Friday - best gardeners in Ottawa 2024

 Friday June 28, 2024

Best gardeners in Ottawa! What? Year 2. Proud to be one !

 thank you team for all the hardwork 

Top 8 Gardeners in Ottawa [2024] (bestinottawa.com)

Well, it was one sunny day and i enjoyed delivering parcels for Canada Post Navan. I got the very rural route of JP, so I end up as far as Canaan Rd and Saumure Rd, very rural and picturesque, so that is one way to break up my work week. 

Yes, as Filipino I have many jobs. One of them is an employee for Canada Post, a RSMC relief on call. 

What do we do? Well, every full time employee of Canada Post have sick leave or vacation leave, so when they like to use their vacation leave on Friday to have an extra long weekend - then we, the On Call RSMC will do the delivery.  

We are trained and well paid on those training days. We do a lot of online training and training on the job. We have Class 2 government clearance, since CP is a Crown Corporation. We are provided with a Canada Post logo, that we put on our top of our SUV/cars, and Visibility Lights, so we can be seen. Yes, we are given a little gas allowance when we use our vehicles to deliver your parcels. 

We are trained also on our Right Hand Drive Vehicles (RHD), I was trained and certified, so I drive that truck. Last Friday, I use the corporate vehicle and it was a tank. The hand out says it is built on an F150 frame, which is easy for me. I work and drive trucks each day, so I feel at home driving it. 

Since the work can be sporadic as a relief, its only considered a part time job, but still, a good way to earn money. 

After that long driving work, I came home around 5pm, chatted with my 14 year old and 15 year old, which compromise of hmm and uhmm. ah, that was ackward! But these two are actually very intelligent humans, just sometimes - i feel these are 2 aliens in my house, because they used to be little tiny humans that are huggable. Still hug them though ---

I drove them off to their dads place for the weekend and I came home to a peaceful pace. 

The weather actually cool down, it was not a boiling over in the house. 

here are some of the work i completed this year, some with flowers in big pots and some in the ground. 

Thurday June 27, 2024

 Thursday June 24, 2024

another sunny day for work, kieren is so difficult to get up

kyle pick up tom to work at lafontaine and I planted some veggies at 3707 for dr. kiran

after that, I went to pick up tessie, she help me with spring cress gardens. we finished the front ones

sent kyle and tom to dr hall

kieren has 430pm dentist appointment, so tessie and i went to loblaws, then that ended our day. 

so that means, i have the ferncroft site . 

i got home, super tired. 

My friend Katrina took picture of my plant Rue -                                       Ruta graveolens. bitter in taste, good for warding of fleas and mosquitos, can be use in soups and stews in small amount. 

its growing lovely in my farm here in Carlsbad Springs.

Wed June 26, 2024, a day with Kieren - Grade 8 award ceremony and working at site, then evening rain

 Wednesday 26 june 2024

my son kieren is in grade 8, with awards at st marks catholic school in manotick.

I am ecstatic and I went to st marks to attend the ceremony. he is also a shy kid, so having award made me a proud mama. 

kyle and karlina also attended, so thats our little family. 

Kieren decided to stay home and hang out with friends, while karlina came home and made the grocery list. 

I went to work with kyle at Grandview Garden, nice big garden that needs rejuvenation. 

it was nice day until at 4pm, it was so muggy, but still no rain. 

we finished it, 3 of us mulching 4 cubic yards of CPM.

gooseberries and rhubarb with added CPM

Kyle and I went to Petsmart on Heron Rd, we bought some fish for the pond. 

We enjoyed a bottle of wine and putting our fishies together. 

then grocery, because life...

Then I noticed that my native plants are not doing well, so I started repotting them in bigger pots. 

Mosquitoes and lots of rain.

i was eaten by mosquitoes and wet.

nope, i am on a mission. 

 i need to finished potting my native plants to one gallon size, so they dont dry fast. 

well, i hope that effort works and my native plants survive. 

the good news: kyle has lots of light and i also have my smoke bucket going - to help mosquitos go away.

 i came in, maybe 11pm,  super tired, and crashed to bed

so yes, kieren, work, grocery, fishy, potting plants, rain.....

so, thats farm life, it does not end early. 

Tuesday June 25, 2024 Sunny Days

 tuesday 25 june 2024

i was trying to watch the oilers and panthers hockey game last night, but oh, the wine get in the way and i fall asleep. Oh well, the oilers lost from their quest to get the stanley cup. 

when was the last time i feel invested into hockey game? lets see - it was a big rally in ottawa, it was senators versus anahiem ducks and we lost.

the difference is - i did not even watch the game last night, but when Sens played way back, I was in full senators game! ah I must be getting older, but then, it was worth the effort. I feel very upbeat with the rest of the gang. 

today was a sunny morning, opposite to the one yesterday, which was rainy morning. We worked till 430pm watering the indoor plant contracts, so that was good. 

today, was suppose to start early with Tom, but I guess the hockey event tire him out last night. So, it will be late start for Cumberland gardening. 

