the Youngest Snowbird:

The Deer Have No Fear

Glad I planted so much deer food on our RV lot.

Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

Everytime I peek out the RV windows, I spot neighbourhood deer munching our newly planted trees. Guess that's one of the downsides of living out here in the BC wilderness.

The genius that said aspen trees are deer resistant was obviously talking about urban deer, cause our rural deer love baby aspen leaves.

They also enjoy autumn blaze maples.

But their fave snack seems to be the sweet gum trees.

My complaints aren't really serious.  In fact when we see the deer out there, we don't bother chasing them away. They were here first.

I just hope they don't start telling all their friends about our tree buffet ...

12 more sleeps til we hit the highway   :) 

Home, Home on the (Driving) Range...Where the Deer an the Antelope Snack

Our golf course neighbours think of me as The Wacky Tree Lady.  

This is a result of all the potted trees still hanging around the yard while I find them a permanent home in the ground. Those same neighbours also secretly refer to me as The Crazy Woman Who Keeps Moving Her Woodpile.  That one is self explanatory.  

But I swear this is the last move...

On a similar note, my blog buddy Mexi-Croft has nicknamed his wife, The Crazy Deer Lady;  as you can see from these blog posts (one, two, three) their local Vancouver Island deer have decided brunch is in her flower garden.

In a recent comment I mentioned that her deer fence must be working 'cause all the island deer have recently hopped on the ferry and migrated to the Okanagan.  

And now they hang out in our lot at the golf course:

Free entertainment at it's finest...

The Wacky Tree Woman

Our neighbours are probably gonna start calling me that.

There may be a Wacky Tree Woman in your 'hood too; she's the gal that has 10 or 20 massive potted trees she keeps hauling around to different spots in the yard, trying to find the perfect space for them before planting. I need to live with the trees for a few days to feel where they would fit best.  

Over the past month, My Fella and I have decided this is the best RV lot ever, and we love being here.  There are many amazing things about this site and I'll get to those in a future post.  

On the downside:

• the back yard is hit with scorching south sun all day long which makes JohnnyDisco pretty unbearable by about 4pm
• we get our fair share of golf balls flying into the yard

To solve both problems we purchased a whack of fast growing trees from the local garden center. It's that time of the season when deciduous trees are 50% off and we got some wicked deals.

The only trees in the ground so far are these four Swedish columnar aspen planted along the southeast fenceline.  They're tall, thin, leafy trees that make good privacy screens and can hopefully thwart wayward golf balls.  

The aspen leaves make a cool whispering sound in even the slightest breeze... AND wooden stakes made from aspen trees are one of the only weapons in the world that can kill werewolves and vampires. In case you were wondering...

As you can see, the lot is still one big undeveloped space but we're slowly settling in and figuring out where things should go.  

I've wasted almost an entire notebook of graph paper with rough drawings of our lot layout, planning things like:  where to park JohnnyDisco, place the gazebo, build the firepit area, the woodpile, etc.  

We moved both the RV and the gazebo last week to get the best use of this space. And this is somewhat embarrassing but I've relocated the woodpile twice.   Yup, the whole thing.  So now the neighbours are also calling me The Crazy Lady Who Keeps Moving Her Woodpile.

More RV lot pictures to come as we get more done.

Plant Tags and Slugs

We may have another big landscaping project in the works.

Not to sound all creepy mysterious but nothing is finalized yet so I can't say much - BUT ... My Fella and I might be moving to another RV lot here at the golf course next season; a lot we can fully landscape.

for those keeping score at home, another lot change would mean 4 RV sites in two years

If the deal works out I wanna be ready.  Over the past few weeks the internet has been my best friend, doling out free advice on:

• sun and shade perennials
• native trees to BC
• low maintenance ornamental grasses
• landscape layouts
• building your own veggie planters
• alternative ground cover, something besides grass
• why people mulch

If you're not into gardening/landscaping, you'll probably find this post boring, but I did learn some interesting things.  You know those little plastic tags tucked into the plants you buy from the garden center - the ones that describe the plant and its ideal growing conditions?  I've always wondered exactly what full sun or part shade meant in terms of daily hours:

• full sun means at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day
• part sun plants need 3 to 6 hours of direct sun per day, morning or afternoon sun
• part shade plants also want 3 to 6 hours of direct sun per day, but preferably morning sun before everything gets too toasty in the midday heat
• plants in full shade or deep shade require less than 3 hours of direct sun every day or filtered sunlight throughout the day

It's a rough guideline, but it clears up some of the mystery of where to put what plant. 

