Leading up to Xmas,2009

Blogging with this program is so frustrating. I must be missing something, because no matter how hard I try to get the pictures in some sort of reasonable sequence they end up in a random pattern.

Bec and Grace leaving from Dorval after their delightful visit.

Leo, Ben, Ollie and Grace at the Buffet lunch on Saturday 11th. The candles were both decorative and functional. There was a power outtage from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Gathering at the lunch table.

Xmas lights on the hedge in front of the farmhouse with Joe's Crowsnest fully decorated.

About time too ! Two long overdue shelves in Gabriel's cupboard. Out of sight, out of mind. Must do the staining soon !

A new look at the top of the farmhouse stairs. Lots of trimming and finishing to do on this project. Doors closed, and when opened this is what it looks like upstairs.

A newly created space in the library. Makes for a bit of privacy for the captain's bed.

One of these days I'd like to fill the windows with transparencies, representing the different branches of the family ! More on this idea later.

The only way to get the framing lumber for the "doors" project was through the bathroom window. Fortunately it had warmed right up and was only -10C. A dual purpose picture, this also shows the finished ramp door.

Hard to believe, but Xmas is almost upon us. Never a dull moment here. Our dear friends, Frances and Fred came for the last snow free weekend, Dec. 4-6 and we had a splendid time and Fred gave me some excellent advice on insulating the attic and some thoughts on upgrading the supply lines for the plumbing. The attic has been totally cleared of years of accumulated junk and four large bags of insulating batting have been added. Another twelve to go. So far, so good. The ultra sonic rodent machine seems to be working properly. No more squirrely sounds from the attic.

Rebecca and Grace visited, arriving on December 9th in the middle of a huge snow storm. We had a wonderful visit with them, including a super lunch at Magnans and a great buffet lunch at Ash with Vicky, Christopher, Ben, Oliver and Leo.

We returned to the Farm on the 15th to find another foot of snow on the ground ! The snow blower got a good work out.

Time to go and cut down a Christmas Tree. It gets harder and harder to find a small one in the 30 year plantation !

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful and peaceful holiday season.

Enjoy. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all. Looking forward to your next visit to the farm.

A New Winter cover !

This post is especially for Grand-daughter Millie. Millie was very concerned, during the summer, with the leaking roof and was most helpful getting pails set out to catch the drips. I think that next spring I'll have to get a scaffolding up and do some repairs on the roof !

By the way, Millie, this blue tarpaulin came from British Columbia !!

It is still unusually mild, so today will be a scything and shredding day !

Whew ! Actually did the job I planned to do.

Just a quick post today!


Being a 'Happy Farmer' involves understanding two immutable principles and learning to live with them is the key to happiness.

1) Nature rules man and those who think otherwise are sorely mistaken.
2) Machinery is only as good as the constant upkeep and maintenance.

Having a 'done list' is one way of respecting these principles and helps to avoid lots of frustration and tension.

This huge trunk and its accompany limbs are now stored off the ground, to dry out and await milling one day.

Grounds Upkeep-An on-going activity.

Just a week ago, Saturday 7th, Vicky, Christopher, Ben, Ollie and Leo visited, bringing the most delicious dinner- marinated salmon fillets that Christopher did on the BBQ. Vicky prepared, as a special treat, creme brule for dessert. Apparently she wondered whether or not I would have a blow torch, to which Ollie remarked that " Grandpa Phillip has everything" , or words to that effect. Having produced the blow torch, which Vicky wielded professionally, Christopher asked if Ollie's observation was correct, to which I replied that there were one or two things that I might not have, for instance a Chipper/Shredder !

Today's job. Get the pine logs, suitable for milling, off the ground and racked for drying. And, while I'm at it, get the stump cut down to ground level !

I don't think it is worth getting a stump grinder. More practical to rent one for a week !!

Clearing out the "plantation" .

Moving from brush pile to brush pile in Dad's plantation. Chipper/shredder makes wonderful mulch !The whole area is beginning to look quite respectable after several years of neglect. This might be the perfect site for a small shelter constructed out of some locally cut wood:

The mowing season is over, as is the leaf blowing, vacuuming and mulching. And as the vegetation dies unsightly reminders of incomplete brush clearing appear !

Just one week ago, Gabriel remarked, after a chariot ride on a beautiful afternoon, that the piles of brush in the tree line were quite noticeable and that she understood why I had been casting my eyes on a chipper/shredder, and very generously offered to get me one, which I needed no further encouragement to follow through on !

