Friday Favourites: Peonies and Strawberries

 

After dinner this evening, (grilled chicken, potatoes and carrots bundled in foil and cooked on the grill, and coleslaw), I spent some time in the garden. Birds sang sleepy songs as the light softened. Everything is looking lush and green. Now, nearing 9 pm, the sky is streaked with backlit clouds along the horizon. 

I so look forward to peonies in May. There are several varieties in the garden and they bloom at different times. I love their extravagant ruffles and slightly spicy scent. I'm so pleased that there are plenty of blooms so I can cut bouquets for the house. 

Now that my book is finished, I'm doing some serious cleaning. My sewing room, which is also my writing studio, has suffered from a lack of tidiness recently so I spent two afternoons pulling things off the shelves, reorganizing the cupboards, dusting and vacuuming. It looks and feels so much better. I have another storage cupboard that needs the same treatment and I'll start that soon. 

A friend of a friend stayed with us for five days recently. She lives in another province and was in town for a garden tour, but needed emergency surgery. She stayed with us until she was able to fly home. I found myself cooking differently to accommodate her diet and made some old favourites from my growing up years. Scalloped potatoes, homemade macaroni and cheese, hamburger gravy on mashed potatoes, baked custard, and bread pudding. I enjoyed it all, but the first meal I made for the two of us was Shrimp Creole which has punchier flavours. It made me think about how my cooking has changed over the years. 

"I'd like to add some beauty to life," said Anne dreamily. 

"I don't exactly want to make people know more...

I'd love to make them have a pleasanter time 

because of me...to have some little joy

or happy thought that would never have existed 

if I hadn't been born."

L. M. Montgomery (Anne's House of Dreams)

I've been reading the third book in A. J. Pearce's Emmy Lake series, set during the Second World War in London. Emmy works in a magazine office and it's a fun and unique setting. There are four books in the series; I've read three and will be looking for the fourth. Very enjoyable!

We watched Remarkably Bright Creatures recently. I had no expectations and didn't know what it was about. It's heartwarming and lovely, a very easy movie to watch, and told from a distinctly different perspective. There is a book upon which the movie is based, but I've not read it. 

Strawberries are ripening! The price of local berries in the stores is eye-watering and I am glad that we grow enough for the two of us. They are sweet and juicy. We enjoy them with our breakfasts. I like to freeze some in two-cup amounts for fruit sauces and desserts in the winter. So far, just one bag has made it to the freezer. 

I wish I spoke bird so I could have a little chat with the ones who are pecking at a few of the berries, but leaving the majority of the berry behind. "Bird," I would say, "you are welcome to a few of the strawberries, but please finish eating what you start. Wasting food is not ideal." 

Tomorrow we are meeting friends for brunch at a local restaurant, and on Sunday afternoon, another group of friends is joining us here for a barbecue. Tomorrow is also my parents 71st wedding anniversary. My mother says she can hardly believe it! 

June is just around the corner and I've included one photo of a rosebud that will soon join many others in bringing colour and beauty to the month. 

Friday Favourites: On Flowers and Dreams

 

In the morning, as soon as I get out of bed, I pull aside the curtain from one window and look at the sky. How wonderful it is to see blue sky with just a few puffy clouds. Bright mornings definitely lift my spirits. We've had a long run of those days that fill me with energy. My mouth seems to smile without effort, just because of the beauty of the day. 

Evening light is also magical with its soft glow and deepening shadows. Can you believe that sweet peas are already blooming in my garden? A couple of seeds sprouted from dried pods and self-seeded, growing slowly through our very mild winter, and now with the warmer weather, they have burst into fragrant flowers. I clipped the long stems and set them in a vase on the kitchen windowsill alongside a ceramic rooster that was a wedding gift to my parents over 70 years ago. It sat atop the fridge of my childhood home. My mother gave it to me a few years ago, and it brings back fond memories. 

The garden is relishing the sunshine and warmth. Columbines, Cornflowers, and Peonies are blooming their hearts out. I planted three alliums years ago and each year they come back, just three of them. This year they are all leaning noticeably.

There are so many buds on the peonies! The Duchesse de Nemours is blooming wildly just now, all elegant white frills. A vase of them stands on the dining room table and fills the room with spicy fragrance. Soon the pink varieties will bloom. They are such heavenly flowers. 

