Spring/Summer Update 2008

Well this parental leave is great; I've been too busy even to keep this blog updated. Don't know how I had time for a full time job before.

Projects
-Got my directionally challenged (no back-em up) scrap mini van going and it has proved invaluable for the installation of my new fence project. I have all my tools equipment, power inverter and satellite radio installed in it and use it as the main deployment vehicle. The new pasture is approximately 4 acres. I will update the perimeter at a later date. I got really lucky with this whole climate change thing as all the rain we had really facilitated the sinking of the pickets and posts. So far no electric wire has been installed for lack of funds, but the hard part is over. The west side of the property was really rocky and I cursed a lot. I drank a lot of beer to see this project through to the current point. One note of interest was the old surface well and foundation that I hit while digging the 4 foot hole for the corner post. Our neighbour Jerome Lavallee saw that I was having trouble and informed me of an old butter factory that was there around 1908. It would figure I needed to dig a hole in the middle of a surface well. Anyway it was quite and archaeological find. He even produced an old picture of the place. I scanned it and will post it soon.

-Fixed the foundation on the west side of the extension. Had to jack it up and poor concrete. I hate that kind of job.

Accomplishments
-Well it all started a few years ago as my days of teaching in an estrogen rich environment had me requiring therapy by way of beer drinking with the boys at Sutton's amidst the rumble and fumes of the diesels. Mark was driving for Kevin and I took the opportunity to learn with him as it was nice to have my brother show me how. I also took a few courses at Technic to learn the pre-trip inspection. In May 2008 I got my class 1 and am very proud of myself. There has been plenty of work to do with this credential. I worked for Dauphinais in the spring delivering live plants on a straight truck with a 30 foot box; it was a good way to start. That was nice driving through the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. I did more practice with Mark after that and he was instrumental in preparing me for the battle in the city with a tractor trailer. I have been on my own for over a month now and have been really enjoying the challenge. I actually think I could drive truck for a few years, not much more than that as it seems to take a toll on family life.

News
-Found some kind of little dog. Border Collie/Huskie mix. She's really little and good with Emma. Angie is her name.

-Went to Vermont for 7 days. That is the longest vacation Annie and I ever took together. It is also the longest vacation I ever took in my life. During the course of it I vowed to Annie and myself that we need to build in a little more R&R into our lives. This 3 beers on the back porch at sundown just isn't enough anymore. But we finally feel like we are getting our heads above water here now so we can manage it.

-Sarah is a perfect baby. She travels well and hardly ever cries. She can sit up now and Emma and her play together a lot.

-Garden is doing great and everything is ready now.

Wildlife

-Resident fox by the pond in the back.
-Coyote came into the back field in the early afternoon to find a small animal that had been killed by the hay machinery.
-Lots of deer by the bush. Saw two bucks together last week.
-Turkeys in the spring.

Sunday March 23rd/2008

- Wood.
- Picked up a scrap mini-van last week from the guy who bought Annie's old Cavalier.
- Renovated kitchen this past month. Paint, new floor.
- Installed bathroom door and frame.


Weather
- Cold, snowy, wintery. Tonight it is going down to -16 Celsius.
- This winter there were factories, schools and houses that collapsed under the weight of the snow. As much as 7 feet of snow on roof tops. Some people were killed. I've never known of any such thing in my life before this. It is the most snow during I've ever seen.

Wildlife
- 9 wild turkeys crossed our front lawn not 50 feet from the house yesterday morning.
- Today we saw geese migrating.

February - Mid-March Highlights

-Wood. Wood. Wood.
-Been cutting green for next year as well as standing dead which has been keeping us going without having to dip into next year's supply.
-Did some exploring and found more of the old 4-Wheeler trail in Ferraro's bush.
-Processing scrap.

Weather
This has been a winter with a lot of snow. As of Mid-March we are 30 CM away from the 1971 record of most snowfall.

Wildlife
Snow Geese on March 13th

Friday, Februay 1st/2008

-North Easter. Freezing rain, sleet, snow, wind. I sealed up some old windows on the extension part of the house.
-Fixed the cat gate so the buggers can't get through.

Thursday, January 31st/2008

-Brought in wood.
-Went to the village to get the essentials as there is a storm coming tomorrow.
-Processed and organized scrap.

Tuesday, January 29th/2008

-Took Annie to the hospital in Chateauguay so she could take a few hours and have our second child. Went well, got to the hospital at 11:10PM and Sarah Werenchuk was born at 12:26AM. She's named after my Great-Grandmother on my father's side. We came home Wednesday afternoon.

