Root-Picking

     When we bought our place in the Robson Valley, back in the late 1970’s, we felt fairly financially insecure.  We had saved about one third of the asking price for our house, but at the time, I was unemployed, having quit my teaching job.  I was getting an unemployment cheque every month from the government, but that didn’t cover all of our expenses:  a mortgage, money for renovating the house, and of course, living expenses.

    As we were buying the house, I mentioned to John Peterson, the real estate broker, about feeling rather insecure in buying a house while being unemployed, but of course, he told me not to worry.   He said his family were always looking for workers for various things, and they would call me up when they needed to hire help.

    John did keep me in mind and provided some odd job work for me several times.  Once I had to dig up his sewer line to find a blockage, and another time, he called me to help Bill, his father, dig out his Caterpillar tractor that had gotten bogged down in deep mud on his undeveloped property out in the unsettled Raush Valley.

        Our real estate agent gave me a call with another job offer, again for his father Bill, out at Raush Valley.  This time Bill  was seeking root-pickers. 

        When an area is logged, stumped, and worked over with a Cat, to clear and pile the big debris, there remained a lot of sticks and roots on the ground that also needed to be removed.  This was usually done manually by stooping over, picking up the sticks and roots, then putting them on a pile, to be later burned.  I had never heard of root-picking, but it seemed easy enough.

        I was pleased to have another opportunity to earn some extra money, even though I had to get up at 7:00 on a Sunday morning so I could be out at the Raush Valley at 8:00, ready to work. 

        When I arrived out there, I was happy to discovered that the Blackwater Coop (a group of local hippie, back-to-the landers) were also being employed to root-pick.  Being newly arrived in the Robson Valley, I didn’t know any of the Coop members, Although I knew I had a lot in common with them, since I too was part of the “counter-culture”.   

        It turned out to be a long 8 hour day of stooping over picking up pieces of wooden debris, but I enjoyed working and talking with the members of the Coop, all of who were about my age and held similar values.  

        When the work ended and the Coop members had gone home, Bill Peterson moseyed over and told me I had really done a good job, “Much better than those hippies.” 

         I thanked him, but knew that was just bigoted nonsense, since everyone was out there working together, doing exactly the same thing, at exactly the same pace. 

        I was pretty worn out by the time I got home, but my wife had also been busy in the kitchen and had prepared a nice warm meal for me.

View my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

Art Nouveau

     Art Nouveau was an art movement that emerged at the turn of the last century.  It was an effort to make buildings, furniture, graphics, and other objects reflect the lines and curves that are seen in Nature.  This of course meant a lot of images of flowers.  The photo above shows a lamp that came out during the Art Nouveau period.  Its design reflects the lines and pads of a water lily.

    It is probably easy to see why I have always loved Art Nouveau objects.  The beauty of plants and flowers have always given me inspiration and joy.  As you might surmise from the lamp, water lilies were often an inspiration for Art Nouveau works. 

    Water lilies also have a special place in my life, since I had my pond dug.  The purpose of the pond was to create habitat for Nature.  Shortly after its construction, I went searching for plants local to this area to put in the pond.  After the ice melted on Horseshoe Lake in McBride, I gathered some of the large tuberous roots of water lilies that were floating on the surface, brought them home, and stuck them into the mud of my young pond.  They prospered and established themselves in my pond.

    This time of year I enjoy watching the water lily plants slowly develop under the water and begin to stretch out their stems to push their leaves (and later their yellow flowers) to the surface.  Below is a photo showing the plant reaching toward the water’s surface, with one lily pad just breaking the surface. 

   

Take a look at my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

An Encouraging Sprig of Green

     Every time we come down our driveway we are both dismayed and embarrassed at the sight of the willow trees by our house.  They now resemble large Saguaro cactus.   

    In February, we had a crew of arborist brutally cut back the willows because they had gotten so tall they imposed a danger to our house if they were blown over.  This was the second time that we had the willows cut back.  After that first cutback, they put out new sprouts that eventually grew in to huge branches that made the willows as tall as they were before they were cut back.

    This time I had them cut back to 10 ft (3m) so I could take care of them if they started to grow back to high again.    After the arborists crew left, the trees looked horrible, and I know the neighbors gasped in shock when they drove by and saw those high “stumps” that our willows had turned into.

    While I was sure the willows would start to grow back, I was eager for some reassurance.  Yesterday, I got that reassurance, when I spotted a spring of green sprouting out of the brutalized trunk.  A quick inspection of the other trees showed similar green sprigs sprouting on them.   Willows are fighters, and they don’t give up easily.

