Here am, back in Blog…
I’m so thrilled at the lilac I just made reference to. It started from the smallest sprig-with-attached root, taken from the farm at which I spent about 15 years, raising little daughters. This spring marks 17 years since I relocated; I measure much of my adult life in years “while on the farm” and “after the farm”. Those who know me will understand how this matters, but it’s enough to say that the lilac, now bearing more blossoms than leaves, is a lovely reminder of things that were rich and good in another life. I also have a very fast-growing Mayday tree which is another bit of nostalgia for me.
It feels like paradise here at the acreage, during these days where the weather is wonderful and the mosquitoes haven’t hatched by the millions (yet). While it has got very hot during the last week, we still had a couple of nights of frost! Go figure, in JUNE.. that’s not so great; I even lost a couple of zucchini plants.
I’ve been right here during the last few weeks while I haven’t been “blogging”, except for a quick (marathon) trip, for the second time, to Kelowna, for more trees and shrubs. Some folks come to our little garden centre and remark, “Oh, you have so much stuff to get rid of…” and “Aren’t you afraid of getting stuck with some of this…” . The truth is, I purchased a great deal of nursery stock this year, but we’ve sold a tremendous amount. I’m not smug. Anything that is “left” has to be overwintered by burying either in the vegetable garden or in piles of sawdust for the winter, and that’s a lot of work; however, the season is still “young”! Our spring was so long and miserably cold that now, early in June, people are really just starting to landscape. We just got our vegetable garden planted many days after the usual “May 24th weekend”, but that’s okay… some folks who planted earlier have lost some crops such as beans, because of the late frosts.
After my second trip to the big wholesale nursery:
Some spring pictures of tulips and the vegetable garden…
The pet grooming has also kept me quite busy, even evenings and weekends at times. This is all good!
We have been looking forward to Shelly’s wedding, in Newfoundland, in July. What a happy occasion it will be. Everyone we talk to either says that they would love to see Newfoundland, or they have been there and know how much fun we will have, and that we will find the province spectacularly beautiful. We are only taking a week to travel and attend this blessed event, but I’m sure we will start planning our next visit at the same time! If our soon-to-be son-in-law represents the population of Newfoundland, we will find folks to be marvelous… kind, friendly and SO MUCH FUN.
The kennels are close to full this weekend. Each doggy guest has their own endearing features, and they are all quiet while they can’t see me sitting here. We have Taffy, Quannick, Sierra and Duke, Axel, Shelby, Mick and Riley, Turbo and Sasha. This afternoon, I am expecting to hear from a friend of Shelly’s and Merv’s, who is bringing THEIR two dogs out to Mt. Robson, from their home in Calgary. The dogs will stay with us until the dust settles from the wedding time… actually, until we have a party in the Robson Valley to celebrate the marriage!
I guess this is as much “sitting” as I’m inclined to do this morning. The perennial flower beds are in such a mess of quackgrass, dandelions and other unwanted vegetation that I’m anxious to get digging and discarding. As I work, though, I enjoy the waning tulips (I had a poorly attended Fall Bulb Sale one year, and had 1200 bulbs to plant here!), and the first of the spring flowers such as Leopard’s Bane (Doronicum), Trollius, and more. Oh yes.. and Gary’s garlic, in the vegetable garden is HUGE.
Onward and upward. Hope all of you are well. Thank you for checking in here, though I’m such a lame blogger. XXX
