A little House Keeping..

Dear Perusers:
Goodness me, is it June Already?
Time to get ready for our annual MidSummer wreath making (with candid photos of Mr Bear struggling to make one again, lol), but before I do, I just wanted to let you know that I have decided to put my Documented Life Project into its own blog so I can keep this one clear for photos and poetry and whatever else strikes my fancy.
So please note on the top right hand side bar  - A Documented Life Project So Far.
Thank you ever so.
Since we have returned from our two weeks holiday away, our garden has become deliriously riotous with what only can be described as SuperGrowth with Don's peonies joining in the fray. Here is a bloom I picked yesterday, a delightful 'ball' of soft soft feathery petals and subtle scent.
Blessings to all lawn warriors out there battling the grass that threatens to choke the motor!

Another 2shot Twosday: St Peter's Quamichan Churchyard

On the left, the rare and protected Chocolate lily.
On the right, White Fawn Lilies with Grape Hyacinths.
Blessings of an earth filled with laughing flowers.

Mozart and Me - Gardening

Dear Perusers:
Who knew that Amadeus was such an ardent gardener?

His music perfectly suits whatever gardening tasks I have to do, plunk out goes the soil, plunkity plunk plonk, in goes the plant and tweetly tweet on the flutes just to keep the birds happy. (they join in, especially that red winged blackbird who has recently moved to one of our nearby trees.)
This post could also be called: Bluetooth Gardening. I am constantly amazed by the tech wizardry of my bluetooth pendant slung around my neck as it goes out and hunts for the channel I have selected on my Galaxy tablet. Ah ha! found it: and CalmRadio Mozart comes in loud and clear in my ear pieces.

Gardening to Mozart is one heck of a way to spend a pleasurable mild overcast but not rainy afternoon, 'doing up' my Provencal flower boxes. I missed doing these last year, so I am replacing the pansies with lobelia and geraniums in hopes I will attract the swallowtail butterflies and hummingbirds once more.

Blessings of Mozart or any other great composer on your Gardening endeavours!

Sunbeam Chocolate Cake for Ms P's Birthday!

Since Ms P doesn't 'do' facebook or ever read my blog, I feel it's safe to share this with you: 
It's Ms P's Birthday this week and in her honour Mr Bear dusted off the only homemade chocolate cake recipe we will ever bake: his mother's Sunbeam Mix Master one. (A cookbook was included with the machine back in the '50's). The kitchen has been smelling of chocolate cake all afternoon and it is a Very Good Thing that she is coming over tomorrow for lunch and will take it away with her. (either inside or out..lol) This is the first time Mr Bear has tried the silicone bundt pan and being a 'belt and suspenders' kind of cook, made sure it would not stick by spraying the be-heavens out of it before pouring the cake batter into its curvy recesses. As you can plainly see : TA DA! SUCCESS!!
Blessings of
chocolate cake
baking to all.
May your oven maintain the right temp!

Swamp Lantern Sunday

A Sure Sign of an Island Spring.

Blessings to all gumboot wearers out there.

Monkey's Gettin' Married - Saturday

Dear Karl:
If you are wondering about the header of this blog, it's a Trinidadian expression which I learned from my former co-worker Robin. He would crack open the blinds, look out on the rainbow making weather and say, 'monkey's gettin' married' today.'
I am also doing something a little different in that I am dedicating this post to you as a thank you for the recent support and kind words you have sent to me from which I quote an excerpt and thus the reason for this post... "and yes, by all means, keep sharing the little jems you find."
OK, Karl, for you, here are a few jems from the day :) (I like the spelling and will keep it).
I had received as part of my birthday largesse, a Dinters Nursery Gift Certificate from my cousins,Wayne, Dianne and Dawn (whom you met and did the diplomatic handshake..lol). How well they know me! Nothing could have been a more perfect gift and today we toodled off to plant heaven.
I used the gift certificate towards various purchases, including a BlueBird lace cap Hydrangea and will plant it in the front as a tribute to my recently departed friend Bette who had a similar hydrangea growing at the back of their house.  On the way back, we took the 'old' road which winds its way through the Cowichan tribal lands and at this time of the year, what I like to call, 'Glorious Abandonment' is very much in evidence. 

Old fruit trees, cherry, apple, pear, plum, planted a hundred years or more ago by the first settlers, still manage to bloom and against the dark green of the cedars and fir trees, make a fine showing. It is not unusual to see a tree in full white bloom at the edge of a swamp and because of it's position, you know it is probably a crabapple planted by birds.  

Mr Bear and I both think that ornamental fruit trees are downright silly, if you are going to plant a 'Fruit Tree' then by all means, let it bear fruit! I can appreciate that school yards and busy sidewalks don't want messy fruit dropping on the walk, but in a front yard?  We have a neighbour who has an ornamental cherry that must be at least 40 years old and it is showy, very showy, but only for a very brief time and then, bam, that's it. No fruit after all that waiting. As Nero Wolfe would say, 'phooey'.
Here are some shots on the way home, with fruit trees (both ornamental and bearing) and the bridge homeward.
Blessings to all who read this.

3shot Twosday: Victoria

It's The Day Before the Vernal Equinox and already we can sense the Turning.
Victoria Clinic Day for the Bears.
Though Victoria  is only 45 minutes to the south of us, it is about 3 weeks ahead as far as 'the blooming' is concerned. Already her cherry and plum blossoms were being blown off the trees and creating what the locals call; 'victoria snow'. (they can say that with pride as they really don't get much of the real stuff).

So on to my other 2shots:

The Irish Times pub which has a wonderful ambience (we were in the McArthy's snug- nice and quiet) and the food was GOOD! I rate it 5 forks out of 5!
Since Spring is nigh, of course that Other Chocolate Holiday is now rabbiting towards us at break- neck speed. I could not resist snapping this shot of Chocolate Stiletto heels. I know a certain friend of mine who love a pair!
Blessings of the Oncoming Spring or Fall (depending) to all on here.