A Gypsy in the Garden

I snapped this photo this afternoon. I think it is self explanatory.

A One-Man War

With absolutely no hope of success!! Chris removes 100 dandelions a day. That is is personal goal. It is his mission in life. There is nothing else I can say.

Speedwell

This is one of my favorites - not too tall, but striking in the garden and the butterflies love it!

At the Cape

Cape Roger Curtis is a lovely point on the south west side of Bowen Island. For years is was acreage and acreage of park-like trails to take you down to the beach, but currently it is being developed into 10 acre lots which are now selling. Today we drove around the new subdivision and to the waterside. The have made a love trail along the coast line, and we took Jake for a little stroll to check it all out. At the moment there are no homes being built, though we did see at least 5 "sold" signs on a number of lots, but eventually I am sure they will all sell. It has been developed with taste, and is pretty and green. They have left much greenspace and access to the lighthouse, so this is a good thing.

Little Green Tree Frog

They are everywhere on our property. I love all critters, and these little guys are just so cute. We find them in the funniest places, and they just look up at you as if to say "hello". This guy was up the top of the back wall of our covered patio. hey must have suction cups on their feet like spiderman. They are never near water, and in fact one time I showered one lightly with the hose, and he hopped away pretty quickly. These little green creatures though, have a very loud croak. They are actually nocturnal and when we come across them in the day, they are usually napping.

Water Lilies

They are finally blooming in our pond! They are late this year, and I suspect perhaps because of the weather!! I just love these flowers, they are like wax, and I feel happy when I look at them. This is a hardy water lily and therefore closes up each evening and opens late morning. You can almost watch the process. A strong plant, and ancient too.

Meet Fred!

Fred is our 15" Koi. He is 3 years old and has been growing amazingly fast since we introduced him as a 3" baby. He has been trained to come to the surface of our pond when Jake barks. He is a very clever fish. We have added 2 more 3" Koi this year. Maybe one day we will find out that Fred is really Freda! He has been quite happy with his goldfish mates, but we will soon see how he gets on with the new Koi.

Raspberries, and More Raspberries

The wet and cool summer we have been having has been great for berries. Our Raspberries in particular are so abundant we can't keep up with the picking. Today I did 3 rounds of picking - morning, noon and late afternoon. I froze 2 containers and still have a very large bowl in the fridge. It was like that all week, and will likely continue for another as there are still so many that haven't ripened. You can see below how high the bushes are - they are like trees, and producing like berry-rabbits.

In My Garden

My latest little find at a garage sale is this mushroom ornament. I couldn't resist finding a home for it.

Never-Ending Cauliflower

Chris picked 5 cauliflowers from the garden this morning. You can only eat so many, so I blanched and froze. I managed 19 bags = 19 meals.

Warm Kitty

Today was had sun and we also had heat. Imagine that on the same day this summer!!! Gypsy was glued to the patio paving stones because they were so warm. My friend Kelly used to sing - "soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur, .. happy kitty sleepy kitty, purr purr purr!" and Gypsy reminded me today of this little song. Meanwhile, Smoke is trying to have a drink of water from the patio fountain.

Butterflies and Budldleia

My buddleia (butterfly bush) is in full bloom now and I can't believe the variety of butterflies I am getting this year. Usually we have the yellow swallowtails and monarch, but today we had a frenzy of these two varieties - browns and blacks. It really is peaceful to just sit and watch them flutter and feed.

Rhubarb Bellinis in the Garden

Today I had an awesomely refreshing drink at my neighbors place. Sandy hosted a Rhubarb Bellina hour in her lovely 5-star garden. I would never have thought rhubarb would be something to put in a drink, but this was great. It was also a good way to utilize this lovely vegetable. Chris and I both agreed that since we have so much rhubarb growing, this would be our new summer garden drink.

Harvesting Winter's Wood Supply

 

Our good neigbours about a minute up the road decided to lighten up their yard by taking down a dozen alders today. They invited us to help, and since they don't have a wood burning stove, we were able to take the wood home for this year's winter firewood supply. Win-win for all of us. Joanne, Rick, their daughter Shilanne and Chris an I spent close to 7 hours on this project. One of the highlights was a young buck who came to feed on the fresh alder leaves that came down. He was not afraid and let me take a pictures of him. A fun day for sure, and lots of calories burned! Nothing beats a work-party!

Happy Birthday Chris

The weekend was a busy one, but was so much fun. Chris's family came for the long weekend to say Happy Birthday! Jill made the best salads we have had in a very long time. The first was a watercress~avocado~dungeoness crab salad. And the second was a papaya and avocado salad. I made some scalloped potatoes and asparagus, and Chris cooked a very yummy ham. It was followed by an awesome chocolate cake and cheescake that Joanne brought. I think we all had plenty to eat!

