Home on the Hill

Soft Water, Softer Lambs

2012-02-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

After almost seven years of putting up with rusty looking bathroom fixtures, a fridge full of Brita Filtered water, using half a bottle of shampoo to wash our hair we now have wonderfully soft, iron free water. What a thrill. Drinking glass after glass of sweet, refreshing water straight from the tap.

Our water comes from a surface well a couple of hundred feet higher and a quarter mile away from our house. It had a very high Iron, Manganese and Calcium content. Hard water that stained everything.

A relative gifted us his slightly used water softener and we installed it behind a heavy duty iron remover and whole house filter. 16 valves, over a hundred PEX rings, a box of connectors, elbows, air injector , pressure regulator, over pressure valve later and we have wonderfully clear water. No staining. Tea straight from the tap.

Next is to replace all the traditional copper lines in the house with single run PEX tubing from a manifold system. All part of the Plan to install a Solar domestic Hot Water augmentation system and subfloor supplemental heating.

Since the four week old lambs are now jumping higher than the kitchen table and have taken to chowing down on any paper or plastic laying about it was time to move them out to the Animal shed.

We just constructed a six by six pen with the scroungers secret weapon: used pallets. The cabinet holds egg cartons

A thick bed of straw on a wood floor and every ones snug a bug.

The pigs are very curious and when we let the lambs out to romp around the barn the pigs stick their noses through the gate to get some kisses.

When their not lounging about.

The chickens peek through their hen house giving the newcomers a sideways glance. The lambs will stay in the Animal shed and environs for a month awaiting new quarters in the log barn. I've got to install water and electricity there and won't get that done until the snow melts.

Just when winter had us lulled into a state of " Spring is just about here!" the temperatures have dropped, hitting -21 in Fraser Lake this morning. Sunny weather tho so it's really quite pleasant. One fire a day is keeping the green house nice and cozy.

Boose seems to like the family all being together working in the shed.

It's a group thing!

Bummer Road Trip

2012-02-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

The Bummer lambs are putting on weight.

They are now taking up most of the space in the large dog cage and soon will be moving out to the barn. Right now they sleep in the dog kennel and have the run of the kitchen, where we will be replacing the linoleum! Keeping them out of the cupboards, cleaning up the after feeding puddles, and replacing toilet paper rolls does add to the kitchen chores!

We had to go to Prince George to pick up supplies and parts for our water conditioning project. The lambs were still on a four hour feeding schedule so we just piled them in the dog carrier in the back of the jeep and took them with us.

Got some strange looks from people at the Home Depot in Prince George and Tim Ho's in Vanderhoof. The lambs didn't seem to mind the trip and were nice and warm the whole way. They even serenaded us with Baa Baa Black Sheep from time to time. It's not like we had chickens in the back! Altho, we've decided to take a page from Walter Jeffries, consumate porcine producer and general homesteading Guru, and use an all wheel drive van we have sitting around to work as a mobile chicken tractor and Livestock hauler.

The weather has been really nice lately, hovering around zero. I am getting by with only one fire a night at the green house. Last night was a little colder going down to -14C, but after -35C or so, it feels down right balmy, with the small wood heater upstairs keeping the house nice and comfy!

I really appreciate companies that stand behind what they sell. A case in point is Lee Valley Tools, where we order our gardening tools and wood working equipment from. I bought a very nice Stubai pickeroon from them. It's a big help in the fire wood handling department - the best one I've ever had. In the -35C weather we had a while back I was banging a block of firewood that had frozen in the ground and snapped the handle off.

One email to their very responsive customer service department and a gratis replacement handle was shipped to us. A noteworthy fine example of customer service, from a company that doesn't just talk the talk but actually walks the pickeroon..

We're all excited about finishing our water treatment plant today. Soft water in abundance. The ability to wash our hair without using half a bottle of shampoo.

More will be revealed..

Hope you run into some great service today. You deserve it.

Animal Care

2012-01-31T12:47:00.000-08:00

At Savory Farm we treat your pork with special care.

And it's not just the apples and eggs they get every morning!

Hope you get your smooch today!

Feeling a little Sheepish

2012-01-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

Day 10 of project sheep. Or Sleepless in Endako. Life with a couple of bummer lambs.

Strange term - just means they were rejected by their moms, for what ever reason, lack of milk etc. When we got them they were less than 12 hours old. We made it past the every two hour feed for the first frantic 24 hours and are now into the luxurious every 6 hour feed.

It really wasn't too bad as I was up every four hours anyway to feed the fires during the -30 -40 week. Thankfully that's passed.

We have Babba and Louie residing in a large dog carrier filled with sweet hay, when there not out galavanting across the kitchen fields. Well the carrier starts out that way.. Feed and pee. Pee and feed. Ah well, the kitchen floor is due for replacement anyway.

They really are the cutest darn things.

They are following Jo around like puppy dogs. Xena and the Cats seem to get along with the curious bounders. Cleo not so much. She gets upset with them at times. I can't wait for them to help out with the lawn mowing chores. They'll have about 10 acres of that.

Had a weird weather phenomenon a day ago. It was snowing like mad with a fierce wind through the night and when we woke up we noticed the fields all covered with wind blown snowballs.

I have never see this before. I assume it was the wind and not snow elves.

Xena seems to be wondering who was making all the mess too.

Looks like this morning's blizzard has died down for now, but I can see another one building over Josephs Mountain. I will be plowing tomorrow. Right now it's just about time for the mid day nap.

Hope your having a restful weekend.

Water, Water, Everywhere

2012-01-24T16:39:00.000-08:00

And now, the animals and us can drink it!

Just got the last run of three frozen waterlines thawed out. Five days of -35 to -40C will do that. Especially if the maintenance department forgot to plug in the heat tapes. Now we have water in the House, Green house, and Animal Shed. No more packing water. The tomatoes were looking a little parched.

Brother Tom has a great technique for thawing out frozen water line. It involves breaking the line at a convenient spot, putting in a ball valve. And threading a 1/4 inch line down the frozen pipe. Its connected via an adapter to a high pressure paint sprayer. Turn on the paint sprayer and keep pumping hot water down the line until it eats through the dam. Works like magic. The water that comes back out the line is caught in a bucket and can even be reused. When the water breaks through the 1/4 inch line gets whipped out, the ball valve closed and final repairs made to the line. So far the worlds record seems to be sixty feet of 4" frozen sewer line. A lot of places were frozen up, vehicles also. I had a 50/50 antifreeze mix in the Jeep and it turned to slush.

I had no one to blame but myself for the freeze up. I had been doing some plumbing repairs in the crawl space of Grandmas this summer and had unplugged the line heaters. It lasted for two days of -35 and then froze solid in a couple of places. The water line feeds our Main house the green house and animal shed.

Having to pack water from miles away to flush the toilets and feed the animals sure makes me appreciate the simple act of turning on a tap. Isn't life like that. Sometimes I just don't appreciate the simple things in life until they disappear.

Hope the simple things in your life are keeping you happy!

Outstanding

2012-01-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

Which one of these things is different from the others:

That egg is goose size, and we cant seem to find a goose in the hen house. Today I am going to see if I can locate a hen that is being very careful how she moves!

This is a very old wooden threshing machine that we donated to the local museum. It was languishing under a tin roof that was hung off an old rat crap infested shed. It now has a lovely new home under a great roof.

The roof became the outside pen area for the chucks and the old rat crap infested shed became the shell
for the all season green house

Now were looking at fixing up a hand hewn barn on the place that is in surprisingly good shape.

I was getting it ready for some goats but that didn't happen. Now were thinking of trying some Sheep. We need a couple of good lawn mowers, and I can use some new wool socks.. the back of the barn will get a door cut in it so the pigs can get out of the weather.

If your out in the weather today hope your enjoying it. It's the first time in a couple of weeks that we have fired up the furnace. We got so used to the + temperatures, the -10's seem cold..

Slip Sliding Away

2012-01-04T14:36:00.001-08:00

It's the fourth of January. I am at 54 ° North and its pouring rain. During a let up I slipped out ( literally ) without my crampons to feed the fire in the green house. The dogs were laughing at me. They have built in ones - but they didn't look all that steady either..

The good news is that four arm loads of firewood in the upstairs heater will keep the house warm and cozy for a day. Some one has been stealing our firewood lately because of the 16 stock piled cords at least three has disappeared. We suspect some one has been burning it.

Got a bajillion projects on the go - some of them weather dependent. I.E. I don't like to work outside in the rain wearing crampons unless I really have to.

Hope your getting around OK.

I've Been Fired!

2011-12-29T16:33:00.000-08:00

From the yard plowing job. I get motion sickness at the drop of a hat, 'er snow blade. I am alright on the road plowing stuff but zippity doing around the yard, back and forth - well I get barfy thinking about it. We've had a little dump of snow and with a big wind behind it, snow drifts are appearing all around the yard.

Jo-Ann, tired of my whining decided she was going to do it. Let's just say she did a better job than the last guy who did it!

Our cats really do know how to make the best of the Winter season.

Hope your making the best of yours.

Between Celebrations

2011-12-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is about vehicle repair. Around here we only try and do it when its cold out, preferable with a gale force wind blowing snow at the parts to be replaced, banged, or sworn at. Not necessarily in that order.

Who would make a thermostat housing out of plastic? Some one who works for a company that believes consumers only consume, and therfore need to make parts so they will have a very limited lifespan..

On the Garden front, we remembered that we had left some cabbages growing in the tire garden and lifted the lid on them to find, much to our surprise: They are still soft and pliable but looked like they had been frozen and then thawed in the winter sun. Non the less, the piggies appreciated the bit of greenery. One tire was overgrown with Chick Weed, and they chowed down on that with grunts of delight!

The Green house has calmed down. One of these days I am going to rip out the tomato plants and put in some Brassicas and mixed greens. Still an inviting place to sit and dream about the garden on a cold winters day. A wonderful way to start the day!

The puppies keep various Bothersome Bears, Wily Wolves, Conniving Coyotes, Deranged Deer, Mad Moose and of course the worst scourges: Batty birds and jet contrails, from invading the place. And they seem to have a lot of fun doing it. They are doing such a good job we haven't seen a Bear since late Fall!

Hope your having a great time over the Christmas season. Peace to you and yours.

It's That Time Of Year Again

2011-12-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to be at the Coast today. The Jeep continues to require new parts. This time a distributer assembly which is making for hard starts and rough running. Parts just came in today so here's hoping the mechanic can get it going. If he does, and the weather looks like it will improve, I might make the 1000 kilometer trip tomorrow. The highways people are telling us to stay off the roads today, if possible. Probably good advice.

The weather has been problematical: several snow falls requiring plowing in the last couple of days, freezing rain yesterday evening and this morning now turning to snow. Cold days can make for some nice pics.

Of all the ways the weather can manifest, the freezing rain crap is the worse. Invariably it puts a film of water over the compact snow and ice. We're talking curling rink. Snow I can always plow, and to see this stuff turn to the white stuff is a relief.

We have been spending days (weeks) cutting meat.

Easy to take apart, harder to get together..

Got a hamburger ( dog food ) cow and a small Blue Beef one all comfortably ensconced in our freezer. The dog food cow was a gift from an organic Rancher in Vanderhoof, Whispering Winds Ranch It had a bad foot, since healed, but was treated with antibiotics a year ago so he wouldn't sell it to his customers. He sells all his beef, about 250 head a year via the internet and integrity is his byword. I really admire that.

Of course with the Jeep down we had to improvise transport to the shop. Fortunately it was a calf:

We also discovered that half a cow in the trunk of a Ford Focus makes for dicey steering!

Working on a couple of computers for friends. I am installing Linux Mint 12 on them. I am trying to set up "Granny" Machines. Simple trouble free set ups for people that don't want to fiddle with their sets, worry about virus's and can't afford to pay the Micro$oft tax. I repair a lot of computers for people - well actually I spend 99% of my repair time removing virus's and spyware from windows boxes.

The green house isn't doing well these days. The problem I am having is regulating the temperature in the green house. I know it sounds funny, especially nearing winter deep, but I heat it with wood and when the sun does come out, the temperature can soar. I have an automatic fan installed but if it gets hot enough (35c / 95 F) to come on, it causes the fire to back draft, filling the place with smoke. An installation of another fan in parallel at the other end of the green house should take care of that problem. The other problem is the futility of trying to grow cold weather crops, spinach and Brassicas and tomatoes in the same building. Vastly different heating requirements. So, regretfully, that's the last of the tomatoes for a while. Probably March or so. By then it will be time to start the plantings for the outside mini green houses - the tire garden.

We are starting to get seed catalogues in the mail. Jo-Ann refers to them as "Gardner Porn"! And they do encourage some gardening fantasies! Mmm, I can just about taste those new spuds.

Anyway I know my lucks improving: Here's proof, a piece of crispbread, resplendent in butter and jam that fell from the counter and landed thusly - jammed side up. How cool is that.

Hope your bread falls buttered side up!

Harvest

2011-12-02T11:09:00.001-08:00

I dispatched six pigs last Saturday and we turned them into chops, hams, bacon and sausage meat on Sunday. I found Saturday to be very draining emotionally. As well as a good deal of work. Here no one scrapes the hide so we ended up skinning them.

I thought I was emotionally prepared for it. I suppose I was in that I managed to dispatch all six. We left two, from different, herds to breed. Hope that works out. I just don't like paying 85 bucks for weaner pigs. I was as careful as I could be not to become emotionally attached to them. No names. Except for Lard Ass - the pig that sat to eat. And Ms. Piggy the sow we kept.

The nice thing about being grown up is that we can eat all the ice-cream we want. The downside is that responsibility comes with that freedom.

We do have an option, taking the pigs in a trailer for a 100 kilometer ride to a processing facility. That's what most of our neighbors do. They charge 40 dollars to dispatch them. I just think it was quicker and less stressful for them to pass on to the great pig sty in familiar surroundings. Eating apples.

It was quick for them - a lot slower for me.

But I don't really want to meet the person who enjoys that part of the process..

And have you heard of Australian Bacon. 1/2 inch strips slow cooked over the barbecue..

It's That Time Of Year Again

2011-11-19T10:30:00.001-08:00

Not that we were totally unprepared, but it sure got cold fast. Fortunately the winter garb was never far away. It dropped from -5C (23F )to -21C (-5.8F) overnight a couple of nights ago and has stayed frozen since. Which has given me a few opportunities to beef up the cold weather protection. Job one this morning is to thaw out the Jeep which froze up on the side of highway 16 last night. Poor or non existant anti-freeze, and as it turns out a crappy thermostat. Anti-freeze fog in the distributer cap makes for no start.

The snow came pretty much on schedule and it was time to do the first plow. By the time I had done some commercial accounts and my neighbors and my driveway and yard Four hours had passed and the ginger anti-motion pills had worn off!

Got out these "Thrum" mitts my Wife's Aunty knitted for me. They're wonderful and I was glad to have them with me when the Jeep froze up and I waited a couple of hours for the tow truck to arrive from Burns Lake, 52 kilometeres West of where I broke down.. With out my cell phone. Thankfully I was wearing my heavy duty surplus Canadian Armed Forces winter parka.

We are getting ready to harvest six hogs and 19 Roosters. Tomorrow we'll be helping our butcher friend slice and dice a couple of cows and a lamb. All good practice.

Now to thaw out the Jeep, which is languishing at my Brother Tom's place with a tarp over it and propane blower heater telling it Spring is here..

This is Maya, a friends of ours dog, who proclaimed my lap a perfect place to snuggle in while we watched the fire vision..

Hope you have a warm lap to snuggle up in!

Moving On..

2011-11-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Always a great idea to take to the butcher shop: Lunch and something else you just might need!

The fires are burning pretty steady now that the temperatures are hovering around freezing and below. Handy to have it just outside the basement door where we bring it in to split with an electric/hydraulic wood splitter. Before you can say " Lickity Split" It's in split, piled and distributed to the three fires.

Jo-Ann was trying for a new worlds record, and assured me this wasn't even close to her personal best.

So far we are just burning wood in the house and green house. In a week or so, after I do some chimney re-routing, I will be starting a night fire in the animal shed.

I don't think the animals really need a lot of heat. Just enough to stay dry. But I sure find it handy when I am doing barn chores!

