BIKE RIDE and CRAFTS

When it's cold and wet outside it's good to have a craft day with Oma.

Yesterday she painted faces; today she's painting her nails. Every little girl like painted nails.

After lunch Oma needed some quiet time so I took the kids to the park for a bike ride.

Kate did very well trying to keep up with her brother.

We did have to share the trail with an ATV rider but the kids were good and gave him lots of room.

The trail meanders around the park and Kate never complained about the bumpy ride.

She did stop often to throw stones into the river.  So easy to entertain little grandchildren.

This rock was the perfect stop to end our ride.

Brother and sister on top of the world.

We are so blessed by the time we can spend together. They bring such joy into our lives.

Safe travels everyone and thanks for stopping by.

ROOF REPAIR

The roof on our long chicken coop collapsed this winter. It was a combination of too much snow, a beam that was too weak and poor design. Yesterday Owen and I decided it was time to start the repair.

In just a few hours we had the damaged pieces removed and a new beam ready to lift into place. Owen was a huge help handing me tools and saving me countless trips up and down the ladder.

Today's progress will depend on the weather. We are expecting rain this morning and Owen is still sleeping at 7:40 am so there will be no work for a while yet.

Thanks for stopping by and keeping an eye on us.

CHIPMUNKS

Like most days when the grandkids visit, yesterday was busy. Owen helped me haul wood and Kate and Oma made a delicious cake.

Just before supper Owen and Kate decided it might be fun to catch a chipmunk.

They sat motionless as the intended victum moved closer enjoying the sunflower seeds so generously scattered within reach.

They did their best and worked together but that little chipmunk is still running free in our forest. Maybe next time they will have success.

Until then be safe and well and enjoy the day.

THE KIDS ARE BACK

Owen and Kate have joined us for a week of fun back in the bush. Once home they had to try out their bicycles on our driveway.

They are both very good about wearing their helmets and gloves so any falls were quickly forgotten. Riding your bike on soft gravel is a little more challenging especially if you are just learning.

You can spend a lot of time riding your bike and going off on secret missions; fun being a kid again.

If I don't post for a while it isn't because we got lost, it's because we are having too much fun.

CONVERTING OUR GARDENS

Saturday saw us back in the gardens filling another bed with kale, spinach, radishes and lettuce.

While Mary planted I modified the beds to protect the plants. Usually everyone waits until after June 12th before planting up here as we often get frost in June. Since we are almost two months early I decided to wrap the beds in plastic creating a modified greenhouse affect for each garden. This should improve the micro climate and allow our new sprouts to survive any frost that comes our way.

One bed done, six more to complete.

Closed up and protected for the night. Our plants should be happy and safe.  This will also keep the deer and groundhogs from enjoying all the new growth.

That water tank you see in the photo above will be full this time next week. We have four similar tanks all collecting rainwater from our roof. This will give us 1,000 gallons of rainwater to be used during our hot dry summer days. If all goes well we should have vegetables to give away starting the end of June. It's amazing how much produce we get from seven raised garden beds; about 210 sq. ft or 19.5 sq. metres of actual garden soil.

GREENHOUSE DREAMING

We are anxious to get back in the gardens and see things growing again. Mary has a number of flats full of young plants she started from seed. With the right protection these are ready to move outdoors.

Starting plants indoors is fun and we enjoy seeing everything take root and sprout. Unfortunately this exposes Mary to molds and airborn spores which plays havic with her allergies. Moving things outside will at least clean up the indoor air quality for her.

We would like to move the entire operation out of the house and are contemplating covering two raised beds with some type of greenhouse structure. If successful this will allow us to start seeds away from the house and hopefully extend the growing season by several months. Ideally we would prefer to grow spinach. lettuce and kale 12 months of the year.

Yesterday the temperature rose to +7*C and we were energized. With the sun beating down we decided to take a gamble and plant out the cold frame as well as prepare two raised beds for more plants on the weekend. It was exhilarating.

The cold frame is now full of spinach, kale and romaine lettuce, well protected from our cold nights which still see -3 to -8*C.

Cold frame wrapped for the night.

I will post more pictures as we progress over the summer with this project. If you have any suggestions let us know.

Stay safe and well.

