Wednesday Words

Wednesday words is something new for me, this is only the second week. I have to say that obviously I can't go wordless on a Wednesday, never thought that I would call myself loquacious, but if the word fits.... Please drop by and visit these other fine bloggers that are posting their version of Wednesday Words, it will be interesting to see how they interpret Wednesday Words.

Far side of fifty photos More family and flowers Nalley Valley On a quirky quest The Smith's Benny and Patsy Family trees may contain nuts The sorry gardener

If you would like to join up, just drop me a email, or a comment.

Wednesday Words coming up tomorrow

Wednesday Words: If you would like to participate please let me know, I will hope to have Mr. Linky up by next Wednesday, but it seems to need a degree in computer science, that I don't have. Help! So for now, we will rely on the tried and true linking to your posts. I am posting the Wednesday Words post tonight if you would like to join, let me know today if possible and I will add you to the list. WEDNESDAY WORDS CONTRIBUTORS Muddy Boot Dreams Far Side of Fifty Photos More Family and Flowers Nalley Valley On a quirky quest The smiths Bennie and Patsy The sorry gardener

Calling off the Rain Dance

Dear Family and Friends, Yes, once again we find ourselves in the middle of a conundrum. And this time I swear I had little to do with it, besides I am sure that it will stop of it's own accord, and it must be all a coincidence. Right? It all started when we had a long stretch of beautiful azure skies, and hot sunny weather, totally out of character for this time of year around here, everything was a little too dry. So we decided to do a little rain dance, and it worked. But the results were a little too successful, and now the rain won't stop. I have no idea how this has occurred, since I only wore my Gum Boots on the front lawn at midnight, and only danced for a few minutes. Dear Uncle Bob, we are so sorry about you missing your golf tournament, but really, how many of them do you need to lose? Aunty Sue, yes we realize that your country fair was this weekend, and that it has been rained out, but frankly, your pie crust, well.....it was a little soggy anyways. Cousin May, yes we know that you had a big bonfire planned for Friday night, which leads me to wonder if the neighbors might thank us for not subjecting them to backyard karaoke? Listening to your neighbor screeching out the words to "take my breath away", for the 3rd time, can be rather tedious can't it? So dear family, we apologize, and must regretfully decline the invitation to your naked suntanning party, since we are busy draining the basement. Oh, and I need to go and buy some more rubber boots.

I'm in the Garden, from last June

One of the best things to come out of blogging, besides all the wonderful people I am meeting online, is that it encourages me to take lots of photos. Now I can look back at these photos from last year's garden and remember how lush it was last June compared to this June. And we had a very cool spring last year.

And it will remind me to take some more photos from the same angle tomorrow for comparison next year.

Pillow talk

I am awakened from a deep and surprisingly good, dreamless sleep. That in itself is unusual, but more unsettling is the feeling that I am sharing my bedroom with someone other than my husband, and that is not a good thing. I tense my neck on the pillow, trying to pretend to be sound asleep, and hoping that the intruder will leave. I hear rustles, a swish, and I squint across the bed to the green glow of the alarm clock, 4:00 am, who would be breaking in at 4:00 am? Then suddenly behind my head, between me and the headboard, the pillow depresses, as tiny paws walk from one side of the bed to the other. There is a meow, and I realize that Bootsie has woken up, and this is his way of telling us he would like to vacate the premises. I prod Gar to get up, open the patio door and let Bootsie outside, it is 4:04 am. Dark, no light, no birds, just the call of nature, and one very relieved kitty. Gar comes back to bed, and I forget to mention to him that he should have closed the door completely, not leaving it open a small amount, thus allowing Bootsie to return. Too late, Gar is back asleep on his pillow dreaming of good things. I fall asleep also. 4:57 am, we are again woken up by small paws parading across our pillows again, and another set of meows between our sleepy heads, Bootsie is back, and determined to be fed. After all, he is wide awake, what's our problem. There are not even sea gulls screeching yet, or birds warbling outside. It is still semi dark. I mumble at Gar that if he feeds this cat at 5:00 am he will start a new precedence for early morning food calls. Our overnight guest was uninvited, but looked so comfortable sleeping on my best throw, the one I said he could never use, that we did not have the heart to throw him out. It was late, he had not done his usual act of disappearing with the evening light, and he was too cute for words laying there, with one eye watching as living room curtains were closed. We, however paid the price for being good hosts, a early morning wake up call, delivered right to our bedroom in person. No scratching on the window from the potting bench, this time he could wake us up and get fed in one easy stretch. Or at least that is what he thought. With a disgusted meow, he wandered off to find his ever present bowl of crunchies, and waited us out until Gar got up at 6, and fed him. And all he left us was dirty paw prints on the pillow.

