Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Garden
Despite the heat and humidity I was determined to finish up the garden and more specifically, strengthen the rapidly growing tomato plants. Here is a photo of the mini-hoop shelter I created using 1/2'" rebar and poly-pipe. Over the winter and early spring can cover this with a heavy poly and experiment wth growing winter greens as well set my seedlings out in early spring. Behind the raised bed in the photo there is a garden I am starting for next year. The tarp is visible in the photo. Cutting and lighting the grass was out of the question as it is rooted n heavy clay so I am getting around this by layering cardboard , then soil, then several layers of leaves ( later in the fall) and hopefully seaweed that I need to start collecting. By spring I should have , according to the locals in-the-know, a healthy workable bed. I overestimated the amount of poly-pipe I needed so I actually have enough left over for a smaller version in the new garden. which will be ideal for early greens before frost. The raised garden will be for heat loving and tender plants and herbs. I am already looking forward to winters seed catalogues!!
Just back from our peaceful morning swim with the two eagles that join us each day, but even though the water temperature is warmer, the air is much cooler so I think shall have a warm breakfast and hot coffee this morning!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
August already?
I have gotten so far away from writing that I had forgotten I had even started this! Just came back from our early morning swim at Lumsden's Dam at 6:30. A glorious morning with mist shivering on the surface. The moon and the sun both competing for a presence over the mist.There were nine of us today and ten if you counted the beaver! Home for some yogurt and homemade granola and then off to yoga with my friend Melinda who is a lovely calming instructor. I asked her to come and do a yoga practice here at the house one morning when you are all here. She said she would love to so what do you all think? Maybe it could even be women's only!
After yoga I popped into the Rolled Oat, my favourite little local eatery and Amanda had a gluten free rhubarb strawberry muffin ready for me. Over to Home Hardware to order more fencing lumber for Mke , arrange for the rest of the flooring to be delivered and then promptly left the store leaving my repaired screen at the desk. Sure enough, I arrive home to a phone call ..." Hey Libby, it's Tammy ...you forgot your screen." Love it.
So today I am making an effort to get as much outdoor work done as I can as it is intensely hot . High of 30 with humidity levels I don't even want to know about. Spreadng mulch on a new garden out front, finish planting plants I got for 75% off, ( I prefer to call it a rescue mission) finish spreading the last of the top soil load on the front lawn and seed it as it is really rough. Hard to cut becasue of the all the holes and the predominant weed population. Also hoping to finish primng some OSB boards I picked up at Home Depot yesterday so that I can finally get a 'big girl' bed - off the floor! The smell of the glue in the wood is overwhelming so hopefully the primer will temper that and seal it.
I have a batch of dried clover finishing for tea this winter. My friend Janene and I harvested a nce batch down at Grand Pre when we went swimming in the ocean last evenng. It is the location for some of the endangered pipng plovers and other shore birds to land. The sunlight at that time was magical in the way it transformed the colour of the grasses all along the shore. The birds were fantastic to watch as they dip, split the flock and rejoin wth Olympic synchronization. The water was great, but tricky to navigate as you have to swim through the grasses at high tide and try to find a channel that exists but that can only be seem at low tide. It was like swimming with eels! We were joined by the naturalist at Blomidon. A fascinating woman who I am getting to know and tomorrow we are joning her on a botany hke looking at native medicinal plants. From there I will head to afternoon knitting at Gaspereau Fibres. Ahh, too few hours in the day!
So pitter patter...time to get back outskde and fnish todays's tasks before the market at 5:00. Hmmm...I wonder who the musicians will be tonght?
After yoga I popped into the Rolled Oat, my favourite little local eatery and Amanda had a gluten free rhubarb strawberry muffin ready for me. Over to Home Hardware to order more fencing lumber for Mke , arrange for the rest of the flooring to be delivered and then promptly left the store leaving my repaired screen at the desk. Sure enough, I arrive home to a phone call ..." Hey Libby, it's Tammy ...you forgot your screen." Love it.
