HALLOWEEN

This afternoon we walked Kate over to Owen's school to watch the Halloween parade. It's raining and not the best day for Trick or Treating.

Kate was dressed for the occasion and was eager to join her brother in the parade.

I think someone is a little tired. She had swimming lessons this morning and a busy night tonight so she may need a nap this afternoon. I know grandpa does.

Finally Owen's class arrived and Kate was able to join them. She wanted to stay all afternoon and wasn't too pleased when she had to leave. Guess she's ready for school.

Brother and sister.

Just a few more hours and the real fun starts.

Happy Halloween everyone.

ROTATE BATTERIES

We have 16 batteries which are a year old and store the energy produced by our solar panels. I read from one OTG person that if you rotate your batteries they last longer; something about current flow and position in the battery bank.

My batteries sit 4 to a cart with the idea being that |I could easily rotate them when desired. Of course each battery weighs 90 lbs which means moving 360 lbs all at once. Add to this the wheels I used all came with brakes which aggravates the process when they get accidentally applied.

So I got busy, removing all the cables, lifting each battery off the cart, removing the brake lever on each wheel, moving the cart and then replacing the batteries. In the future I can leave the batteries on the cart which will simplify the whole process. In total it took me 3 hours.

It will be a few years before I can say if this really does lengthen the battery life, but why not try?

I think our job list has been completed and now we just need to drain the water lines and put antifreeze in the drains.  Once that is done we will hit the road and report when we can on our travels south.

Thanks for keeping an eye on us and we will check in a.s.a.p.

CHAINS ARE ON

Another perfect fall day yesterday. I took advantage of the warm weather and got the chains installed on my skid-steer.

Installation requires some lugging, pulling, stretching and crawling so best to do this job when the sun is shining.  I think we are ready for departure now.

Friday brought an unexpected problem; no heat in the front loop. When those red lines surrounded by the blue gauges are full up as in the photo then you know the water isn't circulating.

I checked the pumps and all seemed to be working but the middle pump was very hot. I disconnected the wires and called Glenn. Fortunately he was in our area about to finish his day so stopped by on his way home. We bled each line to make sure there wasn't an air bubble preventing the water from moving. Still no flow. Next we took the motor apart and discovered the impeller wasn't spinning; it was stuck from calcium buildup. Cleaned it and reinstalled everything. Flipped the switch and checked the gauges. Problem solved; we now have heat in the front loop. Thanks Glenn.

Looks like we will have wet weather for the next ten days; a good time to be leaving home.

Safe travels everyone and thanks for stopping by.

IT NEVER ENDS

We have a list of jobs we would like to complete before we head south; not sure if they will all get done. We did manage to wrap our porch in plastic the other day. Doesn't look pretty but it does keep it snow free which we prefer.

We still have garden beds to clean up, chains to put on the bobcat, batteries to rotate for the solar system and the list goes on; we are busy.

As you can see, fall is coming to an end and winter can't be far behind. The little feet that ran through the leaves last week have gone home and our place is quiet.  Like the changing of the seasons life goes on. Soon our third grandchild will arrive and we will celebrate together. Our grandchildren are such a delight to be around and we get spoiled every time they visit.

Time to get to work.

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by.

IS IT TIME TO LEAVE?

Fall is almost over and we are thinking it's almost time to leave. We are like the Loons that arrive in the night and then are gone without notice in the fall.  The silence of the lake announces their departure. I think when we leave we will simply get up one morning and decide it's too cold to stay any longer.

Until that day arrives we will enjoy what is left of the fall colours.

ROCK HAULER

Yesterday I helped Owen and Kate build a cart for hauling rocks out of their mine. Owen found a piece of plywood and then looked in my workshop where he found four wheels.

Owen drilled the holes and attached the nuts and bolts to hold everything in place.

Kate also helped by adding the nuts and bolts she was responsible for. She loves to do whatever her brother is doing.

Once done the next half hour was spent giving each other rides. Can you tell who is having fun?

Outside we all squeezed into the skid-steer to move a large rock away from the mine shaft they are digging.  Lots of fun when you have two grand-kids around for a week. Next week just won't be the same.

KID'S MEALS

With Owen and Kate here this week, many of our meals have been kid friendly. We've enjoyed homemade pizza, spaghetti and meatballs and even did hot-dogs in the wood stove.

It was almost like cooking over a camp fire but we were inside and the fire was controlled.

Today Owen wants to make a cart and dig his mine shaft a little deeper.

Guess we will have another busy fun-filled day.

Safe travels everyone.

HIKE THROUGH THE BUSH

Tuesday afternoon was warm and sunny, a perfect afternoon for a hike through our bush.

The faster they ran the higher the leaves flew.

Kate was never far behind her brother.

There is a small bridge we have to cross on our hike.

Kate had to test its strength by jumping on it. It is well built, durable and strong and passed the test no problem.

Out on the road, Kate slipped her hand into Owen's and away they went brother looking after little sister; so sweet to see.

Owen is such a good brother always looking out for his little sister and making sure she is safe.

Kate saw grandpa using walking sticks so she made some for herself.

Still lots of colour in the bush in spite of all the leaves that have fallen.

Down at the lake it was time to throw rocks and get wet. Kids love water even when soaked.

By the time we headed home Kate was too exhausted to walk.

Looks like we wore Owen out as well.

Today we plan to make homemade pizza and maybe take a drive north.

Safe travels everyone and thanks for stopping by.

DIGGING FOR GOLD

Kate and Owen had a busy day yesterday digging for gold. We wanted to go to town but they were happy to stay home and play outside; so were we.

Every rock uncovered was quickly scrutinized. Owen soon decided he was digging for iron rather than gold.

Kate was quick to learn to check each rock. They even took the collected rocks over to a bin and washed them for a more thorough examination.

Oma kept a close eye on the operation, offering suggestions but not engaging in any labour.

Kate got tired of digging in the gravel so switched over to the garden beds where she found this sweet potato.

Owen was so happy he did a little dance on our storage bin. They loved being outside just enjoying the sunshine and playing together.

They did stop long enough to have a quick chat with Mom. She was glad to hear their voices and know they slept well last night.

Today it's raining so we will go to town and cook hot-dogs in our wood stove.

Safe travels everyone and thanks for stopping by.

THANKSGIVING

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with family in Toronto.

It was great to see everyone and have some time together. Owen and Kate came home with us so we have a few fun filled days planned.

It was a day full of food, chatter and good memories.

Leanne had just spent a week learning about mushroom dyes and brought her samples to show everyone.

Lionel was proud to show us where his first tooth came out.

Aunt Margaret brought gifts for the little ones and Kate was delighted with her rainbow skirt. She wore it all day.

We weren't too sure if Maggie would make it but she did. Just a few more weeks and our third grandchild will be here.

It's not often we get together so a group picture was required. Thanks everyone for delicious food, and wonderful time together.

I think today we will take Kate and Owen for a picnic hike to the back of our property.

Safe travels everyone and thanks for stopping by.