Christmas in July!!

My FairyGardenTime shop is giving me lots of fun in the making and selling. I am going to do a little pop up sale this week during harvest of my vegetables at Casi Cielo.  Here is a peek of the kinds of pieces available on line and at my home, https://www.etsy.com/shop/FairyGardenTime.

It has been a wild ride the last few days with the wind, rain, visit from a deer, and the refrigerator conking out!!!
I am glad that vacation is only a few days away! I am not feeling the energy to do a full blown garden party right now, but a little selling in a mini farmers market ambience always appeals to me! so good deals, veg, flowers from Jay ( my neighbour), home baking and pottery at discount prices, who could resist that....

Will it ever stop snowing, and let me get in the mud.

I just took some pictures of things bursting forth, and within an hour the snow started again. Hard to believe on April 24th, but it is what it is.

Here are some of my happy shots of the hope in the garden. the raspberries have been decimated by the deer, but I hope they will manage.  Rhubarb is sprouting in several places over the garden space, so that is really positive along with daffodils.

Lambs ears

raspberry canes

muscari in bloom

last seasons onions resurrected

Happy Easter

Easter Morning, and the first year that the Easter Bunny is not part of the day at our house. At eight years old, some of the magic is gone. Mama is sad, but know it is all part of his growing up.

It is still a special morning full of imagination as we watch the Life of Walter Mitty together and enjoy all of the magical thinking and the genius of the movie making.  It is sunny an bright and hopefully we will do some outdoor activities later on after church. Spring is here and life is full of possibilities and hope. I have lots of stock for my shows, and can slow down on production, so I can put my energies into my CSA which now has 10 families participating!

The yard still looks pretty wintery but was full of energy for our Easter Egg hunt on Good Friday afternoon. I think everybody had a good time.  Soon the grass will get raked, the bunnies generous offering of manure will be tilled into the ground and planting will begin.  I have most of my shows lined up for the next several months, with lots of my favourites, and our Etsy WEST group is hosting the Spring Sale right here in our neighbourhood at Holy Cross Gym, so I hope we have a good show of support from the neighbourhood.   Mark your calendar, April 27 11-4 pm. at Holy Cross on Dubuc, (you know the hilly part of St. Boniface)

My new Etsy shop is open!!

Sometimes we just need a little magic, a little fun. Even though I pride myself on being a functional potter, I love whimsy and child focussed elements to my creativity.  I have been thinking for over a year about my second Etsy shop, SecretGardenSupplies.  I was shocked to see the retail prices for Fairy Garden or Enchanted Garden supplies, and thought wouldn't that be fun to make.


So far I have birds nests, gnome houses, beach glass for paths and will keep adding pieces to the collection.  I home to build my newest fairy garden indoors after this weekend's kiln and will post pictures , but for now here a few of the goodies and a link to my shop:https://www.etsy.com/shop/SecretGardenSupplies?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Just waiting for the First day of Spring

I have been thinking about launching a new Etsy store with clay work that is more on the whimsical side and combines the clay and the garden. I wont say the name until later this week, but it sure doesnt look like Spring here in Winterpeg.

the ice man cometh.....

Here are some of the pieces I will be launching later this week on Etsy...They will be durable and reasonably priced.

a Fairy doorway to do on  a tree stump

a leafy bird bath

a tiny blue bird and her eggs on a nest of red clay

Say it isnt so...

September 1!  How did it happen.  Summer has slipped away.  It is not that I feel shortchanged, I have been to the beach, been in the garden for hundreds of hours, had a trip away, and spent many hours of unplanned time with Mr. G.

It is just that I want more!!! I love summer and the heat, and the fruit, and just the more up beat attitude of people in this northern climate.  I feel the pressure of getting ready for activities for me, for my little man, for finishing up the canning, jamming and harvesting in the garden, and making gobs of pots for the shows I have committed myself too.

Here are a few shots from our busy July and August

Now to get ready for the Manitoba Fibre Festival, WEST Sale, and Scattered Seeds, all within the next 7 weeks

TGIF

Grateful for Friday, even though it is a working weekend.  Summer is whirring along quickly with hot weather, fierce rain storms and a crazy growing garden.  I am not too disciplined with my studio time, but I think that is allowed as winter was pretty grinding.

tomorrow we have decided to have what we call a lazy pazy day.  That means no real plan, but do what comes our way.  That usually means mom giving into the boy playing some games on the computer while I escape into the studio for an hour, but just the freedom of making no committments for the whole day sems luxurious. One more week to Brandon Folk Festival  and we are pumped for fun.

In the garden, raspberies are starting, but I am in a serio.us rebuilding of this patch and it wont happen overnight.  It seems their migration to the middle of the garden is decided, and I am using the backside for vines, zucchini, pumpkins, and canteloupes are moving along and hopefully battling the quackgrass successfully.   

I am alive and kicking!

Dont get me wrong. i am not actually kicking anyone, but I have found myself going at high gear for far too long, and thus the blog has been sadly neglected.

On the kicking theme, we made a brief attempt at fostering a goat....love him...but the realities of taking on a fragile baby goat with separation anxiety and feeding issues is more than even I should take on .. Thanks to Louise of Aurora FArm for her patience and letting us try this. still a dream but it will have to wait...

