And I even got to cut the cake!

Dena Kubota, our Eastshore Representative for ArtWalk, sent me this picture of me cutting the cake at the Creston opening last Friday night. Actually, Mayor Snopek did the honors, but I got to do the more "domestic" cutting and serving after.
James and I finished delivering the last of the venue posters and brochures this afternoon. Now we need to whipper snip the grass at our own gate and put up our own venue posters.
This afternoon as I walked down to my mom's there was a bald eagle circling just back of her home.
We had such a great time this evening. There are a group of people working in clay every Wed at the Wynndel Hall and right now they are making bugs for a "Go Buggy in the Garden" installation for the Creston Valley Garden Festival this July21 - 23. James and I went and had a really fun evening and toasted summer with a lovely sweet white wine to top it all off. And there were stars! We've seen so few lately with all the rain.

Proof the bird boxes really "work"!!!!

Here's proof the birdhouses "work." Our friend Taryn emailed this picture of a swallow peeking out of one of my houses. Jim and Taryn bought a house for smaller birds and the swallows were so insistent they needed a home they bought another house the right size for them.
We are still having really changeable weather. This morning was lovely and I took my mother for lunch at the Blueberry Patch Country Market - a farm that grows blueberries and hydroponic strawberries, and has a lovely little gift shop and restaurant. On our way home we stopped and watched a whitetailed deer doe and fawn cross a field. Because my mom is 85 she doesn't spot things as fast as earlier in her life, but these two weren't too far away and weren't moving particularly fast so we had a good view.
I had to run back into town for errands but didn't get much done as the skies opened and it just poured rain. It dumped again this evening but now, at 9:15 it isn't bad. This has been a very wet spring!

As spring turns to summer...

What James has been doing

James has been in the studio. He's done some lovely paintings lately , starting early in the morning in that "misty", almost romantic light, and with our very wet spring there has been plenty of mist to paint in!

ArtWalk Opening and Saturday Market

First day of the Saturday Market for the season!!!!
It wasn't pretty, in fact as we left the house about 7:15 it was pouring and having put our tent up in rain before we know it does not deflect water - it leaks!!! so we didn't put the tent up. We backed both vehicles in and opened the backs (Jeep Cherokee with the door forming a roof too low for Danny to stand under, and Ford pickup with a canopy that the door sticks out but not beyond the tail gate.)
Lois and girls were there too but their tent is water proof and she has shower curtains attached around the sides with their curtain rings, so their world didn't disolve into soap bubbles, and I got my feta fix!
I have a squall jacket that knocks about in the back of the car and gets in the way, but it is there "in case." Today it was "in case Lois forgets a jacket" and it looked very nice and tidy on her. Eileen had brought it one time and the back of the car seemed like the appropriate place for such a garment.
The rains would come, and then the sun would shine weakly through the clouds, and then it would be raining again, but we had a steady stream of customers - not a lot, but quite steady - and I pretty much sold out except for a few cookies. I had 2 loaves left which is not a problem and the rhubarb crisp muffins vanished early on. We decided people are just fed up with waiting for good weather and decided to come out anyway.
Last night was the ArtWalk opening for Creston and it was just great! We had a local, and very good jazz band, After Hours, play and they did just play and play without even a break for 3 hours. Their music is danceable for those who do, and really nice to listen to as we all visited and ate Annette's great goodies. (Annette of Annette's Bistro and Coffee House.)
James has a large showing of his work at Annette's.