A dream came true this week. My memoir is now published. It all seems a bit unreal. It's a scary thing to write and let other people read my words. For those interested in reading it, information is here in my Substack account (no subscription needed). I'll be adding it to the sidebar of my blog, as well. 

A week or so ago I cut back the dry, brown sword ferns to allow fresh growth some air. How intricate the curled fronds are, and how quickly they open to the light. Elsewhere in the garden I've planted out the tomato starters, along with squash and zucchini. The potato plants have been covered with more soil. Basil and dill are emerging and we're enjoying salads with fresh lettuce, spinach, radishes, and green onions picked just before eating. Such luxury. 

We have no plans for the weekend and I hope to garden (the weeds continue to grow) and do the necessary house fluffing chores. Tea on the patio is sure to happen on a sunny afternoon, except the tea might be exchanged for a frosty glass of elderflower cordial, made from last summer's flowers. I sort of forgot about it and it's been sitting on the pantry shelves, well sealed. It's high time to enjoy it. 

Happy weekend to each of you!

A Hike on Victoria Day Weekend

 

The Coast Trail on southern Vancouver Island stretches along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the body of water separating Canada from its southern neighbour. We love hiking there, most often taking the trail to Beechy Head and back, easily done in about 3 hours. 

We've had a long weekend celebrating the birth of our sovereign. It began with Queen Victoria, hence the name Victoria Day, and always falls on the third Monday in May, no matter when the sovereign's birthday might be. 

Pink Thrift growing on a nurse log

Our son and his wife wanted to hike the full length of the Coast Trail, about 13 kilometres. This means taking two cars, so we both drove to one end of the trail in our cars, then they came into our car for the drive to the other end of the trail, a circuitous route. We thought we'd hike along with them for an hour or two and head back to our car. 

Then I had the idea to hike the whole distance with them, if they were willing to shuttle us back to our car at the end. So that's what we did. 

A narrow gorge - our daughter-in-law in the shadows on the right

The scenery along this route is spectacular as it follows the coastline, veering inwards on rocky bluffs, but always returning to the sea. The weather was perfect, sunny and not too warm. I wore a short sleeved t-shirt and a long sleeved cotton shirt and was very comfortable. 

Sea stacks, narrow gorges, blue water with a few whitecaps, and lots of wildflowers were a feast for the eyes.

 

Salal flowers blooming along the path

My Facebook memories told me that the last time I did this long hike was 17 years ago, this very weekend. I confess to finding yesterday's hike much more challenging than I remembered. There was a LOT of climbing up rocky bluffs with some long steps, then picking my way down the other side. In between, the short stretches of more level ground in the forest were a wonderful break. In all, we climbed 1700 feet in altitude, up and down, up and down. The up requires lung capacity and leg strength, the down requires care and is harder on the knees.

We stopped for lunch at Cabin Point, the site of an old fishing camp where men once pulled in hundreds of crabs. It was lovely to sit in the sunshine, eat our lunch, and rest for about 30 minutes before beginning our hike again. An eagle soared overhead - we would look up when his shadow passed over us. He looked like he was enjoying the air currents a lot. 

In the end, Tim and I cut off about 30 minutes of the hike by taking an inland trail. We waited for our son and his wife at the parking lot. There was a Search and Rescue vehicle there doing some training. I thought of going to ask them if they would give me a foot massage as my toes were sore from all the downhill climbing. Haha. 

It was five and a half hours on rugged terrain. I was exhausted, and I realized that I am not quite as strong as I was 17 years ago. I guess that's to be expected. Still, I'm glad I did it. And did I ever sleep well last night!

Friday Favourites: Of the Delights of Gardens

 

At last came the golden month of the wild folk -

honey-sweet May, when the birds come back,

and the flowers come out, and the air is full of the sunrise scents

and songs of the dawning year.

Samuel Scoville, Jr.

From the garden I picked the first two ripe strawberries today. They are indeed early, but red throughout with the sweetness of the sun. Plenty more green ones promise a good harvest in a few weeks. Red radishes and crisp green lettuce, spinach, and Swiss chard are being clipped regularly for salads these days. Each morning I go out to open the greenhouse to let air flow through. The tomatoes are growing tall and need to be planted out this weekend. The squash seeds (Red Kuri, Zucchini, and Cucumbers) have popped through the soil and are forming their second set of leaves in what seems like no time at all. I'll keep them in the greenhouse until June for they thrive in the heat. 

