Around here

The canola is in full bloom all around us.  While I'm not a supporter of GMO crops, I can at least appreciate the beauty and gift of colour.

From our little pocket of lush, organic, heirloom abundance, we've been picking peas by the bucketful.  It's a fine (and much anticipated) day when one can sit on the couch shelling and eating peas for supper!

Picking and Packing

Packing and picking aptly describes what we're up to here as we're in the home stretch before we officially hit the road to our new digs on the coast.

Packing: We're trying to get by on as little as possible (and are shocked at how little this really is) which makes one seriously think about belongings and what's needed for true happiness.   Apparently, we don't need much.    Lots pondering happening on this issue and it'll be interesting to see how we feel about each item we unpack it on the other side.  I'll probably look at everything and wonder why we brought it all!

Picking: raspberries, herbs galore, strawberries, lettuce, kale & peas (certainly enough to keep us well fed which isn't bad from a garden that really wasn't planted intentionally and with purpose this year).

Morning soaked (local) oats heaped with dewy berries JUST plucked from the canes.  There's nothing finer!

More Edge and Cooperation

The main annual vegetable garden isn't "officially" planted because our home went under offer just as I was set to seed it.  I held off intentionally seeding but there's plenty of  volunteer "bounty" in the garden such as this lettuce.  Notice how it's all in a row!  This is a prime example of the "Edge Effect".  I had a few lettuce plants growing in this general area last year (to the right of the picture).  Prevailing winds from the west blew the seed to the edge of the garden (and some even made it across the wood chip keyhole pathway in the centre of the picture).  The seed spent the winter under snow in sub zeros temperatures and happily sprouted this Spring.

A closer look (below) reveals a delicate network of mycelium in the pathway.  It almost looks as if the plants are reaching toward the mushroom colony and I wonder if the plants are growing here only because the conditions are most fertile (edge effect) or also because of the supportive environment of the mycelium?  I have so much to learn.