Nest boxes and wildlife

Here are two recent nest boxes, or bird houses depending on what one wants to call them.
The house on the left is sized for a bluebird or swallow. The house on the right is for a small bird like a chickadee or wren.
We've been having quite the wildlife days. A couple nights ago we drove out to the back field and saw 4 elk in the middle field grazing like cows. We drove around the neighbourhood and as we came back in the driveway there were 3 little groupings of white tailed deer totalling 10 deer in all. No wonder gardening is a challenge!
The day before yesterday I was gazing at the neighbour's field watching a cow elk in the tall grass when she came out with a calf following her. She was none too relaxed crossing the open field with her precious baby.
Skeeter, our little abandoned kitten, is becoming more tame. If I sit in a low chair she comes to be petted, but she's not too sure about being picked up and if you approach her face to pet her from the front she flinches. Someone was not kind to her! But she is putting on a little weight and her coat is improving.
The other night we were sitting in the yard having an outside dinner when she caught a really big vole (field mouse) and she was some proud of herself! She kept running from one side of the yard to the other carrying her prize. She would have to put on a nervous little spurt of speed as she passed us, but she did want us to see what a good cat she is.

Skeeter

This is Skeeter. We are having some success in taming her. She is still a poor nervous little creature but we found that if we set my little kids school chair on the deck and sat down low in it she was not so intimidated by the huge humans and she does want to be petted even though she is scared of sudden moves and not quite sure she won't get hit. Poor little thing. Someone wasn't kind to her.
I have managed to pick her up a couple times ever so briefly. My friend Betty brought over some kitten weaning food that looks for all the world like someone took cat food and pulverized it in the food processor and put a big price on it. You're supposed to mix it half and half with water and she does eat it. She is starting to eat the regular cat food too but I think she may need a little special care. She's rather thin and her hair shows the lack of good eating. When she first came she wouldn't eat and I have found this behavior in stressed kittens before.
One little kitten was depressed and suffering separation anxiety I'm sure. She had decided to never eat again and I coaxed her back to eating by biting vitamin E capsules and putting the oil on her lips.
Look at the size of those feet! She has one orange foot, one black, and two tortoise shell, which I believe is what best describes her colouring.
James is painting wonderful moody garden paintings these days, that and actually gardening when the weather permits.
ArtWalk is nearly up and running. Tomorrow I've an early morning meeting and then the brochure will go to the printer. I have another meeting with KC from Kootenay Employment Services who is helping us (James and I) set up our web page.
Sunday is the ArtWalk opening in Crawford Bay and Friday the 16th is the opening here in Creston.
Sat the 17th the Farmers' Market opens for the season. Busy, busy, busy........

Skeeter, or "the things we do for love...."

I fear we may have another cat.

For a few weeks my husband would see a dark flash down by the chicken house as he came out of our house. We knew there was a little stray about but hoped she’d wander on.

It sounds harsh, but harsh are the people who drop their animals off “in the country” for the coyotes and hawks to kill, and for them to be totally unprepared for life in the wild.

They drop them off in winter when everything is frozen and there isn’t even water!!! Never mind food. They drop them off in the heat of summer too.

We see them in the ditches sometimes and it is no life for a domestic animal, and yet we can’t take in every stray. We have our own animals that we are responsible for. We see them where they’ve been hit by cars too.

Well, a couple days back she moved up to the house and is yeowling. She is pathetic. She is horribly thin, and has a tiny, warped, malnourished little body. She is that very dark brown and orange brindley colour, which is why I think she is “she.” There is no size to her at all. I wonder how young she was when someone discarded her. She has a sad little bent tail that probably was broken in another life not too long ago as I believe she’s still a kitten. She may be in heat, oh joy! We always have our own animals neutered and chose not to acquire more than we can care for. We did not choose her.

But we have put out food and water. We can’t just let her starve.

I wonder if she was someone’s pet. Would a cat that was completely feral crave human companionship? That is what she wants. She won’t let me touch her but she is managing to get closer, and I can tell she wants to be near.

I spent more than an hour today sitting out in the lawn chairs sweet talking her and dangling my fingers down near the ground and she even managed to jump up in the chair by me ever so briefly. I talked to her and talked to her and assured her I wouldn’t hurt her. I think she's been hurt before. She has probably been chased or kicked. Twice she gave my fingers a tentative tap. This is real progress, but I really don’t need, and I really don’t want another cat.

Nora

Spring marches on.....