GOWNS COMPLETED

This past weekend Mary completed the 25 hospital gowns she was asked to make .

They will now be used in the local hospital by our precious frontline workers who deal with vulnerable patients in the ICU wards.  I think this COVID-19 virus will be a concern for some time yet.

Please stay safe, wise and healthy.

HOMEMADE TOASTED DANISH

It's impossible to lose weight when such tasty treats come out of Mary's kitchen.

First thing Monday morning she was busy rolling out the dough, folding it  and rolling it again several times until she had the right consistency. This was placed to cool until she was ready to cut, shape and add the fruit and cheese before baking. So delicious I couldn't stop at one. Tomorrow it's back to the diet.

Stay safe and well. Thanks for stopping by.

MODERN COMMUNICATIONS

Yesterday we celebrated Owen's birthday through the iternet. Since we couldn't gather in his home  we used   "Google Duo" to collectively sing "Happy Birthday" and share birthday cake on the screen. It was our first experience of such technology but with COVID-19 I doubt it will be our last.

Mary built a stand for her ipad using two boxes and two buttons. It worked just fine and gave us a hands free method to keep the camera steady.

When I was Owen's age my grandmother lived in the country and had a "party" line for her telephone. She would crank the handle to speak to the operator who would connect her to the party she wanted to speak with. She shared the line with a number of other families so you often had to wait to make your call (line was being used) or others would listen in as you talked. Personal private news wasn't shared on line as it would soon become gossip in the village. How times have changed. Now we can talk, and see who we are talking with in colour and instantaneously. No delay, no pause, right from our own livingroom. My grandmother would be amazed.

Who should we call next?

Stay safe and healthy everyone and thanks for stopping by.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN !

It's been a quiet week with most mornings looking like this; a light dusting of snow covering the ground. We are following the guidelines to stay home and reduce our chances of exposure to the COVID 19 virus. I don't think Mary has been to town in three weeks.

We do get visitors, these little guys show up each morning looking for breakfast.

Our raised garden beds are begging for attention but it is still too cold and too early to plant. We have started seeds indoors as well as sprouts for our salads.  Mary is the gardener I simply enjoy the fruits of her labour. She calls me for the heavy lifting and building more raised beds, otherwise the gardens are her domain.

I did have to take my truck in for repairs this week. I thought it was a seized brake but it turned out to be a faulty wheel bearing that needed to be replaced. Fortunately all work was covered by the warranty.

That Birch tree you see lying in the bush needs to be cut into firewood, a job for next week.

Today is Owen's birthday. Another eight years and he can drive is dad's truck. Although we can't be together because of C-19 we will celebrate over the phone and enjoy the cake Mary made this morning. I've tasted the icing ((creamcheese, butter, cocoa powder and xylitol) and it's delicious. The cake will be just as tasty.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!!! Love you and hugs from Oma and Grandpa.

Enjoy the day everyone and stay safe.

HOSPITAL GOWNS

To address the shortage of hospital gowns during the COVID 19 pandemic, sewing groups have been asked to assemble gowns for our local hospital workers.

The gown pieces arrived ready to sew together with everything included except the thread. Mary has 25 gowns to make and each gown takes about an hour to assemble.

Mary set up her work area so that all the pieces were in easy reach of her sewing machine.

She used an old drying rack to organize the pieces making it easy to simply reach back and grab what's needed. In total the sewing club here has been asked to make 450 gowns.

It will be a few days before all 25 gowns are complete but the project is going smoothly and I'm sure our frontline workers will appreciate the extra supply of protective gowns.

Stay safe and well everyone and thanks for stopping by.

ELDERBERRIES

Earlier this week we went north to our favourite elderberry patch. Mary wanted to cut some stems to transplant and this is the perfect time to do it.

Unfortunately some huge pieces of equipment were through this area recently and half of the elderberry bushes were destroyed. It's a good thing we are trying to establish our own patch beside our pond.

Mary did manage to find forty stems she felt were good candidates for tansplanting so we came home satisfied with our efforts.

Once home Mary transferred the stems to pots where they will stay until Mary feels it is safe to move them down by the pond.

With weather like this it will be later rather than sooner. This was our view from our deck when we got up this morning. Winter came back for a visit.

Stay safe everyone and thanks for stopping by.