Brothers Two, and Don't Forget the Dog

Chris and Richard, with ever-faithful Jake.

Dog and Kitty-Cat

Not much to say on this one.. just Jake and Gyps on a lazy morning.

A New Pretty Flower

I love it when I have volunteer flowers. Ones I haven't planted, but somehow have seeded themselves in our garden. Obviously they pick the gardens they want to be in. This one has a mate, and I thought they might be weeds, but liked the leaf so I let them grow. This morning, I woke up to what looks like some sort of poppy! It is right below one of my junceum's, so the yellow contrast is great.

Yes, We Have Some Apples!!

Well Chris's little Cox's Pippin apple tree finally has apples! It is only 3 years old and it is bearing 34 little Pippin's. Our other 2 trees, both Spartan's, have none; but this one makes up for it. As you can see below, we also have a plum!! Our 3 year old plum tree is bearing it's first fruit - a solitary prune-plum. I am sure Chris and I will share it when it is ripe and ready to pick!

Typical Morning Commute

I love mornings. I have always been a morning person, and this time of year I really enjoy heading out the door at 6am for the ferry to work. As much as the deer make me crazy coming out of the woodwork so to speak, it is really nice to be able to relax and enjoy watching them every now and then. This morning, while parked and waiting in the ferry line, this young buck just hung out and enjoyed his breakfast greens among all the commuter cars. Sometimes life is really simple.

Bee Buzz

I didn't realize how much I liked bees until my friend Joanne shared her interest in bees with me. Right from the beginning I have tried to plant a garden that attracted bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. It is sooooo working out for me. Today when I went out the back door I could hear the buzz. This time, I found nothing but mason bees all over my California Lilac! Where are these Mason Bees coming from??.... I love them!! These bees are amazing... they are solitary bees and have no hive and no queen. The females work hard to collect pollen and nectar to fill their egg chambers. The males, well, they inadvertently pollenize when they feed, which is when they are not mating. These bees are so cool and non aggressive. BUT... right next to my California Lilac is my blue CatMint. And the Catmint is just a buzzing with "Honey Bees". The amazing thing is the honey bees and the mason bees are living side by side, and yet not crossing into each others food source. There must be a lesson learned here, but not sure what it is.

Morning with the Kitties

This morning we woke to sunshine! I love the morning sun and a coffee up at the pond. The kitties love it too, and it is just that time of day when everything is fresh. I headed to the pond with Smoke plodding along for the morning ritual.. he is the dog-like cat of the two of them, just loves walks. Gypsy followed behind, she always lets her brother take the lead. If it is just Gyps and I, then she is usually leading me. We stopped at the picnic table and they had their morning kisses; always a nice touch to the beginning of their day, but not usally how it ends. Then as usual, Smoke decides to play bully... his is much bigger and heavier than Gypsy, and usually ruins the moment. You can see she is not amused with him. I managed to break it up and they joined me back at the picnic table.

New Mudroom

 

Chris is really amazing when it comes to renovating. He took an open carport pad, and just like magic he turned it into a lovely mudroom. Putting the sofa bed into the room also gives us extra guest space and another room. Just love it!

Springtime At The Pond

I have not had a chance to get to the pond much this spring, so what a surprise this evening when I wandered up to take a look. Everything has sprung up and filled in. When I think back to 3 summers ago, well, who would have thought there would be anything but a mud hole. Of course it helps that we had so much rain in April and May; everything is green and bushy and the water in the pond is still high. Gosh I love spring! These are evening shots so will wait till a sunny day to get a better shot.

I Love Lupins

What can I say about Lupins other than they are simply perfect flowers, and the bees just love them, as you can see. Lupine is the Latin word for wolflike. Since I love wolves as well, I did some research. In ancient times, Europeans noticed that lupines grew on poor soil where no other plants ventured. The fact is, they can live in such places because the bacteria in their roots remove nitrogen from the air, fix it inside the plant and supply nitrogen fertilizer that the soil lacks. But the early observers only knew that these plants lived in otherwise barren spots. They assumed they had taken some nutrient from the soil that other plants needed. Thinking the plant was like a wolf robbing the fold, they called it "wolflike." I would love to have a whole field of lupins. Purple and pink ones

No Three Car Garage For Us

But we do have a 3 umbrella patio!

Another Lazy Day in the Garden

My cats just love days like today. In this first shot, Smoke is just hanging out below the Allium. Gypsy likes to sleep by the Rubeckia, or just curly up on the chair in Chris's vegetable garden.