Weeds, flowers, dirt, rocks and landscaping

Things have been a little quiet until yesterday when the landscapers burst upon the property, ahead of schedule.

As we mentioned earlier, because this was an estate sale, there was no landscaping done on the property before our possession.  And it needs a lot.

Here was our sedate front yard on Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday have featured numerous loads of dirt mix, gravel and boulders.  The crew is larger than we expected, and they are making big progress.  The disadvantage is that every time the Bobcat makes a path, fine dust is distributed everywhere because it is so dry.

In the meantime, I have been educated on noxious weeds in BC, and now spend a minimum of an hour a day waging war on weeds with no holds barred.  Scotch Thistle, Sulphur Cinquefoil, Hound’s Tongue, and Knapweed fill my waking and dreaming hours.  There are also invasive weeds such as Salsify, which are currently experiencing drought stress and are trying to send a gazillion seedlings out to continue their legacy.  This year’s challenge is to reduce seed stock; next year’s challenge is to pull out the suckers before they produce seeds.

In the midst of the weeds, we have some beautiful new blooms up such as Mariposa Lily.  The blooms, about 2 ½ times a twoonie in diameter, come up on a single stem with little evidence of base leaves.  It is hard to believe this is a desert flower. 

The hummingbirds are emptying the feeders daily, and we have a wren’s nest somewhere in an upright for the bedroom deck.  When a parent approaches with food, it sounds like there is about 20 little ones in the nest clamouring.

Weather has turned from unusually cool to seasonally hot, and temperatures even here are in the low 30’s by the late afternoon.  That’s OK because it is 5-7 degrees hotter in the valley.  We have the fortune of some good breezes so we don’t need air conditioning, but we do close up everything in the late morning to last through the day.

With the prospect of no rain for the next few weeks (normal), the fire season has begun, with many being started by lightning strikes in the last week or so.  We could start smelling wood smoke yesterday, and that will be an issue for the next while.

Stay tuned for updates on the yard!