In the Garden

April 24, 2009

Another amazing day. Sunny and bright. A little cool for sandals and shorts but great gardening weather. I decided the weeds could wait for another day and decided to paint these orange tulips. They are in a tub by the steps and every time I go past they brighten my day. Orange tulips are definitely the thing to have in your life. If you don't have any, I do recommend getting some bulbs next fall. There's nothing like sunlight on orange tulips, except maybe for sunlight on deep red tulips...and then there's those yellow ones...hmmm...

Little Islands

April 23, 2009

British Columbia has many a little island up and down the coast and in and out of waterways. They all look like perfect islands with just the right amount of trees growing, with the right amount of moss beguiling, lichen draping and rock formations providing the foundation for the display. They make you want to visit each one, which would be pointless, because from that island, you would just spot another island further on, and then you would want to visit that one and so it would go. I think people like islands so much because you can get your head around the beauty of nature. When you see huge forests and expanses of ocean, it's really hard to grasp the beauty of something so large, but when you see an island, subconsciously you get it.

Spring Snails

April 14, 2009

A little spring fun. The little dots that look like rivets are actually rhinestones. Sid is a very flashy kind of snail...and a bit of a Casanova. So don't look into his eyes or be beguiled by his charming smile, he will eat your hostas and break your heart.

Joffre Lakes

April 8, 2009

Well, you can only see one of the three lakes here. This painting was done from a photo of our hike that we did some time back. It is a very nice hike, lots to look at. You know how some hikes have no visual interest, just boring switchback after boring switchback...well this one is worth the effort. Unfortunately, we went went the mosquitoes were going crazy and we couldn't pause to catch our breath. When we got to the end, the third lake, there was an icy wind blowing down Matier glacier that feeds the aqua-blue lakes but at least it kept the mosquies off!

The opaque aqua colour of the lakes is caused by "rock flour" which is silt that is carried down by the glacier and held in suspension in the water. The particles reflect the green and blue wavelengths of light.

Snowdrops

March 23, 2009

Snowdrops are really out everywhere these days, even in the colder north facing areas. Well, I should say they are out everywhere but my yard, because again, last year I forgot to buy some. I think I shall buy a couple of different species, (there are over 100 different species and cultivars).

I guess the only good thing with the cooler March weather, is that it is keeping all the snowdrops flourishing as they like the cooler weather not the warmth; a true spring blossom.

Morning at the Museum of Anthropology

March 22, 2009

Crocus

March 17, 2009

I have always wondered what it was about my garden that makes it produce slow-to-flower crocus. Light level? Drainage? My neighbours across the street always have their patches of lawns full of small, light purple blooms even before my crocus begin to flower. It can't be the light level because we face the same direction.

Then, as I was flipping through my gardening books (getting ready ya know), I read that the smaller species crocus bloom several weeks before hybrid crocus. AH HA! Now, I can cross that off my list of "Things to Ponder" (the list is unrelentingly long). So next fall, I shall purchase many species crocus so I can have even earlier blooms to enjoy. Oh, and I like those stripey purple and white ones too, I think they are called "PickWick". Oh, and some of those really large white crocus, "Jeanne d' Arc"; they look so snowy and clean. I can't believe I am making a shopping list for the fall, but if I don't make a note of it now, I will definitely forget in half-a-year.

Little Things

March 12, 2009

An exciting late afternoon, well exciting for me. As I work on my drawings, smelling my freshly watered soil holding sunflower seeds in their trays on the windowsill, I can see several new lines from a busy spider glinting in the sunlight. This just happened because I only just put my laptop in this position and the lines run from it to the counter-top. There, I see her, small, brown and orange and taking a break.

I glance up and see a hawk of some kind doing circles over the houses. Could it be the same bird of prey I saw yesterday? That had caught my attention because a crow was silently chasing and had forced it to drop something. It flew over my head, some way up and I noticed that it was quite small, very long tail, buff underbody and a bar on the undertail. That's all I could catch with the speed and play of light. Maybe it wasn't even a hawk? I am terrible with bird of prey IDs. I reach for the nearest binoculars and find they are the "not-so-great" oldies. Darn. I debate, should I run to the next room for my new ones? What to do, what to do. I chance it and the hawk is still there. Oddly enough he is not being mobbed by any of the crows. He disappears out of sight and I sit on the patio enjoying the sun.

Unbeknownst to me, a crow is chasing a Bald Eagle off to the right. (I only noticed because I was watching a crow fly in my direction and thought it odd to see him stop in a mid-air stall.) I follow his change of course. There I see the eagle being bossed by the another crow. I follow their passage from room to room until they disappear over the neighbourhood, lost against the darkness of the mountain back drop. I also notice with some dismay, the windows need cleaning.

Back to the task at hand. I notice that the sunflower seeds in the "Allsorts Mixed" pack are all different shades with various stripes or freckles, or both. These three I plant in their own pots. Come August, I'll be able to match up the seeds with the flower. Ah, long-term plans. Hope abideth in my heart

Grouse Mountain

March 11, 2009

It is still chilly and snowy today. The yard is peeping through with green patches in places, but overall, it is still white. The mountain view out of my living room window is very wintry. From my angle, I can see both of the ski cuts on the mountain and if I train my binoculars on the cuts, I can see tiny specs zigzagging their way down.
Grouse Mountain is one of the many mountains on the North Shore. Their steepness prevents the neighbourhood from outright dominating the landscape, though you can make out new subdivisions crawling up their flanks. (Then the tears come when there is a windstorm and trees crash onto roofs and let us not forget the moral outrage when bears show up in the backyard. The local newspaper is a-flutter I tell you.)

The North Shore Mountain range is a bit deceiving. It is heavily forested and because it isn't extremely high, it looks capable of "doing". From a distance, the mountains have a soft, rolling look and they hide the gorges, sheer drops, ravines and sudden cliffs.
The famous bit, apart from the ski runs, is the Grouse Grind, a vertical hike of 2,800 feet. I can appreciate exercise, but that's just not for me. Folks have told me that it is like hiking in a mall, but vertical; it is that busy and that boring. According to their website, 100 000 people hike that trail each year. Yep, so not for me.

Bird's Nest Fungus - Revisited

March 7, 2009

...127..128..129!

Yes, 129 peridioles in this modest sized cup that is

the Bird's Nest Fungus Nidula candida. Too be sure, I found one that seemed particularly full. It was so full, I wondered just how many a cup could hold and then of
course, had to count it (you can't just walk away from something that
intriguing). Please enjoy the portion of sticky mucous that helps to make for a very adhesive peridiole and yes, it was like cleaning out a large nostril with a Q-tip.