Still have some more projects to do but most of them can be done indoors because the snow is creeping down the mountains and we even had a skim of it last night.

Moved the Garden tool shed over besides the East side of the green house and installed a deck. With the addition of a ramp it will make a handy addition to the Green House set up. We can store all the pots and potting paraphenalia in the storage shed clearing the green house for more plants. The tomatoe's we planted last year are still growing and blooming. Fascinating to see how long they will go before giving up the ghost. One of the plants had really small fruit and it may be time to dig it up and start fresh. We also have an assortment of flowers and herbs and Musclin and Spinach on the go. A real nice place to hang out when the winter chill is about.

Of course the foremen, er - forgurls took all the credit for keeping the pesky crows from interfering with the project and waited patiently by to give the new deck a try out.

Notice the Red Neck recycled wood boxes? And those things on my feet. Yup, time to bring them out. This was the first day this season I wore them and a winter coat. All the winter apparerel are making their way out of storage and onto the clothes hangers near the door. Well except for the long johns - that would be unseemly..

Ah, nothing like a nap infront of a cozy fire to round out a day! Hope your day ended in a snuggle!

I Can See Clearly Now!

2011-11-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last seven days either cutting up meat or wiring houses. Odd combination.
Fortunately I was able to do one job at a time. Now It feels wonderful to have a "day off" and catch up on some keyboarding and projects around the place.

Cutting up my own meat has been on my list for quite a while. To have a cow cut and wrapped around here costs over three hundred bucks so it's quite a savings to be able to do my own. I am fortunate in having a complete private butcher shop available an hours drive away. So I can hang and process there in an efficient, comfortable setting.

Before I took a two day course in beef cutting I took a course in knife sharpening - another handy skill that I have had a woe full need for. After the beef course I took another one on wild game. As it was hunting season there were only three students. I presume the others were busy hunting. With only three students and one instructor it was pretty hands on - the best way for me to learn. We had a freezer full of meat and so I came back for another day as apprentice. Great experience. And then got to do a Moose and deer my Niece had got, all by myself. Slower than molasses. It took me a full Six hours to cut and wrap. But Ive still got all my fingers. My Grand niece has a lot less room in her freezer, and our doggies love the ground trim and sawed to gnaw size bones.

In a couple of weeks we'l be processing six pigs. I am looking forward to making our own bacon, hams and hopefully, if time permits Mennonite sausage.

I lit a fire in the green house today as it got down to 11℃ (52 ℉) inside, freezing out side. I could hear the plants going "Ahhh".

Working on making permanent temporary window inserts to cut down on the heat loss. I used very light gauge heat shrinked window plastic last year but it damages easily. This will be a more permanent, and probably more thermally efficient with heavy duty clear plastic and foam trim all around the perimeter.

But first I need to go find the septic tank. Time to get it pumped before winter freeze up starts. The snow is just edging down the side of the mountain across the valley which means it is days before it is here.

Hope your week is going well.

Clean Sweep

2011-10-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

Almost. Still have to move a camper and truck out of a snow lane. But close. I have been re-wiring a house for brother Tom so a bit off schedule. Not that I am ever "on schedule". But it progresses. This was the view from the green house a couple of days ago:

Yes, that white stuff is the cold white stuff!

Past experience and a couple of light snow falls, coupled with predictions of a long cold snowy, el Nino, driven winter has added some impetus to the chores. All the tools are put away. Hoses coiled and stored in a heated basement - just in case of winter emergencies. Fuel stocked up. Chains checked and ready for mounting on the skid steer. The gardens cleared and tilled. Missing planting some Garlic.

I went to a local Art Knapps, a plant store, a week ago to buy some garlic and a few cold hardy seeds and walked into this:

A whole two months before Christmas. I just about freaked! This was a plant store! Full of artificial Christmas trees and Xmas doodads. When I asked for garlic I was told they only had daffodils. and they were in the back. Well I know a Dutch fellow who had to subsist on them during the horrors of WW11, but this is 2011. Horrors! Ah well, maybe some cloves from store bought garlic might work. Or order online. But by the time they get here the ground will be frozen. Kinda like my brain when I walked into this place thinking I could peruse the seed packets for some over winter and green house planting needs.

Memo to self. Get the planting supplies before fall!

We were very relieved to see our chucks start laying. With 14 less Roosters ( banished to the bachelor quarters - awaiting freezer weight ) the Hens are a whole lot calmer. Not having to sit with their rear ends against the wall! We've added a small 60 watt incandescent on a timer to give them 15 hours of light a day and that seems to help a whole lot. Mind you, roosters crowing at 3 a.m. could take some getting used to! 12 laying hens and one old bitty will more than keep us in fresh eggs.

Looking forward to a wild game meat cutting course this weekend. I don't hunt myself but all the local butchers have gone out of business so I've been lending a hand- and some sharp knives with the family hunters.

We've got six pigs coming up to butchering time, and they are going to be the honored guests at another course on pig butchering at the end of the month. And I have a large calf to process in the next week or so. Luckily I have access to a full featured meat cooler and processing place an hours drive away. Local beef prices have gone way up with cows going for over a thousand bucks. Great for the local farmers, not so great for our doggies. It will cut into their allowance for this year. Perhaps time for us to raise a couple of cows next year.

Hope your winter prep is all complete, the snow hats and mittens at hand, and you have a great week.

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down..

2011-10-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

There was no trumpeting, just a low rumble. About a cord of wood or more came spilling out of the space under the veranda. We were counting on a row of wood placed two years ago to keep a pile of wooden roller bearings in place. Bad counting. First one side came down.

We moved the errant wood out of the way and added a large pallet to act as a wall. Moved the wood back. Everything hunky dory. Then the second bay came down.

Enough. Trying to do things the short cut way just leads to more work. Next year we are building an extension to house the winters 16 cords of wood. This year, with a hard frost on the morning ground, and snow possible at any time, we will just make do with a bearing wall we can pile the wood up against and then every four feet or so use a cross brace piller to give the pile some strength.

The lesson for me is to be aware of the voice that says: "hmmm - that doesn't look right.." To stick with the basics. I know, you would think that piling wood is a very simple procedure. And it is. But it was also very easy for us to get it wrong. Without and end wall or split wood piller to stabalize the wood it's like trying to stack roller bearings!

One of the reasons for piling wood is to dry it out. Not a problem for us as all the wood is from Pine trees that are standing dead and have been for several years. However, piled wood takes up a lot less space. We've tried just leaving it in a pile - that's certainly the easiest - but digging frozen wood out of a mound of snow can be more work than is readily imagined. So we completed the wood wall and started re-piling. Two days later here's the finished project. 17 1/2 cords of wood. Braces and an end wall in place. All the stacks inside the end one you see here have a cross piled pile every four feet. Probably going to make this the warmest winter on record.

Using a tote to bring the wood from one pile to another really speeded up the transfer.

That's the last block of wood and it went straight to the blue shed to keep the animals warm when it gets chilly. And the guy that shovels the crap..

And using a wood handlers secret weapon: the Pickeroon, really made it easier. No bending over to pick up blocks of wood.

The little one is my weapon of choice. A Stubai ( the people who make world renowned ice axes ) from Lee Valley. The yellow handled one sorta works but isn't in the same league. The point isn't hooked enough and isn't sharp enough to get a grip on a block of wood without a heavy swing.

On the Chicken front we finished the new and improved chicken nests and added a handy dandy ladder for the birds. Now we can get eggs without going in the chicken pen.

Of course some of the older birds want to get their own IPhones to keep in touch with all their many friends. They are pretty good with the hunt and peck method of typing. But most of their posts are just a bunch of squawking! Like mine, actually.

The new chickens should start laying any day now and we are looking forward to not having to buy eggs from the Super Value (not) in town. I just about laid an egg myself when I saw a box of "Presidents Choice" free run eggs that were going for six bucks. Wow! If I could get six bucks for a dozen eggs we'ed be building fenced acreage for several hundred birds..

The Pigs are growing in leaps and bounds. And they do leap and bound. We were out last night under a half moon light moving a couple of old bitty hens into the main pen, a job we have learned that is way easier when the chooks are asleep. We heard a grunt from just beyond the fence. All the pigs were out gamboling in the moon light! They have taken a particular fondness for windfall crab apples. A couple of them will stand up when we enter the animal shed in hopes of receiving some treats by hand.

Generally not a great idea, but they are very careful ( and we are too) and they pull the treats in with their front lips and happily and noisily crunch them up while keeping an eye on the next one - admonishing any other pig who gets too close to their treats!

We are getting hard frosts at night. Early morning trips require some window scraping.

We installed a new wood heater in the living room. Well new to us - it used to reside in Jo-Ann's parents house and I think it's major use there was to burn Christmas present wrapping paper. With glass and brass cleaned with wood ash and newspaper and a coat of stove polish it looks great! It works well, but I still have to tinker with the damping system. I suspect something is clogged up on the air intake a bit.

Now that the woods in the next project is to get the garden harvest in. Yesterday we dug up some spuds. Just not a crop to brag about! Ah well we are grateful for what we did get. Here's a sample of the three types we planted in tires:

Scab is a recurring problem. Tho we noticed that some red spuds we planted in a mound of clay soil came out virtually scab free. From top to bottom: Cariboo, Russian Blue, and Yukon Gold.

Last night Cleo and I camped out on the balcony. Enjoying the brisk fresh air and moonlight peeking through the clouds. Cleo certainly enjoys it and remains happily ensconced in her own sleeping bag the whole night through, waking to the Rooster alarm clock as the Eastern sky lightens. Now to get her to stop snoring!

Hope where ever your camped this week is nice and cozy!

How Much Wood...

2011-09-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

It turns out the answer to that is 17 1/2 cords. Probably enough to see four fires through the winter. Some of them don't take much wood.

Loading it and delivering it to the house is fast.

It's the stacking that takes time.

All the wood isn't going to fit under cover so some will just get stacked and covered with a tarp.

Next years Project list includes extending a shed roof under the veranda so it's all under cover.
A few brisk days with overnight temps approaching freezing have added some impetus to the effort. We have had snow on the mountains across the valley by this time. It is not far away.

There is a certain sense of ease and comfort in knowing this winter's wood project is coming to an end. Just in time because the electric furnace has been running, on and off, for quite some weeks now to take the morning chill off or warm up the evenings watch infront of the idiot box.

Here's the result of trying to stack too much wood into the trailer and not paying attention to the big bad stump. Jo-Ann say's she was glad it was me driving. What ever does she mean by that?

She didn't yell at me or anything! Well that will teach me to hurry!

This culprit is going to be the first to get burnt up in the downstairs furnace!

The Chickens have almost reached laying stage so today's project is to make some laying nests. A day off from stacking wood.

And now to invent the WhizBang firewood picker upper bucket. It uses tines so that sod doesn't get mixed in with the firewood rounds. Ah, wait some ones already invented a rock bucket that looks like it would work for firewood. Now to win the lottery..

At Logger Heads

2011-09-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

The sunshine holds, barring several hours lost for trips to Burns Lake for chain saw parts, the Winter Wood project continues. After a new bar and a couple of back up chains we were back up at the pond.

Using the skidsteer to drag the logs out to a flat spot for limbing and then "chomping" the logs, moving them to a cutting area where they are held up at an easy cutting height has certainly increased the productivity of the process.

One problem we didn't realize we would have is the cows, and their insatiable curiosity. We have to be extremely cautious when falling. Some of the younger calves follow the logs as they are skidded out. Jo-Ann is not only in charge of the skidding operation but shooing the cows away.

Another couple of days or so and Winter warmth is ours.

The Grandfathers Have Fallen

2011-09-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we started the Winter Wood Project. Gathering the 14 or 15 cords of wood we will need to get us through the winter. Last winter like others around here we ended up logging in the snow. Not the most efficient way to get fire wood. We have about 30 acres or more of dry, bug killed pine at the North end of the property. Perfect firewood. This year we have mechanized the process. I whack down a pile of trees and Jo-Ann skids them and me out to a landing where she uses the skid-steer's 4 in 1 bucket to grab the trees and lift them up to a comfortable height for a guy with a recovering back to whack them up into blocks. Way easier than bending over to cut. The chain lasts a lot longer as it is less likely to touch the ground. Then she pushes the blocks up into a pile awaiting loading, again via skid-steer, into a dumping trailer for the trip back to the house.

The weather is very cool. Nice for working and and the added bonus of no bugs. If only the rain will hold off for a week or so.

The cows like to hang around the pond where we are working so
we have to be very careful not to whack a cow on the head while we are falling or skidding the trees out. They are tremendously curious.

The dogs say hello to the cows. Get chased by a couple of the yearlings and then retreat to the house. I am sure their just protecting the place while were up on the hill. Not bored or anything.

After the days wood cutting, well O.K, maybe a couple of hours I took the rest of the day off to go for a Sweat with some friends of mine.

The grandfathers are the rocks that are brought into the sweat lodge to heat it. To fire them to red hot they t are placed on a ledge of pine and a "tee pee" type fire built around. When hot enough, after an hour or so the rocks burn through the ledge and "drop" indicating they are soon ready to be brought into the sweat in groups between rounds. They are blessed with prayers and sprinkles of sage and occasionally other herbs and medicines. The Sweat ceremony is a relaxing spiritual experience. A time of reflection with friends and fellow spiritual travelers.

The ceremony consists of five rounds. A pipe round: when the purpose of the sweat is explained and a pipe passed around that our bodies and minds can be purified with the smoke. Everything in the lodge is passed in a clockwise direction.

The second round is dedicated to ourselves, where we pray for guidance and ask the Creator and grandfathers to heal our ills.

The third Round we pray for the Males of the world and in our circle.

The fourth round is dedicated to the Females and Mother Earth.

The Fifth round is a summation, giving thanks, singing and often passing around a bowl of food. I am growing very fond of my Friend's Mathew and Colleen's fruit salad!

The lodge can get very hot when water is dashed on the bright red rocks. In between rounds the door to the lodge is closed and it is dark and comforting. We are in the bosom of Mother Earth. The hot steam heat is very intense and then rapidly cooling. I sometimes remind myself that not once has my hair caught on fire! When the door blankets are lifted between rounds, cooling air rushes in as the steam goes out- wonderfully refreshing. We are reminded of the finiteness of our existence and the sweetness of the air that will one day be our last.

Between rounds participants are free to step outside to cool down or simply relax and chat with our fellows.

If you have the chance to participate in a Sweat Lodge ceremony I would encourage you to partake of a relaxing gift. Meditation with steam.

Well time to tune up the saw, the skidsteer will be back and we can get some more trees ready for the Winters fires.

Hope your day is peaceful.

Maintenance

2011-09-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

Spent the last couple of days, slithering in the mud, inhaling fiberglass particles, getting covered with rusty leaking water, and trying not to catch a house on fire. Yep, you guessed it. I'm plumbing. Nasty job. We think Grandmas has been sitting cold for at least Six or Seven years.

Not properly drained, the occasional -30 weather split copper pipes and wrecked a lot of the plumbing. It doesn't look like it was ever done to proper standards in the first place. Hugyballed. Poly pipe clamped to copper. The soldered joints all look like this:

And these are some of the better ones. The elbows seem to split. And of course the risers. The 1/2 inch copper lines entering the wall ( which is actually the floor) have all split inside the walls.

Thank God for the guy who invented PEX conduit. Replacing copper and lead solder is pretty easy. Except for where the connections have to be made where my long handled PEX pliers can't open.

We are thinking of renting out Grandma's. Free rent, just look after the joint, feed the animals, when, if, we take a trip. A perfect place for a retired couple.

With Pigs, Chickens, Cats and Dogs and thinking of getting some sheep and maybe a cow, we are getting pretty tied down to the joint.

First thing first is to get the water working. Soon, I hope - as we change the last of the plumbing fixtures. Then I need to install a wood heater and repair some shed roofs and change the wood decking. I am in a bit of a panic as winter is coming and I still haven't made any inroads on the 2011 wood project. Well, I have managed to get the equipment corralled and saws sharpened. We need to wait until Tuesday (It's its a long weekend here and the stores are closed ) to get plumbing parts in Burns lake so I have time this weekend to make some trees fall down.

