Mark & Misa, our First Guests of the Season

Mark and Misako called to let me know they'd be late (first clue).

When this darling couple arrived, they were escorted by another vehicle full of fly fishers (clue #2).

With little hesitation, we made our way into Roderick Haig-Brown's study, where the two of them looked around in dazed awe for awhile. Soon, their mouths closed and smiles formed (third clue) and they relaxed enough to engage in conversation, mostly about Rod and his life here.

Mystery solved; they're avid, nay, passionate-eat-sleep-breath-LIVE fly-fishers!

If you'd like to know something about fly-tying; no, make that anything, anything-at-all about fly tying, by all means, ask Misa or Mark.
Believe me, they will know!

Mark explained the reason for driving their truck all the way from Arkansas (their home) was the seventeen "events" they were visiting in North America, this stop being one of them.
As fly-tyers, they go to huge shows / gatherings / conventions where they sell their flies and / or put out information on their own classes back home, or compete, or simply fish.
As well, Misa is a world champion team leader, currently for the Japan fly-fishing team. They did mention a few fly-fishing club / organization boards which they have been directors of, but I didn't get them all (there were a lot!)

I've inserted a few photos from these two very lively people.

All of the badges were on the couple of shirts that Misa was wearing, denoting her position or where they had been in the world, visiting another fly-fishing meeting.

You can visit their blog to see just how much they love the sport.
http://www.PureArtFlyTying.ning.com

Oh, and did I mention Misa's amazing art? She's a fine art watercolourist, and guess what she paints? If you guessed tied flies, you're right!

Check out her profile on their site for a glimpse into the karayziest space devoted to, well, a devotion! I love it! click on "Misako added 49 photos"
http://pureartflytying.ning.com/profile/Misako

Hard to believe it's been 2 weeks already. Now in New York, they're about to film a TV production on fly-fishing in the Catskills for a Japanese network. Way too much fun!
Mark and Misako, I really hope you get out this way again; don't wait so long til next time! It was pure delight.
Sandra

Aix en Provence, France

The charming and disarming Martine, from Aix en Provence in France, arrived with her handsome son, Paulin.
He was living and working here on the coast, and the two of them were exploring Vancouver Island together. Martine spoke little English, though she easily understood the conversation, and so there was much hand-waving and body language going on, followed by loud bursts of laughter. Paulin played interpreter the whole time, a job he did well and thoroughly!
It was a great pleasure to have both of you here!

Sandra

Francien & Jan

Another couple who were left off the blog last fall are Francien & Jan, from Amsterdam.
On the day of their arrival, I was a bit concerned to see them arriving (much, much later than they had anticipated) by taxi, with no luggage.
They'd had an accident on a remote highway, and were just coming from the hospital, where they had been examined in the E.R. Luckily, nothing broken; only bruises.
I immediately put on a pot of soup and found a way for Jan to retrieve their luggage from their demolished car, now in the local towing lot.
He returned with a bottle of wine to share with the others staying at the house, and everyone decompressed in the evening. The next day I drove them to the rental office for another car, and they stayed a couple of days.
Jan and Francien are a beautiful couple who run a B&B in Holland, just outside of Amsterdam, a place which is definitely on my "to-do" list!

Dirt

Dirt is compost. I love compost. Ergo, I love dirt.

hmmm...
no matter -
I sure do love what compost does to the garden.

The first photo is a view from the kitchen door. To the right is the big maple, and just beyond it (slightly downhill) is the compost bin, crowned by the weed bucket used to toss weeds out of the garden.

In the last week, I've hauled about a dozen wheelbarrow loads of compost into the garden and greenhouse, and intend to haul even more.

The compost pile here is to die for! One slatted box about 250 cubic feet, divided in half by a wall of cinder blocks simply stacked up. The box is built into the hill, so the back side is sturdy, plus easy to access from the topside.

The new greens and scraps are tossed into box #1 where the bottom of the pile is already breaking down into the rich stuff. Along with kitchen peelings and veggie scraps are tossed leftover floral arrangements (all from the property), plus leaves and cuttings and weeds.

No meat, no bones, no dairy.

Yes, I do imagine a dead animal will eventually become dirt (as we all will) but I'm not sure it would break down enough into actual "dirt" by next spring. And I don't want to be the one holding the shovel that brings out the bones.... hmmm...

And no plastic!
Gah!
What industry is making money off of those tiny little labels on every single tomato and pepper in grocery stores is doing remarkably well, I'm sure!
Is there no other way to label the produce?! I'm so annoyed every time I dig into the dirt and come up with another one that someone didn't remove when they peeled their orange.

I really must discuss this further another time.

