These magnificent birds are a beautiful sight to see, yet there are many warnings around that caution visitors so that the owls are protected.   Please, if you do go to see the owls, maintain a respectful distance from them.  If they start flying away, you have gone too close.  To ensure they are not disturbed view them only from the dyke (do not enter the marsh area), keep quiet, and don’t go as a large group or bring children or pets.  Stressing the owls will not only drive them away, but also threatens their survival.

That being said, seeing Snowy Owls and their habitat is a rare treat that anyone interested should get out and enjoy.  Bring binoculars, a telephoto lens and/or a spotting scope so you can get a good look at them from a distance.  For more information on the Snowies and where to find them, please check the updates at the end of this post.

For more information on Snowy Owls at Boundary Bay, please check out Anne Murray’s Nature Guides B.C. Blog.

According to Birding BC here is where the Snowies have been seen:

This has become a major SNOWY OWL flight year, with reports of up to 29
birds near the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay, plus 5 or 6 more in the
Brunswick Point area of Delta. Birders and photographers are asked to
observe SNOWY OWL from a respectful distance, to make an effort not to
flush or frighten off the owls, and to speak to anyone who appears to be
crowding an owl too much.

News:

Global TV Report here.

CBC News Report here.

Update January 3, 2011

Reports are that there are still Snowy Owls in Boundary Bay, although numbers vary day by day.

Every year we like to hang a different wreath on our front door during the holidays.  We’ve amassed a collection of wreaths to match the holiday season trends of sparkly red berries, Christmas ornaments, peacock feathers, and square-shaped boxwood but my favorites are most certainly natural, fresh wreaths.

A fresh wreath makes for an individual work of art that smells as good as it looks.  Florists and garden centers are wonderful places to find one to suit any style but if you are feeling adventurous, a homemade wreath made with garden clippings or purchased greens, can be most gratifying.

Given the current popularity of lateral space gardening, there are supplies available for all sorts of wreath plantings. Evergreen, succulent, moss, and flower wreaths are beautiful micro gardens that will suit most any style or climate.  Care will vary depending on what type of planting you decide on, but many will last for months, if not years, with a couple weekly squirts of a spray bottle.

Here’s how to make one:

Materials:

• evergreen foliage
• grapevine wreath
• pruners
• gloves
• twine
• berries, twigs, pinecones, ribbons (optional)

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A special thanks to the wonderful neighbourhood gals who provided all the foliage, wine, and treats that go along with the annual wreath-making afternoon.

There are some really fascinating winter blooming plants that I have seen, like witch hazel ‘Diane‘ and white forsythia, but I wasn’t familiar with this one.  Turns out these aren’t the blooms at all but the fruit that has set seed. Regardless, the show was splendid and completely stood out in a sea of holiday green and red.

Here is some more info on it from Wikipedia:

“Euonymus europaeus grows to 3 to 6 m tall, rarely up to 10 m, with a stem up to 20 cm diameter. The leaves are opposite, and are lanceolate to elliptical, 3 to 8 cm long and 1-3 cm broad, with a finely serrated edge. In autumn they often show a beautiful bright red colour.

The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in late spring and are insect-pollinated; they are rather inconspicuous, small, yellowish green and grow in cymes of 3-8 together. The capsular fruit ripens in autumn, and is red to purple or pink in colour and approximately 1 to 1.5 cm wide. When ripe, the four lobes split open to reveal the orange seeds.

The fruit is poisonous, containing amongst other substances, the alkaloids theobromine and caffeine, as well as an extremely bitter terpene. Poisonings are more common in young children, who are enticed by the brightly-coloured fruits. Ingestion can result in liver and kidney damage and even death.”

But a harvest?  Why, yes!  Flowers were grown in our home garden, photographed in studio, then enlarged to mammoth proportions in order to showcase the magnificent details of each individual flower.  The photographs were digitally designed to be giclee printed on a beautiful linen-cotton canvas and sewn to perfection.  Little details like expensive hidden zipper closures and feather/down inserts were taking into account.  Then each one was hand washed, dried, and ironed, ready to go to it’s new home.

Was it easy?  Um, well, no.  There were months of prints and reprints to get just the right detail to each inch of fabric.  There was wash testing.  There was cuddle testing (that was a particularly tough one).  In the end, it was so worth it.  We think these soft but durable pillows are the perfect art for the home.  We hope that you agree!

Please visit the Garden Therapy Handmade store to check out all the designs, 9 in total.  Favoriting, liking, tweeting, or any other social media sharing would be greatly, greatly appreciated and happily returned in kind.  And thank you for your support.

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It’s now the season for picking wild mushrooms in the woods. Even though there are pros who make their living finding delicacies deep in the forest, beginners can grab some great hiking boots and a camera and go looking for interesting finds.