We redecorated the chicken coop. The girls seem to like the pin ups and were hoping the Roosters will be inspired.

Hope your having a fun filled long weekend.

I'm Baack...

2011-09-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

We just got our connection to the WWW back. Our wireless modem had bit the dust and we just replaced it. Nice to be able to get to the google plex via the kitchen table. Connecting from the office via cable and radio to a mountain 17 kilometers away just seems like, well, working. From the kitchen table it's more like the before breakfast or during lunch break.

Like most projects putting up the acre of pig pasture fence took a lot longer than I originally anticipated.

The Forman was constantly in my face:

Some of my co-workers spent a lot of time napping on company time.

Fortunately company showed up and was immediately pressed into service.

This fellow doesn't live very far away, but right now seems more interested in gleaning the remnants of a poor Saskatoon berry crop in preparation for the Winter nap.

A lot of wire, but so far no bears have made it in or pigs out.. Some dogs and a cat or two have had a rude surprise - but only once..

Of course, the Porkers, always interested in the project were more than willing to help. I put a single stinger wire in their pen to train them before we released them to pasture. Didn't take very long. Now they won't get within three feet of the fence.

Now the pig's get to roam all over. They are really enjoying the Lambs Quarters and the juicy dandelion leaves. They now have a wonderful wallow. The barn behind will be used to expand the herd, leaving the current quarters for a sow and piglets. Hopefully.

One of my Next projects. Stove in, Stove out . And in the middle somewhere a tile job for it all to sit on.

You know your front lawn might be a tad high when a five horse power 24 inch rolling weed whacker has a hard time getting it down to a well groomed height of four inches. Maybe time to invest in a hayer. Or at least a couple of sheep.. But I'm getting ahead of myself.. Oh we have Plans!

We have found a new source of Organic feed for our pigs and Chickens. At 130 bucks for an 1100 pound bag of three way: oats, barley and wheat, it's reduced our feed costs by 400%. A welcome stretching of the budget.

We're gearing up to get in 15 cords of wood to last our fires through out the winter and spring. There hasn't been a single month this year we haven't had to have the heat on. It's just been a wet, cold summer. A great year for hay, however. The local farmers have been having a field day - if they can get it dried out before bailing.

The problem is I managed to wang my back earlier this year and have been suffering from Sciatica. I finally broke down and went to see a Dr. and Chiropractor who bent and twisted me, gave me some exercises to do, and I seem to be back on the mend.

This year we are going to mechanize as much of the process as we can. Using a skidsteer to hold the logs at a comfortable cutting height and a large dumping trailor to bring the cut wood down to the house. Should be a lot easier on the back than humping 15 cords of wood into a pick up truck, back out and loading it into the wood bays. Hope springs eternal..

The trees have started to change colour. The underbrush was yellow a week ago. Time to get the pre snow chores complete.

New Post

2011-08-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

What every Porcine enthusiast needs. Compliments of my Son in Law..

New posts are indeed going in. About enough for an acre. With the advent of more pigs we want to get them out to pasture. To frolic in the sunshine ( as if..) wallow in the pig wallow, eat the lusious grasses. Root the Rooties. We are also thinking of using the unused horse barn to shelter an increased herd as we are hoping our Yorkshire gilt and one of the Berkshire / wild boar crosses can work their magic. A nice addition to the barn will be water and power & light and perhaps heat. A later project.

But first things first, I need to keep the pigs inside the one acre lot and the bears outside. Not to mention the occasional cougar. So we're surrounding the place with a five wire barb wire and five wire electric fence. Yup, that's ten strands in all. Two electric strands on the inside, three on the outside with the five barbwire strands. This requires repairs to existing fence lines which were in poor shape. Strong arms too long and broken. Posts badly out of whack.

We shortened the strong arm spans to ten feet and used 7 inch posts for the upright posts and 3 inch strong arms on top. A way strong line for barbwire fencing, and too short for electric which will only connect via stand offs to every second post.

Not having a fence post pounder we had to improvise. Brother Tom made a metal toothpick, about three inches in diameter with a hook welded on and a holder so that the holder guy ( the brave one ) can get out of the way:

Takes a bit to get the post vertical, but close enough for our work. This part of the fence will be used for a holding pen prior to butchering.

Seeing that we are going to be using electric fencing in addition to barbwire I now have a new part of the yard to run the week whacker through. Our outside construction schedule has certainly be slowed by incessant rains. Its a rare sunny day so hopefully when the chores are done I can get the straight wire on the strong arm hold backs.

The Chicks are growing well and I will soon have to build some nests for them.

Hope your day is just clucking along nicely..

Pipe Dreams

2011-07-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

I know, I've heard it before, bet you have too. Water runs downhill. So last year when we cleaned out the yard cattle guard and put in a draining culvert I could have been a bit more particular about the grades of the pipes. Alas. The ditch under the cattle guard was four feet deep and by this spring had filled up with sand it had stolen from the driveways. That gave the grass something to grow on and the cattle illusion of falling into a deep dark hole was no longer evident as a few of the more acrobatic Cows and calves made their way across to the obviously green grass of the yard. Usually at four in the morning, and of course they noisily want to bellow their great achievement and encourage their more timid com-padres.

Fortunately with an excavator nearby, and brother Tom as operator, we managed to dig it all out, put in a new sixty foot drainage culvert, properly sloped.

I was working in a stupor as a result of picking up a nasty bug on a Dash 8 flight to Victoria. Both Jo-Ann and I were down at the same time. A week later and breathing is almost normal. Energy, wavering somewhere above lethargic.

I built an automatic feeder for the pigs. A couple of them behave, well, just like pigs. I will have to put some bars on it to keep them from "hogging" the whole thing.

I built it high enough for adult pigs so I made a platform out of a salvage solid core door so the little ones could get to it easier. Power tools and pigs just don't mix.

A friend of ours dropped by for a visit with a couple of very nice kids. Courtney was very helpful with Xena, who has some neck injuries from a fight, we suspect, with Cleo. Xena just snuggled up to Courtney and let her sooth her aches. Nathan, the blue lump, graciously gave up half his foamy.

She's well back on the mend after a visit to the vet's and a regimen of muscle relaxants and anti-biotics. And Ice-cream. First time the dogs have ever had a fight so I don't know what that was all about and we're keeping a close eye on the situation.

Nine year old Nathan got the thrill of a life digging with the excavator. His eyes were as big as saucers! Instructor, brother Tom, is just out of Camera range. Ah the stuff dreams are made of!

Hope your making a few yourself!

I've Got Something On My Mind.

2011-06-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

If I could only remember what it was! The Rhode Island Reds are coming along wonderfully. Just about all feathered out. Hopefully they will be able to go outside soon. On a warm day we've opened the door but they only venture out about a foot and then back into the hen house.

I changed the plumbing around so they can use the automatic font and added a line so we can get water outside for a chicken bath, drip irrigation to the spinach patch and a future water line to the horse barn. Which will soon hold pigs. Well at least the back portion of it. We are constructing a fence line so the pigs can get out to pasture. It will be about an Acre in size all told, minus the Barn the back of which is in the picture.

It will be a permanent fence, five barbed wires and three electric lines. On both sides of the fence. We have to keep bears and coyotes out as well as pigs in. Brother Tom's skid-steer has a drilling attachment which makes putting the posts in pretty fast. A four inch hole and a little bonk on the head ( of the Post..) and voila a fence line. This one is spaced 10' apart. Needs to be strong. Bear strong. Fortunatly I have several unused, and un useful, fence lines that we can salvage wire and fence posts from. Just wrap a length of chain around the base of a post, attache the other to a chain hook welded on the bucket and zippity do da, a couple of hundred feet of fence line comes up. The hard part is rolling up the barb wire.

Going to have to invent the handy dandy barb wire fence roller upper. Something I can mount on the forks of the old skid-steer. I have also read about a technique of rolling around a 45 gallon drum. But the land we are on has some pretty hilly sections and just cant see myself rolling a 45 gallon drum with 75 lbs of barbwire up hill. One of my favorite resources for handy dandy things about the joint is this free publication: Handy Farm Devices. Have a quick look. The old stuff is still pretty darn handy. We only have to build two new runs of about 200 feet each and fix up two existing runs - which need some fixing anyway as the cows are continually engineering ways through it. Fortunately I've got the farm hands to help out. Well at least supervise. From the shade. That 20C heat can just suck it out of them..

The point of all the new fencing, and repair and refurbishing of old is that we've managed to get another four weaners. We have been having a heck of a time trying to locate some. Finally we lucked into someone at the local feed store (thanks Mellissa ) who knew someone ( Thanks Sam..) who had some for sale. They are a cross between Russian Black and a Berkshire.

A smaller pig but people we've talked to swoon over the pork chops. Apparently the stripes on some of them are indicative of wild boar. They are smaller than our Yorkshires. Hopefully they will start to grow in the new piggy spa! We haven't figured out which music they prefer. Country or Western. But they sure like pig starter with a bit of salad oil and milk solids drizzled on it. We are hoping to keep one of the males for a boar. Don't know what they would look like crossed with a Yorkshire. But at a going rate of 80 to 85 bucks for a spring weaner we could save quite a bit of money in the future.

We've been fighting an infestation of spider mites in the green house. $75 bucks worth of killer mites has the scourge mostly under control but we may have to try another treatment. Reluctant to use any chemicals on the edibles. A first for us are green peppers. Well O.K., red peppers. I don't know how such a small plant, this one isn't a foot high, can produce peppers.

The Garden is essentially in. We've recently planted a couple of different varieties. Cariboo Potatoes, Blue Russian and in small tires Yukon Golds. As they grow we just add another layer of cut tires and soil until they are about three tires. The Cariboo potato is affords a fascinating glimpse into small farmer versus agi-biz. Jeez, I am growing something illegal!

At harvest we just pick up the pallets with the skid steer and dump them out over the soil pile. Easy plucking.

Speaking of saving money. I have taken up cobbling as a hobby. All these boots with the fronts flapping about. Nothing a number 8 Robertson screw ( square headed drive for my American friends) can't fix. What do you think. Something you would expect to see on store shelves soon?

Kinda Frankensteinian just a bit. But can't beat the price!

Hope you and yours are having a great week!

Some Thing Is Bugging Me

2011-06-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

We managed to get most of the garden planted yesterday before the rain started. Hopefully it will clear up today as I have an unending list of outside projects to do.

The bugs are back. While we were fiddling in the garden they descended in hoards. Jo-Ann finally had to resort to the protection of a bug suit. She went buggy.

Facebook Sucks

Warning: Rant Ahead

Mind you I've gone buggy. Facebook has finally broken the last straw. Applications that I cannot stop popping up. Just Rude. Makes me wonder what the whole purpose is. An illusion of being in contact with "friends". I really don't find Farmville or any of the apps anything more than time wasters. Diversions? Diversions from what? I tried to get rid of my Facebook account by using some online applications to do it. Of course FB has a cease and desist order against them... That's enough. How is it we've managed to sell our data, the digital representation of us, so cheaply. These online companies, and blogger via Google is included, know more about us than you would believe. And the sole purpose is to sell advertising to people who want to convince us their latest and greatest hair shampoo or what not will change our lives. And it never does. Does it. Worse it leads to a total acceptance of un reality. We know the Sub sandwich we order from Subway will not be anything like the picture they present as the real thing - and we just accept it.

Rant Over..

The old bitty hens have moved to summer quarters and seem to be really enjoying it. Plenty of fresh greens.

We had some supervisory help during the move.

" Uh this is where they are gonna come out, right?

Well Sure, just you wait right there..

The chicks are growing like crazy, and sure seem to enjoy their new digs. Maybe next week they can try the great outdoors.

"OK you Gurls, your supposed to be guarding the flock. Have you got that?"

The piggies are growing, well like pigs! The Gilt is very friendly. And will do anything for a back rub.

Hope your having a great day.

Projects Not Projection

2011-05-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

It's a case of combing the Yak. I start out doing a project but before I do that I need to do this and then while I am doing that I might as well as do the other thing which means I have to do something 'bout...
You get the picture. One thing does lead to another and as the saying goes" " it is often difficult to remember the original objective of draining the swamp when your up to your butt in alligators.."

Case in point: The Animal Shed, formerly know as the blue shed. We are having a hard time locating weaner pigs. They are going for 85$ and none to be found! We located some Tamworths locally but even this Falls batch are already sold out. The Pig experiment went so well we are expanding the herd. Ditto the chickens. I need to find a place to put the three laying hens while the 31 Rhode Island Reds take over the pen. So the Old birds go out to the Chicken tractor while the new birds grow. With four pigs this year, one female we want to keep in the hopes of breeding, and another were looking for to make five, I need to get some room for bedding. I've been using hay as it's locally available. Would love to find a source of wood chips or sawdust but can't seem to locate it. So I have to clean out the blue shed. Install a freezer and fridge. While blocking up the walls of the shed that is really on its last legs I notice that the walls will need reinforcing. Fortunately I have a pile of 4 X 6's that will do that job. Oh and I might as well change the chicken roosting area so that the egg laying boxes can be opened from the outside of the pen. That will mean the water has to be moved, and I want to put an outside tap in anyway. One for the Chickens one for the Pigs. And put up a fence so the pigs can roam free and dig up the area between the barns..

I know. I know. One thing at a time. And really that's the only way to do it. Multi-tasking is really something I don't buy into any more. Just serial projects..

And of course there's thinking about opening the barn so I can use it for a milk cow. And the Icelandic sheep will need a place...

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so the start of the garden goes in - but first I had better put some ashes in the soil. Roota veggies need the phosphorus.

Now if that fence was a hundred feet West I would have room for the Apiary...

Maybe the killer mites I ordered will be in. Fortunately they're low maintenance. Release and listen to the death cries of the plant devouring Spider Mites..

Hope your having a great day. One smile at a time.

Fun With Porkers

2011-05-27T10:18:00.001-07:00

These piggies have been handled since birth and are starting to warm up to me.

Despite the rain the wild life is out and munching on the abundant grass.

Seems to be that wet is the season all across B.C. Actually when I looked at the country wide forecast it looks like the majority of Canada is all wet! Even our friends south of the border seem to be getting drenched.

Were planting as much as we can in the green house. Harvesting the Roma tomatoes and getting ready for the new crops. That is if I can get rid of nasty Spider Mite infestation. I've tried some natural pyrethrum solutions that haven't eradicated them. I have even resorted to some rather harsh chemicals. If this doesn't work I am going to have to get some killer mites that feed on the Spider Mites. It's an expensive solution but I like that it's organic and the hit team will spread out over the whole green house.

Outstanding In The Field

2011-05-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well actually I am sitting. On a rare sunny day last week I ventured down to see a neighbor and he wasn't home so I decided to demonstrate my horse viewing technique. What do you think, have I got it about right?

Their guard dog "Bear" was doing yard duty. Don't know why they call him bear tho.. This dog sleeps outside all winter long. He has a huge thick coat and once he knows you he is a pretty gentle giant.

Its really been wet around here and all the melt water run off from the surrounding mountains are causing the local rivers to over flow.

This is the Endako river. It's a small river that runs through the middle of this picture from right to left. The lake is our bid for water front property. The problem is that field is where the power line for us and our neighbors comes through. Time to get the big generator checked out.

The Weiner Pigs are doing well. I think they were weaned about 5 or more days early but they seem to be doing all right.

This is the Gilt. She's the friendliest of the bunch and is used to being handled. The barrows are a bit more skittish. But their sister is showing them there is nothing to fear. Five hours after we got them two of the smallest ones clambered through the gate and made their way to the great outdoors. The littlest one, a 10 and a half pound lightening fast sprinter evaded dogs and us but returned to the barn on his own by morning. See Jo-Ann's blog for the heart wrenching details.

"Hmm, that furry butt is pretty nice to snuggle up to.."

The 31 Rhode Island Red chicks are growing fast and after five days have started to develop wing feathers. some even have tail feathers and feathers on their back starting.

Boose, the barn cat, likes to keep an eye on them. They don't seem to be too nerveous. Maybe because when were not there the top of the Brooder is covered with mesh.

