Getting started

Well like plenty of Canadians I am a sucker for hockey. So my nights have been busy with the NHL playoffs. I wish the playoffs however were not at this time of year as there is so much to be done around the property. I guess my jersey will have to go back in the closet so more can be done.
I planted a few things this year that will keep us going for years to come. We have made a decision to try and grow as many perennial vegetables as possible. We are slowly replacing our flower beds with herbs, fruit, or flowers that will benefit us medicinally. So this weekend I am putting up a lot of our perennial flowers for sale. Heck I will probably just give them away if someone stops by to pick them up. I can't eat hostas, so why would I waste my time tending to plants strictly used for aesthetics. The less time spent on flower gardens the more time I can spend on my vegetables and fruit. We also bought blueberries this year to go in one bed. This is my first attempt at blueberries but with a little research hopefully they will provide wonderful goodness for years to come. Any comments or tips would be gladly accepted...So now we have a good raspberry patch, red currants, apples, cherries, mulberry, and soon blueberries

Blueberries

I also have to start splitting some more firewood. Unfortunately it isn't splitting itself. I really enjoy doing it without a splitter. I find it is a great escape to just go to town on the logs. I don't play sports competitively anymore so it is also a great way to stay strong and healthy. I like having rough calloused hands. Or as Heather tells everyone there is nothing smooth about me....I am not sure what she means by that....
Well this up-coming weekend will be time to make a new raised bed, and wake up our hibernating vegetable beds. Time to bring in the compost pile.
I love composting...
Have a stellar time getting your hands dirty this weekend. Much Love

Fire key

Much Love to all.

What another great few days I had with my family. Sights to see, things to plant, and binghi fire to keep it all together.

I had a lot of brush to burn and clear on Thursday. I make sure every year that I get these few days off. I always use this week to have a big fire. I end up with a lot of brush and downfall when I limb trees for firewood,  this is a simple way to get rid of it all. The fire however is more than that.  Our ancestors used fire for survival, protection, cooking, ceremony……My April fire is a ceremony to me. A connection to my roots.

I also needed it to keep warm after we got a little more snow….I know what they say about April showers and May flowers, but what about April snow?..May you can sow ????Let’s hope.

After the fire had stopped its glow we headed away for a couple nights to the beach. The fire and water is a great way to refresh and cleanse the mind. Unfortunately the water is never warm enough to swim at this time of year but the power and natural beauty of our coastline is so magical. We just had to put our feet in…

I love when things start to warm up again. The warm weather brings out the wildlife. We were fortunate enough this week to see moose, deer, coyotes, and our ducks. Maybe I am assuming that they are the same ducks as the last couple years. Either way they are to us. I hope to be able to post a couple photos of them. I wish they would choose to be more photogenic....

Give thanks and praises for all the wonderful things in life.

Rolling Stone

Howdy,
Don't you just love how one thing always leads to another...maybe slightly ambiguous, however I love to keep busy in my yard. There is never a dull moment and there is always things to kept up with. Yesterday as it poured rain I thought to myself what a perfect day it is to transplant seedlings. As the weather tried to put a strain on my activities I  knew the shelter and warmth of the greenhouse would keep me feeling vibrant. I got all my seedlings transplanted to give them some room to stretch out. Then I realized how the maple sugar was just running from the trees. It was almost hard to keep up with it. I didn't want to waste any of that lovely sap. The only waste it can go to is my own waist....So I collected all that goodness and on Thursday when I have collected all I can keep for season I will boil it down and just like that, cavities....hahaha or maple candy,syrup. So after the collection of sap I realized Kaya...my wonderful but highly careless dog has ran through my new raised bed. To his defense it wasn't there last week so it is all new to him. So I began to make more posts to make fences. I really do not like to have barricades up in the garden but when you have nature and my dog at your doorstep you must come prepared. Since I cut my own wood there was no shortage of limbs to chunk up and sharpen to make posts. So the raised beds are safe, luckily Kaya didn't see the other bed. Well since I was working with the chainsaw anyway I might as well work at some more trees for my firewood. A little hard work in the elements paid off as the unsuspected sun came out in the afternoon. What was meant to be a lazy day in the rain became a late night. And ultimately the days I cherish most.

Much love to all in groundation celebrations...give strength

Thanks for your trash

I must give thanks to the many people who are wasteful.
I have been re-doing a couple of customers kitchens and it amazes me every time how much people just want to throw away everything. Everyone wants the new best thing. I guess in order to fix weak economies governments would be happy of these capitalist beliefs.
Microwaves, cupboards, drawers, stoves....the list can just go on.
If it doesn't match take it out. So as far as they know everything is being junked, but I have been taking things to charitable centres. Maybe your white oven is not as nice as the new stainless steel one,however it is much better than no oven at all. Many are still actually grateful to just be able to cook a warm meal.
Unfortunately much of construction waste just piles up at the dump.
I am the wood collector on job sites. If there is any usable wood on anything I keep it. There is no need for it to go to a landfill if it can be used in another application. I will even just use it as kindling if that is all I can do with it. My favorite is drawers. They make perfect plant containers. Drill a few holes, fill with growing medium and Voila...

So much love to all you who chose to live in a slightly greener world. 

