The Pepper Pages

 In my last post I mentioned my little habañero pepper plantation in my bedroom.  For some reason they seem to thrive in this unlikely north facing outlook.  It's bright in the windows though with reflected light from the building across the way.  

This one that I thought was a chocolate habañero is looking like a regular orange one except for the strange appendages.  The few peppers on this one plant are assuming strange and diverse shapes. 

A red habañero to be........I hope

Some redness emerging

And a few weeks later, fully reddened

 

The little aji lemon (lemon drop) gave me some nice peppers and is now resting.

 Autumn leaves

 

 

The ever changing landscape outside my window  

 

 

 

 

Veggies and Pepper porn

Much of the outdoor garden reached the end of it's life and was hauled away last weekend: the basil, the zucchini (after popping out one last nice big fruit) and patti pan, artichoke whacked right down to the ground, cilantro and beans all pulled out.  There are still some tomatillos ripening and I continue to have hopes that the peppers will ripen a bit more. 

jalapeños on the way

A green and a ripe cherry bomb pepper

Two more poblanos on the way

This year, since I'm going to be around, I planted some winter crops: 

Winter cauliflower

carrots, purple sprouting broccoli

Brussels sprouts just forming there where the stalks branch off from the stem - exciting!

spinach and scallions

 

chard

 This is an aji limon, lemon drop pepper.  A new one to me.

 Popular in Peru, it's a hot pepper with a lemony flavour  It's a little plant and was just in the process of fruiting in the garden but as it's getting late in the season I thought I'd bring it indoors and see how it does joining the pepper plantation in my apartment.  I used one of those little peppers in my dinner tonight and they definitely pack a punch and have a nice citrus flavour.  I'll be saving the seeds!

A new red habañero forming

 

Leek blossom

 

 

This and that

I discovered some photos from Mexico City on my phone so let's reminisce for a moment.  

This is the Casino Español, another opulent colonial building in the Centro.  I assume it was a casino at some point but can't find out anything to substantiate that.  The ground floor is high and grand and houses a gallery of mostly not very good art.  Upstairs is a restaurant. The opulent interior makes it a worthwhile stop. For some reason, photos are not allowed inside.  

A stairwell in the Colegeo Nacional in the Centro.  The National College is a free, public college that offers arts and science curriculum.  They host all sorts of cultural exhibitions as well, music, performance, lectures.

A random entrance

Snoozing porkers.  Every year, at one of the farms along the way on the

Lochside trail in Victoria, there is a trio of pigs fattening up.  

Some garden porn, patty pan squash emerging.  

An excess of artichokes.  Help!  

Another perfect paddling day today to Discovery Island.

This was the first time I noticed this mural on one of the Coast Guard buildings at the lighthouse, a dedication to the wolf that lived on the island for many years.  The wolf, dubbed Takaya, gained a lot of attention during his residence on the island.  A local documentary film maker chronicled the wolf's life on the island. The first nations band that owns most of the island made a strong association with the wolf and restricted access to their part of the island to protect it.  I've camped on the island many times and loved hearing the sound of the wolf howling at night.  One day it swam to shore and was actually running around in my neighbourhood.  The wildlife people captured it and released it way out on the coast where a trophy hunter shot it.
 

Tanya Bub front yard gallery - and more

A few weeks ago I noticed these unusual animal sculptures in a front yard on one of my cycling exploration expeditions.  A few days ago I rode by there again and stopped for a closer look.  The more I looked, the more creatures I discovered, some in the hedge, some in the trees, some on the fence and some on the ground.  This is the Tanya Bub Front Yard Gallery https://tanyabub.myportfolio.com/

 
On top of the rock at Moss Rock Park

On top of Mt Douglas

This is not a bad place to be riding out the pandemic.  For now. 

Peppers, Park, Birds

Most of you know that I love spicy foods so, naturally I try to grow hot peppers in my garden.  So far I have had mixed results: a few jalapeno and cherry peppers in the past that didn't produce much.  The garden is just a few blocks away from the ocean so gets cold winds and is always cooler than the rest of town.  Not the best pepper growing conditions.  But last year I got my hands on a chocolate habañero plant and tried again.  I discovered this strain of habañero a few years ago and it is now my favourite pepper.  "Chocolate" refers to the colour, not the flavour.  They taste like habañeros but more so, that characteristic fruity flavour..... and lots of heat.  And they're brown, hence the "chocolate". 

In any case, I put that plant in my garden last year and it did very well....... sort of.  Lots of blossoms and good leaf growth.  But no fruit.  It didn't seem to be getting pollinated.  Having learned that pepper plants are perennials, I whacked it down to it's central stem, dug it up and brought it home for the winter.  There, in my north facing apartment, that little plant has been flourishing ever since.  Now there are 10 fruit on it.  Well, actually there are only 8 peppers on it now since I harvested two.  Very tasty and very hot.

So I got some friends for it: another chocolate habañero and two red habañeros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=uzd9n8yzEYM&feature=emb_logo

Meanwhile, on the roof next door:

A constant flow of herons passes by my windows every year at this time on their way to and to and from their rookery to their fishing grounds.
 

They bring back their catch and regurgitate it for their young.  There's constant chatter and squawking up in the treetops.  

 There is some feeding action here that starts at around 1:50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JfC9btG1zo&feature=emb_logo 

In Beacon Hill Park

 I'll be chronicling the development of the peppers so stay tuned...............