We spent a full week on Galiano with big plans to tackle lots of projects around the property. That came to a crashing halt as we discovered how bad the tent caterpillar apocalypse had become. I’ll share some of the details, an update on how the gardens are doing and because it’s migration and nesting season, lots of birds!

The Tent Caterpillar Apocalypse

I might as well get the gross part out of the way. We’re in the middle of a Caterpillar Apocalypse - the worst I’ve ever seen anywhere. Our deciduous trees (alders, cottonwoods, cherries, fruit trees) are infested with more nests than I could have thought possible. The things are falling from the trees (most of the infested trees are big - 30-50’, and the nests are way up where you can’t get them). Not that it would matter - there’s too many. The cottage and our sheds are crawling with them; you can’t got out without a hat for then falling on you; our lawn looks like it’s moving at times as they march on. And in places, the roads are covered with them. It’s disgusting…

This is what we’re dealing with. This is one nest of more than a dozen in this one pin cherry tree.

This is what most of the roads look like…

… in some places, they are just covered. All those yellowish spots are caterpillars.

And in places the roads are this densely covered in them!

You can see how devistrated these alders are.

There are nests everywhere.

Another mass of caterpillars - the worst is that they fall out of the sky on you.

The cottonwoods above the shed are full of them. This is just one corner of the shed.

The front of the shed - I picked it clean everyday, and hours later they would be all over it again.

Even the cottage was covered in them.

So many of the projects we had planned - chainsaw work, chipping, getting the boat ready are on hold while we fight this ridiculous infestation. Not what we had planned.

At least some of the creatures around are trying to help with the problem. I need more spiders…

We’re doing what we can to try and protect the fruit trees in the orchard. We spent hours every day removing caterpillars and we’ve now sprayed them down with insecticide. I just hope when we get back the worst has passed and our poor trees have survived.

Garden Update

I thought I’d throw in some photos on the garden. We’ve mostly avoided the caterpillars.

The garden is thriving in the early stages of the growing season! The tomatoes (which I started indoors) are starting to grow well. It’s going to be quite a while, but they look promising. The basil (also started indoors) is thriving next to them. The peas have already begun to vine and cling to their supports, and we got the first flowers on them this week. The kale and arugula have already established themselves and are growing rapidly. I’m already onto the second planting of the arugula. The hops seem to be bouncing back this year as well, and I even have artichokes and asparagus looking good.

Garden Box #1 - peas on the end; kale, tomatoes and lettuce.

The hydrangea has bounced back nicely this year.

One of Justine’s flower boxes.

We harvested some arugula - more than we’ll be able to eat so we donated some to the local food bank.

Sadly this batch of arulua has bolted before we could harvest it.

I’m a little worried about this large box. The cucumbers, squash and tomatoes over here seem to be off to a slow start.

The artichokes are doing really well this year!

We even have our first one starting up.

I tried asparagus crowns this year too - and they are actually working!

My hops are off to a strong start.

The earlier picture of the arugula was harvested from the empty spot between the beets and the basil, with tomatoes and peas.

I’m not sure if it’s because we’re paying closer attention, or if it’s something else, but we’ve seen a lot of different species this spring, right from the front deck, just up in the trees near the cottage. Here are the various ones we’ve seen. Some of the more common ones, or the ones I got more pictures of I’m included in their own sections below.

Purple Finch

Pair of Bald Eagles

Song Sparrow

Common Loon

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Bald Eagle

Common Loon

Warbling Vireo

Turkey Vulture

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Dark-eyed Junco

Downy Woodpecker

Spotted Towhee

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Turkey Vulture

A Set of Birds - White-crowned Sparrows

We have a ton of white-crowned sparrows around the property. We even have 2 nests with baby birds that we know about! White-crowned sparrows are easily identified by their striking black-and-white striped heads, which contrast with their gray bodies and brown wings. White-crowned sparrows are known for their beautiful songs, with males singing a series of clear, thin notes that are often heard in the early morning hours.

A white-crowned sparrow on our deer skull.

Black-headed Grosbeaks

Every spring we get a collection of black-headed grosbeaks that hang about the property. They have a beautiful song and it’s always nice when they return. They seem to like our feeders.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees

This part of the story is both happy and sad. We were very excited to discover that a pair of chickadees had taken over one of our nesting boxes! Early in the week I got some good shots of them taking insects into the nest to feed the little ones. You could hear them chirping if you got close to the box!

