I'd wondered what this flower? fungus? forest spook? was whenever I passed it in the forest around Pemberton/Mt Currie, until photographer Jordan Manley solved the mystery for me by posting this shot on his facebook page. Sometimes called Indian-Pipe or Corpse Plant, the Ghost Flower (Monotropa uniflora) is scarce in occurrence, and does not actually … Continue reading Sighted: Ghost Flower
Farmers Market night tonight! 4pm to 7pm in downtown Pemberton, outside the pharmacy. Local organic potato growers, Across the Creek Organics, harvested their first potatoes last week - starting with the beautiful cascade white Nuggets. Look for them in local stores and restaurants. This year, Across the Creek Organics are growing Cascades nuggets, German Butter Potatoes, … Continue reading In Season: New Potatoes
The thimbleberry, or Snow Bramble (Rubus parviflorus) is now bearing fruit. A member of the Rosaceae (Rose Family), the thimbleberry is a perennial flowering plant, native to North America. The fruits or berries of these shrubs are edible and are sweet in taste. The berries can't be stored for more than a day. That means - EAT AT … Continue reading Seasonal Observations: Thimbleberries
I haven't ever put in a hummingbird feeder - I don't want to give the bears any more reason to come check out my garden, and there's a little part of me that feels like I'm feeding junk food to them by filling up feeders with sugar syrup... So I've been stoked this week to … Continue reading Sighted: Hummingbirds
It's Wednesday. That means Market Day, at the Pemberton Farmers Market, on Frontier Street, from 4pm to 7pm. Now in season? Blueberries, including fresh berries from Pemberton's newest growers, Hare's Organica Blueberry Farm, celebrating their first crop. (The photos above are from their facebook page... Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hares-Farm-Pemberton-Organic-Blueberries/466691550010693) If you've got blueberry recipes to … Continue reading Event: Blueberries in at the Pemberton Farmers Market!
My snow pea harvest seems to be coming to an end. They've done their bit to add nitrogen to the soil, and provide weeks worth of snacks. I love that the French name for the pea is mangetout, as in "eat all." I didn't even get so far as to look up recipes to use snowpeas. They … Continue reading In the Garden: Snow Peas
Warm summer weather, snow in alpine melting, rain over the week-end, it all adds up to one thing... Lillooet Lake on the rise! This photo (taken July 17) shows that the lake has spilled onto the forest service road (again!) in places. The road is impassable to small cars. Drive with care!
Spotted while mountain-biking down JimJam last week - a red-headed pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus.) Largest of its kind in North America, and one of 6 woodpecker species likely to be seen around Pemberton/Mt Currie, the pileated woodpecker was doing what woodpeckers do best. Pecking wood. Scouting for a nice ant colony to tap. A great … Continue reading Sighted: Red Headed Pileated Woodpecker
The Tiger Lily (Lilium columbianum) is one of BC's 'day lilies' - short flowering, and in the final days of its show-off phase now - spotted around Mosquito Lake early this week, typical habitat given tiger lilies are most likely to be found in open damp woods and meadows. (One of the favourite places seems … Continue reading Sighted: Tigerlily
The (typically) purple flowers of the Lupinus arcticus cluster in long spikes. The bright green leaves are long and arranged like spokes on a wheel. Drops of moisture collect at the base of the leaves to provide extra moisture to the plant. Lupine is one of the hardiest plants - it even grows in windswept … Continue reading Sighted: Lupins
The Wellness Almanac 