The birds.....

are busy busy... collecting and gathering for nests and babies.... my one bullrush stalk has been well used... maybe next year i'll have 2 stalks :D...
i've been hearing a pheasant in the field... and thanks to Dora's alert ears and pointing habits.. i can see him... he's eating bugs over by levi's dirt track... so dora and sampson are resigned to being indoor puppies... at least until our pheasant friend wanders elsewhere...

woohoo.... i just spotted his mate!!! am excited... a breeding pair of pheasants would be awesome... unfortunately our hunter friends think they are good eating... personally eating something that doesn't have a lot of meat on it.. just doesn't cut it!! actually eating something that wandered in my field doesn't quite do it either... i'd rather see them wandering in the field, eating up the bugs that are going to dine on my garden :D
they seem to like levi's dirt track.. must be good bug hunting....

got my choi plants all transplanted.. choi as in bok, sui and other closely related ones... they come in a 6 pack, 3 different varieties... i'm needed some more swiss chard too... will check out my leftover seeds... the weather is cooler than normal, so am in no hurry atm.... all my 'babies' are covered and hopefully won't go into shock...

still a sick kid at home... yesterday we made a fairy... she will hang in Bubbles the car... :D

Island Farms....

and the GMO issue.... Vancouver Island Challenges British Columbia Farmers to Boycott Monsanto Corn & GMOs ...... this article was in August of 2007... i wish i knew if things had changed much, but suspect that probably not.... i don't know about you, but personally i'm not really keen on drinking or eating a product that has Monsanto's Roundup Ready corn, which is genetically engineered to endure repeated spraying with Monsanto's glyphosate-based toxin, in it... mmmm get your vitamins with a healthy daily dose of Roundup???? EWWW....

got my peas and lettuce planted yesterday... woohoo... now watch the weather turn ugly! i know that the spring weather will be erratic as usual so i have reemay ready to cover the new babies... as for the peas.... they are in the ground, ready for a quick rain shower... yum yum in 60 days there should be the start of some very good garden eating :D i saw baby tomatoes in the garden shop yesterday... what are they thinking!!! and not only that.. $1.50 per plant... yikes! Costco had huge ones for $10.00 but they were at least 2 feet tall.. probaby ready to spring into blossom... unfortunately unless one has a greenhouse, chances of tomatoes setting are slim to none, since they won't set below 45 degrees....

today would have been our first ball game.. but... alas... i have a sick kid at home... ah well more ball games to come.... silly bug nestled in her chest and she's coughing and hacking germies all over..

was supposed to rain today.. but so far so good... mind you it's only 6:14 a.m. lots of time for mommy nature to change her mind.... i was going to mow the rest of the yard, but ran out of gas.... the mower works great... will be good once i finish... that will knock out the broom in that area.... woohoo... what a nasty plant... invasive and not generally useful unless i wish to make brooms out of it....

Plastic water bottles........

are a evil nasty waste of oil, enviroment and generally foul... thats my opinion at least... i'm ranting about it because sitting on my balcony is a case of them... and i'm not terribly happy about it... but daughter is working hard and needs water for work... sooooooo that led me on an internet search for an alternative.. TADA!!!! LifeWithoutPlastic.com .. is a great site!... what i think are pretty reasonable prices for stainless steel products... i'm going to order one of the water bottles and who knows maybe one of their food containers...

can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since i last posted ... i'm a slacker in the posting dept... have been busy sawing, screwing, hammering.. and trying to build some extensions on my shed... there isn't enough covered room for my tools and wood... and since i'm in a rainforest (what's left of the forest :( ) and it rains a lot i need something to protect them... sooo i've become ms 'notsogood carpenter' LOLOL i'm sure if someone video taped me, they be blushing... since i'm not very agile anymore and everything takes twice as long to do.. aging gracefully isn't in the heart of the 'notsogood carpenter... so i finished my fence around one garden.. sampson and dora firmly believe that the raised beds were just built for them for a huge play box and bone burying spot... now i have to start on the other one that they like too... they are happy happy puppies digging up my herbs and carting off old brussel sprout stalks...

yesterday sian and i got to observe a very dedicated little hummingbird that found my one rush stalk to be a supply of downy fuzz for her nest....

i wish i could have been closer, but think i was lucky to have captured the picture at all... i have 2 mallards in the pond just near the house, but unfortunately it will dry up as soon as summer comes.. so i'm hoping they will transfer themselves down to the creek.. we still have one beaver (hopefully) and there should be a pond of sorts...

erika has been chef lately... made a killer (yummy) roast chicken... with help... i gathered some fresh rosemary, thyme and sage, a couple of carrots and showed her how to stuff it with the herbs, throw it into the roasting pan... hmmm so easy she's discovered!

i bought my bedding plants.. getting ready to plant them... and plant some peas... the weather hasn't been the greatest and is below normal temps, so i'm in no hurry... sian has a brand new pair of garden gloves, just her size, and some new to her garden Duck Boots... woohoo... she's looking forward to helping me... lots of peas and tomatoes are on her list....

but not today... we're both sick... some sort of 'bug' ... sniffles and tummy upsets.. mmm the joys of schools and children .... besides its grey and threatening rain... good day to stay indoors and do almost nothing!

Today...

is World Autism Awareness Day..... Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the world.... it affects my family... the stats on Autism is staggering... gotta wonder what really is going on with our children....

First day of Softball....

well it was a practice! the season is starting mid april... woohoo... should be fun... have been going to ball since the mid 70s... do i play? no... but i do keep score.. trust me its hard work... keeping 15 women in check!!! my team is pretty good as teams go... most of them actually remember what order they are in... and our league is fun... its Coffee League which was started by Marie Berry, in the 70s... there were other leagues but none for moms with children... it was and still is a very important part of nanaimo... a sign of the times is less teams, more working moms... my eldest daughter Tova is on the team... and there are a quite a few Mom and Daughter, great fun...

this was a pic from our last years wind-up trophy gathering party!! ahem... every year there is a dinner/dance/trophies etc.. for the league... its a lot of fun... btw, the beverage in MY cup is non-alcoholic.. i was the designated driver.. the lush in the front (with the medal around her neck) is well, perhaps u see a family resemblence.. cough cough!!

Today is sunny.......

well kinda... LOL .. what did u expect?? after all we're on the west coast... and unless u live in southern cali... its generally 'kinda' sunny....

i've been attempting to get into the garden, when it's not snowing, raining, hailing or otherwise icky out!!! today i started to muck about where i have asparagus, strawberries and a hill of rhubarb... mmm weed city... ah well, once i've gotten the early spring clean-up done, it won't be too bad...


here's a cute pic... sian made her very first cake... well from the box... instructions from erika... it turned out delicious... she's helped me make carrot juice, carrot apple juice... and those she really liked...

Dith Pran passed away today... if you've seen The Killing Fields you'll remember who he was...