Do Fence Me In

Country living has its charms.  Deer are sweet to behold wandering down from the woods, coming to nibble on branches and grass in the yard.  Not so sweet to see when they are grazing at the "salad bar" laid out in the garden.  Hence, the need for fencing.  En garde, critters!  We're going to stick it to you.

The garden was planted by Pierre.  The fence was hand hewn by Pierre.  The plants have been coaxed and encouraged and watered by Pierre.  The deer were lectured by Pierre.  The plants mostly listened and responded in a cooperative manner by growing edible bits.  The deer listened but clearly did not understand. Security was breeched!  Hoof prints were found!  Leaves and veggies had been nibbled!  Some recent reinforcement seems to have largely discouraged further entry by the four-leggeds.  (And, yes, there is actually a gate but it has been moved aside so we could go pick a few veggies for supper).

This is how the fence was begun, back at the end of June when it first became clear that the deer were anxiously awaiting the dinner bell.  Pierre gathered the sticks, mostly from deadfall in the woods out back and put it together all on his own.  No help whatsoever from me, other than offering smiling encouragement.

It's perhaps not quite up to the standards of the garden walls at Fortress Louisbourg (a replica of the French fort originally built in 1713 in Cape Breton NS)  but I think it's pretty impressive in its rustic authenticity.  And it's doing a pretty good job of discouraging all but the smallest of deer, who can manage to squeeze between or under the bars...but they'll be getting big soon, especially if they keep on nibbling the peas and beans.

Linking up with Rural Thursday
over at Nancy's A Rural Journal

Happy Canada Day, Eh?

Rat-a-tat-tat & hooty-hoot-toot! A little fanfare, please!

(Even though the French lost the war with Britain on the Plains of Abraham, they left behind some swell poutine! We love ya, Québec!)

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(Photo in La Forteresse de Louisbourg, Cape Breton, Aug.2007)

From sea...

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(Photo Prince Edward Island, August 2006)

...to shining sea!

Please note the Canadian flag (hence the red & white theme).

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(Photo on ferry to Vancouver Island, June 2008)

Today is our national holiday. As a holiday, it doesn't mean much if one is not employed. As a rah-rah-rah, siss-boom-bah nationalistic big deal...well, there will be fireworks shooting all across the country, weather permitting. Even in the humble little village where I reside, there will be a respectable display of fireworks let off in the ball park (is it ever used for anything else? I've never noticed) at 10 pm, weather permitting. Aye, there's the rub! It's pretty damp in most areas of Canada today. Even in our capital where they give off a mighty impressive big bang of sparkly effects in the night sky. I experienced one such spectacle live and in person there a few years ago but was even more awed by the tremendous lightning storm earlier in the day. It wiped out all the planned entertainment, drenched the revellers, and chased them with lightning bolts, thunder claps, and torrential rain into the normally staid lobby of the Chateau Laurier where they dripped all over the furnishings. I know this because I had had the good sense to shelter there before the skies opened their flood gates and the wind blew away the fun.

Traditionally I head down to our local fireworks but will have to forego it this time due to my still wonky ankle. Sometimes the weather is too wet or too windy and the show is postponed for a day or two. Slightly anti-climactic (or should that be "anti-climatic"?) But tonight I have other cause for celebration. Pierre is coming back from a 3-week stint on the west coast at my mother's place in Vancouver and I'll be fetching him at the airport here on the east coast just after midnight. This time last year the scene was reversed and I was sitting in the kitchen of my mother's house waiting for him to arrive out there. Yes, it's true--I do suffer from Bi-coastal Personality Disorder but that's what makes me truly Canadian.

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(To see another of my quintessentially Canadian photos, go over to the Blogger Friends' Photo Club and enjoy the other entries while you're there. My fellow Canuck, Mountain Mamma is doing a great job of hostessing the site.)

This bizarrely patriotic video cracks me up. Close to the beginning of it, you'll see some big rocky things on a beach (they look like giant turds but are referred to as "flower pots"). They're situated about a 15 minute drive from where I live. That's why they're famous.