Ready, Set, Grow!!! Starting Seeds

Yesterday was THE day. I got seeds started downstairs, weeeeeee! A couple of years ago, I made up a list of all the seeds we wanted, then counted back to figure out when to start them. I took into account the days until maturity.

Now that I have that Master List, each Spring I can take a quick peek and know when to start what....

Since I knew I would be away for a week, I delayed starting seeds until I got back. I didn't want to have the person looking after our place to have yet Another Chore added to the Daily List.

According to my list, ideal starting time for peppers is Mar 23. Cabbages would be Mar 26. So, I'm a few days late, big deal....it won't matter....

Here's my process....

I use styrofoam cups. I poke one hole in the bottom of each, just enuf to provide some drainage. These cups are on their 3rd year of use! I treat them gently, and definitely wash them all out using a little bleach and hot water, then giving them a really good rinse.

Then I fill them almost to the top with Sunshine Mix, then water that soil.

Then I seed. I don't put 3 or 4 seeds into each cup, I put one seed per cup. I would rather not thin if I don't have to. I find if I keep a good eye on the cups, I can reseed any that don't come up.

After dropping in a seed, I top up the cup with more Sunshine Mix. Then I tamp down on the soil with my knuckles, to ensure the seed is in good contact with the soil. Then I add a bit more water....

I do 21 cups per tray. This is only becauze that is how many fit in a tray, lol....it's not for any scientific reason!

I always try to fill one flat fully with the same type of veggie. That way, I only need to mark one cup with the seed type.

I set the cups in the bottoms of those greenhouse thingys you can buy. I have some on hand, so I use those up first....

After I use up all the bottoms, I start using the clear plastic tops. Since they are quite a bit more flimsy than the bottoms, I line them with cardboard. Otherwise, every time I moved the tray, I'd have cups falling all over the place (not good)

Once I use the top plastic thingys up, I use cardboard flats (from beer or cased canned goods) as my trays. I don't spend any extra money if I can help it....I try to keep all my costs down by using materials already on hand)

A few trays under the lights....

All my seedlings sitting under florescent lights. We have a little space heater in this room to keep things warm....

Since I KNOW I have to grow a LOT more animal feed this year, I decided I could fill all the room under the lights with cabbage seed. I don't have to start Tomatoes and Parsley (the next on the list) until April 20, so these seedlings will have pretty much 3 weeks of grow time.

By that point, I can move all the Cabbage upstairs and free up the lights for the next round.

Sooooo...here's what I have seeded so far:

14 Cayenne Peppers (I got carried away, we don't need that many!)

7 of my friend's little hot hot peppers (I will find out the name)

21 Red Cabbage (I had seed left from last year, germination was terrible, but we'll see what happens this time)

183 Green Cabbage (Yikes!) I know, I know, that's a LOT of cabbage....but most will go down below in the Animal Garden. With six Piggys and a whack of laying hens, the cabbage will be totally used, I am quite sure!

So, from now until April 20, all I need to do is go down and check on these cups every day....water when I need to and hover over them and wring my hands until everything comes up!

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Baby Devon

Friends of ours had a beautiful baby boy....Devon was born March 2, and weighed 9lbs, 10 oz!!! A big boy!!!

Devon's parents had a photographer come in. Look at these gorgeous pics she took!

I LOVE this one!!! Well, I LOVE them both, they're fantastic pics!

Here's her website - bop over and have a peek at her work!

http://opheliaphotography.com/?p=6

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Day Tripping at Lonsdale Quay

After my quick trip to see the Eman and JP, I headed back over to Vancouver by ferry....I met up with my old buddy, Jim.

He picked me up and we went to hang out at Lonsdale Quay. We walked around the Market, looking at all the fantastic looking seafood and meats there. Also a lot of shops with clothes, purses and the like....

Afterward we headed up to the Tantalus Bar and Grille, where we had lunch and hoisted a few. We ended up being there for 3 hours I think! We had a great visit, and since it's been awhile since we had seen each other, we got all caught up with each other.

I had forgotten my camera, so Jim took all these pics and emailed them to me. Thanks Jim!!!

With downtown Vancouver in the background. See the white sails way yonder? That's Canada Place....

Some of the many docks on the water.....

Cates is a tugboat company. We watched the tugs go out and bring in a freighter to get unloaded at the docks....

I Love Tugboats! Jim and I were yakking about how we would both Love to go out on one of these and help bring in the big ships. That would be awesome!

Here's an old ship that has been restored. It was beautiful!!

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Flying Over to the Sunshine Coast

I don't like to fly...I figure that if the Big Guy wanted me to fly, he would have given me wings. I prefer my feet on the ground.

BUT...after I left the Island, I had a choice....6 hours on two ferries, plus wait time. OR a 15 minute flight, yes really. The ferries go "out of the way". The Coast is just across the Strait. So I figured I'd put on my big girl panties and fly over.

I used to take float planes a LOT when the Gman and I were dating. He lived on the Coast and I lived on the Island. So I got used to flying in the Beaver float planes and knew all the pilots. That helps me a lot, knowing who is flying me over. For some reason, it helps me to build trust, lol.

This time, it wasn't a Beaver that came to get me, it was a little 4 seat plane, gulp!

If I have to fly on a jet, I try to take an aisle seat and then spend the entire flight staring down the aisle towards the cockpit. I pretend I am on a Greyhound bus. My alternate ploy is to stick my head in a book or magazine.

