Pictures from outdoor exercise.
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As a youngling, I never saw a kayak on PEI but plenty of canoes and small sailboats. We had a Sunflower sailboat... small and light enough I could move it myself... I found a picture online... apparently they're still made.I would think that on PEI, a canoe would be a more typical boat than a kayak. I could be wrong.
The local stores now have canoes, various configurations of kayaks and some standup boards.1 -
Sunfish are the only sailboats I've ever piloted. I considered joining the "yacht club" over on the coast. They have a small fleet of Lido boats. I think they offer classes, although I could probably get into the sailing instruction classes with the city that I'm now working for.
I get to take people rafting today. It's a VERY mild river. There are three rapids maybe class 2 at best. It is my first raft trip for the outfit. I'm told it's a very rewarding trip as most people don't get to see the river from the river. The City "turns its back" on the river. People get to see how beautiful it is and also the offenses it has to endure (trash dumping).
I bet some of the kayaks in the local stores are recreational kayaks. They are OK for just putting about on mild lakes. I'm not a real fan of them. I think they get people in trouble. They're very inexpensive. No permit required. Fairly easy to use, but if things go sideways, they go quickly.
There's a brand of canoe (I won't out 'em here) that has aluminum tubing running along the bottom as well as along the thwarts. They are otherwise very flexible. They are designed to nest together on a truck before the frames are installed rather than designed to paddle.
Again though, if it's just an occasional outing for a mile or two, any boat will get the job done. If you want to truly love the process, get a boat that's the right size and that's designed for the kind of water you'll be using it on. I repeat the benefits of a very nice paddle. I'll also repeat that it's wise to not just carry but to WEAR your PFD. Get one that fits and is comfortable. If you need it, it's too late to put it on.3 -
Again though, if it's just an occasional outing for a mile or two, any boat will get the job done. If you want to truly love the process, get a boat that's the right size and that's designed for the kind of water you'll be using it on. I repeat the benefits of a very nice paddle. I'll also repeat that it's wise to not just carry but to WEAR your PFD. Get one that fits and is comfortable. If you need it, it's too late to put it on.
Yeah, the kayaks look fairly generic/cheap; I haven't looked closely enough but I figure since they're standing outside the store with next to nil security, they're not high end by any stretch. My neighbour has a couple of high end kayaks stored beside his garage. He's a retired professor of large animal veterinarian medicine... currently working a term contract at a clinic in Oklahoma (due back in the fall) so I think I'll wait and talk to him. We're about sizes so he'll probably be a good resource.2 -
Maybe he'll take you paddling!1
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Last year I did a hike up a local mountain in the Coast Range pretty much every week to watch the progression of wildflowers work their way up in elevation. I don't plan to do it every week this year, but I went yesterday.
I almost didn't go. My car needed a bath, so I gave it a good one. Then it was almost noon. I went anyway. As soon as I walked into the forest, I was so happy I had gone up. I was almost immediately treated to many native irises, false Solomon's seal, vanilla leaf, and starry false Solomon's seal.
The forest up there is quiet. I passed only a few people on the way up. The trees were welcoming. I forgot how much I really love this hike.
Near the top, the Cascade volcanoes came into view. There was a marine layer and some smoke from prescribed burns that prevented me from seeing the coast. I figured there would be a marine layer, so I left the binoculars in the car. I also know that there's been a lot of haze in the valley. I expected the views of the volcanoes to be obscured. Alas - how wrong I was! I could see Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters so clear I could imagine I might have seen people actually climbing them if I had brought my binoculars. I was amazed how clear it was. Not only could I see Mt. Hood, but I could see north to Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens. I could even see a little bit of the tip of Mt. Rainier (TaHoma) which is over 220 miles away. Wow. Just wow.
Once up in the upper meadow, I found what I hoped I'd find. I was treated to an expanse that included lots of fawn lilies (a.k.a., trout lilies, a.k.a., dog-toothed violet) and glacier lilies! Along the rocks at the top there was Indian paintbrush, phlox, and so many other wonderful flowers.
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Lovely!! Nature does us a treat, doesn't she?
Around here on PEI, the lupines grow wild. Our ditch has purple, pink and white one!! I also found we have wild roses growing at the edge of the property... I might encourage those...
The bushes on the right edge of the picture are wild roses... Rosa rugosa... I thought it was native to this area but apparently it was imported from Asia a couple of centuries ago.
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@UncleMac, do you collect the Rosa rugosa hips? That species often has large enough hips to be worthwhile, tasty, can be dried for tea, made into jam, etc. . . . if a person can beat the wildlife to them.
Early in my marriage, we lived in a trailer park. We planted a row of Rosa Rugosa in an L-shape at the end of our lot, to keep people from noisily (and often drunkenly) taking a short-cut under our bedroom window at night. The thorns worked pretty well for that, and the rose hips were a bonus. (Not a lot of wildlife there, other than small mammals, the birds, and of course the random drunk people.
