Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

1.6.12

recently







Jeff's graduation from UBC with a BSc in Nursing. So exciting that we're both all finished school! Hikes with friends. And our garden is looking better than it ever has thanks to some recent renovations and some plant-friendly spring weather (fingers crossed). 

17.6.11

queen e

the park and the city
white and green
white and yellow
green shapes
pink honeysuckle
cone
handkercheif tree bracts
white and green again
sunset over quarry garden
fountain family
sunset

I've been away. I just spent a long weekend in Calgary and Banff, having a super awesome stagette weekend with some of my best friends. Perhaps I'll share some photos from that trip soon. Because it's been so long since I really put together a post I don't know where to start to catch things up around here, so let's just start with the here and now and see what happens with the rest.

I took these photos at Queen Elizabeth Park here in Vancouver last night. Jeff and Lola and I went on an awesome walk and then listened to Ideas on the CBC. You could say that we had a senior citizen evening, and I'd be okay with that. It was beautiful and interesting, respectively. And yes, I did go to bed before ten. Click on the photos to maybe find out more on Flickr. Bonus points for anyone who IDs some plants for me...I'm so rusty with the Latin these days! Finally, if you're looking for a good podcast this weekend, might I recommend Dogs Themselves from Ideas? It's kind of awesome. Have a good one!

19.5.11

fresh air: denman island










This is the final post of photos from my island adventures over the weekend. These photos were all taken on Denman Island, another Northern Gulf Island and the island that we were staying on. Jamie invited us to stay with him at his family cabin, which was a cozy home base where we made great dinners and watched satellite tv. Our last day on the island was warm and dry and we spent a good part of the afternoon on a 9 hole golf course that's been built in a farmer's field. I've never golfed before and I took a few swings on this course only to realize that I think I swing left. I think this because swinging right felt uncomfortable and looked insane, but my first left swing felt way better and actually moved the ball in the right direction. I was mostly the animal wrangler during the golfing though.

The course was pretty unique and was completely covered in sheep crap, which Lola ate by the pound. It was totally impossible to stop her, as it really was everywhere, but I tried to prevent it as much as possible. As we left the course an island kid hit a ball in our general direction and just missed us by a few feet. What a brat! By the end of the day Lola was completely burnt out from insane outdoors adventures for two days straight, so she curled up in the cabin garden in a little hay-lined nest she built for herself. Ridiculous. Now she needs a bath possibly more than she's ever needed a bath before, and she's still tired. Jeff and I probably won't see a whole lot of her for the next day or two. She's worn out from vacation while I can't wait for the next one!

AND in Day in the Life news, next Monday's post will be by Hwasoon Kim from the amazing Morning Calm. You are not going to want to miss this one. It's going to be the perfect Monday morning post.

19.1.11

the forsythia club


I went on a little walk today after I got home from school. I've been crazy busy the last few days and have really been ignoring the poor dog, so it was nice for us to get out for a while. I chose our route with the intent of finding some blooming forsythia (the little yellow flower below) to photograph because I've been noticing that it seems to be around already. Rumour has it that you can plant your garden peas when the forsythia starts blooming, but I can't imagine getting away with getting the garden started in the middle of January. I think it's still going to be way too wet in the days to come and last year our peas didn't amount to much anyway (thank you, sparrows!). Do you have a garden? When will you start it? I'm thinking late March for us here in Vancouver, but I've already been perusing the West Coast seed catalogue.

Lola and I were lucky today on our search for signs of impending spring. Not only did we find forsythia, but we also found a slightly confused already-blooming cherry tree! Yup, there it was, just down the street from our place. There are always a few around that start really early. Seeing this one is a very promising indicator of great things to come!


If you're feeling like you could use some spring inspiration check out the let's pretend it's spring giveaway on Lune Vintage. Jill has just revealed her new line of accessories and they are glorious and summery. I am really coveting one of those Ojo pendants! And now it's afternoon nap time!

P.S. Here's the entire first episode of Portlandia. It starts with the same video that I posted yesterday, but then it's all new. It'll make you happy if you've got half an hour to spare.

27.8.10

weekend worship

Van sky
my street, that sky
Oh man, the second last weekend before school starts, I guess the countdown has begun. I've got a few things that need to be done this weekend: gotta make something with the giant zucchini the UBC Farm gave us tonight (we also got green Romano beans, beets, arugula and a pattypan squash!), meet up with my friend Kiki to make some peach rosemary preserves, weed the garden, and head to Urban Source for some collage supplies (I have projects in mind). Next week my mom is here and we have lots of exciting things planned!

Sorry for double garden posts, but here are some photos that I took tonight. So much is happening over there right now that I can't resist documenting everything at the height of the harvest. Fall colour and texture is showing up everywhere: flowers are turning into seed pods and leaves are falling. Not fair. I want more summer!

August 27, 2010 garden harvest
neighbour's peonies
tomatoeszucchini

25.8.10

august abundance

Cypress Community Garden
This time of year Vancouver offers up a plethora of amazing, delicious abundance: $2/lb blueberries from Richmond, blackberries in every and park (a good and bad thing, in my opinion), flowers blooming, a ridiculous number of tomatoes and cucumbers in my community garden plot, plum trees, cherry sales, rosemary and bay trees, and the biggest salmon run in nearly 100 years. So, with peaches and strawberries in the freezer, blueberries in the fridge and plans to make my favourite peach & rosemary preserves this weekend (a concoction known as "Dignified Fun" in certain circles...), I also thought I'd share some photos that I took last weekend in the Maple and Cypress Community Gardens. You've gotta love this city in August!
Grapes!
grape arbour, maple community garden
Chinese lantern plant
chinese lantern plant, great latin name: physalis alkekengi
"That's a nice plate-rrrrr."
"a very nice plate-rrrr"
Vanilla lavender waffles
lavender vanilla waffles, organic yogurt, and hand-picked blackberries