Wildflower Seeds Bloom #2

So two of these have bloomed in the wildflower garden. In other gardening news - I think we should have another colour of daylily open today too. Otherwise, not much is new. There is a bit of digging here and there and I'll have to get out my feeding gear today or tomorrow, but otherwise - its going well.

In other news - I finally had a major breakthrough yesterday and after hitting a major road block, I've manage to move quickly through the next few steps. I'm hoping to have the ugly part done to day and initial results. The next messy part is schedule for sometime tomorrow - if I can hang on to this pace there is still a hope for summer...

Yesterday's horoscope:

Rather than assume that something must be going wrong, try working on the basis that it is actually all going very well – but you just can't yet see why this is. Soon, you'll discover that there is a most inspiring reason why things are as they are.

I can't imagine what is inspiring about grueling days of frustration, but I'm very glad that things are moving much better today - which brings me to today's horoscope:

You are discovering what is unsatisfactory, a sign you are on the way to putting things right. The more swiftly you face what needs to be faced, the sooner you will fix it.

And this seems to be bang on - I think I've had a nice preception shift - or at least I'm a lot more optimistic than I felt a few hours before... and hope will hopefully lend me some much needed wings to fly over any remaining road blocks.

Open you eyes.... open your eyes.....

Well - Brown-Eyed Susan - you are planted and ready to grow - so open your eyes to the wide and wonderful world. My darling sibloid dug a nice little bed and I planted some echinacaea and Brown-Eyed Susan there - unfortunately for this particular plant I think I droped it in the process of planting it and may have snapped off the flowers. I tried some staking in hopes that the woinded stalk will be okay, but if it isn't tonight... I'll bring it in and stick it in the vase of wounded plants with flower buds.

Garden View

A couple of people asked me to put up a non-closeup of the garden. I've been waiting for one that does it justice, but it just isn't going to happen I don't think. This one isn't too bad though. A nice close view of the main perrenial bed and you can see the daylilies in the distance and even a corner of the woodland garden.

Things I didn't plant

Well, I didn't plant these - at least not knowingly - but they have a quaint authenticity that I appreciate. In the background is some vinca (aka periwinkle) and the other vine is either less fancy periwinkle or honeysuckle.

On the topic of spontaneous authenticity -I'm in the library and I can see/hear some sort of children's program in the distance - I doubt these kids know each other save for siblings and a few pairs, but they are crammed together on the floor, poking each other, giggling, making faces and showing off their ability to perform semi-double jointed feats.... and they all appear to be smiling - so kudos to the guy running the program... he even has them raising their hands. Sometimes I wish I was a kid.. I think sitting on a floor cross legged listening to someone read me a story and being able to impress people by touching my nose with my tounge or my wrist with my thumb or crossing my eyes... well.. it sounds blissful compared to having software that stubornly refuses to complete your requests often crashing.....and then leaving me to sift through piles of vauge documentation that has yet to inform me of which stupid little semi-colon I've forgotten in a line of programming... Sigh...

First of the wildflowers

Here is the first of the wildflowers seeds to bloom. I took a picture of the second this morning, but I haven't downloaded it yet. I have this bad feeling that I've already posted this picture... so my apologies in that case.

Summer is Birthday Season

Where is the fire extinguisher?? Here is one of my sibloids birthday cakes with a small inferno going - although he's doing better than the rest of us.... There is one birthday we are still waiting for... and for all I know he's on his way into this world and I promise - pictures to follow here and more likely on the proud father's blog. I took Alex to a local watering hole to play pool. I feel a bit bad in retrospect given that this is his first post birthday bar trip that he had only a single beer and I had.... a diet coke (it was a good diet coke though and I'm sure my car appreciated not being operated by a drunk or left in overnight in that neighbourhood!) However, after not being excessive in drinking we did do something evil - we ate McDonald's at 2 am. But.. we did split 1 order of fries... so slightly less evil. Caloriewise I think it is 3 beer:1 order of fries - maybe even 4....

A Salad PIcture for December

I'm posting this here for myself in 6 months when I will be able to fully appreciate what a luxury this fresh, green salad is... I mean its wonderful now, but scarcity and price make the heart grow fonder.

