Thanks for Supporting the Bees!

Thanks to everyone who came out today and bought seeds and seed balls for the bees. I really appreciate the support and the lively conversations. I was very interested in the fact that there's a bloke in Kits who has a bee hive in his back yard that a beekeeper installed and then basically abandoned. Apparently it's got lots of honey in it too. Curiouser and Curiouser! Only about 10 per cent of the people I spoke to have gardens and of that fraction, many people didn't want bees in their garden. (Shock!) So it's up to the rest of us to look after the bees. Let's be lovin' them bees!

Blim Market TODAY!

Hey Folks, come on down to the Blim Market and buy some "bee crack". Well, that's what my friend is whimsically naming my bag's o seed balls. Chuck these in a vacant lot and create habitat for bees of all kinds. They're only $2 each!!!!!!! Plus, Michael is cooking up an Eggatarian Blunch for 6 bucks! Oh, and please bring toonies and loonies so I don't have to make change for twenties!

Blim Community Market

Sunday April 29 | 12 – 5 PM | Free
@ Heritage Hall (15th Ave. × Main St.)

Blim will be presenting a monthly Market this month to take place back at the Heritage Hall for the third year.

This Months market will include 48 vendors, music, hot food, beverages, and entertainment. Vendors will include food, fashion, accessories, supplies, fine art, vintage items and records, and not be limited to crafts, and there will be a focus on nurturing and promoting creative production in our community. We want to appeal to young, old, hip, plain, babies, animals, men, women, everyone.

Beespeaker Seeds!

Tips for Planting Beespeaker Seeds

Below you'll find a list of the seeds I'm selling on Sunday at the Blim Market with some tips on how and where to plant them. Supplies are limited of some seeds, so come early to avoid disappointment!

The general rule of thumb is to cover seeds with soil to a depth that is 2-3 times the length of the seed. If you are starting seeds indoors, sprinkle with cinnamon a couple of times to prevent damping off. Keep soil moist, not soggy. Transplant when seedlings are 2-3 inches high and have more than 2 leaves. (Transplanting and direct sowing should be done after the danger of frost has past.)

Thank you for planting flowers to support the bees!

1) Nigella loves strawberries and other cut flowers. The seeds are used in cooking.

2) Calendula loves tomatoes and asparagus and other cut flowers. Sprinkle the petals over salads.

3) Anise Hyssop loves cabbage and grape vines--doesn't like radishes. Plant in pots and deadhead flowers to prevent from spreading. Makes a licorice-flavoured tea. (Do not ingest herbs if pregnant or taking medication.)

4) Marigold loves all plants, esp. tomatoes, and repels white flies! It is beneficial to the soil because it fights the evil nematodes.

5) Dragon's Head: Plant in pots and deadhead flowers to prevent from spreading. Makes a lemon-flavoured tea. Use cuttings around tomatoes and brassicas to deter pests.

6) Borage loves legumes, spinach, brassicas, strawberries. Sprinkle the flowers on salads or float in cooling drinks. Self seeds.

7) Cerinthe loves other Mediterranean plants such as lavender, thyme, dragon's head etc. Self seeds.

8) Hollyhocks are tall, so plant them in the back of your garden or along a fence. (Takes 2 years to bloom.)

9) Blanket Flowers are deer resistant and attract butterflies. They are good companions of sage and other sun-loving plants.

Let Her Have Beer

Hi Folks! This is one of the handmade collage cards I'll be selling this Sunday at the Blim Community Market at Heritage Hall on Main Street from noon to five. I've scanned this design in as well, so I can print this one on demand.

Camellias Bloom, Camellias Fall

The camellias in the neighborhood started blooming last week. After about one day, the blossoms start falling, each with a surprising thud. I've been working in a friend's garden and people always drop by to see her camellia tree in bloom. This week is all about catching up on all the nasty weeds that are now growing full tilt and making space for more vegetables and flowers. The trilliums are also blooming right now, along with the salmonberries and star magnolias.

The gardener thought she'd accidently destroyed her checkered lily with the weed wacker last year, but luckily it came back this spring, raising its mysterious snakelike head.

Pinakalada

Here's my new favorite kale smoothie: fresh pineapple chunks, coconut water, coconut milk, kale and ice cubes blended up to a refreshing frothy bevvie. Enjoy!

Kale Workshop Tonight

Sharon Hanna has written a new book on Kale and she is giving a workshop tonight at the Main Street location of Rocky Mountain Flatbread. You need to register and then you can drop by for dinner and check it out.

Easter with Friends and Ham

We had such a lovely Easter this year because our friends from Ontario came back for a visit, so it was a great time to have a reunion with the old gang.

I was really impressed at how our friends' youngest daughter was able to have a deep conversation about dragons with two eleven year old boys who are not real chatty at the best of times. She might have a career as a politician in her future?!

What is the best way to kill a dragon? F-18 Fighter jet?

What was supposed to be "snacks" turned out to be a beautiful full on Easter brunch.

Hot cross buns from Traffiq.

This hound is a new addition to the family who baptized everything within reach on the table with her tongue. Who could resist?

Waffle man! (To be sung to the tune of Elton John's "Rocket Man.")

