What a year!

Well the year is winding down and it is time to look back and remember all the days sunny or rainy, happy or sad. The girls are another year older and our oldest will be registered for Kindergarten in the coming months. The younger will be starting pre-school this year and so begins the yearly adventure of another grade, another teacher and so much to learn for both them and us. We added a new member to our family by finally getting a dog! Dexter is a 5 month old Bichon and is greatly loved by all, especially the girls. This year also came with the addition of 15 chickens of which 12 are still around and kicking, 2 of the 3 roosters became dinner this past summer and were quite tasty. Our garden was fantastic with beautiful tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and beans, we are still eating greens, herbs and squash that we grew this year. Hopefully we will expand the garden next year and try growing new things such as some ancient grains.

I joined the board at People for a Healthy Community and look forward to working with the other amazing board members to give back something to the community that made me who I am today. Dave's business has taken off and Sleepdeprived Computer Tech's have helped keep many people's computers running smoothly. He also has spent a fair amount of his time volunteering with the Gabriola Co-op Radio. Through all of this we still manage sometime for each other and the kids and have really enjoyed the past year watching them grow while laughing at all the goofy things they say and do.

We always tried to keep Real Estate out of this blog but I am breaking the rules just for a moment. Business was slow in the beginning of the year but then took off at an incredible speed, so much for the "Quiet Year" perhaps that is still to come. Okay so know that the rule has been broken I will endeavor never to do it again and keep this an island lifestyle blog.

Thanks so much to all who have made this such a great year we really appreciate all your support.

The McMahon's/Vincent's/Wishinski's

Flowers for Sale

Earl's Dahlia Garden, where you can buy a bunch of Dahlias for $3, is located right next to the little boat launch in Descanso Bay. Sitting on the bench in this picturesque setting you have a good view of the ferry coming into the Dock on Gabriola.

Apple Time

Most of the apple trees have been producing well this year and these century old Kings are no exception. There are half a dozen old trees on this property and we were invited to pick. 100 lbs of apples later and the trees looked the same as when we started. Now it is time to preserve them. We will dehydrate some, can the apple sauce, freeze some for pies, make juice and apple jelly, and the best we will save for munching on - lots of fun!

Ancient Grains

Since we started ordering our groceries through Spud we have been trying to buy food grown as close to home as possible. The difficult part is ordering local breads and such due to the fact that nobody is growing grains on Vancouver Island...so I thought. Upon reading a local food magazine I discovered that a hand full of Vancouver Island farmers such as Sharon Rempel are growing heritage grains like spelt, “Utrecht Blue” bread wheat, and red fife wheat to mention a few. This piqued my curiosity and next year in our (hopefully) expanded garden I am looking forward to growing and eating some of these, if nothing else they are beautiful to look at.
(photo credit Terry Chapelas)

Fall Fair Day

It was Fall Fair day today and my sister and I took the oldest of the four girls and walked the short distance down to the Gabriola Commons. From noon until 3 pm today many Gabriolans spent the day listening to music, watching squash races, looking at beautiful fruit, veggie and flower displays and eating ice cream. The 4-H club served cotton candy and popcorn while the proceeds from the fresh corn on the cob and the ice cream went to the Hot Lunch program at the elementary school. There was a silent auction, face painting and plenty of good company, if you missed it this year make a point of coming next year!

Celebrate Summer and Welcome Fall!

It is that time of year again when the Gabriola Commons hosts the Fall Fair. It is a fun filled day full of animals and cotton candy, games, contests, demonstrations and more. It is wonderful way to spend the last day of summer, we hope to see you there!

For more info visit the Gabriola Commons website.

