Watching You, Watching Me

Happy Fathers' Day to all.

Starting this blog was a bit of a technological challenge for me.  Word processing is not an everyday occurrence for me and there is very little of the task that is intuitive for me.

I have persevered and most posts are accomplished in a reasonable amount of time with minimal frustration.

Friday I sat down to retrieve pictures and iPhoto has changed completely, I assume with the last update! Nothing is the way it was, nothing is familiar, it almost did me in.

I spent enough time, (about an hour and a half) to figure out how to edit the photos and put a title on them which it seems I have to do now in order to export them.  I did not spend anytime trying to figure out how to organize them. I will save that frustration for another day. I've had my rant, time to move on.

We have the garden space planted and the planting done in the front yard.  We put in enough to feel as if we have accomplished something. Now we need to sit back, look, think and decide what to add  next year.

We are trying to put some permaculture practices to use.  Thus the hugelkulture mound, swales, minimal cultivation and mulch. There are some ornamentals but most of what we have planted will provide us with edibles, the idea is to develop a food forest  The soil we have needs an increase in organic material. The mulch will decrease evaporation and should increase the organics as we add more each year.  The freedom of no neighbours allows us to cover our front yard with straw and we have access to plenty.
I have just started reading "the soil will save us" by Kristin Ohlson. We talked about the soil web in the permaculture course I took.  This book explains in more detail about how much life there is in soil, the interconnectedness of this life and the relationships between everything that is a part of the soil web.

Note the head net!  We have a small black fly that shows up late May/early June. They don't seem to bite often but they like to crawl around your ears, nose and eyes.  Even with the net they are in swarms around you and you reach a point where you have had enough.  They drastically decrease the joy in gardening.  Thankfully they disappeared about 10 days ago and the mosquitos have not emerged yet so all is good in the garden.

I am sure you have been waiting for a report on the Eastern Phoebe nest.
We set the tripod with camera up on the counter and used the zoom to observe and to take photos. They occupied our attention and gave us a great deal of pleasure for the last two weeks.

June 5. Barely there.

June 7  Visible Fuzzheads

June 12  Feed Me

June 19  It's getting a little crowded.

It was fascinating to watch their habits, growth and antics over the two weeks. A priceless opportunity.  We watched from the first stick and bit of mud for the nest until almost the end. I had been anxiously waiting to see them fledge.  As I predicted they fledged while we were away. They were there when we left yesterday morning (June 20) and were all gone when we came back four hours later. 

The female will hatch more than one batch of babies in a summer.  That afternoon she was already doing some repair work on the nest.  Another family to watch grow.  I would really like to see that first flight.

 Watching you, Watching me!

Where to Start

It has been awhile, I won't bore you with why other than not much seemed to be happening and/or I wasn't motivated to write.

Late march had us travelling to Vancouver Island and Calgary visiting family and friends. Pat's sister tells us it had been 7 years since we were there, it was time.
It was wonderful visiting and enjoying the green that the island offered.  Saskatchewan is pretty brown and ugly at the end of March.
Perhaps I shouldn't be so critical of the brown, last year at that time we still had large snow drifts.

We had Carmen's dog Teddy with us for most of April.  Once he settled in, he was a happy man.

He was introduced to the thrill of running while Pat rode.  That fat tire bike goes just about anywhere, so man, dog and bike were everywhere.  After the morning ride Teddy spent the rest of the day lounging on the grass resting for the evening walk.

We have a pair of Eastern Phoebes that return each year.  One day last week we watched the female trying to start her nest on a very small corner of a post.
Pat increased the floor space for her and we had the pleasure of watching her construct her nest taking that day and part of the next.
It is under the overhang as you go out the front door.  It is where we come and go so I hope that will not be a problem.
We might have to consider using the veranda entrance for awhile.

The process started with mud and small fine flexible twigs.  Then we started to see the introduction of grass and some moss, still using mud to hold it together.  It is hard to describe but as she added bits she would vibrate her head and beak working each addition into the structure.  As it came close to completion she would use her body wiggling and fluttering a bit to get it to conform to the shape she wanted.
It has turned cold again and we do not see any evidence of eggs.  We wonder if the cold has delayed the laying or is our coming and going keeping her off the nest.
She is still around, we here the almost constant "phoebeee" that is their call.
Should we be wondering what 5 or 6 phoebes all "phoebeeeing at the same time will be like? 

It is a planting day today so I will devote a post to that shortly.
We have tried a different way of preparing a couple of planting areas.It is called hugelkultur. If you are interested they describe it and show you how to do it on a variety of websites.
I will also have a finished bathroom to show you in a future post.

The crocus flowers are seed heads now but for those who didn't get to see a hillside sea of crocuses here they are.  It is glorious.

