Welcome Chilko

Welcome to Dave's Garden Chilko!

It's always nice to have more members from BC or anywhere from Canada for that matter. I must admit that I don't know where Precipice Valley is though. Is it somewhere near Chilko Lake? I've been there a couple of times. I lived in Williams Lake and Bella Coola for a while.

Sandy

Hi Chilko

A big welcoming wave is coming your way from the tundra (otherwise known as Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan). ;)

Pam

Hi Chilko, welcome to DG and the Canadian Trading forum!

Shannon, waving hi from Gatineau QC

Hi and Welcome Chilko. Hope you'll visit and satisfy all of our curiosities by telling us where Precipice Valley is.

I'm Donna from the Southern Interior of God's Country.

Hey, there's a lot happening everywhere...just gave out some information on the Welcome Mat. For those in the know about this part of the worl, Precipice Valley is 5 hours west and south from Williams Lake. We're at the end of a rough seasonal road, 1 1/2 hour trip out of Anahim Lake. Skidoo travel only for about 5 months. (And no, that trip is NOT fun.) Yes, not so far from Chilko Lake. Chilko is our new (rescued) dog--my name is Rosemary.

Donna, I envy you the climate in Castlegar! Wetter than here, though. And you people in the prairies--I'm always looking for hardy perennials. My dream is to have so many that I'll grow annuals only in containers.

Happy New Gardening Year to you all

Hey Rosemary welcome to DG's.

You've sure got your gardening work cut out, gardening in a 2a zone. i wish you all the luck, and i'll keep an eye out for hardy perennials.

What kind of dog? We love animal stories and photos as well as plants here.

Have you heard about the first ever Canadian DG roundup? It's in Victoria April 1-5 of this year. There's a couple of threads in the CDN forum about it. All CDN's and CDN wanna be's are invited.

Linda in Victoria BC

Welcome also, Rosemarie.....I'm Elaine, the rosenut from North Van, BC....Happy New Year to ya!

Hi and Welcome Chilko from a cold but sunny Deep Cove.

Welcome, Chilko from a cold but sunny around the corner from Liz, Deep Cove in North Vancouver. You'll enjoy it here, I know.

Hi Rosemary, and welcome.

Hi Rosemary.

Will have to get my map out and add you to it. Lots and lots of things just love 2b. Asiatic lilies, and siberian iris immediately jump to mind.

Watch those skidoos with your new rescue. Where did you find him? Am very interested that the northern shelters sometimes ship dogs by air to their new adoptive families.

Camera? Photo?

Welcome from the alberta part of dg - how much worse can zone 2 be than 3 she asks??

Hi Rosamary,
A warm welcome and big smile coming to you from Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Hope you do have a camera, some of those views must be just spectacular.
I don't have a dog, but if you find out what "ROTFL" means (apparantly not Roties on the floor licking):) please let me know.
Chow for now.
Joanne

Rolling on the floor laughing.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/384614/

Yes, Chilko..........and I am just around a few more corners from Dawn, Liz and Lana........PEEEEEEEEEEEK

Hi Rosemary.
I love your name. Very beautiful.
Welcome from Nanaimo,vancouver island

Yumiko

Hey Yumiko, good to see you again! Happy New Year.
And thanks for the link to that thread, Brenda - it's a good one.

Yeah, Echoes, that list was enlightening, but I can't for the life of me, figure out when you'd use PUTS (Playing Under The Bed). What's that about?

Hmm, yeah, I was wondering that too. The cats can't fit under our sofa... mice maybe? Perish the thought!

Thanks for all the great welcomes. PUTS--maybe more fun than POTS? Pretty tight quarters, though.

Will post about our dog, cats, horses on the PETS forum, when I get a chance. Also getting caught up in the Cacti forum, and eager to have the time to explore all the others.

Hey you prairie guys--I don't envy you the winter you're having! Here, warmer weather means more snow too but less power (we're solar) so I opt for the clear cold weather we're having, even though our wood heater's output struggles to reach my office space.

Can't be on line much at the moment (my husband and I share the satellite internet hookup and he's doing a lot of research just now) but hope to do more later.

Sunshine to all of you. Here is a picture of our valley from our skidoo trail out...

I'm curious what the temps are there now Chilko.......yesterday morning we were sitting at -50C (wind chill included). :b My cats are now a permanent fixture on top of the radiators.

