Float Cabin Living Summer Retrospective

L is for Float Cabin Living

Summer's wonderful on Powell Lake. Lots of sunshine and blue skies. The lake is warm for boating, kayaking and swimming. It's the season for guests and we had quite a few. Kurt came in his floatplane from California. Our friends Dave and Marg came with their grandkids. And friends stop by as they head to their cabins.

Summer is gardening season. My float garden provided lots of greens, kale, peas, onions, garlic, broccoli and herbs. Containers on the deck held tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, potatoes, beans, peas, blueberries and red currants. Flowers were pretty and attracted bees.

We eat much of our produce fresh, but I can tomatoes, peppers, pickles and jam for winter meals. I also dry onions, garlic and potatoes.

We had to remove our shore structures as a part of our water lease. My rain barrels went to a farmer in Powell River. Our friend helped us remove our shed and stairs. The wood was reclaimed for firewood.

Other summer chores included installing our Xplornet satellite system and storing firewood in our floating woodshed.

Now that fall has begun, it's a quiet time up the lake. Lots of time for reading, writing and relaxing. It's hard to decide which is my favourite season. What's your? -- Margy

Last Summer Cruise to Vancouver Island

Last week there was a window of sunny skies and calm winds. It's calm winds we like the best. We used it to for a last summer cruise in our Bayliner 2452. It was a spur of the moment trip so we decided to visit marinas near restaurants for easy dinners.

We left in the afternoon to arrive at Campbell River in the early evening. There were a few cloudy skies along the way, but we dodged the showers just by chance.

Dodging a few showers heading for blue skies.

We stay at Discovery Harbour Marina quite often. It takes less than two hours to get there and we can get there with protection from several island along the way. There's a large shopping centre next to the marina where we ate at the Riptide Pub. They had Dinosaur Bones (beef ribs) on the menu and they were excellent.

A mix of working and pleasure boats at Discovery Harbour Marina.

We timed our departure for slack tide in Discovery Passage and to fish for salmon at the southern tip of Quadra Island. No luck.

We rarely travel this part of the Strait of Georgia. The open area can get big waves, but this trip was calm. As we approached Comox, we saw boats fishing. It's salmon season so we decided to give it another try. Wayne caught an undersized fish, so we let it go.

On the way to Comox, BC.

We headed for the Comox Valley Marina. The visitor's dock was filled with large expensive yachts. Our 24' Bayliner looked like a toy between them. We love our boat. It's perfect for us. We found a great spot for dinner, Martine's Bistro a short walk up the road. We both had the Seafood Linguine filled with clams, mussels, prawns, salmon and halibut. The chef brought out our plates, a nice touch.

Playing with the big boys at the Comox Valley Marina.

The next morning we headed across the Strait of Georgia to Powell River. We stopped at Coho Point on Texada Island for one last try to catch a salmon. Again no keepers. We don't care. Fishing is fun.

Our three day and two night cruise was a great way to end the summer season. That afternoon we put our boat in Powell Lake for the winter.

Do you have a boat? What do you do during winter months? -- Margy

2018 Powell River Fall Fair

Welcome to the Powell River Fall Fair.

Saturday, September 15, and Sunday, September 16, the place to be is the Fall Fair in Powell River. It highlights and celebrates the end of the local harvest season. Admission for adults is $5 and children 12 and under are free. The Fall Fair runs from noon to 5 pm both days.

Garden Club information table.

There are agricultural exhibits, competitions, demonstrations, activities for the kids, music and other entertainment on the market stage. Community groups have tables with a wealth of information about our wonderful town. I helped out at the Garden Club table on Saturday.

Purchase farm fresh items for your kitchen or have a cup of tea and a "nummie" (that's what my friend Helen calls all of the great home baked goods) while you browse the vendor's booths.

A busy day at the vendor booths.

And lots of good things to eat.

Check out the Zucchini Races and take the kids for a ride on the Forestry Museum's miniature train.

Engineer Danny takes the train out on the tracks.

See all the fair entries and check out the big winners.

Sewing, crafts and quilt entries.

What's a fall fair without home grown produce.

And canning entries.

Come to the fair - hope to see you there.

Follow the signs up Duncan Street. Turn right on Padgett Road and then left on McLeod. Street parking will be available. Better yet, take the shuttle bus from the Town Centre Mall if you want to avoid the parking congestion. Park your car in the Town Centre north lot and get a ride right to the Fair's front gate.

Fall Fairs are held in towns large and small across Canada and America. Do you have a fair in your community to celebrate the harvest and the end of a great summer? What is your favourite thing to do at the fair? Tell us about it. -- Margy

Preserving: Raising and Drying Herbs

Winter at the cabin.

Most herbs are perennial in my garden. We get frost and a little snow, but I've been lucky to have the majority of them last from year to year.

To contain herbs and keep them from spreading throughout my limited garden space, I plant them in plastic pots in the ground. I also grow herbs in containers on the cabin deck.

Herbs in pots along the edge of the float garden beds.

I start most of my herbs from seed including basil, thyme, parsley, sage, dill and cilantro. I purchased starts for rosemary and mint that are now well established.

