This is the week we would normally be making our maple syrup because the temperatures predict that...below freezing in the evening and plus temps in the day.
Things are melting fast! We still have enough syrup from our bumper crop two years ago but next year we will be making maple syrup again so do drop by. This is also the time of year when the snow melts down and during the evening freezes into a nice firm base which is excellent for logging. We need to cut and haul logs to our sawmill site in prep for cutting lumber we need for various projects and well as hauling firewood logs to keep all the stoves going for the coming winter so it is a busy time of year for us. Then of course the melting of the snow reveals all the big brown surprises our new puppy has deposited in the snow all around the house so a major cleanup is in order. The forecast working up to Valentines weekend! It just won't let up. We actually had one day this week that was a lovely sunny -10, I was able to kick all the ice from behind my tires.
Tonight Partly cloudy. Wind northwest 20 km/h gusting to 40. Low minus 27. Wind chill minus 38. Friday Sunny. Increasing cloudiness late in the afternoon. Wind northwest 20 km/h becoming light near noon. High minus 18. Wind chill minus 39.
Its still bloody cold out there. It has been a really cold winter with not a lot of snow cover, it has driven the frost down deep. So deep that the spring at the cabin is just trickling from the pipe coming out of the hill and was so slow that it froze solid in the 1 1/2" pipe. I dismantled most of it and brought it into the cabin to thaw, there is still 6' of it under ground to the cave where the water source is. Its only about 2' high. It has an insulated door so it does not freeze inside. This is a real pain because we have a lot of guests coming and going to the cabin this winter and they look forward to the wood fired hot tub that is filled from this spring. Dwight and I have been brain storming how to thaw this 6' of underground pipe and an idea came to me this morning. Dwight arranged with the guests at the cabin to come by this afternoon with his small gas pump and get water from the lake for their hot tub (although they were happy with just the sauna) Yesterday Dwight cut and bashed a hole in the ice after work. He started with the chain saw and Im not sure how he got through the rest of it but it was almost 2' thick! I have this wonderful Yamaha Venture snow mobile that you start with a key and has reverse but yesterday the fuel injector was frozen again! I hate when that happens. I still had two snow mobiles to choose from 2 beaten up Bravos (one with a noisy muffler) and both needing me to pull start them....I tell you its a good way to get warm quickly. Any hoo when I was finished at the cabin and it was time to go back home that damn Bravo would not start so a walk home was in order. The picture you see about was one I took walking back home. Dwight promptly picked up a new relay for it on his way home....thanks sweetie! And with the warm sun on my Venture it thawed the relay and it started. I wouldn't trade my life for the world! Anyway back to my idea....I told Dwight that if he was successful getting that hot tub filled to ask our guests to leave the water in it when I go to pick them up with the snowmobile. The cabin is a mile from our home. What we will do is stick the intake pipe from the gas pump into the hot tub and then with the 50' hose, go open the little door on the cave water source where the pipe is and shoot that hot tub water inside and just keep pushing the hose in till it pops out the other side! 150 gallons of hot water should do it! Will let you know. We finally got about 8" of snow which will help greatly to insulate the ground to keep the frost from going any deeper. When I was at the cabin a few days ago to do some shovelling I saw snowshoe tracks going all around the cabin, to the sauna and to our sheds...the trail came from the end of the lake where some recent logging is going on and that trail has been opened up. Anyway I don't like when people trespass and snoop around and I especially don't like when someone takes my good pair of snow shoes and leaves a crappy plastic pair in their place!!! The nerve of some people. I made a police report in case they come back to pick up a few mores things. I guess I will have to lock things up now :( Yesterday when I went to the cabin with guests we were entertained by the cutest little ermine only about 8" long. The last time I saw one was in the early 80's. Ermine are really good mousers and they like squirrels too....so I think I will set the bird feeder up again at the cabin. Through the gates to the chicken coop...our 6 egg layers are doing just fine.
So far our winter has been quite cold...lots of ups and downs and not a lot of snow...frost is going deep this year. Emma our 6 month old german shepherd is doing well and she and Arthur get along well. Our two cats Alvin and Simon are getting fat being inside for the winter but not Dwight and I as we keep ourselves quite busy! This is my second winter working with leather and fur which I sell at home, do a few small shows but mostly on Etsy when I can package and print out shipping labels from our home. Lucy's Leather and Fur Im still dreaming about doing a hobbit hole somewhere on the property so stay tuned in the next year or two...this winter I will be working on a little model of what I kind of envision :) Dwight is always busy in the bush...making trails, hauling work, clipping brush, etc. Hoooorayyyy the sauna is done....testing number 3 begins this afternoon once I get the deck power washed ready for guests to check it out tomorrow. It is beautiful and I am very proud of it.
I hate that the days are getting shorter but that will just mean that I will be doing more leather and fur in the evenings. Dwight has almost completed his shed to house the ATVs and one snowmobile....just in time for winter. He has been building sawing up trees for lumber and that building it so that if it needs to be taken apart this can easily be done. My garlic is planted and we still have a good crop of kale, celery, parsley and chard. No life is never perfect and I dont always feel great...now is one of them...its been over a week and I feel like shit....just a chest cold,,,sinus infection and a pulled chest muscle making coughing difficult, have not had a good sleep in five days so all of that is pulling me down, went to the doctor, got antibiotics so in 2 days I am hoping I will be on the mend, just so much to do around here. I have moved to another bedroom so as not to disturb Dwight when I cough
Happy Birthday Bryan!
We are having a few days of heavy rains...much needed. Gardens are doing great...just noticed overnight that a sweet potato plant was eaten and now some zinnias...and a hole under the shed....groundhog....set out two live traps by the hole with tomato, cherries, and banana...20 min. later I have my ground hog that Dwight relocated....... Another milestone...Dwight and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! He blew me away with his gift. He located a ruffed grouse and her chicks that I carved in 1990 and bought and brought them back to me....I was in tears...what a dear sweet man I married. Picked peas and beans today, eating potatoes from the garden now which is awesome...nothing like going out and digging into the earth for a couple of fresh potatoes.
The Asian lilies are all up at the cabin and it is looking very colourful. The spring there finally dried up so I had to start the gas pump and fill the hot tub with lake water. My yukon gold potatoes are growing like made, everything is, I have a chinese cabbage ready to harvest in a week.
Roses starting to bloom, I have three wisteria blooms that I see coming. Just enough rain. Everything is filled up with water at the cabin, spring is still running. Got the gas pump fixed so should be good for the summer to fill the hot tub from the lake when the spring dries up. Entertaining the idea of raising quail. Couple of Dwights friends coming tomorrow to work on stuff...so I will make sure to feed them well |
Lucy Willemsen
What can I say.....married to the most wonderful guy in the world, live in the best place in the world, lead a charmed life. At peace and happy. Archives
May 2019
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