Rain dancing

The Rain dancing must have worked, since we got a soft rain last night, just enough to sprinkle down the dry spots, and freshen up everything. It smells so good out there now. The flowers are holding up their heads a little higher, looking revived after their moist staycation. Then the glorious golden sunlight peered down through the glistening leaves, scattering rainbows among the drops. The garden after a summer rain, is truly a magical place.

How is your rain situation?

Wednesday Words

Something a little new for me, Wednesday words.

I think that this is going to be a post that I will really enjoy doing every Wednesday. Let me know if you want to join. Jen

Never thought I would be asking for this

I never thought that I would be asking for this, but after 4 weeks of dry weather, we need rain. A real wet downpour that can soak into the dry grass, a BC style rain. The kind that we are so used to in June. Yes that is right, in a rain forest climate that has a high precipitation levels, with rubber boots parked at every doorway, and raincoats dangling from every hook, we need rain. A climate that has only two moisture free weeks per year. Our grass is brown, not the usual verdant green that sparkles from the underground sprinklers raining sparkling water diamonds upon it, but brown. A awful dormant, late August brown. The birds are suffering also, gathering to drink from any water source they can find. This is June, the gardens are dry, not the late August, "oh please don't leave me without water for another day" wilting, but leaves are yearning for moisture. With the foliage still fresh from a late spring burst, the garden is doing it's best to showcase the wide variety of green that it can offer, but some yellow is creeping in. The weather man promises rain, occasionally, and the clouds roll in, thundering across the sky, darkening the day, threatening, and after a few petulant drops are spit they scatter home again. I have heard that other communities are getting some sprinkles, but they don't amount to much. Sparse droplet that spread the pollen on the car windows into yellow puddles, but not much more. When we were children on my Grandparents farm, they used to encourage us to do a rain dance on hot days, dancing in circles, whooping and laughing. Makes me wonder what the neighbours would think if I went out there now? Maybe I should just ask for rain, the neighbours already think that I am nuts.

I'm in the Garden - Archives

I was digging deep in my photo archives, and I found these images of Dahlias. Thought I would share these today with you, and wish you a Happy Sunday.

Sea sentiments

I have a tradition of taking back a very small, uniquely colored pebble, or piece of glass from the beach every time I go there with a family member, or friend. A tangible sentiment from the sea. Unlike the scent of sea salt that clings to us, whispering of the ocean, which disappears rapidly, the pebbles stay, lingering memories of good times shared. The pebbles are incorporated into my garden in some way, sometimes perching on a brick wall, or sitting on top of a pot. Some I would like to sink into a cement stepping stone I started this tradition when I first moved to White Rock, each pebble meant that someone that I cared for visited me, and we went down to visit the beach. Although I no longer have every rock that I slipped into my pocket, some got washed away, some disappeared, the sentiments are still there. On the weekend my niece and I walked the breezy beach early in the morning. I mentioned how rare it was to find any beach glass anymore. But as we crunched our way through the smooth stones, and sand we found numerous pieces, each one a treasure for me. I am saving these up for the rainy, cold, winter days that will certainly come after summer is done. I will take these colorful, sanded memories in my hand, watch what little light we have make them sparkle, and remember the sound of our footsteps crunching on the sand our conversation floating like iridescent bubbles on a summer breeze. The winter days will fade away, and summer will return briefly to me once again.

