The Spring Garden

Spring has finally arrived in New Zealand.  The spring rains are drenching the land to the extent that any practical progress in actually digging and planting is futile.  Here is what a future garden plot looks:

Yeah, I know!  Flooded, eh?  

Let's see what the fall plantings (planted in May) look like:

Wedged between the planter with a baby Rosemary shrub and a Lavender bush on the right, is some Silverbeet.  They did all right over the wet chilly winter and seem to be yawning, stretching and noticing the warmth and increased daylight.  Good!

And here are some Broadbeans.  They are tied up to the fence otherwise they would flop over, and are covered with blossoms.  So, we should be getting some fava beans very soon.  The peas I planted alongside the Broadbeans struggled, flopped over in the wet soil and rotted.  I harvested maybe 12 peas (PEAS, not PODS!).  

This weedy patch has some Black Tuscan kale.  They did alright, as did the pansies (white blossoms to the right of the kale) and parsley.  I had planted some tiny asparagus here last fall, but I can't find a trace of them; I think they languished and died.  So I'm learning what can survive the winter and what can't.  Asparagus probably need a place that doesn't flood every time it rains.

Here is some Curly Kale; it did extremely well and we enjoyed lots of kale smoothies, kale chips and kale salad.  To the right of the kale is a row of parsnips.  They did well too, and we are enjoying fresh parsnips and carrots in stews and pot roasts.  The broad leaved bluish plant is a Brussels Sprout.  It is growing so slowly that we may not get anything for months yet.

Here are winter Carrots and Beets.  The carrots are short and fat, but only because of the dense clay soil.  They are not the deep orange color we are used to; I think the coloration is dependent on the ambient soil temperature.  In the cold winter months, these carrots develped a lovely pinkish-pale orange color.  They are tender, juicy and sweet.  I haven't harvested any beets yet.

Here are rutabaga and Bibb lettuce.  We are enjoying baby lettuce in salads.  I'm going to pick some tonight to go with the Gumbo I'm cooking for dinner.  The 'baggies should go well with a pot roast, I'm thinking.  Along with more carrots and parsnips.

 The strawberries are blossoming!  

These baby beans are the only spring planting I've done so far.  They are purple pod bush beans.  They are in front of the deck in the warmest, best-drained site in the back yard.

Waiting in the sidelines are small flats of summer vegetables and flowers: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zuccini, basil and lupines.  The lupines, in a rainbow of colors, were Amiri's choice.  Oh, and we will have a new bed of pumpkin started from seeds Amiri brought home from Summerland School's Conservation Club, of which he is an active and dedicated member.

JMF

More from ABB

Let's start this post by taking a look at some of the rocks that are found along the section of beach to the left of the sandy beach. 

Arram is admiring the shapes and colors of the rocks here. I have not edited any of these pictures. It is overcast but fairly bright today. In full sun, the colors would be even more stunning.  

This is a couple of feet tall

I admit that this one makes me want to do some editing...I'd like to make these muted colors blast out. But no, it's  better this way. I wish the sun could have come out for just this one picture though.
I like the combination of jagged with the smooth.

I wish you all could walk across this section of  'cobble stones.' 

This reminded me of some giant prehistoric egg.

I think this is my favorite picture. (of the rocks) I'd like to enlarge it, print it and hang it on a wall...Okay, I sort of just did that.  It's my screen background now

 This one almost looks like the weathered remains of something manufactured. 

A  wave sculpted landscape

Low tide is the key to admiring this area.

I just can't get over the colors in this one.

I wish my pictures could be more three dimensional

Care for a soak in a solar-heated bathtub? All contoured surfaces and natural bathsalts come standard with this model. 

Miniature seas, each with it's own population. They're on siesta now.

Soon, all of this will be underwater and revitalized again.  

Shortly after these photos were taken, we rested and stoked up on fish and chips. There will be one more post covering our day at the beach.    -djf

Army Bay Beach

No matter how many times I visit Army Bay Beach (ABB), I am sure that I will always be delighted by what I see. I hope that you too will welcome another look at one really special beach. 

While my camera lens is not wide-angled enough to show you pictures of both sides of the peninsula at once, and the oceans that lie on either side, the following two shots were taken fairly close together and demonstrate that from some parts of the peninsula, both sides are visible, or would be if buildings didn't block the view. 

Ocean on the western side 

Ocean on the eastern side. We are facing toward the mainland in both these shots. 

Saturday was overcast. I thought that the light might not allow for good picture taking, but I think most shots came out pretty well.  It's nice not to have to walk far to get to the beach. We'll walk quite a bit though once we're one it. 

The area where we found all the starfish and jellyfish is below those outer cliffs. 

A hole in a driftwood log makes a perfect frame. We celebrate gettng to the beach! The boys are ready for some action.

What a tangle of driftwood, huh?

That very disreputable item next to his right foot is his soccer ball. It was originally bright yellow but much of the outer layer has been torn away during scores of games during and after school. One of these days it's going to pop, but for now, it's Arram pride and joy and will remain ever at his side. (or toe) The black sand here pretty well covers what's left of it. 

(Arram has two more brand new balls waiting in the wings.)

We're going to the tide pools at the right side of the beach. We're nearing 'Starfish City.' 

Some of the fallen rocks are really beautifu. This one is about three feet long. Can you imagine it pollished up?  

The tide pools. The other area of tidepools I'll show you in a later post is below the cliffs you see across the bay. The rocks there are very different in character from the ones we are now on. 

Here are the adventurous marine biologists

 Before anyone becomes alarmed, remember that the water on either side of the boys is only inches deep. This is extreme low tide. One of us three adults is always within feet of the boys. 

The boys show us their finds. In some areas, starfish were everwhere. Arram and I counted 20 in an area 10 feet by 15 feet.

Here are three of them now

Amiri is holding his sea star upside down. He reports that it's quite a weird sensation to feel each tiny sucker doing it's part...

And in this position, it was actually 'walking' along his hand, very, very slowly.

We think it very likely that a gull injured this one .

Arram used a scallop shell he had found to pour water repeatedly on this starfish. He's got a good heart. You can see by the condition of his jeans that Amiri has waded into some of the shallow areas of the pools. That's okay. We all wear old shoes, etc. on such adventures. 

Allie is holding a very small sea cucumber  

I found a perfect urchin shell. Not large but so beautiful.

And look at this amazing find. This is, I believe, a purple jellyfish and it has a fish inside it! We're seen quite a few jellies on many beaches, but never with it's prey still inside it, and looking very fresh besides.  

 I read recently that purple jellyfish are showing up on many northern (NZ) beaches. This species has only a mild sting at most. One other (the common jellyfish) does not sting at all. We are always extremely cautious when approaching jellies. We have seen many Portugese Man of War (also called blue bottles) on other beaches and give them a wide bearth. 

Here, Allie takes a close look. The boys are not allowed to touch any sort of jelly. 

Amiri and Allie found a fillet knife elsewhere on the beach and retrieved it so Amiri could help to dissect this jelly. 

Allie has just removed the fish which seemed to still be perfectly fresh. She reported that the inside of this jelly was a firm as the outside was. It did have the consistancy of very firm jello.

This is a section of the sea floor next to the land we're on. What a beautiful mix of shapes, colors and textures.  

That's about all for now I think, for this first post about ABB. Many of the photos I'll show you next time are similar to past ones, but not quite the same of course. And I hope that you, like me, will never tire of looking at the natural beauty of a truly unique beach.       -djf

Disclaimer: No living creatures were collected or harmed while photographing this adventure. All subjects were briefly admired and returned to the very place they were found.