On the cultural side, we enjoyed a ballet, a week-long chamber music festival in a church, and an excellent jazz concert in Vernon for my birthday – the Nick Maclean Quartet with Brownman Ali on trumpet.

Had a vertical tasting of 8 years of Riesling at our favorite Spearhead Winery. Drove to Alberta via Jasper and Banff to meet with 3 of my former university classmates, two of whom I had not seen in 45 years.

With a week of hot weather, 15 degrees above normal, the garden got an early start and we have been eating greens from it for the past 2 weeks.

Made some progress on the short garden wall but ran into hard surface rock that I shall need to work around/over. Upper area will become a fire pit and seating area. Cut down a lot of shrubs and bushes as you approach the house and am hopeful grasses and low ground cover will fill in. Finished running irrigation to the lower garden area where we have planted 2 maple trees, several shrubs, lavender and some onions (all of which we hope the deer are adverse to).

June shall see us spreading about 10 yards of fir mulch (ordering 15), finishing the garden rock wall, more pruning and shrub removal, firewood splitting, prepping site for equipment shelter and hopefully starting a mortared rock wall. Also have a road trip planned with some friends to the Kootenays toward the end of the month.