Summer in the city

Is it really August 14? Just noticed that my last post was over a month ago. It's not that I haven't been doing things around the place and in the garden but there just been camping, festival attending and general summer enjoyment. Here's a smattering of updates from the last 4-5 weeks.

A wicked hail storm pelted my area of the city...my garden is still recovering.

Had to call an arborist because the apple tree is slowly dying

The apple tree has Fire Blight...the arborist cut the dead branches and treated the soil to try to stop the spread but it probably only has a couple years left. The good news is that the apples are still growing. As an aside, I chose the arborist based on the company name - "The Branch Manager". It probably doesn't speak to the quality but it was witty. The tree was treated on the same day as the hail storm so I am not really sure if it was the hail or arbor guys that created havoc in my garden.

Speaking of my garden, I have more raspberries than I know what to do with...friends have been popping over to help with the harvest. There are still so many in the early ripening stage. It's rather incredible. Apparently my friend Claire picked pounds of raspberries and I barely noticed that any were even picked.

Speaking of harvesting, there are a few nanking cherry trees throughout my garden so I am experimenting to see what could be done with them.  For now, I boiled some down into a syrup to add to drinks, salad dressing or for ice cream. Yummo!

Cherries on the tree

Cherries in the colander

Nanking cherry syrup (still need to add the sugar but lovely flavour)

 Speaking of cherries...

Fresh produce is one of my favorite things about summer...visits to Farmers Markets.

We are lucky to have a few great year-round markets like Kingsland FM and Calgary FM. Of course, there are still the seasonal ones like Millarville and I want to check out one close to my house - Sunnyside/Hillhurst. Maybe this Wednesday...

In other produce news, the vegetable garden has been a dismal failure...next year, there will be a fence of sorts around the produce. Have to look into a better solution. Claire suggested the book "Creative Vegetable Gardening". Here is a look at the only peas I could muster (actually there were a total of 5 pods but I ate 2). The carrots are not quite ready but I pulled one to see if it was even growing...There are only about 8 in the garden row. The spinach did not take and the zucchini tops were eaten so they did not grow either. In the onion row, there is about 2 still hanging on.

Like three peas in a pod

A pitiful carrot

I hung some of my herbs (oregano, thyme, mint & parsley) to dry...we will see how those turn out. 

A shot of my hollyhocks

What I thought was an invasion of hollyhocks this spring and summer ended up being an invasive species banned in Alberta. It is called "Himilayan Balsam" and its seeds are wicked and spread easily. I have probably pulled up more than 2000 this year. Here is a shot of my garbage full of them. I've filled more than 4 garbage cans with this weed alone. It is everywhere and can grow up to 8ft tall.

Spending lots of time in the garden!

Now for a few updates around the house:

Last week, I went to a "Swap-a-rama" party which takes place usually once a year. Guests bring things that are nice but just don't go with their home and/or wardrobe anymore. At the get-together, you put all the items in the centre and then everyone takes turns choosing treasure...basically, it is like free shopping. Anything left gets dropped off at a charity. I picked up the mirror below plus a great serving platter and a great tin for planting herbs.

 I also re-arranged my living room to see a different perspective. The jury is still out on this layout.

Still with the rearranging theme, I tidied up my laundry area downstairs. Basically, gave the area a good cleaning and lined up the appliances. Because the floor is cement, it was tricky to find an even place for the washing machine but to fix it, I stuck a lid under the leg and PRESTO! It was fixed.

I took this shot while camping a couple weeks ago. Campfires are so fascinating. However you are choosing to spend your summer, I hope you are all having a wonderful relaxing summer.  

dragonflies and such

Not much is happening on the house and garden front...does this normally happen in the dog days of summer? The fruits of the garden are coming along...loads of raspberries, macintosh apples, strawberries and my tomatoes are growing well. The carrots, zucchini and peas are coming along. The spinach and onions are a sad state of affairs...oh well.

Just a quick picture to share with you...saw this massive dragonfly on Jake's car wheel on the weekend. Stunning.

summer is here

The view looking up from the boat on the lake

With so much sun recently, we have been busy with summer living.  To celebrate Canada Day, we tried to go camping but all the sites were full by the time we got there. Disappointed, we headed home but I think the weekend turned out better. We went boating at Chain Lakes Provincial Park and antiquing in Nanton. We explored the newest city park and bought a bike for me - my first new bike in years....and 50% off.  It's just a basic bike from Zellers but it will do the trick.

