Addicted to Gardening

Yesterday, I think I bought the last of the plants for this year - well at least I think. I'm actually running out of space.

It started with an inocent discovery of blue pottery pots on sale for $2 and a need for a bit more mulch to finish up the front and I had intended to pick up a few more Hostas for the backyard. But the plants were on sale too. So I ended up with a tray of herbs (largely mint, but also two types of oregano, 1 Basil and 2 chives), a white coneflower, a columbine, a purple aster, a camomile, a delphinium, 2 salvia, 1 licorish plant, 4 tomatos, 4 red cabage, 4 spanish onions and an acorn squash. I have most of it planted now and watered most of it, I have a few more house of work this evening to get the hostas and the columbine settled. I still need to find a sunny place for the tomotos and 2 red cabages and about 5 mint plants. On the weekend I have plants for pruning back the silver maples and thining the selfrecruited maples in a few places (especially the ones that are growing close to the fence.) Oh yeah, and I need to finish mulching the front garden too.

After all of that, I think I'll be back down to watering and inspecting and removing dead bits and bugs. The impatiens are just starting to thrive in the front, while the ones in the back are still lagging. Hopefully the cooler weather and future rain will give it a leg up.

The completely unrelated picture above was taken in Orangeville of a restored channel.

Raining Geraniums

I've totally fallen in love with Geraniums. I love their leaves and the ever flowering beauty and the variety of shapes and forms. Hopefully, the Martha Washington will flower again soon - then I'll have some truely impressive pictures to show.

Top View

Echinacaea Purpurea

Here is my really awesome purple coneflower.... :D

Killer Lily Beetle

Lily Killer

This wee beastie and 3 of his friends were visciously attacking my asian lilies this morning. As advised by local nursury, I practiced unrepentant vigilante justice (after taking a number of photographs). The garden is going well. I'm hoping to do some mulching tomorrow morning and finish potting my geraniums tonight. My favourite is the Purple Coneflower planted with daisies and a purple Yarrow (and some more wonderful geraniums). However, I was also able to nab a bleeding heart, a columbine and 2 new hostas (each a different variety). Finally, a pair of matched fox gloves are potted under the Cherry tree - I'm not sure how the falling cherries will effect them, but I may move until the birds finish off the cherries.

Rumours of the Rain Wilds

I've been feeding my Robin Hobb addiction furiously in preparation for the third book of her current Trilogy coming out (Renegade's Magic). It has surely robbed me of many hours of sleep and exercise and kept me from the internet and away from the newspaper. However, I've read a shocking rumour - started by none other than Ms. Hobb herself on her newsgroup. She is toying with the idea of writing a book about the Rainwilds. Oh... I could make a list of things I want to know about. Actually, I'd love a prequel to her books about the events that around the time when things started to go wrong (long into antiquity) And I can't even write them here for fearing to create spoilers.. I guess those of you among the readed - we'll just have to brain storm it privately. At any rate, I really don't care what she writes about, I've yet to read anything bad she's written - although I'll grant that I'm not sure that the Gypsy was a favourite - but that was Megan Lindholm - and her writing style is different anyways.

:D

Jennith

Now surely someone will comment on this post :P

Electronics sucking energy while they are idle

Wow! Even I was shocked at how much energy seemingly uninteresting electronics used while on, but not doing anything. Eeek!

Here's the Globe and Mail article.

Laquered Conch

One of my all time favourite mushrooms - this one likes hemlock. I found it growing on the escarpment last weekend.

An escarpment view

I'm too tired to write much, or go back and finish my last post, but here is the photo.. worth 1000 words right!

Bricknell's Cransbill

I've rediscovered the myriad of trails that wend through Kelso conservation area. While a lookout facing over the 401 isn't the most charming spot I've ever found, the trails themselves are nice. The woods are open and airy - although numerous cyclist abound - some in places where they shouldn't be. The tangle of interconnected trails is also a bit on the variably marked side, but I mostly stuck to the Bruce Trail which kept me out of trouble. This has been another week of much backroads driving. The most amusing little town I came across is Brucedale - which rhymes with Sprucedale - which is really all I can remember about it to tell it apart from the myriad others I've seen. Eden Mills has some lovely old buildings and there is something lovely about Kilbride. I finally managed to find the intersection of Britannia and Cedar Springs Rd. Its a funny intersection and poorly marked, so I can see how I ended up in Burlington the last time I tried to do it.

Anywho, no backroads for me today...I'm learning about datum's and coordinate systems and projections in ArcGIS and hopefully completely the non computer aspects of a groundwater modelling assignment. Later though, I might head out to find an external drive or a stack of CDRs so I can unclutter my poor harddrive- currently the victem of 35 gigs of pictures :S

Farewell,

Jennith

The skimmer upon the bog

Okay.. more dragonflies... They are so so cool

Dragon on a Log

Here, perched upon this mouldering log, be a dragon - watching sharply for passing morsels of supper. Ready to zip into action - viscious mouthparts to tear about their unwary supper...

