Month: October 2019

I got you covered!

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Something very disorienting happened today.

There was a knock at the door.

Which is one of those things that is so unexpected, it takes a moment for my brain to clue in and say, “oh… there’s a person at the door.” :-D

Turns out, it was the guy delivering the straw bale we had ordered. He had to leave the tractor in the driveway, hop the locked gate, and come knocking.

There’s a reason I asked for a call first! :-D The guy delivering the bale was not the guy I bought it from, so he probably didn’t have my number. Not that he could have called us from his tractor, anyhow. ;-)

I was really happy to see him, that’s for sure! It’s been snowing off and on, and the temperatures are dropping, so I really wanted to get that septic tank covered!

This time, I asked him to drop it off in the old garden area. You can see that the bale has been sitting for a year! After unwrapping it, I started trying to pull the straw down near that dark area, and found it half frozen and very wet.

Which is great, because the wet straw that’s already starting to decompose went straight onto the garden area, and some of the compost, right away. I even found a worm in it. LOL

This is where our septic tank is. Our system is very different from what is usual; instead of a gravity based system, ours has a smaller tank and pumps. There are pipes leading from the basement to the left of the tank in this photo. The tank has two chambers. Everything goes into the first chamber, then when it fills with liquid, there is an overflow chamber. When that fills, the liquid is pumped to a field out by the barn. The pipe for the outflow runs under the old kitchen, which is behind the septic lid in the photo.

All of these pipes are buried deep and, theoretically, we could go without covering any of this at all, but it’s not something we want to take a chance with. An extreme winter could freeze the ground far enough that the pipes would freeze, and if that happened, it could get really nasty in our basement! It would also cost many thousands of dollars to get it fixed. So spending $25 on a bale and covering it is really cheap insurance! ;-)

Here is now it looks now! I added extra along the old kitchen foundation, just for a bit of extra insulation.

I’m leaving the tools with the bale for now, as we’ll be using it to insulate the old dog houses, probably in a couple of days.

While working on this, I had several very curious kitties checking things out. I expect the bale will also serve throughout the winter to keep little paws warm, and for burrowed nests, as well. :-) They were already quite keen on getting into it.

When I was done, I got a selfie with Susan.

She was not co-operative. LOL

Another thing off the list of things to get done before winter! :-)

The Re-Farmer

And early start in the dark

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Today was that day of the month that always reminds me how much I dislike shopping! :-D

Actually, it went very well, all things considered. So I’m happy about that.

I got an early start to doing my rounds, which meant it was still very dark as I switched out the memory card on the trail cam.

I also paused to take this photo of our lights.

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Second Blog-versary!

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My goodness! It’s hard to believe that, two years ago today, we made our first post here at The Re-Farmer blog. Now it’s almost 1,550 posts later! What a journey it has been.

I wish to take this opportunity to say thank you to those of you who have been kind enough to take time out of your busy lives, follow along on our journey, and peek through this little window of our lives. It is really appreciated! I hope you continue to visit as we muddle our way through the re-farmer life! :-)

The Re-Farmer and family

A day of rest

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With the timing of things for my daughter’s Sunday shifts, I haven’t been able to continue our search for a new church to attend, but I do try to take advantage of her short shift to make Sunday a day of rest.

So many kittens! And their uncle/big brother.

Oh, to be a cat, some days!

This was actually taken on Saturday. From left to right, we’ve got Creamsicle, Potato Beetle, Doom Guy, Two-Face, and even Pump Shack and Junk Pile kittens! All packed in like sardines, keeping warm and cozy.

Things were not so warm and cozy at the beach in town, yesterday!

Snowfall over the lake.

I didn’t stay out for long; I hadn’t brought gloves, and it was really quite chilly!

This guys seemed to handle it well.

Geese grazing near the marina.

No rest for them! The geese need to eat as much as possible in between their migratory flights.

I’m finding I really enjoy these few hours in town, once a week. It’s a good time to recharge.

The Re-Farmer

Water

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As the weather has gotten colder, seasonal changes are happening to our morning routine. With the outside taps now closed for the winter, and water starting to freeze, we are back to bringing out a pitcher of warm water to refill the cat bowls outside.

With the bird bath now moved next to the bird feeder (which I was able to give a good scrub down before winter – after knocking the ice out!), adding warm water to there is now part of the routine. Who knows. Even the deer might be able to use it over the winter. It doesn’t hold a lot of water, but we can refill it as needed.

This morning, the cats were wildly curious about what I was doing at the feeding station, and I had cats jumping up into the bird bath before I could finish emptying the pitcher!

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Winterizing progress: covering the car

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It turned out to be a rather pleasant day today, if quite windy. I wanted to cover my late father’s old car while it was still nice out, though.

