Waiting for the blooms.....

 "You keep waiting for the bloom of flowers, of which you have to sow seeds yet......." 
                 -Dr. Steve Maraboli (Behavioural Scientist)

 So, yes indeedy,I have been  waiting, and waiting, and waiting.........

 For the weather to co-operate. It's soggy. And boggy. About 8 degrees celsius.  And frost still. Here and there.On the ground. On the rooftops. On the fence.  Frost. Ugh.

  There are pods in the greenhouse.  On the evergreen clematis. A month behind. Feels like time has slowed.I don't mind rain or wind, but  it's been a long hard winter for the Campbell River area. I lost quite a few bushes and parts of trees from the snow and the wet. Time to move on.Time for something warmer.

 A year ago  the outdoors looked like this. Flocks of starlings taking over the birdbath. Leaves on the trees.  No frost. No cold. 

 So far, the bleeding heart has only pushed its little snout up thru the dirt.Last year it was flowering at this time.  It likes the cool. But not the chill of this early spring. Brrrr. 

 "So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers." 
                      -Jorge Louis Borges (1899-1986) (Argentine story writer)

I have to keep myself busy . This waiting is  something else. Drummmmmed fingers on table. Think. Think. Then the light bulb went off: Fabric. Fabric's good. Dyeing fabric. In Tea and Coffee and Beet Juice and Tumeric. Even better. Have had a ton of quilt flats just waiting to be dyed. If I have to wait to plant, might as well play with fabric.

 So while the quilt flats soaked in my concoction  of Tea and so forth, I sallied forth . I shouldn't sally forth. I always come back with flats.  I must stop this sallying. Only leads to Geraniums. Seed Geraniums. Lettuce and other veggies. I just couldn't help it. They were just sitting there. In the garden centre....begging me to bring them home. 

 Well, after all. I have to wait to plant. Might as well buy some plants. Just a flat or two. Maybe three.......( Oh, and a Deer tarp........don't let me forget that)

  Once the flats  were happily ensconced in the greenhouse, where they wait to be buried in earth, it was time to finish distressing  quilt flats. One of my favourite things to do is make quilts look distressed. My mix of Tea, Beet Juice, Coffee, Tumeric, and even a touch of tomatoe juice, did  a great job.

 "The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks. " 
                               -Tennesse Williams (1911-1983) (playwright)

  This is my favourite quilt square. It's called Rising Star.  I dumped it, the whole thing, into just beet juice. It's the colour of the clematis that hasn't flowered yet.

 Once everything was all dyed, the next step was to get them to look more tarnished, even wrinkled. I've discovered that if I put them all into the drier and  basically " cook" them dry in the machine they will get a more worn look. That Civil War Era  look that I just LOVE so much.

 "A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill, except for learning how to grow in rows." -Doug Larson (1926-) (Columnist)

 So while the quilts were drying away  getting wrinkled and old, I got it into my head that I should go get some Dahlias. So off I toddled to Canadian Tire and snatched up about 25 of them. I just couldn't resist. (But I forgot the Deer Tarp......must get one)

 Going to plant Dahlias on the hill with Velvet Queen Sunflowers. The tall Maroon ones that sway in the wind. But Dahlias don't like a lot of frost, or wet or sog and bog. So they will have to wait in their box. A little less chilly would be fine.

 Along with the Lily of the Valley, and Sweet pea seeds.Ahh yes, the ever present sweet peas.  Can't even plant them yet. Sweet Pea seeds like  cool earth, but this earth is just a bit  wet and cold. Probably rot.  I will have to wait a week or two. But by the third week of April  I plan to sow seeds.The weather's got to be better by then. Right? ( Oh, and remind me to get a Deer Tarp........)

 Lettuce,broccoli, cabbage and more lettuce, and radishes,and more broccoli. Yummm. I need to get a deer tarp to put over them.Hmmmmm. They will like the veggies. I can hardly wait to plant. But waiting I am. Waiting and waiting and waiting.......

 Plus: Dahlias, Sunflowers, Veggies, more sunflowers, Sweet peas  ( oh yea, and a deer tarp...mustn't forget that).......

 The quilts look somewhat aged. Not too much. Not too little. Still nice looking with a bit of a tan. Good way to spend waiting on  these rainy, chill  days.
( Making note to self: Get a  Deer Tarp......and maybe some more dahlias, or glads, or....)

 "Weather forecast for tonight: DARK." -George Carlin(1937-2008)

2017 Photographs