Things of Beauty

Yesterday I thought I would do a pretty simple post, just some nice flower pictures, not a lot of commentary, shouldn't take long to do.....

Well after quite a few frustrating attempts to upload the photos, I was finally successful this morning.   I got the process underway, and then went outside to pick flowers, and this time, finally the darn things had uploaded.

These were taken yesterday evening when I was supposed to be out there picking things for today's market.  The light wasn't great.

It doesn't take much to make me happy, and these gladiolas (yeah I know it is supposed to be gladioli in the plural, but that just seems weird since I never use that word)  make me happy:)

Last year I bought quite a few bags in late spring when places like the grocery store and Walmart were clearing them out for as little as a dollar a bag.  They came up, and then when they started to flower, they were diseased looking, so I couldn't use any of them.  I would have put it down to the fact that they were late being planted, or weren't good quality, except for the fact that the glads that had been in the ground for years also came up and looked as bad. 

When I googled gladiola diseases, well I didn't even want to try figure out what they had, some virus or other it seemed.  With me, they don't get any doctoring, either you buck up and survive and look nice, or you will be turfed.

So when they came up this year and looked like this, I was verrrry happy:)

And love the intensity of this one

Phlox

Globe Thistle

Teasel

Echinacea

Some out of focus quaking oat grass,  with snapdragons and larkspur in the background

And the same things from another angle, with the basil in the foreground, which is going crazy with this warm weather

The larkspur kindly reseeded itself for me, so I just transplanted them all into one spot, and really have too much.

Shasta daisies, glads, phlox, babies breath, etc...

The original arugula patch has gone wild.  I think I'm just going to leave it, and see if I can save the seeds for next year.

And last but not least, the bee balm or monarda.  There were a couple of hummingbirds dashing around last night, well I could hear them, but mostly they seemed to be perched in the pine tree.  I stared up into it to see if I could see them, since they would be still, maybe I could get a photo.  Then I decided that I didn't really want the rare 'honour' of being pooped on by a hummingbird, so gave up.

And it's Fair Time.....

Every year our dog club participates in the big five day fair held in Abbotsford

It has the usual stuff.  Livestock, machinery, animals, midway, entertainment, etc.  We are part of the horse show, and an event called Horse and Hound. 

Here we are heading in for yesterdays show. 

Luna in interested in the cattle and the....water hoses!

We sit in the stands and watch part of the horse show.  Luna keeps her eye on those Friesian horses.  Next to me, Jake was loving up to a couple of kids, getting scratched and massaged, and ooooo, you missed a spot.

This is the same arena that our club practices in.

Here's Luna's run.  Larry hadn't heard where the horse's finish line was (the two cones on the far side of the arena), so was a little late starting.   And then he forgot to tell Luna with his voice and body that it was the teeter and not the dogwalk she was going over, hence the fly-off.  Doesn't phase Luna though, she's a bull in a china shop kind of gal. 

The first performance is always kind of a learning experience.  We set up the same course each time, so if you are there for all five days, by the end your dog could probably run it on it's own.  Being a Thursday and the first day of the fair, there aren't a lot of people there.  We go back again today, and then Monday.  We miss the weekend performances because of the markets.

It's a casual event, some of the horses won't do some of the obstacles, faults don't count with the dogs, and the more things go wrong, the more the crowd likes it:)

And a Stress Reliever....

It was a nice walk this morning.

The dogs wait after I have opened the gate.

Jake has the softest fur, and this picture makes me just want to bury my hands in it.

And they're off...

And they're back

Yesterday Larry took the tractor and brush mower down the trail and through the field.  We also went in there with a set of hedge shears each and beat back the vegetation.

It's a totally civilized trail now.

Larry said that he wanted to mow the trail so that Luna didn't get as many of those little burr thingies stuck in her hair.

Weird, this morning she ended up with the most I've ever seen. 

These ones are easy as they more or less brush out.  It's the ones in her armpits and the belly hair and her britches that are a struggle, as she hates you brushing there.  I'm not looking forward  to that fight.

Stress

 I was at the doctors this morning.  He asked me if I had stress in my life.  I said that everyone has stress of some sort or another.  He asked me if I had any new stress in my life, and I said no.

Too bad my appointment hadn't been tomorrow.  I think my answer would have been different.

My 22 year old son bought this tonight:(

1983 Honda CX650E.
82500 kms; Liquid cooled, shaft drive; great bike, runs well, good condition. This is a very rare bike and is eligible for collector plates. Comes with Krauser sadllebags and new mufflers – never installed, new battery, good tires - lots of tread. $2,500 obo

Aftermath of Saturday's Bush Run

The dogs were all hot and panting at the end of their bush walk, so I encouraged them to go in the water hole, or what's left of it.  Big mistake!