Too wet to plant outside just yet. They only thing we have growing besides the grass are strawberries and my Aunt Mabels onions She imported these to the Okanagon from her garden in Flin Flon, Manitoba, and they sure seem to like it here. These were planted last fall and wintered over.

Ah well time to go to a meeting and return to watch the taped Hockey game.

A little Gardening..

2011-05-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should have given it a couple of days of sun before sallying forth with a skid steer to clear the stuff around the Garden shed before the Move. The more I struggled the deeper I got. Even pushing the forks into the ground and using it to try and jack me out failed. Must be a lesson there. It was so stuck I was in danger of not being able to get out of the the beast.

Fortunately, a call to Brother Tom and the excavator pulled the Skid steer out without a hitch. The problem was the trench we had dug to get power to the greenhouse was soaked with snow melt. Just a giant mud pudding.

Chick Pickup Secrets

2011-05-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

First you need a pad to take them back to. This one is raised up for better chick viewing and consists of pieces of 18" high clear greenhouse plastic that was riveted together to form a circle. It goes right to the bottom of the tire and is screwed into the tire at the top. The whole thing sits on a piece of plywood laid on top of some pallets. There's an electric blanket underneath to keep the footsies warm. Plastic on that, then newspaper, paper towels and a couple of inches of chopped straw.

Secondly you got to find some chicks. Who would have thought they come in the mail. These are Rhode Island Reds, a dual purpose variety.

We dipped their beaks in the water, which was laden with sugar to give them a lift. They started drinking right away - and even figured out how to use the feeder. The sugar water made for some weird looking straw camouflaged chicks. Some gentle picking and they all are pretty fine now, and on regular water.

Next you gotta introduce them to the rest of the members of the family:

'Cuz you know they are going to be curious:

The trick is to keep them warm. Very warm. It was so cold yesterday I had to use two 250 watt infrared lamps and light a fire to get them to 32C. Once they warmed up we just left one lamp on and they seemed to be fine. No huddling under the light and no hanging around the edges. Chicks gone wild!

Next project is to prepare for four weaner pigs we're picking up Saturday. Make a feed trough, clean out the pen. Get some starter rations. Also building a large movable Chicken Tractor. Oh, and putting the garden in. Busy week.

Rambling

2011-05-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

You know, I've felt like that.

Went to change the tires on the Focus yesterday. Time to take a chance with summer tires. The wheel nuts were the cheap kind, pressed on metal to make them look cool. But any torque, and I needed lots of that, and they twist right off reveling a dinky nut underneath. Down to Brother Tom's to use his 3/4 inch impact wrench. Rounded off the nut, put on nut remover and used a strong arm - to break the stud off. Ah well replacement parts ordered. Maybe Monday.

Cleo likes yogurt. Well who doesn't. The trick is getting that last little bit off of the bottom. With out using your fingers or a spoon.

On our walk yesterday we heard something behind us - on the way back and look who has been following us. Without alerting the dogs. Now that's some trick. As soon as Cleo saw Boose, the wandering cat, she assumed the down position. She gets a chicken treat for that! Boose must walk with a pretty light foot as there were no signs of tracks and the road was still damp.

Boose does like to go for walks but has nothing against using a Sherpa for the steep bits back to the camp! She does, after all, have to conserve her considerable strengths for her anti-mousing duties.

Hope any load your carrying today is as light as this cat!

Progress Not Perfection

2011-05-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

Back home after a sojourn to Vancouver Island via my Granddaughters home. Got to practice some Grandfatherly skills.

Jeez, look at this, no need for supplemental electrical tape...

Brought home a truck and trailer full of stuff from Jo-Ann's Dad's place as he has moved out of his house to an assisted living arrangement. Did I mention I scored a great table saw. Now with the high tech fence I have been waiting to place on a suitable saw.. I bet those kitchen cupboards will practically build themselves! And check out the hat! Always wanted one of those..

Quite a contrast from the Coast with its flowers, Cherry blossoms in bloom and shirts sleeve weather. We had one day of brilliant, warm sunshine and went for a walk on a local dyke.

There is still patches of snow clinging to Joseph's mountain and the doggies will have an ample supply of refreshing snow cones on their morning walks for at least another week. I haven't had to put any supplemental heat in the green house for the last week a definate sign that Spring Progresses. And further evidence: some people call these weeds, I call them a delightful yellow surge of Spring!

We have a new house guest, Lucy the Coon Hound. She's on spring break from my Daughters place in Coquitlam and sure seems to be enjoying the Endako Doggie Park. Cleo and Xena are in awe of her digging prowess. There's a hole at the base of a Squirrel tree we pass on our morning walks that goes half way to China.

Would you look at that girl go!

Project wise we are clearing the last of the winters flotsam and jetsam and preparing the tire garden for planting. Part of that is skidding our equipment shed next to the Green House and joining them with a balcony. Some place to sit and watch the garden grow. We're installing a heated water irrigation system for the Garden and Green house. Basically running our very chilly spring water into three, black painted, 400 litre plastic holding tanks plumbed together and then through a pump so that the plants get watered with solar heated tepid water. The oldsters tell me this was done by a previous gardner with prodigious results. In this climate I need all the tricks in the book to get a crop before the snow flies.

Finally got one more bucket list cross off . How to sharpen a knife. Or Axe, or anything with an edge - scissors still being tricky. I took a two night course at a local community college taught by a very knowledgeable shop teacher. It's a simple but very effective method that uses various grits of wet dry sandpaper to produce an edge you can shave with. Guests are now warned before picking up a knife in this house. And the morning meat cutting chores to make doggie food seems to go a lot faster. And safer.

At last, sharp knives abound!

Finally one for Sara: I know you said that Lucy didn't like her bed, but here's proof she's changed her mind.

Cleo: Ah you go and sleep in that cushy bed I think I'll just watch the cat door for some feline action..

Nothing like a nice fluffy, Sheep skin covered bed in front of the fire place to curl up in and plan tomorrows episode of Dogs in Adventure Land..

Hope your day is an adventure also..

Spring Has Sprung

2011-04-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well this was Spring, all three inches of it about April 16th. Shortly after I had decided that it might be time to put some of the plantings in the green house out into the tire Garden. Mother Nature decided differently. Getting bored of snow, want some greenery. Soon. Thankfully, I can sit in the green house, smell the tomatoes and basil, close my eyes - and I'm in my Happy Place! I am getting the urge to get some projects finished, or started. You can see the sliding door on the equipment shed. Solar water heating on the green house. Get the Garden in. May middle or so.

The wild life is starting to show up. This young moose didn't seem too perturbed that we are only 10 feet away. We've been seeing vast flotillas of Pterodactyl like Sandhill cranes squawking overhead. Hundreds of them like huge bomber wings. The geese aren't shy about making their progress known. Red Wing Blackbirds are busy emptying the sunflower feeders. Robins and Blue birds are hopping over the fields, a wary eye out for the cats. The eagles have been here all winter and land on the large fir tree and treat the barking girls with disdain.
Before we left for a Coast run I noticed Humming Bird feeders up - a sure sign that they will be filling the Veranda with their joyful buzz.

One inevitable Spring chore is cleaning up the yard of all the debris the wind has scattered or snow-plow buried. We don't use the dump in town hardly at all. We save anything that burns, clean out cans, compost anything vegetable and put it all in a burn pile waiting for a nice spring day when the grass is still wet.

Next step is to drive a cat over the pile and cover it over with dirt and flatten the whole thing out. Soon to be sheep pasture. We'll establish another one, i.e. dig a hole somewhere outback and keep the process going.

Our friends Bubba and Rockey dropped by for a welcomed visit. We managed to get the skid-steer up and running and out of the shop - just in time to get a bunch more stuff in there.. Projects to do. Wood to cut.

And Packrats to track down. One thought it would be a great idea to set up shop under the hood of a truck. Took about thirty seconds for the girls to track it down and harass it mercilessly.

Go ask Dad for the socket set

But the high light of my Spring so far has been hanging out with my Granddaughter Sophie Maxine. Of course we're in the pony market now..

Have a great weekend.

Chop Wood.

2011-03-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

No need to carry water. The water line to the animal shed is thawed and flowing freely. It had frozen in the un insulated wall and thawed when I cut the wall open and added heat tape to the plastic piping. And of course the warmer weather is really helping. It's now hovering around zero and that's practically balmy after this winter.

The increased temperatures mean that we are heating the joint solely with the small living room heater. No need to fire up the huge wood furnace and feed it hefty log parts. The upstairs heater takes smaller split wood.

We have a system. As the heaters in the animal shed and green house take the same type of wood. We can go through quite a lot. Right now we don't have to burn wood in the green house or animal shed. They both have small electric heaters. The green house also has insulating curtains and this morning it was a toasty 26c.

When it gets below -20 we often have both living room heater and the big furnace fired up. That takes two kinds of wood. Large rounds for the big furnace:

and 16 inch split stuff for the smaller heaters.

We cut wood from our own wood lot - all dried, beetle killed pine, and store it under the balcony. A door to the basement provides easy access. We use a small electric wood splitter which means we can cut wood in the comfort of the heated basement. Well, sort of heated, depending on the state of the downstairs furnace. It makes the whole process a lot more comfortable. With two of us doing it we can split a week's worth of wood in no time at all. I load the wood, Jo-Ann pushes the buttons. Well pushes the button, and pulls a lever. Kinda looks like this:

Our first movie part we were a bit nervous..

I have been reading Plant Seed, Pull Weed by Geri Larkin a gardener and Buddhist student and teacher. She draws delightful lessons in life from parallels in gardening. Something I have had on my mind lately. I have grown fascinated by gardening over the last several years. Heartbreaking failures and rewarding successes. And as you might expect I think I have learned more from my failures than successes. Simple things. Paying attention. Doing what is right in front of me. One step at a time: Something Geri refers to as "Small Doin's". Small things can have profound Spiritual significance.

I have been putting off working on my aged Skid-steer which has been slumbering in the heated garage. Probably because the whole rebuild effort seems like too much sometimes. My mechanical skill's just not up to the job. Maybe today I will do some "Small Doin's" that will get it closer to the road again. And liberate my garage/shop. With the skid-steer floating on wood blocks off the floor, sans wheels, there isn't a lot of room around it and stuff has been piling up bit by bit until I am stumbling over tools and parts.

I know the simple answer is to put stuff away after use, but for various reasons - usually momentary expediency - that doesn't happen, and eventually, sooner than later, irrevocably I get bogged down in project detritus. Which makes moving on to the next project problematical. And I have a pretty large project list.

Ah it's a sunny day and sometime during it I will take time to smell the tomatoes and ruffle the lettuce.

Hope your's is going well. And you have time to smell your spiritual tomatoes.

It's Curtains

2011-03-16T12:59:00.000-07:00

Made out of five Quilts we bought at a second hand store in Prince George. Just plopped some grommets in them and hung them off of double headed three inch nails.

Let's let the light in:

Heres the other way, I.E. towards the front door:

And Open:

Astounding what a difference they make. My only regret was not doing it earlier - like in the depths of January and early February when the temperatures plummeted. With only a small electric heater going last night it was 21.7C this morning when we checked. Outside was only hovering just below zero.

I think the increase in daylight has got everything sprouting like crazy. The tomatoes have a bunch of new blooms and ripening Roma tomatoes. Small but tasty. This time of year fresh tomatoes and table greens are very much appreciated. On the task list for this week is to trim back the tomato bushes.

The Chinese cabbage has sprouted and will soon be out of the plastic lids. Spinach and Lettuce need serial plantings to keep a continuous kitchen supply. Jo-Ann has pictures of flowers that are starting to bloom in the green house. A real pick me up!

The warm spell just seems invigorating after the last five months of snow. Hope springs eternal in a
gardeners heart:

Soon these tires which sit on pallets will get forklifted back to the East side of the house and planted with flowers. Well in a month or so..

Splitting wood today and then pushing back some more snow banks for as long as my stomach can hold it. I just wouldn't make a heavy equipment operator - just don't have the stomach for it. Sucking on some raw ginger makes a difference. And a hot cup of ginger tea right after seems to settle it right down. My brother took pity on me and pushed back a large part of the driveway and the road up to Grandma's. I still need to do a couple of hundred meteres on the road and 250 or so to the wood lot. That might take a couple of days.

Green House Goodness

2011-03-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

Now that I have an exhaust fan working in the green house, coupled with the advent of warmer weather growth has perked right up. The green house is heated with a wood heater and small electric heater during the coldest days and over night. A 1000 watts of HID lighting provides not only light but considerable heat also. The problem is regulation. If the sun comes out, even briefly, the temperatures can soar. And I thought the problem would be heating! Adding a temperature regulated exhaust fan keeps the temperature at what ever I set it at. Right now it's 32C. But it averages lower than that. The inside is approximately 16 degrees above ambient, without heating, and no sun. I've logged a 56 degree difference with heating. I will augment the exhaust fan with an intake one to increase ventilation efficiency. Six 45 gallon drums painted black, filled with water gather the heat and release it during colder periods. Coupled with the thermal mass of the soil filled tires, the combination moderates the temperature significantly. I still don't have thermal shades hanging - to slow the heat loss at night, maybe today.

Time for some more salads! Even the tomatoes have started to flower again and produce. I may be working at odds with myself trying to grow both warm and cool weather crops in the same room, but it seems to be working. I am planting Chinese cabbage in the bare tire. The lighting is a combination of natural, Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium, so it looks a little weird in the picture. HPS is not a flattering light for photographs.

This crop of Spinach is already going to seed! Time to stagger the crops to ensure a regular harvest. We never have a problem of too much Spinach - the Chickens are crazy for it. Summer or Winter.

There are some signs of a spring that it is sure taking the long way round getting here. I saw a dirt patch on Savory road the other day. On a South facing hill with the sun shining. The gas line warning signs are sticking out of the snow so it's only about three feet thick now and melting. And the place is covered in pet hair..

Ah well, at least this year we won't have to go in search of dandelion greens to satisfy the fresh salad urge that comes after a long winter.

Today's chores include whacking up the weeks wood, hanging thermal shades in the green house and moving a freezer load of dog bones to a smaller one so we have room for 520 pounds of Pork and Pork products we pick up from the butcher today.

We're on the lookout for a couple of heritage pigs, like Red Wattles, to start the process again.

Hope your having a great week.

Chop Wood Carry Water

2011-03-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Back to the Basics.With a bit of a break in the cold we went down to Brother Tom's to get a few more loads of wood. This is the easy way to get wood.

The four in one bucket holds the logs up to make waist high cutting possible and then scoops up the blocks so I can stack them in the back of the truck. Way faster and easier on the saw blade. This is our new method for next winters wood, which we will get this summer, God willing, that it ever comes. I figure we go through about 12 cords of wood per season.

The water in the Blue shed has frozen up. The only reason I can think of is that without the pigs sipping on the water the short span of pipe that goes through the wall has frozen. The pigs got processed last week and we are awaiting some hams, bacon, chops and Mennonite sausage. Hopefully I can get it unfrozen today after I get another load of wood. Or it's back to carrying water in a bucket. Chop wood, carry water. I do believe in the Spirituality inherent in doing everyday chores, but it is hard to beat the convenience of plumbed in water.

After the recent snow dump I've spent about eight hours plowing.. Much more snow and I will have to push the snow banks back by going across the road. Tom just phoned and told me to look out the window down into the valley.

He is plowing out a fellows kilometre long driveway that hasn't been done for quite a while. He is having to push sideways and the banks have to be ten feet high. That job is going to take most of the day.

Not trusting the cold weather to be gone till next year I am going to spend some time with the log splitter making more split firewood for use in the upstairs heater, Green house and the Animal Barn.

And then maybe some work in the Green house. Spinach and lettuce are table ready so we need to plant some more to keep a steady supply coming in. And maybe now that I have the ventilation working we can try some Hakuri turnips.

And then maybe I can put my feet up and argue with Kermit the Kat over the relative merits of using a mouse versus a pen based computer. Kermit of course is old school and thinks the mouse is the only "right" way. And is quite vociferous in making his opinions known.

Hope your staying warm and cozy.

You Know It's Cold When.

2011-02-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

You wake up to find five cats and a dog snuggled up in your bed. Must be the down comforter..

The hairs inside your nose freeze up.

Smoke from the fires goes straight up.

