FEBRUARY'S GIFTS

Snow and beautiful shadows take the sting from the cold air.

VALENTINES...

Audrey Hepburn said:

“ LOVE is not about romance… it's about showing up”.

AND...

It’s about the little things….

the quiet things; loud things; laughter;

wee notes under a pillow; making the coffee,

filling up the gas tank before it's empty;

or doing the dishes instead of waiting for someone else to.

Those "little things" say "I love you"

and they all add up to more love.

A friend of mine made one of these for all her friends

so they would always have a Valentine

…. because some days, months from V-day,

we may need one.

What a sweet thoughtful treasure.

And, if you are looking elsewhere for love,

choose an EEL to be your Valentine -

because each one has more than one heart… who knew?

Not my cup of tea, though.

Mother Teresa understood about love and said:

“It is not how much we do,

but how much love we put in the doing.

It is not how much we give,

but how much love we put in the giving. …

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.”

Vincent Van Gogh also knew;

“It is good to love many things,

for therein lies true strength;

whosoever loves much, performs much,

and can accomplish much,

and what is done in love is well done.”

Lucy always gives a lot of love

BROKEN NEEDLES...

I've included this before but it speaks to me

.... in all my years embroidering on fine linen

with silk threads, not once have I broken a needle.

However....

On Feb. 8 in a ceremony

called “Hari Kuyo”

(hari=needle and kuyo=memorial service),

Japanese needleworkers save their broken needles

throughout the year, then honour them

in this ceremony for their good service.

This is a beautiful idea;

and although have never broken a sewing needle….

As a student nurse,

I did break one in a patient’s arm

I was so nervous

and he was so handsome.

He forgave me.

I still honour him.

REALITY REIGNS...

We do our best to leave those stems with seed heads and Mother Nature gets cranky and freezes them...

Poor little birds need help.... so remember to put seeds out... scatter some seeds on the snow or better still... hang (and fill) a bird feeder....

These wee Chickadees (Juncos, Bluejays, Cardinals, Grosbeaks and many others can use all our help...

Or you could just put a handful of seeds on a snowy table.

Our Juncos love this and do a little dance with their tiny legs to find seeds under the snow

BTW...BLUE JAYS are NOT BLUE

The feathers that appear blue, are brown; a trick of science; an optical illusion of sorts.

A Cardinal's red feathers come from a red pigment whereas a blue pigment is rare in nature.

Blue Jays' feathers have a pigment which is actually 'melanin', and is brown even though we perceive it as blue due to a phenomenon called "light scattering" (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) Light scattering is similar to the effects of a prism.

Blue Jays' wings contain tiny pockets of Air and Keratin ( in human hair and nails) and when light hits those pockets in the Blue Jay's feathers, all colours of the wavelength - except blue - are absorbed.... That blue wavelength is then refracted allowing us to see their feathers as blue.

This is the same for all blue birds and most interestingly, their feathers appear brown to many of their brown-feathered predators who will see a Blue Jay similar to their own and not find them prey...

GARDEN PLANNING...

Let's add more native plants among our perennials

Search for local native plant nurseries in your area that either grow their own or are grown in your zone.

Some hardy suggestions that can be started by seed: Echinacea Culver’s root Asters Goldenrod Serviceberry

Look at last year's photos: and ask what stands out (gorgeous, easy) What needs moving or splitting What died - or thrived in the drought.

SEE MORE IDEAS HERE:

garden-ideas.html

Although my garden looks full and lush in mid-summer, there are a lot of plants that will need dividing to make room for those nearby.

Think about how much you needed to water this past summer and plan this season's tasks to save water... a rain barrel, drought resistant plants etc.

Read my garden friend, Claire Sullivan's guest article and how she handled the drought .

DROUGHT YEAR-2025

Century-old trees broke with ice. The never-ending winter turned into spring promising cool moist soil, but changed to the hottest spring in my recording history. Dry weeks. Dry months. Daily watering. Plants, trees and annuals went into hibernation, promising to return when normal did. Meanwhile, with fires to the north, west and east, life felt dangerous.

Even the sedums languished. I dragged hoses and watered feeling guilty, worrying it wouldn’t help anyway.

The boulevard got no watering, but liatris, anise hyssop and penstemon bloomed tall and healthy, feeding the bees.

I saw just ONE worm this summer. Fat and huge he emerged during the first welcome rainfall. What a relief: back to normal. But no. As summer moved toward fall I became accustomed to deciding: which plants to keep and water.

Nights cooled, morning dew showed up. Hardy perennials rejuvenated. Cat mint bloomed; perennial geraniums re-sprouted. But bloom? Fingers crossed. Perilla’s rich, lush burgundy amongst coleus provided brilliant colour against the dense shade of native pagoda dogwood.

Artemisias and Dusty Miller remained silver grey. Lavender and sage proved hardy while hostas suffered but flowered as nights cooled while the Autumn Sweet clematis bloomed up over my garage.

Blue gentian bloomed in the shade. and seven Prairie Dropseed grasses, smelling like coriander, grew bright green a foot tall along my edible slope. What a learning year.

Which plants tolerated drought and which will revive when the weather changes.

How deep do worms travel in drought?

TURN OFF THE NEWS...and...

Willie Nelson says: TURN OFF THE NEWS AND BUILD A GARDEN

...Willie sings with his sons,

"Turn off the news and build a garden


Just my neighbourhood and me


We might feel a bit less hardened


We might feel a bit more free"

"Turn off the news and build a garden with me
"

SO HERE WE ARE:

building a garden in our neighbourhood - with friends.

barnardo-garden.html

GIBBERELLINS...

A NEW WORD...

Gibberellins (Jib-uh-REL-ens)

“Gibberellins are any group of plant hormones that stimulate

elongation of the stem, flowering and germination.”

Gibberellins are the plant growth regulators

(as well as a lot more scientific stuff)

Field Bindweed Seedling.... elongating new stem

ANOTHER GREAT BOOK...

I've read a LOT of books.... and every once in awhile one stands out above all others- like this one ... of course it is about a garden; an unusual, secret, and amazing garden and how it came to be in the middle of a jungle... but most of all, the way it is written... not just a wonderful, complex story, but beautifully written with love and respect and deeply felt ... it is easy to tell a good story, but to write so beautifully and elegantly is an art that few authors have.

Please find a copy ... you will never regret reading this one.

GO OUTSIDE...

Look around... what do you see?

a star reflection on snow

by Jen Bird (@beesnapspics)

BUNDLE UP ...

Enough hibernating; bundle up and come on outside.

A day like this sharpens your senses.

Go for a walk or better still,

saunter or perhaps, just be still

… and listen carefully the birdsong

or your footsteps in the crusty snow.

Follow the gnarled lines of naked branches against the sky.

Taste the snowflakes that land on your tongue.

Breathe deeply

and smell your neighbour's woodsmoke

as it swirls from the chimney.

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

LUCY SAYS....

when you come back inside,

it will feel even warmer.

so cuddle up in your space jammies

and take a nap

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