Friday, August 31, 2007

My first home-grown tomato


It was good! Unfortunately some animal ate half of one of its brothers - but hopefully I'll be able to harvest most of the 17 that remain on the vine.
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Thursday, August 30, 2007

The Full Glare of Reality


Ha... in spite of the title - this is another quick and not too deep ramble on my life. Gabe is coming back soon - which makes me incredibly excited, he's been gone so long now that it'll be weird when he's back. My field work is in full swing and coming along quite well. Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who are letting me abuse them with hard work on their days off.

Funny stories about me being a total flake. Yesterday, I was out in the field and I put on my boots and then let the cuffs of my jeans stylishly fall outside of the uppers, rather than tucking them in. I hopped in the stream to measure the height of the recently recorded peak flow, and checking to see if I had enough freeboard on my boots to wade deeper, I realized that their cuffs were now soaking wet. Ah well... my feet stayed dry :P.

The other morning I woke up to see a squirrel literally hanging upside down by its hind feet from the Russian Olive tree outside my window. He was eating olives. Crazy squirrel... At least he isn't killing plants I love this week.

Otherwise, I'm hoping to have a bit more normal life once I've got the bulk of my field work done. Then I'll be able to start at the gym and swim and return to step aerobics.

Anywho... If I know you well, I probably can say I miss you and hope to see you soon to just about everyone save those I live with... and maybe even them.

Back to work for me..

Jennith
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Monday, August 27, 2007

Aster post stormus


Observations:

1. Bone meal does seem to keep the squirrels at bay. I haven't had anymore digging where I applied it.
2. Social time is important
3. The reverberations of the internet can be seen in weird places (like mourning - see globe article from Saturday)
4. Friends are worth the drive pretty much everywhere.

I've actually attended a few social events and begun to catch up a bit on the people I've been neglecting. Of course, I didn't get as much stuff done as I'd hoped, but I feel a lot better. I visited with my gradeschool friend Simone - and its funny that even though both of our lives have changed so much we still totally get along. The weekend before I went to a movie and dinner with my friend Kendra for her birthday and met some of her other friend. That was fun even if I did get totally lost in KW. Saturday I went to a barbeque in Burlington and finally met the last of my highschool friend's kids. It was fun and we had a bunch of the kind of conversation that I haven't had since highschool - and I totally reused my gruesome tales of raccoon procreation to impress people (amazing the uses of knowledge gleaned from highschool science reports). Finally, I finnally caught up with my best friend which was good - because nobody else ever gets you as well as they do without a bunch of awkward explaining.... So, I'm bound and determined to eek some balance into my life in spite of an insane month at hand trying to get in 12-20 field days in well... 26 real days including weekends.. meanwhile I have a bunch of other stuff to keep up with too.

Here's to healthy balances.....

Cheers,

Jennith
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Friday, August 24, 2007

Before and After the Rain



These two shots were taken about 2 days apart with the second shortly after an intense rainfall. Its amazing the impact an hour of rain can have.
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What wood you do?



A mess of coarse woody debris provides habitat for all sorts of aquatic critter... we even saw a large speckled something or other (we think a trout or a salmon) This picture was take shortly after a strong rain storm pelted the area for an hour... somewhat altering our plans.
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Saturday, August 18, 2007

Daylillies Revealed

Here is that same daylily sometime later. I decided I needed a hike after my first photo shot and so I bounced off to Mount Nemo for a nice hike. Tomorrow is going to be busy and next week busier....
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Violets in the Midst


These poor tiny violets have been largely shown up by the larger plants near by (you try competing with impatiens and a zonal geranium!) Still, they are still managing to flower!
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Trumpets of the Mini-Petunias


I just love the colour of this one!
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Vegetables in Strange Places


Much to my mothers chagrin I randomly planted 2 red cabages to fill in gaps in the front garden along the walk. They've done well (and frankly I find them quite attractive), but my mom thinks that it was perhaps a bit unkosher.
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The Flower of the Tomato


Here is one of our 6 regular tomato plants in flower. There are about 8 tomatos developing, but I expect more in the future as the plants are all still flowering.
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Mini-Matoes