 

Rhododendrons with their golden-tipped stamens are blooming everywhere. Last Saturday my sister and her husband were in town and wanted to visit Butchart Gardens. Off we went. Huge bushes of rhodos formed walls of colourful blossoms - pink, red, purple, yellow - so showy. Rhododendrons are not in my list of favourite flowers, but I do concede their drama and the wonderful colour they bring to May. 

More to my taste are the Himalayan Blue Poppies just beginning to bloom in the Japanese Garden. I've tried growing them in my own garden with no success at all. Seeing them reminded me of our trip to Iceland two summers ago where they grew in a very northern botanical garden in the Icelandic town of Akureyri. 

Yellow poppies are currently blooming in my garden and fat buds of the double pink bread seed poppies promise blooms soon. There's always something new to see on my morning strolls. This morning I tied the tall bamboo poles to support the sweet peas that seem to be growing visibly each day. 

My own tulips did not do well this year, and the few that did are now dropping their petals. In Butchart Gardens a few beds still held tulips, but I noticed they were being replaced by other plants.

The sun came back over the Forest, bringing the scent of May.

All the streams of the Forest were tinkling happily to find themselves 

their own pretty shape again and the little pools lay dreaming of the life

they had seen and the things they had done.

A. A. Milne

The friendly wisteria vine planted by our former neighbours is being trained along the back fence, as well as over the garden shed. The fence vine is slowly beginning to bloom, a bit later than the shed vine, probably because it's more in the shade. 

Wind has been the weather of late, with a chilly edge. Skies are dramatic. Last evening we attended an outdoor concert in a park, put on by our youngest granddaughters' school. Each class sang two songs in a very well organized production. Kudos to the music teacher! While driving home I noticed the light filtering through the dark undersides of puffy clouds. This evening we've had a bit of rain and it's most welcome. 

Our rhubarb plant is not producing well this year. I fed it a few weeks ago with some compost and it's perking up, but not enough to harvest. However, our son has plenty and shared a dozen or so stalks with us. I made a roasted rhubarb and strawberry (from last summer's frozen berries) that was quite delicious over ice cream, according to my husband. Today, friends came for coffee and I made rhubarb muffins. I'll post the recipe to my other blog later. 

Looking out my window at 9:45, it's not quite dark. Very black clouds are racing across the sky and tree branches wave wildly. Soon I'll crawl into my cozy bed and feel the cool air from the open window on my face. Sleep will be sweet. 

Wishing you a weekend of delight, be it Spring or Autumn in your corner. 

Friday Favourites: Beautiful Things in May

 

May is the month when Spring is fully present. Everything is full and green. Tiny fruits are forming on the apple and fig trees, and there is an abundance of green strawberries. Tight rosebuds promise blooms in June. I love it all. 

When we moved into this house a couple of decades ago, there was little landscaping and few flowers. One rosebush and one peony shrub, a flower of which is seen above. It's an early bloomer and I've enjoyed just one lush and ruffled blossom on the mantel this week. There are scads of buds on the other bushes and I'm watching them closely. Peony season is so very short and so very beautiful. 

While collecting my jacket and bag from the hall closet in preparation for going shopping, I noticed this rather disheveled robin perched on a rock near the street. His mate was watching nearby, but carried nothing in her mouth. That's a big bunch of dry grass he's carrying and perhaps he alighted there for a rest. I waited by the window and didn't open the door until he left, not wanting to disturb him. He flew off with his cargo, his mate close behind. I wonder where they are building their nest.

We've had a lovely week beginning with very warm sunny days at the beginning of the week and cooler temperatures with some clouds at the end of the week. Perfect gardening weather. The tomatoes in my greenhouse are growing tall and lush. I usually wait until after the last full moon in May to plant them out into the garden, but that's not until May 31 this year. (May has had two full moons!) I'll very likely put them out in 10 days or so. Dahlias, too. I have some that I started in the greenhouse, but others that were left in the ground are growing quickly, so perhaps they know something I don't. Or they might get a chill. I'll keep an eye on the night temperatures. 

Solomon's Seal is a native plant that I became acquainted with just a few years ago. It grows in a shady part of my garden that catches the evening light and highlights the delicate bell-shaped flowers. I hope it feels very at home there and wants to spread!

While working outdoors, the slightest wind brings the sweet scent of wisteria to me. It grows over the garden shed and we are firm with pruning for it can ruin buildings over time. Self-seeded columbines grow through the flower beds. All but one are pale lilac, with one dark purple variety growing in a corner. I scatter the dark seeds hoping that more of them will grow. And my daughter gave me some pretty pink seeds, but alas, I don't have much luck with them. 