Well not so bad for the border collies, as they are agile and can leap over the worst of the mud around the edge.  Not so for Calli.  She kind of floundered around on her way out.  I thought it was just dirty water, and she would dry, but I was out of luck on that one.

(And you can see those impatiens still haven't moved)

So more drastic measures were called for.  You can see that she has some feeling in the skin back there.  The acupuncturist did explain to me how the nerves to the skin were different to the ones to the muscles.  See Calli's Story

More power was needed

Good thing she has a decent Stay, as it was only me, camera in one hand and hose in the other.

But finally she had had enough.

Meanwhile, Luna, the hose crazy dog, had been waiting patiently.

Hey, that's my eye

I'll start back from here

Head around to one side.

See if I can sneak in and get that hose

I'm cutting in under the spray

Ooof, darn woman, ya got me in the eye again!

Let's call it a truce!

Hey, you're making it spray again

oooh, look, you're making diamonds!

But here's a lovely daylily that needs watering

Darn flowers, spoiling all my fun!

Hectic Weekend

It's always pretty crazy around here on the weekend.  With going to two farmers markets, there seems to be so much to do, and not enough time or enthusiasm.  I have a last minute panic on Friday, thinking of the list that I had in my head for what I was going to get made that week, and how far behind I am at getting those things checked off. 

Then on Friday evening, it is time to start picking some of the produce.  Things like potatoes, carrots, beets, peas, beans.  I like to pick the greens when they are damp from the morning dew, so it is a 6am rise on Saturday morning, and I get the salad mix, arugula, basil, kale, chard, and things like that picked.  Larry gets the truck loaded up, lets the chickens out, etc.  At the start of the season I went to the Abbotsford market on my own, and Larry came at the end to help me pack up.  The last few weeks, now that there are more vegetables, and also flowers to be picked for Sunday's market, I stay at home and do that, and Larry takes my place at the market.

We wear rubber boots for much of the year, but now that it is summer, rubber boots are just too hot.  Not matter, you still need something waterproof on first thing in the morning, because in this part of the world we get such heavy dew.

Part of the morning tasks are going to check on Pride, and taking the dogs on their morning bush run.

The first stop is to give Pride his apple and put on his fly mask.  Luna's always got to check him out.

Then we head through the gate to the back bush, where the dogs get to practice a little impulse control.  After the 'okay', Luna and Jake race off side by side up the path through the grass, as fast as they can go.  Every time, without fail.  If we don't seem to be following them, but heading into the bush instead, they come back.

Into the bush we go

Parts of the trail are horribly overgrown.  You can barely see Calli in the middle of the photo.

And other parts are nice like this

Jake was on squirrel alert!

Calli is still trying to find some of the last salmonberries

So I help her out

The creek has dried right up, other that one little pool further along that Luna likes to flop herself into

There was some excited barking by Calli, which meant she had probably hit on a hot coyote scent.

I started calling, and Luna came back so fast she was a blur!

Calli came back eventually, and she got a treat, as did Luna and Jake

And then back down the field, which is full of daisies

And watch out for the stinging nettles, they are always out to get you:(

So after I've done the walk, pulled carrots and beets, picked any peas or beans, dug up some potatoes, picked some of the flowers at least, it is time to head off and get to the market to help Larry pack up.  It's nice to have someone to help pack up, especially if it is a hot day.

Then while I'm in town, I usually do some grocery shopping.

After we get back home, I have to go through and try to restock the jam that was sold with what I have on hand.  As soon as some shade comes onto the garden, we start picking the rest of the flowers.  Somewhere in there, we usually take the dogs for another walk.  Then there are eggs to collect, clean, get into cartons and label.  Then I have to convince myself to start putting together bouquets.  Last night I only got 8 done, before I had had enough, and that was 12:30 am.  To bed, then up again by 6, and start and pick the greens for Sunday's market.  That takes longer because we take more to that market, and we actually need to leave earlier.  It was a real rush this morning, and too much to take, as we had to take all the buckets of flowers I hadn't made up yet.   In the end we took the car as well.  I stopped and walked the dogs at the tree farm (less than 15 minutes) while Larry continued on and got started on the setup.

At the tree farm, Luna scented on a very large, what I hope was a garter snake.  The biggest one I have ever seen, although I only saw part of it.  Then there was a buck deer that went bouncing off.  Thank goodness I saw it before the dogs, so was able to keep them under control, Yay!

Then after the market is over and we have packed up, which takes nearly an hour, we go for something to eat, and then go and visit our mothers, who live close by.  So we usually don't get home until the evening, and by that time we are pretty well done in! 

And then tomorrow, time to start all over again, getting ready for the next weekend.