Carrots Gone Wild: The Final Result

Over the last three years I've been conducting an experiment with carrots. To be honest, the first year wasn't planned but it was crucial to the result.

In Spring 2010, I planted Scarlet Nantes carrots from commercial seed in my float garden. I like Scarlet Nantes because they have short, stocky roots. By late summer, I can start harvesting, and they last in the ground through winter. But in September 2010, Mom had emergency back surgery and I didn't get back to the cabin until late January 2011. The carrots were still good to eat, so I left them in the ground.

When spring 2011 rolled around, the carrots grew tall flower stalks. I decided to let them go and see what would happen. Once the flowers started to dry, I covered some of them with cheesecloth to capture the seeds. That wasn't necessary. I was able to save lots of seed just by cutting the dried flower heads. In addition to the seeds I saved, there were lots that fell directly onto the soil.

I left the extra seeds in the empty bed and dug them in to see what would happen the following spring.

This year, the seeds grew into nice, large, crisp carrots. I would say my experiment with "carrots gone wild" and seed saving was a success.

Do you save seeds for future planting? What are some of your success stories? -- Margy

Recovering from "Attack of the Tent Worms"

Last June, in "Attack of the Tent Worms" I shared the devastation that Tent Moth caterpillars caused here in Powell River, BC. For some unknown reason, every 5-10 years there's a population explosion. And this was our year. They prefer to eat the leaves of deciduous trees. In our case, the alders took the brunt of the attack.

Alder trees grow almost like weeds here, especially after logging companies cut down a new tract of mature firs and cedars. After vines and small shrubs, it's the alders that naturally reclaim the barren soil. They gave the caterpillars an abundant food source. Tent caterpillars, and the subsequent moths, are named for the structures they build for protection while not eating.

Here's an alder in the parking lot of the Shinglemill Marina on Powell Lake. You can see what the caterpillars voracious appetite can do in just a few weeks.

The dark spots you see are the tents attached to the now bare branches. They say a healthy tree can withstand such an assault when the six weeks of munching are finally through, and the caterpillars enter the pupa stage.


Here's the same tree on August 10. It's not back to its normal full foliage, but it's well on the way. By next spring, you won't know anything unusual happened. Look close, you can still see evidence of the tents in a few places. -- Margy

First Flight

Hey, wake up, it's time to fly.

Aw, ma, can't we just hang out here a little longer and have a few more of those bugs before we go?

Our tree swallows fledged last week. We'll miss their cheery peeps. But our Barn Swallow nest has finally been rebuilt and mom is sitting on eggs. Good thing we put up the avian trampoline on the hot tin roof after all. -- Margy

A Break in the Weather

After a long, wet spring and early summer, we've finally started into a nice summer warm spell. Then after a week of sunny, cloudless skies, the weather changed. Clouds rolled in and the air became muggy.

At sunset, a brief shower began with large drops pelting down on the lake. You could see the storm "walking" across the surface on its way to our front porch.

But the amount of rainfall wasn't even enough to register on our rain gauge. Nor did it have any affect on the soil in my garden. I had to take care of that with a good watering with the hose. -- Margy

Uncle Whale Rejoins his Ducky Cousins

I've shared how we like to recycle, reuse, and repurpose at the cabin. It saves money, but also keeps things out of the trash. Yesterday, I practiced what I preach on a very small scale.

I took some kitchen scraps out to a bucket on the transition float. I keep it there while waiting to go up the hill to the compost pile. I looked down through the cracks in the deck and saw two eyes staring back up at me.

We get some interesting flotsam, but this item was securely wedged under the cedar log float. I reached down and wiggled it out through a small opening. To my surprise, it was Uncle Whale. He was a swimming pool toy similar to a rubber ducky that we tied to the transition float way back in 2002.

The bright blue stylized killer whale soon disappeared in a rough winter storm. He must have been forced under the float, where he's remained ever since desperately hoping for rescue. He faded to dull gray, but some blue acrylic paint and he's ready to rejoin his Ducky cousins. Maybe this time Uncle Whale should get a less dangerous job. -- Margy

Off the Grid Float Cabin Makes the Huffington Post

One result of the excellent video about our float cabin by Kirsten Dirksen at faircompanies.com was a call from a reporter at the online news site, the Huffington Post. After a phone interview, an article was posted at Huff/Post 50.

Off the Grid: Wayne and Margy Lutz Find a Retirement Home in a Float Cabin was written by Anthonia Akitunde. At first I was excited, but then I was shocked at some of the uncaring, and sometimes downright nasty, comments. I understand that living in a float cabin isn't for everyone, but personal attacks seemed uncalled for.

I guess I'm a bit naive about the Internet, even though I've been blogging since 2007. My world turned a bit upside down for a few days. Unlike with Kirsten's blog, I was so upset chose not to communicate back. There was one positive outcome. It opened my eyes to cyber bullying. From now on, I will be more proactive when I hear or see bullying online or in real life. -- Margy

Eliminator Rechargeable Spotlight/Lantern

Canadian Tire has a sale this weekend (Friday through Sunday) on their MotoMaster Eliminator 2-in-1 Spotlight/Lantern. Normally costing $39.99, we got two more at only $11.99 each on sale. That's $16.01 less than the cost of one. We like them because they are rechargeable and have very bright LEDs. If you miss the sale, keep watching. They seem to run this offer several times a year.

It's called 2-in-1 because it's both a lantern and a spotlight. The lantern uses five LEDs and runs for up to 15 hours on a charge.

The spotlight uses a halogen bulb and runs for about 2 hours on a charge. It comes with both a DC cigarette lighter charger and AC plug. You can stand it on a table for a lantern, use the handle for a spotlight, or hang it from the built-in handle to light a room. It's quite versatile, and no batteries to buy. That's even more savings.

At the cabin, we use one of the lights hanging in our kitchen. After dark, it really lights up the space. That saves our cabin battery bank, especially in winter. The other I use over my shoulder on the sofa as a reading light. In the spotlight mode, it gives plenty of light and lasts for several hours of reading pleasure.

If you don't live in Canada, I found a similar spotlight/lantern made by Brinkmann listed at Amazon.com. One review gave it a good recommendation. -- Margy