CANADIAN REGION: What are you doing in May, 2016

Relatively cool day here in the British Columbia Southern Interior; 20C/68F.

Rain has been forecast for some days now but very little has fallen so today I am having to water by hose many areas that need it.

What's the betting that tomorrow it trains?  But that's OK if it does,  as the wood chips will happily soak up all that moisture with no problem at all.

I need to get some seeds planted as I have bee waylaid by other things such as shifting that load of wood chips last month.

The Weather forecast is for 79 F (26 C) here in Ottawa on Thursday. Bring it on!  

trolleydriver wrote:The Weather forecast is for 79 F (26 C) here in Ottawa on Thursday. Bring it on!  

Hit 90 here, today. 

I spent much of yesterday watering all my garden as I did not realize how dry it was getting.  I will be interested in how many cubit metres I used as next year we start being charged.  We have water measuring meters installed for this year, and will be charged in 2017.  I am watering what I need, this without trying to economise, so as to find out how much it will cost next year.  The usage will be shown on our monthly or maybe three-monthly bills.

Today it has been overcast and we have a forecast of 40% rain tonight and tomorrow.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will have some as the wood-chips I laid in April have not had much water on them due to all the early heat we have received this year. The chips should have come last fall so that could have been watered during the winter.  At least I did finally get them.

Although I had a lovely display of tulips, due to the heat we had they did not last as long as I had hoped.

Planted beans and lettuce today in the watered squares of yesterday.

countrynaturals wrote:

trolleydriver wrote:The Weather forecast is for 79 F (26 C) here in Ottawa on Thursday. Bring it on!  

Hit 90 here, today. 

Perfect juxtaposition. Where and when are the crux of it all!

Kelejan wrote:... We have water measuring meters installed for this year, and will be charged in 2017.  I am watering what I need, this without trying to economise, so as to find out how much it will cost next year.  The usage will be shown on our monthly or maybe three-monthly bills.

Speaking of water meters ... A few years ago the City of Ottawa decided to try to get us to conserve water. One of the things they did to encourage this was to provide subsidies for low flush toilets. Well it turned out that the conservation drive was very successful. In fact, it was so successful that the amount of money that was being taken in by the City for water usage decreased dramatically. This meant that they did not have enough money to maintain the water supply system and pay for the associated employees. As a result, they increased the cost we have to pay for each litre of water. Mind boggling. 

In my area, your new house won't pass inspection and you won't get a certificate of occupancy unless you have those low flush toilets.  I hate them.  Usually have to flush twice.

yolos wrote:In my area, your new house won't pass inspection and you won't get a certificate of occupancy unless you have those low flush toilets.  I hate them.  Usually have to flush twice.

I got absolutely disgusted with our low flow toilet (we only put in one to see how it would be).  Finally, I bought a low flow Toto brand from their Drake line of toilets.  Flushes like a dream!

trolleydriver wrote:

Kelejan wrote:... We have water measuring meters installed for this year, and will be charged in 2017.  I am watering what I need, this without trying to economise, so as to find out how much it will cost next year.  The usage will be shown on our monthly or maybe three-monthly bills.

Speaking of water meters ... A few years ago the City of Ottawa decided to try to get us to conserve water. One of the things they did to encourage this was to provide subsidies for low flush toilets. Well it turned out that the conservation drive was very successful. In fact, it was so successful that the amount of money that was being taken in by the City for water usage decreased dramatically. This meant that they did not have enough money to maintain the water supply system and pay for the associated employees. As a result, they increased the cost we have to pay for each litre of water. Mind boggling. 

TD, that is what I am expecting to happen here.  The people that water their lawns and half the roadway every day, will pay a large amount the first quarter then adjust their usage so that will affect the return of money to the city so they will put up the charge and we all suffer. These users of large amounts of water will affect us proportionally far more than any conservation I make.

It works the same as garbage collection.  We have all been issued with huge garbage cans.  Some people are still overflowing their cans while it takes me a month to fill mine. We are still charged the same. It is rather hard to live as a singleton, even in a small house, when only one small income has to pay all the overheads.  But that is my choice so I am not really complaining too much as I would hate to have to live in a bed-sit like I did in my twenties. I am privileged to be able to live in in a detached house on a 100ft x 100ft usable lot (forget the 100ft x 400ft that goes up an unusable mountain. )

I was saying to Mrs TD today that we are doing a lot of work on our gardens this year ( (not just SFG but other things as well). I asked if we really should be doing this because we may not be living here in a couple of years. Lord willing, if I get into my 80s, I'm not sure I will be able to maintain the property. Kelejan you do amazingly well on your own and as I have said before, "You are a true inspiration for me and many on this forum."

trolleydriver wrote:I was saying to Mrs TD today that we are doing a lot of work on our gardens this year ( (not just SFG but other things as well). I asked if we really should be doing this because we may not be living here in a couple of years. Lord willing, if I get into my 80s, I'm not sure I will be able to maintain the property. Kelejan you do amazingly well on your own and as I have said before, "You are a true inspiration for me and many on this forum."

But you are having so much fun, TD.

What I am trying to do is to make my garden as easy to maintain as I can.  e.g. I am gradually reducing the lawn area and eliminating all the little bits that one has to wiggle the lawn mower around and push back and forth etc. 

I am planting some flowers, bulbs and perennials that only need seeing to every three or so.

Using mulch to reduce the watering needs and using wood chips on paths.  Still a way to ge but it is certainly getting easier to maintain.  I try not to look at all there is still to do, but I am not letting it bother me.

