Beauty in the South Cariboo...

Mike is working nights and sleeping days this week, so after I finished work this afternoon I took a drive so I wouldn't make noise and wake him up early. I was going to take Jasper, but he decided he'd rather snuggle up on the bed beside Mike.

Exploring 100 Mile's surroundings is one of my very favourite things to do.

Today, I headed out toward Forest Grove, and hung a right on Buffalo Creek Road.

Tree swallows

Wild roses with a barbed wire fence.

A little closer.

A long-dead fir.

An old abandoned log cabin.

Bridge Creek

Hummingbirds

Getting There...

The shop is nearly assembled. We're forever in the debt of Bernie and Nadine for all their help and for the loan of equipment in getting the job done. There's still lots to do on it; tightening, electrical, insulation & the front, but the monster task of putting together every section with about 19 zillion nuts and bolts is almost complete. Would we recommend a metal building to anyone? No. Never. Not ever. However, when it's all done, it will be a great place for Mike to putter, and I'll have my garden shed all to myself!





The weather remains cool and unstable. We've had showers most days, and the only place we've had to water is inside the greenhouse. I'm liking these cool days...I don't do so well in extremely warm temperatures. I planted lettuce out the other day, and the potatoes are finally sprouting. We were a bit late getting them in.


Buck and Rupert are enjoying their expanded grazing space, and I'm pretty sure Rupert is going to slim down from all the walking he has to do following Buck around everywhere. They have an entourage of cowbirds who travel with them; Buck often has 2 or 3 hitchhiking on his back.


The chickadees have babies in their nest box, and last year's robins' nest is occupied. The hummingbirds are going through 500 mls of syrup every other day!

An Update

The rain continued non-stop till late Thursday afternoon and since then we've had intermittent showers ranging from light sprinkles to downpours. Everything is fresh and green, having had its dust layers washed off.

On Thursday afternoon, Mike and I decided to take a drive. We headed down to 58 mile and along Meadow Lake Road. There is some truly beautiful rangeland there, and if it hadn't been so late in the day, we'd have gone further afield.

On Friday morning, Buck rightly decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the electric fence, and decided that as the damn thing hadn't been turned on since last September or so, that he'd rather be elsewhere on the property. We woke to find him happily munching dandelions growing on the septic field. While I was at work, Mike reconfigured the electric fencing, and now Buck and Rupert can wander the entire property, except where we're fenced off around the house. There's enough grass growing that they shouldn't need hay for a few months.

On Saturday morning, Bernie and Nadine arrived to work on the shop with us. We raised four more sections, and things went ever so much more smoothly than they did last fall. We got rained out in the afternoon, but we'll be back at it this morning after buttermilk pancakes and bacon!

This morning is cool and clear, and the birds are in full song already. I'm going to take my tea out to the porch to listen to them. I have no idea why I'm up and at it at 4:30 a.m.

It's Raining!

With apologies to family and friends who live about 3800 feet lower than us, I'm happy to report that we're having some good, heavy rainfall this evening! This probably isn't good news for those of you who are likely to be affected in some way by flooding, but it's a happy event for those of us who spend too much time fretting about forest fires.

In The Garden

Things are coming along nicely in the garden. The garlic is garlicking, and my tulips are finally in bloom, although I don't think they're liking this very warm weather. The swiss chard and carrots have sprouted too.



The tomatoes are looking good in the greenhouse! Yesterday I transplanted some basil seedlings into a greenhouse bed.

I've taken to watering things behind the house in the evening, and doing the front in the morning for well recovery purposes. We've had no indication of being short of water, but I think it's good to space things out.

Osteospurmums. I have a flat of petunias that I bought yesterday to pot up this evening. We're finally frost free at night, and should be till mid-August or so.




There is rain in the forecast for the coming week. I'm fervently hoping we get some...there has been only one semi-decent rainfall since the snow melted. Everything needs a good soaking; the forests are dry, there are fewer wildflowers this year, and the local hayfields are struggling.

Last evening...

There's not much better than sitting on the porch in the cool of the late evening, listening to the sandhill cranes throw their voices. They are natural ventriloquists, it seems. They're actually in one of the meadows behind us, but they sound as though they're moving through the forest. It would be quite eerie, if you didn't know what was making the sound.

When you throw in watching Molly stalking imaginary prey, the swallows and chickadees going in and out of their respective nest boxes, and then the full moon (a blue moon, actually) rising through the trees, it was pretty wonderful. If there were no mosquitos, it would have been out and out perfect!