We’d found a huge old tarp in the barn that we used to cover the mulched area of the big garden for the summer. It was more than big enough to cover my dad’s car, so when we took it off the garden, we just set it aside in the yard until we could get that done. When the winds picked up and threatened to blow it away, I shoved it through the back door of the garage, which leads to where my mom’s car is parked.

It’s so big, it filled up the space! I ended up having to fight through it when I needed to get through to the doorway to where our van is parked. :-D

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Bonus pictures: a pebble’s eye view

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I was in town this morning, and had the chance to visit the beach. Since I was last there, the town has pushed all the rocks and pebbles that the storm had pushed across the entry onto the main dock back onto the beach.

The beach is still very changed in this area, from before the storm. Much of the organic debris has been washed away, but the big rocks next to the dock itself are completely covered with sand. There is no sign that they are there at all!

With every tide, a new sand ridge is created in the area, though.

Where I took this photo, the ridge was probably about 8 inches high.

New layers of pebbles are slowly being washed back onto the water’s edge. So many colours and textures! I just love it. :-)

The Re-Farmer

Winterizing: wood for the fire pit

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I had some daylight left, so I decided to see how far I could get on another thing on my to-do list before winter.

Some clean up of the pile of larger wood, by the fire pit.

We may not have been able to use the fire pit over the summer, due to fire bans and unsafe conditions, but we should be able to use it in the winter. :-)

Among the dead trees I cut down, leaving tall stumps until I can come back with a chain saw, there are three spruce stumps that form a triangle.

I decided to take advantage of that.

My reciprocating saw got quite a workout today! I was able to cut to fire pit size, and move the enter pile of larger wood, and even get some larger pieces in the “kindling” pile!

The disturbed area by the tree with the tire around its base is where the pile was.

The tall stumps worked well to keep the stacked wood in place. We can also use them when we put a tarp over the wood. We can even nail it in place, so the wind won’t blow it away.

Yeah, we plan to get cheap tarps. Actually, there is at least one I saw in the barn that we can dig out and see if it is still usable.

Another job I can mark off the to-do list! :-)

The Re-Farmer

Winterizing progress: moving the trailer

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We got a slightly warmer day today – a whole 8C – that I took advantage of to work outside. I was able to rake up some grass clippings in front of the barn – the grass there gets so dense, it’s hard for the mower to handle, and if the clippings get left behind, I find they make it even harder – and add it to the old kitchen garden.

Since I was out there, anyhow, I decided to see if I could move the trailer frame into the barn for the winter.

How to get it there was the question.

The trailer is too wide to go through the side door of the barn, that accesses the old hay yard. To get to the back door, it needed to be pulled through the remains of an old corral.

There were only two possible places I could get it through, on the north side of the old corral.

You see that big, collapsed fence post in the picture on the left? I figured I could just move that aside, and I could roll it over the rails – including what appears to be metal balcony or stair rails (I am finding these absolutely everywhere!). When I tried to pick it up, however, everything started to lift with it. It’s all still attached to the post!

On the edge of the photo, you can see a fence post that is still standing. The photo on the right is the other side of the post.

There is a “floating” fence rail, and the ground is incredibly rutted. Plus, there are a bunch of big rocks.

Neither opening was very good, but the one closer to the barn was slightly better – if I could get around that big post.

Once I got through there, it would be smooth sailing. I had an open space on the opposite side of the old corral.

After that, it was just a matter of getting it into the barn.

For some strange reason, I forgot that there were double doors in the back of the barn. I don’t remember ever, in my entire life, seeing both sides open before.

The cats were very interested in me clearing space for the trailer, and making sure there was no glass or nails on the floor.

The next thing was, how to pull it. There is a security chain at the hitch end, but it is short. Since its got only 2 wheels, if I lifted the front too high, the back hit the ground. If I didn’t lift it that high, however, I found myself hunched over, and at risk of injuring my back.

Into the barn I went and looked around. I found a couple of lengths of chain, one of which had a hook on it.

It was perfect!

The trailer also just made it through the space, with a bit of shifting around.

That tire by the fence post that’s still standing is actually in a deep rut.

It was awkward, but it worked!

The cats really like this thing.

It’s in!

It can now safely stay here, out of the elements, until we are in a position to put some plywood on it as a base.

Who knows. We might even *gasp* put some walls on it, too! :-D

Another thing off the to-do list for before winter!

Oh, and while I was clearing the space it would go in, I found something for the “strange things we find” list.

I’d found a couple at the start, and by the time I dragged the trailer in, I disturbed things enough that 3 more were uncovered.

Yeah. Those are .22 shell casings.

No, we don’t have a .22 My dad’s guns are among the things that went away when the place was empty, though I’m 99.9% sure I know who has them.

My guess is, someone was shooting through the open top of the split door, then just didn’t pick up after themselves. What they would be shooting at from here with just a .22, I have no idea.

Well, now that we’re here to take care of the place, we don’t have to worry about anyone doing stuff like that anymore.

The Re-Farmer