I have 7 tomato plants... 6 normal ones and this one that I rescued from the bargain rack. Strangely, it hasn't grown much, but it continues to develop these 3 hearty tomatos, while being less than 1 foot tall.
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Oregano flowers


My herbs have surprised me with their vigor. This oregano, nearly dead when I bought it, is not a massive sprawling behemoth with shockingly delicate adn beautiful hued flowers
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Daylily opening

My current gardening feat that I'm most proud of is my Daylily Garden where I planted about 10 different varieties of daylillies and promtly forgot their names. This might be the Catherine Wood-something-or-other. In a later post, I'll put up a shot taken later in the day when they are fully open
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Geranium Triad


So... I finally got the batteries charged on my camera, rushed outside and tried to take a bunch of garden photos in the early morning shade.
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Friday, August 17, 2007

There is a bug in my lollipop



YUCK!! I discovered uneaten candy on my desk, figured it was safe to eat and as you can see was working on the lollipop. There is this nut thing embeded in it... at least that is what I thought when I started but a closer look made me wonder if it was a bug. I did check the label before starting to munch on it... It said it was made in montreal, figured that made it safe to eat... However, when I went back and read the label again.. I discovered that a meal worm larva was the final ingredient... should I keep eating it....? I haven't decided yet... I hope it wasn't something special that belonged to Gabe...
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Keyword Analysis


Num Perc.Search Term
drill down1421.54%priministers
drill down57.69%jennith peart
drill down46.15%david alexander risk
drill down46.15%killarny canoe
drill down34.62%jennith
drill down34.62%pictures brucedale conservation ontario
drill down23.08%jenn westmorland
drill down23.08%chitaqua
drill down23.08%mount katadyn
drill down23.08%hiking stuck in bog
drill down23.08%in denali by kim heacox
drill down11.54%dragonfly park, guelph
drill down11.54%mizzy lake trail algonquin
drill down11.54%how to get to awenda provincial park
drill down11.54%awenda provincial park pets
drill down11.54%awenda provincial park pictures
drill down11.54%wedding labels aspen leaf
drill down11.54%bog-araska
drill down11.54%peart harbour
drill down11.54%sunita sayeram
drill down11.54%muskrat eat hosta
drill down11.54%bagpipes usher in tide fundy
drill down11.54%swimming at mountsberg dam
drill down11.54%david usher's blog
drill down11.54%port carling iga hours
drill down11.54%muskrats eat beebalm
drill down11.54%jennith peart guelph
drill down11.54%ontario hostas
drill down11.54%echinacaea purpurea
drill down11.54%chris straka
drill down11.54%http://bog.araska.org/index.html
drill down11.54%kashechawan tornado
drill down11.54%hall-findley
65 100.00%

The list above was provided to me from STATSCOUNTER, one of the counters I have linked to my blog. These are the search terms that landed people up on my blog. Priministers still seems to be the leader (it has been for nearly a year now), but "Cat in a box" hasn't made the list at all, when it used to frequently result in hits. Sigh... the priministers post is particularly bad... ah well. I'm glad to see that Hall-Findley made the list. I haven't really been paying attention to politics lately, but I like her. I guess I'm also glad that people searching for info on various ontario parks also actually make the click to check out my blog - there are a lot of hits under those labels, so I guess my titles are decent. "kashechewan tornado" I'm suprised at this one - one because I hadn't heard of a tornado in Kashechewan and I don't recall any posts related to tornados - but hey who knows the mysterious of googling something. Finally, its nice that no less than 10 of the 65 searchers were actually looking for me or my blog. Thats good. I've found some people have left no traces on the internet, while others are easy to find. For better or worse, I'm easy to find on the internet. Which is good, because I move around enough that I'm sometimes hard to track down in the outernet (aka the real world... and I'm glad that any old friend hunting for me via the internet can probably send me an email and reconnect.)

Alright, one more post and then back to work.

