Life on Salt Spring

Day 262 - January 28th 2009

Frost Flowers!

We had to look this up on the internet (thanks Wikipedia!).

Duncan came back from walking the dog talking about this fungus that had sprung up all over our woods overnight! When he described it I said it sounded more like mould than fungus as we couldn't find anything in our book of fungi that even vaguely resembled it.

The worrying thing was that Dexter kept picking up sticks with it on and eating it!

Well, finally Duncan brought some home (it used to be flowers and now I get mould!). And as I looked closely at it I said that's ice! It was melting.

That explains why Dexter ate it - he loves ice!

I've included a few photos for you - but sadly I didn't have my camera with me for the more amazing ones - some 6 inches high and 4 inches wide looked like Santa's beard!

Apparently these are very rare - requiring specific conditions. They happen when the air temperature is freezing but the ground temperature is not. So plants, twigs, small tree stumps (through capillary action) release beads of water and when they hit the air they freeze. But the plant/twig keeps releasing the moisture and pushes out these beautiful and delicate strands of ice. They look like white hair!

It was totally amazing to walk through the woods and to have these "Frost Flowers" as they are known everywhere you looked. Weird and amazing!

 

Day 257 - January 23rd 2009

Scarfing it down...

Well, mice have been anyway!

Yes, this is (was) one of my favourite scarves (a gift from a friend).

And so we get to another of the joys of country living. Mice.

We have found out since moving in that we need to do some remedial work on our porch/entrance hall as the floor insulation is not sealed underneath ie. it's hanging loose and therefore - of extreme interest to all those little creatures suffering from the cold temperatures. And it seems they have made it into our cupboard and nibbled this scarf. They haven't eaten any other hats/scarves and gloves - just this one.

So, why this scarf? My guess is that it's the softest and probably makes great nesting material...

But, now another joy of country life - a whole new wardrobe of tatty, outdated and holey clothes. It is now my 'gardening scarf'...

Day 250 - January 16th 2009

Post-Christmas Garbage

So, Salt Spring is not immune to litter either. And I found this is a way out of town so it can't be blamed on the 'tourists'. I was on the way back from a walk with Dexter (on my own) and decided as the snow and ice had finally gone to walk back via the road.

Well, underneath all that snow and ice was a lot of garbage. It started with 3 cardboard boxes just at the side of the road and by the time I had walked maybe 100-150ft this is what I had collected! It included a FULL unopened bottle of beer, cracked glass beer mug, a nearly full packet of cigarettes (someone tossing things out of the window for their resolutions on new year's eve?), gift-wrapping, plastic bags, many take-out cups, containers and drink bottles, a clip-on earring and a sock. Thankfully no underpants or used prophylactics... (did I spell that right?)

I didn't intend to go collecting litter, I just couldn't bring myself to walk past it. I kept trying - it was a cold and wet morning - but something almost made me do it! And thankfully I was wearing (old) gloves.

Every time a car whizzed past me I hoped they saw what I was doing.

I couldn't carry the box home AND keep Dexter on a short leash (without covering myself in garbage at some point) so I left the box on the corner - to go back and pick up next time we drove past.

And what was really nice is that someone else must have done it - because when I looked for it it had gone! I guess it's back to that possibly overused - but still very valid - quote from Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Oh - and if you think you might want to set some goals for 2009...

It's Friday, so why not click here to Download 2009 Goal-Setting Funsheet 3 sided.

It's (my gift to you!) fun and simple - takes about 15 minutes and helps you pick 3 goals and set an action for each to do in January and get moving!

You can also go here to my life coaching website for some other free coaching tools to help you coach yourself and get your life sorted out!

Enjoy!

Love Emma-Louise.

Day 243 - January 9th 2009

Winter Wonderland. OK, so this photo is for posterity! I am glad the snow has gone and it has warmed up - I even welcome the rain. Here is a photo of the view from our living room that we 'stitched' together.

 

And now it's on with 2009 and the normal cold, wet (west coast of Canada) weather!

Day 241 - January 7th 2009

Sowing the Seeds of Excitement...

Who would have thought it would be possible to get excited about a Seed Catalogue (when you're only in your 30s!).

So there I was, over breakfast, reading "West Coast Seeds" and getting - well - excited! At right an early photo of our veg garden in 2008.

"Look they have purple and yellow beans!"
"Can we grow our own soy beans and make 'Edamame'?"
"Yuk - beets"
"Red, white and purple carrots!"
"Sweetcorn - yum!"
"Flowers that fix nitrogen in the soil, break up the soil AND attract butterflies and bees - cool!"
"LEMON cucumbers?" Peppers, potatoes, onions, multicoloured chard, tomatoes,  
"Pumpkins with names like 'Snack face', 'Big moon' and 'Neon'!! We HAVE to grown pumpkins and invite everyone over for Halloween!!!"
"ENORMOUS Sunflowers - this says you can grow them in a square and make an outdoor room!"
"A mason bee starter cottage or heritage home" (you buy these cute mini-bees and a home for them to pollinate your plants!)

So, yes, our deer fencing is nearly done. We have designed a car-gate - complete with a woodpecker and a quirky little ant I added - so soon we will have a (comparatively) HUGE area to get planting!!! But first we need to plan - hence the seed catalogue and ensuing excitement on my part!

And our outside thermometer was nearly reading 10 degrees this morning! Hurrah! It feels like Spring is on the way after 3 weeks of snow and freezing cold... I even heard frogs this morning!

Enjoy your day!

Day 236 - January 2nd 2009

Fabulous Hiking on Vancouver Island in the snow!!

With all our visitors gone and the dangerous slippy roads improving - which have both been very exciting - Dexter needs a good solid walk...

So, Duncan and I decided to do a new hike on the 'Big Island' (Vancouver Island) and take advantage of the reduced ferry fares!

And so it was that we got up nice and early to get the 8am ferry and headed to our favourite bakery in Ladysmith for Breakfast... They do Salt Spring Coffee and the MOST AMAZING BIG Cinnamon buns for $2.50 with icings like Orange and Poppy Seed, Blackberry and White Chocolate, Pecan and Toffee!

And then we headed up out the back of Ladysmith (once we found parking as all the parking lots had been cut-off by huge mounds of snow from the snowploughs!) and did a fabulous walk up to Heart Lake. It was a maybe 3 hour round trip hike - with a long, steep uphill bit through 2-3 foot of snow (where we had no choice but follow in other people's footsteps or disappear!) but it was TOTALLY worth it. A hike just strenuous enough to justify a double chocolate chip cookie on arrival at the view point. A dreamy sunny day, undisturbed snow covering the lake - heaven!

See the photo above (Duncan and Dexter top right) and below!