    We will be happy once they get more foliage on their tops, so they look more like palm trees, before returning to what looks like a normal willow tree that will provide a lot of shade.  I don’t much like the “Saguaro” cactus look they now have.

You can see my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

The Greening of the Valley

     After our long BC winters, and once the temperatures start to warm, the trees don’t waste any time putting out their leaves.  It seems like the explosion of new leaves happened in just one day.   This period of spring with its newly erupting foliage is on of my favorites.  The light green color of those new leaves add a brilliant accent to the blues of mountain  slopes, with their pristine white snowcapped peaks.

    This morning when I first went outside to do some laps around the pond, I caught the scent of the sweet perfume of the Cottonwood trees; it was wonderful.  When I got back to the house, I saw a Rufus Hummingbird busily slurping up the nectar I had put in the hummingbird feeder.

    Last night I was awaken by a lone mosquito in my bedroom, but this first variety of mosquitoes are easily swatted, so that too was good.

    I recently watched a PBS program on Henry David Thoreau and was struck by him writing that he would often spend the whole day doing nothing, just sitting outside watching.  What a wonderful thought, but sadly for me, this time of year is filled with too many things that have to be done.   Hopefully today I can get my rototiller started so I can till the garden for planting.  I will just have to enjoy the glorious day, in swatches, in between things.

Take a look at my paintings:  davidmarchant2.ca

Where, Where, Where? Panic Sets In

    Yesterday I wrote about how it is nearing time for me to plant the garden.  Before I do, I will have to rototill it, but the time for planting, is getting close.  I as it approaches, I have begun to panic.

    Last year, as a bit of an experiment, for the first time I planted red beans and black beans.  Both crops surprised me; they grew well.   As I took the beans I had harvested out of their pods, I set some aside for eating and some to save for seeds that I could use for planting this year.   I also put some more of the beans in envelopes to return to our library’s seed bank, where I had gotten the beans last year.

    Now, why the panic?  Well I did eat the ones saved for that purpose, but when I checked the container where I keep my garden seeds, I was distress to find no black beans or red beans.  What happened to them?  I haven’t a clue.  I have searched every possibility I could think of, but came up empty handed.   I can’t imagine that they were thrown out, so they must be around here somewhere.

    A couple of days ago, I had an idea.  Maybe the beans I gave back to the library’s seed bank are still there, and I could just use those to plant in my garden, but alas, when I went to the library and checked the seed bank, the beans I had contributed, were gone.  I guess they will be growing in someone else’s  garden.  That leaves me sitting here wondering,  “Where could the beans I saved be?”

    I suspect once I have finished planting and filled up the garden with other vegetables, I will find my  missing beans.  That seems to be the way things always work. 

    It is all so discouraging after all the work I did drying, de-podding, sorting, and saving some of those beans for seed in this year’s garden.   For a year I held on to one of those common  gardener’s dreams about harvesting a bigger crop this year.

    Oh well, it is what it is.

View my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

Aspen Leaves/Mouse Ears, Time to Plant?

     One never knows what kind of Spring weather to expect up here in the Robson Valley of BC.  It can be very warm one day, then it can suddenly dip below freezing the next.  The fact that you can never be sure of what to expect can be problematic for gardeners, who are trying to figure out when it is safe to start planting their gardens.   Our growing season is not as long as in places more southern, so we have to gamble trying to eke out as many warm days as we can.

    One of the factors that help me decide when to plant, is an old folk saying that says, “You should plant your garden when the leaves of the Aspen tree are the same size as a mouse’s ear.   While that is malarky, and has no scientific basis, it is something I always take into consideration.

    Yesterday, the Aspen leaves did meet the criteria, but I am going to hold off on planting a lot of the more temperature-sensitive crops.  I have already planted some of the tougher veggies that like cooler weather.   My peas are in the ground, and I have also sown some lettuce seeds.     

View my paintings:  davidmarchant2.ca

The Creative Fire Hydrants of McBride

     The Village of McBride has some unique fire hydrants.  Because we see them all of the time, we forget how unusual they are.  They were given this interesting look back in 2007 when the Whistlestop Gallery commissioned a creative young woman, Bryony Griffiths to do what she could to liven them up.  As you can see, she did an amazing job.

    I assume that there is no law governing the color of fire hydrants that apply to McBride.   It is such a small village, I am sure our volunteer fire department knows exactly where all of the hydrants are.   I find our characterized fire hydrants very clever.   Bryony sure was sure creative  in painting them.

    The one of Snoopy the Red Baron is located at the airfield.

Take a look at my paintings:  davidmarchant2.ca