So today I am making an effort to get as much outdoor work done as I can as it is intensely hot . High of 30 with humidity levels I don't even want to know about. Spreadng mulch on a new garden out front, finish planting plants I got for 75% off, ( I prefer to call it a rescue mission) finish spreading the last of the top soil load on the front lawn and seed it as it is really rough. Hard to cut becasue of the all the holes and the predominant weed population. Also hoping to finish primng some OSB boards I picked up at Home Depot yesterday so that I can finally get a 'big girl' bed - off the floor! The smell of the glue in the wood is overwhelming so hopefully the primer will temper that and seal it.
I have a batch of dried clover finishing for tea this winter. My friend Janene and I harvested a nce batch down at Grand Pre when we went swimming in the ocean last evenng. It is the location for some of the endangered pipng plovers and other shore birds to land. The sunlight at that time was magical in the way it transformed the colour of the grasses all along the shore. The birds were fantastic to watch as they dip, split the flock and rejoin wth Olympic synchronization. The water was great, but tricky to navigate as you have to swim through the grasses at high tide and try to find a channel that exists but that can only be seem at low tide. It was like swimming with eels! We were joined by the naturalist at Blomidon. A fascinating woman who I am getting to know and tomorrow we are joning her on a botany hke looking at native medicinal plants. From there I will head to afternoon knitting at Gaspereau Fibres. Ahh, too few hours in the day!
So pitter patter...time to get back outskde and fnish todays's tasks before the market at 5:00. Hmmm...I wonder who the musicians will be tonght?
Saturday, March 17, 2012
St Patricks Day
So tomorrow Adam, Laura and Abigail will join us for a hike and then we will return for a meal that we can not only afford but are able to choose what we want to eat. We will have a traditional Irish colcannon in remembrance of my ancestors subsistence living on potatoes and their arrival here in Canada under the most tragic circumstances. German rouladen is also on the menu but that becasue we are privileged to have choice about the foods we may consume and not just for sustenance, but for celebration.
Spring has sprung...literally
The past two months have flown by , like the dozens of Canada Geese that have decided to take up residence in the pond and streams here in the park. At first I was delighted to see these iconic feathered creatures flying in their famous v-formation overhead ; hearing their mechanical flapping and their famous (infamous?) honking. However I have since discovered that a sole walker is considered to be a threat and I now must walk with a big stick for protection! Rubber boots have become standard footwear as dodging goose poop is a pointless effort. They must be starting to prepare for the arrival of their goslings as they seem to be pairing off . As sweet as the little fluffy babies will be to watch as they arrive, I am also imagining that we may be held hostage here as the road and open space around the park will be heavily guarded by nervous honking biting flapping parents!
A lone trumpeter swan has taken up residence here a couple weeks back. At first it was thought that it came from the farm down the road that has over twenty swans of various species. This got us all discussing what the story on this might be. Swans are monogamous and mate for life. However, there is a small percentage that divorce...seriously, I looked it up! Some of the women here were hoping it was a female showing courage and taking back her life and so her life story started to develop. The farmer came and took a look and said it wasn't one of his birds. It is less than three years old, ( how he could tell this I have no idea) so has yet to attract a mate. Where this bird will find mate in this remote area is anyone's guess as the birds down the road already have partners. Apparently there is no polygamy in that community so either this swan is going to have to subscribe to Plenty of Fish or consider an inter-racial relationship. That would be cool. A swoose or a gwan...?We also have some wood ducks, some mallards and another water fowl that I haven't identified. It is a bit nerve racking trying to get close enough for a picture with all those geese surrounding me. It is amazing how menacing two tiny black eyes can be. They don't even have eyebrows to furrow.
The weather the past few days have been in the high teens and up to 20 today. Incredible. The first thought is to head outside and see what we can do to start to bring this trailer up to date. Speaking of bringing the trailer up...hydraulic jacks will be required to jack the trailer up and replace all the supports. After our plumbing 'disconnect' episode we were able to ascertain that the supports are pretty much rotten to non-existent. We already suspected this from the unusual tilt to the counter-tops and the hills and valleys in the flooring. You know the floor is off balance when your rolling computer chair is unable to maintain it's position and your core muscles are getting a workout trying to remain in front of the monitor. After a while you get lazy and just reach from the left side of the desk. I was wondering why I continue to have chronic neck strain on one side. So back to the exterior . That is now on hold. We knew the ground was a bit spongy even during the deep freeze for winter. Now we understand why. Our plot of land is the end of the ditch that was created to drain the ground water and the little spring away from the other trailer lots on our street. The maintenance man here at the park put it in proper perspective...."you're sinking". I wonder if this is the rite of passage here in the park? So we have turned our efforts indoors....replacing the floors instead. Great thing about floating floors: even after jacking up and leveling the trailer, nothing is likely to crack!
