Garden Update August 2026

I mentioned in my post "Living Under the Eye of Mordor" that we had two types of sunflowers, and the smog storm killed one but not the other. Since then, the remaining half has endured some kind of repeated insect infestation leaving only four survivors. Three of them seem large enough to be resilient to the elements, and the other one is really trying but we'll have to wait and see. Even just one blossom is a success and we're not that far from the end of the season.

The snow peas were the other casualty of the smoke. They had produced at that point but should have lasted longer. 

Tomatoes and bell peppers have been the most reliable, and we've done well with chives, parsley, and lettuce. We've been able to have some salads using only garden ingredients.

Our zucchinis have lived and stayed healthy, flowering continually but something keeps munching on them before they can do much. We've grown them before and had success, but this has just been a bad year.

As far as decorative plants go, the coleus have predictably dominated. The morning glories have just recently blossomed as well. I had two pots with two variants, one blue and one red, but both have produced red flowers! Don't know what happened there.

One thing that was kind of interesting about the morning glories was, they seemed to know where they were going as soon as they sprouted. Other climbing plants that I'm more familiar with, such as snow peas, cucumbers, and zucchini, kind of grope around blindly until they find something they can grasp. You can train them by moving their vines to more strategic vantage points, and they take the suggestion. But the morning glories all seemed to lean in the direction of our fence until they reached that intended destination, as if moving by sight as well as touch. 

We have a large tree in the middle of our backyard, a linden I think. It casts a good deal of shade which might be limiting our garden. At one of the monthly community bakes, one of our neighbours suggested we try growing crops that do well with indirect light. She suggested broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. I really enjoy each of those, especially sprouts so it would be nice if it were true.

We also have a tree in our front yard that has caused some issues. It's a Manitoba Maple, which I've heard from a few people is considered a weed. Looking it up, they are considered pioneer species. Resilient in isolation, capable of growing fast, short in lifespan. Although I haven't heard people speak so unfavourably of other species that share those traits, such as birches, willows, and poplar.

But even the local plant expert, who has a pollinator garden and believes, generally, in leaving nature to its own devices said that this tree would be firewood if it were on his lawn.

It had grown so ferociously that it was encroaching on the neighbours' property, branches drooping into their driveway and threatening to knock against their car's windshield.

So I trimmed its lower branches, which I felt bad about. On observing me, I heard a mother reassure her child that "He's just trimming it, he likes the tree". I really hated seeing violence against plants when I was that age.

I told the Manitoba Maple, "Look, I'm only cutting your lowest branches. They're the least useful to you anyway. I know I'm not doing you any favours, but this will stop the neighbours from getting mad at you and is your best shot at continued survival".

Really, it had grown to an extent that I could do no meaningful damage with a pair of clippers. Young branches sprung out with a youthful green that bordered blue. In the end I had a hefty pile of branches that Lee-Anne is using as feed for our new composter. 

Last year, our neighbour gave us some hostas. In my initial garden post, I said that I thought I could identify one of them. Since then I've confirmed six, one more than we planted. They're supposed to do well with indirect light, which was the thought behind the gift, but they've been pretty diminutive.

They have responded well to the new patch of light opened by the break in the Manitoba Maple's lower branches. Since trimming, the hostas have all been perkier. One that had been chewed down to nubs has produced new leaves and the largest of them has flowered! They're still not much when compared to a lot of the others seen around the neighbourhood, but its an improvement and maybe they'll do better next year. 

Gardening aside, the wild turkey near my work has been sighted two more times! Lee-Anne and I went into the cemetery expressly to see if we could find it and we did. It's likely the same one

 

Family Up North

My mother and brother are visiting my grandparents up North. For the past couple of years, Lee-Anne and I have made the trip out there and it was beginning to feel like a new tradition. However, due to Lee-Anne's surgery getting postponed, the fact that she's recently become a Direct Support Worker, and because I'm trying to get my driver's license, it's been difficult to schedule. My grandma did remind us that they are available year-round, so maybe we'll make a winter trip.

My brother hasn't been up there for many, many years. It hasn't been so long for Mom, but it's still a big undertaking for her because of her leg injury. This is likely her most ambitious undertaking since she broke it.

At least this arrangement leaves us available to take care of their cats. Right now we have them over in our apartment. My mom said she'd prefer this to us visiting to take care of them. She worried that they would be lonely. 