I seem unable to catch up with the year - mentally, or physically. I fear my gardening will again be "splendor in the grass" as, with the hand surgery I still can't garden, let alone build birdhouses, but it will come.
I think of columbines and Centaura Montana as June flowers, but these are blooming enthusiastically in May. We've had so much rain that they are falling down from the weight of it and creating an absolute tripping hazzard on the walk. Last year's Autumn Joy still adds interest to the rather wild bouquet.
My columbines are olde style flowers, heritage in the real sense, dug up from the flower garden my mom had when we were still children. We didn't have running water and the flowers drew life from the left over dish water. It didn't hurt them!
Please note the leaded glass disk above the columbines. It sits atop a 4 ft metal spike and was made by an artist friend, Catherine Roy.
The super big tortoise hiding in the greenery was chain saw carved by Garth Huscroft.

Humming Birds and healing

Well, I saw a hummer checking out the Christmas light bulbs the other morning. They're actually a little late this year but I made them some sugar water anyway. James had to fill the feeder - I'm still swanning about one handed because of the surgery. By yesterday they had found it and were quite busy in the sunshine today.
I'm still typing left handed and a little with the right but then I pay for it after.
Saturday is our annual spring paint-out, when folks are free to come paint outside on our lovely hillside and we always hope for good weather though many years we are dodging rain drops.

It is that day...

Well, it is "that day." I am off to Trail for the third hand surgery on my right hand in the past year - all Dupuytren's Contracture related. Dupuyetren's is a condition that causes the fingers to draw down - not "handy" for building birdhouses.
The messy scenery picture is of my poor, sad forsythia which has finally decided to bloom. Beyond it, and barely visible, is a wild Saskatoon. Soon the hills will be covered in little girls in white, ruffly party dresses. The poplar leaves are appearing, little, bright green and waxy, and then the leaves will continue to grow to their normal summer size.
In the past week the world has become green. This spring had a hard time wresting itself from the arms of winter, mild though the winter had seemed.
Somehow, I had dreamed of having a bunch of gardening and yardwork done by now, but it is not to be, not this year anyway. I do have a good supply of bird houses on hand, so that is a good thing.

Arts and Culture Week, Creston Style

What a great day Sunday was!

Sunday, late morning, early afternoon we went out to the Wynndel opening of Arts and Culture Week and saw the great installation of Raku fish they had mounted on iron bars all along the creek with little areas where one could read about the various dams on the Kootenay and how they affected the Kokanee Trout in Kootenay Lake, and how that affected the larger Girrard Trout and Dolly Varden. Also, added to the changes from the dams, when Cominco cleaned up some of its practices of releasing fertilizer into the river it lowered the algae growth in the lake to the point where the fish’s survival was threatened and there was a whole program of adding fertilizer to Kootenay Lake in the 90’s to the point that the fish population has rebounded.

At the Wynndel Hall there were also people demonstrating Raku firing, there was ice art, inside there was a fish and chips feed, and a quilt show and sale with some sales going to the Wynndel After School Arts Program and a bunch of wonderful quilted fish wall hangings being sold with the monies going to the Creston Aquatic Society.

Sunday evening was the Creston opening of Arts and Culture Week at the Art garage and it was wonderful. The garage was full to overflowing with local artists and what a happy din. It was really great to see so many people from the different arts related groups co-operating on a common cause.

We went home glowing happily. The Art Garage will be open daily through May 7, with various other activities around town all that time.

Today was a trip to Cranbrook with lots of wildlife along the way. 5 white tailed deer, 3 mule deer, many, many geese, ducks, a heron, etc. I had to run back to town this evening and was just in time to see the 'clean up crew", this time a large hawk, gathering up the remains of a Columbia Ground Squirrel who tried to cross the road just one time too many.

This evening our friends, Jim and Taryn WoodnoteSaberwing, who create beautiful stone and silver or gold jewelry, came out and we did a trade. They now have a swallow birdhouse for the little swallow couple who have been trying to squeeze into the enty hole of the chickadee house, and I have a wonderful pair of rustic woolly mammoth tusk earrings.

