Monday, April 29, 2013

farewell to the tulips of 2013...

We don't need to drive far to see tulip fields...
as the Tulips of the Valley are just across the river from our place.
  
Heidi called on Friday...
to see if I might want to join them on a trek to the tulip fields sometime soon.

We realized we better go right away...
or we would miss them this year...
since this was the last weekend the fields were open.

Off we went.
Heidi, Maggie, Lucy and Grammy.

And when we arrived...
Maggie couldn't believe her good fortune.
Her good friend and neighbour was arriving at the very same time.


 Tiptoeing through tulip fields with friends makes it all the more fun!


Lucy thought so too.


Though some of the fields had already been mowed...


 ...we still found lots of colour.


Popping pinks...


...and bright reds.


Lucy really wanted to do a little picking!


For the record ~ 2013!


Maggie and her friend skipped around the entire field.
They picked up the pace a little when they noticed a real-life princess standing in the flowers.


Tulips make a great backdrop for wedding photos...
don't you think?



 She made it!
 (Lucy that is)


Farewell to the tulips of 2013...
at least those on Seabird Island.

I will continue to enjoy the tulips in my garden for another week or so.

It's been a busy weekend.
I'll be back to tell you about it...soon.


Friday, April 26, 2013

whistler ~ here we come...


 Once again our favorite feed company hosted a ladies get-away.
We know from past experience...
that one must sign up quickly...
or the bus will be full.

We did just that!


This year we found ourselves on a bus headed for Whistler.
Fifty-three women...
and Patrick (the driver).

Now this bus takes a long time to get to Whistler...
since there are many stops en route.


The first stop was at Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver...
for coffee and such.

The view was great!

A little further down the road...
we stopped at 'The Village at Park Royal'.

Some shopped...
some browsed...


...and some just enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and having lunch with good friends.

We got to Whistler just in time to check into our rooms at the lovely Fairmont hotel before dinner...
which was a multi-course dining tour in the village. 


We walked about from one restaurant to the next...


...enjoying beverages and appetizers



 ...and a delicious entre of our choice.

For dessert...
we sampled some of Canada's finest chocolates...


 ...and joined the 'aging' bear on the bench outside the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.



I have been to Whistler a number of times in the past few years...
and never has the village been so quiet.
 Usually there are tourists lined up to take a photo right here...
where the awards ceremony for the winter games 2010 took place.  
This time...
we had the rings to ourselves!



 It was nine o'clock by the time we trekked back to our hotel...
and one could hardly call it dark outside.
The moon lit our way!

We had planned to take the gondola up the mountain in the morning...


 ...but found ourselves 'between seasons' and most of the lifts were not running.
So what could we possibly find to do all day?
We slept in far too long...
played tennis...


 ...and ate breakfast at lunch time.
It certainly is nice to have good friends who also have connections to our feed company!

You might even want to check out Lovella's blog...
or Marg's blog...
where they will likely be posting an entirely different version of the same event. :)



We had a great time in the village...
enjoyed the sunshine...
and were all carrying a bag or two by the time we caught the bus home.


It's a bus trip with a view...
one I never tire of.



We stopped for dinner in Squamish on the way home.
All fifty-three of us were in one room...
and it seemed all fifty-three were talking at once.
Worksafe BC would not have approved of the decibel level in that restaurant!

We took a photo of the 2013 Whistler tour group after dinner.
But just with one camera...
not fifty-three.
It wasn't mine...
so I don't have a group photo to share.
But it was a great group to travel with!

With dinner over...
we boarded the bus for home.



Mt. Baker was a welcoming sight as we entered the valley from the west...
as was the smell of the freshly mown hay!
While many of us were off on an excursion...
the farmers back home were bringing in the first crop of grass.
When the sun shines in April...
they must make hay!

 Thank-you to Vivienne and Diane of Ritchie Smith Feeds 
for hosting and organizing this event for us.
We had a great time!




Wednesday, April 24, 2013

spring colors...

So what are spring colours?
 I usually picture lilacs and pale green...
and soft pastels on the spring palette.

We played tennis at some new community tennis courts the other night...


...and this was the view from the courts as the sun  sank low in the western sky.

Pretty...
but not pink.


From my kitchen window...
I'm seeing a lot of yellow these days.
Frieda's tulips are almost bloomed-out...
but the dandelions are in their prime.