My flower beds are quite wide and I need to get in behind to properly weed and prune. I asked Tim to cut me some thick fir tree rounds to use as stepping stones for a path through one section and we set those this week. My garden is not finely manicured for I like a bit of wildness. The black tube is the watering line and it will soon be covered with plants. 

Despite wanting to spend most of my time in the garden, we do need to eat. After seeing a couple of recipes online, I prepared Chicken in Orange Sauce one evening. It came together very quickly and was delicious. 

Here's a coda to the peony shown in the first photo which was taken earlier in the week. I came downstairs this morning to find the majority of petals fallen in a heap. It looks as though the flower just had enough and let them all go at once. 

A quick report on the berry planting - after a very warm day in the field last Saturday, all of the blueberries and raspberries are planted. Tim worked several days this week with our daughter and son-in-law getting the irrigation system up and running. So far, so good. Now to be patient for a few years for the berries to grow. Which do you prefer, blueberries or raspberries? I'm partial to both. 

Most Aprils I read The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin. Here's a link to a suggested tea time with references to the novel. 

A Teatime Ode to The Enchanted April - Victoria

Whether you have tea in the garden or elsewhere, I wish you a weekend of delight and beauty. 

Friday Favourites: Spring in the Schoolyard

 

 We're in a lovely pattern of sunshine with a bit of breeze alternating with a cloudy day and rarely, a bit of rain at night. I'll take it! The weekend ahead is supposed to be even warmer - a bit of a heat wave according to the forecasters. 

Everything is responding to these glorious days - trees, flowers (the wisteria wafts over the garden when I work outside), and the plants in my greenhouse. Nights continue to be cool, so I cover the dahlia and tomato plants with a light cloth, and in the daytime I open the greenhouse door or the heat becomes suffocating. 

There has been a grand uptick in the variety of birds visiting my garden recently. I have only seen a Varied Thrush occasionally, usually in winter. They have a trilling song that is lovely to hear. 

Late one afternoon I saw a flash of yellow settle on a branch in the birch tree. Goldfinches are native here, but I have never seen one in my garden. He stayed for the longest time, flitting between the feeder and the birch tree while Tim and I watched him. What a treat!

I've been thinking about Springs in my childhood, and of all the outside games we used to play once winter had passed. Recess times at school were always too short for us. 

Hopscotch, Skipping Rope, Balls and Jacks, and Bouncing Balls kept us occupied before school, during recess, and after school. The bouncing balls were about the size of a tennis ball, but much softer. I was trying to remember the songs we sang as we bounced, without much luck. However, even while I was asleep my brain kept working and I awoke at 4:22 (thanks, Brain) to remember

"One, Two, Three, O'Leary

Four, Five, Six, O'Leary

Seven, Eight, Nine, O'Leary

Ten O'Leary ..." 

and I couldn't remember the ending. So I looked it up and discovered several endings, none of which rang a bell with me. I also learned this:

"Aleerie is a very old (Scots) word that means holding your leg crooked.

You bounce the ball three times, then bounce the ball under it when you

come to the word "Aleerie."

I wonder if what we sang was closer to "aleerie" than "O'Leary." And I also wonder how it came about that I, living in far off Canada, came to sing and play this rhyme as a young girl. 

This Bald Eagle nest is not in my garden, but highly visible from my youngest daughter's property. Lately, there is always one eagle on the nest and we suspect that soon we will see fluffy eaglet heads peeking over the top of the nest. 

When I walk through the school grounds I notice chalked Hopscotch boxes on the hard surfaces. They look exactly like the ones I used to draw with my friends, with chalk, or with a stick in the dirt, as needs be. Occasionally, I'll still hop through the boxes. 

Skipping was immensely popular. There were shorter ropes for individual skipping, but it was much more fun to have a long rope turned by two people while others jumped in and out according to the various rhymes we sang. One was 

I had a little puppy

His name was Tiny Tim

I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim

He drank all the water, he ate all the soap

The next thing you know, he had a bubble in his throat.

In came the doctor (a friend jumped in)

In came the nurse (another friend jumped in)

In came the lady with the alligator purse (and another)

Out went the doctor

Out went the nurse

Out went the lady with the alligator purse.

