End Of June

Been busy outdoors for the past two months. I have spent very little time online and have focused on the immediate world and contacts around me but it's time for an update.
I have a new computer for email and browsing although I am doing all my writing, editing, photography, graphics etc. on my old machine which runs XP.
There is so much that still needs to be done on the new machine like getting all my old contacts established, getting Skype going, learning the new settings and what not; it runs Windows 7 which is beyond hokey for the way I have become accustomed to working. There is so many USELESS and ANNOYING features which would not even be an issue if there was a simple way to shut them off- for instance, why do I need to see a popup from the task bar of the current window when it's already displayed on the actual taskbar?! There are tons of things that pop up just for show- I think it's an attempt to copy the look of Mac systems which I don't care for either for the same reasons: animated and frivolous embellishments.

Anyway, I regret not having been able to keep in contact with some people I got to know this year, particularly the ones involved in family research studies but hopefully we will get in touch again. There is a lot of work to be done on the property and we have a lot of plans for the summer and fall to prepare for so I will cut this short and get right to some recent photos:

More Mohn Kuchen: I liked the poppy seed roll so much I baked another but didn't go stingy on the icing- still need to get that recipe posted...

Bread that almost didn't make it: I was going for bread rolls, thought I had made a minor mistake, and decided to simply braid the dough and see what happened; consequently this is my very first bread. ( I singed some of the raisins -oops)

Retro Planters: you can get free paint at the paint recycling places so with can of gold paint in hand I brought new life to Mama's 40 year old planters which used to be a dull black.

Columbine: I have a few columbines that are in their third year now and am starting to appreciate the possibilities of perennial plants. This particular one is a common lavender/pink tipped white but has an absolutely perfect form...quite stunning.

Welsh Poppy: A friend of mine and I are still in debate about what this poppy actually is but I'm going by my plant books description. I took this photo because of the one orange petal on an otherwise yellow poppy and entitled it: "I Changed My Mind".

Moss: Took this at Kentucky-Alleyne Lake just because of the moss which is not a common sight out in these dry parts of B.C.

Neon Green: just a pretty green bug on our official weed of Merritt. :)

June in Merritt B.C.

Spring in Merritt...wonderful what all can go down here. There are sandbags on the river which may well flood again, a small tornado actually hit town a few days ago and damaged one property, and all around is that disgusting cottonwood fluff.
Even the birds are puzzled by all this new water everywhere.

In one of the lanes is a big cottonwood tree that drops pounds of this white stuff which gets dragged and blown all over the place. I'm glad I don't have allergies.

A new garden and fence in particular has kept me and my husband busy. The fence was in terrible shape- the person who built it didn't concrete the poles in, spaced all the boards an inch apart and used a lot of nails that were no bigger than hair pins! The fence was literally swaying in the breeze this spring but now it's finally finished on the south and west back side of the property.


Privacy is important and is security- the neighborhood may look peaceful but we have theft and vandalism issues as well as firebugs (although not recently) plus general mischief. We also have crazy people in the vicinity - they shout obscenities and threats at me when I pass by their house on my way home with the dog.

The garden has been producing vegetables for a few weeks now- radishes and Swiss chard right plus some herbs now...it will be a while yet before anything else comes up as this year I started the whole lot from seed. Ditto for the flower garden out front. Lots of home improvement projects going on and in the meanwhile I'm loosing weight, stopped biting my fingernails, learned how to use a power saw, and started a few wood-working projects.

Flowers...all planted from seed with a strong emphasis on getting some perennials in good locations although I don't expect to see flowers on them till next year...the trick is to spot what I planted amidst all the madness of annuals. Here are a few I eventually hope to have:

Bleeding Heart and Peony