Bastard Bunnies* & Sneaky Squirrels

On a slightly less adventurous note, I've recently taken up gardening, hoping that a few things might grow during Calgary's very short and unpredictable summer. Some might label this latest hobby of mine as part of the "aging process", but I prefer to think of it as "diversifying". I've never really lived anywhere long enough to have a garden, and usually my time is filled with sports & travel, so this really is a first for me.

I built two little garden beds, dug up all the wood chips and liner, filled them with dozens of bags of soil - which I very reluctantly purchased after discovering that it really is hard to find "free dirt" in or around Calgary. What has the world come to that I actually have to pay for dirt?!  I even cruised by a few construction sites, thinking those would be awesome dirt sources, but they put big orange fences around construction sites here, complete with signs about danger, trespassing, etc, blah, blah, blah. Seriously, not impressed. I added my compost (started last year), loads of coffee grounds, and some odorless cow manure (honestly, it really didn't smell, I checked) to the dirt, mixed it all up, and voila, perfect garden soil!

I impatiently waited until June to plant my little seeds, good thing too, because it snowed in May. Once the seeds were in the ground, I went out everyday to just stare at my garden bed, as if I was expecting a shoot to sprout up in front of my eyes, but like a watched kettle, the seeds were so very slow start. Although, the variety of potato I chose to plant seems to be a tree or shrub, I don't remember potato plants being so large on the farm... I don't even eat potatoes very often, yet that's the most successful veggie in my garden thus far.

There are a lot of rabbits and squirrels in my neighborhood. My friends warned me, they said I shouldn't expect much from my garden, because between the rodents (yes, bunnies are rodents) and the temperamental Calgary weather, I'd be lucky if anything survived.

I'm a Saskatchewan girl (by birth), and EVERYTHING grows in Saskatchewan (except tropical fruit of course). We had a massive garden, and everything just grew! We didn't fence it off, or even water it very often, weeding was sparse, but we always had way too many veggies to pick, wash, peel, and can or freeze. So really, how hard can a garden be?

There are no squirrels or rabbits in rural Saskatchewan (farmers shot them all), however metropolitan Calgary has an ABUNDANCE of said rodents, and I think it's against the law to shoot them. However... if they are trespassing and I am merely defending my property, isn't that ok? I don't have a gun, but I think I have a slingshot somewhere, and I used to be a pretty good shot, I think I could pick off a fat city squirrel.

All of you readers not from Calgary, don't be fooled, the squirrels here are not like the cute little brown ones you see in the forest, city squirrels are essentially a rat with a tail. Big, nasty, sunflower-eating rodents. Yes, I believe they are responsible for the destruction of 8 out of my 10 sunflowers. Them or the bastard bunnies, I'm not 100% sure, because they show up while I'm at work, but I now have tooth marks on my two last standing sunflowers, so maybe I'll run a DNA test to determine the species. 

I should probably put a fence around the entire garden bed, especially since the spinach and carrots are coming in nicely, but that would detract from the aesthetic appeal, so I've just fenced off the last standing sunflowers. They still might not survive, both stalks are nibbled halfway through, and I imagine the sneaky squirrels and bastard bunnies* will be slightly upset with my new fence, so who knows what they'll do next. I plan to spend the day on my lawn, laying in wait, to catch or at least scare the nibbles out of whatever sneaky rodent has been decimating my garden.

So, if any of my veggies survive the bunnies, squirrels, spiders, ants, wind, rain, and hail (snow?) of Calgary, you're welcome to come join me for a picnic, sometime around October... Bring your slingshots.


*Bunnies are by definition "bastards", so do not be offended by the label, I use the term in its truest form.

Back at it.

Ok, so it's been awhile, I know. Several couch surfing friends and other adventurous "kindred spirits" in my life have inspired me to attempt to start "living the adventure" and blogging again, so here it goes!

Happy Canada Day! I really kind of forgot about the holiday, was just happy for a 3 day weekend and some sunny weather to go for my first real bike trek of the season. Scanning through the trail book on my way out, I came across a trail I had never attempted, and it promised a "stunning view at the summit" with a "thrilling steep & bumpy return ride", so Junction Mountain it was!

I hit the trail by about noon, and spent the first 15 min headed down the wrong trail, a very gnarly and muddy trail, which was definitely headed in the opposite direction of my mountaintop destination. I finally referred to my trail map, which surprisingly enough I had actually brought with me, and decided that this time I would follow the map directions.

I like maps, I do, but I prefer to use them as a general guide, I don't often follow the little details very well. I'm just happy to be out in the sun, bombing around on my bike, so one trail is just as good as the next as far as I'm concerned. Of course my history of hiking and biking mishaps would prove otherwise, so I'm trying to learn from my mistakes and follow a map. Plus, I'm not 20 anymore (shocking, I know) and it's kind of exhausting getting lost in the wilderness, so maps are looking better with every wrong turn I take.




Now armed with my map and trail book, I head up the correct trail, still feeling pretty good about the day. I finally caught up with the group of horse back riders that I passed earlier (and then turned down the wrong trail), and of course they were surprised to see me again, but I made up some lame excuse about wanting to see the rapids first before heading up the mountain... right. A few kilometers in and the forestry road was still a pretty steady uphill climb, and then I remembered the trail description mentioning something about it being a "grueling climb" requiring "legs of steel". I was feeling pretty good, thinking that I must have underestimated my fitness level, because my legs felt just fine, and I was still pedaling, with butterflies dancing in front of my wheel, it was a lovely ride. 

Forded the creek - and I love creek crossings, seriously, the icy cold water, threatening to sweep you off your feet at down the 20 foot waterfall just metres away; who doesn't love that?? The trail got steadily steeper after the creek crossing, and now just 5 km in, my legs of steel had melted to jelly. I stopped for a few photo ops along the route, wishing that I had packed another pb & jam sandwich in place of the hefty camera I was toting on my back, but otherwise, still enjoying the trail. 

Junction Mountain Fire Lookout

Another 6 km of pushing and riding my bike slowly up the mountain, I finally arrived at the fire lookout and decided that the view was definitely worth the climb. I was met by the fire lookout ranger Sara and her ferocious puppy Josie, and discovered that I was in fact the very first visitor of the year, woohoo! I knew the trail wasn't well traveled, but wow, I didn't expect to be the first one to make to the top, and now I don't feel so bad about all those stretches I was pushing my bike. I enjoyed a nice visit with Sara, she's been doing this for 13 years now, and it was her first time being placed at Junction Mountain, so I shared my maps with her and she shared her water with me.

First one to the top for the 2012 season!

"Whack-a-marmot"

The ride down was fantastic, pretty much a steady descent, with loads of stream crossing and muddy puddles to zig zag or just plow through. As you can see from my pic, I usually just went straight through. :) I made a picnic stop along the way, soaking up the sun and watching the dozens of marmots (who knew,  they look like gophers to me) pop in and out of their holes like whack-a-moles.

Good start to the summer, hoping for more sunny days ahead!

Nothing like a good muddy trail!