Good Friends, Good Books

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers."  by Charles W. Eliot

There is nothing better for my soul than a visit from much-loved friends and family.  We recently spent a couple of wonderful days with our Calgary friends, Ginny and Dale.  We explored Haslam Lake and the Okeover Arm/Lund area, talked a great deal, and devoured gardening information from various books and delicious mexican food from La Casita Mexican Restaurant.  (Powell River residents, if you haven't eaten at La Casita Mexican Restaurant, treat yourself soon - the food is so good and the service is so personable.  Sean, let's hope they are open next time you are in town.) 

Okeover Arm

Our friends were gracious enough to listen to us talk non-stop about our newest love-interest, our garden.  Then they shared with us the news of their recent acquision of the property next to theirs in Calgary and their excitement at the prospect of what that space would become.  We poured over "The Garden Book" by Phaidon Press Ltd. and "The Inward Garden:  Creating a Place of Beauty and Meaning" by J. Messervy.  The pictures, ideas and resulting conversation were inspiring.  I am so excited for them! 

These friends kindly delivered a parcel, suspiciously wrapped in brown paper, from my daughter and her partner, who live in Victoria.  Without unwrapping, I pronounced it was a book, although others thought it was too heavy to be a book.  And what an awesome book it is!!!   "The Backyard Builder:  Over 150 Build-It-Yourself Projects for your Garden, Home and Yard", is a 1994 edition of a 1985 publication by Rodale Press Inc.   So far I want a Wooden Garden Bench, Planter with Trellis for the 'parking lot', Easy Dumping Soil Sifter (this fits over a wheelbarrel), Insulated Propagation Box, Patio Planter,  Garden Sink, and Root Cellar Storage Boxes.  As we had already decided to make a prop box, the insulated prop box will be project #1.  We have been inquiring at various garden supply retailers here in Powell River and finally located the soil heating cable we've been looking for our prop box at Mother Nature.  Thanks, Vanessa and Jamie, what a great gift!  (Your card, the lily pads at Haslam Lake, is from one of my favourite sets from your botanical series (can be found at http://www.vanessahawryluk.com/.)

And continuing on the book theme...Ginny and Dale brought a delightful book, "Wesley the Owl, The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl" for us to read.  I started reading it yesterday after coming in from the garden.   So far this memoir is filled with amazing information about owls, especially barn owls, and funny antedotes that make me smile.  I look forward to reading more today -- yeah, it's raining.  Thank you, my friends, for this gift.  Already I can think of people I would like to share this book with. 

Surrender - Never!

"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."  Winston Churchill

Although it looks like we are surrendering, we are not!   We awoke on the 18th to the telltale signs that the deer had returned to graze in our fair garden.  We realized that we had been pushing the 'temptation meter' to high when we planted the tulips last fall but the pictures on the packaging were so pretty we couldn't resist.  (There's that 'temptation - resistance' theme again.)  Barry had read that installing white flags was a deterent so up they went in the tulip beds. Our reading lead us to believe that deer prefer not to eat any of the 'smelly' flowers from bulbs so we mostly planted narcissi, alliums, hyacinths, and fritillaria. We planted a few unusual oxalis versicolour, which apparently are quite rare, but we have seen no sign of their emergence.  We will continue to watch as they are late season bloomers.  I will post a picture of them once they have emerged.  We were quite fearful that our asian pear trees had been stripped of their new leaves (that's what had happened to them at Springtime Nursery, where we purchased them) but the deer apparently crossed over into our neighbour's yard instead of heading out back.  Whew!

We continue to keep constant watch over those seeds already in the ground...the early potatoes are pushing up through the soil as are the Andy's Broad Beans.  The barley and peas are strong growers, and tiny spinach and carrots are showing.  The garlic must have liked the straw and grass mulch, sun, and rain as they have grown like weeds lately. 

They're back!

"The hummingbird competes with the stillness of the air." by Chogyam Trungpa

The first buzz I heard, I didn't recognize the sound.  It's been months since the last time I  heard it.  But the second time, the memory stirs and it all rushes back.  The HUMMERS are back!!!  Right now I can see a Rufous Hummingbird hovering above the Italian Plum tree on the east side of the back yard and this afternoon, while working in the garden, I heard the buzz and was quick enough to see one dashing back and forth between our magnolia tree and our neighbour's back yard.  Of course, once we realized the hummers were back, we put the feeder out for them but with so many blossoms in the yard right now, they are not too interested yet. 

Spring on BC's Coast

"Kindness is like snow...it beautifies everything it covers."  author unknown

What a surprise upon awakening this morning!  Remember the riotous weather picture I painted yesterday...well, the 'icing on the cake' was the layer of snow on the ground this morning.  I must admit, though, when the sun starting shining this morning, the world was sparkling. 

The unexpected winds of 98 mph last Saturday caused more damage to the garden than this recent snow though.  Our few transplanted spinach and lettuce starts were decimated, but the seeds we sowed were cozy and safe in the soil. 

PS:  the mason bees have not been sighted yet...they too have chosen to stay warm and snug in their cocoons. 

Whirling Dervishes

"We rarely hear the inward music, but we're all dancing to it nevertheless."  from the Music Master poem by Rumi

Today the skies are thick with clouds hurriedly being pushed through our area by a cold and howling wind.  Rain is pounding down.  Needless to say, I have been bunkered down inside.  On the otherhand, Barry spent an hour outside in the wood shed cutting up the remaining straw supply from last year.  We are layering it in the sodded compost heap in attempts to speed the composting process along more quickly.  Around here, compost is coveted.  We have surrounded the compost area with three comfrey plants.  Comfrey is a great compost activator by providing nitrogen and heat to the heap.  Hopefully we can spare some for side dressing or mulching around our potassium-loving crops, such as our fruit-bearing trees and potatoes. 

I couldn't help thinking of Whirling Dervishes when I saw our Persian Star garlic growing.  They appear to be dancing around in the garlic bed.  We are trying five new garlic cultivars from Boundary Garlic this year:  Fish Lake 3, Leningrad, Susan Delafield, Tibetan, and, of course, Persian Star.  Fish Lake 3, Leningrad, and Susan Delafield are Porcelain varieties.  They apparently keep well, have a strong flavour, and thrive under a wide variety of growing conditions.  That's good, because lately that's what we have been having!

The Tibetan, a Weakly Bolting Hardneck variety, emerges and is harvested late and has excellent flavour.  The Persian Star is a variety called Purple Stripe and apparently is 'magnificent looking and elegant tasting."  I can hardly wait. 

Messenger of Love

"For to the bee a flower is the fountain of life,

and to the flower a bee is a messenger of love

and to both, bee and flower,

the giving and the receiving is a need and an ecstasy."  by Kahlil Gibran

Our neighbour, Tony has a keen interest in the mason bee.  His enthusiasm is contagious.  This week he generously provided us with our own mason bee nesting box and adult pupae.  He advised Barry to place it in a south or east-facing location (they love the heat of the sun - like me) with some protection from the less-than-desirable elements.  We decided to tuck it under the overhang on the shed at the south end of our property.  Then, like the good 'parents' we are, we went online to learn more.  I showed Barry some of the instruction videos on Youtube and I haven't seen him since.  I think he's gone to try his hand at making another nesting box (or two).