Back in BC

We have arrived in British Columbia.
The sun is shining and spring is under way. In a few days we head up to Malcolm Island and see the property we have just bought. The container of our stuff will be following us. All very exciting.

OK this colourful lizard isn't from BC. He was visiting my garden in Thailand the day we left.

We hooked up with our camper in Victoria. It wintered over with our friends Scott and Andy.
The next day we were out in the boat checking out Scotts shrimp traps. It was a successful haul.

 
I did like the raised beds on the dock filled with veges.

 Veges in a bath tub also.

In a few days we head north to Malcolm Island and all that will offer us.

Looking forward to a new season

Having given up my garden in New Zealand and then spending so little time in Thailand, I am really looking forward to getting back to my Ontario garden.
Here are a few of the things I can expect this summer there.

A visit to Thailand wouldn't be complete without a visit to Bodge and Ya's small farm.

We arrived just in time to help feed the chickens.

The garden is waiting for the first regular rains. But there is still quite a bit going on.
The chickens and ducks are laying up a storm, and Ya managed to harvest enough veges and a fish to make yet another delicious meal for us.

The budgies that live next to the dining table provide endless entertainment and went nuts over the branch of basil that Ya fed them.

We arrived bearing gifts of coffee and left with some of their duck and chicken eggs, bananas, papaya and rice. 

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

We are finally over the stress of leaving New Zealand and enjoying the heat of Thailand-40'C plus some days! It is great to be able to relax and enjoy the food and the massages and catch up with our friends here.
Even my small garden here is surviving the neglect and heat and I managed to pick some zinnias, cosmos and heliconias for my vases.

It is mango season, yum. Our landlord dropped off some mangoes and lumyai from his orchard, so I'll be able to indulge. 

It really is wonderful to be back.

Finishing up in New Zealand

Our bags are packed and our boxes are ready to go to the shipping company as we wind up our life in New Zealand.
The whole experience is very emotional but we are also excited about the next adventure.
The garden is sadly neglected so will benefit hugely from some fresh energy from the new owners.
We are still harvesting lettuce, pak choi, tomatoes and Chinese cabbage and there are still dozens of chillies on the pepper plant.

The chrysanthemums are putting on a impressive display, and brightening up the garden.

The kiwi fruit are huge and only weeks from being ready to eat. the odd one falls to the ground and if I am quick I get at least a taste.

The persimmons are hanging like jewels from their tree. They are still not quite ripe, so may miss sampling them as well this season.
Our next stop is Thailand. As it cools down here this autumn season, it is heating up there as they move into their rainy season. What a contrast it will be.

An end and a new beginning

We have started our packing. As I wander through the garden I think about all the things I will miss about it.
I will miss the all year round fruit, veg and flowers. It seems no matter when we show up here there is always something to harvest and some thing in bloom.
I'll miss the outdoor shower in the garden that we use in preference to the indoor shower.
I'll miss the chooks and their eggs, and the fish we catch so easily from the river.
I'll miss the sound of the morepork owl at night, the wakeup call of the magpies in the morning and the raspy growl of the possums and the song of the tui and bellbirds.
I'll miss this perfect climate that means I can always go out into the garden to work, harvest or enjoy.
I will not miss the non stop growth of weeds-go away for a week and come back to a hayfield. I'll definitely not miss the kikuyu grass- it grows meters every week,invades the gardens and takes over. It does make a nice lawn though.
I'll not miss the ants that take over the house, or the quail that seem to have found that my garden is the perfect restaurant for them and proceed to eat and dig their way through the crops before I do.

I'll definitely miss the vases of flowers I can produce any time of the year.

I'll miss the huge range of veges I can grow here all year round.

I'll miss the rose from my mums garden. It blooms constantly and has the most divine perfume.

The exciting news is that we have bought a property on Malcolm Island, British Columbia. This is a small island at the north end of Vancouver Island. We tell people to drive to the ends of the earth and take a ferry.
It is on a 1/3 of an acre across the road from the sea so lots of opportunities to garden. There will be lots to learn about this new climate, but I am looking forward to the challenge and in my mind have already started planting.

Hot Chilli Sauce

We have mountains of chillies. The chillies we grow here seem to be reliably perennial. We have had these plants on the go now for 3 yrs. This year they produced a huge crop.
We have enough dried chilli so it was time to try something new.
After assessing what ingredients we had available we decided to make a batch of sambal or chilli sauce.

Our chilli plants are huge-almost 8 ft tall and loaded with fruit.

The finished sambal.

 The recipe:

It was very hot, but yummy. We tried a tsp in a stir fry and that was about perfect. We are thinking that with a dsp of curry powder in it, it would make a great curry paste.
Also I am thinking that a tsp in cream cheese may make a delicious dip.
I think we will be making more of this and taking it with us when we leave NZ.