I read something once that I thought made a lot of sense....flying is like a bunch of humans being jammed into a sardine can. Then, someone picks up the can and hurtles it thru space.....yup, that about sums it up for me.

I got down to the dock a little early and took a couple of pics. These little boats look cute, I wonder if I could just ride on of those over instead.

Here's a little plane taking off, mine looked like that, only smaller. To me, they look like they are made out of balsa wood!

OK, load myself in after explaining to the pilot I don't like to fly and want to sit in the back of the plane. Aw he says, no sweat...yeah I know. The good thing is that there are no mountains to fly over, it is all water, and the plane has floats, so if something goes wrong, we can land using the floats. That's the plan.

Pilot on the left, the other passenger on the right in the co-pilot seat. We had just moved off from the dock, so they didn't have their ear muffs on yet.

We're moving out into the Channel, close to where the BC Ferries dock, at least I don't have to ride one of those again....

Biological Station on the far right of this pic....

Piper's Lagoon

Newcastle Island to the right. We spent a lot of time sailing around this Island when I was growing up....

Then we head out over the Strait, and I'm feeling pretty good. The pilot turned around to see if I was freakin out, but I gave him the thumbs up and he grinned at me.

Man, it is so beautiful out there when the Sun is shining and we're buzzing along. I think we go up about 1000 feet, I would be surprised if they fly higher than that....Here's the Coastal Mountain range....

Off to the right, using the zoom, I pick up the City of Vancouver.

The White Cliffs of Thormandby Islands....you can see these easily from my parents house.

Oh look! There's a BC Ferry way down there, one that I DON"T have to take, lol!

Ah, getting close now to the Coast. I can see Nick's Rock down there. That's not the real name, we named it after the Nman. The boys went out with the Gman and I on his boat, and we dropped Nman off on that big rock for awhile. He thought we would wait for him, hahahahaha....silly fellow! Instead we left him there for about 45 minutes, to hang out with the seals and seagulls....we sure laughed over that one! (I can be a wicked Mama)

Trail Islands, off of Sechelt.

A tugboat, pulling a log boom. He's probably headed for Vancouver with his load.

Here you can see the itty bit spit of land that holds the City of Sechelt. The water in the foreground is the Strait of Georgia, the water in the background is the Sechelt Inlet.

Ah, memories. Here's the deck outside the Pub and Airline Office. This is where the Gman and I got hitched years ago....we held the ceremony there because that is where we always used to meet, when I would fly over for the weekend. My attendants and I arrived to the ceremony by float plane (we first did a Fly-By). Man that was an awesome day....after we got hitched, the Gman and I (and all our attendants) boarded the float plane again and took off for a short flight before returning to Sechelt for our reception.

Poise Island, in the Inlet. The Gman and I used to live just to the left of the Island.

JP picked me up in her new ride! Pretty nice, eh? Styling! I had a great, but too short, visit with JP and the Eman, it was great to see them!

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My Trip to the West Coast

We pulled in last night...home again! Kinda nice to be back! I sure had a great time down on the Coast. Got to see friends and family and spend some time in Vancouver.

Here's a bunch of pics I took....the scenery there is breathtaking.

Some daffodils almost blooming at the house Gman is staying at while working

A freighter sitting in Indian Arm, just up a bit from the Vancouver bridges. Gman can see this from out the front window. (must be nice!)

I made my way out to Horseshoe Bay, to take the ferry over to Vancouver Island to go see family and friends....

A ferry just leaving for the Sunshine Coast

Administration building for BC Ferries. This will be a BUSY place next winter, when the Winter Olympics are held in Whistler, not far from here....

A look back at Horseshoe Bay, a great little village with good restaurants, bars and gorgeous views...

My ship has come in!

The terminal

Heading around the point out into the Strait of Georgia....

A few from my parents place....windmill palms growing!

Heather in bloom (pangs of jealousy at this point!)

Christmas Rose in bloom

Snowdrops....

From my parents deck....

The Beach where my boys used to play when they were growing up....

Herons and their nests next door to my parents house....they are loud and big! There are also lots of eagles flying around there too....

Next up, is my flight from Vancouver Island over to the Sunshine Coast, where Eman and JP live....

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The Piglets Have Arrived!

Well, they are here! They're down in the barn now settling in. Before we left this morning to pick them up, we put water in one trough and feed in the other. We also turned on the heat lamp. The fellow we got them from said they don't need the lamp anymore, but we think we'll leave it on for a week.

Here's how we transported them....two of the large totes. Gman made the one lid last year, then this year he just put holes in the lid of the other tote. He used a hole saw attachment to do it, much easier! We put some hay down in each tote. Otherwise, the bottom would be very slippery for the pigs to get a grip with their little piggy feet.

So here's the totes in the back of the SUV, coming home. The two totes fit in the back perfectly!

It only looks like the piggy's back in right up against that mesh, but it's not.....

We brought the totes right into barn, then opened the lids. One little piggy jumped right out! The others weren't too sure, so we just carefully tipped the tote over and they ran right out!

Aren't they cute? Two of them have black spots....these piglets are Duroc, which accounts for their brown-red hair.

Darn, they're adorable! Pretty hard for me to NOT get attached to them, look how darling they are!!!

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