garden wisdom

we were set upon in great numbers by Japanese beetles this summer....the shiny bastards ate their way through my Virginia Creeper...to my extreme distress and dismay.

it seems the little shites can't really be dealt with in any sort of pleasant and earth-loving way so apart from occasional crushing sprees {yes, the earth-love went right out the window} i couldn't do much about their mission of annihilation.

then because i couldn't bear to look at the skeletal remains of the leaves, i asked my Grandad {he's the master gardener} if it would be okay just to trim the vine back and  hope it'd rebound next year. {wherein i shall have beetle traps in place}.

so i trimmed the poor vine back to baldness.

and then whaddya know....

just when the caterpillar thought the world was over,

it became a butterfly.

         ~unknown

~*~

not that it'd be at all noticeable, but i'm taking a bit of a digital sabbatical for the month of September...time to spend some time unplugged...big shifts afoot requiring a greater measure of Presence...

i will be back, though...of that, i'm certain.

and so it goes...

because there's always time for silly

summerish days are upon us....although i think we're all a little leery to relax into it, seeing as how we've had a few false starts this spring...

it's like The School Thing never happened...but of course it did...and we're grateful, because it's made us all - especially Savannah -- see the joy in our days with fresh eyes.

a bit of gardening was done this past weekend....and to my {possibly ridiculous level of} JOY -- our worm compost is finally ready!!  *squeeeeeeee*

thank you worms....:)

we are pleased....

i realize this is one of the few places i could post pictures of compost and know there are several people grinning as widely as i was when i opened up the lid of our bin.

our adventures in vermiculture started way back here -- and then after the loss of our worms over the winter, and our decision last year to not replace them but experiment in break-all-the-rules composting...we are now reaping the benefits. patience, as they say, is a virtue.

{is it strange that feeding our plants this yummy mixture gave me that same satisfying feeling as when i see my kids tucking into a good meal?}

ahem, moving on.

added to our list of JOY this past week has been a dose of parcel JOY from the beautiful Rose.  having heard that Savannah wanted to learn Spanish, she sent along a few things she just happened to have lying around...;)

oh, how we *HEART* those picture-puzzle-find-it books!!! {and i LURVE tea}

missing from the pile is the spanish vocabulary sticker book that Savannah was reading at the time of the picture -- we amused ourselves greatly with our poor pronunciation for a good hour last evening and that led to a sojourn down memory lane for B and I and plans to research the provided links for correct pronunciation. i just love this organic process of Learning Stuff.

i'm in my own personal heaven with the packet of tea {sipping some chamomile/vanilla as i type} and the arty bits that never fail to delight.  the giant puzzle book and the snap game are going into our backpacks for our camping trip at the end of June. hopefully, the mancala game i ordered will have escaped the perils of the impending postal strike and will go with us as well. {fingers crossed}

in other news, we rescued a baby chipmunk from The Bloody Cat....long tale of high drama and late evening scramble for chippy-rescue supplies and a trip to the Cat Hospital {i KNOW, the irony, right?} where Napoleon* is, i'm relieved to say, convalescing satisfactorily.  {fingers crossed}

so yes, it's all good.


*so named because he is rather small, but evidently quite mighty. ;)

we're still here...

doing what we do best. which is to say....everything. ;)

finding grace in ancient trees...

and, of course, the joy...

it's been rainy days and robin-spotting; decluttering and sparklification; library trips and first-picnics; family, friends and sweet, blessed silence.

and gratitude for this life.

always.

"beloved"

Spring blessings to you and yours...

soundtrack sunday

okay...not a song. but so very worth thinking about.....



learn more  here.

we have affirmed....will you?

