The weeks and days seem to be zooming by, but we’re enjoying it! The garden is full of promise and excitement, including lots of strawberry flowers.

It’s the May long week-end here in Canada, officially known as Victoria Day week-end for Queen Victoria’s birthday, or the 2-4 week-end for the fact that her actual birthday is May 24 and the fact that 24 flats (as in 24 cans in a flat) of beer are often involved! For us this week-end is all about the outdoors. If you’re in Canada – have a great long week-end!!

I need some spring/summer clothes for the office, so thought I’d start by making myself a shrug. This is my own pattern, just a simple yarn over stitch staggered over an 8 row repeat. Bit of ribbing at either end, sewn together to make sleeves after knitting it as one big rectangle. The yarn is from my friend who is currently living in Korea, no label just a giant skein of yarn – I love the colours as it is four strands of turquoise-green-blue. Only took about a week to make up.

 

We’ve had an unseasonably warm beginning to May, and after the last two years of cold wet springs it is wonderful! The garden is exploding of course, and we are already having to water, but we’ll take it this year.

Here we are in month five of the year. I’m still feeling like health was the right word for 2013, and still feel that there are lots of challenges left. So, what’s in store for this month?

1. Garden – this is full on for spring. Spring vegetables are up, but now I’m looking at how to keep the garden healthy through the long days of summer as well. Looking at mulches, my watering system, soil, etc. Putting lots of physical work into the rest of the garden as well this month.

2. Physical Health – I think one goal for this month is adding in more long walks or hikes. Mr. Kate is finished volleyball season so we are doing more good walks during the work week, but I would like to continue finding longer walks for Bushboy and I to do on week-ends (Mr. Kate works week-ends right now, having days off in the middle of the week). Another goal is to add in more resistance-style work – sit-ups and push-ups, more weights, etc.

3. Work Health – time to get more writing done. It’s been two years since I had an article published and I’ve been doing a lot of writing for my day job while doing editing contracts at home. I love editing, but I would like to get something ready for publication over the next month or so. Lots of article ideas floating around, need to get them down.

So there you have it. Longer days are here, and while being outside perhaps encourages the physical health, it also can encourage lazy days. So, I plan to stay focused with these challenges! What are you doing to stay healthy these days?

April flew by, finally bringing warmer weather and sunnier skies. I only gave myself two challenges for the month, although both were big ones. As I spoke of during the month, I also concentrated on financial health, as it was tax time (April 30th is the Canadian deadline).

The garden. We are well underway in the garden! I got spring planting in early this year, and lots of things are already sprouting. If temperatures stay as high as they are this week (20 plus degrees C) I may not get much from the spring crops. The vegetable beds are all cleaned out and composted. The back flower bed is almost finished, side bed is done. Still have the herb garden to finish cleaning out, as well as the front beds. But all in all we got lots done this month.

Meal planning. Threw some new menu items into the mix this month, as well as being more organized. Now that the bbq is back in use, hoping to do some more grilling and healthy items outdoors as well. This will continue.

So there you have it. I was glad to have these as my focus, and both will certainly continue to be at the front of the list for this month. (That list is coming!)

the peas are up

 

It’s no secret that our garden is pretty wildlife friendly, we’ve got a plethora of insects, birds and other cool creatures sheltering in our space. One small critter however has eluded Bushboy, the tree frogs that we hear all around us at night. Until today! This little guy was sheltering inside our bbq, and let us get a photo shoot in before jumping under our deck to safety. So cool.

Compared to a more rural property we don’t have a huge variety of creatures around, but I’m always amazed at what can be found on our little suburban lot, sheltering in our garden space.

(Health check-in and new monthly challenge coming later this week…and don’t tell me that the week is already half over!)

 

I’ve had this rhubarb plant for years, but it’s only been in the garden box for about 4 years. It has thrived there, getting bigger and stronger every year.

This year the oddest growth started coming up out of the centre as the leaves unfurled.

 

I realized it was likely a flower, but I’ve never seen rhubarb flower so I did a little research. Sure enough a rhubarb flower it is. Apparently a well-established rhubarb plant will in some years put out a flower stalk. Unfortunately I will have to cut it, as the flower will slow or stop the production of the delicious rhubarb stalks. It sure is cool looking!

Maybe I’ll put it in a jar out on the deck and see what it looks like when it fully opens.

 

At this time of year juvenile bald eagles are a very common sight along the Campbell River shoreline. The parent eagles are pushing them away in preparation for the new babies they will be caring for this year, and the juveniles don’t always go willingly. So they hang around the nesting sites, hoping to catch the favour of mom and dad. This one was quite interested in Chika while we were at the beach this week, sitting only 20 feet or so up in a tree at the edge of the logs where Chika was exploring. 

For Christmas Mr. Kate got me Adobe Elements. I finally got a book out of the library and have been having fun learning about all the cool things the program can do. I also am enjoying having my camera back, so I took some photos this week-end in the garden and then played around on Elements with them. Let’s have a little show and tell with before and after photos, shall we?

  

 

 

I think the forget me nots is my favourite picture. Fun to play with, although a little time consuming for everyday photos. Great for creating cool scrapbook images from time to time, and much better than iPhoto for captioning, framing, etc.

 

Working in the garden, loving the rhubarb so eager to greet the early spring.

Panda’s new favourite sun spot is near the west-facing window on top of the sewing machine box. She’s so pretty and such a little minx.

The lilac bush is getting me quite excited this year, this is the most buds it’s ever had!

Family dinner at my mum’s, our contribution was this Epicure BLT dip (gets cooked before serving). So good!