The first mason bee of the season made an auspicious appearance.

The bee garden signs from Bear's community project still grace the neighborhood.


I went out before the Easter egg hunt to take photos and had to scare off two crows, each with a foil egg in its beak. Ahhh chocolate. After years of filling plastic eggs with stickers and tiny toys I say the old fashioned chocolate Easter hunt is the best option.


The boys are still not too old to carry an Easter basket and they shared their eggs with the girls--how chivalrous!

Setting up the photo....

and here it is.

Later in the evening we joined family for a traditional Easter ham and my favorite: deviled eggs!

Happy Spring everyone! Thanks to our friends and family for the Easter hospitality!

Save the Date: Blim Market Sun. April 29, 12-5 pm

Hey folks, I will have a table at the next Blim Community Market at Heritage Hall selling seeds, chapbooks, and stuff. Lots of things for a toonie! Come and check out the vendors and chow down on Open Sesame's fab food!

Blim Community Market

Sunday April 29 | 12 – 5 PM | Free

@ Heritage Hall (15th Ave. × Main St.)

Blim will be presenting a monthly Market this month to take place back at the Heritage Hall for the third year.

This Months market will include 48 vendors, music, hot food, beverages, and entertainment. Vendors will include food, fashion, accessories, supplies, fine art, vintage items and records, and not be limited to crafts, and there will be a focus on nurturing and promoting creative production in our community. We want to appeal to young, old, hip, plain, babies, animals, men, women, everyone.

We are very excited about this event and what it can contribute to Mount Pleasant’s artistic vitality, and how it can help support and encourage the local creative community.

Call 604 872 8180 or info@blim.ca for more information.

Malarky Launch

We had a lovely time at Anakana Schofield's launch of her novel Malarky at the People's Co-op Book Store on April Fool's Day and I was the fool. I brought my honey blondies, took photos of the food and the drink, played the uke and sang, but I was so charmed by the author I didn't take a photo of the star. MEA CULPA!!!!!!!!!

The spirit of hospitality was warm and homey, with friends and family members stepping in to make food and serve Irish tea, Guiness and whiskey. Anakana's son Cuan played some fiddle tunes to entertain us and Anakana did a fabulous job of reading excerpts from her novel which is receiving excellent reviews and creating a real buzz.

The launch was so successful that that the author sold out of books and she had folks lining up out the door to get their copies autographed.

Yes, we were served tea in proper bone china!

Congratulations AK on a great launch!

Word of the Day: Zeitgeber

According to the Word of the Day which I receive by email a zeitgeber is "an environmental cue, as the length of daylight, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock." So where are all my zeitgebers for Spring? Sunshine? Temperatures in the double digits? Hello?

Yesterday I did see one red flowering currant bush on the way to pick up my son from school that was busy was bumble bee queens and honey bees. The sun wasn't shining, but they were hungry and it was just warm enough for them to forage.

The crows are definitely doing their twig balancing Ninja moves and I have seen them courting in pairs, averting my eyes from their intimate rituals. Time to put out nest-building materials for our avian neighbours.

Bee Inspired in Coquitlam

What a fantastic event we participated in at the Inspiration Garden in Coquitlam!!! There was not one, but two thrones fit for a queen. In spite of the cold rainy weather, families came out in droves to release the mason bee cocoons and learn about plants and bees.

You know it's going to be a good day when there is a Bee Stage!

The staff and volunteers were hard working and good-natured folks.

Pascale Gnocato, the local mason bee enthusiast who created this majestic bee habitat, filled the top with cocoons and provided homes, cocoons and advice to the people who mobbed his booth. Happy New Year to the mason bees!

Gnocato made a really good point when he said that the monetary value for each mason bee was quite high because of its pollinating potential for orchards. The same goes for honey bees!

I wanted to attend all the talks because they were so interesting. Natasha Etherington is a horticultural therapist who works with autistic children. She spoke about how just leaving a digging spot in a garden that is specifically designated for "free digging" can have profound effects on childrens' lives. She allows each child to take the lead in developing a relationship to the soil. Her new book is called Gardening for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Special Educational Needs: Engaging with Nature to Combat Anxiety, Promote Sensory Integration and Build Social Skills.

Alex McNaughton is an urban planning student who likes to garden and forage for food. He talked about seeds you can plant for edible flowers that will attract bees to your garden. He blogs at Urban Forageur.

Bergamot or "bee balm" is much loved by bumble bees.

This is an interesting one I'm going to try: Spilanthes. McNaughton says he crumbles the dried flowers and uses them to rim cocktails. Cool!

Yes, the dogs of Coquitlam are very curious about bees.

Chelsea and Jeff from the Honey Beat had a top-loading hive in their display and they sold lovely soaps, seed balls, cards, candles and honey.

Chelsea gave a talk on their non-invasive beekeeping practice--trying to use as little intervention as possible, but being responsible and treating or feeding the bees when absolutely necessary. These are good people to buy honey from!


In the photo below you can see a lovely heritage visible hive from the folks at another local apiary, Honeyview Farm.

I hope they have the event same bee time same bee place next year and I hope the sun shines!