• If you are not absolutely certain that a mushroom is edible, don’t eat it.  Seriously.  There are many mushrooms that are deadly poisonous and it’s just not worth the risk.  Other may make you sick so it’s best to handle with caution.  It not even a good idea to touch mushrooms if you don’t know anything about them.
• Grab yourself a mushroom guide (we like National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides) for our region) and/or a local human guide if you are lucky enough to find one.
• If you plan to pick edible mushrooms, check that it is allowed in your area.  Then practice good mushroom etiquette: Disturb as little as possible, carry mushrooms in a basket (not a plastic bag) to allow the spores to drop and repopulate, and gently cut the mushroom at the base as opposed to up-rooting the whole thing.  There are some mushrooms that you remove the full root so it’s best to read up before you head out.

Once you get out in the woods there a good chance you’ll get addicted to the fresh air, relaxing sounds, and visual delights.  Happy mushrooming!

I’m so excited about receiving the new book from Timber Press called Seeing Trees: Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees which features these beautiful photographs.

Said to be “A beautifully produced and photographed new book” by Martha Stewart Living, photographer Robert Llewellyn should be proud.  To win your own copy of Seeing Trees, enter the contest on Timber Press’s website.  Bonus: you can also win a signed print!

I got out a few days before the dump and covered my rosemary, sage and gai lan with greenhouse umbrellas which may help a bit.  As you can see by the photos, it’s a bit like trying to drink a swimming pool. 

My weekly home-grown vegetable adventures weren’t a total bust though.  Just before the dump, I managed to get a few parsnips from the ground and make a lovely parsnip and white bean soup with crispy parsnips.  It was delish.

Now that the ground has thawed a bit I’ll try to dig up the potatoes I left at the community plot (whoops) and I pulled some beets.  Greens are wilty but the roots are plump and sweet.  I hope to continue pulling the roots for as long as I can, but I think that the winter vegetable starts are a write off for the year so I’ve set up the automatic sprouter indoors and I’ll grow my greens there for now.  

It’s been an interesting week or two we have been having here, so it’s great to have a look over at Daphne’s Dandelions to see what others are harvesting elsewhere.

I recently read this post by Kat about why she embraced failure as a gardener (trying + failing = learning + growth) and I was struck once again my the gravitational pull of guilt that lingers in my gardens.  I fight it.  I deny it.  I give myself great pep talks about how the garden is there for me not me for it.  That when I want to garden I will always have LOTS to do and when I want to do other things, well that’s life.  I’m busy.  I don’t always feel like dragging my tired ass out to the garden to weed yet another day.  I keep strong and fight the guilt.  If the plants die then they aren’t the right plants for me, I reason.

As Kat eloquently put it, “failure isn’t my favorite part of gardening, it’s PART of gardening. There is no escaping it. If one wants to grow in anything they do, one has to take risks.”

I believe all of this and love that she said it.  We ALL fail sometimes and other times we just let things slide (die, shrivel, wilt). No one can do EVERYTHING with out going bonkers.  Busy lives, busy days, family, friends, jobs, classes, etc, etc, etc.  It’s a part of the process and a valuable one.  So in celebration of all the half-ass projects that I have collecting in my house, that we all have collecting in our houses, I’m posting photos.  Yes, graphic photos, of the less-than perfect moments in my garden:

Sometimes I forget about the bird feeders on a tree, in the garage, or in bird feed box.  Then I get a creepy surprise like this crazy black fungus.

Or mold, sprouts AND crazy black fungus.  Yikes, sorry birds.

Late blight can get away from me as much as I try to remove every branch, leaf, grain of soil that is contaminated.  This Micro Tom tomato plant hid from me and my snippers on De-Blight Day and now I think those little tomatoes are rotting in my fridge.

This weedy overgrown mess is my back garden.  I really need to divide the perennials, clean up the soil, and give it a good mulch for the winter.  But hey, I’m just happy that I planted up the barrel with Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli).

A  kind neighbour gave me some dahlia tubers which I promptly left in newspaper on my deck for 4 months until they sprouted.  I still have no idea where to plant them.

And since the kicthen table is the holding ground for garden / food related projects, it is the wasteland for my collections like these eggshells I planned to use against the slugs that have been mowing down my lettuce seedlings…

…or basil clippings that have been there for months.

There is more out there: dead seedlings, seeds sprouting in packets, trees in need of pruning, and weeds, weeds, weeds.  Ugh, and that box of fall bulbs I was due to plant last month is staring at me every day (plant me plant me plant me).  But I say, “Damn you bulbs and weeds and guilt!”  I have a beautiful garden that feeds me well and is completely and utterly imperfect.  I shun the guilt, hold my head high, knowing I have a garden to work on whenever I want to enjoy a beautiful day outside, or get in a little garden therapy.