The dogs are not real interested in going outside to chase rabbits.

I'm blinded by frost on my glasses the moment I step inside the house

The cliffs to the East.

Needless to say, it's been getting pretty cold around here. It hit -30 this morning which means I have four fires to feed.

It's like watching the wood pile melt. Hopefully it's supposed to warm up to -single digits next week so that will help.

A large part of the daily chores is just walking from building to building keeping the fires burning so the water lines don't freeze up.

Where's that Global warming. Bring it on..

In the meantime I was glad to get all the snow pushed back, when (if) it does melt I want the water in the ditches - not the road. But that has to be the optimist in me talking!

Hope you and yours are wintering well!

Fooled Ya!

2011-02-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

Just when we thought it was time to start sorting out the seed catalogues and think about revamping the irrigation system the temperatures plummeted. The driveways are skating rinks. I've taken to using the studded snow tire equipped truck to make the rounds. Feeding the fires. It's safer - even using studded soles and ski poles I find my feet slipping on the hard fractured ice.

Spent a couple of days doing some electrical trouble shooting on a friends logging equipment. A buncher that has had a lot of re-wiring by people in a hurry. I find equipment is like that. Electrical entropy sets in. A relay is temporarily wired in place. A wire replaced with one not quite the right size. Relay's cut out and wires left bare. Makes trouble shooting a nightmare. Of course nothing is exactly like the wiring diagram ( if I am lucky enough to have one..) Wiring changes and additions and deletions are not marked on the diagram. Just get it to work. Forget sharpening the saw - we've got trees to cut down! The thing is every shortcut taken now will only cost someone later.

Jo-Ann and I have be rebuilding the computer system at the local library. Going from Windows XP machines to Windows 7 machines. Ten machines that don't all have the same software packages. A process that we are finding is not that easy. Lots of the software written for 32 bit windows doesn't ( contrary to press releases ) work on Win7 64 bit machines. Especially hardware drivers. The trick was we couldn't take the system down and cut it over all at once. It was in use by patrons and staff so had to stay live. Getting printers wired to a Win7 machine so they could be used from XP machines took some research. Fortunately we found some help on the WWW. Unfortunately it wasn't correct - but at least it pointed us in the right direction.

Right now I am wondering what I should be when I grow up. Software designer or potato grower and pig farmer. Not that the're mutually exclusive but time spent on one detracts from time spent on the other. I thought I would have all kinds of time this winter to work on software development but that didn't seem to be the reality. I believe that software development is moving away from the desktop computer development and more into the mobile - cloud driven application development arena. Which of course demands learning an entirely new set of skills. Fortunately Microsoft has been extremely generous and helpful supplying us with software and training opportunities . I really have to commend them on their Bizspark program and would urge any software developers and people who want to be the next big thing to check it out.

We've been discussing a radical new idea. Stop watching commercials. I.E. T.V. While working at the library we've discovered that they have whole shelves of hand held devices that are instant on, don't require batteries, and cover every conceivable subject. They are called Books. I have been spending at least 50 bucks a month on books and magazines that can get for free at the library. Who'd of thought!

Cramping my Style

2011-01-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

We've had a sudden elevation in temperature. In one day it rose over 20 degrees. No need to dress like this for a sojourn to the animal sheds:

It is now hovering just above freezing. In January. That means that our driveway and local parking lots have turned into curling rinks. Time to take measures. Like putting on crampons to walk around the yard. Normal boots, no matter how good the soles are won't ensure a vertical stance. Not on Ice lubricated with melt water.

We got these several years ago and the are the cat's meow for this weather. They are vibram soles studded with replaceable screw in studs that mount on the soles of our boots with velcro straps. We got them from Lee Valley a Canadian supplier of high quality woodworking and gardening tools, with a no questions asked return policy.

The increase in temperature means no more wood fires required in the green house. A day of sun, even partial sun, keeps the green house toasty all through the night. I am going to have to install automatic ventilation soon. We've been losing seedling due to a combination of overheating and probably having the air too dry.

Fortunately just before this thaw I managed to get all of the driveway's snow banks pushed back. It was getting so I didn't have enough room to plow the snow off the road, which was getting narrower and narrower. Now you can land a 747 on it. And when all that snow starts to melt it will melt off the road or into the ditches and keep the gravel driveway from washing away. I still have a mountain of snow to move from around the yard - enough that it has me lusting after a snow bucket for the job. I have a normal dirt bucket but it doesn't hold near as much snow and will probably take several days to shift the white stuff.

I cleared a path to the pen for the piggies and they took some took some tentative steps out into the weird white stuff. After about an hour we came back and noticed their snouts all scrubbed pink and clean from rooting in the frozen ground.

All the roofs have shed their snow loads. In the case of the animal shed a welcome site. The roof doesn't instil a great deal of confidence in me and I always breathe a sigh of relief when the metal releases the snow.

Jo-Anne went with me to shovel out the path and grounds to Chief Joseph's sweat lodge. Hope to be having one soon - a relaxing respite in the winter.

My Mac has been having some problems lately. Key's sticking, that kind of thing. Not sure what the cause of it is..

This weeks projects include the ventilation for the green house and getting the local library's network switched over to new computers - a job I thought would be fairly easy but soon realized all the computers have different sets of hardware and require keeping the network running while I transition from Windows XP to Window 7 machines.

Sometimes I just feel like sitting back with my lap dog and watching some mindless T.V.

Hope your tongue isn't hanging out all week!

2011-01-14T16:05:00.000-08:00

This January seems to be making up for last January's lack of snow.

The tire garden is covered .

The dogs enjoy playing in the snow. But don't seem to be chasing mice as much as last year.

The boler sits, comfy, but a bit forlorn, wistfully hoping for another trip.

The abandoned root celler is quietly waiting for spring and maybe a rebirth.

The path to Grandmas, and the woodlot took a lot f plowing to clear it. Chains on all skidsteer tires too!

Honest it doesn't feel like we've been incarcerated.

It would be a lot of shoveling to clear all the paths . And more on the way. A friend gifted us a bag of purple spuds. Taste delicious. But they are purple.

Just sitting around waiting for the snow to stop so we can start clearing it. According to the weather channel that will be around the end of next week. Just may have to do one before just to keep the place clear.

Chickens Like Snow Cones

2011-01-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

It's not that they don't have plenty of fresh water, they just seem to like the crunchy coolness of snow. We first noticed it when we went into the pen to collect eggs. The would gather around and peck the snow off of our snow boots. Now they raise a fuss when we come through the door. They insist that job one is to give them a handful of snow. Particularly the hard top crust. And we thought the piggies could get vocal around meal time..

Jo-Ann smoked a beef brisket and made baked beans for new years day supper.

The Before

The After

We used my son in laws rub recipe. Perhaps a tad too much Cayenne for some but I think it's just right. A fairly long process - like twelve or thirteen hours at 225C or so. It was cold enough that I had to put insulation around the smoker to keep the temperature up. We also smoked a bone for the doggies.

They know something wonderful is in there but we haven't given it to them yet. First I have to cut it in half to avoid any disagreements. We didn't put any rub on the bone of course, not that Cleo would mind. She is a true Omnivore and will eat anything from Bananas, through ju-jubes to moose meat. With an occasional tidbit of pig poop thrown in. It's all good.

They piggies are growing like crazy. They seem to like their diet- especially warm meals cooked on the heater. Yesterday they tried freeze dried chicken with rice and cracked wheat hot off the griddle. I can tell when it's especially good as they won't interrupt the repast for a nose scrooch through the bars.

Yesterday I hadn't latched the gate to their pen and when I returned later in the afternoon the gate was open, a garbage can I use to hold pig feed in, knocked over with lid still intact. And both pigs still inside the pen demanding supper. The force field obviously doing it's job.

"Dad, I'm bored. I need an iPhone so I don't have to listen to those yappy chickens all day!"

Hope your not bored this week.

Plowing Along

2010-12-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

I like snowplowing. I don't know if it's a guy thing - the equipment part, or the almost meditative quality of the task. It's more productive than meditating via T.V. My skidsteer is still undergoing some maintenance so I've been using Brother Tom's modern cat. All in all by the time I get the machine back to Tom's it's a four hour job. I probably have to do it at least ten or twelve times a winter.

Tom's machine has more power than my old girl and I can actually plow our driveway, a kilometer of it, while going uphill. Plowing the place makes it easier to get around. Getting the paths clear to the various outbuildings makes getting to the animals and plants a whole lot easier. And of course without plowing it is pretty hard to get to town. I can sometimes get out without plowing when the snow is over two feet high, but unable to get back up. I don't have chains for the truck I am using now, and while studded winter tires will get me pretty far, without the off road chains I have for the Toyota, I wouldn't make it up the driveway.

We've thought about the alternatives. Not plowing. Just let the snow build up. Leave a vehicle down by the road in an as yet unbuilt garage, and use that to get to town and back. But snow shoeing up hill for a kilometer with grocery laden packs seems like a lot of work. Another idea was to use a skidoo and trailer. But we'd have to buy one and maintain it. It's all possible. Just sometimes hard to wrap my head around. It would be great exercise. It would save about 200 bucks in fuel costs. The real problem happens when the snow melts. The mud would be awful and the run off from the melt water would probably destroy the road. In the spring when the sun is bright we've seen it wash out the bend in the road in a couple of hours.

The thing with plowing is I have to do it regularly. My skidsteer just wouldn't be able to push four foot drifts out of the way.

Still maybe I could do a few practice weeks. Without plowing. Just to see. Ah the thought of it just exhausts me.

Hope your having a relaxing time...

Full Of Hot Air

2010-12-20T14:52:00.000-08:00

I love popcorn. I have a bunch of boxes of #10 cans filled with popcorn. I have a hot air popcorn machine but it is a real pain picking up the kernels that end up flying everywhere. Ah, when the student is ready the teacher will appear.

Here's a method I picked up from Wendy at her Surviving the Suburbs Blog:

Now she used a wood stove which I can do out in the green house or Barn but I tried it on our electric range and it worked perfectly. All popped, no oil, no mess and the sieve didn't even get hot.

If you're in the mood for some hot air popcorn with no fuss or muss give it a try!

Deck The Halls

2010-12-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

We're starting to go into a bit of a cold snap. Yesterday when I was bidding the Barn animals good morning I was admiring the frost painting on Boose's window.

Now don't worry she's plenty warm. That's a folded up electric blanket that she sleeps on. It keeps her butt warm and toasty. It's good to have her in the Barn. Haven't seen a spec of mouse crap around since she declared it her territory. Despite lot's of feed scattered around the place.

We got a couple of more loads of wood yesterday while the sun was shining. And our nose hairs weren't frozen. This was a bug killed pine that was very branchy. When I cut it down it lay eight feet off the ground on the branches and that took some cutting to bring it safely down to the ground. We had to cut the tree into half so that Jo-Ann could skid them out to the path side to facilitate cutting them up. The stump is always the heaviest part of the tree and I was dragging parts of my anatomy as well as the stump up a hundred feet of slope and down the road to the truck.

I cut trees like an amateur. I cut the tree a comfortable three feet off the ground and then cut off the stump that remains. Real loggers that are falling for lumber would never waste the stump and will cut it as close to the ground as they can. Us firewood guys have it easier. And the best part is we get to hold hands with our Sweetie Pies in the truck- with the heater going full blast- to keep their little fingers from getting frost bitten.

One of the loads was about all the truck would carry. We're just about loaded for Winter. But as I've mentioned before, last year the only month we didn't have a fire burning was July. And that was probably because I was to lazy to light one! You can see the blue rings on the rounds that were cause by the Pine Beetle. Or more correctly the blue stain fungi that the pine beetle carries.

We're still eating tomatoes from the Green house and watching a crop of lettuce, chinese cabbage and various herbs grow. We're trying a bit of Stevia to see if we can have a bit of natural sweetener. And this summer we may even venture into the bee keeping side of sweetness. Several local farmers do a brisk apiary business. I just need enough to keep me sweet all year. That can't be such a daunting task can it?

It's that time of year again. I know it's a silly , power wasteful tradition, but I like it and it brings out the six year old in this sixty year old. I love brightening up the dark of winter with Christmas lights.

I had a bunch of strings of 7 watt Christmas Lights that I bought at a friends place a few years ago and was storing in the barn. We dragged them into the light repair area ( the kitchen) Jo-Ann untangled them and I chased down shorts and broken and burnt out lamps. A warm kitchen and several cups of tea make the chore a lot more civilized. And far toastier..

Hope your keeping toasty. Maybe try some raisin toast dipped in farm fresh beaten eggs..but that's another post.

Stinky Mail

2010-12-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

That's the kind we occasionally get. Thankfully. The local post office phoned us and wanted to know if we were expecting a package - that smelled. Jo-Ann's Auntie Roberta had turned us on to Oka Cheese last year so our hopes were up. We assuaged their fears that it was a dead animal and assured them we would be in to take the odiferous package away. There was no hiding the smell when we picked up the package. Delightful. Home for tea, some delicious Auntie Roberta, world famous, hand made crunchy biscotti.

With a ration of Oka. It's got to last. At least until it's gone. It is just nothing we can get in a local store. I found one at the Coast but it was a pale remembrance of the real thing. How can something smell so odiferous and yet taste so good. It's a cheese thing I suppose. The only other example I can think of is Durian Fruit - smells like baby poop, tastes like honey. Don't leave it in your fridge.

Finally got a moment to fill the 45 gallon drums in the green house. Our well is very cold and the water going in was only a few degrees above zero. After a couple of fires now the water has risen to 10C, interesting to see how high it gets. And how well it moderates the temperature in the green house. It does have quite the heat sink. Will be interesting to see how it works when we get some sun on it.

My irrigation plan for next summer includes heating a 1000 gallons of water in large plastic tanks painted black to absorbe sunlight and pumping the heated water through the irrigation system.

I stole a reindeer today. It just wasn't doing the Christmas thing with any enthusiasm. Now to spend some time with the circuit checker seeing if I can brighten it up. And of course I will return it!

Hope you get a chance to relax over the Season!

Dog Tired

2010-12-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

I took the day off. Sort of. No falling trees - just the usual chores. Sometimes it just catches up with me. The doggies have been pulling a disappearing act the last little while and while they do return it sure takes them a while after I stand on the porch and call them. I decided today to follow their tracks as we had about an inch of fresh snow last night and it would make tracking them pretty easy. I grabbed my camel back, with its little supply of emergency goodies, decided I didn't need the snow shoes, and started tracking. Should have taken the shoes.

Just as I started down the driveway following their tracks Xena showed up and was happy to show me where she had been and where Cleo still was. It was like they were very excited to show me where they had been playing.

-With the rabbits down in the Christmas Tree field and just over our West fence line. So we ended up going for a bit of a slog up our West fence line trail and back across the snow covered pasture to the house. It was quite a slog and there were three tongues hanging out by the time we made it back. Every body settled down for a bit of a nap. One of us had a cup of tea..

Tomorrow I will try it again with a set of snow shoes on. The start of route one. The Doggie Trail.

The local mountains looked like studies in charcoal . It was a very sunny day. Well appreciated after a week of overcast bleakness.

We didn't have to light a fire in the green house for the last couple of days. At one point today it got over 40C and I had to open the doors. One of these days I will have to get the automatic ventilator system set up. Soon. It's interesting that the winter temperatures, when the sun is shining is way warmer than any of the summer temperature. A function of the roof overhang. In the summer the sun doesn't shine directly in the windows for most of the day.. In the winter it shines directly in for the entire day. Interesting problem, keeping a green house cooler in the winter.

Hope your keeping warm and toasty and looking forward to Christmas.

Where's the Beef!

2010-12-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

That would be a pickup truck full of meat trimmings. It's all destined for Doggie Food. As a matter of fact right now we have a large pot of stew simmering away on the stove. With the additions of some green beans and carrots it's starting to smell pretty good. No salt or spices - just good old grass fed blue beef - with a few chunks of moose meat thrown in just because they love it. And you can't beat the price.