For Ernie

Today I would like to share the ravine with you one glorious winter's day.  It has been warm.  A few degrees above or below zero for the last 2 weeks.  The morning I took the photos it was about minus 5 and all the foliage heavy with frost. I do not normally walk with the camera but this day I wanted to photograph my path. I was intentionally more attentive and observant, I was looking for photo opportunities and it opened my eyes.  There is very little colour differentiation, and as you know I love a muted and subtle  landscape.  This morning I enjoyed the subtleties but I also found remarkable contrasts.  

Some of our Slow Book Club  will be visiting next month.  Due to some temporary mobility issues Ernie and Barb will not be here.  This post is dedicated to you Ernie so grab your tea ( sorry no wine ) and walk with me through the ravine.

Just below the house, the woodpecker's vertical buffet table.

The bottom of the hill at the beaver dam.

Walking along the bottom on the south side looking north.

Fantastic! The band of gold against the black and white.

We have noticed a lot of ground water moving to the surface this winter.  We don't know if there is more this year or if there is always this much and it was hidden under all the snow we had last winter.

We have walked along the bottom of the ravine on the south side and are now at the top again.

There I found abandoned homes and frosty leaves.

A grove of trembling aspen.

That's it for the walk, there is so much beauty in winter on the prairies.

Last post I talked about acquiring bird feeding supplies.  We got out the feeder and filled it with black sunflower seed's.  It has been a busy place, but we found this most interesting.  

Talk about hanging on by your toes

  

The woodpecker gets the seed from the feeder, brings it over to the oak, finds a place to wedge it so he can crack the shell and then consumes it.  How clever.

Ready for the next trip to the feeder

We (Pat) had a little run-in with some very hard finger drifts on the grid road.  It convinced us to take the plunge, we bought a vehicle with a bit more clearance.  We are now driving a 2012 RED Rav4.  It should suit our rural driving needs.  Our faithful Matrix will go to a new home (Carmen) in the city.

I do have a sunset photo for you this time.  This was the view out the west window January 14th.

Northwest Wind

We have been busy since the last post.  At the snowshoe evening one of our friends mentioned he had bought some farmland and would need to clear trees in the yard to improve access.  There were a lot of oak trees in that yard.  We decided we would like some for firewood and the larger diameter might be suitable for a wood turning friend. Wood gathering became the priority.

Pat spent a couple of afternoons with one of the farmer friends and then he and I spent another 4 or so hours getting some trees with a little larger diameter.  I had a table for the veranda in my mind's eye.  We have since found out that Burr Oak can be difficult to work with so the table may remain in my mind.  We will have a nice supply of hardwood for the fireplace at very least.

After that we were off to Saskatoon for Christmas.

We spent a week in Saskatoon, enjoying family and friends, it was wonderful.

Zachary and Heather prepared a fantastic Christmas dinner.

Nana and Norah waiting for the feasting to begin.

Auntie Carmen gave Brooke and Norah archaeological treasure kits. Gems buried in plaster.  The kit comes complete with safety glasses, hammer and chisel.

A great deal of fun for all. Such cleverness never existed in my childhood.  However I do recall spending many happy hours in the alley with a hammer splitting rocks (without safety glasses) looking for gold and diamonds. 

Friends Don and Lynne brought a wonderful gift with them when they came in December, a bird seed bell. I had two concerns regarding hanging it.

I didn't get it hung until after Christmas so I thought the birds might not find it and secondly how was I going to keep the squirrels from devouring it.

I was wrong, it was a hit and the squirrels can't get at it, I hung it out in the middle of the clothesline.

The downy woodpecker hangs from the bell eating, the bluejays sit below cleaning up what falls to the ground. The leavings from the woodpecker seem inadequate for the jays in this cold weather so we have been putting peanuts in the shell out.  We then watch the jays ferry them away in two or three minutes. 

There is a chickadee that flits in and then out, observing from a nearby tree.

The white breasted nuthatch searches for food in the tree that the clothesline is in, but is not part of the seed eating  They are all there at the same time and it brings such joy to watch them. 

We are going to Regina tomorrow, mostly for basement bathroom supplies (there is progress) but I also plan to buy more birdseed bells and black sunflower seeds to fill up my feeder that I haven't used since we left 213.

One more set of bird photos.  We don't think that this is the same GH Owl we got photos of last winter. the colouring is much lighter.  The camouflage colouring is perfect.

Do you spot him in the first photo?

We know from last winter that noise will get him to turn his head.  A little hollering accomplished that this time.

We haven't been out as much as we would like since we got home after Christmas.  It has been bitterly cold most days, either temperature alone or a reasonable temperature but wind.  Today there is a northwest wind that you have to experience to understand.

No sunrise or sunset photos this time just the winter wonderland that the ravine can be with a snowfall and no wind. 

Two Months One Post

As the title indicates, November was missed in written form but I do have a photo or two.