Another cool tidbit if you have a slug problem in your garden;  slugs love beer.  I should have remembered this particular fact learned during the niteclub phase of my 20's   :) 

From ehow.com:

"Slugs and snails are attracted to the smell of beer.  Dig a shallow hole in the ground near an infested area of your garden and sink an aluminum pie pan in the hole so the lip is level with the surface of the soil.  Fill the pie pan with beer.  The mollusks will crawl in and drown.  Remove the dead pests regularly and refill the beer trap every several days."

The thought of wasting good beer is kinda painful, but I might give it a try. Wonder what else I'll catch beside slugs.  Maybe one of our neighbours...

Edited later to add:  Hope yer having an awesome long weekend.  The In-laws are all here for a family reunion/camping/golfing weekend and tonight is Burnt Marshmallow Night.  Sadly, no photo evidence of the weekend exists since the official photographer (Uncle Coast Guard) left his lens cap on during the entire first night of pictures. Between that and Pa-In-Law trying to explain an adverb, it's been an interesting couple of days.  Thanks for all the laughs, Out-Laws  :)

Out in the BC Wilderness

The sky was a fiery yellow/orange tonight.

When you live in an RV on a golf course surrounded by forest, that's kind of a spooky sight. Especially with the smell of fire in the air and smoke off in the distance.  But more often than not, both the fire and smoke is just a neighbour's campfire.  And the orange sky is ...

... just a really awesome orange-y western sky.

Gorgeous.

It sounds corny and very cliche, but I feel so lucky to be where we are and doing what we're doing at our age.

If you're in your 20's or 30's and you want this life by age 40:  spend less than you earn, save/invest as much as you can and don't buy junk. If you stick to the basics you'll be way ahead of everyone else. Easier said than done, but c'mon - it's not rocket science.  

And as I climb down off my pedestal about to hit the publish button on this post, I hear My Fella screech into the driveway, slam the car door and holler out a phrase I haven't heard in awhile:

"Honey, I CAUGHT A FISH!"

Keep in mind My Fella is 6'4", so that's a decent size chinook salmon.  

Good sized fishy to BBQ during our mini family reunion on the Labour Day long weekend.  See ya soon,  Outlaws  :)

RV Lot #2 for the Year

Here it is:  the new golf course lot we're using for the rest of the season.

Wasn't kidding yesterday when I mentioned how barren the site is.  Just trees, grass, rocks, weeds and the odd golf ball that bounces on from the fairway.

Our neighbours on both sides have built houses on their lots, and they both get daily golf balls banging off the walls or whacked into the yard.  However they assured us that the lot we're on is a little more protected than either of theirs.  JohnnyDisco is tucked in at the back end of the lot behind some trees and a couple canvas tarps; hopefully he'll be protected from flying balls.  I'll post some shots of the rig as soon as we get our deck in place.

In the meantime, My Fella couldn't wait to get his paws on the new gazebo.  He was outside first thing this morning, dragging the boxed gazebo into the middle of the yard.  Curiosity got the best of me so I went to check on his progress ... and found him hiding under this tree:

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what he was doing...

Can't remember the last time I saw him read instructions for anything so he must be serious about this.  Hopefully the next pics you see here will be our new gazebo.

Moving Day for JohnnyDisco

Today's the big day so no time for a long post.

Can't wait to get to the new RV lot.

We went to town yesterday and picked up a snazzy gazebo at one of those end of the season sales. We weren't really in the market for one, but the front half of the golf course lot we're moving onto gets quite a few stray balls whacked onto it so the gazebo is more of a safety measure.  My Fella is excited to set it up.

And I found three 8' amur maples on clearance for $22 bucks each.  My love for trees rivals my passion for buying stocks.  It's true;  I am a tree-a-holic.

Pics of the new very bare lot coming soon.

We're Moving Again

Our little family is packing up JohnnyDisco and switching RV lots.