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Sunday, August 12, 2007

I'm not dead, just distracted



Honest... its been insanely busy with me basically working as much as psychologically and physically possible... and I expect this state to continue well into September and maybe for the rest of my life. A few interesting tidbits to share though. I've got tickets to the David Usher Show on Oct. 18th in Toronto. (YEAH!!) It should be awesome is anyone else is interested in going... I think there are still lots of tickets. My garden is mostly thriving, although I haven't figured out how to keep the squirrels from targetting any plant I especially care about - but I'm thinking I might try blood (aparently it gives them the heeby jeebies and they don't dig near the smell.. Now all I need to do is find a good source of dead carrion perfume. I'll let you know if I have any sucess. The newest additions to the garden are my Day Lily Bed (pictures to be added just as soon as I find the charger for my camera and I am hope when there is light to take pictures). I have 10 different varieties of day lillies including this fantastic peach coloured one and a few nice blood red ones and classic orange and yellow ones. It'll be way more amazing next year once they all settle and bush out I'm sure... if the squirrels don't kill them first. Grrr! I want to hire that stick throwing camp consellor! Other additions include 2 primrose and 3 raspberry and a few cranesbill geraniums. I've actually run out of space for the year I think. I need to save something for next year. I want to design and install a woodland garden section... we'll see though... It may not come to pass.

School - I'm nearly done my project for my last course ever (and I hopefully mean it this time) and then its fieldwork continuously for the next month or so. I hope to be a survey genius when I'm done. I could use a few volunteers if anyone wants to tag along with me sometime. I can do weekends too.

Other news.... not much... I thought I had another piece. I bought a new jean jacket that I totally love - but that isn't exactly exciting news :D... ah well, hopefully I'll remember it for next time.

Jenn
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Sunday, August 05, 2007

Goose on the Loose - Deep River

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Deep River Harbour

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The Monarch Reins

Stately perch upon
A fuscia septer waving
A warm breeze bows low
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Before there was sun


The morning of the wedding was overcast and threatening to rain (as the weather forcast had been suggesting all week). But miraculously, by the time we went to the church the clouds left a perfect blue sky for the proceedings, but the overcast morning had helped to keep the temperature quite pleasant.

I also had a pleasant surprise. I took off a ring (a recent purchase and my sole momento from Tampa) to wash my face and left it on the bed. When I rushed to pack up and check out and head to breakfast, I missed seeing it. Fortunately, when we were at breakfast, some of the folks were teasing the groom about not loosing his ring and telling stories about men who'd lost their wedding rings on their honeymoons. This prompted me to notice that I couldn't remember packing my ring and that I wasn't wearing. So, I returned to the Deep River Motel right after breakfast, but the room had already been cleaned and the owner, who had cleaned it had headed out for supplies for the day. Friday, I got a letter in the mail, they had quickly mailed my ring back to me. I had figure that I'd dropped it and lost it forever. I'm deeply thankful for their kindness in so quickly returning it to me.
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Saturday, August 04, 2007

The Marks of the 80's on my Soul


Its the new millenium, but here stands I, a product of the 80's - learning wisdom with Daniel-son with guidance from Mr. Miawgi (?sp) or at least how to look cool while standing on a rock. Not that I needed much help with the mountain behind me (I think we are in Canmore). I wonder how this generations heros differ from mine. Ah - what is a hero indeed and who are we but the pale reflections of our heros. Flyings a neat trick, but villians can fly too. What heros have is integrity, ethics, courage and the strength to take the hard path, no matter how tempting the easy path looks. I've joked that my religion is fantasy fiction - but sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be a bad idea afterall. I've always had a soft spot for heros with flaws. But then if you read David Gemmel's "Morningstar" then you have to scratch your head about the idea of a hero, certainly the other characters did, but then Wintrow believed that "Sa could fit his hand around any tool." (Wintrow is from Robin Hobb's Liveship Trader's Trilogy")

Can you pray through dance? art? breathing in the smell of the forest? Can you learn wisdom for people that never existed? Can you face the hard path better, having read the example of others, some as flawed as you? Can you distill an understanding of the meaning of life from tales of bravery and hardship and triumph over evil?

