Duncan and Emma's Salt Spring Island Adventure!
Repainting the Deck… Well, the deck is rotting in places and the paint has peeled off and if we don't repaint it – by then end of a long rainy winter the WHOLE deck might be rotten… So, we decided with the fabulous weather in September to JUST DO IT! We hired a big…
Pick 12lbs of Blackberries! So, we have 4lbs of blackberries in the freezer. We need 20lbs for our wine… So we went picking yesterday (all on our property) and this is what 12lbs of blackberries looks like! My fingers and arms are still stinging today from all the scrapes from the thorns. It's my own…
A Day of Harvesting! Sunday was spent clearing brambles, thistles, broom and other unwanted weeds, identifying the black-capped raspberries and collecting seed from them (a YUMMY native raspberry!) then seeing what was ready in the veg patch (see photo left) and finally picking blackberries for our wine plans!! The weather was gorgeous, and I felt…
Spreading the love – or just a smile perhaps?
It's been a while since I've mused so I though I would share my plan to save the world… It all started with walking the dog.
On my road only (I don't do it all over the island – well not thoroughly anyway!) I now wave and smile at ALL passing traffic.
It started with just waving. Then it graduated to waving AND smiling. And most recently I have added in trying to make eye contact. Now sometimes I have to guess where the eyes are because of glare off the windscreen (your windshield in North America!). But I AM trying!
Now, often people don't notice or are too busy on their cellphones BUT maybe about 50% of the time I get a smile and wave back and I get a little thrill! It's fun!
Why? Well, I figured it's a great way to spread happiness and meet people. One day I'll be out with the dog and they'll be on foot or in their gardens and they'll recognize me as that crazy waving girl and will stop to have a conversation. Or perhaps it'll be raining and there's a puddle and they'll give me an extra wide berth or offer me a ride – because they feel like they know me. Or I'll see them in town and they'll say hello in person! Self-serving? Maybe. But I also genuinely enjoy (in this busy and increasingly impersonal world) making that connection.
Now I recently mentioned my waving plan to a caring member of my family. The response was mild horror…
Well, Owl be damned… This was at 5.30pm!! I got back to the house and noticed a strange shape in the Peach Tree! He let me get to within 6-8 feet of him (gradually) to take this photo. After I went in to get the dog (to take him for a walk!) he flew into…