Thank you, Gabriel. This piece of equipment has already proven to be one of the best acquisitions, and it's all thanks to you.

Our local township has all but banned outside brush burning, in fact has pratically eliminated all fires. This is a very sore point with local farmers and yet another example of the continuing intrusion into our lives by government.

It looks as if we will have another beautiful day, so must get down to work . This great weather is an unexpected bonus.

SOME DREAMS HAPPEN !

Naturally, the sequence of pictures is exactly the reverse to the one I wanted !

Here is the almost completed work barn addition. Two doors make up the sliding barn door. The green one was from the inside of the farmhouse, from some 37 years ago and the pink one was either the front door of the house or cottage when we first came here in 1972.

Checking to make sure the entrance is wide enough to take the lawn tractor with the mower deck !

Framing, and selecting windows !

Preparing the foundation. The last of the railway ties !

The chosen space for the extension.

Staining and final trimming will have to wait for next spring. Always something to look forward to !

Winter won't be far off, I have all four winter tires on, so for the next few days I'll make sure that everything is put away, do the pre-winter maintenance on all the equipment and get the snow blower cab re-installed.

A beautiful sunrise today, so we're off to Ottawa for a visit to the Nicholas Hoare bookstore and the National Gallery.

No thoughts about my next dream, for a winter indoors project, but will let you know when it is done.

Thanksgiving -2009

Our full scale Thanksgiving Dinner happened on Friday night this year ! Vicky, Christopher,Ben, Ollie and Leo joined us and stayed 'til Saturday p.m. when they headed off to Lake Macdonald. The weather finally cleared up and we had a beautiful day.

Christopher dug out around the octopus-like roots of the manitoba maple stump in front of the Main Barn.Very tenacious. I had dulled three chains on the saw trying to reduce it ! Finally this area is clear. The white spot behind the tractor was the boulder that Roy helped me drag away. We were doing quite well with the Cockshutt 30, but it suddenly decided to quit so we had to bring Dobbin in for the final tug ! Replacing the ignition switch solved the problem later.

Emptying and storing the water barrels gave rise to some interesting games and an impromptu steel drum percussion activity !

We were able to finish the closing of the pool with the winter blanket and leaf net. This picture shows the finished job on the skimmer replacement project.

A little fall bouquet, all from the garden. Zinnias and a lupin. In early October !

Well, this morning there is a heavy white frost carpet so it will be time to clear out the flower baskets and start the clean up of the garden and flower beds.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !

Fall - A Recap ! Tuesday, October 6th.

Tractor hoist- A servicing aid !

Morning Glories on the workbarn.

The obelisk and apple tree !

Paving stones from the pool side.

New skimmer installed.

More Morning Glories.

Baskets, roses and hydrangeas.

Although I haven't been "blogging" for very long, it dawns on me that isn't really the ideal vehicule for most stay-at-home retirees who don't spend a lot of time traveling or relocating as snowbirds for the winter in the South.

Our days are full of activities and events, but somehow they are not terribly newsworthy and are of a cyclical nature. Fall is close down time, and it seems as if I only just the spring opening completed. The only 'exciting' aspect of these phases is that I am constantly seeking ways to make them easier to perform !

I recently added an air-nipple to the cottage water system so that closing is just that much easier. Turn off the pump, open the taps and attach the compressor to the nipple and just let it run 'til all the water has drained. I now have such a system going for the cottage and the main distribution from the Barn to the pool, garden and workbarn. So far so good !

The big job so far this fall has been replacing the skimmer at the pool and changing the sand (250 lbs of soggy/dirty sand to dispose of ) ! Since the skimmer is underground, at the pool side the paving has to be lifted up and moved and the hole to access the piping for the skimmer has to be about 4 feet deep. It was a blessing that Al Hogg came back here after we had drained the water at his summer cottage and he installed the new skimmer for me. Thanks again,Al. I think I would have still beeen struggling with it next Spring !

Between frequent showers I have nearly got the paving re-installed. Our weather has been rather poor for the past week and today is the first clear early morning, with the temperature hovering at about +3 C. With all the rain the grass thinks its spring all over again so once it dries out there is another (hopefully the last) round of mowing and leaf collection to do.