Who am I? Who am I? Am I the echo of every bit of information I've absorbed from my experiences or more like a soul soup made of all the beliefs I've interpreted in terms of the things the speak to me? What do I want from life? Is it wrong that I dont' know? Do most people my age know, or are they as torn as I am? Perhaps my life will reflect that of my poor lupine, to be planted and dug up, tucked back in and uprooted again? Will I have a guess how the story ends before I'm safely tucked in my grave. What part of humanity is brilliance and what part sheer madness? When we sing - what parts of our souls leak out in the music? When we listen, does it change the patterns within us - do we stop changing? If we do, is it because we've stopped living, even if we are still breathing?

Jennith
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Friday, August 03, 2007

View of the past

I got suckered into a conversation about places to live in Fredericton and suddenly I realized how much I missed being able to walk anywhere and for someone who frequented it so rarely, I have a surprising amount of nostalgia for the Tannery. But more, I miss the places I used to bike and hike and shopped and hung out. I miss UNB's pretty campus and the D level enterence to Old Head Hall with its air of past glory (its all old wooden scroll work that could use a bit of refinishing - but still speaks of a once very regal entrance when it was in common use. These days its sort of an auxilliary entrence) Oh yes, I also miss the markets.

Ah well. This pic was taken for our senior project presentation in the early spring about 2 years ago. The construction in the foreground should now be a new residence building.

Jennith
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Ciquefoil in the Sun


Also from Marmora Gardens near the Crowe River.
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The Gardens of Marmora


I had the pleasure of visiting the Marmora City Gardens en route to Ottawa last week. They are a lovely mix of tidy gardens and feature a lot of native perrenials too. I also was lucky to speak with the head gardener (a volunteer from the local gardening society). I thought to share his advice on the combatting of powdering mildew - currenlty attacking my columbine and having devestated both of my bee balms - he suggested using soapy water and spraying the leaves with that. I haven't had a chance to try it, but I'll let you know if it works. If anyone has advice on squirrels I'd love to have some. I have one digging (especially in my hanging pots) and near my hostas (growl). Yesterday one savaged a hanging fan flower plant and destroyed my brave little lupin that I'd been nursing back to health after its last attack. I picked up the completely uprooted plant and once again tucked it back into the soil, and amazingly it seems to be rallying, but I don't know if it will make it. It has been dug up twice in the last couple of weeks. There isn't much to be done for the fan flower. I stuck some of the less wilted looking bits of stem back in the dirt, added some more dirt and then watered it well. I'm not hoping too hard though.

Cheers,

Jennith
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Thursday, August 02, 2007

Diefenbunker Demo

Here is J. and P. at the Deifenbunker. We had a wicked-enthusiastic guide. Neat piece of history.
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Sisters Standing Smiling - Together


One of those lucky shots without a tripod and at full zoom in a fairly shady church - a special moment. I'm not sure what it would be like having a sister, instead of 3 brothers. I'm lucky to have inherited 2 or so via my brothers. It was a neat church with an A frame peaked ceiling, but some neat work to create to large windows to let a fair bit of natural light spill across the stage. The minister was nice too.. he actually made a space-balls joke... How geeky is that!
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A Lonely Tree on the Beach

Such a dismal sky, such a lonely looking tree. But fear not, there is a small copse of trees nearby, and its roots have deep connections to the earth and water. The tree may look small under such a sky, but it is resiliant and stubborn and has survived the tough stage of life when its roots were shallow in the sand. Prevailing is garentees, and the sky will be bluer soon.
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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Point Point Beach - Sunward Side

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Wild Skies

Another photo taken at Pine Point Beach, a few minutes out of town.
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Pretty on the Outside too!


This shot was taken after eating my first Phily Cheese Steak outside of the museum. I Unfortunately never went outside in front of the building to capture that view. There is a neat series of waterfalls that cascade from step to step. Above is a picture from behind the falls.
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Gaurdian Demi-Gods


Here is one of many totem poles displayed in the grand hall.
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The Museum of Civilizations - WOW!


My last stop in Ottawa was the museum of Civilizations. I don't think I did it much justice in the 4 hours I was there, but I did enjoy it. They have a knack of creating mood and settling around their artfully displayed artifacts. However, I wasn't up to digesting all the fine print, so after the first floor, I mostly just looked at the artifacts and only read when something caught my eye. This grand hall is in front of the first nations and west coast native exibits. It is far more impresive then it looks, kudos to the architect and designers.
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