Learning to let go

Finally Spring feels like it truly is coming around here.  We had a bit of a early start, warm days, and stirring greens.  And then we had a false snowstorm, cooler weather and lots of rain. And yesterday a small hail storm of a temper tantrum.

Some days spring teases us, warm scents of blossoms on the air, with a underlying chill of moisture. Kind of like looking at a pile of paper on the table and realizing that there are bills to be paid in there, it’s not quite what it seems.

Spring can be fickle, warm as a cat sitting in front of the fire, then cool and uncomfortable as rain trickling down your neck.

March just doesn’t seem to want to let go.

Bootsie is not loving his diet, we have contrived various ways to trick him into thinking he is getting more canned food then he does.  And the results however small are showing up, in a trimmer waist line.

The new and much better quality dried food we are slowly, oh so slowly incorporating into his old cheaper dry food is being thrown by the wayside.  Did you know that corn should not be one of the first 3 ingredients in dry cat food? It’s nothing more then a filler.  I had no idea, and I bet that it is the same for dog food. He loves to scrape out a paw full of crunchies, and spread them out, eating only the old favorite, and leaving the new crunchies behind on the carpet. 

Can’t fool that kitty, and he doesn’t want to let go of his bad habits.

Back to gardening, my peas are coming up, the garlic is planted for late summer harvest, and the onion seeds are in. 

Winter is gone.

And spring is here, even if March doesn’t want to let go.

Jen

Be sure to drop by my new blue blog,

Blu oom for a cup of tea.

You will understand when you get there.

 

Finding Balance

Even if you only have even the teeniest bit of creativity in you, spring is your season.

All this renewal, green spaces filling with blooms, bare branches swiftly changing, it’s inspiring.

Spring triggers creativity in us artistic types, it nags, it prompts, it encourages, “do something, change something, create something.

Maybe that’s why many of us are gardeners. We can see a direct correlation between our vision and reality.  Plant a seed, grow a plant, watch it bloom.  Then draw, or photograph the flower and you have a lasting image of what was only a flitting thought previously.

Photography for me is the ultimate fulfillment of a creative urge, a artistic bent that has molded me for as long as I can remember.  I truly feel like my balance is centered when I am creating something. 

Inspiration is a thrill, I love how my mind goes through a rabbit warren, twisting and turning creating, inventing, and discarding ideas.

Spring feels like the scale has moved back towards the middle, and my balance is achieved once again.

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Jen

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Make sure you drop by my new blog  Blu oom. 

All things blue, it’s  fun, and fresh.

 

Oh, say it isn’t so

 

It is said that dogs have masters, cats have servants.  Bootsie has us, and apparently we are very well trained servants.  Too well trained.  Somehow he has convinced two clear thinking, and intelligent pet guardians to feed him every time he comes in the door.

He comes and goes a lot, and he has been getting rather fat. So aside from the never ending crunchy dish, he gobbles down a spoonful of canned cat food every time he meows at us. 

You try ignoring a demanding ball of fur, that follows you around constantly, until he is fed.  He even resorts to swatting at our feet, and laying down in front of us. I know, bad tricks should not be rewarded.

The final straw, or should I call it a reality check was last week when Turf Tooter, and Tim the Farmer were here.  One of them had the audacity to call my darling baby-kins a Vietnamese Pot Bellied pig.

I mean the nerve, yes, so my baby is a little bit big boned, this is still his kitty fat, [he’s almost 3], and I am sure it’s just winter weight….it will all disappear when he gets more active in the spring.

OK, I am a just a tiny bit in denial about the Boo’s weighty issues.

After the lecture at the pet store from the very informative clerk, we realized that Boo didn’t need to eat a can of cat food a day.  Gar [let’s blame it on him] had misheard that it was the dry food that made him gain weight. So we were happily giving him canned, and fattening him up too much.

Now he is on the “Bootsie version” of the Jenny Craig diet.  Our goal is one teaspoon of canned food, and all the crunchies he wants per day.  So far we are working our way down from 5 tablespoons a day.  We have reached 4 per day, and trust me, he isn’t liking it. 

Not one bit.

I sure hope those scratches on my ankles heal soon, because cranky, forced to diet kitty isn’t much fun. 

Jen

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Drop by and visit my new “blue'” blog.  Blu oom 

 

Photographers not allowed in here!