By sometime next week we'll be parked on a new undeveloped lot, just off the number one teebox at My Fella's golf course.  His commute to work will soon be a mere 205 yards.  Or a six iron away, for you golf nuts  :)  

Over the past few days we've been organizing all our patio stuff and emptying the ashes from the firepit, which will be moved to the new lot.

We're also bringing the 12' x 14' wooden deck with us, but that will be a separate trip since it doesn't fit in the car  :)

My Fella removed everything from JohnnyDisco's basement bins and re-sorted all our outdoor stuff.  My jobs included weeding our current lot, emptying and hosing out my flowerpots (which almost made me cry) and finishing the final yard projects.

But as I wander around the RV right now, cleaning and storing loose items, I realize once again that my fave part of this lifestyle is packing up and heading somewhere new.  Even if it's only a few miles away.

Although I'm happy that My Fella is working during the summers since it gets him out of my hair for a few hours every day  it gives us a little extra cash, we both look forward to the day when we can instantly decide we need to see Atlantic Canada right now (or Colorado ... or Vulcan, Alberta) and just pack up and go.  

Which is all very strange because I usually gravitate towards order and routine. And I shun spontaneity. Yup, I shun it hard.  In fact spontaneity sees me coming and it turns and runs away crying. That's how hard I shun it.  All part of my delightful INTJ personality.

Anyway it's not hard to say goodbye to this lot since we're ready for something new. But I'm glad we stayed long enough to see the plants fill in a bit and the flowers bloom.  We spent an awful lot of the past three months digging up rocks and playing in this dirt.

Everything has grown at least a foot or two, the coneflowers are in bloom and the creeping jenny I planted is finally starting to wind through the rocks in our Stone Path to Nowhere.

And soon we get to do it all over again at a new lot.

Canada Weather: Summer 2011

This has gotta be the wettest summer ever here in the BC wilderness.

July has seen rain every single day except one or two.  And when it's not raining, it's cloudy and windy.  I have eight plastic rain buckets scattered around our RV yard and there have been many days they've filled up with rain 2 or 3 times per day.

The entire country is getting hit with extreme weather.  While our BC summer has been cold and wet, Ontario is having a heat wave right now with Toronto temps hitting 37C today and Waterloo getting up to 39C.

Small villages north of Saskatoon were hit with grapefruit sized hail yesterday.

And several days ago a freak windstorm toppled the main stage at the Ottawa Bluesfest while Cheap Trick was on stage.  The band wasn't hurt, but their truck driver was injured, along with two other concert-goers.

From this Canadian Press story:

"It was like a scene out of 'Armageddon.' Right before the collapse, it was sunny and lovely, and then moments later, dark clouds appeared, and the atmosphere changed. A gust of wind blew confetti from the ground up, the drapes blew inwards, the stage collapsed, and someone yelled, 'Get off,'...

Cheap Trick manager Dave Frey, who was on stage seconds before the collapse, told Rolling Stone magazine that the driver's leg was broken and the band lost all of its equipment.

Video of the Bluesfest site posted on YouTube showed the stage, which stood several storeys tall, being propelled backward before crumpling and damaging a tractor-trailer truck parked behind it.

So how's the weather in your neighbourhood this summer?

** Totally off topic - at 8am pacific time, the CAD is trading at $1.06 vs. the USD.  Could be time to buy more American dollars for our winter trip south. 

What's Behind the Lattice?

Guess I shouldn't have named it the Stone Path to Nowhere since the rock walkway we just built on our summer RV lot does actually lead to something.

If you follow the path to the right and peek behind the lattice you can see where we hide our...

... firewood.  It's a great spot for the wood - directly under two giant cedars that block out the rain.

Before stacking the wood, I laid a base of smaller rocks to keep it up off the ground. I also put a thick birch trunk on the right side of the pile:

• to stop the wood from rolling down the hill
• have a solid spot to chop logs for kindling

That birch trunk is very stable since I dug a hole and buried almost half of it into the ground, then backfilled the hole with rocks and dirt.  

I did the same thing to the birch log right by the firepit.  It's buried deep in the ground and makes an excellent resting spot for your icy cold beverage or toasted marshmallows.

Back to the firewood stack... we probably have enough wood to last the rest of the summer. 