A lone trumpeter swan has taken up residence here a couple weeks back. At first it was thought that it came from the farm down the road that has over twenty swans of various species. This got us all discussing what the story on this might be. Swans are monogamous and mate for life. However, there is a small percentage that divorce...seriously, I looked it up! Some of the women here were hoping it was a female showing courage and taking back her life and so her life story started to develop. The farmer came and took a look and said it wasn't one of his birds. It is less than three years old, ( how he could tell this I have no idea) so has yet to attract a mate. Where this bird will find mate in this remote area is anyone's guess as the birds down the road already have partners. Apparently there is no polygamy in that community so either this swan is going to have to subscribe to Plenty of Fish or consider an inter-racial relationship. That would be cool. A swoose or a gwan...?We also have some wood ducks, some mallards and another water fowl that I haven't identified. It is a bit nerve racking trying to get close enough for a picture with all those geese surrounding me. It is amazing how menacing two tiny black eyes can be. They don't even have eyebrows to furrow.
The weather the past few days have been in the high teens and up to 20 today. Incredible. The first thought is to head outside and see what we can do to start to bring this trailer up to date. Speaking of bringing the trailer up...hydraulic jacks will be required to jack the trailer up and replace all the supports. After our plumbing 'disconnect' episode we were able to ascertain that the supports are pretty much rotten to non-existent. We already suspected this from the unusual tilt to the counter-tops and the hills and valleys in the flooring. You know the floor is off balance when your rolling computer chair is unable to maintain it's position and your core muscles are getting a workout trying to remain in front of the monitor. After a while you get lazy and just reach from the left side of the desk. I was wondering why I continue to have chronic neck strain on one side. So back to the exterior . That is now on hold. We knew the ground was a bit spongy even during the deep freeze for winter. Now we understand why. Our plot of land is the end of the ditch that was created to drain the ground water and the little spring away from the other trailer lots on our street. The maintenance man here at the park put it in proper perspective...."you're sinking". I wonder if this is the rite of passage here in the park? So we have turned our efforts indoors....replacing the floors instead. Great thing about floating floors: even after jacking up and leveling the trailer, nothing is likely to crack!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentines Day
Here at the "Regency" we are learning to live life a little differently. Striving for Simplicity is our motto. We are attempting to divest ourselves of the unnecessary in our lives; unnecessary debt, unnecessary stuff, unnecessary stress. Moving to a trailer certainly seemed like the 'vehicle' to help us achieve that. We love to camp; always have. I mean really, what does the word trailer evoke when you hear it? Vacation, relaxation, simplicity right? Well suffice to say it is always a good idea to do the research before jumping into what seems like a 'good idea'!
We are heating with wood now. Not because we decided to do this but rather we discovered we really didn't have another option. One week after moving in we discovered that we had used 40% of our tank of propane which runs at a replacement of $300.00 a fill!. The furnace , stove, water heater and dryer all run off propane. The furnace was already running non-stop at only 65 °. It is now set at 63 ° . With minimal insulation and heat ducts in only one half of the trailer we quickly realized that the not-to-code-wood stove was going to have to be brought to code and put into service. I have adjusted to the fact that when I am in public I no longer need to be concerned about the sideways glances I had been receiving nor that people seemed to be distancing themselves when in queues for groceries and the like. It's not personal. I smell of smoke. My furniture smells of smoke. Even the cats smell like smoke.
The first step was to have the stove W.E.T.T. certified....for a price of course. I am more than happy to pay for services rendered but $200.00 later we were informed what we already knew - it didn't meet code. So after securing an no-longer-manufactured piece of pipe and modifications to the trailer; removing a ceramic platform and refinishing it with another non-combustible surface 5 inches lower than it is currently plus adding another 9 inches to the chimney pipe ( which actually involves removing it and installing the newly located no-longer-manufactured pipe found somewhere down near Crystal Beach) we will be able to have it certified so that we can obtain insurance coverage - of course for another $200.00 plus the cost of the pipe; another $110.00.