 

My friend, Flowerishous, and I decided to do a nursery tour the other day.  We planned to visit two of our former workplaces that have moved onto new owners.  We were excited to see the changes, and planned on finishing at another favorite nursery.

Good thing that we did, because the first two have left such a bad impression, that I don’t think that I am ever going back to them again.

I take my camera everywhere with me, and I am always politely asking for permission to take photos of the flowers before I do anything.  At the first “just reopened under new owner’s” store, I asked for, and was given permission by a staff member to take photos of the flowers.  Flowerishious and I had introduced ourselves as former employees, and asked about the nursery cat, whom we loved. 

The new owners were a bit standoffish, and unwilling to communicate, but we thought they were just busy.

As I was approaching the flowers preparing to photograph them, I was rudely yelled at, and told that the offer was rescinded.   No explanation was given, and rather annoyed, we left, we had planned on purchasing items, but didn’t. 

We won’t be back, and I have doubts that many former customers will either.  

The second nursery also just reopened under a new name, was a similar story.  I politely asked permission to take some macro shots of  flowers.  Both times I had made it very clear that I was only interested in the flowers, not shots of the store, fixtures, or giftware.

“Oh no, company policy, no photographs of anything! Especially if there is a chance that the photos might be used in a commercial way. We wouldn’t want you to make any profits off of any photographs that you took.”

I had wanted to feature both stores on my blog, and was about to tell them that when the “no photographs” situation unfolded.

I am so tempted to ask what the difference is if I photograph a flower at their store, or purchase it and take it home to photograph. Do they want to charge me a royalty because it came from their store?

Yes I realize that it is their store, and they can make the rules. 

But I doubt that the poor reception at the first store will increase business for them. 

So it’s company policy not to allow taking flower photos flowers in a nursery? Just how are you going to stop all those customers with camera phones?

We ended up at our friend Min’s beautiful nursery workplace. 

West Coast Gardens. 

Click on the link to see their web page.

I highly recommend them.

All these gorgeous flowers are from their nursery.

Birds singing, flowers blooming, staff happy to greet us.  And best of all, they sell my cards, and allow me to photography anything I want.

 Guess where we will do all of our shopping from now on?

Jen

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Don’t forget to visit my new micro blog call Blu oom. 

Full of blue flowers, and more.

Creativity “Blu ooms”

“You’re starting another blog?” He asked, with more than a little bit of disbelief in his voice.

“You can’t even keep up with the two that you have now.”

I know, but creativity is like a itch, if you don’t scratch it, it goes away, but where is the satisfaction in that?

I have been toying with a idea for quite sometime now. A micro blog, not micro blogging.

A seasonal, or short length blog, that may, or may not continue on.

This one is called Blu oom, a play on Blue, and Bloom.

Both of which there will be lots of in it, lots of blue flowers, and lots of blue “stuff.”

It may only last for a short season, but I need to get it out there. Think of it as a short story, and when the story is finished, the blog remains for people to read. I like that thought.

And I hope that you do also.

Jen

Guardians of the gate

 

 One really cool thing about spring is the annual return of the Canada Geese.

To our condo rooftop.

These guardians of the gate, so to speak are noisy, nosy, and so, so beautiful.  I look forward to seeing them return each spring.

They perch up on top of the roof, right above the front door, and vet each entrant as they approach.  With such honking and hissing, you would think that we would be scared to run this gauntlet each time. But there are many people who live here that don’t even notice.

Gar told me to grab the camera one day, saying “here’s a good photo op for you.”   The geese would retreat to the middle of the roof if I got too close to them, but as soon as we backed away they would be right back on the edge again.

We tried to tell some of our neighbors who were exiting the condo to look up and see them. “Look up” we would call out,  “look up and see the geese.”  The neighbors would just stare at us like we were crazy.  Totally oblivious to the noisy honking, and hissing right over their heads.

I so look forward to seeing them again, because early morning wakeup calls are so much better with Canada Geese, then seagulls.

Jen

 

 

Celebrate Spring

 

It’s official.  Spring is here.  Let’s celebrate!

 

Jen

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Over 10 pairs?

OK, here is a gardening question for you.

How many pairs of garden gloves can you find in your home, right now?

Do they match?  Do you know where they all are?

Do you have any idea where over 10 pairs of mine have gone in the last few years?  Do you believe that I have no idea where they are?

I mean honestly, I have bought over 10 pairs of rather expensive gardening gloves, and I am down to one pair and a single left handed glove.