Another view from the boat

The garden continues to grow and is rapidly becoming a jungle but there are pops of colour that daily surprise me. I am attempting to map the front and backyards but it is hard to capture everything. It begins to look all the same. Thank goodness for these massive poppies that are popping up everywhere...red, pink, orange. It is stunning.

Some sparrows took up residence behind my siding. The previous owners did not do a great job with installing the siding (it is on my project list for next year) and as a result the siding has holes in it big enough for a nest. Yesterday, I saw the babies for the first time. Fascinating but this fall, I will be rectifying the situation.

To keep busy and on top of my produce, I have been stewing, crisping and freezing the copious amounts of rhubarb. Yummo! The strawberries and raspberries are coming along as well. Can't wait.

And besides that, I am enjoying bbq recipes, the patio table (with bug spray) and the sunshine. By the way, have you tried grilled corn on the cob??? My new favourite summer side dish! Can't wait for Taber corn.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Sparkles and weeds

This weekend was the first time that I thought perhaps home ownership (specially being a gardener) may get the best of me. Yet I will persevere because I don't have another option at this point in time. I still enjoy the dirt and gardening but a couple weeks of rain and no time for the garden is allowing the weeds to win the battle. I spent 4 hours today outside weeding....three garbage bags of weeds!!! Incredible.

But to take my mind off that battle, I am working on small corners of the house...here is some new spaces I have redone or created.

My porch...the chairs will be a bench shortly...I am percolating an idea!

My back sun room with the two chairs I need to recover...some day!

My new (for now) patio table...just need something to eat on outside. Now if I can do anything about the mosquitos, it would be paradise

Necklaces on the back of the bedroom door...perfect location

In other news, an unusual theft happened today between 3 and 6 pm. My blue recycling cart which is always situated by my back gate was stolen. I had dumped a bunch of recyclables in there this afternoon just before 3 pm so I'm not sure what they are going to do with cardboard, papers and plastic containers, etc. The one bright spot is that this morning I decided to fill in my address on the cart. The cart had a spot that says "This cart belongs to this address: " Who knows, my blue cart may find its way back but until then, I will call the city and see if they can deliver another one for me. Oh, the adventurous life I lead!!

Delinquency

I know that my blogging duties have been neglected but the need to focus more important priorities became evident. Surprisingly, blogging is not on the list of my top 10 priorities so it is just a nice-to-do when I have a spare few minutes.

This is just a quick update to state that the garden continues to grow....despite feeling like I may be fighting a losing battle against hollyhocks (gone wild), dandelions and quack grass, I actually harvested the first fruits of my labour - spinach and rhubarb today.

Before I run to enjoy my rhubarb strawberry crumble, I leave you with an inspiring garden belonging to my cousin Jeremy and his wife (and my good friend) Christine in Hamilton, ON. I visited them a few weeks ago. May you be as inspired as I was with their little piece of paradise.

Oh how the garden grows

Here are some shots of the garden...with being away for work and the rain, I really haven't been able to do much. The pond is much clearer though...I can actually see the fish. One compost bin is in place; it is amazing how full it already is.

The hollyhocks are taking over the garden but perhaps it will be delightful...I will just wait and see.

I love the greens...all the different shades of it.

HOLLYHOCKS GALORE

My attempt at a vegetable garden...no signs of life besides hollyhocks everywhere

One of my three cherry trees

Welcome to the garden, CB (Compost bin)

Rhubarb all over...at last count I have 6 plants of it

Some bulb plant...no flowers yet

Fern...ground cover. The fronds are about to unfurl.

I love the wooden rain barrels

Tried my "green thumb at herbs and tomatoes in the planters.

A view of the backyard...its even more green and lush now after the rain. It changes every day.

quick update

No pictures this week as the weekend seemed to zip by and honestly, I forgot to take any pictures. Also, a surprise visit with a dear friend shifted house work to another day. I didn't have a chance to do much besides more garden clean up. The front yard is done now.

I planted spinach, peas, onions and carrots. Zucchini goes in after the final frost which will probably be after the May long weekend. The garden is really greening up and this week is supposed to be warm 

Small electrical issue...the GFCI outlet in the bathroom has failed. The test and reset buttons seem not to function and since the outlet is connected to the light switch which means no lights in the loo. But before I call an electrician, I want to go buy a new vanity mirror that has a light attached so I can hit two birds with one stone. The electrician can fix the outlet and install the new light.

This week, I hope to buy the compost bins and perhaps patio chairs and table...we will see. I can feel spring!