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I love those lupines! They look like escaped/naturalized horticultural varieties. We have some natives, but they have less showy flowers, and mostly blue/purple. My "blue" columbine are all bloomed out. I'm going to collect and spread the seeds. Our natives are red and yellow or just red. The purple ones are from far away, but I still love them.
Our native rose is the Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana). It spreads a lot.
I got a little bit of weeding done and now am cleaned up and shaved so my mask doesn't leak tomorrow the aquarium. I hate leaky masks. That's all indoors even though it's diving. Then Tuesday I'm up to Clear Lake. I'll try to bring pictures.2 -
@UncleMac, do you collect the Rosa rugosa hips? That species often has large enough hips to be worthwhile, tasty, can be dried for tea, made into jam, etc. . . . if a person can beat the wildlife to them.
Early in my marriage, we lived in a trailer park. We planted a row of Rosa Rugosa in an L-shape at the end of our lot, to keep people from noisily (and often drunkenly) taking a short-cut under our bedroom window at night. The thorns worked pretty well for that, and the rose hips were a bonus. (Not a lot of wildlife there, other than small mammals, the birds, and of course the random drunk people. )
My dad used to collect them for tea but I was young and didn't realize tea was a good thing then!
We have a hedgerow on the western property line and I was considering what to plant there... something drought tolerant (because I don't want to have to water) and capable to living next to spruce trees. I'd heard wild roses can grow almost anywhere... So now I need to see if I can transplant some of them and see if they'll take off.
We're far enough from civilization that random drunks isn't an issue.2 -
@UncleMac - I bought my Rosa rugosa to start, but did transplant some for friends, and they did fine. Might need to do a little watering while they're getting started, but once they take hold I found them not at all demanding. They're pretty tough.
One of my sisters told me to transplant roots... not sure how to do that but I suppose I can search online for resources.0 -
@UncleMac - I bought my Rosa rugosa to start, but did transplant some for friends, and they did fine. Might need to do a little watering while they're getting started, but once they take hold I found them not at all demanding. They're pretty tough.
One of my sisters told me to transplant roots... not sure how to do that but I suppose I can search online for resources.
That could work, not certain. I found them to be slightly vegetatively spread-y, i.e., multi-stemmed with new stems growing up from the ground, maybe even some little plantlets popping up a bit out from the main plant. I just dug up some of that kind of thing and planted it elsewhere.1 -
My sister said they spread by sending out shoots... so just clip a shoot as it pops up, dress it with "root stim", plant it promptly and water for the first few weeks.0
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My sister said they spread by sending out shoots... so just clip a shoot as it pops up, dress it with "root stim", plant it promptly and water for the first few weeks.
I think we're saying the same thing. Another name for them is "suckers". It's little plantlets at the margins of the main plants.
These guys are so enthusiastic, I doubt they need rooting hormone/supplementation, unless the conditions are really poor.
If you're planting in the same general area, in similar soil where they grow, I think you'd be fine just giving them a little extra TLC in the form of watering conscientiously in their new spot until they look perky, then during dry spells in their first season. Year 2, if they aren't rarin', it's not a good spot for them.1 -
Good to know... since I don't know what "root stim" looks like... lol0
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Good to know... since I don't know what "root stim" looks like... lol
Usually it's a rooting hormone(s) plus some fertilizer, powder or liquid. Garden centers will have it. Either or both of those general components can be essential for reasonable odds of success in certain touchy plants, and they won't hurt in most situations, but I think a healthy offset of Rosa rugosa doesn't require either one in even moderately reasonable conditions.0 -
You can totally just YANK UP huge chunks that are rooting near the plant and move them. They grow like weeds. You can abuse them, and they thank you.
There are two rooting hormones available. I buy a powdered form. It can help root things that don't like to root, but if you just yank up hunks of roses, you can plant them with abandon. They're not hybrid roses. Even those grow like crazy around here with minimal care.3 -
You can totally just YANK UP huge chunks that are rooting near the plant and move them. They grow like weeds. You can abuse them, and they thank you.
There are two rooting hormones available. I buy a powdered form. It can help root things that don't like to root, but if you just yank up hunks of roses, you can plant them with abandon. They're not hybrid roses. Even those grow like crazy around here with minimal care.
Sounds like my kind of plants!! 3 -
Here's a few more pictures from outdoors. Some are exercise related. I'm not sure why I didn't include the picture of the one Calypso orchid I saw on my hike on Friday. Here it is! Then a couple days ago I saw "a dog" walk by my front window. I immediately knew it wasn't a dog so followed her around to the back yard and convinced her to keep going. Then yesterday one of my crow friends came to get peanuts.
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