Herbs, chard and onions hanging to dry.

I pick fresh herbs from spring to fall. Even in winter I can pick some, but it’s handy to have dried herbs in the kitchen.

When I trim herbs back, I save the best for drying. Here’s my simplified method.

Drying Herbs

1. Cut and keep herbs that have little or no evidence of damage.
2. Wash the cuttings in fresh water.
3. Hang upside down or place small cuttings on cookie sheets to dry.
4. Once dry, remove leaves from the stems and spread them in a thin layer on cookie sheets.
5. Place the cookie sheets in a warm dry room away from sunlight.
6. Stir the leaves daily until thoroughly dry.
7. Depending on the size of the dried leaves, either package whole or cut them into smaller pieces.
8. Store dried herbs in airtight glass or plastic containers. 

I like to combine my craft painting with dried herb storage.

Hand painted herb containers.

I save small jars and empty spice containers. I paint labels to match the dried herbs I have to store. Sometimes a batch of herbs isn’t large enough to store as a single item. When that happens, it becomes a part of Margy’s Mix. I use my special blend in soups and stews as a flavourful seasoning.

For more preserving tips click here.

Do you grow and dry herbs? Let us know any tips you've learned. -- Margy

Summer Sailing on Powell Lake

Blue summer skies and light winds are perfect for Wayne and I to go out in our 19' O'Day Mariner.

We are teaching ourselves to sail, carefully.

Large open areas on Powell Lake make that possible. On this day we practiced tacking into the wind to cross the area we call the North Sea. You wouldn't want to be out there in a little boat in a big storm.

Sailing downwind back through First Narrows we got to practice a little "wing on wing" with the jib and main sail on opposite sides.

Are you a sailor? How did you learn?

Do you wish you could sail? Look for lessons available in your area. Here the Powell River Yacht Club offers lessons for children and adults. They also offer introductory rides on occasion. Watch their Facebook page for upcoming events. If you live elsewhere, check with your local clubs to see what they might have to offer. -- Margy

Overwintering Geraniums

For the last few years I've tried different methods to save geraniums over winter. In a warm climate they can thrive year-round, but at my float cabin in Coastal BC it's a different story.

I buy geranium plants at the nursery in May and enjoy them all summer in my repurposed BBQ planters. But when frost comes in November they die. What could I do to save them and money at the same time? Follow the links to read the full stories.

Covering roots with newspaper and soil.

My first try to save was covering the roots with newspaper and soil. It was a moderate success, but I had to buy lots of replacements.

Experimenting with a plastic cover.

My next tries included adding plastic covers. On my first try I uprooted the geraniums and placed them in a large pot with a plastic cover. White flies enjoying the warm environment were a problem. The next year I left the geraniums in their planter and covered it with plastic. Both tries were again a moderate success, but not perfect.

Bareroot geraniums in the guest bathtub.

Not one to give up, I tried a bareroot method the next winter. The dormant plants were stored in paper bags in town. They revived nicely, but I put them out too early and they didn't adapt well to alternating warm days and cool nights. Back to the nursery to buy more to fill in the gaps.

Last winter I found a better method. I carefully removed each plant from the planter roots, soil and all. I trimmed the dead leaves and cut back long stems.

Removing geraniums from their planter.

I put the plants in a plastic tub and took them to town. I placed them next to a west facing glass door to get sunlight and watered them periodically from November through April. I waited longer to put them back out to avoid cold nights.

Storing the geraniums indoors for the winter.

Here's half of my overwintered geraniums in the repurposed BBQ planter. The blossoms have been amazing on the more mature plants.

Overwintered geraniums in a repurposed BBQ planter.

I didn't have to buy any new ones for fill-ins. I would say that was a total success. I bet you can guess which method I'll use again next year. Do you overwinter any plants? What have been some of your successful methods? -- Margy

Coastal BC Insects: Yellow Woolly Bear Caterpillar

Yellow Woolly Bear Caterpillar

This year I've found a new type of critter in my floating garden. First I found two when I pulled out overgrown lettuce plants. The next I found on beet leaves used as mulch under my broccoli, so I'm not sure which plant was the attraction.

I'm pretty sure it is a caterpillar of the Virginian Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica), a white moth with small black spots on its wings.

Yellow Woolly Bear caterpillar on a beet leaf.

The larval stage is known as known as the Yellow Woolly Bear or Yellow Bear caterpillar. Even though the name implies they are yellow, actual colouring can be from white, to beige, to yellow and even dark red and brown. No matter what the colour, the woolly bear name comes from long its covering of long hairs.

Virginian Tiger Moths and their Yellow Woolly Bear caterpillars are common throughout North America. Caterpillars are abundant and feed on low growing plants, shrubs and even tree leaves in yards, gardens and natural settings.

The caterpillars are voracious eaters. After about a month of eating their fill, they search for a place to pupate.  Then, in about another month, they emerge as an adult moth.

Adult moths are commonly found from late spring to fall. They are especially attracted to lights. I'll have to put a light out in the evenings to see if I can get a picture of one of the moths to update this post. -- Margy