Speaking of my move - I looked up the climate normals for Baker Lake to see if I needed to get my winter boots before leaving or if it could wait until Christmas. The average daily temperature for December is -28.4 C - slightly warmer than January and February, but not much. I'm thinking boots before I go for sure. Its funny - I have probably a better than average set of warm clothes - I already had a parka and a selection of weights of long underwear (6 years working as Campus Police which often involves 6-8 hours walking about campus in the winter - some of that was in Thunder Bay too - not exactly toasty at 2 am in February) and I had a decent pair of winter boots, but I've had them since 1996 - so they were already slated for replacement as I've worn right through the heels and they leak. What I lacked were a number of basic household items having sold a good portion of my stuff when I moved back here and having had no reason to replace any of it yet. But I think aside from the boots and maybe a pair of skidoo gloves I'm ready for my move or as ready as I can be without knowing what I'm going to miss.

Looking over the climate data again, perhaps the most telling number is that the highest temperature ever recorded in October was 9.7 C and its expected that there is at least 1 cm of snow 22/31 days. This makes October sound a lot like December here - actually it makes it colder. The average daily temperature for December in Toronto is - 2.9 C, compare that to the average daily temperature for October in Baker Lake (-7.5 C) which actually leaves Baker Lake consistantly colder in October than even January or February here. Comparing to Thunder Bay (Daily Average October Temperature of 5 C) and Fredericton ( 7 C) and Toronto (8.9 C) - its a lot colder. For Kashechewan there is no climate normal data, but Moosenee (on the coast but somewhat south) October is 3.4 C while Landsdowne House (similar latitude, but much further from James Bay has a daily average October temperature of 2.4 C) I suppose when you look a place up on Youtube and get a tonne of blizzard movies - you should just assume you need winter boots. So, I guess, I'd better enjoy my salads while I can and work on getting those boots.

Latitudewise - Toronto is 43 40.8', Fredericton is 45 52.2', Thunder Bay is 48 22.2', Kashechewan is 52 17.6' and Baker Lake is 64 18.0'.

You want me to go outside when its that hot - whatever!

Here she is - actually probably preparing her please feed me table scraps - I never get anything good face for supper. However, the AC vent is right behind her and definately a favourite place to chill especially after a walk.

The Coolest Geraniums Ever Have Flowered

Yeah!!! They did make it through the winter.

In other news, if you can see the sky there is a 30% chance of norther lights Ottawa and north.

Portuluca in the Rain

Really cool little plant. This flower may be melon but there is another on the same plant that is a red-purple colour. A different plant today produced a yellow, a fushia and an orange flower today. I'm not sure how the plant does it. Its also grown a huge amount since planting - 5 stars for this one. I'm glad I finally got some in the garden.

Blood Spattered Lily

I don't know the real name of this lily - but it really looks like something died messily nearby. It does make for a nice patch of bright colour in that corner of the garden - even if it wasn't the peaches and cream that I was hoping for.

Johnson Sings the Blues

The flower may be blue, but the sky isn't - I'm about to be chased inside by the rumbling thunder, soon to be followed by the 2nd downpour of the day.

Nasturium

Here is it.. the first flower from the nasturium. One pack of seeds equals many plants :D

Sunspots on a rainy day

Everything got a good soaking today - including our poor dog - although I think she appreciated the cooler weather. So in honour of the gloomy weather I threw up this sunny little Sundown Echinacaea. I've only observed the garden through the kitchen window today - so I don't know if there is anything new or exciting. I did notice that a few more lillies were open. Yesterday there were signs of digging in the box on the deck rail and something completely dug up a viola which I tucked back into the dirt, but I don't know how hopeful I feel about its survival.

There are still no sunspots on the face of the sun - however - there is official word that this is completely normal and all the folk theorizing global cooling due to reduced solar activity can give it a rest for a while as Nasa expects the solar maximum to occur sometime in 2012. In the meantime, the sun is going into its third week of spotlessness, however the rate of the solar wind is up today and there is a 30% chance of auroral activity in the next 48 hours - at least if you are a bit further north - Say Ottawa at a minimum. I'm tempted to road trip, but I unfortuanately have other things I need to do... so perhaps some of you northern folk will have to let me know how it went. Here is the forecast from the Alaska University.