Up to this point the wildlife has been a source of enjoyment, that may change but for now watching is interesting and often makes us smile

Squirrels are around and commonplace.  This morning it was the squirrel, his nut and the light that caught my eye.  A beautiful sunny morning.

 

But as we know November is typically a grey month.  I like the greyness of November, the muted and linear landscape.

I love the mistiness, the neutrals, not a spot of colour.

We had visitors towards the end of November. Pat's brother and his daughter visited from California.

Brave souls to come from California to Saskatchewan in November.

There was tobogganing, skating on the pond, dancing and puzzling.  It is really too bad we don't have a photo of Erika skating on the pond, it is a rare event for SK natives never mind a California girl.

I was given dance lessons. 

(No photos of me, consequences of such a photo were discussed)

Pat is a fan of puzzles and so is Erika. We had a half a dozen or so children's puzzles ranging from 80 to 300 pieces.  All were completed, Erika has impressive pattern and shape recognition for a six year old.

In case you are curious the sign reads "Uncle Pat and Erika's puzzles".

We had friends from Saskatoon come for the December full moon.

Friday the fifth we were out for an hour and a half snowshoeing in the moonlight.

Absolutely no clouds, around -10˚ and bright enough for shadows. It was magical.

The other magical phenomenon we experienced were the fairy lights in the trees.  Because it was so bright the frost was twinkling.  When looking through the trees at the sky it was hard to tell the difference between the stars and the twinkling frost. I wish I had a picture to share.

Saturday evening we had friends from the community out for more snowshoeing and a potluck dinner. The moon was completely full that evening, no clouds and cooperative temperatures but no frost in the trees so no fairy lights.

Pat had a project or two lined up for Don while Lynne and I sewed.  We had been wanting to clear the creek in the ravine out a bit and burn the deadwood.  Pat and Don did the clearing and on Sunday we had a big bonfire with tea and chocolate.

Greetings from the ravine!

We had a wonderful weekend, Pat had told Don to come prepared to spend the weekend outside and they did.  Lynne and I had a mix of inside and out.

Another wildlife spotting.  We have spotted a family? of racoons three or four times.

The first time scratching around under some oak trees, we couldn't figure out what they were doing.  We checked and found the shells of cracked acorns littered under the trees.

The next time they were back they were close enough to get pictures.

We watched them move off one day thinking they were headed to the compost pile, nope they cruised right by, either they haven't found it yet or they are not interested.

I really hope I am not cursing them in a future post.

In the project queue, the basement bathroom beckons. That will start in the new year.

We have been fine tuning the cold room and have a little work to do in what we call the mechanical room.  Less pressure this year, we are finding more time to enjoy where we are. Spending time snowshoeing, watching stars, fires, squirrels and racoons. 

Sunrise

Sunset

We have cut some brush to manage blowing snow, just pretend the snow fence is part of the sunset.

Thanksgiving

It has been a glorious October.

I decided that it was important to document this in both words and photos.  It will be invaluable this winter.
We were so happy to have Heather and the girls here for Thanksgiving weekend.  Zachary is in the middle of a project that has been all consuming since about May.  As a result he stayed at home working all weekend.
We took advantage of the great weather to do some walking on the trails we have groomed.

It was a motorized weekend as well, the girls were thrilled to drive the skid steer with Pop.

Pat tells me they took to it very well, Norah's short arms were a bit of a problem but she still managed to do turns with the sticks.
The cab in the bobcat is small and you have to be able to put the safety bar down before it will start.  No room for me to get in the cab with Pat and get firsthand driving tips like the girls, I will have go solo someday.

The next country visit highlight involved a ride in the combine.

Both girls were quite excited about their ride.  Modern combines come equipped with a ride along seat that even includes a seat belt. Somebodies thinking.

Garden harvest was another item on the agenda.  As we were away all of June we planted a limited number of vegetables.  We had a great bean,carrot and parsnip crop. The garlic suffered the most from the hail but we were satisfied with what we harvested.  I will repeat last years comment, the absence of large trees and lots of sunshine is a good thing.

After the girls left we got busy with our garden expansion plans.  We about doubled the vegetable part.  

We tried not to get carried away keeping in mind that we have a large area in front of the house that is slotted for fruit trees and berry bushes and I also plan to put some vegetables there as well.  

The angle of the photo makes it look bigger than it is ( that's what I tell myself ). The area you see in the background in front of the door and window will also be planted.  It is south facing so we are expecting it to be a great spot for heat loving vegetables and herbs.
With all the soil moving that was done the great pile of weed covered topsoil that was behind the garage has been cleared away. It is now up to mother nature to reclaim the forest.

It is satisfying to see this outside work completed and we are so thankful for the sunny dry weather.
Pat is out right now starting work on the second area on our road that has drainage problems.  Photos next time, unless it is buried under snow.

Autumn is the best time of year for sunrise/sunset photos.  I will leave you with this sunrise photo  from the land of living skies.