So now to secure a supply of wood. A bush cord or a face cord? ; like fine wine how long has it aged?; where to store it? Very quickly on we realized that we were burning through the little wood we had scavenged rapidly. Hiking into the bush for kindling and dead wood was clearly not going to even get us through 24 hours. We were so pleased to find a source of wood in exchange for assistance in cutting up and stacking fallen trees in the nearby woods . The gentleman who we are working with seems to enjoy the company too and has generously offered to deliver it to our little lot of leased property in the scoop of his front end loader! This certainly was starting to feel like we were beginning to move closer to our goal of simple living!
A day of splitting, chopping and stacking made us feel like we were hardy souls living an authentic lifestyle. We had enough firewood to keep us going for well - maybe a long time! However a week later , Glenn is away and I am hauling my wheelbarrow through the frozen woods, up a hill to try to get enough wood to get me through the night!! So much for our 'stockpile'.
Yesterday I received another load, which is about two face cords ( I love just tossing that out there as if it is a normal part of daily conversation) and I am as happy as bird with a newly filled feeder! I spent some time chopping the choice pieces for kindling this morning. I am quite proud of myself now as I can split in a single pass and have learned how to split one log almost to the bottom , then turn and cleanly split all the way through the second blow and have four neat pieces ready for the kindling box. I was feeling pretty smug the first time I filled two boxes thinking I had enough for the whole winter. Quickly I discovered that this exercise would be repeated every other day! I figure in a couple weeks time Michele Obama will have nothin' on my biceps!
So this morning I am looking at the wood pile at the bottom of my front stoop. Clearly the only way I am going to be able to use the stairs is to move these two cords. What to do - invite someone for dinner and hope that when they see they have to climb over the wood to get in, they will take pity and offer to help? No, instead I decide that this is an opportunity to put theory into action.
I don't know about you but I am an experiential learner. So all this talk about Energy Transfer is very vague to me. I decide to try an experiment to understand what this means.From the website ask.com I have this definition ..."transfer is a process by which internal energy from one substance transfers to another substance"
So here is my experiment. Staying with the theme of simplicity and self reliance I use what I have handy to work with. I have a pile of wood that needs to be moved, I have a body that doesn't really seem to be adequate for the task however with the internal energy of 'need to get this done', I seek out tools that can help me transfer that energy to moving the wood pile. Whistling Mary Poppin's " Just a spoonful of sugar" and snapping my fingers wasn't at all useful so I resorted to another idea.
Using my axe; expending some of my own energy on chopping kindling which I know I can do and using the immediate and accessible Valentines Day chocolates I discovered that if you a) chop kindling for 10 minutes plus b) eat two chocolates this would result in more energy to chop another ten minutes of kindling and receive or I mean secure two more chocolates. This then resulted in increased energy transfer to the wood pile!
Now this was a much larger task and required a strong back, strong knees and a keen sense of order as three courses of wood needed to be created in such a way the the front door could still open , not too much interior light be blocked and ultimately that it would pass the BSG inspection in approximately one weeks time. ( Inside acronym which I may reveal at a later date with permission) Clearly this would require that greater energy transfer principles be utilized. Ten minutes of loading , lifting , unloading and stacking plus approximately 10 minutes of energy would require at least three chocolates.
Unfortunately I neglected to calculate the supply of chocolates in relation to the number of loads of wood .
Oh well, the wood is stacked and I have earned a hearty meal. Homemade celery garlic soup is simmering on the stove! It also helps to justify the outrageous amount of chocolate that was consumed.
However I can now say that I now grasp the theory of energy transfer and as a matter of fact I have enough energy coursing through my my body that I would propose that chocolate is an under utilized source of energy!
We are heating with wood now. Not because we decided to do this but rather we discovered we really didn't have another option. One week after moving in we discovered that we had used 40% of our tank of propane which runs at a replacement of $300.00 a fill!. The furnace , stove, water heater and dryer all run off propane. The furnace was already running non-stop at only 65 °. It is now set at 63 ° . With minimal insulation and heat ducts in only one half of the trailer we quickly realized that the not-to-code-wood stove was going to have to be brought to code and put into service. I have adjusted to the fact that when I am in public I no longer need to be concerned about the sideways glances I had been receiving nor that people seemed to be distancing themselves when in queues for groceries and the like. It's not personal. I smell of smoke. My furniture smells of smoke. Even the cats smell like smoke.
