A Fantastic Day

Today has been one, hands down.  The sun has been shining brightly all day – not a cloud in the skies and spring is making her presence known in full force with trees and flowers budding.  As my Grannie always said in the spring, the sap is rising!

Today started out with a chiropractor appointment – a needed one – and a good adjustment for everything that needed adjusting.  Neck, back and knees are feeling good and working properly. 

Next up was a long walk with my new friend Jennifer.  Since Seal Bay Park is currently a “leash-on” zone due to it now being deer nesting season (April 1 to June 30) I have had to some up with a new walk zone where Jasmine can run around off leash.  My dear friend Linden walks her dogs at the BC Hydro lines along the Puntledge River and suggested this may be a good alternative for us. While further away from home, and needing a little more time to get there, it’s going to be a suitable alternative until Jasmine and I can resume our walks up at Seal Bay.  This past week I’ve made it up there a couple of times and have taken some new friends with me for company and good conversation.

Jenn and I completed just over 7 KM this morning and, once done, we headed off to our respective day’s plans.

The rest of my day was spent alternating between running around and doing stuff at home. My task list included picking up some plants and stuff for the back yard, going over to the region’s composting centre to get my hands on an Earth Machine composter, getting some grocery shopping done, picking up some gel shots for tomorrow’s long (12+ KM) walk and also popping into an electronics shop in Courtenay to see if I could get my hands on an open-region DVD / Blue Ray player.  I also thought it would be prudent to get the converter / adapter thingy for my BBQ so that I could plug in a 20 Gallon propane tank, but I didn’t manage to remember that when I was at Home Depot – and one stop per shop was all I really wanted to complete today.

Three trips out and back saw almost everything on my list purchased and then the rest of my afternoon was spent, happily, puttering around in my back yard starting to get things ready for spring / summer.

At the recent Feng Shui workshop I attended, Terri (from Fine Art of Intention Feng Shui) told us about the zones in the yard relating to time periods in our lives.  Front yard being past, centre being present and back yard being future… well, considering my back yard has been a disaster zone (until today) I thought it would be very prudent for me to get off my behind and do something about it!

So what did I do?

On the way home from the walk, I stopped in at Home Depot, where I picked up two sculpted shrub-trees in pots for my back patio – they give some symbolic support to the overhang space that is in the master bedroom.  I’ll have to get some nicer planters for them, but for now, they have taken residence on the concrete slab.

Next up, after the second trip out (to the Composting Education Centre and Art Knapp’s) the Earth Machine composter was assembled and installed, and a small trellis was put into the ground in front of it (I will put a clematis in the soil there as it will be a great “mask” for the composter.)  I also dug out the teensy flower bed in the back corner and planted two peonies and two hostas – and then, in light of Miss Jasmine’s incredible ability to run loopity-loops around the back yard, I installed a bamboo screen in front of that bed to deter her from using it as a launch-pad and destruction of the new plants.

Here's a not-terribly recent "before" picture:

I also spent some time clearing out the other garden bed – though I really have no idea what to do with it… Here are a few of the "so far" after shots - obviously more work is still required... 

then again, the future is always a work in progress, right?

The third trip out today was to get groceries for me.

It’s about 6:30 PM now and I’m happily enjoying a cup of tea (decaffeinated) and thinking that, once I take Jasmine out for her evening constitutional, I may try and tackle the home office challenge.

With love across the waters,