seeds start growing ...

I'm using my fancy vet pack for a heat source- it doesn't provide a totally steady heat but the ground cherries seem to like it - they started sprouting today - about 5 days ahead of schedule!

The onions were first to pop up, followed by leeks; now there are a few tomatoes and ground cherries. The peppers are taking their sweet time though!

We set up a second light today so the 4 week ahead stuff can hit the pots early next week.

a hard day's work

Brody had the difficult job of supervising the rest of us ... you can see how he suffered.

We walked the dogs down the road, turned garden beds, continued Project Demolition, cut up a tree that had fallen into one of the good hay fields, loaded crappy hay into the truck for the garden paths, had a lovely picnic listening to the early frogs by the pond, went out for dinner with Mum.

I'm not sure I've ever seen dogs as tired as this gang is tonight. Think we will all sleep very well!

Any great ideas for what to do with the old sections of tin roof we are accumulating? I want to make something - but what on earth could I make with old rusted tin?

dreaming of chickens...

http://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-small.html

I obsess about chickens, I want chickens...

our life isn't quite ready for chickens yet but I'm scheming how I could have chickens for the summer ... we have lots of room for a small coop - and I'd appreciate some help with the grubs in the garden - and we'd all love fresh eggs ..

if anybody knows any hens ready for a semi-retirement home in southern Ontario please feel free to let me know ... if our life isn't ready for chickens in September I have a great friends who have taken in hens for me before and are willing to again

seeds started ...

planting is harder than it looks - wee tiny seeds into wee little piles of earth - wet earth so covering them is nearly impossible

planted tomatoes, leeks, onions, ground cherries, and peppers today

more to start in three weeks ...

wwwwhhhhhheeeeeeeeee

another lovely day

We worked our butts off clearing the pond path completely (FINALLY - what a long project and one I know we'll be at again before long)

All work and no play makes for a dull day so we walked to the back field - Big T climbed a tree and realized we actually have lake view property (from the tree anyhow)



after finding out from the planning department we don't need a demolition permit to tear down the barns we started working on them today we pulled up lots of stuff from the grass between the two barns - tin roof, shingles, and wood (including some lovely barn board and beams)

the beams are out of sight here and the shingles aren't apparent but you can get some sense of what we did - the grass had grown right over a lot of what we managed to clear



considering we had no tools we got quite a bit accomplished and the dogs had a blast!



it's a never ending project that's for sure ...

Bunny No No

is here now

YUP you heard me right our first livestock moved in today (forgive the bad picture - he wanted ON MY LAP!)

a three year old angora rabbit - who is a LIVING doll - within seconds of meeting me he happily let me pick him up and snuggled in for a good cuddle

when we got home he sat in my lap and let me gently tweak some of his matts (only a few and right behind his ears) out

His registered name is RM Bucky Boy and he has papers and everything but he is Bunny No No to us and will be forever as we swore up and down after dear Pongo died we wouldn't have any more bunnies - of course after she died I missed her gentle nature way too much to not have a bunny around - and our move to self sustance made me really think about breeds. When Bunny No No needed a great pet/wooller home things just fell into place :)

Christmas in March

finally caught up with dad and jean yesterday and today for Christmas was fun and we got cool stuff too - ear protectors, some furniture refinishing certificates, canning stuff ...was very entertaining- and practical too also got a BEAUTIFUL round maple server I guess you'd call it - hand made by dad it is satin smooth and just heavenly .... planner today thought we needed a demolition permit for pulling the old barns down - turns out the building inspector says NOPE not for agricultural buildings .. tres cool ... Christmas all morning -

then my mum got me a hair cut for my birthday - LONG mid back hair is now in a short cute do - we'll see if I can survive without a braid -

(apparently one should not take pictures in a mirror with flash lighting ;))

a happy st paddys day to you and yours ...

Another pretty sweet day I must admit ... easy time in town .. checking out stuff not spending money (my kind of town trip) then off to visit a Lake House -lots of fun

then a quick stop for lunch

then off to the farm for more path clearing and a long long wonderous walk through the woods

then home to read about another giveaway - look at this! http://clayhillfarm.blogspot.com/2009/03/farmers-market-tote-giveaway.html

The things I could put in a tote - oh MY! It could be a tote of awesome like EVERYDAY!

how wicked cool eh?

no freakin' box of awesome for me

(a little awesome nest at the edge of our pond!)

but that's ok cause I have LOTS of my own awesome around here - and I am inspired to gift other people boxes of awesome



so I guess without having to put something together for me - or send it to Canada the brainiac who came up with the idea did her job for me anyhow. Nice to be thinking, in a positive way, about other folks!

finding balance ...

something very restorative in taking a few days off and being outside all day - at least for hubby and me

had a lovely lunch picnic at Point Petre - had the whole are to ourselves- just heavenly ..

stopped at Vareharri to check out the fallen down barns (that have collapsed a LOT this winter)

meeting the planner on Thursday afternoon to discuss options .. very exciting!

a lovely lovely day

hard to believe that this time last March we couldn't see our fences for snow drifts - today we were out ALL DAY.

• pulling thatched grass
• poking garlic cloves back under the soil
• raking up old apples and tossing them into compost
• clearing the pond path some more
  
  
• sitting by the pond
• finding old bird nests
  
  
• throwing sticks for Sally and Hank
• cutting the last of the long logs from firewooding expeditions in the fall
• filling the indoor wood pile
• clipping Brody (very badly)
  

what a lovely way to spend the first day of a week of holidays...

90 comments +

how the heck does she do it?
she offers to give away a box of awesome...
what an awesome idea

I could use a box of awesome round about now I tell you

if you want to see how many comments she has by the time you read this you can check out her blog at http://decourseyproject.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-giveaway-come-on-who-doesnt-like.html


on an unrealted note- Brody still has his drain in ... Hank is watching him sadly and carefully - he's obviously worried about his little buddy and wants him well again - heart breaking eh?

A Box of AWESOME

what a fantastic idea

who doesn't need a box of awesome

a box of awesome could be any size, any shape, pretty much anything ...
all I would want my box of awesome to do right now is make me smile .. finding smiles is harder work than usual lately
if it could make my Mum and my husband smile all the better ...

I just think this is the best titled giveaway ever ...
for more info check out ....
http://decourseyproject.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-giveaway-come-on-who-doesnt-like.html

I love finding new blogs ;)

Are there are days, weeks, months...

when you just wish you didn't have to get up?

I'm a pretty positive person but my family and I have been whacked with some heavy stuff of late ..

this weekend dealing with dogs..


Brody is my heart...

Hank is Big T 's heart ...

and it looks like they really can't live together

so so so sad ... so unsure as to what resolution is best for us as a family and as individuals ...