The big excitement here in late August and for much of September was the local township activity on the Shaver Drain, known more familiarily as the creek. High hoes and trucks, and the grass along the stream banks resembles a battle field. From the boundary fence on the west side , right through to our bridge at the entrance a 50 foot swath of mass destruction and huge banks of clay dredged out. It could have been worse I suppose. As it turns out most of the work was a waste of time and effort because once they removed a couple of major beaver dams further upstream the stream rose about three feet for a few hours and has now reverted to a slow trickle. We tried to tell them that all they needed to do was the dams, but to no avail. There is however, a collateral benefit. As you know Stata Road has washed out annually just near our entrance since the melt couldn't get to the stream any other way, coming off the fields to the East. The culvert on the other side of the road leading to the stream was too small and quite useless. Yesterday they came , removed the old piece of junk and put in a longer and larger replacement, and cleared the outlet down to the stream. We'll see if this works come next spring ! Here's hoping !!

Well, we've had a super summer with great visits from family and friends and are looking forward to sharing some Thanksgiving cheer with Vicky, Christopher, Ben, Ollie and Leo this coming weekend.

By the middle of October I should have got all of the pre-winter jobs completed and can then put my mind to getting the snowblower ready ! No great construction projects although I am tempted to build an extension on the work barn at the back to house the machinery and to replace the temporary shelter that is there now. It's fun to dream about such ideas !

Our vegetable garden wasn't the greatest this year, but flowers and baskets, not to mention clematis, roses and morning glories have been just great. We have a lovely bouquest of zinnias with a beautiful late lupin, gracing the dining room table, and the delphinium in front of the work barn is into its third flowering !

Attaching a couple of pictures, but as usual they will end up in this blog, where they want to be rather than where I would put them.

The tractor lift is my latest mechanical toy and should make servicing the mower much easier.

Now it's time to get the bird feeders back in place to see what we can attract to provide on-going entertainment for the Happy Farmer's wife and suitable distraction from her letter writing activities !

Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving.

Summer -2009

A whole month since the last posting. Summer is here, if in name, not weather. There have been no water problems for flower baskets or vegetable garden, nor for that matter in the pool which always consumes vasts amounts as the vacuuming and backwashing takes its toll. This morning is beautifully sunny but cool. The furnace came on, as the temperature dropped to 5C. Surely a record !
The weather was "iffy" for our Annual Family gathering, July 4/5th, but didn't interfere with swimming or BBQing, eating outside, the firework show ably mounted by Christopher, Gabriel's annual Treasure hunt or late night bocce. The West Coast was well represented but we missed Tony and Olivia. Olivia was preparing for a month long visit to China ! Oliver is off to Japan for a month, but not 'til the end of July. Amazing travel opportunities for the young these days !
Lots of time mowing, trimming, weeding and general grounds upkeep. The addition of the soccer pitch has further extended the groomed areas and has been well used. To assist in the grounds upkeep my old Mainline tractor has been outfitted with a new engine and has already seen service tilling and clearing brush using the sickle mower.
Time for a treasure hunt ! The crowsnest is a favorite spot ! Thanks, Joe.

Swimming.

Friday night at the farm.

Mainline with sickle mower.

Mainline with tiller.

Not the most inspired posting, but I find it quite annoying the way the program handles inserting pictures so get frustrated far too easily and give up. Maybe I'll just give up on the text and just post some pictures !

Hope you are having a good summer and encourage you to come visit and bring some nice weather !

Coping with the explosion of Spring !

Having Joe at the farm is just great and we have tackled a few projects that needed his expertise. I had stripped down the old (35+ yr, beaten up) trailer and here it is ready for a new life ! Two nearly new tires on the rims- they were from the Dodge Caravan that went in January. Naturally the new car has different size tires ! We replaced some of the broken lug nuts and managed to find suitable replacements. Bought a decent electric impact wrench to remove the rusted nuts and get the new new ones on !
Flowers and veg on the bench behind Joe need to be planted today and tomorrow !

New wheels on. Joe ready to frame and build !

We still have these beautiful tulips on the front lawn. Planted with Grace, Millie and Jack last October !

Joe fixed the loose siding on the upper wall and then installed this siding on the ramp extension.

There are no pictures to document the job we did on the cottage, stairwell walls. Our anti-rodent intrusion actvity. So far seems to be successful !!

Al Hogg and his father made this obelisk that stands right behind the "welcome" post ! Signs of sweet peas and morning glories are already showing !

The front herbaceous border is full of Stars of Bethlehem and Forget-me-nots ! Lupins are coming and the irises both in this bed and beside the cottage are in full bloom.

At the front entrance, road side- all mowed and trimmed !

