Sunday Wonders - E

E is for Effort. 

Yesterday with a little nudge from a newspaper article and a need for soaker hoses, we loaded those cute little bikes into the car and headed off to Steveston.  We'd read that there was a tall ship visit there and while taking the car to the site would be impossible, riding our bikes along the dike would be much easier.

With a little more effort, my son managed to put aside his wish to have a peaceful Saturday at home so we could all ride out to the fair.  That would be six bikes and seven people.  Littlest grand still gets to ride like a princess - or copilot, as it says on the back of her carrier.

We came upon a couple of pirates fighting over - what? - in  very friendly fashion.  When the fight was finished, they showed us their swords and told us all about swordplay in the movies.  They were actors with specific sword training.  As you can see, the best-dressed sword-fighter is a woman.  She won, too.

We could see the ships from the shore quite well.  This allowed for some beach play while the tide was out.  Can you see that they flew the Vancouver Canucks flag, too?

As we were getting some lunch, we heard some big booms and the kids and I left the others standing in line and hurried off to see the sea battle.  A lot of smoke and noise but I don't think there were any real cannonballs.

 
Naturally, when you're at the beach - and it's a fair - you have to have a fish and chip lunch.  It was quite delicious.

Of course, there were other attractions.  This  park has  a popular kite-flying field and there was a nice breeze blowing.  I loved watching this beautiful big butterfly as it danced across the sky.

Best of all were the wild lupine fields.  It seemed that they stretched on forever.  The kids went for a close-up and were, occasionally, hidden by the tall blooms.  Sitting in the sunshine - which was a first for us this year - and watching the kids play was almost the best part of the outing.

The day ended, as all good days must with us riding back along the dike and home.  Worth the effort, definitely.

DIY

Last year was our first big foray into serious vegetable gardening.  I think we were successful given the limitations of our weather.  But, we did lose a LOT of tomatoes to blight once the rain began to plague us in the fall.  Rain doesn't usually bother me...I am truly acclimatized.  But I did mourn all those beautiful tomatoes that just turned from green to black.  It's fortunate that our winter survival didn't depend on them.  It would have been a complete disaster.  It's easy to see how unusual weather can cause starvation for families dependent on their kitchen gardens. 

Rebar stakes go in first -  thanks to Steve for cutting and supply.

So, the discussions started taking place about how we would protect them this year.  My daughter built her tomato tunnel first - once the seedlings are ready for the outdoors, those coverings have to be ready.  When we arrived home from the road trip, we discovered that our tomato seedlings would be delivered by the weekend.  Time to swing into action.

One hoop done - gettin' the hang of it now.

Anne had already researched ways to build what everyone seems to be calling "hoop houses".  Of course, everyone wants to build theirs in the least expensive way as well as the easiest.  Some hoops are easier to make than others.  She had also discussed ways and means with Steve who knows this stuff - and who has nifty tools to share.

This tool cuts the PVC tubing - cool, huh?

These photos are of the stages of building our mini-greenhouse which should protect the wee plants from the crappy cool weather as well as keep them dry and, we hope, blight-free.  It does mean that we can't count on the copious amounts of water sent by Mother Nature for irrigation.  Kind of stupid, really, but even more stupid to plant the veg and lose it to the rain. We had a tiny soaker hoses last year - they'll be a necessity this summer. 

Add wheels for a covered wagon.

Attach a plastic cover and voila! Happy tomato plants!

I am not a DIY-er in quite the same way.  Rather than buy materials (except yarn, of course) I'm more a what-can-I-find-in-the-recycling kind of person.  It gives me huge satisfaction to re-purpose things.  It was sunny when I planted my little basil seedlings.  But summer disappears quick here and they absolutely need the warmth of lovely sunny days.  From experience I've learned how terribly unhappy they are in the rain.  This year, I am determined to have huge, bushy basil plants - nay, trees! - with healthy green leaves for cooking.  After everything was planted out, the gray clouds began to gather.  Oh, dear!  I'd better get that basil under cover.  Rummaging in the recycling box produced a large plastic clamshell.  Perfect!

And after a week of sunny periods mixed with hours of rain, my basil is dry and warm but still gets air and water.  Winner!  The sun is supposed to come out for real this weekend.  Maybe we can roll up the sides of the wagons and take off the clamshell?  Fingers crossed.

Paying it Forward

What a surprise this morning when I opened up blogger!  Pam over at Empty Nest  has shared her Pay it Forward award with me.  Even more surprising, this is the fastest I've ever responded to such a bestowal.  This must be a good omen of efficiency for the day, so, thank you!

As always there are some rules: 
1.  Mention the blogger who gave you the award  - check
2.  Link to their blog  - check
3.  Pay It Forward to 5 bloggers.

Passing it on is the hard part - there are so many good bloggers that I meet and greet each day.   Getting down to five is tough.  So, since every one deserves mention, I'm picking five at random. Here we go:

Nature Tales and Camera Trails
A Knitting Nurse
Angie in Yanchep
Anjoe Playhouse
Melange

There!  Now, you can go visiting with these folks.  I know you'll have a good time.

Black Bears

There were no warning signs for these critters who were spotted on the highway through Manning Park.

Mama black bear and two year-old cubs were just trying to get up the hill.  Of course, they were a major photo op for us motorists. The park was kind of bleak-looking due to our late (very!)spring.  

We later saw two isolated males - both quite black - taking their chances on crossing the busy highway.

I wondered what they could be finding to eat?  There was still snow on the ground as we drove through and none of the berries were even blossoming.  Even the salmonberries which are the earliest fruit in the forest had hardly any green on them.  There wasn't much new greenery at all on any of the trees and shrubs.   It would have been a very long trek for them to forage lower where it spring had come a bit earlier.

Since the bears appeared to be fairly healthy, I decided that they must be able to find enough.  The berries are coming.