I am madly gardening and harvesting...rewarding but my back and kneee dont always agree with me... trying to work on pacing myself  and am grateful for all and any help with weeding. Looking for a hot yoga experience, I can provide it here!

Tomorrow we are making a special delivery of pots to Pembina Hills Art Gallery with a request for yarn bowls.  That is a good thing, will take some of the new buttons Cathy has put on cards for me.

Garden Party

Our Summer Solstice Celebration in the Garden last night was a great success. The weather was pretty threatening in the afternoon with predictions of storms, but we were luckier than Alberta and it became clear and hot.

The nibblies were wonderful with Spiros Triangles, Tomato and Bocconcino bites, carrot cake, lemon basil cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, smoked salmon dill quiches, lemon tarts, rhubarb punch, passion fruit punch and blueberry sun tea.

Customers and visitors came throughout the evening both new and old. We had a great turnout and good energy abounded.

Pat Bragg photo work

Cloverleaf cuffs

some green pots

Aelios Design jewellery

Hoshi Handbags

Kay Lew and her Paverposl work

 

 

Kara had her work here, Tawny Bee made us her only sale this year, as well as Cathy Laver Wright and Mary Kay. More photos and rcipes to follow  in the next post!

 

Beet this!!

The garden seeds are beginning to peek through, not too long now and we will have yummy greens, beets , carrots and more. Just saw this recipe and had to pass it on.  There are a million ways to do beets, so there is a world beyond pickles!

Dig In Recipe - Beet and Chevre Salad

Submitted by Adrienne Percy of Nourished Roots

Ingredients 1 head lettuce (butter, red, baby greens) 1 red onion 3-4 red beets 1/2 cup walnuts 1 cup crumbled chevre 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup maple syrup Directions Tear any soft, young type lettuce into pieces. Sprinkle red onion, walnuts, chevre and cranberries on top. For dressing, pour balsamic vinegar and maple syrup into a pot and bring to a light simmer. Allow mixture to reduce. Cool and pour into bottle. Variation: At Christmas, try adding candied walnuts or pecans by pan-frying them in brown sugar and butter.

More garden ideas with pallets

I have a big yard but want to make efficient use of my space so between Pinterest and other sources I am constantly getting new ideas for how to grow more food in the space I have.  Also, without too much hand digging as I am not so great with that these days.

I think this idea has lots of potential and there is no end of discarded pallets around in winnipeg.

My greens and herbs will benefit from this idea and straw bale gardening and keep me from bending quite so much.  It certainly would be a conversation item.

Spring is coming slowly and quietly in my yard.

So happy to see these little tulip, iris and other bulbs and hollyhocks beginning to appear in my yard.  As the garden begins to show a need for me to be in it, it means a change in focus between now and the end of May.  I still need and want to make a lot of pottery, but the outdoors will be calling me out there.  It will be time to get out of the dark basement studio and into my garden.

I started making pieces for my new plan of Fairy Garden adornments.

Birds, nests, leaf stools, mushrooms, fairy houses and more on the way. I love the change in focus from the wheel.

That fine farmer feeling!

turning orange, but still has a way to go!

The butternut squash is a wonderful big size but needs time too!

Patty pan, flying saucer squashes in yellows and greens should be perfect next Saturday!

 

 

Today in the heat I managed to harvest some of those ground cherries, more tomatoes, looked at all the zucchinis and squashes that will go to Many Fest next week, the flying suacer are soo beautiful.

Late August and the heat wave continues

Well after a month away from the real job, i should be feeling accomplished, well rested and like I have really offered my child lots of one on one quality time.  Hummm....somehow none of that has happened.  Parenting on my own continues to throw challenges to my abilities to stay the course, go with the flow of my mental schedule for gardening, pottery and rest having vey little to do with reality.

I am not quite sure to blame my back flaring up on, but it has, so this has slowed me down considerably too.  Did I mention that it was 30 plus degrees again today, so no canning or jamming has occurred in this non air conditioned house, and quality sleep has been elusive since we left the hotel in Orlando.

Little man seems to be struggling to get over this strep, so this mama better get to bed, so I can have smiles and energy for tomorrow.  My  mom used to have a saying,,,,itès a great life if you dont weaken.  It now makes so much sense.  See this wildness in the garden..its not tidy, but it sure is full of food.

How does my garden grow, and grow and grow

This last picture is the size of a sunflower leaf, what a great plate that will be.  Today I will be working on more bowls to try to have ready for Art in the Garden next week and handbuilt lace and leaf plates for fall orders.  Wolseley Farmers Market too, rain stay away!!!

Country Living in the city

This is our little special needs bunny KANIN, who suffered a stroke after an attack by a cat, and is struggling along with her head not on quite straight. Dont know if it is the animals in the yard now, or just the wild animals coming back into the city due to urban sprawl, but we have never had a summer like this.  First it was the raccon trying to get little Kanin, then the raccoon and the skunk battling on my front lawn, and now we have moved up to big game with a deer in the yard last night. Left me a big pile of dung and ate one of Jayès nice cucumbers.  Whatès next I say.