French River 2010

our annual (okay, second year in a row) pilgrimage to the French River -- to a little cabin by the river -- the children immersed themselves immediately in the wildness....computers, television, video-games all forgotten in an instant in favour of fishing poles and river-puddles.

and yes, Savannah is embarking on a dread-journey. after much discussion and research, we are in the process of dreading her hair. she's the coolest kid, ever.

amazing how a fishing pole in the river can ease the tensions of the busy-world. in the time it takes to bait the hook, the worries melt away.

for me, it was sunrises down by the river....pen-on-page meditations and reconnecting with dreams...

and there were walks in the woods....

and, of course....the fish...

lots of fish...

and sky....gorgeous, endless horizons...

yep.

it was good.

old stuff and new projects

Yesterday was all about some retro tinkering....who doesn't just fall in love with this guy over and over?

a session on Club Penguin and then getting signed up for a new project. 

Savannah saw an ad for this on Animal Planet (?) and wanted to get involved. She's working toward a $100 fundraising goal to preserve habitat for Grizzly bears in B.C.  This is her donation page -- 

Earth Rangers 

she goes by the name -  Ranger5633521 -- lots of fun conservation/enviromentally conscious games etc. to play and ways to get involved.

today....

...there was planting

Autumn...views from the bus-stop

 

Stream of Dreams...

Whereupon a group assembles to learn of the perils of putting crap down the storm drains and how washing their cars with vile soapy concoctions do unfathomable things to the Earth and the Water and our friends, the fishes....

...and when they have completed the aforementioned learnings, great fun is had painting wooden fishes and attaching them to otherwise ugly fences...

my favourite

 

Science-y things, Wild Places and Playing with Art

A jaunt out to the Royal Botanical Gardens...for a wee hike (by our recent standards), the Earth Art exhibition and a picnic.

First stop was the Discovery Garden for a spot of science -- cork *boats* floating down the little waterfall thingy...experiments with dams and other interesting alterations of the current.


The current Grand Poobah of our Fungus Collection....a GIANT orange bloom on a tree stump. We were mesmerized.
The ducks graced us with a viewing.....
From the "Make your own Desktop Wallpaper" collection...

Sitting a spell....
One of the Earth Art installations. Something to do with paranoia....I fiddled with this one to make it extra sinister....

Savannah walks the paranoia spiral. Auntie Sarah 'got it' but it eludes me still...

My 'bee shot'. Auntie Sarah had a few that 'got away'. I got this one. You just have to find the right blooms.

Riding on the art. Transformed tricycles and wagons....yours for the low, low price of $4500...


One of my favourite scenes..Sebastian 'dialogues' with the giant chess piece.



Must have been a Tragedy.

Tuesday September 1 - Mashkinonje Provinical Park

Thus begins our hiking adventures...

Pronounced mas-kin-onj, Mashkinonje is native for muskellenge, one of the largest fish inhabiting the surrounding waters of Lake Nipissing. A relatively *new* park, it is slowly expanding it's visitor potential and apparently has over 35 km of hiking trails throughout its 2000 hectares. We did the Loudon Peatland trail -- a nice easy warm-up for the trails-to-come and were blessed with some amazing views and experiences. Mostly wetlands - again, despite the boggy area, NO mosquitoes - it's greatest feature was the fact that we were the ONLY people there! The trail itself was quite overgrown in places and we're thinking it's one of those Best Kept Secret things...

We were very much enjoying the marshy bits --




For the Fungus Collection...a lonely toadstool amongst the lichen....
Yes..that's poop -- by the size of it we're imagining moose or elk....or maybe just a Really Big Deer...
Orchids....they were swaying in the breeze and my shots were blurry so I had to hold onto it -- haven't got around to editing my hand out yet...:)

One of the best things about the trails in this area is the outcroppings of bedrock - the Canadian Shield -- which made not only for easy footing (although we did experience some steep climbing/clambering on later days) but great spots to sit and drink in the vistas...


Back at the cabin....the sun sets on a beautiful day...B and Auntie B and Savannah were out doing some evening fishing so Sebastian and I went out to get the evening campfire started....

Dusting off my fire-starting skills...seems I've still got it....


Why is it that you can't stop taking photos of a beautiful sunset? Must be the need to capture the sheer gorgeousness of it all....