Friday, April 22, 2016

Potting

Well, with sprriinng one is inclined to get quite 'potty' and that is what I have been doing the last few mornings, while the air is fresh and the energy high.


Bruce and I go for a quick early walk, and then somehow I don't seem to get back into the house before my attention gets drawn to something or other that either needs my attention or appeals to my gardening instinct.  Strong these days, that instinct, but it passes the time so pleasurably and then in the afternoon I am ready to relax and take things easy....

So I have been potting all the purchases I made at the nursery the other day, and sowing seeds in short rows and small circles.  That would be for the peas that I envisage climbing up one of the obelisks that are dotted here and there in the garden.



The difference this year lies in WHAT I am potting up, - some flowers but lots and lots of veggies, - peas, carrots, pumpkin, onions  Swiss chard and spinach, tomatoes and peppers
 and all the salad greens
all mixed up with marigolds to keep away the nasty bugs.
I even planted zucchini as there doesn't seem to be the abundance of
my early gardening days when everyone was trying to pawn off 
their great, long, extra zukes....with all sorts of recipes to make them more appealing.

And potatoes, - I planted some in a special potato bag
but the leftovers got tucked into my soil container.

Why this renewed interest in growing veggies?
I understand the sale of seeds and gardening tools is up forty percent
over last year.  Probably because the Canadian dollar is down
forty percent compared to the U.S. coin, and much of the produce
that you find in big grocery stores comes from California
(or Mexico or Peru)

And the reason for that is that the wholesaler can provide
veggies from far away a great deal cheaper than local produce 
for much of the year....

I spend much of my shopping time looking for items grown in B.C.
and do a lot of buying at local markets.

I haven't run out of pots yet

but I have run out of soil, and any further planting
will have to await another trip to the nursery.

While I was searching the net for the above innovative container
I came across these flower pot men
who I thought quite intriguing,
although a little dense looking
but surely that could be remedied with a bit of sparkle in their eyes.

The one on the right rather reminds me of our new Prime Minister
with all that 'loverly' hair.....


They could sit out on the garden bench that I seem to be too busy
to relax on, - with a cool drink, a cosy cushion and a good book.

Maybe when Summertime arrives and all the pots are blooming!





Tuesday, April 19, 2016

O is for Opal

ABC Wednesday
April 21st, 2016

The letter is O for the lovely Opal




The word evolved from the Roman "opalus' or the Greek 'opallios' meaning ' to see a change of colour'  The ancient Indian Sansksrit name was "upala", which meant precious stone.


The Greeks thought that opals gave their owners the powers of foresight and prophecy, and the Romans adored it as a token of hope and purity.  Eastern people regarded it as sacred, and Arabs believed it fell from heaven....   

In reality they came from volcanoes, the silica in meteoric waters and sediment hosted fields and in hot springs and geyser environments.

Some lovely examples of the opals found in Australia, Mexico and Honduras.





and some even closer to home, in the north Okanagan and the Cariboo region of British Columbia


A little love poem from Amy Lowell entitled OPAL

You are ice and fire
The touch of you burns my hands like snow.
You are cold and flames.
You are the crimson of amaryllis,
The silver of moon-touched magnolias.

When I am with you
My heart is a frozen pond
Gleaming with agitated torches.

For more interesting Os visit here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to 
Denise, Roger and opulent helpers...