Another project for garden renovation in Britania, so thats good thing to have, a job to work on. 

Well, its sunny, so I better do my work - and mulch my dahlia. 

picture below is a living wall inside a long term care facility. 

there is about 100 individual pots here. 

Monday June 24, 2024, Nepean Night Market Sunday ( cancelled)

 monday, june 24, 2024

it st john the baptiste day, so its is fitting, it is raining. I still have to go out and water my indoor plants for City of Ottawa.

last week, it was heatwave, i did not work from wed to friday. 

i weed around the farm, cleaned garlic field and work long hours in the field. 

very challenging, but thats the only time i can weed the gardens, when I am off work. 

i am only off work - when weather is bad, like heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning and also another extreme: heatwave

life of a part time farmer, in a fixer upper farm is tough, but life is always tough anyways. 

btw, yesterday sunday - i signed up to sell garlic and garlic scapes to the Nepean Night Market. By 2pm, it was confirmed, it was a go. 

By 5pm, thunder and lightning and then sunny. CANCELLED. 

I was there, and It was sunny, but the event is cancelled. i have 2 bins of garlic greens and garlic scapes at home, to deal with. 

Tuesday - June 11, 2024 Weedingthe Garlic Field and Farmer life in General

 Tuesday June 11, 2024 sunny day

I know I have to work long hours, so I woke up at 5am to tend to the fields. The rainy days are over, now the weeds are growing faster. Scapes are coming out, so that means bulbs are developing. 

My fingers bleeds from blade of grass. - The gift to work in a fixer upper farm - which was formerly a hay field. well, its my farm, no use complaining, thank the heavens for having one. 

i planted my plants in the front yard, Joe Pye weed, hydrangea, chives, shasta daisy, black eyed susan. there are 2 haskaps and yew that needed to be planted. I have the machine trimmers going: the battery powered one ran out of battery, the gas powered one ran out of gas. yes, I worked very hard - but who is counting - it is just my reality of running an organic farm. Weeds are friends  - bio filter - but then if too close to plants, then too much.

I also have a Dahlia row, to my joy, they all come out. I need to feed them Mushroom compost to compete, I love them so much, I have one row of them in the middle of my garlic field. I did this because I will never neglect them, if I see them everyday, as I care for my garlic. 

So, time to get back and feed my dahlia compost and get back to weeding the garlic field. Its 6:42 am and that only gives me 1 hour to work in the field, before heading to work. 

Trenton - Husquavarna dealer - Homestead Marketplace

 Wednesday -rainy day in Ottawa June 5, 2024

Kyle and I went for a road trip on kingston to get the parts for our Husquavarna backpack blower. It has been many years, bought 2017 for my business. it has serve as well, but the parts are hard to come by. 

The husquavarna dealer - Homestead Marketplace is the closest store to us. Close - like 3 hour drive, but it was worth it because they have the parts. 

Since we go there, I always get a hat from Kyle. This year, he bought me my own Husquavarna hat. 

We also went to Kingston. We went to Trailhead and bought me shoes for climbing, some climbing pants at Urban Outfitter and Climb at the Bouldering Coop. 

over all, it was a long drive both ways but all worth it. 

my new hat. 

By the way, the beavertails store has good food, just saying..

Kieren turned 14 years old

 June 9, 2024 Sunday

last sunday, I worked hard in the field, removing weeds from the garlic field. 

Kyle and I also delivered the generator to our march rd, farm, so they can have water. 

After a long day, it was 5 pm and I manage to get Kieren his cake. Usually, we would get the red velvet one, but the Metro in Kanata ran out of it. 

Our life as farmers as busy as weeds grow very fast after rain - which this week has been rainy. 

The very thing that is consistent with my kids is that Lola Sher and Lolo Fern Boucher always send them card. They look forward to it and I am very happy. 

My gift to my kids are one on one time with them, with dinner. Kieren and I goes to Mandarin for his birthday.  Here are some few pictures to celebrate Kieren going 14th. 

Kieren with his greeeting card from Lolo Fern and Lola Sher

meal of BBQ chicken and Sushi

Garlic Greens from our farm - sautee with soy sauce

karlina being the big sister for Kieren to cut the cake

The Triple Chocolate cake - Kieren said it tasted goog

brother and sister moment - karlina trusted her baby brother with the knife 

( way back when they were 7 and 6 year old, they had an arguement with a knife, while trying to cut the cake - so that was not the greatest ide. This one, the older sister knows how to handle life)

with my youngest turning 14, i feel old and happier and settled in my life. 

I wish the best for them, as I am marching towards my sunset.