These are definitely one of my favorites!

He’s got a whole beak full of small caterpillars.

Let’s Switch Gears to Flowers!

It’s a beautiful time of the year on Galiano and we have lots of flowers in bloom. Here’s a selection:

Lavender

Arbutus tree flowers

Lupins in full bloom

This batch of lupins are crowding out our fig tree.

Tiny orchids that we see in the forest

Poppies and butterflies

Wild rose

More poppies

Lupins and foxglove

Daisies - Justine’s favorites!

Lupin about to bloom

Time for Some Scenery

We had a really nice week, with lots fo sun (and some cloud), but there was some good scenery to see. The new camera and long lens is fun to play with, picking out lots of interesting things while sitting on the deck.

A cruise ship heading out to sea

One of the nicer sunsets that week.

I had quite a few early mornings with nice sunrises.

A container ship heading into port

The Lions, some prominent peaks north of the city

BC Ferries against the backdrop of the coastal mountains

Another ferry, against the backdrop of the city

Vancouver In all its glory

The lawn is looking pretty good

One morning on the golf course I got this sight - the little one must have just been born as it was really wobbly

Justine’s garden is looking really good - maybe a bit overgrown with grass

Back to the Birds - Orange-crowned Warblers

These are one of the more common species in the spring. We hear them constantly, but they are very hard to see. I got fortunate picking a few out over the course of the week.

Goldfinches

We started putting out niger seed in a new feeder we bought and we’ve been getting lots of goldfinches as a result. They are hilarious - very skittish and will not come near the feeder if we’re outside.

Townsend’s Warbler

This is a new one for us! We had been hearing them, but we finally saw them on our hike! The colors on these little guys are amazing. Sadly my photos are not that great…

Bodega Ridge Hike

One afternoon we stopped working long enough to do a short hike up to Bodega Ridge, with it’s amazing views out over Trincolmie Channel. we were hoping for Western Taningers (we’ve seen them there before) but got the Townsend’s Warbler (and a few others) that you see above. It was nice to get out and wander in the forest.

It’s a beautiful hike through the forest.

The view from the top is quite spectacular.

Even up here, the broome is in bloom.

It wasn’t a long hike, but we still earned the beer!

We didn’t go any further, but the hike along the top of the ridge is amazing.

Justine enjoying the view.

More of the little orchids we saw on the hike back.

Later that evening we had a small campfire and enjoyed the views.

Of course we roasted marshmallows!

Hummingbirds!

We love our hummingbirds and have both the Rufous and Anna’s here right now. We’re hoping in the next few weeks it will get crazy as the little ones start to grow. Last year we would get up to 9-10 at a time at the feeders.

The males are really being bullies this time of year!

House Wrens

Every year the wrens fill our bird boxes with sticks. Normally we get a few nests, so we don’t mins so much.

Growing Some Oak Trees

Last fall I was in France for a short trip and went up to Bordeaux and wine country for a weekend. While touring a winery I came across a beautiful oak tree that was dropping acorns and I brought some back. Last fall I stuck some in pots to see what might happen. For most of them, nothing, but three of them sprouted this spring! We transplanted them last week. It was so cool to see how they are still getting nutrients from the acorn, even after they have grown half a foot.

Lunch at Crane and Robin

On our second Saturday, we got to Crane and Robin for lunch for the first time since they opened for the season. We were there right as they opened and got our pick of seats. We opted for the bar overlooking the marina and enjoyed a great lunch in the sunshine. This is definitely one of our favorite spots on the island! We also reflected on the fact that it was just over 5 years ago that we sat in almost exactly the same spot and decided that we wanted to buy a place on Galiano! We’re quickly coming up to the 5-year anniversary of our life-changing purchase.

Butterflies

There have been a lot of beautiful butterflies about this spring. It seems like more than usual.

Playing with More Generative AI

Earlier this week Adobe made a huge step in generative AI, releasing their Photoshop Beta with generative AI capabilities. I literally had 10 minutes to play with it, but it looks very promising!

This one looks a little over-the-top, but it’s pretty cool.

It was time to bring the mountain bikes back home to the city.

Post Script

When I got home, the radishes on the roof needed to be harvested. I may have let them go a little too long…