There are still a few flower baskets to make up, some more planting in the vegetable garden and this week we'll get the pool open. What with weeding, trimming, mowing, mowing and mowing, and then vacuuming up the grass clippings there is rarely a dull moment here !

I'm going to have to do another post to show off Joe's other major project-- The Crows'Nest-Look-Out.

Off to Ottawa today to visit the WestFest activities and see Ben performing with his African Band !

The Happy Farmer's Wife reflects

Since the Happy Farmer has made one or two vague references to my bird watching, I think it is time for me to make a guest appearance in his blog, to provide a few ornithological details for those who may be interested. (Given the subject-matter, should I perhaps be Twittering or Tweeting ? but I have no idea what that entails.)

Yes ! I have made definite advances from my original state of almost-total lack of knowledge about birds. This is all thanks to the Happy F, who has hung two feeders outside my window, thus providing me with a close-up view of the patrons from dawn to dusk. We hoped that the second feeder would attract Cardinals, but they prefer to stay on the ground (and are an infrequent, but always exciting, sight) Other large birds who pick up seeds spilt on the ground, are Blue Jays and Mourning Doves; but there are some birds of equal size, Grackles and Red-Winged Blackbirds, who seem to have no difficulty balancing on the rather skimpy perches. When they are around, the smaller birds stay away. I don’t like the R-W blackbird’s personality, but his appearance is interesting: in mid-March when he first arrived (a month or so ahead of the female), the red stripe on his wing was barely visible. ‘Red-winged’ is really a misnomer, as his wings are all black except for a double stripe of red and yellow. These colours are now vivid, and he has become sleeker and glossier to greet the spring (or to greet his returning mate?). He is indeed handsome, but the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is the handsomest of all. I only recently identified the female R-B Grosbeak. She is not in the least rose-breasted, in fact quite different from the male; a pretty bird nonetheless, with brown streaks like a sparrow but bigger and plumper.

And while we are discussing good looks, I must mention my favourite, the Downy Woodpecker, who does not visit frequently, (too busy elsewhere I suppose,) but is a joy to behold, with his exquisite patterning of black and white.
Now for the smaller birds: most numerous and faithful in all weathers, Black-capped Chickadees who are like hyperactive children, continually hopping from one perch to another; the Nuthatch, almost always upside down; various sparrows, whom I have not yet sorted out except for the rusty-capped Chipping Sparrow; and Goldfinches both male ( now very bright yellow) and female (olive-coloured) who often come to my feeders, I don’t know why, as they have a special feeder (filled with niger-seed) outside the dining-room window.

There are no doubt other species I have failed to note, through “ignorance, pure ignorance” as Dr. Johnson would say. The bird books aren’t always as helpful as one could wish. I am definitely deterred by pages of ‘Confusing Warblers’ (because if those warblers are confusing to the experts who wrote the book, what hope is there for me?)
Never mind, it is a pleasure just being an amateur. I’m only sorry I (unlike the Happy Farmer) cannot back up my observations with photography.

Happy Farmer’s Wife


P.S. Between writing and posting a third feeder- this for the Hummingbirds has been added. I will encourage G. to follow this posting up with further sightings and remarks.

Tree Harvesting !

Al and Wendy, en route to Brockville, dropped in to 'harvest' some spruce/pine saplings.

We dug out half a dozen really fine, small specimens, from the power line right of way. These are all self-seeded trees and there are so many growing, ripe for transplanting, so if you would like some, let me know, and come and get them !

I may just have to go down and get a few to plant !

No more excuses !

Getting the satellite connection was a huge step forward. No more being 'dumped off' half way through a post. It was generally observed that I was short on memory, so a recent implant has solved this problem and I am operating at great speed. One step is rarely enough and so we have installed a router that means that those in the cottage will in future have all the benefits of high speed internet on their wi-fi enabled portables. No need to sit in my smoky room for internet access any more !
On the low end of the tech. spectrum, Joe has re-attached the two pieces of siding on the side of the farmhouse that got blown off during the winter. When we were reduced to one piece of eavestroughing on the front of the house ( see picture in last post) it was time to review the whole business of gutters. A local firm came and did the installation. Front and back, one continuous piece, so no more more dripping over the doors. Quite reasonable and the whole job was done in about an hour and fifteen minutes. Two additional downspouts and water barrels and we have an additional supply of water for the flowers !

