The bonfire that nearly got away

So you see, even grandparents can be a bit dopey.  A great pile of stuff to be burnt had collected over the winter in the usual burning pile across the creek.  "Too wet to burn yet", said Chris.  "Oh no", said Doco, "I can get it going".  Well he certainly did!  I played my harp for a bit (too cold for the fingers, and the strings, this morning), then headed out to join the burning fun.

I glanced up the hill and saw that Doco had decided to burn last year's dry grass too.  But "oh-oh", maybe not.  If so, it had got away from him and was licking up the bank and down the road in all directions, helped by a gusty wind from the north.  Not a planned burn at all.  It had just got into the dry grass next the pile and off it went.  Doco had a rake, I was sent for a spade, and we had a busy ten minutes raking the burn back down the hill and stomping it out.  A very good hosing down finished the job.  The much-diminished burn pile was now the only site of flames or embers.  Phew!

Everything was restored to its accustomed peace - the brook running by the budding willow, the varied thrush whistling up in the forest, the winter wren trilling down in the ravine, and the fire-tender resting on his rake.

baby chicks grown up

For those who were attached to Chris's baby chicks in 2014, here are three of them (all hens) in 2015.  The one rooster got given to Will because he was making trouble with Red.  So here are the beauties (Chris's names, and I forget who the mother hen was - Chris calls her "mama"):

#1. "Rusty".  Turns out to be partly Arcana, by her tiny red comb on top, her bushy longish tail, and her green eggs (I need to get out with my camera when Chris collects eggs tomorrow).  Also, Chris says, the friendliest and easiest to handle (hence she gets the most photos).

#2. "Blondie" - goes her own way.

#3. "Freckles" - not to be confused with her aunt.

And then the whole bunch.  Hopefully, all will be waiting for you all when you get here in summer.

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P.S. Norbert and Julia told us today that Vicky (goat) had triplets on Monday.  All fine.  And Xiaou-Xiaou is due any day.
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P.P.S. April 12th.  One of Rusty's green eggs.  I still need a photo of its green insides.

P.P.P.S.  Later in April.  Same egg on the inside - opened and eaten in Vancouver.  Not exactly a vivid green, but …

(I should have had a matched non-green egg beside.  Oh well.  Maybe on the next one.)

Balsam-orhiza

En route from Vancouver to New Denver along Highway 3 ("the Southern route"), coming up into Richter Pass from the Similkameen Valley, Doco and I came upon a hillside ablaze with yellow-orange flowers.  The "balsam-orhiza" or balsam root - used by the Salish and Kootenai native peoples for food and medicine, the seeds for oil.  Part of the sunflower family.

Doco found a place to pull over, 

 and I scrambled up a steep bank with the help of sage bushes to get into the flowers.

balsam root in the foreground, sage in the background ...

… their perfect day

DIane Cox visit

The reason for Diane Cox's 3-day visit from Edmonton was to hear her grand-daughter Ellie Hogan singing in the UBC Chamber Choir, here in their last performance of the academic year, April 1st.  It was splendid.  I'm sure we could just hear Ellie's clear soprano voice.

Ellie is the tall blond in the middle back

a proud grand-mother

Earlier that day, Diane and I explored the VanDusen Botanical Garden.  I almost never go there, so don't know it and it was perfect.  We could really explore.  Diane has a BSc in Botany and loves plants and gardens.  Her refrain: "This is not Edmonton!"

everywhere blossom!

except on the monkey-puzzle trees

We got through the maze, no problem, then got lost getting back to the main garden. 

The next day, a damp but lovely walk with Ellie in the Nitobe Garden ...

… and in the Haida village in front of the Museum of Anthropology.

Name this creature ...

Clue:  It's in Vancouver, in the woods near the Museum of Anthropology, on a damp day.  

(and I didn't step on it.)

Happy Easter

Wiltshire Street flowers bringing Happy Easter wishes to you all, with much love from Meo and Doco.

Dogtooth violets (fawn lilies, Eryththronium) under the witch hazel ...

Lenten roses (Hellebore) by the side fence ...

Dogtooth violets by the walnut tree stump, on their most glorious day...

 Dogtooth violets by the basement stairs (always a bit of a surprise) ...

Pear, just coming into bloom around the tree fort and chickadee box ...

And chocolate lilies (Fritillaria) in the back corner, rescued from under the snowberry ...

Can you see the fine checkerboard pattern on their petals?  I wonder how they do that?
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P.S. We'll be thinking of you and wishing you were here or we were there (various "there"s) for Easter Egg hunts!  Hope you find some.  love, Meo.

Musqueam exhibit #3

Diana's and my visit to the third of the three Musqueam exhibits, this one at the Museum of Vancouver (for #1 and #2, see Feb 14 and March 10).

 Here, the one large museum room has exhibits of artifacts on small display tables, dotted around.  The power in the room comes from a continuous animated film on the long wall - the Musqueam story of a two-headed serpent that emerged out of the forest and created Musqueam Creek (I think).  The serpent moves quickly.  This sequence of stills (Diana's), with display tables in the foreground, catches some of its moments.  A strong myth.

 The two-headed creature coming straight toward us, one head to left, one head to right.

The two heads re-emerging for another pass by ...

… and the serpent tail weaving a meandering creek ...

… with trout lilies (dog-tooth violets) springing up along its shores.