Our Garden

On Saturday, Mom, Dad and I went to see The Gardener at Hot Docs. Mom won tickets online from Not Far From the Tree. The documentary was about a rich, eccentric man named Frank Cabot and his Quatre Vents Garden in Quebec. His garden is extremely beautiful and very creative.

We just started gardening as a family last year. We put in a small berry patch and 3 raised beds for Square Foot Gardening.

This year, we have put in some small fruit trees. 

Frank Cabot's goal was to move people with his artistic expression through his garden but our goal with is to fill bellies and warm hearts. 

Lots of our shrubs are in blossom now. but according to a book that we are using, "Growing Urban Orchards" by Susan Poizner, we should remove fruit from the trees for the first two years after planting without allowing them to mature so the trees will have time to establish.

Here are some pictures.  

Blossoms on our Golden Sentinel Columnar Apple Tree

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Little buds on our Golden Prolific Nectarine.

Carmine Jewel Cherry Blossom

Me transplanting Foxgloves to attract pollinators

Lingonberry Blossoms

Strawberry Blossoms

Young Wellington Black Currants 

Gooseberry Blossoms

I think these are buds for blossoms on the Black Lace Elderberry

Raspberry Blossoms

Wintergreen

Pac Choi in the Square Foot Garden

Young Beets

Thyme and Walking Onions

A Tomato plant warm and safe inside a Kozy Coat

If anyone knows what these are, please let us know....

Here are some pictures of our dog. She loves our garden and she loves to dig holes 

But, our dog loves Mom even more than digging

Violin Recital

It has been a very busy month.
I got my grade for my RCM Grade 8 Piano exam... I got 87%. Not bad but not what I was hoping for.

My violin teacher put on a recital for her students today. I haven't performed on the violin in a long time. I really like accompanying and hiding behind the piano or performing with a group. It is hard for me to be in the spotlight. 

My violin exam is coming up and my teacher thought it would be a good idea for me to play this particular piece in front of people. It is a Romantic piece and I like to play Baroque. I was a bit nervous. I met the accompanist, Christine Kim, today for the first time. But, I have seen her play before... She accompanies Linda Eyman's Celebration Choir and I have seen them in concert. (My Mom is in Linda Eyman's Vocal Mosaic Choir and they put on a joint concert twice a year.)

Here is my piece. I made a couple mistakes in the middle and my posture wasn't the best.
I have a lot to work on before my exam.

It is Adoration by Felix Borowski

I realized at this concert, that the younger kids are probably looking at me and the more advanced students for what they can achieve in the future.

I remember how difficult it all seemed when I started  with the Suzuki method. It wasn't a good fit for me because I already knew how to read music from my piano lessons. Violin does get better if they stick with it.