The Good Day All Thread

Good Monday morning all. Currently -2°C and overcast.
I was hoping for a nice day so I could get started in my garden cleanup. Oh well, this morning will be filled with final clean up at the arena and banking. Hopefully tomorrow will be a garden filled day.
@Pacnorwest Its so sad that Covid and the lockdowns had such a huge toll on our upcoming athletes - and our children.
Have a great day all

 

Netty, I sympathize with you having to delay gardening. What with rain and workmen tramping in and out of the house, my herbs had to wait three days. But never fear--gardening days will come!
Husband is off to the hardware store, and I'm doing laundry and tidying up the house. When he gets back, we'll plant our tomatoes. That makes for a good day!
Hope those of you who want to garden, can today.

 

Today is a Poppy experiment day. I stratified Breadseed , Salmon lettuce leaf, Laren's Grape, Purple poppies, Shirley Double, and two types of Flanders. Today I'm planting them in six inch coir pots. The pots will rest in some modified yogurt containers ( ones that split with freezing for Puddins' water in the barn - I take two a day to her to so it adds up). A couple are wrapped with some tin foil and duct tape. ( not sure why but thought why not) That way if they begin to break down or roots poke through they will keep their structure hopefully.

I'm planning on keeping these in the greenhouse as long as the - 10 stays away. I'll protect them at night, same as the lettuce and spinach. They say to plant seed in the ground four weeks prior to last expected frost. I have no open soil yet ( still a foot of snow) so my hope is once they sprout and do their growing magic, I can put them in the ground in about a month. Otherwise it is a slow painful growing season for poppies here. Here's hoping! I'll also plant seed as soon as I'm able, but it likely will not be until mid May.

 

Adore Shirley poppy’s their colors are spectacular . My fav are the Flemish Antique (Papaver somniferum) they resemble double peony’s.
And many of my peony’s are budding and soon blossoms with the cherry trees. Magnolia trees are set with 100’s of big buds…and a sunny day today.

Netty oh yes Covid did stop a lot of dreams of many Olympic athletes but they also have learned skills and so much more about coping with life at an early age. I see a lot of maturity in my grandson for his age.

 

Good Tuesday morning all. Currently 4°C and overcast. I underestimated the temperature when I dressed for my morning walk. Got home and I was sweating buckets!
Looks like the rain is going to hold off until tomorrow, so today I will try to get some garden cleanup done! I'm excited!! I expect a few sore muscles tomorrow haha
Have a great day all

 

Good Wednesday morning all. Woke up to the sound of thunder and rain/hail hitting my window. April showers bring may flowers!
Checked the radar before I went out for my dog walk, and it showed clear skies from 8:40 - 9:50am. We left at 8:40 and we were only half way before a huge clap of thunder and some pouring rain sent us running home! Its all good, Sarge got toweled off, I changed my clothing and now he is relaxing by the fire and I'm enjoying a cup of coffee.
I had a great day in the garden yesterday, getting all the Anabelles trimmed, 3 gardens raked out, the asparagus cut down and a few shrubs pruned. I also got all the brush burned, and some solar lights fixed up. Went back out with the dog after dinner and we were out until 7:30pm. I got over 20,000 steps in and for the first time in weeks I slept like a baby. Gosh it feels so good getting back into the garden!

 

That sounds like a wonderful day Netty Can I ask about your asparagus? Do you have issues keeping them weed free? ( I sure do). Do you companion plant them at all? Any offers of care and advice would be much appreciated. I noticed them in the arial photos you shared a while back. My patch is twenty years old, and in rows. I'm starting to think once the asparagus is finished harvesting and left to it's own devices, the weeds can do their own thing ( although seeing them makes me bonkers)

 

After a long town trip yesterday, today is mostly home care and making a nice dinner for Hubby. Angus' hair seems to haver permiated every nook and cranny once again, so lots of dusting and vaccuuming today. His molt is almost over, and his gaurd hairs are beginning to come out. I look forward to not needing the woodstove anymore, to help with the dust.

It was -8 last night, so once it warms enough to safely transport seedlings, I will wheel barrow them down to the greenhouse to enjoy some natural lumens for the day.

Angus and I could walk on the crust of snow this morning. We walked to the creek to check out the beaver lodge and activity. They have had a very busy winter. They are building a new lodge as thier enthusiasm has changed the current of the water to a invade a lower area. This creek in particular rages with melt and mountain water. I have a phone call into the ministry that cares for our bridge and road way, as this could be an interesting developement with the freshet this year. Amazing what busy beavers can do.

 

Interesting reading about your beaver. What do you think will be done…what CAN be done?
Your temps and snow there are still hindering your outside planning, but ideal for a stroll.

 

Mel we have the same issue with beavers . The wildlife division comes out set traps catches them and relocates.
After all the water was flooding areas and flowing over the bridge. It seems to happen every winter .

 

Interesting about beavers. In my country and in Britain a hand full of them are being or have been re-introduced to try and re-establish a natural balance. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Wolves are another thing here. They have begun to return, and there have been some unfortunate results— large amounts of dead sheep. It is a bit devastating for the shepherds who are not allowed to trap or kill the wolves.

 

Canada is super sensitive towards wildlife in some regards, and more practical in others. We see on television what kind of intervention can be done in the US, and it is not the same here. We don't have the same infrastructure regarding authorities either.

Re: the Busy Beavers - only a licensed trapper can interact with them, and it would not be for relocation. This particular dam is on private land even though it is only 50 ft from a bridge and road, so only the landowner can request intervention from the trapper. This particular land owner lives in the city and has not been to the land he owns for many years. The trapper licensed for our area is a neighbour and friend, but cannot touch the situation.

The road care company cannot intervene with the beavers as it is "nature". No one is allowed to disrupt the dam they have built during certain times of the year, or the beaver's winter food source will dissapear and they will starve. When I was young (WAY WAY back) we would blow them up with dynamite every spring so the pasture wouldn't flood...no such fun exists any more. An old rancher friend took care of a dam last year, and was fined up the whazoo.

I just got off of the phone with the government official dedicated to our area for keeping road ways open. She is sending over the gentleman who is in charge of maintenance for our area. They will be checking the new flow of the creek that usually only happens at high water, and ensure that culverts will catch the spill over so that the road will not be washed out.

It's not uncommon for the end of our driveway to be under water at freshet time, hence the big truck

 

Let us know how your road and culverts are rescued from the beavers. They are amazing architects.
Hope all works out.

 

Good Thursday afternoon all. Currently 7°C and sunny.
I had my first full day back to work today, and my feet are killing me! After work I did my shopping and errands, then came home and walked the dog. I've done over 26,000 steps today!

I used to religiously weed my patch, until I realized that the best asparagus growing near me was the wild stuff in the ditches that no one weeds! Other than an occasional aggressive weed, I haven't weeded since and it does just fine! Probably my easiest crop haha
Have a great night all

 

Ahhhhh Netty. You just made my decade. We are of the same mind. Life is too short for me to have a perfect weedless asparagus patch. THANK YOU!!!