Anyhoo, end of the fall, and box #1 is flipped into box #2, ensuring the oldest compost (that which is broken down already) will rest on the top, awaiting the spring planting. Meanwhile, the greenest scraps from the top of box #1 are now at the bottom of box #2, breaking down all winter long. Beautiful!


Allow me to relate a small compost story.

As a twenty-something newlywed, I planted my first garden of peas, carrots, and flowers in planter boxes alongside our new deck. With a tiny yard, there was little space to consider having a compost pile, and I wasn't sure what that business was all about anyhow.

At the end of the summer, I took all of the greens from the boxes and simply tossed them into a corner by the fence where some twigs and small branches were. The greens fell over them, and I forgot about them for the winter.
The following spring I was aiming to clean up those branches, and found there a small pile of the richest soil I had ever seen. It wasn't much - maybe a gallon or so - but I had made it!
Well, me and nature... still, it was a beautiful thing.

Man, I love dirt!
Sandra

Spring in the Glade

Isn't this an idyllic sight?
The ground is covered in Vinca, a.k.a. Periwinkle, a vine which produces small purple trumpet-like flowers all summer long. Sprinkled throughout are Lily-of-the-Valley, and Bluebells - beautiful spikes of purple for spring - and in the upper part of the ground covering can be seen a lighter green patch of 'false-lily-of-the-valley' (Maianthemum dilatatum). These are native plants (the others are not) which offer a smaller, unscented white flower, and heart-shaped leaves.

This is the glade, between the house and Highway 28, also known as Campbell River Road.

In 1936, when Rod and Ann Haig-Brown bought this place, Highway 28 was a narrow dirt track that cut through the wide open space of a clearcut - a completely logged off tract of land that went on for miles.

No glades or bush or clumps of trees; only stumps, occasional fruit trees, and the odd house along the river.

In short order, Ann and Rod planted their own fruit trees and vegetables to feed the family, and crops to feed the cows, sheep, and chickens.
They also busily planted other trees, including the beech trees you see in the second picture.

But back to picture #1; notice the shadowy line running across the lower part of the photo, from the tree on the left. That's known as the daffodil walk, also a "folly" - a pathway that simply ends.
Rod planted the daffodils only months before his sudden death, and so never got to see them bloom. His wife and family decided to distribute his ashes amongst his beautiful daffodils, under the canopy of trees that he so lovingly planted forty years before.
Upon Ann's death, her family spread her ashes there as well, so she would rest with her beloved.
And every spring, the daffodils still offer their charming blooms for the rest of us to enjoy.
Sandra

Jo & Rodney Daw, Photographer(s)

I must take this space to offer apologies to some of my wonderful guests who stayed last year.
I ask guests if it's OK to take their photo to post on this blog, and almost every single time, they warmly oblige, then seek out what I might have to say about them and their stay via this blog. Last fall, I had several delightful guests (as all of my guests are) tho I did not get to putting their photos on here. For that, I am sorry, and hope to amend my ways - here and in the next couple of posts.

That famous photographer from Turrahna (Toronto) and his funny, talented and gorgeous wife, stayed last fall.

Jo-Anne and Rodney Daw

http://www.rodneydawphotography.ca/

a couple of the nicest people you could ever meet!

They love fly-fishing (you can tell by their website) and love each other as much and more. It's very nice to see people who interact with such mutual love and respect.
Thanks, you kidz, for your delightful visit here.

HBH is open for the summer!

Spring-time rainbow over Discovery Passage; pot of gold in Campbell River.

Hello!
I'm back at the Haig-Brown Heritage House as the Site Manager and your B&B Host for 2010, and I'm very excited to be here.

We've been busy getting things ready for the summer, including freshening up the house and readying the guest rooms. The blueberries are piled up for pancakes, and the garden is getting ready for my famous tiny tomatoes to serve with breakfast.

Marcy, the gardener, has been busy, as always. The terra cotta pots for the terrace (terraza, in Italian) are planted and standing by in the greenhouse, waiting for a bit more warmth in the weather. She's done up the rose bed to perfection, and the formal lawn looks, well, formal!
And good thing, too - we have a lot of weddings booked for the summer!

Today is simply sparkling!
I photographed the narcissus and bluebells in the glade this morning, and found another broken robin's egg in the driveway. The rhodos are spectacular, and the scented azaleas are busting at the seams ready to burst forth with bloom. Daily the maple leaves stretch bigger and bigger; I'm sure I can hear them grow.

It's been a long, wet winter in Campbell River, and May has been a welcome sight with all the sunshine.

My goodness, I love spring on the coast!
Sandra

Hullo, Sunshine~!