BACK TO THE BEACH

We are back into the hot muggy days of summer; 30+*C. The best place to be on such days is the beach.

Yesterday we packed a lunch, the lawnchairs and headed out to our favourite location.

As you can see the beach wasn't crowded, no concerns about social distancing or need to wear a mask.

Penny preferred the shade and was content to watch the kids in the water. For a pup she is so well behaved.

Today it's back to work with a list of chores we need to get done.

Stay safe and well and thanks for stopping by.

ANTS

For some time now I've noticed sawdust on the floor of my work shed. I would sweep it up and the next morning it would be there again. Since I hadn't been sawing anything, I figured I must have ants building their own version of home in my ceiling.

The easiest way to take a look was to remove a roof panel. Everthing looked clean and healthy, no signs of ant infestation. 

Before putting everything back together I sprayed the beams with "ant killer" Hopefully I have solved the problem and the ants have decided to move to a new location, preferably off our property.

Stay safe and healthy and thanks for stopping by.

SATURDAY DRIVE

We did our usual drive north to the Combermere farmers' market this morning. It was  perfect day for a meander through the countryside.

Penny was eager to get out and meet the people so I looked after her while Mary did the shopping; a bag of bones for Penny and romaine lettuce for us.

Most people were wearing masks and keeping their social distance from strangers; except those lined up for donuts. They were eager to eat and bunched up tightly hoping to get their order placed before the donuts all disappeared.

On the way home we found this beach; a spot we will bring Kate and Owen to next time they are up. The water was warm and shallow ringed by a beach of soft sand, a perfect spot for a summer afternoon.

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine and warm weather; preferably at the beach somewhere.

Stay safe and healthy and thanks for stopping by.

CHEW SWING

Penny has a new facination with our porch swing. She likes to climb in and have us push her gently back and forth.

Mary tied denim fabric to the ropes and Penny chews away while she swings gently on our porch; she's in heaven.

She also is very adept at tugging on the fabric strips and doing an acrobatic dance while she tries to rip the fabric from the swing.

Regardless of what she does we love her.

Now we just need to train her to stay close to home.

Thanks for stopping by and be safe everyone

LAKE DAY

When it's 30*C out you need to find a cool place to survive. Around here the lake is our best option.

Frankie was very happy to be in her mother's arms with the occassional dip in the water.

Soon she was in right up to her chin.

Mary preferred the floating chair for staying cool.

Penny didn't want to be left out so joined Mary for a ride in the chair.

She was soon back on land drying off and .............

rolling in the grass.

I think today will be much the same.

Stay safe and well everyone.

TWO BABIES

Sean, Maggie and Frankie arrived last night. Frankie has grown so much since we last saw her and she is now quite mobile, able to crawl roll and grab whatever she wants.

Penny didn't want to be left out and so snuggled her way into the picture.

Frankie and Penny got along just fine; two babies getting to know each other.

Like I said, Frankie likes to be on the move..

Sean and Frankie enjoyed a ride on the swing, thanks to Penny.

Ok, now it's my turn for a ride.

It's to be 33*C today so I think we will spend some time on the lake.

Stay safe everyone and thanks or stopping by.

CLOSE CALL

Sunday found us without hot water.. I checked the water heater and discovered the pilot light was out. This is usually a simple fix, one I've done many times.

This time I couldn't get the pilot light to stay lit and in my rush to get it working held the button down too long. When it finally did ignite it blew the vent cover off the top of the tank.

Concerned that there might be some serious damage done I turned off the gas and left the tank until Monday when the local service department would be open. Byers Heating and Air-conditioning in Bancroft was excellent. They were able to send a service truck that afternoon and within a couple of hours the damage had been repaired, the burner cleaned and the tank once again producing hot water.

Life is so much better when everything is working as it should.

Thanks for stopping by and keeping an eye on us.

Stay safe and well.

GARDEN UPDATE

Our gardens are in full production. We've never had better crops. We have seven raised beds each about 10 ft x 3 ft. (3m x 1m) as well as two hugelkultur hills.(Used for centuries in Eastern Europe and Germany, hugelkultur (in German hugelkultur translates roughly as “mound culture”) is a gardening and farming technique whereby woody debris (fallen branches and/or logs) are used as a resource ) In the top right corner you can see our water tank that collects rainwater and holds 250 gallons. (946 litres)

We are now able to add our own cucumbers to our salads.  Mary picks 1 every day but soon there will be more to pick. Time to get creative with new recipes.

Our raised beds are a mixture of produce. Here we have green onions in the foreground, kale and parsley in the background and a new planting of carrots in the middle. Carrots don't like the heat so I'm experimenting with lettuce leaves to provide shade and keep the soil moist.

Still lots of kale for my smoothies. It also keeps well in the freezer for later use.

The peas are using our bed covers as a trellis which makes for easy picking.

The vines are loaded and we pick 150-200 grams of shelled peas daily. Excess peas are frozen and will be added to Penny's meals this winter.

As the romaine lettuce becomes too bitter to eat we pull it and plant other crops. Here we have our second planting of green onions and radishes. Mary just came in with her first picking of broccoli another crop she has had limited success with. I think our success this year is due to our compost application and no till approach to planting.. We have learned the less you disturb the soil and the more organic material you feed it, the greater your harvest.

Thanks for stopping by and keeping an eye on us.

HELPING GRANDPA PAINT

This morning before it got too hot Owen helped Grandpa stain some cedar boards.

Owen is a good worker and very focused on doing the job correctly.

Grandpa showed Owen how to get everythig ready for painting and told him not to worry about spills as we will paint the trailer once the boards are finished.

We worked in the shade for an hour and then put things away once the sun came around to our side. We were happy to get one coat on everything.

Kate came by to check on our progress and gave me her usual professional pose.

Penny also wanted to be included and has taken a keen interest in Kate who gets a little frightened at times. Kate has been doing much better as the days go by and has learned to stand still when Penny gets too playful.

OOPS!! Looks like we got some paint in the wrong spot.

Tomorrow we will get the other side painted and the job will be done. Owen negotiated his own pay at $1/board. He's a good negotiator for an eight year old.

Stay safe and well everyone and thanks for stoppig by.

STAYING COOL

We are into the hot days of summer, usually in the 32-35*C range; so we spend a lot of time down at the lake.

Penny is a good swimmer and loves to be i the water with the kids

Can you tell Kate is happy to be here?

Owen  likes to find the biggest rocks and spend time throwing them into the water; the bigger the splash the better it is.

Runing in the water is great exercise. Havinng Penny chase you is great fun.

Finding ways to stay cool is the number one priority these days.

Hope you are enjoying summer and staying cool.