Showers and Squalls on the Mountains

    We get a lot of rain showers and snow squalls during the early spring.  That was what was going on yesterday when we took a walk down the tarmac at the McBride Airfield.  We watched as the showers moved across the valley and onto the mountain slopes of the Canadian Rockies.

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Mountain Bluebird

    We got one of those springtime treats yesterday as we went on our walk.  We saw a male Mountain Bluebird.  It is something we look forward to every spring.  The female bluebird is more gray and doesn’t have the intense blue color of the male.  They like to hang out on broad open fields where they catch insects.  Our pasture is too small so we never see them around our property, we have to be out by a big pasture or field to see them.

    Fortunately a lot of the local fence lines which border the fields and pastures have nesting boxes for them (photo below).   I assume this bird house is color-coded to give a hint to the Mountain Bluebird, but In past years it has usually been swallows that I have seen nesting in the bird house pictured.  I am sure some of the houses must be used by the bluebird.  

    Yesterday’s Bluebird spotting was especially rewarding because I was able to actually take a decent photo of the bird.  Most of the time they fly away and I can’t get close enough for a good shot.

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Prime Time for Mosses

    The early spring seems to be the favorite time of year for the many mosses that can be found in the Robson Valley.  Mosses prefer moist settings and low light, both of which a now in abundance.  They are flowerless plants and after fertilization send up sporophytes, long thin stems topped with a small bundle of spores.

    The photo on top shows moss growing on a very small piece of wood sticking out above the outflow water from my pond.  Below is another variety of moss I found growing near the shore of the pond.

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Stopping Tree Roots Growing in the Greenhouse

    For years I have been plagued with tree roots growing in my greenhouse.  Last year I had my worst tomato crop ever, and I am pretty sure it was from all of those roots sucking up all the water and nutrients.  Every year when I turn over the soil in the greenhouse it becomes a more frustrating job, the roots get in the way and make the job far more difficult than it should be.

    There are a lot of feathery tree roots that form after I cut through the root while spading, and there are huge roots, some as thick at my forearm.  Anyway it has been a big problem, and this year I decided to do something about it.

    Last summer I replaced some of the metal roofing I had on the roof of the house, and I decided that I would bury that leftover roofing in the greenhouse to create a root-proof lining for my tomato bed.  It has turned out to be a big job, especially digging out the soil (and tree roots) so that I can bury the roofing.  I have completed about a third of the job so far.  

    The photos are not the most beautiful I have posted, but they give you an idea of what I am doing.  The old roofing already has holes punched in it from where the screws used to hold it to the house, so hopefully it will allow excess water to drain out.  I hope it works.

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Fraser River: Almost Open

    One of the things I always look forward too in the Spring is to start seeing water again.  After months of seeing ice and snow, it is a treat to see the sparkling and reflecting surface of water on the rivers and lakes.  While my pond is still ice covered, the mighty Fraser River is starting to break up and showing running water again.

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Schizophrenic Sky

    Spring weather can quickly change.  The other day I was amazed at how different the weather looked depending on the direction in which I was looking.  In one direction rain or snow was threatening, and in the other, things looked calm and stable.  Here are photos of the two views.

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The Critters Are Arriving

    Even though there is still snow on the ground and ice on the pond, it hasn’t stopped the wildlife from showing themselves.  Yesterday, I saw this butterfly (I saw my first last week), I saw this mosquito (my wife killed one in the bedroom last week), I saw a small fish darting around in the open water at the edge of the pond, and as I walked by, a toad jumped into the narrow string of open water.  I have already seen or heard a Varied Thrush and a Junco.

    I find it really surprising how quickly those animals show up in the Spring, even with our nightly below freezing temperatures and with a good bit of our landscape still covered with ice and snow.  It seems those creatures are as eager for Spring as I am.

    Below a shot of our yard taken yesterday and the mosquito I saw.

You can see my paintings at: davidmarchant2.ca