July! July!

Actually, it is almost August... the perfect time for July's last hurrah. There are many things I like about July. I like that it is hot and sunny and the days are long. I like that I'm here and not in Winnipeg in my third floor apartment, which I hear is no pleasant place to be in, what with that heat wave they had out there. There are a lot of other things that I like about July, which I shall communicate in photo format.

I like that we can have fresh cut broccoli. This photo documents the first time we cut broccoli. It is pictured alongside "Grandmere's" meat pie (this piece came from a pie nestled in the freezer  that Pam was saving for the visit of her youngest son... but he was kind enough to let us eat half. It was delicious) and new potatoes. And the last turnip from last season.

I like that what was once asparagus is now a forest of wild looking ferns.

We were up very early one morning, cutting wheatgrass, and the dew was looking misty in the first light in the aspargus ferns. It was beautiful.

I like that the zuchinni are ready to be picked... and eaten, of course.

And I really like that the tomatoes are turning red. This is the most exciting thing. I can barely wait for fresh tomatoes.

We are also upon a different season for wildflowers. The time for lupins has passed. Now the road are lined with Queen Anne's Lace...

... and wild chicory.

I like Queen Anne's Lace because it lookes like a doily, and doilies make me think of grandmothers, and I love grandmothers, both my own and many others. And I like wild chicory because it is a lovely periwinkle hue. When I was a young thing in elementary school, I went through a phase where my favourite Crayola crayon was "periwinkle." It is no longer my most favourite crayon, but I still like it, and it gives me fond memories of colouring pictures in grade two. Also, wild chicory is edible.

Amid all of the changes in my botannical sorroundings there are some things that don't change:

Baby Kitty's peculiar mannerisms are as constant as the rising sun in the morning. She sure is strange.

May your gardens look as nice as Pams, and may you enjoy the last days of July. Until next time.

Flower Girl

When I was six I was a flower girl. I got to wear a simple white dress with a red sash around my waist, and those lacy socks with the ruffle on the top with my white sandals, and my hair was done up all fancy and had babies breath in it. I held one rose and I was so excited that I snapped it in two and had to hold it together so it looked whole while I walked down the aisle. That was unfortunate...
Speaking of weddings... and flowers... Pam and I went to a wedding yesterday that Pam did the flowers for. On Friday all we did was cut flowers, clean flowers... we were up at 6:30 and Pam was making flower arrangements until 3:00 am. I couldn't really help her with that, but stayed up with her for moral support. It was a long day. It had the same feeling as staying up late finishing a major essay.
Anyway. The house was full of flowers. It was quite beautiful, but it made me sneeze.



Happy Potato Festival

A few days ago Hartland celebrated it's annual Potato festival. What's even more exciting is that Brandon's visit overlapped with this joyous occasion. We went to the parade. I took pictures of my favourite parts.

I thought that this was funny:

And the lady on stilts was pretty good too:

Oh- we also got a bit of candy.

A lollipop and a freezie! Holy Smokes!

As thirlling as the Potato Festival was, I also made sure Brandon saw some of the trails that I haunt.
The sun was bright.

And the river was calm.

Pam and I made Brandon work a bit too. Now he has left and we are very busy cutting flowers and worrying about the weather for the wedding Pam is doing on the weekend. Yikes! Let's hope it doesn't rain all day tomorrow like it did today.

Babies

I am (how did this happen?) at the halfway point at my time here and baby fruits of all sorts are starting to pop up everywhere.

Baby grapes.

Baby peppers.

Baby broccoli

Baby tomatoes

I love babies.

I also love Baby Kitty, whose latest antics had Buster in a puzzle.

She was clearly doing this for attention of some sort.

So Buster brought his bowl.

Yet she continued to act like an idiot.

At this point, buster gave up and lay down. Moments later Baby Kitty left for some sort of expedition in the great outdoors.

On Sunday my friends Dale and Joseph came for a visit. We drove around listening to Beethoven very loudly (the people stared) and went over the covered bridge twice. They loved it more than I. Yesterday I got a package in the mail from my mother full of candy. And today my "beau" (Pam's word, not mine) comes to visit. It's been an exciting week.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

It was sunny and hot today.