This message was edited Jan 5, 2005 12:58 PM

Oh my...skidoo trail out?? No road? I know I am nosey, but now my curiousity is really peaked. Tell us more about you Chilko, what sort of research does DH do? How often do you get out on the skidoo trail and to where do you go for groceries and stuff. This sounds very exciting and romantic somehow...

We have nasty cold here today and yesterday. Our Low was -11 and it hasn't budged yet by noon. But it is blue and sunny...I will say no more about that, grumble, grumble.. But we are supposed to be up to -1 for a high by Friday! :-)

Donna, by Friday or Sat. we are forcasted to be -10 and snow. I'm going shopping ahead of time, just in case, I don't want to be out with the people that can't drive in the snow.

Rosemary, your place sounds idyllic, (from afar) I don't know if I'd be able to manage roughing it like you do. I'm not much of a city girl, but like some civilization. All the more power to you for how and living where you do.

Linda

Welcome to Dave's Rosemarie from mild and snowy (greater) Toronto.

I'm Christine and I have three tiny garden beds in my little yard and I fill them with perennials. I have a clematis that Weezingreens has "broken the zone barrier" with in Alaska - its a Polish Spirit and is dark purple. It just might work for you too.

And just don't even think that we missed that jab subtly hidden in the "from mild and snowy (greater) Toronto," Christine! :P

Ya caught me Donna ... lol. I just looked out the window for the first time since I got to work, and it hasn't actually started snowing yet - I was assuming it had. So, I guess we just have mild weather here right now. Of course, if this was California, we'd be in a deep freeze ....lol.

Brrrrr, you guys, just BRRRRR! No way we get -50. Of course, we figure that anything from -30 on down doesn't much matter; cold is cold! Unless it's windy and you're trying to feed... No, we don't get the serious cold nor the serious deep snowfalls, but what we get, stays. So our November snowfalls are still around in early April! And often later.

I avoid going to "town" (which has only a post office, tiny store) in the winter as I don't enjoy skidoo travel on our twisty, 1 1/2 hour long trail. I do a humungous grocery shopping twice a year, and if DH has to go to "the big city" (Williams Lake--okay, you guys who know, stop laughing) for a meeting, he brings back some fresh veggies. It's a 10-hour round trip from here. Maybe once a month. I do a lot of sprouting and greens! And have a VERY large pantry. Sure does put a damper on impulse buying.

Dave, my husband, is a conservation consultant. As well, he writes newspaper articles. We have a 2-way satellite internet hookup so i'ts fast, but only one set of modems so either he's on or I am. I'm a stained glass artist. When I'm not gardening! Also have FM, which is a drag, but explains why I don't like to travel our road much.

We have a large post and beam house which we built ourselves, just the two of us, using materials from our own property. We have a few horses, cats, and a dog. Should probably put this on pets, but here is a picture of me and our new sweetie.

So now you know all my secrets...

Have been looking, but can't see a forum on seed-starting. Any such critter?

Very sweet love affair you have going on there.

Try the propagation forum. You can tell them how to start seeds there.

Well duh, didn't notice that $5 word....still working my way through --can't believe the diversity in forums! Need to find out about some disasters I've had.....

What have you started Rosemary? I've started pansies, iris & lilies. That's it so far. Have to go get some bulbs out of my fridge and pot them up too.
Ginny aka Inanda

What have you started Rosemary? I've started pansies, iris & lilies. That's it so far. Have to go get some bulbs out of my fridge and pot them up too.

Do you have a greenhouse for tomoatoes etc. Most people in
Fairbanks Many anyway - have one for their winter veggies. Ginny aka Inanda

Welcome Chilko! Sounds like you're settling right in here on DG. I'm home grown but living stateside for the past 28+ years. Seems to me my brother was talking about Williams Lake. Is there a large mine there somewhere? He is a labor negotiatior so he goes all over the world but I think he was in WL when we called him in Nov. when my dad was failing. Sounds like you have a beautiful set up there. Glad you joined us.

Rosemary, your home sounds really great!! Yeah, a little urban romanticizing going on here.....but romanticizing can be fun!
Do you have any photos of your stained glass work, or a website or something we can see?

