Saturday, May 16, 2015

a couple of grey days, a couple of nice days, lots of food, the river, strawberries, getting things in the ground and the first trout of the year - woohoo!

today was a beautiful day!


we were up early and got a lot of stuff accomplished...it finally feels like we are catching up and spring is really here.

it's always good to stuff your face with delicious raw food...only the shrimp has been cooked!


we went for a walk to the river the other day....it was a bit of a grey day but we didn't care.


going around the bend in the road.


lots of baby trees where mature trees are dying. nature, when left alone, always knows how to take care of itself.


deer tracks!!!



it would appear that a group of deer came up our river road and right up to our well! then they probably saw the house and smelled human activity and then took off. but it is always great to know that they do really live in this area!

my man....carrying some fishing gear and a rod.


one of my yellow flip-flops that got blown away!


boat-dura. she's pretty ugly but we love her!


here is a the canning lid that i nailed to the tree in memory of my friend SciFiChick. you can read about it here. the writing has worn off but the next time we go down to the river, i will take my marker and re-write on it. she would love this!


here's the river....i always take this picture for my friend C.


here's me sitting on boat-dura with my flowered gum boots. i've had those things near on 8 years now!


and my man, doing what he loves.


he wasn't planning on catching anything....the river has only just melted and the trout are still pretty sluggish.


he just loves casting. but lookee here - first trout of the year. we ate that in honour of Sweet Sandy!


the next trout belongs to Pioneer Preppy.

here's some delicious chicken curry loaded with so many spices it almost blew our heads off! thank goodness for the yogurt, coconut and raisins to help cool it off. and fresh mint from our greenhouse!


here's a sad story with a happy ending. i have always ordered all of our seeds or plants from Vessey's - they are a fantastic company from Prince Edward Island which is just to the east of our island. they also ship to the US and i can attest to the quality of their products and their customer service.

in december/january, i ordered 25 strawberry plants from them as well as a bunch of seeds and some garlic sets. the seeds came almost immediately but the garlic sets and strawberry plants would ship at a later date as vessey's waits to ship until after the frost free dates. so about 3 weeks ago our post office lady called to tell us that a box marked "onion sets" had arrived. i knew it was the garlic sets. as we don't go very often to the town where our post office is, i asked the lady to hold the box until another box came in - that would be the strawberry plants. well, lo and behold, jam went the other day to pick up the parcel and the strawberry plants were in the same box.

and looked like this.


i tried to revive them with water for several hours, then planted them in some really good soil in a pot but i don't hold up much hope.

i called vessey's and explained to them that we don't get a lot of parcels, that it's quite a drive to our post office and that there was nothing on the box indicating that live plants were included. i wasn't making a complaint - just a suggestion - that perhaps they could put a sticker on the box if live plants are included. the lady completely understood and expedited 25 more plants - free of cost! now that is customer service! we have been dealing with vessey's for 10 yrs now and we have never had a single complaint. they are a great company!

here's some bbq steak and bean salad.


how about some broccoli and beef - much better than you can get at a chinese take-out!


how's 14 rows of carrots planted sound? sounds mighty fine to me!


and a whole bunch of brassicas transplanted - woohoo!


this is a sage plant that we planted from seed and overwintered - he's already going to flower!


and finally - some green things coming up in the yard.


those daffodils should be opening soon - woohoo!

it's been a long, but good, week. my maniac man has been working his butt off in the yard and on his contract! right now he's out there building a new pea bed. tomorrow beets, radishes and peas get planted. it feels like this is going to be a great gardening year even though we were off to a bit of a late start. no worries - we're more than making up for it!

18 comments:

  1. All Ur Trouts R Belong 2 Me.....

    In before Sandy too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. teehee. yer such a nutter. still love you though! xoxo

      Delete
  2. wow great work. Food looks divine as always.