Weekend Glory

Much Love,

I had an amazing time this weekend getting things done. The more you can check off the list the better things seem. We had a beautiful sunny weekend. I am not even tarnished one bit at the fact of heavy rains all week. Maybe we can get rid of most of the snow. I managed to get two more raised beds all set up and ready for planting. I will have a couple of photos to post eventually but I would rather a sprout showing its tip first....for complete accomplishment.
These last two days were spent with chainsaw and axe in hand. It is sad to see some of the trees go however on the bright side (hopefully much more bright) we get firewood in the future and more sun to the gardens. It is wonderful to live in a forest but it definitely comes with its' challenges. We really don't get enough sun for our gardens. We work hard to have them as vibrant and producing as possible. Patience and dedication is key.
However really the vegetable garden is still technically on the back burner at this time since we still have lots of snow on ground....

so chop chop...

Splitting wood for next year, chopping down trees for the following year, this is what was on my agenda today. I love to split wood. The strength and precision is alluring to me. It is also nice to contribute to heating costs....

the end results warm the soul.

Circumstances

What a day... it can be quite amazing to sit back and look at the range of emotions one can go through on any given day.  Challenging as it may be, we must persevere...stand up, be strong. I feel I might be too dramatic at times, but "all the world's a stage and all the men and woman merely players"....
When things get us down we have to dwell on the positive. What is wrong with dreaming, thinking about greener pastures...being positive and respectful is contagious.
It is unfortunate that monetary values control the system. When you think that what is money other than a dream...a fancy piece of paper, a shiny piece of metal. I guess that is maybe why the fish bites the hook...can shiny metal really be that alluring.
Well these weak things are really what makes me feel grateful for the simpler way. I love the power of the sun right now. We still haven't had two consecutive days above freezing however my green house has become vibrant green. If the sun isn't something bright and shiny that gives real value, than seriously, what is? I have even seen a few green tips in the yard...that just makes me feel overjoyed, and on that note, I believe I will end my day on this emotion.

So....
I am wondering what plants people are planting this year that they have not before?

Much Love

Spring??

First off I think the only spring that I am feeling is the one under my cabouse in this old chair...
This winter was one for the ages. All around the world you are seeing such drastic weather, extreme highs and lows, flooding, high winds...the list goes on. Hmmm, could it have anything to do with the dreaded "global warming"? And of course we must realize that media does play its' own role in how we report any happenings.
But we must look on the bright side. Right? Half empty or half full? I prefer to not waste my time, just fill the cup and go about your business.
Back to spring...or as above mentioned the lack there of it. This winter had provided us a couple of challenges. One of our main challenges was where to put it all...the white stuff...the never ending shovelling. There was so much snow this winter that roofs were collapsing under the weight. What scares me is that building code requires a roof to be able to hold more than 3 feet of snow. We had that much in January...no kidding. Our roof leaked all over the place due to extreme ice damming. So every morning if the sun was due to shine we would have to set up buckets throughout the house. A lot of damage on the inside but if you look on the bright side...(the full cup) I am forced to do some remodelling and adding new insualtion to our house to make it more efficient. So next winter I will be ready for you...oh and a new roof is going to help.

The snow also has kept our surplus wood for the stove buried. The cold weather had us go through more wood then our wood room could hold. This is why we keep extra, just wish I could have got to it much easier then digging through the ice. If only my wood shoot was accesible. But there is a light at the end of this tunnel as well. I now know that I must keep surplus wood high and dry.Nothing is a mistake if it can be fixed or rectified.  All this snow also brought the deer in. I mean the deer were everywhere. I hope they didn't eat all my composting efforts.

So my idea is to forget this winter for some of the damage and destruction it caused but I can't help but feel selvish since really this extreme weather is the result of humans damage and destruction of our Earth.
My memory is however fresh with the new scenes comming around the yard.......A little green has showed its' face under the white blanket...Thank goodness as my seeds are all started..

Much love from my family to yours.





 

Germinating

Germinating a view into our blessed lives I guess. My name is David and I live on the Atlantic coast of Canada with my wonderful and hardworking wife Heather. We are lucky to have our crazy furry companions with us to keep us company. Our dog Kaya, and our cat Terrapin...and I am reminded to never forget our rabbit Kiwi. We try to live our lives with respect and love to all. I feel that unconditional love is the only true means to happiness. If one can achieve this great aspiration there would not be any war, hunger, poverty, oppression, the list could go on forever. No reason to preach however, I would hope that this should be obvious. But this is not as easy to achieve as one would think. We live in a world of greed and vanity. I guess greed and vanity are really one in the same.
Heather and I chose to move away from the "hustle and bustle" of the city. We want to live a much more simpler life. It has been two years now and we are still learning every day.  We try to grow as much of our own food as we can, bake our own bread, we cut and split our own wood, we compost everything.  Heather laughs at me whenever I talk about composting as nothing brings me greater joy then thinking that our garbage is what feeds us....but this will be a whole other story. We are making great strides..but hopefully with a healthy carbon footprint. I am fortunate that I am trained as a carpenter so I can keep busy during the long winter months. Being a carpenter definitely helps you when you are trying to upkeep your small little homestead. Heather is an elementary school teacher at a rural public school. I don't think she could teach in a better environment. Rural school are becoming extinct just like everything else. Having Heather off in the summers helps us to keep the gardens going strong and vibrant. Now if we can only get that darn snow to melt. I look forward to meeting some other people interested in farming and a simpler way of life...I am happy to be old fashioned...or as I would say rooted.

Much love and blessings from my family to yours...




I wish the yard was looking like this and not three feet under snow, but I do love the seasons....