The mowing season has started and yesterday I did most of the main lawn, around the vegetable garden and in front of the cottage. Rain stopped play, so I will try and get some more done today. Every time I set-out to do a bit of planting I am reminded that we will still have frost at night so I postpone for a bit longer. Dawson, our great neighbour, tells me that the land is still too cold and that the seeds won't germinate. He is usually right.

Another five dead trees have been cut down from the fence line in the field behind the farmhouse and I'm waiting for the ground to dry up a bit to get in and remove all the brush and debris.

The swallows returned and appear to be in full production mode. There is considerable traffic in and out of the work barn. Gabriel continues to study bird life from her vantage point in her room and it seems that every day she finds a new addition to her growing list of sightings.

Any day now the apple trees should blossom, along with the lilac, and I fear that the tulips will be long gone before the Tulip Festival is supposed to begin. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we go from the dingy greyness of April to the lush verdant green of May. The delicate, shimmering green of the tree leaves is, I think, especially beautiful and so refreshing.

I hope that you are all getting a chance to smell and feel this incredible season of re-birth, of nature at its most powerful.

A Beautiful Spring Morning

Installing the staellite dish.

Cold, but sunny. Any temptation to think of planting is tempered by the reality of the early morning temperature, It is -5C this a.m. Crazy. By 4 p.m. this afternoon it will be about +40C in the solarium. The thin covering of ice on the pool reminds me that it is too early to open it. We have been having beautiful weather so all the Spring opening routines are complete, with water in the cotttage and the general watering system all functioning. Some of the trees are in leaf and the grass is lush and bright green. Time to get the mower ready ! Lilac bushes about to burst into bloom. Lots of daffodils and encouraging signs of tulips to come.

The big news here is that I have had a satellite connection set-up for the internet. Much faster and more stable. The addition of a wi-fi router will mean that cottage residents can have access too.

We had a super weekend visit with Frances and Fred which was delightful.

Al Hogg came by on Saturday and we cut him a really good 20ft + pine log and loaded him up with jacks and construction posts. He is planning on raising a corner of his summer cottage in Brockville. Memories of summer '99 and the cottage reconstruction project. Hard to believe that it was ten years ago.

We will be returning to Montreal on Sunday for a couple of days, to greet Joe on his return from winter cruising and his week in Vancouver and Victoria.

The swallows returned on April 25th so another cycle begins.

Let's hope that May continues the beautiful weather we've had so far.

First Daffodils, and First BBQ !

Thursday p.m. and back to the farm. The stream of snowbirders returning from the South continues apace, on the East bound lanes of the 401. Not my idea of fun driving !

Well, it was so beautiful that we couldn't resist having our first BBQ of the year. The trusty WEBER went right into action and we enjoyed that slightly burned flavour that has been missing these past few months.
We weren't up to speed when Al and Wendy Hogg dropped in last weekend. I must get some steaks ready for their next visit on their next trip to the cottage in Brockville. Al needs a 20ft pine for a barrier so I'll have some fun getting one cut and readied for him.

These are real daffodils, no more plastic, that welcomed us on our return today.

We returned to the farm with two french doors that I found at the local Eco-centre. More about that project when it is finished ! Tomorrow will be brush, scrub and branch pick up day, with a bit more tilling. With a bit of luck we'll have fresh lettuce for our big event in July. Whatever I seed now will need to covered at night to protect against the frost. Warm days and cold nights.

The lilac bushes are looking very healthy and some of the trees are beginning to bud. Time to get the mower readied. First cut is only a week or two away ! I think it is safe to put the snow blower away now and give some thought to changing the snow tires on the van.

If anyone is interested in some Morning Glory seeds let me know. I'll gladly send you a package.

Spring may be here at long last !!

Vicky showing Gabriel a great Yorkshire pudding that Gabriel had prepared to accompany the roast beef Easter special.



Good Friday; 2009. Vicky, Christopher, Ben,Ollie and Leo at the farm for the day.
Ben half way up the pine tree, clearing out dead branches. Oliver behind him.

A work in progress: Clearing the fence line in the field behind the farm house. Pine/Spruce trees now exposed.

Inclement weather in the first week of April, so this is another project to be added to the done list. Clothes cupboard for Gabriel in passage to bathroom.

Grass beginning to green. Hidden just behind the hedge is the new gas tank. The old one, still visible on the left will be removed shortly !

A sure sign that spring is on its way ! Christopher, Ollie and Ben pulled the leaf blanket off the pool and scooped out dead leaves and muck.

Leo, Ollie and Christopher, tackled the large pine tree on the front lawn. A microburst may just have whipped through and broken off a ring of branches.