Tag: gardening

Posted on in environment, lake living, nature

Spring musings

spring shoots popping out of the snow in a garden

The lake is still frozen, the surface turning darker by the day waiting for the ice to honeycomb and sink. It reminds me of the remarkable images from the Artemis mission to the moon of the craters, swales and pockmarks of its blackened surface.

Last weekend, when it was 20 degrees, I was in my shorts raking the leaves out of the garden beds when I looked down and saw a big dark brown object on the ice.

At first, I thought we had left a pair of pants or jacket on the ice, but then realized it was an otter who had leaped out of one of our ice fishing holes and was feasting on a rather large fish. The otter was huge, the size of a small seal and was gulping the fish down leaving a splatter of blood on the ice. The incongruity of watching an otter eat a fish on the ice while I was raking leaves in my shorts wasn’t lost on me. Spring in Canada.

As I dig in the garden, I see pink and pudgy worms, squirming in the sunshine, waking up from their long winter’s nap. If they could yawn and stretch their grubby bodies like a toddler, they would.

Tiny green shoots sprout up from beneath the pristine snow. Soon, my daffodils and tulips will erupt, flooding the yard with reds and yellows and pinks. The rain rejuvenates the buds and bulbs, washing away the weariness of winter.

We boil down the last of the sap from the six maple trees we tapped. I read somewhere that the sap will stop running when you hear the first spring peepers (frogs). We had pulled the buckets down the day before, and sure enough, on my walk with Bentley, I think I heard my first spring peeper. We’re getting good at this maple syrup thing even if we are amateurs (and even if we still spend $100 on propane to get about the same equivalent in maple syrup).

On Easter Sunday, I visit my friend at their family farm to help them sugar off. As we wait for the rich golden liquid to boil down to that perfect sticky consistency, I mention that we had taken the blade off our ATV. My friend Madeliene, the prophet, says, “Oh, so it’s your fault then?” referring to the endless winter we are having. Two days later, we are blanketed with another dump of snow. Superstition and snow run deep in these parts.

Back at home, I notice a large tree has fallen on the ice. It was an old poplar that had a large dead branch that jutted out over the lake, popular with the wood ducks and eagles when they came to visit. They will need to find a new perch this summer.

I hear and see the flocks of Canada geese flying home and the distinctive honk of the trumpeter swans who never left but are on the move. I finally see our heron—the first harbinger of spring. We hear the first croaky call of the lake’s town crier, the loon, announcing his triumphant return. His vocal chords are weak and out of practice after his long journey home.

Don’t be tricked by the robins and the groundhog. These are the true signs of spring. Or perhaps just spring musings on a rainy day.

Lake and blackened ice

The blackened surface of the ice on the lake is like the images of the moon from the recent Artemis mission

Tulips in the garden

What I hope my garden will look like in a few weeks time

Posted on in charitable, community, retirement, work

Learn when to say yes and no

Volunteers working voluntary road toll

One of the greatest skills you can learn in life is when to say yes and when to say no.

This applies to parenting, volunteering, work, relationships, and the list goes on.

Some career coaches would advise you to always lean in and say yes when tapped on the shoulder to take on a new role or responsibilities at work. Not at the cost of your happiness.

There were at least three times in my career when I was offered a different role not in my chosen field of communications that would have given me broader management experience where I said no. Would I have advanced further in my career? Probably. But I know for a fact I would have been miserable and to this day I’m grateful I made the right decision for me and for my family to be happy.

I’m now a retiree and one of my retirement pledges was to help my community more. I’m still navigating what this looks like. I’ve started volunteering at the community garden once a week that supplies our local food bank and Meals on Wheels programs, just finished my annual seedling fundraiser for the Sydenham Lake Canoe Club, and worked a shift for the Verona Lions for their annual Victoria Day voluntary road toll. I was very happy to say yes to all of these volunteer jobs.

I also have greater clarity on what I’ll say no to. I refuse to do another garage sale—they are just too much work (ironically, Dave volunteered at one yesterday morning), and true to my retirement pledges, I’ll never sign up for something where I have to be on Zoom or in meetings a lot. Been there, done that.

Some people say yes to everything. They are the heroes and backbones of every workplace and community. I admire these people, but I am not one of them.

Here’s the wonderful thing about saying yes. When you say yes to the things you enjoy, you feel good about your contributions and are far more confident and unapologetic about saying no to the things that won’t bring you joy.

Sometimes it all comes down to timing. There are periods in our lives when you want to do more, but you just can’t. You have enough on your plate. During those times, it’s okay to say no. The day will come when you can say yes again.

This week’s #HappyAct is to learn when to say yes and when to say no. And whatever your answer is, always prioritize your happiness or the happiness of your family in the decision.

Pictured above: My neighbour Odin and I working the Verona Lions road toll. All the money raised goes back into the community. Learn more about volunteering with the Verona Lions. Below: volunteers at the Grace Centre garden with the garden coordinator Josey Cadieux (Dave was whipper snipping and didn’t want to be in the picture). See this article in the Frontenac News for more on the garden.

Garden volunteers standing beneath an arbour
Posted on in environment, Hobbies, nature

Gardening on a shoestring

Ferns beside a bird bath

Gardening season is in full bloom, the time of year when seasoned gardeners and weekend warriors spend hours turning over soil, adding manure and mulch to patches of brown dirt, and combing local garden centres to find delicate flowers to create the perfect garden oasis.