A friend of mine did some research in Williams Lake a few years ago for the gov't; she never mentioned what a metropolis it was... ;-)

Let's see, answers...there's a large copper mine not to far from Williams Lake called Gibralter; that's probably what you remember. Sometimes it's operating, sometimes it's not.

Hey, you mean 10,000 people (by counting every little outside area they could coerce into joining them) isn't a metropolis! Ah well, when it's all youve got, it's gotta be good.

I just selected (from my stash) my plantings for the season, all the way to next July, and if I include what will be coming in the mail I'm starting well over (embarrassed to say HOW much over) 150 different varieties. That includes, of course, lots of some types--11 different petunias (including some of my own), 5 types of calendula, 7 of lobelia....etc. etc. And that's after I went through and unselected a bunch! Keep trying to cut back, but can't seem to do it. I'm down to only 6 kinds of tomatoes this year, so that's something. In the greenhouse--tomatoes, basil, celery, different types of peppers, eggplants,4 different type of summer squashes. You'd never know that I'm limited in growing space! My soil is heavy clay, and every planting plot must be created from scratch.

No one told me gardening is addictive!

Watched the Saskatchewan reports of the weather there...hard to believe you'll be gardening EVER, never mind in a few months. I took this last June 11--believe it or not, those are calendulas under there!

LOL......we are feeling that way as well Chilko. This is the second bitterly cold winter in a row for us. :b

Right now I'm wearing long johns, two pairs of socks plus two shirts (one being a sweat shirt) and I'm still cold.......this is for inside the house. I refuse to turn the thermostat above 70. We find our insulation does well until temps hit -40 and colder(with wind) and then the west side of the house can get pretty chilly (that's where our puter is).

Looks like you will have a gorgeous garden next year......I'm looking forward to seeing your summer pics! :D

Feel free to post as many photos of your critters here as you want, Rosemary. We love to see everyones' fur babies from time to time. What kind of a doggie have you got there in the picture? Sure is lovely. That's quite the gardening effort you are about to embark on this Spring. Wish you good luck and good growing. Your home sounds wonderful and obviously you and DH have a very happy and contented life there. :D

Having lived in Bella Coola for 4 years (1984-88) I can remember considering Williams Lake to be the big city too.LOL I lived in Williams Lake from 1976 - 1980 and haven't been through it since I left Bella Coola at the end of the school year in '88. I imagine it's grown and changed a bit since then.

I'm curious to know where Precipice Valley is. If it's south of Anahim Lake is it near Charlotte Lake? I camped and canoed there one weekend when I lived in Bella Coola. Where is the post office and store that's 1 1/2 hours from your house? Sorry to ask so many questions but I agree with everyone else in that your isolation is intriguing. I loved that part of the country. It's so beautiful. The colour of the water in some of the lakes around there is incredible.

How often do you get mail? If you want any seeds from my trade list I'd be happy to send them to you.

Sandy

Hi nightowl...it's so unusual to meet someone who knows anything at all about Highway 20! Our p.o is at Anahim Lake; instead of continuing west down the highway (3 hrs you'll recall, down the Big Hill) to Bella Coola (and there still isn't much there) you go south on a back road. Our valley is actually on a direct line between Bella Coola and Anahim--the historic Sugar Camp Trail route (Also the Hudson's Bay trail, Lunas Trail, and Lieutenant Palmer trail). Precipice Valley was a stopping over place for pack trains going up and down the mountain--since the road to Bella Coola didn't happen until 1953. (Before that it was accessible only by boat) Sometimes there were so many packhorses trying to make the trip that they'd have to wait for a day for room on the trail! When the road was finally made to happen, Fisheries woudn't allow it to take the route that starts through our valley because of spawning concerns in the Atnarko. We're on the Hotnarko, which flows into the Atnarko.

Charlotte Lake is east of us--we were all on Evacuation Alert during the forest fires last summer. Got pretty scary here, with only one way out! If our road got cut off I planned to ride the horses down the old Sugar Camp Trail, carrying cat boxes and with the dogs behind--we humans would have been helicoptered out but they'd have left the animals. (My husband was out of the valley working as liason on the fires).

Spklatt, forgot to answer your question about the stained glass, sorry. I don't have a website as I work almost exclusively on commission, but occasionally will do smaller pieces for the art gallery for their Christmas Bazaar--such as this Christmas Village:

...but usually I do more nature-oriented stuff (have to get my gardening addiction in there!) like these poppies