Friday, January 25th-Sunday, January 28th/2007

-Processed scrap. Finally got both the overfilled 200 oil tanks empties. Now there is just minor brick a brack to get done, as well as the copper.
-Went to pick up my last load of wood out of the bush. The road has finally frozen over again. Now it's time to start felling again for next year.
-Began trimming the birch and other trees out of the way in the front field for the new fence this spring.
-Annie had contractions all night on Sunday into Monday. I guess the baby is coming soon.
-Vicky came to visit on Sunday. Annie and I made a great meal of roasted squash from the garden, homemade ketchup, french fries with our potatoes and I did open hearth cooking with some veal cutlets (smoked with hickory).

Wildlife
Managed to attract some redpolls with the addition of a new niger seed feeder. There is quite a flock of different birds that come by each day.

Wednesday, January 23rd/2008

-Finished unloading the wood I brought home on the weekend.
-Restocked the chicken feed. Should be good until spring.
-Brought in wood.
-Today was Annie's due date, but still no baby. We are now considering the name "Matthew" instead of "Jesse" for a boy. I like it because it continues on the tradition of "M" at the beginning of the name.

Friday, January 18th - Sunday January 20th/2008

-Processed scrap.
-Jeff and I installed the breaker and made a plug to hook up the 15kw dynamo to the house. It was a good feeling when we turned off the main breaker and then fired up the entire house. Now we are ready for the next Ice Storm.
-Emma and I went to check Mrs. Pycocks trail for trees down as it was windy on Friday. We went past the last pipeline and then discovered that someone had cleared the trail and we were able to access the adjacent property. According to the GPS we were more than halfway to the 202. There are a lot of trails there and I even discovere some signs for an old 4 wheeler of ski-doo trail. We got turned around on all the trails and ended up taking some time to get back on our road out. I'll do some more exploring in the future.
-Went to the bush and brought out a good load of wood. One more trip and I'll have all of last year's wood out.
-Emma has adopted the kitten that was injured by a falling bail of hay at Ferme Montcalm. She named it Jojo. They are the perfect age for each other and play nicely.
Wildlife
The cardinal makes daily appearance at home.

Tuesday, January 15th/2008

-Came home early so I could get to the bush and saw up the remainder of the logs. Also brought home a trailer of the little odd sized pieces of wood. There is still a lot of water in the bush. I hope it freezes soon so that I'll have a good road in for the tractor.

Wildlife
Heard some Coyotes not more than 500 feet away across the little meadow. When I got home I heard them again except I had come completely on the other side of them now. Also saw a cardinal at the feeder on Monday. It sure makes it prescence known when it flies in with a flurry of red against the white world.

Friday, January 11th-Sunday, January 13th/2008

-Picked up scrap at Rees' in Riverfield, added it to the load and then sold it. The price for tin is 205/ton.
-Went to the bush on Saturday and picked away at the pile. Took my GPS to map out the route to the bush. It was neat to see the relation of the location to our farm.
-On Sunday Annie and Emma joined me and we had a little fire out in the bush before I started to work. I managed to get just about the whole pile done before dark. Once finished I sat by the fire and heard coyotes, quite pleasant to warm up before heading back.

Wildlife
-On the way out of the bush Annie saw a dead blue-jay. Some how the poor bugger got his head stuck under the crook of a dead branch and from what I can figure couldn't get up and then froze to death; probably during one of the storms we had.

Weather
Finally cold and wintery again.

Tuesday, January 8th/2008

-Got home from school early so that I could take advantage of the mild weather and lack of snow and make a load of scrap that had been buried. Quite a bit more scrap than I had thought, also a lot of the stoves and dryers hadn't been stripped so I had to work at that for a while. Anyway, got a load ready for the weekend.
-The chickens and ducks were happy to get outside.

Weather
-!2 degrees. The English River is flooding in the fields out back. Very strange weather for January.

Saturday, January 5th-Sunday, January 6th/2008

-Processed scrap.

Weather
Unseasonably warm. 5-10 degrees.

Thursday, January 3rd - Friday, January 4th/2008

-Brought in wood.
-Processed scrap.
-Went to help Mark move some stuff out of his basement.

Weather
-On New Year's Day there was a big North Easter. Approx 25cm and high winds.
-The low for Thursday was -20. Friday it was -25.

Wildlife
-Saw a male cardinal at my parents.
-At home we found one of the squirrel's food caches in a willow tree by the pond. It is a perfectly round hole bored into the tree about 7 feet up. It is full of seeds.