The perfect kind of hot day: not ridiculously humid, very windy. Pam and I worked very hard in the morning so we wouldn't be in the heat too much in the afternoon. I spent a small chunk of the morning weeding the "house garden." Pam uses a lot of mulch and plants some things in black plastic so there aren't a tonne of weeds.

Behold- the house garden:

In here you see onions and beans and peas and zuchinni and carrots and cucumbers (which will climb up strings stretched between those white posts) and broccoli and cabbage...

There are many beautiful leaves in this garden. Among my favourites:

Beets

Red Cabbage

Winter Cabbage

It's been five weeks since I arrived here (holy cats!) and nearly a weeks since I've written (I'm sorry).

Also, my worm phobia is improving. Today, while weeding, I found a poor little worm, writhing on the carpet between the beans and the beets. So I took a deep breath, picked him up, put him back on the dirt, and covered him up. I did not scream or flinch. I'm not sure which is more impressive, this bare-handed worm saving, or the fact that the last two times I pumped gas for Pam I managed to get it $20 on the dot.

A Cucumber From Leighton and Other Magical Things

Last night Pam and I went to Hayward's, a local greenhouse, owned and run by Leighton and Shirley. They are in their 70's and it's unbelievable how hard they work. They are incredibly knowledgeable and energectic and creative- you should see the bizarre and brilliant contraptions that Leighton comes up with, like beans growing upside down. I wish I could describe it better, but I just can't.
Anyway, the Hayward's are wonderful. And hilarious. Pam often helps out at the greenhouse, and we go there lots to pick up plants or to amuse ourselves. Last night we went for ice cream (because, along with plants, they also sell ice cream). And Leighton gave us a cucumber. A FRESH CUCUMBER. IN JUNE! Of course this is possible because the plants were raised in the greenhouse, started early, etc. Still. How wonderful! How Magical! Look at this:

Just beautiful. We each had two cucumber sandwiches.

  Speaking of delicious fresh food, Pam and I went to the farmers market in Florenceville-Bristol today. It was the first day of the market, which will now be held on every Thursday for the rest of the season. And we bought FRESH STRAWBERRIES! And oh my goodness, I think they are the best things I've ever eaten. You should be jealous of me.

The strawberries were from Shauna McIntosh, who is actually the daughter of the aforementioned Hayward's. Fancy that!
There was also a lady with a red hat selling a bunch of old jewelry at the farmers market. And look what I got from her:

A pretty little pony brooch!

ALSO, Pam's gardens have become home to some very fascinating creatures. We adore them and I thought I should share them with you.

Pam informs me the gnome infestation happens every year. Not to worry, though. They are peaceful little beings and benefit surrounding plantlife. And Pam would know about these things. She's the boss. She has a book about gnomes. She says "[reading the book] is the only true way to know about the gnome reality. And anyone who's read the book knows that to be the truth." She also advises against seeing the movie Gnomeo and Juliet.

It's a very good read.

As you have probably picked up from the amount of large text and exclamation marks, I am in a very good mood. And I hope you are too. Happy Thursday!

Personal Hygeine

It was a warm, lovely day today. Pam and I prepared a plot for planting wheatgrass. While she planted I picked rocks and hucked them in the bush (this task reminded me of my childhood) and cut off garlic scapes. And while Pam did some other planting I cut multitudes of little Manitoba Maples, that grow like weeds around other trees. This was very satisfying and I liked it much better than picking rocks.

I can't even remember what else we did, but it was a busy day. And after such a busy day under the hot, hot sun it feels divine to take a solar shower.

This is the solar shower:

The solar shower is wonderful for many reasons. It saves water and energy. And the pleasures of showering outside are indescribable.

After cleaning up I sat on a hill ...

... while drinking a beer and reading a book.

And it was good.

I have been thinking that I never post any pictures of work, but just talk about it. For all you know, I could be lying, and just gallivanting and reading and drinking beer all of the time. Well, there is a reason for the lack of work pictures: when one is working, one has not the time to take pictures. You'll just have to take my word for it that things get done around here.