CANADIAN REGION:What are you doing January to March 2020

Another year and another decade.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all SFGardeners where ever you are in the World.

It seems all I can write about is snow.  No shovelling yesterday, Thursday, but a little bit later today which will turn to slush and hopefully melt away when the forecast in 6C by the afternoon.

Yesterday was too terrible to walk down my street which slopes to the tunnel under the railway as the snow had turned to slush then froze after being churned up by traffic.
No snow clearing had been done the previous day and hard to walk on frozen stuff like that. 

I needed have had a crash helmet and arm and knee pads to protect myself.

On a more cheerful note, Spring is on the way and should start thinking of seed planting.

Kelejan wrote:
On a more cheerful note, Spring is on the way and should start thinking of seed planting.

I just got my stache of catalogs out this past weekend, love to go over them and make lists.  I need to get rid of some old seeds and things I don’t like...

Scorpio Rising wrote:

Kelejan wrote:
On a more cheerful note, Spring is on the way and should start thinking of seed planting.

I just got my stache of catalogs out this past weekend, love to go over them and make lists.  I need to get rid of some old seeds and things I don’t like...

Lovely thing to do when the snow keeps falling, Scorpio, and you have to stay indoors.
This time next year I intend to have grow lights etc so that I can start seeds indoors or grow sprouts.

Today we have continuous snow.  I cleared the driveway and used  some kitty litter to make it safe to walk on.  Then I noticed about ten wild turkeys on my driveway pecking at something and found it was the litter.  I then read list of the contents of the litter and found that it was grain based. Turkeys do leave a lot of poo behind.

Happy New Year KJ

trolleydriver wrote:Happy New Year KJ

Thank you TD.  You will be in my prayers.

Nine days since I checked in and nothing much has happened except snow, driving snow, wet snow, icy snow and so it goes on.

The snow is gently falling at this time, 9:44pm my time in Briitsh Columbia, and we are promised heavy snow tonight and heavy snow tomorrow morning.

After several being confined to home, I had to go out this morning.  Dressed up in layered clothing, wore a balaclava under my hat to find that the temperature had gone from windchill -19C to a bearable actual -5C as the wind had dropped.  By the time I reached my destination I was uncomfortably hot.  On returning I ditched the  balaclava and one layer of clothing and returned home to clear the snow from the driveway for the umpteenth time.

Tonight we have a weather warning of heavy and blowing snow  continuing into the morning so it seems I will be missing a lunch date as my ride  told me that her road is the last to be cleared.  We will finalise in the morning.

I have just caught up on the Eagle cam thread in time to find that it is over as the lone chick has not survived.  

So much sadness in the world at this time that my gripe about the snow pales in comparison.
I wish we had a hug that does not have such a happy face.

This morning, for the second day in a row  do not have to shovel snow from my driveway.  I have little reason to gripe when I see what is going on in the east of Canada, especially in St. Johns where they are overwhelmed by snow as there is nowhere they can put it. At least the army has been called in to help them.

I sometimes  wonder how they get on with gardening as I am sure that some must grow veggies and flowers.

I am waiting for spring so that I can tidy up my garden and then sort out tools etc., plus compost piles etc as I am sure that whoever buys my little house will demolish it and build a duplex on it. Knowing what happens when builders get hold of it they will strip the topsoil and dump it and get down to bare rock.  If I sell it to someone who is going to live in it, I will leave everything behind and hope they use it. If they intend to build then I will try to give away any compost or topsoil from my square foot beds. Also containers and so much other stuff that  seems to gather when one is a gardener,

When I get to England my brother has promised me that he will do all he can to help me get a garden established so I will be starting from scratch with his help. Living with his family, I will have more time and energy to enjoy gardening again. Starting a new compost pile with the knowledge I have now and also knowing not to take on too much as where ever we end up in England, everything will be new. I really do not expect to be able to do any gardening this year but it certainly is going to be interesting.  I will also have more help with sending pictures to this forum as there will be younger members living nearby and they know all about computers etc.