Where do they go?  Do they go to the same place that mismatched socks disappear to?  The Bermuda Triangle of gardening gloves?

Would the lost garden clippers, and tools be hanging out there also?

If you have the answer, can you tell Amelia Earhart to bring them back, because some folk think that she might be hanging out in the Bermuda Triangle also.

And maybe she collects lost pairs of gardening gloves.

 

Peek-a-boo gardening

He’s gorgeous, so sleek, and shiny, and although he is getting a little on the chunky side, that’s OK, it’s just winter weight.  Right?

Every time I see him come through my garden gate, my heart does a little dip, kind of like it does when I see Gar.

Bootsie has my heart, and when he plays peek-a-boo gardening with me, he steals my heart all over again.

He loves it when we are working on our deck, with the patio doors open.  He can come and go as he pleases.   Tearing through the garden outside of the deck, playing in the rustling leaves. Batting at the rain puddles, stalking but never getting near the birds.

Doing his, “now you see me, now you don’t” routine.

“Peek – boo.”

Bootsie I love you!

Jen

 

A Full House

Five people, one cat, 800 square feet, and one bathroom.

My chickens have flown the coop, but while they were here, we had a great time. 

Turf Totter, [my sister], and her family have just left, it was a surprise visit, but aren’t those the best kinds?  I even managed to get off work a few hours early, to spend some time with them.

The den at our place does double duty as a guest room, and that is where the computer is, so I have had limited access lately. 

So to get you up to speed, the Parottia, Persian Ironwood tree I wrote about in my last post is whirling it’s way up to the Okanagan.  The timing was almost perfect.  Buds breaking open, but barely any green showing, it should go through this journey to it’s new home with no problems.

It’s going to be so happy to be in the ground, and I can visit it anytime I want.  In the end Gar came to the rescue, and figured out how we could just slide it on down the deck, and out the garden gate.  We never had to lift it up over the brick wall after all.  And that was a good thing, because the tree was heavy.

We have moved my Ginkgo tree to the now empty spot, and with some rearranging of containers there will be more room on the deck this summer.  The ferns should still be shaded, and we will have a bit of trellis behind the ginkgo tree to block the neighbors view.

The neighbor from far across the street in the third floor apartment, who likes to “yuuuuu hhhooo” me as I sit on my living room couch.  Hasn’t anyone heard of privacy on this street.

Ah, condo living… can’t wait to move to the country. Maybe I am wrong, but I think in the country the only thing peeking in your door might be the occasional wildlife. 

And that is one “yuuuuu hhhhhooooo” that I am looking forward to.

 

 

Wanted: Three strong men.

 

“Life is lived forward, but understood backwards.”

Kierkegaard

It seemed so small when I first brought it home, almost spindly.  It fit in my little Honda Civic hatchback, and I think it was only in a 5 gallon pot. I was in love, deeply, dearly, in love. 

I had researched it’s beautiful foliage ranging from copper, and auburn, to golden yellows.  My Parrotia persica,[Persian Ironwood tree], was to be the cornerstone of my little condo deck garden. In my mind it would be gracefully shading the ferns, and it’s arching branches would spread carefully, but not invasively.  It would grow happily until I found the perfect house, and then it would easily move to my new garden. 

 The harsh reality is this tree has outgrown every pot available to it.  It is now squished into a half oak barrel, and hating every moment. It’s time to find a new home for my beloved Parrotia tree, and that’s where things start to get difficult.

We need to find three strong men, just to pick up this tree.  And it will be a challenge to transfer it to the top of the brick half wall that surrounds the patio, and then carefully load it onto a dolly.  All the time, not damaging the branches that have determinedly grown past the floor of the condo above us. That is over 15 feet. I am not sure that three strong men will be enough.  Will the brick wall hold?  Will they damage the tree?  Will I be able to wave goodbye to my baby?

A garden should always be a work in progress. We learn from our mistakes challenges, and are always looking forward to the next interesting development.  My biggest mistake was thinking that a tree growing to 50 feet tall, and 30 feet wide, would fit into a small pot forever.  And when the realization came that it was outgrowing it’s pot, not doing something about it. 

After all, I’m a gardener, I should have known better!

So now I must search out at least three strong men, sweet talk them into a forming a impromptu moving crew, all the while begging them not to damage the branches.

Because my baby needs a new home, and I need to get out there house hunting.