Shed Chic

A couple of days ago I was visiting with a friend who turned their 8 x 10 electical shed into an animation studio. It is a fantastic little space with insulation and drywall and even a cute little window. There is a fair amount of room and it functions as a great space for him to escape and get work done. On an island such as this where so many people work from home it is a cost effective way to turn a small outbuilding into a usable space. Outbuildings under 107 square feet can be built without obtaining a permit. If you decide to turn them into work spaces with electricity or a sink you will need the appropriate permit for either plumbing or electrical. Recently we have been looking into the idea of a workshop space outside for me and are having a great time looking at all the ideas for very nice "sheds". Books such as Shed Chic give great design ideas for outbuildings such a gypsy caravan or barn style while keeping it small. Take a look at some of the pictures and form your own ideas but be warned that it will be hard to decide what to build!
ps There are also pre-fab versions, check out Modern Shed for some ideas

Quick Pickles

This is the time of year for pickling, when the garden has an abundance of cucumbers, carrots and beets. This was Carly's first try at pickles and she was impressed with how easy it can be. Pour a boiling mixture (1 part water, 1 part vinegar and 1 tablespoon coarse salt per cup) of liquid into hot sterile jars that have been filled with raw carrots and cucumbers or green beans, fresh dill and garlic, and screw the cap on tight. The jars will seal and in a few weeks you will have pickles.

The Morning Harvest

This heat wave has caused an explosion of produce in our garden, each morning we pick enough vegetables to feed our extended family plus give some away!

Garden by the Sea

At the end of Berry Point Road there is a charming little cottage garden by the sea that sells bedding plants, across the street is a wind swept sandstone beach and exhilarating view of snow capped coastal mountains. Around the corner is an orchard with dozens of varieties of apples, many of them heritage, pears and plums, all offered at a handy fruit stand.

A Sunny Sunday

It was a beautiful and sunny Sunday and what better way to spend it than wandering through other peoples gardens and homes, getting ideas and admiring their efforts. Yesterday was the 11th annual 'Gabriola Home and Garden Tour' which is a fund raiser for 'People for a Healthy Community on Gabriola'. Hundreds of tickets were sold and as usual it was a great success with two homes and nine gardens on display.

Garden at my front door

For Mother's Day my husband and eldest daughter went to the local nursery and picked out some herbs to plant a nice little herb garden outside our front door. Just a couple steps away, I can now pick fresh chives, basil, rosemary, sage, thyme and mint to add flavour to our meals.

Sea Weed and Faeries

Sea Weed, lots of it at the high tide line. Best picked when the tide is low so that it is dry and easy to transport. Wonderful for gardens, both ornamental and vegetable. No need to wash the salt off, compost it or put it on fresh - no matter which, you will see results! Our most productive gardens have been when we have gathered large amounts. And if you are lucky the garden faerie will come and help you spread it!

Spring Pots

The weather has been really lovely, warm and sunny. I dragged out my pots, cleaned them up and stopped in at the local nursery to pick up a few bedding plants. The local nurseries have all your landscaping needs, and reasonably priced. The pansies are my favorite.

West Coast Wonders

We finally received our seed order in the mail. This is an exciting occasion because it means we are once step closer to spring and with that comes gardening. We love getting an assortment of vegetables, fruit and herbs, nothing tastes better than a meal made with ingredients grown within 100 feet from your backdoor. This year we are trying our hand at cantaloupe, Lesley grew these one year and they were the best melons I have ever had. They were small, crisp and had such an amazing sweetness. Melons are a tricky crop to grow on the west coast, you should choose the part of the garden that gets the most sun and has the nicest, loosest soil for these plants. Saying that, we are always up for a challenge and nothing beats the satisfaction of growing your own food. Every year I look forward to getting my hands dirty and spending many a warm evening in the garden weeding, watching the kids play, and snacking on all that nature has to offer.

Lunar Gardening

After the kids are bed my husband and I relax with a cup of tea and often watch a movie or documentary. Tonight it was a documentary series called DocZone, episode "Fly Me to the Moon". It talked about "Lunar Gardening" and that right there peaked my interest. Lunar gardening is one of the oldest method of gardening that dictates what you plant in relation to the phase of the moon. During the New Moon you plant your root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, while fruit, flowers and above ground vegetables are to be planted in the next quarter. All of this is to do with the gravitational pull from the moon and apparently speeds germination. It is during the full moon that you would do your harvesting, we have all heard of Harvest Moon. Harvest moon is the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox. According to avid Lunar Gardeners if you follow the moon phases you should never need to water or fertilize your crop. This sounds like an intriguing idea and I think garners an experiment in our garden this summer. Stay tuned and we will let you know how our garden harvest goes in the coming year, who knows maybe this is the answer the the summer gardening water woes.