Okay.. I'm hungry now.

Triris

Here is a blue flag iris growing on the side of the road somewhere.

Jewelwing Dragonfly at Blue Springs Creek

I just had to post this...no explaination necessary....

Transducer Test

I shot this the other day while I was testing transducers.

Captain Nemo - the red admiral

This is apparently a southern relative to the white admiral butterfly that I know so well. I got almost all the way through my hike without stopping - but I couldn't pass this critter up. I still need to take those Garden Pics... They will come. I potted 2 geraniums and planted an old planter I found in the garage. I still need to plant my columbine seeds, but they will come.

Kushiel's Justice

Well - I will not spoil the story in any way save to say that I can't hardly bear to wait an entire year for the third book. With her usual cunning and beautiful words, Jacqueline Carey has humbled me with her wit, humanity and wisdom. I sometimes wonder what has happened in her life to find the depth of her characters and the story. Its a magic few authors have to make the characters so real that you see their stories unfold even as you read it. I read through all 700 pages in less than 48 hours (with sleep, work and a bit of social time in between.) If I owe you a reply to anything... I'll admit that it would have taken a great deal to tear me from the book. Given my glowing review and the 3 links to her own webpage - I hope she won't mind that I borrowed a picture of the cover art without permission - but I want people to be easily able to find it on the shelves of the book store after reading the 4 proceeding related books....

I must head off to grandmothers house.... :D there is cake waiting to be eaten.

I'll catch up on hello's soon..... :D

Jennith

Safe Childrearing

I woke up this morning, as I have for the past few weeks, to the raucous sounds of grackles in the tree outside my window. In fact, there were three juvenile grackles squawking at mom to get a move on it with breakfast (and/or dad). Generally, they make me crazy - their shrill croaks and squawks are much louder than my own alarm and they start, without fail, before the sun is up. This morning however, I watched their antics in fascination as they weakly fluttered between branches and competed for food. Hopefully, the bug hunting will be better tomorrow - because I really don't need to wakeup that early.

In a mostly unrelated bent, I stumbled across this article in the star over lunch - having many friends who believe strongly in co-sleeping - I thought I'd put in the link. I'm sure you'd find fault with the article for being one sided and providing no statistics on the number of parents choosing to co-sleep or the natures of the death - however... hey - knowing both sides is good.

It other news the recent rain combined with the prediction of coming sun should be a fantastic start for the garden. I can't wait until the plants fill out and start dazzling the eye. I promise - geranium pictures as soon as there is enough sun to make them come out nice.

Cheers,

Jennith

Planted!!

Well, I've planted all the plants I have so far. Its going to be so nice once the plants get settled and start growing. If anyone has a favourite gardening site - let me know. Cheers.... Jennith

Thou shalt not be thyself

It has been a long while since I've reference a Star article here, but this one was a particularly eye opening account of what it means to be normal run of the mill Muslim who is trapped between the suspicions of the general public and the extreme element of their own culture that induced the suspicion in the first place. It sounds like a rather lonely place to be.

Ah spiritually, so dangerously politicized as religion. I've toyed with and rejected the idea of reading the Hitchen's book for now - my own religious influences may be many and unfocused, but I find the idea of denying anyones spiritual experiences distasteful - I somehow do not see how replacing all religions with atheism will be an improvement. Of course, I haven't read the book and I suspect that that isn't his message at all, but I have little enough time to read to waste my time trying to read a book that won't hold my interest. So, I find my parables between the covers of sci fi-fantasy paperbacks and wonder why anyone would chose a less interesting text for this purpose. The religious texts I've been exposed to, no offense meant, read somewhere between a history text and a legal document (approaching the legal document more closely). Oh, there are bits that are interesting and ideas that are valuable - which I assume one would find in most religious texts, but the story isn't written in my own dialect, nor was it written to captivate the audience of the 21st century. What is the result - everything between extremism and spiritual and moral bankruptcy. Could you not imagine a distant future where folk study Heinlein's "Stranger in a strange land", Jacqueline Carey's exploration of the D'angeline faith and Robin Hobb's "Liveship Traders" trilogy or even the philosophies of Star Trek. Are we so certain our gods have have left us in ancient times - that nothing written since then is divinely inspired? Shall we reject the basic truths embedded in these writings to cling to tradition? I think we'd be a poorer species for it.

The African Violet flowers

Some people have a knack for house plants. I supose its a mix of including them in your routine and taking the time to research their specific needs. I'm sure this flower was in bloom when Gabe gave it too me, but I don't recall seeing it bloom since. I suspect that the lack was light. Not that this room gets particularly good light, but it helps when the blinds are open more often than not.

Its neat looking - I think a second bloom is on the way. I guess we should be glad we haven't killed it with a combination of neglect and overwatering. This weekend I embark on reflowering the garden. I'm glad that my mint, thyme, beabalm, sage and parsley overwintered ok. Considering that I bought the limp bedraggled things at a fire sale last July. I'd like to plant some more mint and some daisies or echinacea. I promise photos soon.

Jennith