CANADIAN REGION What are you doing JANUARY - MARCH 2019

Kelejan wrote:

sanderson wrote:

Kelejan wrote: . . . I think he is going to love me when I visit him.    . . .

Of course he will!  We all love you!

I sincerely hope so, sanderson.

If I do decide to return to England to live, I will not forget all of you as I love being a part of this forum; gardeners are such lovely people. 

We would really miss you KJ.  But even if you move to England you can still be part of the forum. You can be the UK Regional Host.

When you visit, will you be returning to BC?  And, only then, return to England to live (if that's your decision)? As TD states, you could be the UK Regional Host!

trolleydriver wrote:

Kelejan wrote:

sanderson wrote:

Kelejan wrote: . . . I think he is going to love me when I visit him.    . . .

Of course he will!  We all love you!

I sincerely hope so, sanderson.

If I do decide to return to England to live, I will not forget all of you as I love being a part of this forum; gardeners are such lovely people. 

We would really miss you KJ.  But even if you move to England you can still be part of the forum. You can be the UK Regional Host.

I have been thinking of that, TD.

Yeah, KJ! Maybe you & Plantoid could catch up!

sanderson wrote:When you visit, will you be returning to BC?  And, only then, return to England to live (if that's your decision)?  As TD states, you could be the UK Regional Host!

Yes, sanderson, that is the idea.  I do not want to make any decisions in a hurry and burn my boats as it is a very big life change.  I have spent an almost equal half of my life in each country and have roots in each.

If any of you have ever read the websites of The Global Elephant Sanctuary in Brazil or The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, I find it very interesting how new elephants are introduced to the current elephants in their established herds.  One cannot just plop the elephant into the herd as there is something called herd dynamics and all the elephants have to make adjustments, not just the newcomer.  I am like that new elephant, I have to do most of the adjusting so that I am accepted by the herd and win them over.

Heavens!  I never thought I would be comparing myself to elephants, but I do like them.

Anyway, I will spend about five weeks there and then make my decision as there are a couple of options to be considered.

Perhaps this subject could have a thread of its own, sanderson? Not too much about SFG here, is there?

Back to SFG.  The snow is still falling this weekend in British Columbia, and elsewhere   I don't mind the nice soft stuff but when it  half-melts then freezes it can be a nightmare for pedestrians trying to get around on frozen sidewalks. No way do I want to get  a broken hip or any other bones at my time of life.

I had loads of frozen compost stuff in my shed, waiting for the thaw to set in so that I can add it to the pile along with the bags of leaves and dried grass that I have ready.  The pile that I have must be very welcoming to the worms already there, I am just waiting to give them all this stuff so that they can really get moving.

This is the time of year I feel I really want to get down to some real work in the garden but as usual Winter is hanging in there.

"Leaving Time" by Jodi Picoult, for elephant lovers.  Elephant reserves in Africa and a 'Tennessee Sanctuary'-based sanctuary in New Hampshire are the physical back drops.

Kelejan wrote:Back to SFG.  The snow is still falling this weekend in British Columbia, and elsewhere   I don't mind the nice soft stuff but when it  half-melts then freezes it can be a nightmare for pedestrians trying to get around on frozen sidewalks. No way do I want to get  a broken hip or any other bones at my time of life.

I had loads of frozen compost stuff in my shed, waiting for the thaw to set in so that I can add it to the pile along with the bags of leaves and dried grass that I have ready.  The pile that I have must be very welcoming to the worms already there, I am just waiting to give them all this stuff so that they can really get moving.

This is the time of year I feel I really want to get down to some real work in the garden but as usual Winter is hanging in there.

I am getting a touch of spring fever myself, Kelejan!

I am thinking of those garlic bulbs under the snow just waiting for the snow to melt and allow them to reach the light.  It's hard to think   there is anything alive down there.

My brother in London ways that their temperature is due to reach 21C, a lifetime record. The daffodils are out, the grass is growing and the lovely magnolia tree outside his upper floor office is in full bloom.  He says it is a early blossoming tree, but this is a month earlier than usual and fears a change in the weather and all the blooms will die.


I am thinking that Mother Nature is sending all their cold over to us in the Western Hemisphere. Or it is the Polar Vortex shifting around the top of the world. I visualise it   like a plate of cold air, that slithers around the top of the world and sometimes it slips down the wrong part but is still the same size.

Poetic description of the Polar Vortex.

sanderson wrote:Poetic description of the Polar Vortex.

Perhaps, sanderson, but I am still having to shovel snow this morning. Others have it far worse so I must not complain too much.

The snow on all the trees and bushes does look pretty and the light snow freshens up the look of the old and dirty stuff.

Been under the weather for the past week but woke up this morning feeling much more upbeat. Thank goodness!

Glad you are feeling better. A horrible flu is making the rounds. We had a memorial to attend in Sacramento, but decided to send 2 vases of flowers and not go. Three people had just recovered from, and one had, the flu.

sanderson wrote:"Leaving Time" by Jodi Picoult, for elephant lovers.  Elephant reserves in Africa and a 'Tennessee Sanctuary'-based sanctuary in New Hampshire are the physical back drops.

I missed that, sanderson. Is it a film or a book?

Book, from the library. The ending was a total surprise, which is unusual for us. Each chapter is a view from different characters.

