Trade and tidy

Harley had a bit of a fright a couple of days ago.  It all started when we worked on an exchange of cedar posts for backhoe work to ditch and repair Kahles Road, given that a fair exchange is no robbery.  Bob is shown with John, loading the 200+ fence posts on to John's trailer for the first of five loads.  

We also used the tractor and forks to lift the last wrecked car out of the field and over to the pile of scrap metal that we have collected for the next pickup.   This is where Harley had a problem, you see the old car was plunked right in front of one of our walking paths and HOW DID THAT STRANGE THING GET THERE!!!!!!!  For a dog that rarely barks, there was much woofing and checking in with Catherine.   I walked over and gave it a hearty WHACK and then patted it, declaring it to be quite dead and safe to approach.  He now is satisfied that it can rest there until it is removed.  The scrap collector who did the first removal a couple of years ago managed to decline to pay us for the three truckloads and related scale weights, but we have found another dealer that appears to be more reliable.  The former has gone out of business, perhaps persuaded by another irate supplier?????  We understand that he is out of business and in a suitably unhappy karmic situation, given his treatment of others over the last couple of years.  And so it goes, you reap what you sow.  Life has a funny way of returning what you give.

Summer blooms

In the time that we have been here, I had not noticed the bold pink wild roses in the pathway to the well.   The longer that we are here, the more that we learn to look more carefully for what has been there for some time.  I managed to catch the roses while still dewey from one of the many recent rains.   Apparently this distracted my concentration, on our return both Harley the Wonder Dog and I were soaked to the skin.  He had a mighty shake and felt fine, but I shivered my way into a dry set of clothes.

Another outing with Harley revealed the profusion of blooms on the blackberry bushes this year.  I would pretend to keep their location a secret, but that is not possible because they are all along Kahles Road and our main lane.   There are lots of blueberries ripening in the meadow all around the horse pasture, but the sandhill cranes are picking away at them faster than they can finish ripening.  They have similarly "harvested" the wild strawberries.

Work in progress

Bob's theme for the week has been week whacking and lawn cutting.  Not only has he trimmed up the putting green (septic bed), but he has also whacked out the burdock in the path to the north trail and he has started to brush out the field.   He is shown in "Mad Mower" mode in the picture.  As if that was not enough, he volunteers every Monday at the golf course and cuts fairways with their super mower.   There should be less to do next year if we can get some more fencing done this summer for the horses - they will be fans of the idea too.

My obsession for the week has been cedar log peeling.  I just can't seem to stop myself, but am not finished yet.  I have taken to wearing some protective "part" gloves, they allow for me to still feel to peel and they prevent me from gouging my hands so much with the peeling blade. The posts and rails for the west porch railing are all peeled now, I just have to do the 83 spindles and some supplies for doing the inside stairs. Despite the work to harvest and prepare them, supplying the peeled materials makes the installation more personal.  I would like to get finished so that I can start to get some riding in, that was the idea with retirement???

New addition

It is "previously owned" but in great shape with far less mileage than Bob's old one (which is pushing 500,000 kilometers).  Harley has not been allowed in it yet, so he does not get too excited when it comes and goes.   The only remaining problem is that although the plates are removed, Bob's old truck is still here.  He has some reasons for this, but I am suspicious that it has more to do with the unnatural attachment that he has to it.    I'll have to keep an eye on this matter so that we don't accumulate the valley of the dead trucks here. We have a scrap metal dealer coming to pick up the remaining odds and ends of metal that we have been collecting to have removed, I am gunning that what ever Bob does not salvage from it, will go with the rest.  I just hope that he can cope with the separation.  Hmmmm.

End of spring

Spring is now lush and ready to roll into summer. Days are finally dryer and warmer, but evenings are still pleasantly cool.  Fine for sleeping indoors but maybe still a little chilly for being lost in the forest. I have one last delivery of plants that I ordered from Richters Herbs, but it is being held captive by the postal strike.   Richters have kindly sent the order again today, but alas it is by Canpar, who (unlike Purolator) has not ventured up our lane yet.  The Purolator driver zooms up here with no problem, but new drivers are timid about it. Too bad the adventure seekers on ATV's and mud trucks don't feel the same way!

Harley checks on the beached tree

A visit to Camp Kahles revealed an errant tree that was a victim of our recent thunderstorms.  Once it dries up a bit, the tractor should pull it out.  Harley thinks this is a fun thing!  He was supposed to be tested this week to be a therapy dog, but the folks who were to do it got hung up on the highway due to an accident that blocked their passage from Elliot Lake to Blind River.   We have re-booked, so he may soon be a "working dog".   Going to visit people to get patted and admired does not seem like it will be a bad job for a dog like Harley.

