side of the Echinacea, are Rudbeckia.  These bright and sunny ones are known as Black Eyed Susans.

 And just exactly right in front of our kitchen door is this really happy Gazinnia.

I love flowers. Flowers make me happy.

Another Goodbye

Chris sold his boat on August 1st.   We wish the new owner and his son, the best of success with her; she is a good solid boat and he will enjoy teaching his son how to fish.

Selling a good boat is a bittersweet experience.  Chris was very emotionally attached to his boat, which served him well for 30 years.  We met on that boat, in Campbell River, so some good memories for me as well.    We just seemed to not use it very much anymore, and it was no longer the right boat for the waters around Bowen. 

We sold it, and the trailer and the motor, all in good condition, for the price Chris was asking;  yet we are happy and sad at the same time, remembering the fun times we have had over the years.   She is now ready for new memories with a new owner, and so are we, in whatever comes next.

Here is Chris on his last sit on the boat!

And there she is, ready to roll away!

Fruits of Labour

The runner beans have been the star performers this year, yielding a bowl of fresh picked beans like this each night for the past 3 weeks.  The freezer is full!!!  (and boy are they yummy)!

 But best of all - we had a super crop of russet potatoes.  Just harvested them yesterday and had one baked!  Oh my - they are fluffy inside when so fresh.    And gee, I just heard that today is national potato day in the USA!  How about Canada, eh!!   The only problem now, is that they were ready too early, and there is no place cool to store them yet.  hmmmmm 

One Per Year

I know, I know.  It's the 3rd car in 3 years.  But this is the one I wanted in the first place in 2014 when I went from the 2002 Rav4 to the 2014 Matrix.  And then in 2015 from the Matrix to the 2015 Yaris.  So now it is 2016 and I am back again with the latest model of the Rav4, 2016.  Enough said!  this is it!!!

Blackberry Season

And I don't mean the phone!!!!   Our first pick today of this year's crop of blackberries. There are so many still waiting to ripen that I know it will be another long season for blackberries.  Dreaming of those smoothies already!! But wait!!! I still have a freezer full from last year!

Mother Nature's Back Yard!

Why do we love where we live? It's not complicated at all.  We are surrounded by nature and so removed from the city, yet the city is only 15 minutes away by ferry.  Today, while dead-heading a Rhodo, Chris spotted several of these chorus tree frogs on the Rhodo leaves.   That's why we love where we live.

And on the patio we have an abundance of these black ground crickets. 

 That's why we love where we live.

And in the evening when you put the crickets and the frogs together - well what an amazing chorus of song you have to go to sleep with.  That's why we live where we live.

Berries

Best crop of Blueberries so far ever!  My favorite berry of all.

 Followed by Raspberries.  

This year has not been the best for the raspberries, but good enough for the pickin!!!

Scarlet Runner Beans!

This summer the bean crop is fabulous.  The vines of Scarlet Runner Beans flower in long sprays of ten to twenty bright red, sweet pea-shaped blossoms.   Not only do they have very showy flowers the beans are so very yummy and both Chris and I love them.   

  

Chris is picking this much every day and turning them into french-style beans and then I am freezing them or coking for dinner - just depends on the meal.  We love to eat what we grow!!