After a lot of research into various dog food brands and the pet food industry in general, we discovered that it is healthier and cheaper for us to buy a cow and grind it up for dog food than it is to buy dog food. A way cheaper. And healthier. And that is weird. Do some research on what is found in Animal food - it will make you shudder. I guess, technically, chicken feet and feathers are "Chicken Parts", slather some lard on it and dogs will eat it. Why? They have too. A lot of it is just junk food. And if you think that " they must have done the research to figure out a balanced diet for our loved pets", well, that's just advertising. Spend a few minutes doing some online research and you might change your mind. Dogs are wolves. Albeit domesticated, but still wolves. Wolves eat meat. They don't eat rice and legumes.

In Canada the pet food industry isn't even regulated - unless they are shipping product out of Canada. What ever your country I'll bet you a couple of juicy steaks your packaged pet food is overpriced and not nearly as nutritious as the T.V. advertisements would have us believe.

Here's Xena trying to figure out what that lovely smell is coming from the garage. We had parked the truck load of trimmings in the heated garage so we could package it.

"What no rice with this lovely flank steak? Oh, well I guess it will have to do.."

One of our non-working freezers serves us well ( in the winter time) as large chunks and marrow bone storage. Closely guarded by the puppies. We package the rest in recycled baggies for daily portions and keep it in the working Doggie Freezer. Ditto with the stew after I thicken it up with some flour to make a nice gravy, we'll cool it down and portion it out for daily meals. I am using some of our stash of freeze dried veggies in it. Just to make sure all the vitamins and minerals are covered. But mostly I suspect, like the dog food industry, so it looks good to me.

On a 'nother note. I love Gizmos. I love apples - especially the ones that come from trees without stopping in cold storage for months. Like the kind you can pick up in the Okanagan that are also way cheaper than the wooden globes sold in the local stores. What could be better than this Gizmo:

An apple peeler, slicer and correr. Um what delicious fun! Takes a little practice but I get to eat the mistakes. With a little sugar and cinnamon - devine! The pigs are crazy about the peels.

Hope you have a little sweetness in your life today!

" Can I hide this under your pillow so Cleo doesn't get it?"

Bundle up

2010-11-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

We've come out of two week stretch of -20. Today it's sun and just below freezing. A good day for unthawing the skid steer. I have some drive problems with it and want to get it into the heated garage to work on it. When I tried to move it the left hand side was frozen solid. Time to bundle it up, stick on a magnet block heater, plug in a circulating block heater, battery charger and ceramic heater.

Today it's very warm. If I can't move it I will have to resort to an old cold weather trick. Placing a stove pipe under the oil pan and using a tiger torch to help thaw it out. A tiger torch for those who don't know is basically a propane blow torch. If that doesn't work it will sit until spring - which will make plowing out the driveway dependent on Brother Tom's skid-steer availability.

We've been enjoying tomatoes and cucumbers from the green house.

What a delicious thrill! On a sad note one of the cuc's has become infested with some kinda mite so it's getting outa there today. Time to get some christmas lettuce and spinach going.. But first let's get the drifts out of the driveway.

Green House Winter

2010-11-25T08:40:00.000-08:00

The green house makes a nice hang out in the winter storms. Looks down right cozy at times. We're harvesting cucumbers and tomatoes now. Complete with herbs, like Savory and Basil.

Winter brings some wonderful sunrises.

Hope your having a fun, warm week.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does...

2010-11-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

It's winter. It takes some adjusting. Time to get the long johns out, find all the missing mittens, snow boots and scarfs. Get the equipment up to winter requirements. Oh wait, isn't that last part supposed to happen before winter really sets in.

Last night I did something so stupid I can't believe I did it. Denial being my first form of defense. Our Trusty 4X4 Toyota is down for an engine replacement. We had to pick up some freezer stock from a butcher yesterday. Of course it was -20C and over a foot of snow. He warned us that he wasn't plowed out yet so we had better bring a 4 wheel drive. Our 16 year old Ford Aero Star van is AWD and has great studded snow tires - but it only has a summer thermostat. Useless in this cold. Of course the first thing was to charge the batteries, and then we were off to Pick up the meat - the sun was out so it wasn't too bad. But we were running late so we turned around and headed to Burns Lake where Jo had a three hour genealogy event to attend. Coming back the sun was down and temperatures dropped. We were both wearing full winter gear including snow boots but it was cold. When we got home we were pleasantly surprised to find our kilometer long driveway and yard was snow plowed. Brother Tom had dropped by with his skid steer while we were away.

Back to the Stupid part. I had meeting in town about 17 kilometers away but thought I would take the car as it has a better heater. I assumed. Didn't seem to be working all that well tho. So I put a catalytic heater in the car. Just in case. Scraping and squinting I managed to travel down our driveway and onto highway 16 and made it 7 kilometers to my brothers house where I parked it. The windshield was iced over. The heater fan was not blowing. I put the catalytic heater on and went in the house to thaw out over a coffee. When I came out 45 minutes later the window was largely cleared. I congratulated myself but thought better about continuing on to town. Despite offers of a vehicle with working heater I thought I would just go on home and fix the heater in the morning. About two kilometers down the highway, wind chill- even at 60 Kmh I was traveling- being what it was, the windshield iced right over. Even the catalytic heater, which has a fan on it, couldn't keep up. I was one of those stupid guys I always disparage driving down the highway trying to see out of a four inch sort of clear spot on the windshield. Fortunatly the rear window defroster was working admirably. In hind site I probably should have backed up! Limping along, pulling over when ever a vehicle came up behind me I managed to get home. My self talk on the way up our driveway wasn't particularly helpful. Colorful - but not encouraging.

Today I am finishing the garage dung out so I can get some heat in the vehicles. And try and get our skid steer drive line working. We are going to need it.

The Winter of Our Discontent

2010-11-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

It was -17℃ this morning. We're in a white out snow storm and it's starting to build. Of course I don't have the skid-steer running or plow attached. I've put that off a day or so too long. Ah Winter!

I am busy right now painting a friends house in the valley and refinishing the kitchen cabinets, so that they can move in. Brother Tom is drywalling and mudding part of the place so I have to paint around that which tends to slow the process up a bit. Hopefully I will finish that up in a couple of three days and get back to doing some work around here. Like get the skid-steer in the garage.

Time to update the blog pics. There's nothing green around here anymore.

I do enjoy the winter as much as I like to complain about it. Even this snowstorm is peaceful, quiet. It gives me some time for reflection. Remind me of that come February when I've had enough will you. My secret weapon for this winter is having the green house. Nice to look out past the cukes and tomatoes and watch the snow fall. I am having lunch right now and munching on a green house tire garden cuke.

Stuck

2010-11-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

I got home yesterday from a quick visit down to the Coast to hold my new granddaughter. One of the jobs on the before it snows list was ☑ Change to Winter Tires. Seems like there's always one job at least I didn't get done.

As we were doubtful about the reliability of any of our vehicles my Sister in Law lent me her newer snow studded tire equipped front wheel drive car for the trip. I had swapped her mine while I was away. The one with out the snow tires..

Today I dropped her car off and picked up mine. Having to travel through six inches of snow on Savory road to get it to her should have got me thinking... but no. Nary a thought as we swapped vehicles.

With Jo-Ann in the car being very quiet we managed to negotiate the place where the sun doesn't shine on Savory road up our driveway - until the right angled bend. After a few attempts including trying to back up I had to admit defeat and we ended up walking up the hill. Fortunately a lovely sunny day.

After some clean up with the skid-steer I got the car home easy peasy. Now after a quick cup of tea, job one becomes get the snow tires on at least one vehicle.

Back to the Trenches

2010-10-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

Brother Tom came up this morning and dug a trench to take a large electrical cable to the greenhouse. This means that I can have 240 volt power in the green house. Right now it's running on a 110 volt extension cord, not the most electrically efficient method. A small baseboard heater on a thermostat will prevent any freezing disasters. I have a conduit run to the green house from the main house but the armored and waterproof Teck cable was too big to pull down the 50 meters of 1 1/2" poly. Instead we direct buried the cable and will reserve the conduit for some Cat V cable to take data and internet out to the green house. What would a green house be without WWW and control signals?

Doesn't matter how much earth moving machinery is used, you still need someone wielding a shovel.

I kinda look like one of the Sand People on Tatooine

The after picture. Thanks to the excavator, skid-steer and pre-positioned back fill sand, the job only took an hour and a half. I know it's going to take the electrician longer than that to connect both ends of the cable..

Just admiring our handiwork

That walkway to the green house looks rough but its six inches of crushed gravel on a geotextile bed. No mud on the walk!

Now to freeze proof the waterline at the Animal Shed ( the shed formerly known as the Blue Shed) Call the electrician in to connect the cable ( and we know how slow he can be - almost as bad as the painter), Insulate the windows in the house and green house and get another three cords of wood and we're in great shape for winter. Won't happen today. Progress not perfection.

Painting by Frost

2010-10-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Our first discussion this morning was concerning when to light the "Big Kahuna", our large wood furnace waiting in the basement. Soon we will need to feed it large rounds of pine, but this morning we'll see if the upstairs heater can banish the chill. Outside our world is a white painting .

The morning fog retreated up the Eastern Cliffs revealing a thick frost, turning the tall grass in our yard to white feathers. The Poplars are resplendent in their new garb, a fashionable white and grey. Everyone is wearing it this season. Cleo returned, somewhat quickly, from her morning walk with a tiara of snow crystals on her head and a firm vociferous conviction that now, right this minute, it was time to come in the house and check in with the cats. And perhaps the state of her bed from which she can lounge and watch the warming flames in the living room heater.

Some how in yesterdays pre- snow cleanup I seem to have strained my back. Jo-Ann managed to torture a leg muscle getting out of the skid steer. We look quite the pathetic pair, hobbling and moaning around the still warming house this morning.

I still have at least another day before all the snow lanes around the yard will be clear of the summers building materials and accumulated sundry items. A pile of metal ducting, sure to be of use somewhere, Pallets that need to be stored, the "some day I will need this" Piles.

Last night it got to -11C so I imagine the piggies might enjoy a bit of a warming fire.

I am in an expectant mood lately. Snow will soon be here and Daughter Sara's due date has passed.
We're still on the hunt for a freezer for the falls meat.

Porridge will provide a start for today.

What a Joint

2010-10-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Closer inspection reveals that our 1994 Ford Aerostar AWD van was suffering from a Constant Velocity joint failure. It is our second vehicle and has taken the place of our Toyota pick up while we save some money to get it fixed. So spent yesterday with brother Tom and a friend replacing the joint assembly.

We were outside in 5c weather and I was glad for my heavy insulated work coat, gloves,vest and thermal pants. And very grateful for friends that are better mechanics than me. And had the right assortment of tork, allen, impact drivers, jack stands and sundry other general hand tools it took to make the repairs. It was quite a job and provided plenty of opportunity to wonder about the designers of vehicles. Why they would use so many different fasteners in such ridiculously difficult places to get to.

I am starting to believe the reason for that was indeed the automotive designers revenge on mechanics after coming home to find an auto-mechanic in a compromising position with his wife.

They heavy rains have revealed that I may have been a bit optimistic in thinking I was going to have a mud free driveway.

It's a lazy dazy day with the fire singing in the living room heater and a steady rain drum beating on our metal roof. We're having a late breakfast of pancakes made from flour we hand ground from raw hard red winter wheat.

They have a nutty, fulsome flavor with a stick to the ribs earthiness. The doggies think the pancakes with just a bit of butter and strawberry jam is just about the next best thing to cow tongue. On a scale of 1 to 10 that's about a 20!

We've been wanting to try grinding our own grains after watching a demonstration by a neighbor. While cleaning out a part of a storage shed I discovered a box that had a hand grinder in it. Score! A heavy duty, nickel plated machine that will last for quite a while. It was made in Median Columbia and has attachements for meat and we also think for making oats flakes. The newspaper it was packed in was from 1973. It had an advertisement for a hand held four function LCD calculator for $99!

Raw Hard Red Winter Wheat on the left, Whole grain, no preservative flour on the right!

We bought a bag of Oats and will try that experiment later. Hope you had a restful weekend.

Blog Change

2010-10-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

So somebody in China has figured out how to get past word verification to dump a whole pile of crap on my blog. So you don't have to read this junk mail I have implemented the review before posting option. Hope that cuts down on the crap. I am not sure of how it was done. Maybe a simple cut and paste. Hard to believe somewhere on this planet there is someone who is making money by pasting spam to Blog posts.

Where will it end. Sometimes I just hate the WWW.

Spent the last couple of days making two trips to Prince George to pick up a free freezer in order to store dog food ( variety cow. ) On the try yesterday our Van crapped out - possible CV Joint- and we had to limp home sans freezer. Today the truck we borrowed lost its turn and brake lights- fortunately simply a blown fuse. This has been a tough year on us vehicle wise that's for sure. And as it turned out the "free" freezer was a small one not the 21 cubic feet one we were counting on. Ah well the free freezer only cost us about a hundred bucks in gas..

Maybe the Amish with their one horse powered buggies have something..

Perhaps the pets would enjoy smoked meat..

Canned Dog

2010-10-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

They piggies are slurping up goodies like cheese, mashed potatoes, apples and Cream that come in number 10 cans. The dogs favorite is the Cheese. Cleo demonstrates the proper method of getting that last tender morsel from the can.

Oh, Man! This is Goooood!

While checking in with the piggies and chicks this morning I noticed that the window Boose, the cat looks out of was broken in and her cat box and flowers had been overturned. she was sitting on a chair looking most disgruntled and couldn't wait to get back to her luxury, electrically heated, catnap pad.

Come on Dad! The draft ruffles my coat!

This was a very old window that was broken. I just fixed it up with some caulk and a piece of plastic. I couldn't help but admire how the window was built. The craftsmanship of the putty holding the glass in place. The little diamond metal points that secured the glass while the putty set up. I don't know how old this window was but something tells me it could have predated me. I tried to fix up a puttied window last year and had a hard time finding the putty. I wonder if the new high tech, triple glazed, high e, argon filled window I put in the kitchen will hold up for sixty years. I doubt it. It seems we don't buy anything today. We just rent it. Or make payments on it. What, in todays, world of toss away consumerism, is made to last? Oh yah, payments..

Got the side landing and skirt insulation installed in the Green house.

Even managed to spread a few loads of nice crushed gravel so walking to the Green house isn't an exercise of wearing ten pound mud laden boots during the wet times.

Like now and in the spring.

We're waiting for the cucumber harvest to start in the green house. So far they seem to be doing well: this one looks about supper..

Hope you don't get in any pickles that can't be solved with a fork this week..

Trimming Down

2010-10-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well, up and sideways. We got the barnwood trim done on the front windows of the Green Haus. Looks nice and makes it more weather and water proof.

If I get a couple of warm days I may even be able to do some caulking. I also managed to gravel the path to the G'haus and a camper parking pad. Complete with geo-textile that a friend dropped off. The next action is to finish insulating the skirting around the Front and sides ( the backs done) and then move inside for window covers and thermal shades. O.K. Those would be second hand quilts from Value Village in Prince George - but they all match - and the price was right. Just need to invent some kind of pulley system to get them out of the way to let the Sun in.

A friend let us use his dumping trailer so we spent three days dumping our pit gravel on the soft spots on our driveway. After thirty five loads and a day of grading with Tom's skid steer we have an all weather, mud free drive. A big cornerstone and job off the 2 do list.

Our Piggies are growing like gangbusters. Slurping up Pig rations and reconstituted freeze dried food. Their favorite so far is cheese with mashed potatoes and some salad oil on the garden greens.

You want a piece of me?? That would be Sweet Cream all over the face...

They have developed a rash which was causing them to itch which the Vet says is "Greasy Pig". The solution is to give them a couple of shots. One to deworm and parasites and a series of five of penicillin. We're learning Pig Jujitsu the hard way. A twisted little finger, skid-marks on an elbow, Jo-Ann's right pointer finger had a nail ripped off. My pride is a little damaged but not as bad as the piggies. We tried a new technique today by using a piece of plywood to work them into a corner, and it was more effective than charging around the pen after a couple of porkers with their pig sirens going full blast. We're having a cup of tea now to wash down the ibiprofin. The pigs are enjoying some stove top soup and spuds with Garden greens. The sun is shining, it's a beautiful Life.

Take a Side

2010-10-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Or siding. Blessesd with three days of warm sunny weather and the arrival of a willing friend we managed to complete the outside framing, add insulation and siding.