Best laid plans

You know that feeling when you have plans, and then everything goes awry? Well I wanted to share with you the wonderful meeting I had with another blogger whom I met up with, Lori, from Family trees may contain nuts. We thought that since we were both winners at another blog from The Essential Packaging store which is in Cloverdale, BC. We could take the opportunity to meet up with each other. She writes all about it, and.......she even has pics. Click on her link above to see them. I won a prize from Essential Packaging store, met a wonderful new blogger friend, and when I went home to write about it, there was no phone, or Internet connection. Imagine how I was feeling, all this great news I wanted to share, and there was no way I could do it. I have been checking the phone every hour, they kept telling us that it would all be over in another hour, never believe the voices on the phone, but finally it came through. So a little belatedly, thanks to the Essential Packaging Store, for the lovely gift. And Lori, it was wonderful to meet you, and I am so glad that we took the opportunity to meet up with each other.

A Gardener, 15 Ways to know you are one!

This is a repost from last year, slightly tweaked, but still one of my fav's. - Jen How do you know that you have been bitten by the gardening bug? Easy, any one of these makes you nod your head, "Yes, that's me."

Let me know which ones fit you like a glove.

1. Other people think GPS stands for a navigational system, you know its secret code for Great Plant Sales.

2. When you come home, the first thing your beloved asks is "how many plants did you buy.......today?"

3. You know where every Garden Centre is located, within a 100 mile radius. And they greet you by name.

They give you a phone call every time something special comes in.

-Their faces light up when you walk through the door, and it not because of your sterling personality.

4. You started wearing green Velcro as a bracelet, after all you never know when a plant needs to be staked. 5. It's not new color of nail polish, its permanent dirt under your fingernails.

6. Your favourite winter reading is now gardening catalogues. It used to be romance novels.

7.Other people have pictures of their grandchildren, you have photos of your garden. 8. Your car is full of dirt, inside the trunk. and on the seats, even though you use car liners.

9. You have more gardening magazines, than any other type of magazine. 10. To you it's not a dead plant, its a seed collection opportunity.

11. You suffer from plant lust.

12. You can spot aphids at 10 paces, and name 4 organic ways to get rid of them.

13. You know that a brown thumb just means you have been weeding.

A green one means that you have been pruning.

14. You have more "plant want" lists than grocery lists. 15. Your family never gets dinner on time anymore, since there is always just one more thing to transplant, prune, clean up or blog about. After all, its good for them to learn to help themselves a bit, your plants already do.

Feel free to add yours........ at the end of the summer I will collect them all, and post them.

Do you Flickr?

Do you belong to Flickr, and do you post your photos on it? If you are a Flickr fan, then do you know about Tag Galaxy? Tag Galaxy is out of this world fun. Each photo in Flickr that has a tag could conceivably show up on this site. Tag Galaxy is simple to use, when you have the site on your screen, type in a tag, and this will show up as a planet. Orbiting around the major planet are smaller planets, or "tags." If you click on any of the planets the photos with that tag will show up.

It is a little like turning down a street, following it for awhile, and making anther turn at the interesting house on the right, going a block, and then turning again at the end of a smaller street, turning at the park. And suddenly you have discovered the most amazing little shop....except in this case it could be a amazing photo collection.

You can find me on Flickr, or you could find blue flowers, black and white cats, orange buildings, or maybe even find your own photos. Life's a beach, and if you type in beach, just imagine what you could find.

Less Words Wednesday

I am calling today's post Less Words Wednesday.

This way we are all happy. I know.....today is Tuesday. It's up now, so I am going to leave it. Jen

What's to complain about?

Honestly we are enjoying some of the best weather ever recorded in June, I don't know if it is to make up for the never ending winter we suffered through. Don't smirk, it was cold, nasty, and wet, even for us. It's all relative folks. And this is no California. Our usual June weather consists of rain, drizzle, water puddles, and brief bursts of sunshine. Usually after the summer solstice. Way.......after. You know when the days are noticeably darker earlier. And everyone runs around going, "oh what a shame we didn't have this earlier. I mean we BC'rs have nothing really to complain about, we live in the best place in the world. We have some of the best farming, recreational, and water destinations available. If we can't complain about the weather what is left for us to whine about? We are used to the strawberry farmers apologetically holding up moldy, rotten, berries in their hands on the evening news, and consequently raising the price of fresh picked berries due to crop failure from the incessant rain. This year it is the complete opposite, strawberries will be red, and lush, dripping juices down our chins as we rapturously bite into a sun warmed delight. We will be in shock. What will we complain about if the weather isn't bad? The berries are perfect, and the sun is still shining? Who knows, I for one will be too busy stuffing as many berries as I can into deserts, and my freezer to listen to them.