Jen

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How [ not ] to start seeds.

 

Spring is around the corner for many gardeners, and it is almost time to start seeds again. Some gardeners have the appropriate full spectrum lights, and garden benches available to them. And the key component, a spot to grow them in.

Those gardeners who live in smaller spaces, such as apartments, and condos, might appreciate some tongue in cheek, helpful tips on how to[not]start their seeds, in order to avoid the disasters that we encountered last year.

1. Don’t think that you will get a head start by seeding early, I mean really what was I thinking, two foot tall sunflower seedlings on a 4 inch wide window sill?  In early March?  They couldn’t go out until May, and that was only after the unusually heavy snowfall finally disappeared.

2. Yes the cat really does think that seed trays are meant to be his litter box. Basically anything that is on the floor, and has dirt in it is his domain.

3. Beautifully pooled curtains are only lovely in a magazine, especially after your husband tries to close the drapes, and drags them through the seed trays you have placed beside the patio windows. Nothing sadder than poor little beheaded cosmos.  And no, they don’t grow back again.

4. Make sure you get the waterproof seed trays, the carpet is still soggy after we watered the last time.

5. Take away all the cat toys, until you are ready to move the seed trays outside, somehow playing a round of “bat the ball” in the seed trays didn’t improve germination.

6. Plant misters make good deterrents to kitties who want to scratch the couch.

7. Imagine that you have a green house, and acreage.  Then go wild in the nearest nursery and pretend that you grew it all yourself. You will thank me, when you realize how much easier it is to buy, then to grow your own.

Jen

 

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It takes patience to walk with a spring gardener.

It takes patience to walk with a spring loving gardener equipped with a camera.  We only walk a few paces before I suddenly stop, and peer into what seems like a pile of dirt to a non-gardener.

Not realizing I have found a treasure, they sometimes continue onwards, only to find they have left me behind. 

On a beautiful day, there are disjointed conversations, because it seems we only get a few feet, before something else catches my eye.

 

 

 

For me it is a absolute treat it is to find willing subjects just perching on the dark soil.  Lazy heads nodding in the slight spring breeze.  Cheery yellow faces, glowing in the sun. 

 

Finally something colorful to photograph, no more somber browns, and gray textures.  Small splashes of color, that request a audience with my camera. 

No, they do not request, they demand. 

I am loathe to leave them, and only do when another catches my eye.

My husband, has extraordinary patience with me.  Always willing to stop, and take the time to look at my treasures.  I try to take the photos as quickly as I can, but I get caught up in the moment. 

Greedily drinking in these first brave flowers.

Happy in the knowledge that spring has kept it’s promise, and returned to us once again.

 

Jen

 

 

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He’s sorry, so sorry..

 

 

He says he is sorry, so sorry.

He never meant to go out in the afternoon, stay out all night, and not show up until 8:00 am this morning. 

“See, the guys were running around in the dark chasing mice, and things got out of hand, and I kind of forgot the time.” 

Frankly Bootsie, I was worried sick, and I didn’t sleep barely last night.

“ I don’t understand!”  “You never let me do anything fun at all!”

Why can’t you just come home when we call you?

“Your not the boss of me.”

We will see about that Bootsie, now no catnip, and go to your blanket, you are grounded, and you have been a bad kitty.

Jen

It’s bad for blogging

 

Do you ever have those days, then weeks, then a month, where there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day, I usually don’t buy into that train of thought, but..

I have been working so many full shifts at my retail job, I can see how it would take over your life. The job that is, it may be good for the bank account, but it’s bad for blogging.  Please don’t think that I am complaining, because I am rejoicing, just feeling a little guilty for not being able to visit everyone with any regularity.

Google reader is practically flashing red alert at me when ever I dare to go near it.  The amount of posts that are languishing unread creeps up like ivy on a wall.  One minute you turn your back..

I think that sometime in the future things will even out again, and I will be back to visiting everyone.  Maybe I will have to bring some pruners, to cut away the ivy at your blogging doors, but I will be there knocking on them soon.

Until then, Happy Spring.

Jen

 

March - ing in….

It’s March, already.

Thank goodness for that, and finally a garden centre is open!  Hurray!  It’s been a long wait.  And I know that some of you still have a long wait ahead of you.  But it will come, sooner then you know it.

This is the image for March, from the calendar that I made for my Mom, and Dad.  I love the blue tones in the collage.