4 Friday, May 11, 2018 brooklintowncrier.com Community Calendar Fri., May 11: 7 pm: Brooklin United Church Charity Auction Gift baskets, tickets to attractions, golf passes, baking, maple syrup, quilts, and more. Viewing from 6 pm. Auction at 7 pm. Sales will be by live and silent auction. Information: 905-655-4141 Fri., May 25: 4:00 - 5:00 pm (4th Friday of each month) Teen Leadership Council at Brooklin Library Whitby Library's Brooklin Branch seeks Teen Leadership Council members to share ideas & assist with special events and programs. Grade 9-12 students earn community service hours. Snacks provided. No registration required. For information, email teenservices@whitbylibrary.ca. Sun., May 27: 10 am: Pet Valu Walk for Dog Guides Sponsored by BAM Lions Club Begins in front of Pet Valu store at 9:30 am Sponsor through walkfordogguides.com Contact Stephen Colcleugh at 905-655-0088 Email: stephen.colcleugh@nexusisp.com Sat., June 9: 9 am - 12 noon: Walk for Mental Health Awareness Presented by Community Care Durham Port Perry Fairgrounds - Walk 1, 2, or 5 km - BBQ lunch included Loads of prizes - Raise $20 and get a tee-shirt To pre-register or sponsor: 905-430- 8014 or 905-985-7784, or visit communitycaredurham.on.ca/events/walk-for-mental-health Sat., June 16: 10 am - 2 pm : Nova's Ark 8th Annual Friendship Walk From Grass Park, a 3 km walk led by Bing the Camel Afterwards, music by Workin' Dawgs and BBQ by Starr Burger Also, face painting and interaction with therapy animals To register, visit novasark.ca or email: friendshipwalk.novasark@bell.net French Family Storytime: Children and their caregivers can join Madame Sue for weekly French Family Storytime! A half hour of French stories and songs, with a dash of English! Drop in at Central Library's Children's Program Room Tuesdays: 7:25 pm: Brooklin Toastmasters Club Practice public speaking at Brooklin Community Centre & Library. Contact John Johnstone at jajhj@sympatico.ca or phone 905-683-4439 or Patricia Romano at promano257@outlook.com or phone 905-626-7055. 1st & 3rd Tuesdays Community Care Durham (CCD) Basic Foot Care at St. Thomas' Anglican Church. 905-668-6779 Mon.-Fri. CCD delivers hot or frozen meals. To order: Karen Andrews 905-668-6779 If you have a community not-for-profit event you would like included in the calendar, please email it to editorofBTC@gmail.com with the subject line "calendar." Priority will be given to Brooklin events. Some editing may occur. Gardening and weather: such a complicated relationship and usually one the gardener is never happy with. It's 10 cm of solid ice in the garden on April 16 and ten days later, 26 C. One day I'm in my parka and the next I'm looking for a shady spot. I've had a gorgeous visitor in my garden in recent weeks. He is graceful, large and a pleasure to watch. It's a great blue heron feasting on my goldfish. He cleaned out most of the ones that survived the winter. When I replaced them with large specimens provided by a reader who was closing her pond, he showed up the next morning before I had time to install a little fence. I don't know how he's still able to fly after devouring a kilogram of fish. I'll finish the fence before I restock, although the research I've done indicates that herons are persistent and difficult to deter. Slow tulips My front yard tulips have been taking their time showing up. With too warm weather, they're capable of showing up, flowering and wilting in a few days. May we just please have some sunny cool spring days to keep them in bloom and make time in the garden a pleasant activity? I grow cool season vegetables such as pak choi, kohl rabi, Chinese cabbage, peas and lettuce. They're all in the cold frame or a seed packet, waiting for the soil to be dry enough to be planted. Most years they're in the ground at the end of April, but Mother Nature hasn't cooperated this year. The seedlings continue to grow in their cell packs but the seeds aren't doing much in their seed packets. Hopefully they'll be in the ground by the time you read this. But don't let that stop you from planting your own. Asparagus is the best We finally ate the first asparagus. It was amazing how quickly it emerged with few warm days. It may be the best vegetable in the garden. Its early arrival, when we're desperate for fresh vegetables, makes it a contender along with its perennial nature. You plant asparagus once and pick it for the next 30 years! Lightly steamed with a little butter, it has a wonderful taste and texture that would keep it on the best vegetable list at any time of year. Gardening Vs. The Weather Blooming in Brooklin By Ken Brown I usually plant containers of pansies on the front porch in early April. The soil was frozen solid so that didn't happen. The upside to the story is the lovely large ones that were available last week when I finally got around to planting them. Garden centres had them ready to go in early April and they just continued to grow while they sat on their benches waiting for the ice storm to pass. Begonia tubers have been started in the basement and the dahlia and colocasia tubers are potted up and enjoying the warmth in the cold frame. I keep calling that structure a cold frame since that's what it looks like, but it's actually a hot frame. Its floor has a heating cable to keep it toasty on cold nights. It produces lovely plants and is much more economical than a small greenhouse. Most of the space we heat in a hobby greenhouse is to keep us comfortable when we visit it. Advertise With Us 905.655.7642