The first step was to have the stove W.E.T.T. certified....for a price of course. I am more than happy to pay for services rendered but $200.00 later we were informed what we already knew - it didn't meet code. So after securing an no-longer-manufactured piece of pipe and modifications to the trailer; removing a ceramic platform and refinishing it with another non-combustible surface 5 inches lower than it is currently plus adding another 9 inches to the chimney pipe ( which actually involves removing it and installing the newly located no-longer-manufactured pipe found somewhere down near Crystal Beach) we will be able to have it certified so that we can obtain insurance coverage - of course for another $200.00 plus the cost of the pipe; another $110.00.
So now to secure a supply of wood. A bush cord or a face cord? ; like fine wine how long has it aged?; where to store it? Very quickly on we realized that we were burning through the little wood we had scavenged rapidly. Hiking into the bush for kindling and dead wood was clearly not going to even get us through 24 hours. We were so pleased to find a source of wood in exchange for assistance in cutting up and stacking fallen trees in the nearby woods . The gentleman who we are working with seems to enjoy the company too and has generously offered to deliver it to our little lot of leased property in the scoop of his front end loader! This certainly was starting to feel like we were beginning to move closer to our goal of simple living!
A day of splitting, chopping and stacking made us feel like we were hardy souls living an authentic lifestyle. We had enough firewood to keep us going for well - maybe a long time! However a week later , Glenn is away and I am hauling my wheelbarrow through the frozen woods, up a hill to try to get enough wood to get me through the night!! So much for our 'stockpile'.
Yesterday I received another load, which is about two face cords ( I love just tossing that out there as if it is a normal part of daily conversation) and I am as happy as bird with a newly filled feeder! I spent some time chopping the choice pieces for kindling this morning. I am quite proud of myself now as I can split in a single pass and have learned how to split one log almost to the bottom , then turn and cleanly split all the way through the second blow and have four neat pieces ready for the kindling box. I was feeling pretty smug the first time I filled two boxes thinking I had enough for the whole winter. Quickly I discovered that this exercise would be repeated every other day! I figure in a couple weeks time Michele Obama will have nothin' on my biceps!
So this morning I am looking at the wood pile at the bottom of my front stoop. Clearly the only way I am going to be able to use the stairs is to move these two cords. What to do - invite someone for dinner and hope that when they see they have to climb over the wood to get in, they will take pity and offer to help? No, instead I decide that this is an opportunity to put theory into action.
I don't know about you but I am an experiential learner. So all this talk about Energy Transfer is very vague to me. I decide to try an experiment to understand what this means.From the website ask.com I have this definition ..."transfer is a process by which internal energy from one substance transfers to another substance"
So here is my experiment. Staying with the theme of simplicity and self reliance I use what I have handy to work with. I have a pile of wood that needs to be moved, I have a body that doesn't really seem to be adequate for the task however with the internal energy of 'need to get this done', I seek out tools that can help me transfer that energy to moving the wood pile. Whistling Mary Poppin's " Just a spoonful of sugar" and snapping my fingers wasn't at all useful so I resorted to another idea.
Using my axe; expending some of my own energy on chopping kindling which I know I can do and using the immediate and accessible Valentines Day chocolates I discovered that if you a) chop kindling for 10 minutes plus b) eat two chocolates this would result in more energy to chop another ten minutes of kindling and receive or I mean secure two more chocolates. This then resulted in increased energy transfer to the wood pile!
Now this was a much larger task and required a strong back, strong knees and a keen sense of order as three courses of wood needed to be created in such a way the the front door could still open , not too much interior light be blocked and ultimately that it would pass the BSG inspection in approximately one weeks time. ( Inside acronym which I may reveal at a later date with permission) Clearly this would require that greater energy transfer principles be utilized. Ten minutes of loading , lifting , unloading and stacking plus approximately 10 minutes of energy would require at least three chocolates.
Unfortunately I neglected to calculate the supply of chocolates in relation to the number of loads of wood .
Oh well, the wood is stacked and I have earned a hearty meal. Homemade celery garlic soup is simmering on the stove! It also helps to justify the outrageous amount of chocolate that was consumed.
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