Normally I would have argued with her on this point. They have each other for company and the stress of relocation to me seems about as bad as losing access to their humans for a week. Crucially, reintegrating them with our cats might be difficult.

But we'd learned from the second fire that they remembered each other. So I was content to give Mom the benefit of the doubt in understanding her pets' stressors and they are here with us now. This way does cut down on travel time between our place and theirs.

Indeed, the four cats remember each other as well as they did on their last reunion. We don't have as much access to sunlight, but we are closer to grass, crickets, squirrels etc. The kitchen window has been a treat for our feline guests.

 

Their cats are more aerodynamic and are better at getting to places. This isn't a big deal, except I'm propagating a bunch of succulents and one of the windows that isn't usually accessible can now be reached. I had to rearranged the office so there were no viable launching points, and I moved the bedroom plants to the living room. Kieran has been whining at me to let him into the now-occupied window. I don't know why he likes it there, the view is pretty obscured.

As a random aside, a wild turkey walked by my work recently 

It sauntered up past our building alongside the cemetery to the main office. I and another facilitator went out to look at it. We messaged the team and a few members came out. Someone from the other building alerted a few people to it as well. The turkey seemed unconcerned with our presence.

Apparently this isn't the first sighting. My manager told me that a highschool student who had a placement with us the year before the pandemic saw one but didn't mention it in the moment.

It's been a good year for birds. I've captured several pictures of hawks, some good ones of bluejays and cardinals, and even a woodpecker. Now this turkey. 

Eli Wood

In my writings about the two fires that impacted my mother and brother, I've referenced a third. Not quite as close to home but still within my circle. I've said that I would eventually get around to talking about it, and I guess the time is now.

About a year ago, a coworker mentioned that she'd need to take some time off. After a few days, she linked an article about a house fire. It had started in the back unit of the sectioned house where she lived. It was severe, requiring her to evacuate, causing the home to be unlivable, and even managing to wreck her car in the process.

Later I came across a post on Reddit from /r/kitchener discussing the disappearance of Eli Wood. On reading, it sounded like his absence had been brought to light after a fire started in his apartment. Foul play was suspected. 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/article/missing-kitchener-resident-linked-to-arson-investigation/ 

Noticing the similarities between this and the recent circumstance of my coworker, I decided to look up the addresses referenced in this article and the one she had shared.

Yes. They were the same.

On my colleague's return, she confirmed that the unit where the fire started was the residence of Eli Wood.

She had not known him beyond exchanging pleasantries. Although learning more about him, he could have fit into our circle, as he was a Master of Social Work student.

It's easy to speculate. It might have been an attack of opportunity, Eli being perceived as vulnerable. He was very slight of stature, only 4'10" and under 100 pounds at the age of twenty five. Maybe a burglary.

He'd had a rainbow tattoo and around the time this happened there had been a number of unusually coordinated attacks on the LGBT community. Maybe Eli was victim of a hate crime.

More details emerged. Apparently he had actually disappeared three days before the fire. His service dog had been in the unit when it burned. So the poor animal had been left unattended for three days before perishing.

The thought that jumps to mind is that whoever set the fire was trying to destroy evidence concerning what happened three days prior. 

Some people think Eli himself was the culprit, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Can't accept insurance if you're disappeared. He had obligations requiring his presence, such as completing his Masters degree, and I might be naive, but I think it's unlikely that someone with even an ounce of heart would kill their own dog in such a cruel fashion.

For a long time, there were wanted posters with his face on them all over town. Even recently, Lee-Anne and I went for bubble tea at the place near the University of Waterloo and they still had one up. I hear that a local park is going to be named after him.  

I saw someone speculate that whoever set this fire might be the same person that lit the one at my mother and brother's old building. Just goes to show that these events are pretty rare, I just happen to be associated with them.

By the way, apparently an Uber driver told my brother that he heard that the parking garage fire where he used to live was perpetrated by an angry ex-boyfriend. Obviously not a credible source, but probably the closest thing to closure that we'll get. It's a grimly funny image, an angry guy setting his ex's car on fire, accidentally smoking out the whole building. I had thought it must have been done by someone who really knew what they were doing, as it seemed strange that something so indirect could cause so much damage. But maybe it was a fluke.