On the road - part 1...

Our little 3 day road trip began in Victoria.

Tom got to go to the dentist while I had to walk Griffin through Beacon Hill park.

This is one of those green havens in the middle of a city.

62 acres of landscaping that is sure to impress.

I'm always in awe of people who have the vision to plan gardens and parks.

My garden has always sort of evolved and quite often not the way I've envisioned it.

Anyway, it was a lovely day to stroll through the more wild side of this park...

 There are beautiful, old trees all through the park and I especially like this area with all
of the Gary oaks. These are big gnarly trees native to this part of the world.

Fallen ones are left for birds and other small critters to make their homes...

Naturalization is paramount in this part of the park and with all the spring flowers on a sunny day,
it couldn't be more lovely...

It was one of those days, when, after a long wet winter and spring, people were out rejoicing in the warm sun.

Frisbees being tossed about...

...the kind of day that you could spend hours strolling about, lying in the grass, having an ice cream cone...
Or maybe a long cool drink of water, like this crow on a gorgeous old water fountain...

Ahhhh....spring!

Festival!

This is Samuel.

A large part of his diet is the salmon from the creeks, rivers and oceans of this planet.

Loss of habitat could eventually eliminate him from the food chain.

With one piece gone, everything else is out of balance.

This Saturday is the 5th annual SOS Festival in Shirley, just west of Sooke.

Come out to help save sensitive eco-systems like Muir Creek which is under threat from logging and development.

Music, food, workshops, vendors and fun for all...

Samuel has been donated to the silent auction..

For more info have a look here...

Song for Friday...for an old friend...

The past 3 days, I was up on one of the Gulf Islands for a long overdo visit

to an old friends place.

It was a real spur of the moment kind of trip and a rare one at that because Tom was able 

to come along as well...

I have much to report on her beautiful house and garden as well as

a few added side trips along the way.

Anyway, my friend has a new favorite cd she's been playing...

Johnny Reid is a Scottish lad, living in Canada, married to a french girl and winning all kinds of awards

for his amazing voice and uplifting songs in the Country music genre.

Enjoy and have a great weekend all!
Happy Earth Day...do something good for the planet.

Chores...

This was the moon last night.

It's been SO bright the last few full moons and when I get up in the middle of the night,

I look out through the curtains and can barely even look at it!

There is silvery light everywhere and shadows abound as if the sun was out.

The weather has finally cleared up and although it's still chilly,

THE SUN IS OUT!

I took the opportunity to hang the laundry out...

One of my favorite things in the world is the smell of laundry off the line.

It's as if you've captured some of the sun's energy and can take it with you to bed.

All of the birdsong, the buzzing bees, the blooming flowers;

it's all there with you in your dreams.

The other chore I've been meaning to do is to pick stinging nettles.

Fresh and dried, these are one of the most nutritious wild foods you can eat, drink or wash your hair with!

Don't forget your gloves and long sleeves though!

If you've ever brushed against this plant you'll know what I'm talking about!

If you've never been stung by a nettle....well let's just say...you don't want to find out!

As long as they're cooked or dried, you'll be fine.

Use it like spinach, or drink it as a tea.

It is high in iron, good for allergies, a great spring tonic all around.

I'm making a quiche with it for dinner.

But before I collect the nettles, I better get Ruben out of my basket...

The chickens are happy to be out in the sunny fields as well...

Isn't he handsome?!

I went to have a look at the beehives and they're busy as well.

 As soon as it warms up a bit, they're all over the place, looking for food and water.

The hives are being cleaned out and getting ready for the new bees being born...

Song for Friday...secret crush...

This one's for a friend of mine who loves Mark Knopfler.

What's not to love!?

I remember the first time I heard Dire Straits...

High school...lunch hour...

a friend had just bought a Japanese pressing LP of  'Sultans Of  Swing'...

He had this unbelievable sound system and, well, 

it was one of the best albums I'd ever heard...

still on my list of desert island music.

Do you have one of those lists of music you couldn't live without?

Anyway, have a great weekend all....

What the?!

AAHHH SPRING!!

Birds singing, cherry blossoms fluttering on the warm breeze,

Buds poking out of the warm, rich soil, daffodils and tulips in bloom......

But wait...

(cue: car- screeching- to- a- halt sound)

WHATS THAT?!

Yeah, that's right...SNOW.

Seems like Mother Nature was up all night playing a prank on us here 

in the Pacific Southwest of Canada.

You see, we here like to boast of living in the banana belt and being able to

walk around in shorts for most of the year.

O.K, I don't but SOME people DO!

So this morning this was the scene out to the hen house.

Any other day prior to April 1st I would be more than happy to see a bit of the white stuff.

But not on my chives and tulips...

This is my garden first thing this morning...

I know two goats who are flabbergasted by the whole business...

And then there's my poor little pansies who are having to endure all kinds of weather surprises...

Do I detect a tear on that little face?

I guess this is what it's like in the REAL world of Canada.

But just the other day I talked to my daughter in Toronto and the weather was gorgeous there.

Just goes to show you...when you think everything is grand, Mother Nature throws a curve ball your way.

Or should I say 'snow ball'?

The Project: Part 1...

A few months back, my friend Norene, mosaic artist extraordinaire ,

volunteered her time and talent (and LOTS of broken dishes) to the

local grade 5 students of Poirer Primary school in Sooke.

This class will leave the school this June to go on to Middle School in September.

Their teacher Charmaine and Norene thought it would be a great idea to leave a mark

of their years as students here.

Charmaine, explaining about the project...

The class is french immersion, so I'm scraping together some of my broken french as I listen to

the class conversing.

Ideas!!

 The piece will be a five panel depiction of the school and surrounding community.

It will go here, at the front entrance to the school...

It'll add some colour and fun to the space!

I'm helping a bit with it so I thought I would document it as well as cutting dishes and refilling glue trays.

The first thing we did was to go into the class and get them to draw one picture

each about the school, the village or whatever else the kids thought would show

a story of where they live and what they see around them.

 Norene and I took the pictures home and with the help of her son, Quinn,

we 'interpeted' them 

onto the plywood panels.

Norene and I organized the dish pieces into bags and labeled them so it wouldn't get too

crazy with all the sections and colours of the panels.

This past Thursday we went into the school and continued from last week

gluing, cutting...

The kids are really excited about this project and are doing a terrific job...

Soon we'll be at the grouting stage which should prove to be really fun and messy!

In the meantime, the mosaic is taking shape...

Stay tuned for the next chapter!!