Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Pumpkin!


A single pumpkin has made an appearance!


A Few Action Shots...










All photos were taken by my instructor, Rusty Laidlaw, of White Rose Forge and Foundry.  Find him on Facebook here!


Monday, April 28, 2014

Blacksmithing Lesson!


Sunday was nothing short of amazing!  I started off the morning with a lesson from a local blacksmith!  I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for ages.

Hubby found the ad for the lessons on Craigslist weeks ago, but I hesitated, too nervous to reply.  Afterwards, it felt like I missed a chance and I regretted not getting in touch with the guy.  Luckily, the ad came up again and this time I didn't hesitate!  I had my first lesson, and I'm smitten with the craft!

Hubby drove me out to Mission and lingered a long while before he took off.  My instructor Rusty, a long-time blacksmith, had me dive right in and soon I was hammering a taper on a long rob, rounding it, and eventually formed it into a hook!  We chatted the whole time and I tried to listen the best I could and get as much out of my time with him as possible.  He was so nice and patient, it really made it so much more relaxing being there.

I told Rusty how I planned to give the hook as a present for my dad since it was his birthday.  At the end of the lesson, he gave me the hook he made so I would still have one.  Super nice guy.

The only downside is my arm started to get really tired of the constant hammering.  Felt like a fool at the end because I could barely lift a 3 pound hammer.  Driving home with Earl, my arm was shaking something awful.  Earl laughed at me.  Meanie.

I can't go on enough about how great it was.  To learn a craft, even at its most basic, and to walk away with something useful that you made yourself gives you such a strong feeling of accomplishment.

Oh man... best 90 minutes of my day.  I would say week, but I getting to see my nieces and nephew, and my dad and brother's birthday make this week pretty sweet.

My hook in front.

My lovely hook.

I couldn't be happier if I tried.


Saturday, April 26, 2014

Thinning the seeds.


First off, I thinned out my drunk plantings.  There are significantly less lettuce and radishes now.  I'm certain I went overboard with thinning the lettuce, but I will learn from my mistake.  I rinsed off all the little seedlings I ripped out of the ground and fed them to my rabbits and chickens.  Snow White actually dumped her dish when she reached the bottom, looking for more to eat.  I guess they were tasty sprouts!  I was going to plant a few more rows of veggies today, but nope.  Not in the mood.   

In other news, I forgot to mention that hubby brought me home a rhubarb and some celery starts!  The rhubarb is in a pot for now and we will see how it likes that until we can find it a permanent home in the yard.  Still need to plant those potatoes though...

As well, my green onions, red onions, and corn have all made an appearance in the last few days!  I love seeing new buds!

Right now I am high on these greens.  I have never been so into gardening as I have been this year!  Happy thoughts for more green buds!



Friday, April 25, 2014

Fun times with Jack


Just wanted to share some photos of Jack.  He was playing with Earl in the yard and was being adorable.  This post is just a long string of photos of my dog.  That's it.  I'm not sorry.



Action shot!





Love the tongue, Jack.

He got a little drooly.


Wasn't that fun?


Thursday, April 24, 2014

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Sprouts!


Yesterday there was a break in the clouds and some sun was peaking out, so I checked out my garden.  I am thrilled with the number of sprouts coming up.  Kinda laughing at how poorly I seeded the rows though.  Earl asked if I blindly tossed the seeds in the rows.  It really looks like I was drunk seeding.

A few days after planting, my radishes started coming up.  Now there are so many of them!  I need to thin them out.  I should also sow a second row of these beauts.

So many radishes.


Next up were my lettuce.  Love them.  I can't wait to eat my lettuce.  It was my favorite in my last garden and I know it will be this time as well.  Last time we grew lettuce, we bought a mesclun mix, but we found it to be too spicy.  This time we bought a new mix, something more mild.  I really can't remember the name of it.  When I plant another row, I will let everyone know what it is.  If you care.  Do you care? 




Drunk planting.

Now my peas are up, and I am thrilled.  Earl is happy to see his peas getting big.  I don't really care personally.


My broccoli is also starting to make a show, as well as the spinach.  This week or next I am going to plant a second row of my lettuce, spinach, radishes, and carrots.  I need lots of veggies!  It will be a great year I think.

Yummy yummy yummy.


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Happy Birthday Bain!

Today, Bain turned 1!  For those of you who don't know who Bain is, he is my friend, April's, Dogo Argentino dog.  To celebrate the momentous occasion, we hiked up Teapot Hill.

And we're off!

Teapot Hill is an easy 5km trail that's located just on the edge of town.  Along the route we saw trees sipping tea out of cups left dangling on their branches while their teapots stood atop mossy stumps or hidden in the crack of a tree's trunk.  The forest along the trail was partaking in its own tea party.  We saw many different pots and cups, mostly white plastic or porcelain, but occasionally we spotted a colourful set hidden within the forest.

I took no pictures of the trail going up or down.  I forgot my camera, and instead of turning around to get it, I decided I would pass.  My dogs are a bit unruly when they see others of their own kind, so instead of focusing on pictures, I thought it best I pour all my effort on their training.  I have been practicing a 'Focus' command with them to draw their attention back to me when they start to fixate on something.  They met several dogs and a lot of people along the trail, and I was so pleased with how the command was helping the dogs.  It was especially useful for Jack!  I was so proud of how calm he was most of the time and how little he fussed and barked!  For Sisko, I wasn't able to give him the command soon enough and he slipped into a distracted (and barky) state from which there is no return.  Its all a learning curve, and I know I we will be able to pull it off!

Luckily, April was able to take some photos of the festivities and was willing to share them with me!

Bain, the birthday boy!


Sisko hates his hat...


Adorable Jack, back at home.

This is how I spent my Sunday!  I hope everyone had just as great of a day and enjoyed the sunshine to the fullest!

All Photo credits to April Nichols of Gogodogo.ca!  Check her out ;)

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Ready, Set, Garden!!


Hubby built me a raised garden bed!  It measures 4 ft by 20 ft, so its a fair size bigger than my last vegetable garden.  We spent the weekend filling it with compost and soil.  It took 3 truckloads and a lot of sweat to get all that dirt in the garden, but it was worth it!  The soil is so dark and pretty!



Yesterday there was a break in the clouds so I got out there and planted.  I planted lettuce, corn, spinach, snap pea and shelling peas, onions, green onions, 2 types of carrots, radishes, cucumbers, and pumpkins!  I'm excited to see how everything turns out.  I'm pretty sure I got the quantities wrong for a lot of the vegetables, but oh well.  It was an exciting morning for me.

Can you read it?  Sugar peas :)

I made some odd decisions.  I really wanted corn this year and I forgot I chose an open pollinated variety.  My original plan was to plant a row of corn in the back, so it wouldn't shade out the others, but that can't be done with an OP variety.  So I made a rash decision and planted 4 rows of corn through the lettuce and peas.  The peas can grow up the corn (hopefully) and the lettuce will get shade from the corn.  I really hope this works out....

Hopefully there won't be too many weeds to deal with considering this is fresh soil.  I hate weeds. My flower garden has been infected with morning glories.... again.  I hate those plants.  Every time I see one, it sends me into a rage.

Look at those nasty Morning Glories next to my flowers!



And just for funsies, here is my lovely plow/cultivator we got at the flea market a few weeks ago: