I’m back in Montreal, getting into the groove of life. Cleaning up the house, laundry, the usual. Part of it is assessing what needs to be done in the garden of course. After 11 days, there’s much to do. When I was walking around James’s garden, which he and Jeremy christened Fiachre’s Glebe (look up...
Year: 2015
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Paradise on Gambier
I’m back on Gambier Island for the second time in two years. I’m visiting my nephew, Ryan and his wife, Emily and their two kids, Eloise and Lawrence. Gambier is a magical place in B.C. that has somehow remained largely unspoiled, despite much logging in the past. Some is still going on, but the forests...
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Roll With It
Back to early spring temperatures this morning after two very hot days. This has been a most unusual spring weather-wise, but there’s something to be said for a respite like this before the brutally hot days yet to come (if any, cause who knows?). It’ll be a good day to get out and tie up all...
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Glorious Gardening
I’m adoring this spring in the Tranquil Garden. I guess every year is a bit different; sometimes I’m more excited to be out there and sometimes not so much. This year, probably due to the long, hard winter, I’ve been feeling grateful for the beauty of the garden, the warm weather (I try to avoid complaining about any...
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Flowers that Give (Just like Mom!)
(I wrote the following a few days ago, before the temperature dropped and the rains started. ) I’m enjoying spring (feels more like summer, but who’s quibbling?) very, very much this year. I’m thrilled about every new shoot that is suddenly four inches tall when it was nowhere in sight the day before. Nothing like a...
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Music and Lavender
I was sitting in a rehearsal today thinking about what music and flowers have in common. They’re both beautiful (mostly) and they have the power to make people happier; I also enjoy having both in my life. I was listening to our piano soloist, André Laplante, playing the Grieg piano concerto; I was mesmerized by his phrasing and...
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A Few Spring Chores and Words of Wisdom
I was looking out on the Tranquil Garden today and thinking about starting the annual spring clean-up. I won’t be doing it right away, because, first of all, that would be against my nature; but, also because the ground is still pretty soggy, and I’ve read many times that walking around on the lawn and flower...
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Weather Report…FROM LONDON!
This will be much more than a weather report, but I thought it would be fun to continue the theme once more all the way from London, UK! Today’s weather is cloudy with a high of 12C. So, not the Bahamas, but still a vast improvement. I went out with a hat, scarf and fingerless...
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Weather Report
It seems that all the posts I’ve written this winter have had something to do with the weather, so I’m just going to be clear (right from the title) that since winter may be prolonged until the next millennium I may as well keep reporting on this all-important factor in a Canadian’s life, whether you’re a...
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Work in Progress (WIP)
I’m not only a gardener and musician (not necessarily in that order), but I’m also a knitter. I’m fairly new to the craft, unless you count the time a few decades ago when I knitted a sweater for Dave and a couple of other things. I’m new to the obsession of knitting, let’s say. I got...