Yikes, Look at the Bachelor Buttons

    Yesterday I was out cutting the high weeds in our paddock in order to reduce the fire hazard around our house.  I was surprised to see hundreds of Bachelor Buttons profusely growing everywhere.  We used to have them in a flower garden, but obviously they didn’t care for the restricted area they were growing in, and decided to give the outside world a try.  The outside world seems to have worked out well for them, because now they are growing freely without restraint in a wooded area beside the paddock. 

    I haven’t read that they are invasive plants, but certainly are looking like it around here.

    Bachelor Buttons, or “Corn Flowers” (Centaurea cyanus) originated in Europe.  They were given the name “Corn Flowers” because they often grew in corn fields (“Corn” at the time referred to “grain’).  They were brought to the Americas as a decorative flowering plant.  They are still advertised by garden centers.

    After seeing how freely they are spreading on our property, I was surprised to see a website offering information about “How to Grow Them”.  They certainly don’t seem to need any human help in growing.

    Bachelor Buttons are very popular with the local bees.

    Below is a closeup of their deep blue flower.

View my paintings:  davidmarchant2.ca

 

Guest Blog, by Kona

    I was incensed when I read in yesterday’s blog about how Lucifer has been getting a “smorgasbord” of special food.  What in the world is going on?  

    I am the dominant pet in the house and if anyone should be getting fancy food, it should be me.

    I immediately voiced my indignation with my masters and whether it was the sharp logic of my arguments, or whether it was just them getting tired of me nagging them about it, doesn’t matter; in the end, they did finally come through and give me some exciting food to eat.

    As you can see in the photo above, they are feeding me some chunks of steak, off of their own plate!

    From now on I will be monitoring this blog carefully to make sure that they are not secretly giving Lucifer any other special treatment.

View David's paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

 

Cat Buffet

    Now that Lucifer is getting older and starting to have some health problems, we are spoiling her by giving her a buffet every night, so that she can choose what she wants to eat.  The buffet includes “kibbles” on the left, chicken and pork on the dish in the middle, and canned cat food (menu changes every other day) in the bowl on the right.  Lucifer however, doesn’t really spend much time trying to make up her mind about what to eat, she generally just eats it all.

View my paintings:   davidmarchant2.ca

 

June Flowers, Frosted

    We had a slight frost last night.  This morning, when I noticed, I immediately sprayed the vegetable garden with water.  That will often save the plants, if the frost wasn’t too hard.  The frost hit harder in my pasture, putting little ice crystals on the edges of the leaves.  Above shows a Wild Rose bush with crusty leaves.

    Below is a photo of a Lupine with frosty leaves.  Both the Wild Rose and Lupine plants are tough and won’t be harmed by the frost we had.  Some of the vegetables in the garden, like beans, are more tender, but I hope my spraying them will help them survive.  

    Getting a frost in June is not unheard of in the Robson Valley.  In 1985 there was a hard frost on June 10th, and then again on June 17th.  That did wipe out a lot of the plants I had planted in my garden.

You can see my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

 

The Kona/Mosquito Dilemma

 

    Despite all her loud aggressive-sounding barking, Kona is a really sensitive dog.  Like most dogs, she becomes terrified when she hears thunder or a gun shot.  When this happens, she often trembles and cannot be calmed.  If the loud noise happens when we are in bed, she drapes herself across my chest and head, and refuses to move.  While it might be a comforting position for her, when she anchors her sharp elbows into my chest, it is not very comforting for me.

    There is another situation when Kona gets all scared; it is when I swat a mosquito with my hand.  It is even more terrifying for Kona if I use one of those Mosquito rackets to electrically “ZAP” a mosquito.  Kona’s fear of my aggression toward mosquitoes becomes very problematic when it is bedtime.

    Last night we were both in bed.  Kona was comfortably sleeping beside me, when a mosquito started buzzing around my head.  I certainly didn’t want to be kept up all night by the irritating buzz of a mosquito, so I kept an eye on the mosquito waiting for it to get within an advantageous striking position, and then I struck. 

    I missed of course, but Kona was suddenly awake and terrified.  She poured her body across my chest and refused to leave, even when I firmly told her to go back to sleep.  Eventually with a bit of pushing by me, she finally relented and returned to her side of the bed, although she just lay there, suspecting that I was going to be swatting another mosquito.  This happened several times last night, before I was finally able to smash the pest that was invading my personal space.

    This fear in Kona, of my slapping at mosquitoes at bedtime, is very problematic for me.  I want to get rid of the mosquitoes before I go to sleep, but at the same time, doing so traumatizes Kona and really upsets her.   As a result, I spend a lot of time just laying there trying to decide what to do.  Do I try to kill the mosquito and wake up and upset Kona, or do I just quietly lay there and become a blood sacrifice for the irritating insect.  It’s a dilemma.

View my paintings:  davidmarchant2.ca

Yesterday's Pioneer Days Parade

 

    Yesterday McBride had the big Pioneer Day’s Parade.  It seemed longer and more festive than normal, and the crowds bigger.  As usual, it began with the ear-piercing sirens and flashing lights of the fire engines and RCMP vehicles, then settled down to the candy-throwing floats, antique cars, motorcycles, and tractors, finishing up with the horses and riders.

    I think the float above was created by one of the groups from the high school reunion, that was taking place during Pioneer Days.  It did have a sign on the front that said something about “The 90’s”.  I was impressed at all of the balloons that had to be blown up, and all of the other work that had to be done for the float.

    Amidst the motorcycles was this shrimpy looking “hog” that had “Dinky Toy” on it’s license plate.  It had an surprisingly loud Harley-sounding engine.

    One of the big mysteries of the parade was this group of official looking uniformed horse riders.  I, and many other observers were puzzled as to who they represented.  I thought maybe some back-country park officials that had been newly established, because I was not aware of them.

    After the parade was finished, I walked over to where they were milling around on their steeds and asked.  I was told that their official looking uniforms and hats were just costumes.  They sure had me fooled.

    

See my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

Pioneer Days Today

    Today our tiny community will celebrate “Pioneer Days” with activities typical of a small town.  There will be a parade down Main Street that will look pretty much like the photo above, taken in 2016.  There will be a Softball tournament, Pancake Breakfast, Logger events, Face Painting, a Rock, Paper, Scissors Contest, and a dance.  Along with this years Pioneer Days there will be a High School Reunion which is not graduation year specific.

    For me, the big event will be an opportunity for our Tuesday Night Jam to play.  We have done so previously for past Pioneer Days, but our numbers keep changing because of people moving away and new ones added, but hopefully we will put out some lively tunes.   I have my truck all loaded with a PA system, music stands, and my guitar and mandolin.  We will start playing in the park pavilion at 12:30 today.  Photo below from 2017.

View my paintings:  davidmarchant2.ca