Of course we had to have a few coffee breaks to discuss job progress.

The siding and two by fours and insulation was salvaged from a house that we tore down this summer. Diverted from a landfill or burn pile.

The insulation is now up to R50 and the way the wall is framed there are thermal breaks between the insulation inside and outside. It has made a huge difference in temperature. With the HPS lights burning it was -2 outside and 18c inside. And that's with out having the 45 gallon drums all full.

Now we are trimming the windows and doors with one by Barnwood. Mostly 6 1/2 inches but some of it 13 inch planks. It will probably have to wait until a warm spring day before it gets stained.

To celebrate we took a day off and went on an Agate hunting trip. The Volcanic strata around here is a boon to rockhounds. Replete with agates and even opal. The vistas are pretty easy on the eyes thats for sure.

The Dogs loved the "Big Pond". Xena even went swimming after sticks. Cleo roared around like hippo snapping at waves. Lot's of exercise for them. We weren't the only ones sleeping like babies that night.

Something about being in the outdoors just goes to my head.

Heres an Agate in situ. Tough to get out but worth the effort.

Some of them have a beautiful blue iridescence to them.

Winds up, weathers warm, time to slop the hogs( Well sweet corn them..) and complete the trim on the green house. Hope your having a week that warms your heart.

Dirt Poor

2010-09-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Not. We got lot's of dirt. Sand and Gravel. The sand is a seven minute round trip from a pit in our upper pasture.

Yesterday after getting Xena's wing patched up with six stitches, I started to back fill the trench we dug to get water to the Blue Shed. First we put bout 300 cubic feet of sand on top of the 3/4 inch poly pipe. That keeps the rocks in the clay soil backfill from crushing it. Then I started to put the back fill clay soil in the trench.

Funny thing with trenches. I just can never get the same amount of fill back in that I took out. I suppose if I had compacter it could be done. What I do is just keep driving the skid steer over the trench and mounding the clay soil up and they repeating as the bump disappears.

My skid-steer isn't up to this kind of heavy lifting so I was using Brother Tom's. It is so fast, compared to mine, that I get motion sickness when I use if for any amount of time. All that twisting and turning and jerking to a stop and backing up... Jo-Ann's ministrations of Ginger tea were required to get me back on my feet after a couple of hours.

Hopefully I will get the rest of the trench filled in today and can move on over to the insulate the green house project. It went to 10 below night before last which decimated all the squash. Next year, via greenhouse, we start sooner in the season and cover by September.

Of course I wasn't allowed to play with plumbing tools without supervision. There was that incident in the green house when I cut a loaded PEX line..So they keep an eye on me. Safely out of range of course. I am pretty sure that it helps..

The new chicken watering rig was readily accepted by the chucks. It is so much cleaner than using the plastic bucket waterer - and of course it's automatic, as the water level goes down a spring gets released which fills it back up.

Ditto for the pig waterer.

The pigs seemed to take a little longer to figure it out. Their snouts hit the brass knob which releases a trickle of water. A whole lot less ends up on the floor or brewed with the stuff between their fore feet's toes.

After a hard days work in the trenches me and a couple stalwart friends decided to have a sleep out on the balcony under the full moon:

Hay! Don't give Cleo all the sleeping bag..

Eventually order is restored and a productive day drifts off under the moon light ..

OK just scrooch over and maybe bring me the spare pillow..

In the Trenches

2010-09-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Today brother Tom and a couple of friends came up and we dug the trench to bring water to the blue shed. What an improvement that will be. The two piggies really go through the water and the chickens require a daily supply of fresh water.

Something about digging trenches with heavy equipment just brings out the kid in men. Of course my friend just retired from Municipal service, and I've been retired for five years so we were experienced trench watchers!

We had prepared for the worst. Pipes breaking, threads missing, frozen couplings but the disassembly of an existing standpipe to connect to the run was surprisingly easy. No plan "B's" required.

Now to get a few more fittings and start the PEX connections into and around the blue shed. My friend Vic suggested a tap near the stove to make mash for the pigs. A great idea and one the pigs will be sure to appreciate. Now I didn't want to take this last shot but the photographer insisted:

Everyone Breathed a sigh of relief when the water cleared.

Putting on the Light

2010-09-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

It was raining so hard yesterday that the outside work of studding the wall for R30 insulation had to come to a halt.

So instead a friend and I moved inside the Green house and finished installing some heavy duty shelves in the Green House. And that gave me room to spread out four HID fixtures and wire them up. A 400 and two 150 watt High pressure sodiums and one 250 watt metal halide. Sure puts a lot of light in a small green house. It will be an interesting experiment to see how the plants grow under the lights. I am hoping to get enough blue light through the windows that the HPS fixtures will be sufficient for growth.

The wood stove is ready to go, a small electric heater, and thermal mass from the tires and barrels are keeping the temperature to 21C over night, and of course the fixtures add some heat but it won't be long before we have to start feeding some wood into the heater. Adding another plastic layer to the windows inside and out will also be a big help.

Putting on the Heat

2010-09-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

O.K. it's still a bit warm but soon it will get colder. When It gets really cold I will probably need some additional heat in the Green House.

I had salvaged an old Valley Comfort heater from a house that a friend of mine and I demolished. At first look it was in pretty good shape. After cutting the proper hole size, we installed some tin and hoisted the stove into place.

By the time we finished it was getting a tad late..

The next day I discovered that It had been run without fire brick and If I had of looked towards the back I would have noticed that the fire box was all but destroyed. I was able to salvage the mechanical draft control from it to use in another heater we have in the Blue shed. That will make it run a whole lot more efficiently.

Fortunatly I also had another heater as backup a veritable Ashley C60-D. It had been left outside in the elements uncovered. It was sound but rusted.

Nothing that a coat of high temperature stove paint and new door gaskets wouldn't improve.

I even found a fan motor that was left in the Green House when it was just the Red storage shed. It still had the original packaging and instructions. It has a thermo couple switch to turn on the fan when the heater reaches temperature. This heater is definitely over kill for this space - but hard to beat the price. The metal paneling behind the stove is held out 3 inches from the wall on spacers. The floor around the heater is also metal covered. No place for sparks to grow.

Hope your staying warm!

Avast Maties!

2010-09-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

I am wearing a safety belt - it's holding up my pants!

In my youth I wanted to make a fero-concrete hulled sailboat and sail around the world. A one day trip out of Vancouver on a friends ferro concrete boat with a couple of hours of four foot swells disavowed me of that notion. So when I was gifted an aluminum mast I decided to keep it securely fastend to land.

Were not moving it! It's great right here..

We put a weather station transmitter on top and it gets info wirelessly to a station inside the house a couple of hundred feet away, right near my chair.

Hope the light doesn't lead to navigational mishaps..

I don't have to look out the window now to see if it's raining or the winds blowing - and exactly how much! Or if the mercury is dropping. I can use the window for what it was designed for: a white board to keep my 2do lists.

On the porcine front we completed the inside pen. I had some 4 by 8 poplar timbers for makeing uprights and heavy duty trim that runs up the side of the pen. We reinforced the floor with plywood. The shed doesn't have too many more years left in it, but between the chicken coop and inside pig pen I've probably increased the chances of it making another winter.

Rough 2 X 6's for the top three rails and ledge, 4 X 8's for the bottom two feet The chicken pen is to the right.

Friends Barb ( Bubba ) and Mike (Rockey ) and doggies Rusty and Mia arrived and really fast tracked construction with the outside pen and weather station projects.

Bubba climbed in the skid-steer and is now a certified operator!

Fork it over!

Before we could build the outside pen a wall had to come down. The excavator worked as a lift. And made short work of moving the beams. The lumber all gets salvaged.

You gotta break a few eggs to make an omelete..

Then fence posts every six feet.

..A little to the right and two and a half feet down..

Rough 2 by 6 lumber for rails. We wanted it to be sturdy. We also put heavy duty chicken wire on the inside to cut back on rail gnawing.

Bubba ducks just in time! It just looks like she is being threatened with a stick..

Bubba demonstrates proper nailing technique when dealing with 8 inch spiral spikes.

You just have to think of somebody who needs straightening out..

The outside pen is 18 by 24 feet. The wall we left up acts as a wind guard. Between the pen and the wall is skid steer access to a set of double doors. The outside chicken pen is to the left.

Strong like Bull! But time will tell..

This gate gives acces to pasture. First we have to train them on an electric fence. I was thinking of running a wire along the inside of the pen to get them used to it.

Looks like the piggy is making a high speed break for it..

This is a sliding gate for access from the inside pen area.

We put a foam head banger on the top, just in case..

And an insulated door that lifts up for access to the pen from the inside area.

The door has a wedgie. The rope goes to a pully so the door can be opened without going in the pen.

The seven week old Piglets arrived on Thursday to much excitement! The greeting committee was on hand.

Just so you know..this is my pad..I get all the mice.

It didn't take 'em long to check out the new digs.

So waddda think, should we stay?

Bubba is now known as the pig whisperer. She quickly had the piggies eating Deer Tongue lettuce right out of her hand.

Kinda looks like she is blowing lettuce out of her nose!
The female is a little more daring than the male.

They are still afraid of me but something tells me they are coming around. The name game is going on. I'm partial to Breakfast and Supper. Maybe Egon and Bacon. What's your suggestion.

Hope your week is going well!

The Pig Sty is a Pig Sty

2010-08-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

We have a couple of piglets coming so were building a pig sty and run in the blue shed that houses the chicken run.

Like any project the first thing is to clear out all the crap, er valuable stuff, that has been stored in the place where I want to project my vision.

A nice comfortable, watered and heated pen for the porkers. That we may better enjoy there porkitudinous in about six months. The doors at the back couldn't swing as the floor inside was patched toghether over the dirt so out came the trusty sawzall.

I have pretty much come to the conclusion that the shed only has a very limited lifespan. No foundation and rotting walls. We removed the rear roof earlier this summer. Time to start considering a ground up rebuild. Whats more important a new, bigger shop or a new animal barn.. Ah well I can't afford it right now anyway so here's hoping I can patch the old blue shed through another winter.

For now, after the clean up we will build a 12 by 15 two sided stall. Using the back wall where the door is and the wall to the left. I will have to reinforce the floor and walls with some 5/8th ply that I have salvaged. I will cut a 3 by 2 foot door so the pigs can get out into the fresh air at the rear. And from there to a pasture run.

I will leave the two walls up and fence off the back. Better get busy as the Pigs are due Friday.

Red Dawn

2010-08-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

We heard the Martin Mars water bomber flying overhead yesterday. Those billowy clouds it's flying over is smoke from the Binta Lake fires.

Smoke Clouds

Several have joined up and the fire is choking the valleys with smoke. Yesterday they pulled the fire crews off the line as the wind was making it too dangerous. Today we can hear a lot of aircraft activity.

We took a drive over the Mine road to Francois lake and the view was unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it. To the East it was black as night.

Some friends of ours in Fraser Lake spent last night evacuating an older ladys ranch south of town. They are getting their own things in order just in case. This was the view in Fraser Lake yesterday at 3 p.m.

Some of the farmers South of Fraser lake have just opened the fences and left their cattle to roam. Hard to evacuate 500 head of cattle with a few hours notice.

Hopefully it will rain hard in the next couple of days. There was a little spit of rain yesterday, but not enough to even wet the ground. The smoke does make for some nice pictures of the Sun.

We are O.K. and in no danger, as we are situated 17 K west of Town and there's a lake between us and the fire. Just as a precaution were going to go to town and get a couple of hundred gallons of gas just in case the fire cuts the power lines. And maybe some more pickling jars.

In a Pickle

2010-08-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours garden has reached harvest time and due to health reasons he's been unable to do his preserving this year. He has a very prolific garden that he has worked on for years. Really an inspiration and the fellow that gave me the idea of getting a green house operating.

Can't be beet.

So we have been harvesting before it all goes to waste.

Bounty from the Earth.

And yesterday I had my first pickling lesson!

Batch number one!

What a thrill. It's something I have been wanting to do for quite some time. We have a cold storage system, and a couple of freezers but there's certainly an attraction to making canned preserves. Actually one of these days I am going to use real cans. As they stand up better to life in a Boler trailer. But for now I am pouring over recipe books and a good friend is giving me hands on lessons.

Sometimes this Gardening thing goes to my head.

Hope your having a great day!

Sleeping Under The Stars

2010-08-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

We set up some foam pads in the garden and have been sleeping under the stars for the last couple of nights. Watching the heavens unfold and the spectacular Perseid meteor shower. It was like being Ten again and I was tempted to get a jar full of sugar and a rhubarb stalk, and maybe a carrot with some dirt still on it, to munch on while we watched the show.

The Blue patch are the sleeping bags in the middle of the tire garden.

The dogs loved it! Pretty exciting sleeping out with Mom and Dad. Cleo snuggled between us, claiming more than her share of sleeping bag for the whole night.

Come on Mom! Plenty of room. We'll just warm up your side..

Xena was constantly looking over the garden and several cats dropped by to see what was going on. I even saw the Dogs looking up at the star filled, moonless sky.

The first night around 3 a.m. a cow had lost her calf and spent an hour or so letting the world know of her search. Last night went a lot smoother, dogs settled down and the cows were in the top pasture until almost sun up.

This week we repaired the main water line to the Green House, which had broken at a valve.

Honest, the excavation is safer than it looks!

Lesson for next time: don't bury valves down in the ground. The excavator made the six foot deep hole easier to dig. That fixed, we installed the drip irrigation system in the green house.

line shut off and pressure regulator to the half inch distribution run

Ah, nothing like running water close at hand. We are now fine tuning the drip system.

The I gallon per hour drippers are moderated by an inline valve

We have a hand hose that comes off a reel to water the small potted plants. And an inside faucet that I can run a hose from to water the nearby cherry tree:

A Prolific, and still small, Cherry Tree.

The weather has steadily been getting warmer and drier. Evidenced by this fire at Binta lake South of us.

Binta Lake fire: About 10 Klicks away

The Martin Mars water bomber is now flying from Fraser lake and is busy all day long.

Yesterday we drove to Smithers to pick up some parts for the irrigation system. Well, O.K. truth be told we drove the 200 klicks for a Venti Starbucks Coffee Frapachino. And it was delicious.

Speaking of delicious, I made some tofu poutine and a stir fry for supper. I cut the firm tofu up into small cheese like cubes and fried it in olive oil with mushrooms and onions. Not even close to the artery clogging, mind boggling tasty beyond belief, real thing. But it was a Delicious facsimile.

Nice way to dress up a spud.

Today's projects are fine tuning the drip system, getting the Tomatoes and Cukes strung up, installing H.I.D. lighting and in the afternoon doing some gardening for a friend who is unable to walk due to surgery.

Maybe top that off with another night under the stars. Ah, it's a tough life..

When the rubber hits the Pallets.

2010-08-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

We've wanted a flower bed on the East side of the house. The problem is that during the winter the snow slides off the roof and gets very deep, necessitating removal via skid steer. A process that wrecks havoc with flower beds. Leaving the snow there isn't an option as it will melt and invariably seep its way into our poorly waterproofed basement. But wait. There's more. We are Re-Tired! And we have the raw material: tires and soil. And thus is born the inverted tire bed on removable pallets.

When winter bekons I just pick them up and move them over to the safety of the re-tired garden.

I collect pallets from the local hardware store. They are a very useful item. And the people at various tire stores in the area are happy to see me show up and deplete their used tire pile.

I make the soil from compost, old horse corral soil, sand from our own pit and a bag or so of perlite. Sifting the mixture through the Blomm-omatic 2000 soil sifter ensures a light, rock free mix. The Pebbles left over find their way to the driveway.

There is a trick to turning tires inside out. And I had forgotten it. Even with my friend, RT's help, it is nearly impossible to do it if the tire is ornery. The trick is to find a "sweet spot", a place an inward bulge can be made and then working that ever larger until the tire "flips" on it's own. Trying to completely turn the tire is a losing proposition, that even the strength of a gorilla will not overcome. We even tried to do it by running over the edge of a tire with the skid steer. No hope there.

