Ornamental Cherry Blossoms Begin!

This tree is right outside my window. I took advantage of this unexpected less-than-cloudy break to get a photo. In a few days, these will be full force. For those of you from elsewhere, Vancouver has blocks and blocks lined with these trees. It’s amazing.

It’s Raining Again

Yes, that is my yard. I live in a wet wet place. Big pink ornamental cherry blossom bloom all over East Vancouver is 2-4 days off and the forecast is nothing but rain. I’m more distressed about this than the obvious upset of my outdoor Easter egg hunt plan for tomorrow.

Observation: Warm Wet Soil

Last night I prepped soil plugs for starting kale and beans. To soak the potting soil, which had been sitting open on the porch for a while, I poured hot water over the plugs. The scent was massive, deep and powerful. Like a face full of sweet, rich earth short through with red cedar chips. It is something you could bury your fingers in, something you could sleep on.

I love spring.

Native Plants: Salmonberry (Flowering Stage)

Salmonberries are delicious herbal, delicate, and sweet caviar-like berries which appear in the early to mid summer all down the coast of BC. They can be juiced, jellied, tinctured, brewed, and baked, but all of that is for later.

Now, in early spring, we have the delicate crepe-paper flowers. These are some of the first hints of brightness in the bushes along trails and roadsides.