That's it for these stairs...finally

Here are the finally finished basement stairs, sealed to the treads and wall with a product called DAB.  This is dispensed like caulking from a tube and meant for use in carpentry.  Bob is very handy putting this on in one stroke and dressing it with one swipe of a finger.   I did this job and managed to have to do odd looking gymnastics to get the DAB to the bottom underside of the bull nosing on the treads, which I followed by repeated dressing to get a smooth surface.  The latter resulted in me having DAB all over me, my painting clothes and parts of the stairs that did not need DAB'ing.   Fortunately it is washable with water when still wet, so I DAB'd and cleaned as I went, but looked quite a sight in the process.   This time George stayed well out of the way and I managed to get touch up painting on it without too much on Harley, George, Ivan, Gabby or Bob.   It is a good thing that I do not have latex allergies, as wearing gloves is the only way that I can prevent my hands from having their color adjusted.  

Mago does not miss much

That Mago does not miss much!

He is shown posing with the birch trees greening behind him.  He is looking very much the Morgan breed with his stance and is finally filling out from his earlier days of being a skeletal rescue case.   The horses have just about shed their winter coats, leaving pads of brown hair just right for the birds to use for nest building.

Cultivated and visitors

Harley the Wonder Dog hears Bob coming up the lane and so steps into my daffodil photo, which is better than lying in them which he had been attempting a few moments before.




Fortunately he missed these visitors:

This male and female wood duck waddled across our lane on their way to a little pond protected by the forest.  Last year a pair stayed through the summer, perhaps they will this year too.


They are welcome visitors.....  unlike the porcupine that Harley found but fortunately did not touch.  He came back to my call in time for the prickly visitor to retreat up a tree.  Phew and thanks for Sherry for working on this encounter retrieval last summer...

More spring unfurling

 Nature unfurls here spring treasures... one at a time!





We continue to bud and green up, albeit slowly this year.  Although the sun has finally arrived and the birch trees are turning the forest roof to soft green again, the overnight temperatures are still dipping to the freezing point and the last three days we were whipped with a north wind.   There is a blanketing of little yellow wildflowers all over and some trilliums about to open on the forest floor.

While out with Harley the Wonder Dog, we discovered lots of ferns cresting their way open.  These are not the fiddlehead variety, so they are safe from my saucepan.

I love the blooming of life that happens in spring, even the tips of the hemlocks show pale buds this time of year.

Work and Play

Harley the Wonder Dog takes a break after a run peaking at 36 km/hour and cruising with the ATV on the forest trails.   This was a break for us after a day of working on wiring.  A test of any relationship is working together on electrical code compliance.....  We are going to finish up on our own permit where our electrician left off.  A visit from the inspector gets us to change a few things but generally shows us to be on track.   Now it is just painstaking careful work to get the next phase done.  It will be nice to soon have a little more lighting (other than candles and the trouble light), some main floor receptacles and an electric stove....  how decadent!

George shows how to be mellow about everything.  This despite a day of being locked in his cat carrier after running through the wet paint on the basement stairs that I was working on......  he is shown here on the back of the sofa with his paw on Bog's shoulder while we watch a movie.

Sun and mosquitoes

Lovely Belle basks in the sun but already shows the mark of the mosquitoes who have also returned.   The horses move to spending mid-day in the shelter and frolicking at dawn and dusk.

Pecking in grand style

This handsome Pileated Woodpecker did a dance around the tree with me, so I was barely able to get a photo.... but managed this one before he evaded me.  He is doing pecking detail close to the house as we often hear him hammering away.   I hope he focuses on dead trees.....

Budding into Spring

 Following Mother's Day, the trees finally had a chance to bask in the sun and have started to open up their buds.  This is a welcome relief compared to last week's record rainfall.   The start of Kahles Road remains a bit of a casualty to the rainfall as one of the hydro feed line poles needs shoring up.  Hydro One was right out to look at it and will repair it, then more permanent road repairs can be made.  Always something!

The forest floor is also greening up and soon the spring flowers will be peeking out.

Preparing for the next heating season already

Bob's chainsaw of 35+ years finally quit and he reluctantly replaced it..... Greg at Howson's rolled his eyes when Bob whined about how it should have lasted longer.  He sure gets attached to his favorite tools.  Re-equipped with a Husqvarna 365 model, he was back happy as a clam preparing for next winter.  Work in progress is shown.   We using logs taken to clear pathways last winter when the selective poplar harvest was done.  The partial load that they left stacked for us has helped one friend and Bob's brother Jim, plus it is going to cover two years of our needs.  Once that is done we should not need to do more than take wind fall trees every year, even that will be too much for what we will use!

Mago prepares for trail riding

Note him playing with the ball that I hung up for when he is inside - he flings it around with gusto for his hour of "rest" each day.

I have taken to the trails on the ground with Mago to familiarize him with where he will shortly be getting going under saddle.  His paddock has limited good footing for galloping and playing, so when I got him out in front of the house he was quite exuberant.  To start, I put his bareback pad on then played in circles, sideways and backwards to get the "knots out".  From there, we have for several days now gone trekking on the trails to check them out, both of us on foot and finding that there are still some pretty mushy wet spots.   After another week or so most of the trails should have a more solid bottom and Mago will be adjusted to Harley the Wonder dog trotting ahead and sometimes racing out of the bush from behind him.   The first couple of times this caused a big show of bucking and such jolliness.  By the end they were working in harmony and looking for each other, Harley to lead, Mago to investigate the interesting smells and sights along the way.   We were able to get from head up and boing-boing-boing stepping to relaxed neck and back, forward and floppy ears and soft blinking eyes on Mago.   The latter being a horse that can cope with trail riding.   He gallops to the gate and stuffs his head into the halter now because he seems very eager to get out and play this springtime game.   Hopefully after hours on the trail in the summer he will still feel the same way..... maybe if I keep trim enough to make it easier for him???

Robins of Spring

Undaunted by spring's rambuncious weather, the summer birds have been making their way back in great numbers.  We recently had a blanketing flock of robins come through.  Looking out the window the sight of a carpet of fluttering robins is enough to induce dizziness.  I snapped a photo of one fellow right by the back door after he cheekily hopped about and drew my attention to all of his friends.  They did not linger long, hopping here and there and finally taking flight again. 

Post Spring Storm Neighborhood Watch Checks!

Record rainfall and high winds bring a big old conifer down over the lane into Camp Kahles - Bob stands next to it to show how big it is.

The lake level is up high and the road is partly washed out by the onslaught - Bob redirects the flow to get it back into the culvert again!

Despite that, the cabins at Camp Kahles are all fine!  After many years at this location, they have weathered well yet again.  Neighborhood watch patrol, Harley the Wonder Dog is seen doing his part.