Especially since it's been raining on and off pretty much every day since April;  not many chances to break in the new firepit   :(

The RV Lot Project is Almost Done

Quick reminder of our situation:  We travel south for the winter, but during the summer My Fella works at a golf course out in the BC wilderness.  The RV lot we park on isn't ours, but the owner offered to pay for the materials if we did some simple landscaping for him.

This is the lot when we first arrived back in April.  Notice the lovely gravel finish:

and more gravel...

and that monstrous propane tank that had to be hidden

Here's what you'd see today if you dropped by unexpectedly.

(By the way - I don't really like unexpected guests.  Unless they come bearing vino.)

The mutts bought My Fella this Aurora Chiminea from Canadian Tire for fathers day. Chiminea is just a fancypants name for a firepit.  

This particular one received decent consumer reviews, has a one year warranty and was on sale for $99.  And it's a good size for our RV yard. 

Over the past couple months, we:

• had a deck built
• put up a lattice for privacy
• weeded and raked and weeded some more
• moved piles of dirt and sand
• built a block floor (surrounded by stones) for the firepit
• dug a lot of holes
• hauled a lot of rocks
• screamed bloody murder when a spider fell in my shirt (that was me)
• screamed bloody murder when a snake slithered out of the rocks  (that was My Fella)**
• planted trees, shrubs, vines and perennials
• re-thought the whole design and moved half of the above trees, shrubs, vines and perennials to a different location (that was me again)  

When we first started landscaping, this yard was one big gravel lot.  

Except for the area right behind the RV which was a neglected mess of overgrown weeds, dead branches, pine needles, rocks, spiderwebs and creepy crawlers.  You'll have to take my word for it since I forgot to take a before picture.

But here's a halfway there pic, after I cleared away most of the weeds/rocks and planted vines on the new lattice.  

And finally it's time to reveal the project I've spent the past month working on ... The Stone Path to Nowhere.

95% of these rocks were dug out of this site and the other 5% came from the nearby river.

The little garden area on the right hand side was an afterthought and needs a few more plants, but almost everything else is finished.

The shot below is the back end of the RV lot, by the edge of the cliff.  I call this our PJ Memorial Garden, because most of these plants were freebies from our neighbours Pask, Joanie and Janie.

You give me a free plant and I'll name a garden after you.  

(Special mention goes to my pal NewsMama for donating that lime green beauty at the very front, which I think is a Marjoram herb.)

So how much did the RV lot cost to develop?  

The plants/trees were about $600, and paid for by the site owner.  He paid, we planted.  $600 bought:

• two Japanese lilac trees
• one vine maple tree
• one Japanese maple
• five 6' cedars
• four boxwood shrubs
• clematis and chocolate vines
• boston ivy
• ornamental grasses
• bonemeal
• a few odds and ends I've forgotten

The 14' x 10' platform deck was $1200, which My Fella and I paid for.  It's movable in case we switch to a different lot next summer.  And it was worth it just to stop the mutts from tracking every single twig, leaf and rock into the RV.

And speaking of rocks, all the stones for my Path to Nowhere were absolutely free  :)

** This is a lie told to make the story better.  My Fella wasn't home when the snake popped out. Had he been at home he definitely would have screamed though.  A manly scream.

RV Site Renos

Our summer RV lot here in rural BC has a really goofy layout.

The power, water and sewer hook-ups were installed backwards, which means we drive into the spot instead of backing in.  On the plus side, we get a really gorgeous view of the valley below us.

But because of where we have to park, there is a lot of wasted space on the site.

If My Fella and I are on this particular lot again next season, we'll get a 50 amp extension cord so we can park JohnnyDisco at least 6 feet further back.  

That will leave us with a shady and private 15' by 15' space directly in front of the rig. 

In anticipation of that, I've already started landscaping that area.  'Cause I have ants in my pants and can't sit still, that's why!!  :)  

For more privacy, we attached this 8' x 4' lattice to one of our trees and planted a chocolate vine and a boston ivy at the base of the tree.  

After clearing out all the rocks, weeds, old pine needles and creepy crawlers, I raked the entire space and started laying down a stone path with the 71 bazillion rocks we've dug out of lot over the past month.

I love this cobblestone look.  

If you suck on a Tecate, squint your right eye and tilt your head sideways, the path makes you feel like you're vacationing in a small Mexican town.  

Especially if you happen to trip over an uneven rock and slide down the hillside, still clutching your can of Tecate. Not that I've done that.  

