Rice Harvest

Just before Christmas we made a quick trip out to visit our friends Bodge and Ya.
It's always fun to catch up with what is happening on the farm.
The peanuts have been harvested and are now drying.

The rice has been cut. A rain and wind storm blew through just before the harvest bending the rice over, so a lot of it was cut by hand instead of using the machine.

 Finally the rice was harvested and drying on the tarps. Now to get it dry while the sun is shining.
There was rain in the forecast, but the rice did get dried and bagged in time.

Now they can relax and enjoy their holiday time.

Karen village

A few days ago we took a trip up to Sooks village in the mountains.
Sook is growing coffee and we were checking to see when we should harvest.

The coffee is doing well and should be ready to harvest soon.

The cabbages are also doing well up there.

Sook and her dad chat with us in the fields.

Meanwhile Sooks mum prepares some wood for the fire.
The mornings get pretty chilly up there these days.

Poinsettias aka the Christmas flower are used for hedge rows on the slopes. It provides great slashes of colour that is appropriate for the season.

Tropical Flowers

Back in Thailand we are appreciating the warmth.
Always interesting to see what plants in my yard have survived the neglect.
In spite of a long absence I still have a few flowers to provide a little colour.

A few of them made it into a vase, and a quick trip to the flower market for some gladioli ( they grow them in this town) to fill another vase.

Crabs and sunsets

We have been enjoying the warmth of Thailand for a few days now. Before we left Sointula we learned the fine art of catching crabs for dinner.



It all seems pretty easy. Put down the traps in the morning and harvest a feast in the afternoon.  I think we'll be doing it often when we return in the spring.



The last few evenings in Sointula there were some spectacular sunsets. Missing being there already.

Winters coming

Arriving back in Sointula I was pleased to see that the green manure of field peas and the broad beans that I planted early September were doing well.
In fact they were growing through the covering of netting that covered the beds, and there were signs that the deer were trimming them off as they poked through.

The fence we had planned to build around the garden this October was put on hold as through some misfortune our lumber provider couldn't provide.
So it was plan B for deer protection. A 2 x 4 temporary post in the far corners of the beds and netting stretched between is now forming a near invisible but I hope deer proof fence around the perimeter.
The dormant plants and herbs that I brought out from Ontario are now saftely in the ground. Next spring we'll see how they settled in.
I also planted a small bag of daffodils and crocus so that on our return in March we can experience the first spring flowers.

Winter appears to be on its way as we watch the snow on the far mountains creep lower and lower- just in time for the big winterfest they have here on the island.
We are off to Thailand in a few weeks so shouldn't experience too much of that.

Travels across Canada

We hit the road about a week ago now. We are now in Nelson BC spending a few days with friends before heading to the coast. It has been a great trip. We've experienced the whole range of weather from warm and sunny to snow.

When we left I loaded the truck with a box of dormant roots and a couple of smaller boxes of non dormant plants-mostly herbs. All destined for my garden in Malcolm Island BC.

Looking forward to getting them all in the ground in their new home.

Woodpeckers and snow

A few days ago I heard these pileated  woodpeckers working a wood pile in the garden.

They must have been there for an hour and didn't seem to mind me watching them.

Then a few days later the first snow. Yikes!

Fortunately tomorrow we start heading west. Hopefully to warmer weather.