What a busy time!

Yesterday one of the volunteers from the Creston Valley Garden Festival (July 22 & 23) was out to interview me about my birdhouses as I will be demonstrating "The Care and Feeding of Your Birdhouse" - in other words, how to mount and care for a birdhouse - in one of the gardens. I am also hoping to get to hear Des Kennedy who is the celebrity speaker this year.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of this year's provincewide Arts & Culture Week which Creston's Arts Council always expands to two weeks to include the schools' annual celebration of the arts, Focus on Youth, which runs from May 1st - 6th.

Wynndel is celebrating with an opening tomorrow late morning - early afternoon with a raku fish release and quilted fish and ice art and a fish and chip lunch all celebrating a live sturgeon release the children from the elementary school will take part in.

Tomorrow evening is Creston's opening at the Art Garage, an old unused garage that the owner has allowed us to transform into gallery space for the two coming weeks. James and I spent a good chunk of Friday helping with our 7 Studios display. James will be doing demonstrations at the Art Garage on Tues and Thurs and a day long workshop sponsored by the Art Club, at the Rotocrest Hall on Wed.

Friday we go to Trail for more hand surgery for me. Hopefully this will cure the seizing up business. I won't be building birdhouses for a few weeks, but then I'll be back at it. Fortunately I have managed to have a good supply of bird houses on hand- never as many as one would like but a fair number for now.

Every day a little springier!

I'll have to put a picture on of the great shelves James built me. I have been industriously trying to get ahead with birdhouses for when I have hand surgery at the end of this month, and consequently the birdhouses were taking over the gallery, all on the floor, and piling up in front of the benches, and.....
Our friends Jim and Taryn gave us some old bifold doors and James used them for my shelves. Now I have four 6 foot shelves in front of the one bank of windows, and I just got all my finished houses up on them when some ladies came up the driveway and bought one!
Yesterday, late afternoon, there was a real gully washer of a rain storm with lashing wild winds and then, just as quickly as it came, it went, and we had sunshine - and a whole flock of Mountain Bluebirds flying about and sitting on the old wagon wheels. James saw them again this morning. I would love to see bluebirds nesting near the house.
Mountain Bluebirds are all blue with some whitish feathers on their breasts and the females are less bright, with a gray hue to them. We also have Western Bluebirds here in the Creston Valley but they are more rare. The Western Bluebird male has a rosy breast and a pink tinge to his shoulders. Female bluebirds are more difficult to tell apart. The song of the bluebird is a soft, sweet, sad call.

More irises

Now that James is done repairing the truck there will be more time for painting. He has been working on a painting of some antique silver, pewter, and copper tea and chocolate pots we have. Actually, he's also very busy getting garden beds ready for planting.
Last night I planted a gazillion rudbeckia inside. This summer and fall we should have a sunset of golden blooms.

Spring is springing

James and I went for a couple little drives today. We drove out to the back of the place and there are some incredible puddles across the road. James won't be cutting firewood for a while: we can see that! Oh but it was green and lovely, and a gorgeous red tailed hawk was wheeling on the breezes overhead.
This evening we went for coffee at DQ and a drive around the valley, taking the long way home. The skunk cabbage are blooming. Somehow I have had a hard time getting going this year and am still in Jan/Feb mode, and had no idea we are so far into spring. Some things are kind of late this year. The bushes are still just on the verge of leafing out. Some of the poplars and birch are festooned in catkins, but others are still waiting for that first really warm day.
Coming up the driveway this evening I looked out to the back and there were 16 elk grazing in the middle field. This sounds idylic but it isn't really the best news for the farmer. It's like having a herd of the neighbours' cows grazing in your field and eating the newly emerging crop, but then that is balanced by their beauty and magnificence and realizing many people would travel hundreds of miles to see what we can see before breakfast.