Gabriola Greens

A tasty and nutritious treat even for the little ones ... my daughter loves this stuff! In the summer time we frequent the Good Earth Market to pick up our favourite greens and vegetables but in the winter I am happy to find these huge leaves of organic rainbow chard in our local grocery store.

Fiddlehead Farm

Just before the big snowfall, my husband and I took our girls to visit our friends at Fiddlehead Farm. We are looking to buy some laying hens and also wanted to get an idea of what kind of structure to build. They raise a lovely, calm heritage breed of chickens, called Dorkings, and we hope to pick up some chicks from the farm in the spring. Fiddlehead farm raises an assortment of animals and a vegetable market garden is also in the works.

Winter Squash

These winter squash are such beautiful fruits of our garden. They can be decorative and store very well in a cool dry location, tasty and healthful they get sweeter as the winter progresses and can keep until the spring!

Autumn Apples

We have so many apples we need to be creative in order to use them all. But back up a moment, because before we can use them we have to pick them. This is easier with the dwarf trees and that is what we have planted, but we are also the proud owners of some very old trees that were planted on the old Carr farm. They take a group effort to pick them. We stripped about 1/4 of the apples at one time and it took me days to process them - some in the dehydrator, some cooked down into apple sauce and canned, some juiced and frozen, some made into pies, and the best refrigerated for eating. I'm almost done with the first haul, then we'll need to go back for more!

Tomatoes, Tomatoes

We are having a nice warm and dry fall, perfect for tomatoes. Our garden has been a bit neglected due to the new baby and all the visitors. I went out today and picked a large box of tomatoes (I could have picked two) with the promise of lots more to come. After making soup and sauce and salsa there was still many more to deal with. We will have to make a concerted effort if we are to stay ahead of production!

A Bean Tent

Carly had an idea to make a bean tent for the babies to play in while we are working in the garden. She bought long bamboo sticks to form the shape of the tent and planted a particularly vigorous purple pole bean in a circle leaving an opening. Add a small stool to sit on and you have a fun place for a child to play.

Good Earth

It was late on a rainy afternoon as I headed out for my daily walk. I choose a different route than usual and found myself at the Good Earth market garden. I saw that their garden is far ahead of mine with vegetables almost ready to pick and was reminded that the Gabriola Farmers Market opens for its 14th season this weekend. The Farmers Market takes place every Saturday from 10-12 and runs until Thanksgiving. It is very popular and offers fresh produce, flowers, baked goods and local crafts.

The Cottage Garden

On sunday morning I drove out to Gabriola's Orlebar Point. There across from a beautiful stretch of sandstone beach with a fabulous view of the Entrance Island lighthouse is a delightful little plant stand called The Cottage Garden. I found Pat at work in her great selection of bedding plants. We chatted for a while and I bought a pretty bright purple shade plant called Burgundy Coral Bells and some curled leaf parsley.

How Does My Garden Grow

With this beautiful balmy weather we are having it is hard to resist the call of the great outdoors and the little voice in my head that says 'go buy plants'. Lucky us, we have the Wild Rose Garden Centre on Gabriola Island. They literally have all our gardening needs - plants, pots, tools, seeds, fencing, soil, fertilizer and great advice - everything a gardener needs! So off I went to buy bedding plants, there was such a good selection that it was hard to choose. Lobelia, alyssum, dahlias, geraniums, everbearing strawberries - the list goes on, but that's enough for now. I rush home and lovingly pop my treasures into pots, these little gems will be decorating my patio with colorful blooms and juicy berries all summer long!

Not Just a Pretty Face

Sarah and Harley are gentle souls, they live down the road from us on a beautiful 5 acre property and we are thankful to them for the gold mine of fertilizer they provide for our garden. All we need to do is shovel it and with the help of John, our trusty garden tractor we are able to add immeasurable wealth to our little backyard vegetable plot.