Where I live in the British Columbia Southern Interior:

On this day, 2015 the Temperature was 20.1C/68.2F 

 "    "     "    2009            "                  -11.2C/11.8F 

Good book reading weather! Do you have a used book store?

PS How is Pal?

sanderson wrote:Good book reading weather!  Do you have a used book store?

No longer, the overheads do not allow one to make much money.
In the 1990s when we had gone bankrupt. remember those 18% loans and people did not pay their bills? We started again from scratch and we had a wall of used books, and that gave us our food money, because as self-employed people we were not entitled to have money from the government.

Eventually as we dug ourselves out of the hole we were in, we bought statonery that made more money for no extra work. Finally we gave our books to another used book trader, he existed for some years then being too close to the library he gave up.

Your PS sanderson re Pal; he is doing very very well. Still his trim self and flashes through our home like a grey ghost chasing things only he can see. Loves playing games at two in the morning, does not allow me to sleep when he wants to play, and often wakes me at two or some other unearthly hour in the morning and generally rules my life.

Now little time for reading as I am downsizing my home.

Oh, good, he's doing good!

Shssss! I think Spring is arriving in my home Province of British Columbia.

I have just checked the weather forecast for this week, and the daytime temperatures range from 9C/48F to 16C/61F and the lowest night temperature is -0C/30F for tonight.

I hope the worms in my compost heap will enjoy the new food I have been saving for them once I dig down through the surface.

Meanwhile I should be able to start clearing the snow to make a pathway to the compost pile and the square foot beds.  This year I am only going to work on a couple of the beds as it is time for me to sell my property and downsize.  Things always take a lot longer than hoped for.

Sell your cute yellow house?

sanderson wrote:Sell your cute yellow house?  

Yes, sanderson.  My life is changing dramatically so the time comes to downsize the contents of my house for a start.  Last year I found the heat intolerable and I found it sad that I cannot do any more what I did ten years ago.  I will keep you up-to-date with how thing develop after I visit England this year for about five weeks.

Last year when I bought a new lawnmower that was lighter and better than the old heavy one I was pushing around, the new one took half the time to mow the lawns so that was on the plus side. But it is not enough. I am on a fixed income and the cost of maintaining the house is getting harder and there is no way I can increase my income, only by spending less.

But I have lived here now since 1996 and I really thought I could end my days here, but now, having a new brother in my life has changed my outlook dramatically. It will be a new adventure, and years to make up getting to know one another.

I found it hard when someone gave me a load of wood chips from the tree they had trimmed. The problem was that the people who trimmed their tree, dumped a complete load of wood chips on to my driveway and it took me ages to shift them onto my garden as the garden itself is about four feet above the level of my driveway. That was when I realised I had come to the end of my energy store and I can no longer do justice to my garden.  In addition, all my neighbours around me have very large dogs, that are given free rein to poop on my garden. When the snow melts this week, I am going to find out how many presents have been left.  I can no longer walk on the grass in my bare feet.  I have never been able to afford to fence it from the bears or the deer, let alone dogs. the bears are getting to be a problem as the years go by, and so many of my newer neighbours do not secure their garbage and my garden is where the bears have their picnics. When the snow in the hillside above my property melts, I will see all the rubbish that the bears have dragged up there, then the leaves on the trees will hide the eyesores but I  will know what is till up there.

What's the old saying? The only constant is change?

I'm sorry it's becoming necessary to sell your house... But I certainly understand!

Yesterday I was able to spend 30 minutes in my garden.  I shovelled my way to my compost barrel, through some 20 inches of snow, and was able to open it and put in a load of vegetable matter that I had been hoarding in my chest freezer over the winter.

A lovely reason to defrost my fridge, taking out all this saved worm food made it a lot easier.   Over the winter I still have my friends etc. give me their peelings etc on a regular basis, I have them so well trained.   Of course, later on I give them compost and worm castings for their flower pots and lettuce etc.

Our weather forecast from now on where I live, tells me that the nights of sub-zero temperatures will start tonight so soon my snow will be gone.

I expect TD still has lots of snow.  My whole garden is still white, all the snow is not 20 inches deep, only when it piles up in places with the wind etc.but the snow is softening so that I can cut blocks of snow and make a path round the perimeter of my garden so that I can easily access my plants and check on the garlic, strawberries and other growing things. While the snow is still here, I will continue making that path taking 30 minutes at a time; there are some places I want to reach so that I can tidy things up, including reaching the shed where all my tools are stored and also reaching the main compost heap and digging down to say Hi! to all the Fred worms there and telling them the food wagon will be along in time to fatten them up so they have have lots of cocoons. A few more days and we will have Spring Equinox, another milestone in our year.

Then before we know it, the grass will need cutting and I love that first time as it seems the garden comes to life and looks cared for.  This is when I appreciate the winter break as it brings me new energy in the spring.

P.S. Why cannot I post a smiley when I use "Reason for Editing"

KJ, you have done very well maintaining your home and garden. You are an inspiration to all of us. It sounds like you have an exciting future getting to know your brother and visiting the UK.  I am in my early 70s and already I am feeling the effects of less energy. In the back of my mind is the thought of downsizing. We still have tons of snow here. This winter our total snowfall has been 50% above normal. That combined with freezing rain, ice, really cold temps and lack of any appreciable thawing for months has made for a difficult winter.