    I bought 2 peony trees and some pelargoriums today in the next village. I am determined that the outside of my house will resemble ones I have seen on Greek Islands. crazy displays of plants

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sol thanks very much. i just read about your willow tree - so very sorry. and i can't wait to see what you do with your new yard. greek islands sound pretty awesome to me! xox

      Delete
  3. Nice pics. I love the boat colors!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gorges - ONLY you, me and jam can appreciate the colours of that boat! ONLY us! xoxo

      Delete
  4. Sweet Kymber,

    Woohoooo first fresh trout of the year, I love it!!!! I'll share the honor of catching your first trout with PP :-)
    All this delicious food, makes me want to cook. Can't do that now storming here, things will eventually calm down.....then I'll cook. Maybe I'll make some of our trout!!!
    Now that is customer service to have a company send replacements out immediately at no charge to you.
    Your carrot boxes look amazing, I'm a tad jealous......no carrots yet here. I'll be planting them after all this strange weather leaves us. I'll also be replanting a lot of stuff in the garden due to weather damage. Enough about weather here!!! I love the pictures of your place, it's so calm and relaxing. A HA......you found your shoe!!! If that was my shoe, I wouldn't be able to find it here.....it would be in Kansas, lol.....
    Sending hugs and love to you both.
    Your Friend,
    Sandy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sweet Sandy - you are gracious to share anything with the nutter - bahahah! but you really are sweet and i know that you will always share! Sandy - i got my replacements yesterday - they are in perfect shape, they expedited the shipping and marked on the box. i plan on planting them tomorrow. it's a little rainy and gray today - nothing like you have been experiencing these past few weeks! now you make sure to get your helmet on, grab little Beans, Tank and BDMan at the first sign of any new storms! and remember that Harry will send a flare for you! (that was funny that he wrote that - teehee!)

      sending much love as always! xoxoxo

      Delete
  5. Food looks awesome as always. Congratulations on the trout!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks TB - and ya, jam was pretty stoked on his first catch of the year! much love buddy! xox

      Delete
  6. I'm glad they made good on your plants. I don't buy plants by mail, but I do purchase a lot of other things over the internet, and usually the companies are good about delivering as promised. Ever once in awhile I hit one that is not so good but I never buy from them again.

    For you, walking to the river is like me walking to the waterfall, it's a nice walk with beautiful scenery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harry - they are a very good company and i have received my replacement plants already. i plan to plant them tomorrow - woohoo! and yes - your walks with your dogs and M around your place and especially to the waterfall always make me feel like i am there with you - so beautiful and peaceful! we love our river! sending much love! xoxox

      Delete
  7. We have a lot of deer in our garden and they seem to be getting braver by the day! I'm not sure humans scare them so much these days.

    Nice gum boots!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. wow Joey - i wouldn't think you would have that many deer strolling around your property!

      and that is some high praise coming from you - bahahahaha! much love buddy! and hang in there. i know this is a difficult time for you and your family. thank you for stopping in during such a difficult time - it means a lot. be extra kind to yourself and family eh? much, much love! xoxox

      Delete
  8. Thanks as always for the photo... can't even tell you how amazing it is to see that view on my screen in NYC. I know there's still a big rock right off that point on the other side that I called "Skull Rock" when I was a little kid and that river was my whole world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris - i will take so many pics for you that you will get sick of them. and we know exactly the rock you are talking about - i will get a pic for you the next time we are out. Skull Rock - that is so cute! i love that you and your family loved the river as much as we do now - it makes such a connection! much love and congrats again on your new little one! xoxox

      Delete
  9. Yeah for the green stuff finally. I think you are going to have a fine garden this year, just a bit jealous! 14 rows of carrots sound great to me, we love them! As usual the food looks delicious. I'm headed to the kitchen to prepare some cod along with some green beans (cooked to death southern style) & fresh corn & tomato salad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DFW - that was a beautiful story you shared in your post today! thank you for that! and yes - finally some green stuff - woohoo! and that is funny - cooked to death southern style. some of the people here must be from the south too - teeheehee. sending much love! xoxox

      Delete