Since yesterday.

Can I Borrow Your Umbrella?

It's been a soggy spring out here in the BC wilderness.

A day of sun followed by two or three days of rain*...

Today  Jun 8th	Thursday  Jun 9th	Friday  Jun 10th	Saturday  Jun 11th	Sunday  Jun 12th
Mostly Cloudy with Showers	Sunny	Mostly Cloudy with Showers	Mostly Cloudy with Showers	Mix of Cloud and Sun
22°C 13°C	26°C 11°C	25°C 11°C	24°C 11°C	27°C 10°C

Which explains why one of the locals hopped over to borrow a big golf umbrella yesterday.  

Not a big deal except this particular neighbour is small and green and he was actually hiding in the umbrella.

Scared the beans out of me.

Don't frogs like rain?  Why would he need an umbrella?

* This weather graphic was swiped from WeatherCity.com - my fave new worldwide weather website.

I Don't Blog When There's Nothing to Say

And lately it's been pretty quiet out here in the BC backwoods.

Our little RV family is doing what we normally do when we're home in Canada during the summer:

• My Fella is getting lots of hours at his seasonal golf gig
• we've both been out hiking and golfing
• the mutts have been eating, playing and peeing; and Norman has moved up on the protein food chain - he graduated from stalking deck ants to catching houseflys in mid-air (I'm starting to think he needs a dog food that includes more bug parts)
• I haven't been trading as much as I usually do, but our dividend portfolio is performing well on auto-pilot (although Yellow Media is getting it's lunch eaten by the shorts even though the Trader sale is still a go and the dividend is intact for 2011 - what the heck is going on Monsieur Tellier?)

We've all been spending tons of time outdoors as you can see by my crazy foot tan.

And when My Fella is at work, the mutts and I play outside.  This pic makes it look like the little monsters are in prison but they actually like hanging out in the Mutt Hut.  

While the dogs lounge in the sun I play in the dirt on our RV site.  Our Big Dig landscaping project is almost complete. 

We went from this bare gravel lot:

To a gravel lot with a few cedars, boxwoods and lilac bushes:

To a gravel lot with cedars, boxwoods, lilacs AND a 12' x 14' deck:

To a gravel lot with cedars, boxwoods, lilacs, a deck and a few privacy trees that will eventually block out the neighbours windows:

But my favourite landscape project was just finished today. After hauling away this big pile of dirt and sand...

... I hosed off all the huge rocks that My Fella has been dragging home from the river.  

For the past three or four days I've been rearranging the 50+ pound rocks until I was happy with the overall look.  And today I leveled the space and laid the brick blocks that will be the floor for our firepit.

Ta daaaa...

Cool, huh?  The bricks were $1.29 each from Home Depot.  And the rocks were free.

Total cost of the firepit floor:  $34, including tax.

Bears Stand On Guard For Thee

Remember this CBC news story about bears guarding a marijuana grow-op by Christina Lake, BC? Well this Russian news anchor is having a tough time reporting the story.

RV Site Renos: Looking for the Best Deck Stain

Here's what we've been working on lately.

Sid the Snake disappeared just in time for the Deck Dudes to show up yesterday morning.

It took two guys only four hours to assemble a 12' x 14' platform deck with pressure treated SPF (spruce pine fir).  Our deck had already been pre-cut and drilled so it all came together very quickly.

After the Deck Dudes left My Fella went out to sand any rough edges and clean up the sawdust. And I started researching deck stains.

There are tons of good websites explaining how to stain your deck but I was more interested in the online discussions about the best deck stain available.  

Do It Yourself forums can be very helpful because - mixed in with the usual internet trolls - there are posts from individual consumers who have used different products.  Most folks are happy to share their experiences, good or bad, and there was a general consensus on a few things:

• the best stain depends on your type of deck wood and your climate
• wooden decks need to be refinished every year, especially in snowy areas 
• Behr outdoor products got bashed repeatedly 

Still not sure what deck stain we'll eventually go with but I have time to decide since it's raining again out here in the BC wilderness. We may not see the sun for awhile.

But we're happy with how this RV lot is slowly coming together.

Dirt and Neighbours

My Fella and I played outside yesterday between raindrops.