I'm in the garden - Archives

The weigila is just finishing up, such a nice shade of pink.

The thalictrum growing up through it is a nice touch.

Really makes me love gardening even more. Have a great Sunday.

Pluck not the wayside flower

Pluck not the wayside flower;

It is the traveler's dower. ~William Allingham I have a garden friend, some one's garden I walk by, and admire, sometimes we chat. She lives on a corner lot, near the hospital, and has the most admirable salmon, and red poppies bordering her lawn. Huge, colorful beacons that are apparently just begging to be plucked, snipped, cut, snitched or broken off. She never has a seed pod left to give away any precious seed. Every last one of them is stolen, not given away, but taken. In the early morning by the gentleman out walking his dog, in the evening by the young family pushing a baby stroller, in broad daylight by the older woman with the large shopping bag. They leave nothing but green twigs starkly pointing to the empty sky. People even go so far as to steal the poppy pods when they are still green, before the seeds have ripened, obviously they want them before they all get taken by someone else. It is a good thing that these beautiful poppies are a perennial variety or they would never get a chance to reseed. Having a gorgeous flower garden near the hospital comes with it's own difficulties, many of her neighbors have reported seeing people marching right up to a stunning rose bush and taking a bouquet of flowers. Does this mean that the hospital gift shop is charging a premium price for cut flowers and visitors need to get them at a reduced price from the neighbors garden. Is that called being cheap, or opportunistic? It is one thing to lean over the garden fence and admire from afar, it is quite another to plod through the poppies and help yourself. It might be time for my garden friend to adopt a very large guard dog. They can call him "Poppy".

A golden light, but what a price to pay

The last few days we have been having a remarkable golden light in the late evening. Beautifully warm, sparkling rays beaming sunlight through green leaves. A true photographers dream. It rarely happens that we get these golden nights, occasionally in the late heated months of summer we get a glow. It coats anything you photograph in a ethereal and beautiful glow. Then the other day the golden light appeared during the early afternoon. I immediately noticed it, the way the light caressed the plants in my garden, the shimmer of glitter on glass. When the sun went behind the tall buildings as a burnt orange blur, I knew something was not right. It was not until I saw the evening news that I realized what was causing it. Wild fires in the interior of BC, dangerous, and devastating, taking down homes, ranches, and wildlife with abandon. Raging for over two weeks now, and they are throwing everything they have at it. The wind is carrying the ash across the sky, coloring our horizons. It may result in a beautiful golden light down here at the coast, but such a high price for the interior.

Dusting in Pearls

Do you ever have a good day, things are good, and then, something even more wonderful happens? I received a package today, from Cindy at "Dusting In Pearls." Now if you don't know Cindy, or her two sites, Rosehaven Cottage, and Dusting In Pearls, I would greatly encourage you to head on over there right now. Yes, just go on over and say hi. Oh, and tell her that I said hi also, while you are at it. Hi Cindy!

Cindy remembered that I had mentioned having a hard time finding some of Stampington's series of magazines out here. She saw one of them the other day, and wonderful kind person that she is, she sent it to me. Beautifully wrapped up in her signature pink, with a tassel, and pink tissue she added some items from her online shop. An exquisite pack of pearly blank note cards called "Plum Blossom Spring" from a original photo that she took, and a matching hand bound travel journal. It has pale pink bordered pages, printed on both sides, with text on each bottom corner, one side reads First blossoms, the other Hope springs eternal. This is inspiration at it's best, I can hardly wait to curl up with my travel journal, and write my thoughts down. Cindy, thank you so very much.