One never knows when it will come time to leave. I do know that I intended to stay as long as I had my Jazz but I did hope that he would be with me for a few more but it is not to be.

I try not to do too much to the garden, as I know that when I leave, it is odds on that someone will tear down the house and thereby  ruin the garden.  If I have to leave to go to some senior place etc., I will try never to return.  My late neighbour did that and she was heartbroken to see what had become of her 50 years residence in that home. Even if your home goes to someone in the family you cannot bind them to your way of thinking and doing.

With me I think I live in a tunnel that has a light at the end of it. What on earth will I do when I reach it?

The sun is out again and the wind has dropped.  I had better get out and do  something, anything, before the thunderstorm forecast for later this afternoon.

Kelejan wrote:



What I am trying to do is to make my garden as easy to maintain as I can.  e.g. I am gradually reducing the lawn area and eliminating all the little bits that one has to wiggle the lawn mower around and push back and forth etc. 

I am planting some flowers, bulbs and perennials that only need seeing to every three or so.

Using mulch to reduce the watering needs and using wood chips on paths.  Still a way to ge but it is certainly getting easier to maintain.  I try not to look at all there is still to do, but I am not letting it bother me.

"reducing lawn area" ... that is my goal as well. We have an area of lawn at the side of the house near the front that I have always hated to mow. Mrs TD is turning it into a perennial garden. Earlier this year I took away some lawn for my two new SFG boxes.   

Today was lawn mowing day. I also hand weeded the dandelions, filled in the holes with new soil and added seed.  Me no like!

Then I did some transplanting and sowing seeds in my SFG boxes. After all the bending and getting down near the ground to do the work in those boxes, I have visions of table tops in my future. If that does not happen then the SFG will eventually become another perennial garden.

Today (May 12) the first tulip flower opened in my SFG. Later in the day a couple more opened up. This was perfect timing because today is the start of the Canadian Tulip Festival here in Ottawa.

The Tulip Festival http://tulipfestival.ca/

The Legacy of the Tulip Festival. It is quite a fascinating story going back to WWII. Dutch Princess Juliana was in exile in Canada for 5 years and gave birth to a daughter here in Ottawa. To show their gratitude to Canada the Royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada in 1945. More can be found at http://tulipfestival.ca/about/tulip-legacy/

Now here are photos of my tulips.

love it! I love tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, all those great spring bulbs! So happy!

My tulips are almost over.  Just the white ones left.  

I managed to clear the tumbler composter and place all the contents into my big pile.  I really do not like the tumbler, it seems that everything gets too wet in spite  if including lots of shredded paper.

Then the rain came down but not the storm or the hail promised.  It was soon over and the sun came back along with the warmth but by then I had packed up for the day.

A beautiful morning that makes me want to get out in the garden.

On the lawn today was a small brown bear trying to eat a plastic wire container for suet that feeds the birds in winter. Possibly from the open garage next door as I have not fed the birds for a long time due to the many cats around.

Although I made my presence known, it would not go away at first, then I noticed mama bear further up the hill then eventually the young bear went up after her and they left the area.

The little bear looked very skinny and his coat looked sparse.  Usually there are two small bears so I assumed its sibling did not make it through the winter.

Naturally the nurturing side of my nature says leave some food, but it would only encourage the bears and they end up being shot. Sometime the bears are trapped and taken up to the mountains and disposed of. In other words, killed, so they do not return.

The black bear that was in our neighbourhood two weeks ago on garbage day did not return this week as expected as there were, two weeks ago, some overflowing garbage bins. I assume the bear had been taken care of.:-(

It has put a damper on my day.

My neighbors complained about my SFG to the city, and then the bylaw officer determined that I must move my SFG frame 9 feet away from the road. This is bogus! I'm so annoyed. There are several other yard structures on my street that are not 9 feet from the road. Is there an easy way to move a SFG? Anyone tried SFG without a frame? The frame is the problem.

Mimi2 wrote:My neighbors complained about my SFG to the city, and then the bylaw officer determined that I must move my SFG frame 9 feet away from the road. This is bogus! I'm so annoyed. There are several other yard structures on my street that are not 9 feet from the road. Is there an easy way to move a SFG? Anyone tried SFG without a frame? The frame is the problem.

Sorry to hear that. It makes no sense but you are not the first person in Ottawa to have that problem.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/dangerous-veggies-city-demands-ottawa-woman-remove-garden-1.2458585

The City will not allow a garden but they will allow a guy on my street to be a driveway mechanic, fixing other people's cars in his driveway, making all kinds of noise with his tools, filling his front yard with junk, parking trucks and cars on the street, etc.  Bylaw has been around several times and nothing ever changes. Meanwhile his mess devalues the properties on the street.

Maybe you should contact your City Councillor.

So sorry to hear of your problem, Mimi. 

The trouble without a frame is that the sides will slope and may be washed away somewhat. Could you sink the frame so that the top is level with the ground?  It depends if you are able to dig that deep.  I know I could not do that on my land because my garden is situated on a layer of rocks so I can only use raised beds in most areas.

Mimi2 wrote:My neighbors complained about my SFG to the city, and then the bylaw officer determined that I must move my SFG frame 9 feet away from the road. This is bogus! I'm so annoyed. There are several other yard structures on my street that are not 9 feet from the road. Is there an easy way to move a SFG? Anyone tried SFG without a frame? The frame is the problem.

Is it far enough back that you could landscape around it to hide it from view? Could you post some pics that show it from the street so we can get some ideas?