Last week, we popped over to a friend’s house because they wanted some advice on how to spruce up the gardens at the front of the house to maximize their curb appeal before they put up their house for sale this summer. They didn’t want to spend a lot of money, which made me start thinking creatively about how you can create a beautiful, welcoming space without draining your pocketbook. Here are some tips for gardening on a shoestring.

  • Divide and conquer: if you have perennials, see what plants can be divided. Hostas, lilies, irises all thrive when split. If you don’t have perennials, see if any friends will give you some.
  • Go wild: look for ferns and wild phlox on the side of roadways or laneways. Just make sure you are not digging up plants on private property without permission (and watch for poison ivy!)
  • Use nature’s bounty: Go beachcombing and find a unique piece of driftwood to add interest to your garden.
  • Make it artful: Look for unique or interesting pieces that could be used for planters or to add a whimsical element to your garden, like old boots, bicycles, watering cans, etc.
  • Sow some seed: Scatter a pack of zinnia or wildflower seeds, an inexpensive way to create colour in a larger space.
  • Buy local—many fundraising groups hold plant sales this time of year to raise money—not only will you save money, you’ll be helping a good cause.
  • Come from good stock: If you are buying annuals from a gardening centre, make sure they are good stock and see if they can be split. The begonias I bought at my local gardening centre had two large blooms in a single pot, so I was able to split them, doubling my money.

I was always find this particular time of year a little sparse in my garden, after the spring bulbs have died off and before the roses, peonies, and irises bloom, but here are some pics from my garden this morning. Happy gardening!

watering can

Above: the ferns around this old birdbath we inherited were all dug up by the side of the road. In this photo, an old watering can adds colour to the pot by my front porch.

begonias lobelia and impatiens in a pot

The begonias I got from Sheila’s Greenhouses in Moscow were so big with two distinct plants in each pot, I was able to split them for my pots on the back deck.

garden flag and chicken sculpture

Dave and the girls tease me all the time about my garden tchotchke. This hummingbird flag greets visitors and the chicken we bought at a cool art studio in Brewerton, New York years ago.

Ferns, hostas and geraniums

More ferns from the roadsides, hostas which we’ve split over the years and perennial geraniums in bloom. I can’t even remember where we got the white cross statue.

Posted on in lifestyle, nature

Home sweet home

blue jays at bird feeder
We cut our pumpkins in half this year and have used them as makeshift bird feeders. The birds and squirrels love it!

Dorothy said it best, there’s no place like home. For the past two months we’ve been away almost every weekend to Peterborough for hockey. While I love watching Clare play, it means we haven’t been home much.

This weekend is the first weekend I’ve spent the whole weekend at home. I forgot how much I enjoy being at home.

First, there’s the joy of sleeping in. Being able to get up when your body is finished resting, and not having to rocket out of bed, and get the kids on the bus and rush off to work is one of the best parts of any weekend.

I can sit (hallelujah!) and read the papers and enjoy my coffee and look out my sunroom window at the squirrels and blue jays at the feeders.

We go for long walks in the daylight, a real treat at this time of year. Late in the day, as the sun fades, we start a fire, and sit with a glass of wine before making supper. We may even go for a long winter’s nap.

I remember one time when Clare interviewed Dave’s mother for a school project, she asked Donna, “What’s the one biggest change you’ve seen in your lifetime?” Donna responded, “People don’t sit anymore; they are always rushing to do something.”

This week’s #HappyAct is to enjoy time at home. As your body goes into hibernation mode this winter, don’t fight it, embrace it.

Posted on in Uncategorized

Top 7 gardens to visit

Garden walkway
One of the many beautiful paths at Spindletree gardens

For some people, the thought of spending time in a garden would be a yawnfest.

Even if you don’t like gardening, spending time in a garden can be cathartic. I’ve always found gardens to be peaceful, inspirational places where the wonders and beauty of nature unfold and transform from season to season.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit two spectacular gardens this year: numbers 1 and 7 on the list. For those of you in Eastern Ontario, I’d highly recommend you visit Spindletree Gardens in Tamworth—it is truly a treasure in our own backyard and one of my all-time favourite gardens. They also serve a great lunch.

Here is my top list of favourite gardens to visit and spend time in:

  1. Longwood Gardens, in Pennsylvania: we visited this garden in July. I loved the fountain show and the conservatory, which had one of the largest pipe organs I’ve ever seen
  2. Larkwhistle, the home of garden authors Patrick Lima and John Scanlan’s on the Bruce Peninsula—simply stunning but you may be too late—when we visited it last summer we heard it may be the last season they open to the public
  3. The Rideau canal in Ottawa in May during the Canadian tulip festival
  4. The gardens at Chatsworth Hall, in Bakewell, England: 105 acres of formal traditional gardens and where they filmed my favourite version of Pride and Prejudice
  5. Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens—beautiful in the spring when the cherry and apple trees are in full bloom
  6. The garden atrium and conversatory at the Opryland hotel in Nashville–nine acres of inside oasis
  7. Spindletree gardens and tea room in Tamworth: a gem in our own backyard

This week’s #HappyAct is to spend time in a garden. Find a quiet bench to sit on then look around you. You never know what you may find and where your thoughts will take you.

Flowers in a conservatory
The conservatory at Longwood

Flowers in bloom
My garden