First we cruised into town for some groceries and perennial vines.  Then he went golfing and built a birdhouse, while I got some more work done on the RV yard; mainly pushing around big rocks and piles of dirt/sand.

The sand pile that was in the middle of the back yard is now gone. This may sound like work to some folks, but I love landscaping.  Dirt is my friend.

Our next door RV neighbours carted some of the sand/soil mix over to their lot and I tossed the rest over the side of our hill.  My plan is to sprinkle wildflower seeds over the hill and try cover it with California poppies.

The space where the dirt pile was will soon be leveled out and tamped down flat. Then we'll lay down a 4' x 4' brick floor which will be the base of a small outdoor firepit.

We're waiting for the deck guy to build a 12' x 14' platform deck beside JohnnyDisco, then I can install the lattices and start planting some vines.

The deck guy didn't make an appearance this weekend, but we did have another backyard visitor.

Sid the Snake seemed curious about all the action on our RV lot.  But his eyes glazed over within minutes and he slithered away right in the middle of my explanation for our exciting landscape plans.

More yard reno pics coming up in the next few weeks.  Hopefully you're more interested than Sid.

Good Thing Our Floors Are Clean Enough to Eat Off

... cause the kitchen table is a little busy right now.

Spring sun gods are finally on our side and the long weekend forecast is calling for five days of sunshine out here in the BC wilderness. So yesterday I zipped into town and bought most of my summer annuals and herbs.  Guess I could've waited until today but the closer we get to the long weekend, the busier all the garden centers will be.  

Unfortunately, our forecast predicted one more night of freezing temps last night so before bed I hauled in all the plants to protect them from frost.  

And that's when the unthinkable happened...

Keep in mind this pic was taken after I had scooped up most of the wet dirt to stop it from soaking into the carpet.  There's no need for a full play by play, but I will say:  pee on the floor + slippery socks + a heavy flowerpot = big muddy mess on the carpet.

The pee was of the four legged variety.  At almost eight months old, Norman is pretty much house trained but he still has the odd accident in the house.

And his latest accident caused my clumsy accident.  I didn't totally wipe out, but I did slide across the floor like a three year old on skates for the first time.  And that heavy pot full of petunias and wet dirt didn't stand a chance against a puddle of pee. In slow motion I felt it slip out of my hands, bounce off the kitchen stool and crash down onto the carpet; splattering mud all over the walls, floor and computer desk.

My Fella was very sympathetic to the 'incident' but I could tell that inside he was laughing his head off.  And I'm darn sure he wished he'd been home to witness it.

Recent events have convinced me that when you have small kids or dogs running around, life starts to resemble scenes from a bad comedy.

But how can anyone get mad at these two?

Been A Soggy Spring Here in the BC Wilderness

My pink gum boots have been seeing a lot of action lately.

It's been grey and wet around these parts for the past week, but there's some sun in our weekend forecast (swiped from weather underground):

Friday

Partly Cloudy. High: 19 °C. Wind SSE 10 - 19 km/h.

 Saturday

Mostly Cloudy. High: 25 °C. Wind SE 5 km/h.

 Sunday

Partly Cloudy. High: 25 °C. Wind South 8 km/h.

Monday

50% Chance of a Thunderstorm. Overcast. High: 14 °C. Wind South 5 - 11 km/h.

 Tuesday

50% Chance of a Thunderstorm. Partly Cloudy. High: 17 °C. Wind South 3 - 11 km/h.

Wednesday

40% Chance of Rain. Mostly Cloudy. High: 22 °C. Wind SW 8 - 13 km/h.

Rain or shine, the mutts still have to pee and get some fresh air.  Here's a quick stroll around our neighbourhood:

We saw this dude out in the icy cold river a few days ago.

Our local fly fishermen are just as nutty as all those golfers who head out on a frosty spring morning to whack around their balls.  Someone please explain to me the joy in freezing your nose off.  Guess I could just ask My Fella since he's guilty of both.

Continuing our stroll... Shelbert loves all the neighbours, especially these guys.

When it's wet outside I always wipe off the mutts paws before they run up the stairs into JohnnyDisco.  But sometimes they sneak past me... and end up here.  

eight dirty paws on the bed, twelve paws if you include Norman's Ken doll (the stuffed leopard on the left) ... we named him Ken after My Fella's boss  :)