The rosy red rhubarb is ready for the pickin' in the local gardens...
and we are enjoying rustic rhubarb tarts this week.

 Who knew...
red and yellow are spring colours too?

Monday, April 22, 2013

of herbs and herb scissors heading south...

Last week I did a Saturday post on the MGCC blog...all about herbs.
I sang the praises of my herb scissors...


...and offered to send a pair to a lucky commenter.

Of the seventy-plus that threw their name in the hat...
the winner was Dora from New Mexico.

Since I was off to the USA to pick up a parcel over the weekend...
 I thought I might as well send Dora's package off from there as well.

For some reason...
it makes good financial sense to mail packages in the USA.

The border official checked my passport...
and asked where I was off to.
I told him I was picking up a parcel.

'Was I doing anything else?'

Yes, I was mailing a package to someone in New Mexico.
And then the questioning began.
Though I volunteered up front to show him the herb scissors...
he declined and continued to ask questions.

'What are herb scissors?'
'Why are you sending them?'
'Do you sell them?'
'What is the name of your blog?'
'Why do you have a blog?'
(Do I even know the answer to that?)
'What kind of herbs do you grow?'
'What do you use them for?'

Eventually I had him persuaded that I just grew a few pots of herbs for our own enjoyment...
and that the scissors were just to make the snipping of herbs a snap.

He returned my passport to me...
and allowed me to enter the United States of America.
The herb scissors are now on their way to New Mexico...
and should be on Dora's front porch in no time.

Whew!
It can be a little intimidating crossing that border...
but I know they are just trying to do their job.

Back at home...
the herbs are flourishing.

 On my counter is a basil plant in a pot that was given to me by someone near and dear in 1998.
She moved away long ago...
but I still treasure the hand-made pot...
and its message:
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
John 15:1
Growth does not happen all on its own.

The sun is shining.
Have a wonderful Monday!


Friday, April 19, 2013

Friday's mystery..


Don't you just love to solve a mystery?
I have one that needs solving...
though I'm not sure you can help me out with it.

Last week one afternoon...


...I opened the front door to find a bag tied to the door handle.
Strange.
I had been home all afternoon...
and had not heard the doorbell.
I checked the doorbell...
and heard only silence.
So it seems our nine year-old doorbell has packed it in.
Well, I also never heard a knock.
I untied the bag and took it in to see what it might be.
 

In the bag was someone's collection of 8-track tapes.
Since I had just posted a story about my granddaughters' secret fort...
and the old 8-track player they have there...
I wondered if someone was donating 8-tracks for the girl's fort.
How fun is that?
Front and center is my favorite Simon and Garfunkel recording of old!
We had that very same 8-track...


...only ours showed much more wear and tear than this one!



And we never knew that one could purchase protectors to cover the tape.
Our benefactor covered the cartridges with Walco protectors.
Everything in the bag looked like it was purchased yesterday.
Where is Walco?

I have kept three of our 8-track cartridges from the 'good old days'.
This is what they look like.


The theme song on this particular one was 'Hey Jude.
It looks like it got a lot of playing time.  

One of these days...
I'll be making a trek out to the secret fort....
and we'll see if we can make music with great-grandma's 8-track player.

Maybe one day I'll know who gifted us with their pristine collection of  8-tracks from the 60's.
Maybe someone will give me some clues!

And just in case you stop by to deliver anything in the next few days..


...you might want to ring the Swiss cowbell that is sitting there.
I know the doorbell won't be chiming before the electrician comes calling!

 


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

some tiptoed through the tulips...

Some tiptoed through the mud! 
We kept our shoes clean...
and viewed the blooms from grassy fields nearby.

Our Sunday afternoon drive took us to the tulip fields of Skagit Valley, Washington...
about two hours south of here.
Acres and acres are awash in colour!


We passed by a sea of golden daffodils...


...and on to the fields of tulips.
And mud!
Though the sun was shining...
the rainfall of the recent past was still quite evident.

We never deliberated long before deciding that we would stay outside of the fence...
where there was green grass.
The tulips were lovely...
and we could see them quite nicely without getting dirty.
And we had the best spot for people watching...


...as they slogged through the mud.
A few came with boots.
Most came with nice clean shoes that were soon caked in mud.
Oh dear!

'it's spring when the world is puddle-wonderful' ~E.E. Cummings


All came with cameras.


"The earth laughs in flowers." ~E.E. Cummings


And we tiptoe through them.
And every spring we are amazed anew!