Light Snow is Falling

 Folks who have lived here for many years told us that don't be fooled by the very warm weather because once you get used to it, changes are inevitable. Perhaps I wrote about it last year? Booming thunder woke us from sleep twice overnight, with heavy rain accompanying it. Since the beginning of the year I have been keeping track of the daily weather around 8AM during my time recording the birds from the front porch. Off by about twenty minutes, the thermometer read 59 degrees at 8:20. By noon it had dropped to 40 and is expected to plunge to around 20 overnight! The heat has just come on. Speaking of the heat, holy cow propane is expensive! Lest you think I am exaggerating, on Dec. 31 we got a call while we were driving back to Murphy that they were filling the tank and it was $350 and about six weeks later another $470 was delivered. I'd oftentimes heard of people struggling to pay their gas bills and now I can surely see why.

My heart breaks for those who have to choose between the gas bill and being warm. 

On a happier note, Spring, aside from the next few days is on the move. Your favorite blogger is thrilled to report that her radishes are thriving!

I've also planted more seeds using the toilet paper roll method; in this tray there are zinnias, marigolds, green beans, peppers and tomatoes. One they are strong enough I will move them into the ground.

I move it around to the sunniest spots, however, for the next few days it is on the bookcase just behind me under the big window, not that there is any sun today, but there is light. For sure the zinnias are sprouting along with the one beside it, but for the life of me I cannot read what I wrote! Time will tell as it always does. Next time I will write on the tubes before they are planted! 

Continuing with the exciting sprouting front, the carrots have finally begun showing life. We read it can take two weeks and I believe it was just a day or two shy of that. The sprouts are about as fine as a strand of my hair, so it will be so fun watching the development. Something else we read to do is cover the seeds with 2x4s until they sprout. I have no idea how that works, but it did, so score one for YouTube. How did we do anything before YT? Speaking of root vegetables, there are potato chunks under the dirt and straw in the same place that cucumbers grew last year. I figure if I had zero knowledge last year and things grew, I am a little more educated this year so surely we will have some success?!

Weeds in the thin grass mark the spot. I read that it is best to cover your garden with straw so that's what we did. A bale cost about $9, information I am including because who knows, I may want to know in a few years! All the plants are doing well so far.

Around the yard things are looking good with shoots in the ground for the peony bush, hyacinths of the big variety,

and cute little grape hyacinths popping up all over the place. Note the end of our wall that is filling in nicely with the new phlox Bruce planted last year.

Which reminds me that I wanted to mention that it was two years almost to the date that we spotted our home and one of the things that made me notice it was the wall with the creeping phlox. I remember once we bought it, and had to wait for 45 days, that when I was on my walk I would go by the house and there were beautiful Swallowtail butterflies that presumably will be showing up soon? We dreamed about Bruce having a shop and being able to plant anything we wanted anywhere we wanted to which may sound silly to some, but when you live in a condo, they make the rules! While I am typing Bruce is in his shop using a new toy that we bought for his upcoming birthday. A drill press, one of the few big tools that he was missing down there. 

Remember all the paint color samples I had taped up ages ago for the front screen door? 

Navy was not one of them, but over the weekend Hale Navy by Ben Moore it is. I am thinking of painting the little plant stands navy, what do you think?

I left off forsythia from the yard tour which is a shame because that shocking yellow is a welcome sight after months of only brown and green.

I can see through the front windows that the snow and wind are picking up big time. Let me go see what the temperature is on the porch. 4:30 PM and it is 38, although with the wind chimes going crazy, I am sure it feels far colder. That said, I see a tiny bit of light coming into the sky so who knows what will happen next?

Look at this!

The tiny little strawberry is so cute.

Bruce told me my last post was long and for that I apologize but I can't help my enthusiasm with every thing I see! Like our new town signs that Laura worked on with Chad our city manager. We just love them.

There are three of them along the "four lane" and I feel it gives us a little more modern look. 

We did have a lovely week which included a trip to our neighboring town where we roamed an antique mall that I reminded Bruce we stopped at on our very first trip to Murphy. What is it with me that I am drawn to strange women figurines?

Made in Switzerland is stamped on the feet.  The other acorns and stuff are from a hike and the dried hydrangea came from last year's bloom. See, I love everything!!

Obligations for one thing or another have kept us from roaming around but on this trip, after eating lunch at a place Cobby and Diane recommended, called Hoke Poke,

we drove back to Murphy on a road we'd never been on before. Oh man, I sometimes forget how lovely it is here.

Everywhere you look there are blooming trees.