Patience, persevereance and several litres of water later:

A little paint and voila bump proof cat litter boxes. Er, flower beds. The green on on my left is right side up. The others are upside down awaiting paint, some geotextile for drainage, and soil.

The flowers are growing rapidly in the green house so we may even see some blooms before it snows.

Speaking of "the hair of the dog that bit you:"

Well Cleo isn't doing any biting but surely appreciated losing about a pound of hair, during our week long summer season..

It's 13C today, the grass still wet from yesterdays showers. The rain seems to have cleared the air of forest fire smoke. A great day for a sweat which my friend, Chief Joseph is having at 2:30. today Drop by for an "aboriginal sauna" if your in the area..

Smokin'

2010-08-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

The sky is overcast with smoke from the 400 or so fires that are burning in B.C. There are a couple of major ones within a 50 klick radius of us. That means a very red sun and a constant smell of smoke in the air.

When I went into town in the late afternoon I spotted the tail of a huge Martin Mars waterbomber that was moored for the night in Fraser lake:

It's not easy to see the scale of this huge plane. The tip of the tail has to be at least 40 feet off the water. It is going to be pretty busy for the next little while. Until we get some rain.

Barrels of Fun

2010-07-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I installed six 45 gallon drums in the Green House. I had painted them a flat black to help them absorb sunlight. They sit against the North wall of the Ghouse and absorb sunlight releasing their accumulated BTU's when the temperature drops. Some more thermal mass to keep the temperature in the place stable.

The red plastic on the three closest tires helps the tomatoes to get larger and keeps moisture in the soil.
We continued with the transplanting and weathered a couple of thunder showers. Even with the rain the garden is getting pretty parched and job one this morning is to take care of that problem. Then some more shelf building in the Ghouse and maybe getting the water plumbed so we can get back to drip irrigation. The small potted plants need to be watered several times a day by hand to keep them from wilting.

We are looking forward to a visit from my Sister and her husband today. Always fun!

Hope your having your share today also.

Trouble With the Armies

2010-07-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

And my leggies arn't much better. I cut the tires and put them in the green house. Using "normal" size tires was a lot easier than using the logging truck tires that we use in the outside tire garden. The ache in my arms comes from straining a yard or so of soil to put in the tires.

I made the Blom-omatic 2000 soil conditioner, er strainer, in the morning and we used that to mix together some of the clay soil we have been conditioning with compost and sand, with some of the black salvaged soil from the old horse coral and several bags of peat moss and perlite. A nice loose mix with a lot of organics in it.

Today we will plant Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and herbs in the green house. And put some squash outside and re pot a bunch of flowers which can stay in the green house for another week or so. Were also going to try some Stevia, a natural sweetener.

Hope your having a sweet day. And your armies don't hurt too much.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

2010-07-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

And we have great neighbors. They pasture a hundred head of Belgian Blue cattle on our pastures and generally the cattle are very good with the fencing. None the less, from time to time I have to get the fencing tools out, walk the line and retighten and repair broken strands.

Of course I have help with my outside projects. Boose, the Calico cat, likes to tag along through the grass and offer advice on the best way to solve a particular problem. In between belly rubs.

We got the grow beds plastic wrapped and installed in the green house. Today's task list includes getting the cut tires into the beds, filling them with soil and transplanting.

Sometimes it just gets exciting around here! A friend our ours gifted us with a couple of Medussa pepper plants from his green house.

While Medussa's are apparently edible I am very wary about eating decorative peppers. Capsaicin on the Nuclear Device level. You have been warned. That's all I have to say about that..

Forget the Candle: Use Compact Flourescents..

2010-07-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

Making a bit more progress in the Green House. I have the two main "tub"s , two by four and plywood trays made and water proofed ready for plastic liners and tires and soil. Maybe if I get the fences repaired in time today. We've been suffering through an infusion of yearlings through the barbwire in a few places.

While I save up some money for some high pressure, or even l.E.D. grow lights I wired in some Rube Goldberg substitutes. They are 43 watt compact florescent's and are pretty bright. The electrician cobbled them together from old round fixtures with Pizza pie party plates as reflectors. They work surprisingly well. At midnight last, under a full moon, we took a drive down to highway 16 to see if we would notice the lights. Very easy to see from several kilometers away.

This is a bad thing. Beware. Microwave popcorn that smells like bacon. And tastes pretty wonderful too. Junk food supreme. Not good at all. If you come across it, send it to me for safe keeping so that you may continue with your non chemically infused lifestyle. Do not ask for it back. I can quit anytime I want to - I just don't want to.

Hope you are having a rejuvenating weekend.

To Light a Single Candle

2010-07-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Or rail against the darkness. Or write my manifesto. Friends of mine gave me an emergency lighting system for my birthday. It's a neat candle holder that has a rock embedded in it that acts as a striker. I was giving it a a test prior to any emergency situation requiring light. I was thinking about the years when the only light available was candles. What a different world that would have been. One we get to experience on a regular basis as the power grid succumbs to fallen trees. Mind you we do have an emergency diesel powered and gas generator, led lights, innumerable flashlights, white gas lanterns, and even coal oil lamps - but a box of candles is always close at hand. Just something comforting about the light.

I am writing in my paper PDA with a wonderful pen my daughter and husband gave me for my BD. I have a smart phone, several computer PIM's but I still prefer my customized Harvard Planner. Its portable, never runs out of batteries. It is still the fastest method of entering dates. Sure it's "old fashioned", but I have used PDA's since the earliest Palm Pilot and computer software from the pre Pack Rat pim through ECCO and of course, the ubiquitous Microsoft Outlook. They all have their strengths, but none, in my opinion can top a paper based system. Sometimes simpler is better.

I also got the Four Agreements written on concrete hearts. My sister Echo did them. She is a very talented calligrapher producing breath taking art on concrete castings and found stones as well as the traditional paper forms. I put the four sayings on the four pillars in the Green House.

Xena is particularly interested in one:
And she rarely does. She is one of my Spiritual Guru's. Happiness on four legs. Although I stumble daily, I do aspire to be half the man my dogs think I am..

Friends of ours dropped by for a quick over nighter and their dog joined in the nightly discussion of cheese and the relative merits of Stilton versus Kraft. Usually a short but lively forum with participants displaying rapt attention..
Hope there's some cheese in your life this week.

Something on My Mind

2010-07-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Decided to get something off of my mind.

The barber insisted on a signed release form from my significant other...

A friend of mine was despondent over losing her hair due to some Chemo Therapy. For some reason she laughed when she saw me. I don't know why..

And now I have to deal with zero degree July weather. Wearing a toque in July. Who'd a thought. Jeez if it ever gets hot we are going to evaporate..

Just got back from a quick trip to the Coast. A friend of mine passed away and I went to his service. A fellow I met on my first day on the job was there. He was 90 years old and still sharp as a tack. Found out about it at 5 a.m. and by 5 p.m. I was at the coast a thousand kilometers away..

I drove back yesterday, leaving the coast at 3 a.m. to beat construction on the highways, and when I got home Jo-Ann jumped in the car to make a quick trip to town. I got the call that the car was broken down by the side of the road. Turned out to be a broken fan belt. Glad that didn't happen in the Fraser Canyon.

While I was at the Coast I painted the bedroom my grand daughter is going to use. That was fun.

Laid linoleum in the Green House in prep for the growing beds. Exhausting work. The temperature had soared to 24C.
I have all the trim done. It was salvaged barnwood that I put a coat of stain on and a couple of coats of clear. There is also the same stuff around the floor but wasn't on when this pic was snapped.

Xena thinks the floor is way cushy for napping.l

Today some friends are dropping by to celebrate my big 60th. We're hoping for some sunshine. Hope there is sunshine in your life today!

Herding Cats

2010-07-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Kermode, AKA Kermit, has decided he wants to be included on our morning walk down to Savory road and back.

He is vociferous and tags along behind constantly mewling at the injustice of small legs and a two kilometre walk. He is a very talkative cat and comes when he is called. Letting us know he is coming with his strident mewing.

He isn't looking his dandiest lately as we have had to cut off a bunch of hair matts that were causing him some discomfort, and giving him a lumpy appearance. He is looking forward to having his luxurious fine coat back.

We put a coat of primer on the green house and stained the window wall a ceder hue.

Today I will high pressure spray a couple of coats of Eco friendly ( i.e. recycled) acrylic latex on and then a floor covering in preparation for Tire growing beds, Lights, wood heater and some kind of window insulation that has been percolating in the background for a while now.

The white really increases the light in the place.

Gate Crashers

2010-07-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Xena was outside having a snooze in the shade. 10C is just a little hot for her. She missed these gate crashers scoping out the place.

After they decided they didn't smell anything of interest in the yard they proceeded West right along side our balcony and then demonstrated the deer Limbo to go under the barb wire fence into the west field.

Today on bush walk we found a neat old split trunk fir that was left to seed the place from previous logging operations..

Right next to it on some flat bench land we found another "House". This one had an internal chicken coop, metal roof and sun deck.

This place was pretty well hidden in the bush and would be invisible from fifty feet away. According to an old timer the builder was an eccentric hippie type who lived on the property and would build these places and then knock them down to build another one. I don't know if he was trading up or what. I suppose I could salvage it but it would take a couple of days of clearing a road to get to it. And it is jam packed with a pack rat midden, much to the Gurls delight. Apparently there is another place on our property but we haven't found it yet.

Spent yesterday grinding siding and spreading caulk down on Tom's new rental place and then we trimmed out the green house and started caulking it in preparation for priming, painting, staining and varathaneing. Sounds like next week is going to be a painting marathon. The weather is supposed to be nice. I am going to take the seats out of the Van and put my paint sprayers and equipment in so I can Paint Tom's, the Gates around here and the Green house.

Hope your having a great weekend.

It's a Wireless World

2010-06-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

And I believe it will be. Just like the paperless office, flying cars, and micro homes. Just not quite yet.

A family member bought a new IPhone and gifted me the cast off Blackberry Pearl 8130. So I have fiddled with this latest bit of technology for the last couple of days. In actual fact the technology is two years old - which is ancient at the rate these things are changing.

I had an HTC phone with a huge data plan and lost it about two years ago. So my three year data plan just kept on charging me. Sans phone. To be fair they did reduce the charges. So I was paying for a phone I wasn't using. On trips I could borrow Jo-Ann's cell. Which was an old one she inherited from me. And which I broke the law with on several occasions. Not supposed to use a cell phone while driving - without a hands free.

As it turns out the high tech blue tooth enabled hands-free bud I purchased with the aforementioned lost phone works great with the Pearl. I even tried it on our driveway yesterday while going to town. I am now one of those weird people you see talking to themselves while driving down the road. Jeez, a deer just ran out in front of me. But I had both hands on the wheel - and most of my attention on driving..

I can also listen to Vivaldi and Gregorian Chants on ear phones while driving or walking around the place for that matter. Now I get the Ipod thing. Haven't figured out how to listen to music and monitor my phone with the ear bud just yet. Maybe I need to grow another ear.

We are contemplating ditching our land line, and it's base line 40$ per month charge ( if we don't use it..) We haven't used our fax machine in months. I haven't done any programing in the last six months.

I am in the middle of some middle age angst. Well, middle age if I am planning on living until the year 2070. I have spent quite some fruitless time reminiscing about the way things used to be. I was always on the cutting, even bleeding, edge of technology. Now I feel like I have the technical where withal of a Luddite. My daughter gave me a lesson on how the Pearl's input keys work. Some 20 something at the phone store got me connected to Facebook. Like I was the stereotypical old guy learning about the new-fangled technology. This here cell phone thing. The first one I had weighed 17 lbs and came with an over the shoulder carrying case. Super high tech. My first computer had a 50 Megabyte hard drive. Few people could figure out how to fill it up. At one time I was contemplating purchasing a one gigabyte U.S.B. stick except the sticker shock, $1000, kept me from it. Now you can pick them up for 10 bucks or less.The WWW was CompuServe. Now I routinely download programs that are hundreds of time larger. I was just reading about a new three Terra-byte hard drive. We are consuming so much of the internet we need bigger closets to store it in.. Computers used to be input devices. Now they are consumption conduits.

I am a potato farmer listening to Gregorian Chants while tending the gardens. On a third generation cell phone - that is two generations behind the latest UberPhone. The chickens only look with feigned politeness at my power point presentations.

I have a new job - I guess my angst is, in part, caused by trying to figure out what that is, and what my role in this new enterprise needs to be. Is the smart thing to do to work harder? I know about working smarter.. That was a line I used on employee's to get them to work harder.

Ah good thing there is a sweat this afternoon. I can sit in the womb like steaming darkness, with my hair almost catching fire, and pray with good friends for some Humility. And that Angst will melt.

A New Pair of Glasses

2010-06-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

You know your getting old when..

Just had my eyes checked. Weirdly my vision is getting better.. I had purchased two new pairs of glasses a year ago. A bifocal pair for general use and a special pair for working on the computer. The general usage bifocals got scratched and the coating came of within a couple of weeks so I reverted to my old pair while I got them repaired. And never switched back.

Now I am using four pairs of glasses. My old ones, used for painting; my new ones used for not painting; my Computer glasses, and of course the sun glasses.

I am going to get some contact lenses for winter use under a pair of snow goggles.

On a different note. Generally, I don't recommend Dad's teaching their kids to drive. Just too many bad habits being passed on. However there isn't a decent driving school within a Hundred miles so we'll just have to make do:

Cleo: O.K Dad, I am doing a shoulder check.
Xena: When's it my turn. I won't hit the gate like last time I promise..

and:

Yah, Yah, pay attention to the road at all times..is that an edible bug on your thumb?

Completed putting a buried power line to our internet tower, now there's no danger of cows eating the extension cord. Unless they find where I keep the shovels or skid-steer- and that would be bad!
Hope your having a great week.

A Change in The Weather

2010-06-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable. It actually got to 27C(80.6F) here yesterday. And it was hotter in Fraser Lake. And just five days ago we were lighting a fire to keep warm in the mornings and evenings. Wearing down vests and booties. Yesterday we're talking front and back screen doors working. At night screen windows left open in order to get a cooling cross breeze. Daily garden watering. Who knew? I can't imagine what it's like at The Midlife Farmwife's place in Illinois! in the high 90's with 200% Humidity! We would melt.

We've changed to summer hours. Up at 5, main meal at noonish, Lunch around 8ish. It just seems to let us get a lot more done.

There is a Forest fire burning about 30 kilometers East of us as the crow flies. It makes for some spectacular, but ominous, clouds.

We've been wondering what the Forest Fire threat is now that most of B.C.'s pine forests are standing dead wood. I have heard conflicting arguments. One is that green forests have more oils and that causes them to burn faster. The opposing view is that we burn dry wood in our furnaces for a reason. I tend to believe that latter opinion. We have a couple of back pack portable water spray cans and will soon be investing in a water tank and gas powered water pump that can be quickly loaded onto one of our yard trucks.

Observing the fire with equanimity, Kermie the Kat likes to hang out in a flower pot on our front Veranda that was going to be reserved for Tumbler Tomatoes.

Maybe now I'll just have to reserve it for Pussy Willows..

Hope to be getting back to the Green House project sometime this week. Now I am finishing cabinets and doing electrical connections to our internet tower.

Rock Stars and Loose Screws

2010-06-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

We're Rockhounds. A particularly, well, unusual group of people that collect rocks. Sometimes (mostly) the collections can get quite large. Where to put them? When we started the entrance fences we built them with a rough two by six ledge on top for displaying some of the overflow from our collection.

The Gurlz bringing up the rear.The one on the left is a 40 lb chunk of Opal from a local seam that is a yard wide and 500 feet long, and the one on the right is a large block of Bucchia (clam) fossils from the Cretaceous-Jurassic aged Mysterious Creek Formation on the East side of Harrison Lake.I was posting earlier about the rush of flowers. Here's an Orange Hawkweed:And another that shows the brilliant scarlet buds.We also noticed the start of the Daisy blush.Here's a handy hint when painting panels. Just drive a drywall screw through a 2 inch block of wood and place the panel on four of them. That way you can paint both sides of the panel. The tiny holes left by the sharp screws are barely noticeable:Hope your week is turning out wonderfully. The Sun is out here and the temperature is a scorching 13C. Might not need the down vest today...