By this time of the month I think we have an extra hour of daylight but  do not really appreciate it until I wake up in the morning and it is no longer dark.

A belated
Gord from Ontario
from Kelejan in British Columbia
 

I am your Canadian Host (for the time being)
and this morning I caught up with some reading of the Forum, and there we have another Canadian to add to the few Canadian gardeners.

My I suggest that you keep the first thread of yours and make it your own, like Trolley drive does? then over the years you can track your progress with regard to SF Gardening. I wish I had down the same as TD as he is now in his fifth year.

Canada is such a large country and so we do not have the smaller regions that the U.S. has.  Also our gardening seasons are non-existent for a large part of the year.
Once March comes the Canadian thread will revert to month instead of three-monthly as most of that seems to be about snow and cold weather and dark nights.

The winter clothing of your chickens made me laugh.

Kelejan wrote:. . . When I get to England my brother has promised me that he will do all he can to help me get a garden established so I will be starting from scratch with his help. Living with his family, I will have more time and energy to enjoy gardening again. . . . I will also have more help with sending pictures to this forum as there will be younger members living nearby and they know all about computers etc. . .

Yeah! Looking forward to your photos, KJ.

Yes, Sanderson, I really am looking forward to new adventures. I still have a lot of work to get done, it seems never ending.

i am hoping that this new virus will not delay my return to England.

OFF TOPIC: I have an envelope containing some American paper money.
$1, $2, etc.  are the one and two dollar notes still legal, will the bank change them. Will they be regarded as Funny Money?

I had some British money that I took to England, only to find that certain notes were no longer legal tender.

Kelejan wrote:OFF TOPIC: I have an envelope containing some American paper money.
$1, $2, etc.  are the one and two dollar notes still legal, will the bank change them. Will they be regarded as Funny Money?

Yes, they are still legal tender. Best thing is to take the $2 bills to the bank and change them into larger bills.

OhioGardener wrote:

Kelejan wrote:OFF TOPIC: I have an envelope containing some American paper money.
$1, $2, etc.  are the one and two dollar notes still legal, will the bank change them. Will they be regarded as Funny Money?

Yes, they are still legal tender. Best thing is to take the $2 bills to the bank and change them into larger bills.

Thank you Ohio Gardener for that information.

I know about Pound Stirling as I was in England last year and took my outdated money with me and could not spend the one pound notes from twenty years previously.  You can see I do not travel very much in my senior years.

I think I may get a little work done  in my garden today.  There is still a lot of snow around and it means walking in it.  I will look at the beds to see how deep the snow is and if I can remove it so that the black landscaping is clear and allows the sun to shine on it and warm the ground.

A couple of days ago I could walk on the surface of the snow and not sink into it.  A bit different for the deer who immediately sink right in with their narrow hoofs.

If I can clear one or two beds I may be able to get some radishes or lettuce before I leave for England.

With regard to me moving to England I must be prepared that perhaps England will not allow people to enter the country, no knowing what each country will do and how bad it will be and how long it will last.

Meanwhile I am still clearing out my home and trying to be ready to cover all scenarios.

Kelejan wrote:Meanwhile I am still clearing out my home and trying to be ready to cover all scenarios.

That's what I did, when we bought this place. I had several months to prepare, due to all the renovations needed over here, but it was still a nightmare, and it was just next door.

countrynaturals wrote:

Kelejan wrote:Meanwhile I am still clearing out my home and trying to be ready to cover all scenarios.

That's what I did, when we bought this place. I had several months to prepare, due to all the renovations needed over here, but it was still a nightmare, and it was just next door.

CN, I certainly wish that it was only next door and not 5,000 miles away that has to be traversed by air or by sea.  All this work still seems never ending and I am getting to be a little tired and not able to do as much as I could ten years ago. Today I am focusing on going through anything that can be used for bedding in our local SPCA animal shelter.  I have been doing that for a couple of days, still more stuff to process.  