Yup, Cherry Farm began in 1900. A few readers are from Europe so that may seem very recent but in this part of the country it is old. Before the TVA, development was very much a slow going affair.

We drove up a hill to a church that overlooks a valley and small lake which is also no very common here. Creeks, rivers and streams are more numerous. In fact aside from the lakes created by dams I can't think of any other natural lakes.

How about these pretty cows?

It's an exciting time here and even more so once we get past this cold front that is taking its' toll all over the country. 

Snowing again. 

Fallon sent me a video this morning and Christian said bubble. Bubble!!

your friend,

Gail

Let's Look at some Trees!

As you are well aware, I am in love with the flowers here in Vancouver, however, the trees also deserve some attention because, well, they are amazing. That's why. And just when I thought that all of the trees were done blooming, along comes another one!

Let us begin our tree exploration with one that is somewhat familiar to my Florida readers, what I am presuming is another type of Magnolia tree because it looks similar.

Well, sort of. The leaves are not thick, nor does the bloom have any fragrance. Furthermore, the petals are thick and almost waxy-like, yet I still think it is a Magnolia. Lo and behold, it comes in another color too.

And as is typical for here, there are tons of flowers. I took the above on my walk to Urban Fare the other day, so now it is probably like a gold mine of that beautiful shade of blossom. Speaking of beautiful shades, well, there are so many, but here's a lovely hue of Dogwood.

Not only are there pink-tinged ones but sort of a pale, pale, green flower as well.

I had no inkling that there were so many shades and shapes of blossoms, did you?

And still more! Except this one is a different shaped tree, altogether.

One thing that I'm almost sure of is that I'm not giving you a real sense of scale, as most of these trees are gigantic. Apparently, a rainforest will deliver that sort of thing.

And while I do love a great flowering tree, all green isn't half bad.

This tree, near the entrance to Stanley Park, looks, well, so perfect as to seem almost man made. That is coming from someone who was reared in the land of Disney World!

About two weeks ago Jackie suggested I take a walk on Harwood, which I did, however, somewhere around Nicola, something caught my attention and I moved over to Barclay where I came across more flowering trees lining the street.

I know the photo does not look all that impressive, as it was a super sunny day, and you know what that means. Nevertheless, I did find a spot, once I was closer to the action, where I was able to see the blossoms up close.

Gorgeous, aren't they? And if the flowering trees weren't enough to keep someone happy, there is the actual colors of the entire tree. Visiting Van Dusen gardens, there are plenty of colorful trees to gawk at, especially awesome are the yellowish-green ones that seem to pop out of the landscape.

It so reminds me of a crayon that used to come in the box of 24, the name of which escapes me. Perhaps you are partial to the Japanese Maple shades?

They are all over the city, on balconies,

in gardens,

and side yards too.

Lit up by the sun, as seen above, is a particularly awesome sight. Just last week I noticed several huge trees from the street, in the same park where the Handkerchief trees are planted, that deserved further investigation.

And while they look purplish while looking up at the tree, a closer look, not to mention all the fallen blooms, they are more hot pink.

Walking over the Burrard bridge, I looked down and my goodness, there's a real purple tree in bloom.

We've talked about colors, flowers, and size, but there's still more to think about and that is the shapes, of which there are many.

Lining Beach Avenue, these trees are gigantic as you can probably tell from the small person pictured. It is a real joy walking under these babies. There are skinny ones on Richards,

and the big fat Horse Chestnuts lining Nelson Street.

In the park down below there are about ten different shapes of trees, including this one.

Lest you think I am exaggerating, I am not. The bright green new growth is fantastic, but not all of it is that same shade.

And just when I thought it was all over for another year, along comes a Japanese Snowbell tree, or make that loads of them along Homer Street.

Cherry blossoms have nearly met their match!

As if all that awesomeness isn't enough, while I was photographing something else in the Stanley Park gardens, along came a Red-breasted Sapsucker, a bird I'd never seen before. He flew right onto a nearby tree, really almost too close to focus on because I had my zoom lens attached, however, as luck would have it, I did get a fairly decent shot, or at least good enough to get the id.

Pretty cool with that tongue sticking out, eh? (Canadian term) Apparently, from the look of the tree trunk, this is not the first visit from this bird that is only found on the West Coast! Score!

You are in love with the trees now too, aren't you?