Tree frogs

Bob has been industriously stacking some oak that needs one more year to dry before we split it and use it for firewood, one more pile to find a protective covering for!   With all of the wet this spring, Bob had some wee friends helping him with this job, several little green tree frogs.  They liked to sun themselves on the wood, up and away from the snakes that might like to nibble on them.   Bob would lift them carefully out of the way, only to return for another trip and have to do it again.   A good thing too because I am very fond of frogs.  

A neighboring construction project

We knew that our log builder was busy doing a site re-assembly (construction) for some folks on Lake Lauzon, which is just to the east of us, so we popped over for a visit.  Our timing was good because Ronn Hann was still there and able to show us around.   Earlier in the spring we had removed the temporary stairs he loaned to us at our own site re-assembly in 2008, and he was just at the point where he could use them for this job.   We scooted  home and delivered them to him at the site.   The couple building the house are a dentist and his wife, so I took a picture of the front entranceway that has a bit of a "tooth root" theme.  

The construction style is a bit unusual and rather complex, it is log style timber frame, complete with a multisided architectural style.  It has a gorgeous view of Lake Lauzon, which will be very tranquil for the owners to enjoy when the chaos of building is over.

Gardening via recycling

I have been busy creating temporary gardens via recycling used tires!   We had planned to drop the abandoned ones that we collected from the field and trails off at the local tire shop for their recycling route, until I asked Bob to round a few up for me to use.   I dug topsoil from our storage piles, mixed it with bagged peat moss and potting soil, then used it to fill the tires and some pots for flowers and herbs (sage, peppermint, dill, lavender, basil and cilantro).  

I also mulched the soil around the plants in the tires and pots for two reasons: to conserve moisture and to discourage Harley the Wonder Dog from seeing these containers as a place to bury his toys and treasures. Harley is pictured observing the pots with distain, he does not seem to like the flower scents as well as that of dead fish and other dog favorites.

Semi-annual adjustments

We completed another semi-annual log house duty, the adjustment of the log post and column jacks.   The full scribe round log style walls compress by 6% over a period of about five years, so at year 2-1/2, we are roughly half way to achieving the final vertical wall height (there is no horizontal shrinkage with this style of construction).   Each of the window and door frames in the log walls are fixed and equipped with a tooth-in-groove slider to allow the walls to compress smoothly past them.  The interim flexible trim at tops of the windows stays in place until the settling process is complete.   We have a special tool provided by the log builder to turn the nut on the jacks in the spring and fall of each year.  There are jacks under each porch post plus three spots inside the house as well as  one under the main king truss support column and two in load bearing positions located "in" a stud wall that runs parallel to and under the summer beam for the loft area.  We drop the jacks by about 1/4 to 1/2 inch each time, so 1/2 to 1 inch per year.   This progressively locks the logs in the main walls, increasing the seal that from the outset was provided by closed cell foam gasket material at the toe of each log scribe surface.  Once the logs have compressed by the predicted 6.5 inches, they will achieve a stable wall height and the final fixed  top window and door trim can be installed.

New life in the puddles

The spring rains have not only caused the grass to develop vigorously but they have also caused the puddles to burst with lots of wiggling tadpoles.   There is a puddled area behind the house which is full at night of very vocal singing frogs, and that is teeming with fledgling frogs.   I took a picture of the little fellows as they wriggled about looking for food.   This area tends to dry up by mid-June, at which time they must move on to the damp forest to the west of this spot for the summer.  The seasonal wet spot seems to be a sufficient environment to keep the frog population in good shape because they show up at this spot every spring.

Trimming the pen

Mago is seeing no hardship in trimming the grass in his round pen.   A little trimming on his part will make this a familiar place and ready it to use to play with him under saddle in preparation for riding on the trails.  I sat on the top of the rails and although he "checked in" with me from time to time, he showed no interest at all in the girls who were left behind in the adjacent paddock.  

Indicators of spring moving to summer

Not only did I encounter this wee bunny on a lawn neighboring my parents house (while on an evening walk during a visit), but on return to Angara, the next two photos show more signs.

 The trilliums are even more lovely with fresh raindrops sparkling on their petals and leaves.   These are ones that I found right behind the house.

Although cultivated, these are lilacs that were planted by the old clubhouse by Cook's.  They have survived untended for many years now.