It is easy for an outsider to say get rid of everything, but I am finding it so hard. Just think of starting SFG and building up the beds, landscaping, seed, tools,  compost tumbler and other stuff.  It takes a long time to gather these things when one does not have too much spare money.  Finally getting the apple tree and cherry tree to produce an abundance of fruit that keep me going for the whole year and some to give away.  

But at least my brother has promised me any help he can give to set up where ever we land up and I am looking forward to that.  He also has a lovely daughter and grandson who will be there to help as we are going to live somewhere where we can be within walking distance of each other.  Meanwhile we have five houses to sell  and two to buy.  We all need to downsize our possessions. 

Also two new gardens to start unless we luck out on houses that have established gardens.  In some ways I would like to restart from scratch.

Migosh, Kel -- that's exhausting just to read about.   I envy you the adventure, but not the work that goes along with it.

CN, I also feel tired just thinking about it, but I know once I am there and had a good rest, I will enjoy myself again.

The only trouble is this world wide virus, and we do not know how it will affect timelines.  Will just have to carry on until things resolves themselves.

MORE SNOW

Today our clocks were moved forward and looking out through my kitchen window I see once again we have a Winter Wonderland with all the trees and bushes covered in gleaming white.  At the moment I do not know how deep the snow or how long it will last.  Perhaps I had better check our weather forecast?

Welcome Elliak from Nova Scotia   
From Kelejan, your Regional Host
who lives in British Columbia

What is the weather like in Nova Scotia?

Hi all

I live in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. I have 3 raised beds 8x4, going into their third year.

I posted my intro already, but as I live in Canada I found this. I can't find a way (on mobile) to respond to any posts already here, nor how to 'watch' this part of the forum... Not how to post an Avatar on my profile.

I will write more as I have time. Just wanted to check in.

Have a good Sunday all.

Ellie

Elliek wrote:Hi all

I live in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. I have 3 raised beds 8x4, going into their third year.

I posted my intro already, but as I live in Canada I found this. I can't find a way (on mobile) to respond to any posts already here, nor how to 'watch' this part of the forum... Not how to post an Avatar on my profile.

I will write more as I have time. Just wanted to check in.

Have a good Sunday all.

Ellie

Glad you made it, Ellie.  It does take some getting used to finding your way around when you first come here.  I have never gotten around to posting pictures myself  but Sanderson will be the one to help you.

If you are going to be a prolific writer like some gardeners are, you could start your own thread and keep it going for years if you wish:   One example is a Canadian thread, Sixth Year SFG in Canada, TD who lives in Ottawa; you will find that on the panel to the left under LATEST TOPICS.

You  can go to any thread that takes  you fancy and join in and make comments.

Do not be backward in asking questions as there are many people who have exstensive knowledge and who love to share.

Thanks for the welcome!

(Still confused. How did I end up postin to a thread "Re: CANADIAN REGION:What are you doing January to March 2020"? Ha ha!)

Anyway, just got back from a 5k walk in -1 temperatures (with my husband and border collie), too icy on the paths, so had to take the road all the way. But it is sunny and bright! (Also windy, not so pleasant.)

Thanks for the suggestions, will think of what to post. 

Cheers

Ellie

Elliek wrote:Thanks for the welcome!

(Still confused. How did I end up postin to a thread "Re: CANADIAN REGION:What are you doing January to March 2020"? Ha ha!)

Anyway, just got back from a 5k walk in -1 temperatures (with my husband and border collie), too icy on the paths, so had to take the road all the way. But it is sunny and bright! (Also windy, not so pleasant.)

Thanks for the suggestions, will think of what to post. 

Cheers

Ellie

Welcome to your Garden Doggie, too. We lost our sweet Border Collie. Please give yours a big hug and belly rub for me.