In other news, Bruce had a great time in Whistler, along with about 80 others from the head office. I spent a crazy amount of time, once he returned on Saturday afternoon, working on our return journey and while I did not get too far, we are booked into a hotel for both Banff, and Kelowna, the wine growing region in BC. I nearly waited too late and had a heck of a time finding rooms in both places, which are both serious tourist hotbeds. Our departure date is set: July 23. As to how long we'll stay driving in Canada is ytbd. I'll keep you posted.

yours truly,

Gail

Adventures

On my bicycle ride the other morning, following another fruitless search for the owls, I got out on Summerlin and noticed this amazing tree is once again in bloom. I hope you like how I've framed the waning moon....

While on the subject of flowering trees, the Jacaranda are in bloom, gracing our blue sky with such lovely lavender flowers.

Naturally I do love those blooms but oh my gosh--the other day, tagging along while Irene looked at houses, I saw a tree that stopped me in my tracks. Well, actually after looking at the house which was a no go btw, I had to retrace my route to see this tree that I'd only seen from the main road. It is that kind of tree--a real show stopper.

Except I need your help with identification because I sure don't know what it is, and neither did the homeowner who was out working in his carport. Here's a closer look at the stunning blooms.

Even Pam, the master gardener in our friend circle did not know what it is. Any ideas?

Irene is one of Pam's oldest friends, dating back to their early adult years in New Jersey. After living in Portland for more than ten years she is coming back East and plans on making Orlando her home. Last October I gave her the name of a wonderful friend and realtor who she has been working with from afar. The market in Orlando is kind of crazy right now--with a low supply and high demand you get that one who is looking has to move fast. Much to our delight, a home became available just a few streets away! Pam and Irene are discussing the future of her new backyard!

It is all very exciting, and by the end of May, Irene will hopefully be situated in her new home. Did I tell you that Irene is an amazing quilter? Well she is, so that will be fun. :)

Meanwhile on both Tuesday, and Wednesday, we dined out with Zarita, Bruce's kitchen designer who was in town from Vancouver, as well as Jesse. Remember them?

I suggested we go to North Orange Tavern. Duh, Jesse called saying there is no such place. Right. North Quarter Tavern. Well the food was just as delicious as I'd remembered. Poutine. Have you tried it before? I had not so with a Canadian at the table I thought it was a good time to give it a go and was it yummy! Talking to Jonathan last evening I mentioned it and he was very familiar with it; apparently it is one of those trendy dishes and since he and Alissa live in one of the trendiest cities in the country it should not have surprised me one bit. Well the jokes on me because a quick Google search turned this up. Now I know that should I want it again there is no shortage in Orlando!

Wednesday evening we, once again met them as well as Dell, the Executive Chef for Earls on the east coast. Walking up I got to see the ongoing work, which is finally coming along nicely. The steel you see is the frame for the patio roof. As well, over PF Changs, that cut out in the wall is for the new windows for Earls.

Perhaps you don't see the steel? Now you do!!

It is going to be so dramatic that is for sure! It is also an enormous undertaking, but Mr. Bruce is hanging in there really well.

So, while we are eating I happened to glance at the adjacent table and who should I notice? Why, it is Sarah from SunDance!

That's her looking my way. I don't know about you, but sometimes when I am accustomed to seeing someone in a certain setting, when I see the same person randomly, I do a double take. That is exactly what happened here. Sarah is who talked to me at the market, what is it now, maybe four years ago? Apparently she said to her friend, "there is one of my artists over there, I wonder if she'll see me?" Why yes I did!

Does anyone else think it is downright amazing that I have three large bird nests to watch? I sure do. Riding home I saw the herons having a bit of a ruckus because a strange heron was in the live Pine tree next to their home in the dead Pine tree. This one harassed the interloper away.

Speaking of harassment, it is really interesting to watch the small birds scream at the big birds. No owls today but all was not lost; the blue jay thought if it it made enough noise the hawk would fly away. Nope.

Not a chance!

Pam's roses are going crazy, so I asked if I might bring some home.

 Remaining closer to home, here's what I'm working on for another donation.

 The little owl fabric will be the backing. Natch.

Yesterday was super warm in the afternoon, and finally it gave way to evening showers, something we'd not seen in weeks. Our plants are happy for the downpour.

The distant fence is covered now with blooming Confederate Jasmine which I have Bruce to thank for. Several years ago, he built an extension to our fence to hide our neighbor's ugly shed, losing both big toenails in the process!! You wonder how, don't you? You should after reading something like that! What happened is the ground sloped downward, and his toes were jammed against the front of his tennis shoes. Add to that, moisture, and now you know. It took months and months for them to grow back which explains why I am so keen on giving him credit where credit is due!

Shall I close with something beautiful. Of course.

Happy weekend my dear readers,

Gail