Birdhouses and quilting

This may be a little hard to see, but we were learning free motion quilting with a "bouncy " foot and rather than just stippling I tried doing a branch with leaves and some very abstract roses, among other things.
Spring is really upon us now. The leaves on the bushes are beginning to pop and the poplars are decorated with fuzzy chains. It is such a great time of year!
Then, feeling totally spoiled by the springy weather, and running about with no jacket yesterday, this afternoon the wind came up and the rains descended and we were treated to the other side of spring.
The river is rising again, and now the water is muddy.
I'm still busily building birdhouses and hope to get some pictures of them and of some of James' recent paintings on here. We got some old bi-fold doors from our friends, Jim and Taryn, and James is going to make me some display shelves as right now the gallery is pretty well brimming over. I need to go in there and rehang some of his work.
Ah...... It never ends.
I had hoped to get so much deep gardening done before I have hand surgery at the end of the month but at this point we're just enjoying the little violets and daffies and wondering what has blighted my myrtle (or periwinkle, depending on who you are talking to.) It looks like it was scalded or sprayed, but we garden organically, so it's a mystery.

The swallows are back!

James painted these boxes of apples the other day. The small box reminds me of a shop project from my dad's generation.
This morning and yesterday there were swallows on the electric wires, all bright and tidy in their "formal attire."
On the internet there is streaming video of an eagles' nest on Hornby Island. It is wonderful!
I got to see the 2 parents change places. There are 2 eggs, laid last week.
Here's the site.
http://www.infotecbusinesssystems.com/wildlife/default.asp

A beautiful time of year

It is a beautiful time of year.
Spring comes more slowly here than some other places but it does really feel like it's coming now.
I have oodles of snowdrops and a few crocuses and there are more green noses popping up in the sadly neglected garden. I have tiny tet a tet daffies, but only because I forced them in the shop - more things to walk around when cutting boards.
I finished the 10 "little bird" houses sized for chickadees and wrens, and now am cutting parts again.
I have a bunch of gray 8 inch boards with 2 inch sides and strips of lath nailed in them. They were used for core samples, but in their new life they will be birdhouses.Where the lath was nailed it leaves them with subtle stripes.They take quite a bit of taking apart but are pretty good wood and they are pine! I keep getting old fir which makes fine houses but it is hard and slivery and likes to bend nails.
James is getting ready to mount a new show at Annette's Delicate Essen in time for this summer's ArtWalk. Actually, he will be changing work around sooner than that as she is changing the layout of her restaurant at Easter.
The last two days James spent lying under his blocked up truck removing the clutch, transfer case, and transmission. I guess the good news is the weather has finally improved enough to do such things.
The other good thing about working outside is that you see wonderful things and can come get your wife to see them too.
This evening we saw a large flock of swans flying north just as the sun was setting. Their wings were awash in the sunset. We also saw geese,but that is not so exciting as the swans.

Morris Flowers Greenhouse

This morning was Morris Flowers Greehouse's annual spring pancake feed. Lloyde and Heather were flipping busily and Heather, who is also the Diabetic Nurse at the hospital, had provided a diabetic pancake syrup for those of us who require it, as promised.

Last year I brought my own, but when she saw it she said she'd have it this year, and I wasn't the only one using it.

Monte Andersen's music students were performing - piano and fiddling, very good. There was one little 9 year old boy who played his own composition: The Waterfall Waltze and you could hear the water tumbling over the rocks. It was really impressive for such a little guy. When Monte asked him what he wanted to play next he played the Theme from the Pink Panther. He was, after all, just a little boy.

James took pictures as reference material for his paintings and took a picture of one of my birdhouses while he was at it. I had planned to come home and work in the shop but I got chilled at the greenhouse, and after delivering Grandma's Applesauce Cake to an elderly couple who I bake it for occasionally, shopping for my mom, and doing errands I was bushed and came home and wrapped up in ablanket and watched figure skating. So much for good intentions.

Next Sat I'm going to the local art quilting group for my first time.

I think they are calling themselves "A Walk on the Wild Side."