Today, I'm officially 1 month from heading north - where I won't need to consider road tripping when I want to see the nothern lights!!! Here is to lots of sunspots and auroral events for me to photograph in the coming years. :D

Jennith

The Day the Lilies Bloomed

So, far only the 2 yellow daylillies on the back corners of the bed have bloomed. I'm sure they are getting a bit more shade than they'd like owing to the crab apple tree's ongoing expansion - however, most of the other plants are finally starting to send up flowering shoots... so hopefully pictures of red, salmon, peach and orange daylilies to follow soon. In the meantime, this one plant is making up for the rest of the bed. Today, I also found the first nasturium flower - orange and yellow hiding under a mop of wobbly foliage and curly stems. The beebalm is slowly unfurling and the next mystery plant has flowers buds - but no flowers yet. I did assume that it was a returning blanket flower, but in fact I now believe it is the dwarf brown-eyed susan. Hopefully, I'll find out soon. In the wildflower section, the seeds have produced a mass of greenery and now a few flower buds. I have no idea what to expect - but some guesses include: buttercup, poppy, asters, chickweed and willowherb - but really - I'll have to wait for the flowers. I'm also still waiting for one last overwintered geranium to flower - because I'm hoping it is one of my favoriteones with white petals and pink edges - the buds show promise that this is indeed true. Also there is finally (several months later than last year) a single flower bud growing on my african violet.

Otherwise, nothing new to report. I'm going to procure a can of colt 45 for the slugs and earwigs and I'll have to do something about the powdery mildew on the columbine. Its another day of bright sun and warm temperatures today and that can bring quick changes.

Bound for the Barrens

In exciting news, I have been officially added to the Nunavut Blog ring with a month and a day before take-off. This is definately one of the biggest shifts in direction in my life - and I'm extremely excited. I'm excited to call myself a teacher again and I'm am also glad to be returning to the north.

Above, my grandfather is canoeing in some lake up in the barrens, possibly with the aid of a caribou - and herein lies the source of my northern blood - that itch for the great silence of solitude, the sense of wonder for the shimmering of the northern lights and my appreciation of wilderness. Was it in my mother's blood having been born in the light of the midnight sun herself or merely a childhood of stories about life in the barrens. All I know is that I have a sense of the rightness of my current direction - and most days you can't beat that.

I'm slowly gathering bits of knowledge about my new home - the internet is good for that. You'll notice a few things on the righthand side. There is a list of Nunavut Bloggers whose sites I've been visiting - I'm sure that this list will continue to grow. The first link in the list "NUNAVUT BLOGS" is a fairly extensive list of northern bloggers offering you everything from commentary on their day to day life to more details bits about the land and the communities themselves. There are some absolutely achingly beautiful photographs of this harsh land of delicate detail. Kluglanoch Corner has a large quantity of beautiful photos and Tales from the Arctic is another really good one off the top of my head, but there are several more and probably some that I haven't even stumbled across yet.

As for the northern lights, I've heard that July 11th or July 12th are the next most likely dates - but I'll keep you posted on that.

Jennith

Hosta La Vista

Here is the first hosta to flower.

Peaches and Cream?

I'm sure that this was supposed to be a "Peaches and Cream" Lily - it (cough) appears to be another colour entirely.

The Asian Lily Openeth

After waiting with much anticipation for these guys to open - here is the first of the second shade of lily to open in the centre bed.

Sundown Echinacaea

These flowers have slowly been filling out and gaining colour. They are one of 3 shades of echinacaea that I'm growing.

Mullein - Jackie Hybrid

This is still one of my favourite additions for the year. In the background you can see two types of "tutti-fruiti" yarrow - one in a soft reddish melon and the other in a crimson.

Blanket FLower

I added just a few more things to the garden yesterday - finally getting the Astilbe, Iris and Hosta planted that I've had for quite some time. (Growl at the dratted clay for making this a considerable chore). I also picked up quite a few different types of blanket flower. I can't remember what this one is called - but I also got a yellow one, a burgandy one, and an "oranges and lemons" one. They added some much needed yellow and red to my pink and purple perennial bed.

Mystery Solved

This is my new mystery plant - for a while I assumed that it was brown-eyed susan - becuase I did actually plant some in the vicinity of this one - however, my new guess is that it is Mondara and I have finally got my beebalm after much trying and ending up with lemon balm. It is definately a mint with its nice square stem and slightly fragrant leaves - and so hopefully the flowers will open soon for final identification.

Daisy Fleabane

This was the once mystery plant - now identified as daisy fleabane - although that may not be quite its exact name.

Astilbe Stuns

Well, here is a much needed burst of colour in the summer for my woodland garden. Its currently in good company with the heuchara and the Jacob's ladder.