And everyone jumped out in the same order they jumped in. Then there was Double Dutch skipping which was trickier with two turning ropes to avoid. And Chinese skipping which involved a stretchy band fastened around two people's legs, and a complicated variety of jumping in and out of the bands. What fun we had!

One day when I was six or seven, I came home from somewhere with a set of jacks and a ball. I had no idea what to do with them. My mother's eyes lit up and she plopped herself down on the kitchen floor and proceeded to show my sister and I how to play jacks. It was a good activity to play alone or with friends. 

There is sometimes a great outcry about the lack of play among the younger generation, but from what I observe on our street, in the school yards, and of my own grandchildren, imaginative and active play is alive and well. 

For Tim's birthday a month ago, one of the gifts he received was 70 cookies, provided by our three children. One of them calculated that each should bake 23 and one third cookies, so they did. Peanut Butter Cookies, Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies, and Chocolate Cherry Cookies were stored in the freezer and pulled out as needed. I haven't had to bake for the month. However, we had guests this week, and the cookies are now gone, so I baked Apricot Almond Bars, but used Cherry Raspberry Jam in place of the Apricot Jam. They are good with any kind of jam. 

This weekend we will be planting an acre of blueberry and raspberry plants at our daughter and son-in-law's property. They are putting in a U-pick farm. It will take a few years before it gets going. Fortunately, there is a large crew coming to help plant. Tim's been over there this week getting the rows ready. I'll be in charge of the little girls. The weather is predicted to be beautiful. 

Wishing you a most lovely weekend. 

Friday Favourites

 

Spring is singing in my blood today, and the lure of April is 

abroad on the air. I'm seeing visions and dreaming dreams,...That's 

because the wind is from the west. I do love the west wind. It sings 

of hope and gladness...

L. M. Montgomery

We're enjoying a lovely stretch of sunny weather. I've done a little puttering in the garden this afternoon and did some hand watering of sweet peas, spinach, and lettuce. The strawberries are beginning to bloom, a most promising sign. 

I've been thinking about lists and how much I like to make them. It's apparently innate, as our brains don't like open loops, according to this article. I write lists of things to do, groceries to purchase, meals to make, seeds to plant, and more. More often than I like, when I go to the grocery store, I discover that I've left the list on the kitchen table. However, just the act of making the list helps me remember and I usually come home with everything I need. 

Recent lists I've made just for fun include Memorable Places Where I've Swum, and All the Houses I've Lived In. 

I started a novel called The List of Suspicious Things by Jenny Godfrey, but had to stop reading it because it dealt with violence against women, with some graphic scenes. It is a fictionalized account that takes place in an historical setting in 1979 when the Yorkshire Ripper was active. 

I've not completed a book in the past week, but have dipped in and out of a number of compilations.

The Country Commonplace Book

by Miranda Mills

This book, organized by the seasons, is full of recommended reading lists, a few recipes, poems, and short selections. I love it!

The Quiet Center

Women Reflecting on Life's Passages from the Pages of Victoria Magazine

This book of essays was published in 1997, and continues to inspire me. Most recently I read Pansies for Remembrance by Judith Thurman. She began telling of her mother's love for pansies, then moved on to a visit to Italy where she first heard of Isak Dinesen (Out of Africa), and finally to Dinesen's garden in Denmark. 

When I have finished this post, I will begin re-reading The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim, a spring classic. 

We took our friends to Butchart Gardens earlier in the week. Daffodils of many varieties continue to bloom, and Tulips! Great swaths of colour with beautiful underplantings. 

I've never seen Tulips like the ones above, almost spider-like! They made a striking display. All of the above photos were taken at the Gardens. 

Spring has a special effect on us in the valley. The whole 

beautiful world invites us out, and we have an urge to wander. The gentle, rolling hills, the clear, winding brooks, the bright, rushing streams: all are filled with the rhythm of life and we move with it too.

Gladys Taber, Stillmeadow Calendar

At our daughter's property, bluebells grow in waves of blue among the green of their wild areas. Their long term plan is a Blueberry and Raspberry U-pick farm. Tim helped fence their three-acre property to prevent deer from chewing on the plants which are due to arrive next weekend. 

Tomorrow is my father's 92nd birthday. I left a gift with my mother when we visited 10 days ago, and I'll certainly be calling to congratulate my dad. Now I'm off to read my book, and perhaps make a cup of peppermint tea, a lovely way to wind down the day. At 8:30 the sky is streaked with colour and the light is softly fading.