Author Archives: Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Continuing the property clean up

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When I think back to our early years on the farm, I feel like we were always cleaning up. Of course, there was the house itself and all the stuff that we emptied out of it. But outside was the bigger clean up. There were plants and trees and piles of dirt and rubble and rocks. So, so many rocks.

Here we are 11 1/2 years later, and we’re still cleaning up.

This fall I tackled two areas that have been untouched since we moved in.

Beside the barn there was a mysterious mound. I figured it was rocks, but it was so covered in weeds I couldn’t tell. And hacking through well-established weed roots is not a fun job. So last year I tarped it. I love using tarps to clean up weedy sections. This fall I finally pulled the tarp off. The dead weeds easily raked off the mound, and I was able to dig in. The mound turned out to be mostly dirt, with just a few rocks. So I spread the top soil around to fill in some low spots and added the rocks to our rock pile.

The tarp had been weighted with old tires (since we have such a stash). I decided rather than finding somewhere to stack the tires, I was finally going to deal with them (and some others that have been hanging around too long). So I loaded 6 into my car (all I could fit) and took them to the recycling station. I have about 12 more to go, but it feels good to be getting rid of them finally.

I relocated the tarp to another mound near the old coop. I was able to mow some of this section and trim down a stump that Matt’s Dad had cut for me before we demoed the coop. The mound looks like mostly concrete rubble, but again it is overgrown and hard to hack through. So the tarp is going to work again, and hopefully next spring we can level this out and mow through.

(This time the tarp is weighted with lumber from the old coop that I’m going to try to reuse. The lumber had been stacked behind the barn and was well-tangled in grass, so picking it up was another clean-up. Though this time the mess was my own.)

The final clean up goes to our farmer. I’ve continued to pick away at our last junk area every so often this year. We’ve made a lot of progress and tidied things up considerably. But one of the things I uncovered was an old wire fence overgrown with vines. The fence posts were still firmly in the ground. So our farmer came by with his bigger machine and pulled the posts out for us. Now I have another clear section that I can mow through.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe how much we still have to do. How can we have been here 11 years and still be cleaning up? I know some of it is the reality of a farm where things get dumped, piled and stashed. It is also the reality of time, energy and attention. I also know everything we do is a step forward. I have six less tires, one less mound and one less fence to deal with.

Are you doing any clean-up at your house? Do you have an piles on your property? Have you ever used tarps to kill weeds? What is your never-ending project?

Memorial garden

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Expanding the turnaround garden was one of my goals for 2023. When I started working on the turnaround 10 years ago, my plan was to have a whole circle filled with lush plantings.

We put up the flagpole and a brick pathway (that I envisioned someday overhanging with greenery and flowers). Then I filled half of the circle and realized that the turnaround was so large that it basically swallowed up every plant I put there. So one half became a flower garden (which has filled in decently, though some of the gaps are filled with weeds). The other half we mowed.

Then this spring’s patio project came along. The garden around the well was going to be torn out and reconfigured. So almost exactly a year ago, Ellie and I quickly moved a bunch of plants from the well garden to the unplanted half of the turnaround.

We still have a long way to go with this garden. The turnaround is still big and still eats plants. Our transplanting has been very hasty, so we dig holes wherever and don’t pull up the sod in any methodical or expansive way. But, most of the plants we moved survived, and we’ve since added a few more. It feels like a garden is starting to come together.

We’ve spread some mulch and made a little stepping stone path to the flagpole.

We also added two things this year which changed the significance of this garden.

The first is my Dad’s bike. This is an old bike with no gears, no handbrakes. I remember my Dad riding it (often with one of my siblings in the baby chair behind his seat) when we’d go for family bike rides. It’s rustic, like the farm, and makes a nice sculpture in the garden–and is a happy reminder of my Dad.

The second addition is a memorial tree for Matt’s Mom. Matt’s Dad’s friends wanted to plant a tree in her honour, and Matt’s Dad decided he wanted it to be at the farm. (His friends also planted a tree here for Matt.) So a few weeks ago they brought a strawberry hydrangea tree and added it to the turnaround.

It’s special to me to have these reminders of my Dad and Matt’s Mom, two people who are so precious to us.

The garden is a memorial in another way. Ralph is buried beside the flagpole. I like that they are all together here at the heart of the farm.

Do you have any memorials at your house? Do you have any in-progress gardens?

Thankful

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As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things. But the thing I am most thankful for is time.

Time to be here. To be with Ellie. To experience so many things.

Time is precious. When this day is done, it is gone. Forever. Not every day is about making memories. Sometimes it’s just about getting through. But every day I try to be thankful that I am here and able to do the things I do.

I am thankful that I have been able to choose, for the most part, how I spend my time. I have opted out of a more traditional job to find work that serves me. This choice has given me time for Ellie, which is occasionally challenging, but mostly amazing. It has meant time for the farm, which is occasionally challenging, but mostly amazing.

It has meant fitting work into my schedule when I can (mostly at night). It has meant less money, but we are fortunate that it has been enough money.

That concept of enough is important to me. Of course I would like more money. I want to give Ellie lots of opportunities and I have a long list of renovations and plans. But we have enough money to live our lives with a pretty high level of freedom. Freedom to spend our time as we want.

There is never enough money. There is never enough time.

But I try to see money as enough, and time as more valuable than anything. An extra cuddle on the couch in the morning rather than running to make breakfast and get out the door, playtime during the day and work at night, an afternoon at a playground instead of rushing to the next thing we have to do. These simple things have become so precious to me, and I try not to take them for granted.

So today, I am saying thank you. Thank you for this day. I am thankful I am here.

Fall to-do list

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I’m feeling slightly whelmed right now. Between work, fall at the farm and the rest of my life, I have a lot to do. Fall always comes with a long to-do list… and a looming deadline of the weather. This year the pressure feels a bit more intense.

I am going back to my word of the year, and I am choosing what I focus on (another word of the year for you) right now. That means I have not cleaned the bathroom, but I am afloat with work and gearing up on some other projects and deadlines. (And my cousin is coming this afternoon to help mow the grass.)

I always work best when I break tasks down and give myself a deadline. So I’m putting my most critical fall tasks here for the record. If I can accomplish these three things before the end of the year, I will be happy.

Close out the vegetable garden

The garden did pretty well this year. But spending some time to put it to bed properly will help it do even better next year. Tops on the list are pruning the raspberries, weeding the asparagus, and tidying up our growing beds. If I can get a couple more growing beds set up that would be icing.

Close up the barn wall

The side of the barn where the old coop was is still a large hole covered with paper house wrap. I want to build a new coop inside this corner of the barn. But first I have to build a new exterior wall. I don’t want to spend another winter with the barn open, so this is a high priority task.

Clean out the barn

Matt has a lot of stuff stored in the barn. I started clearing out one section last year, and I’d really like to finish it. This is a big task that would bring me a lot of peace to complete.

There are a bunch of other small things–turning off the water, taking off the window screens, bringing some plants inside, putting away patio furniture–but those will squeeze in where they can. These bigger projects will take a bit more effort (and likely some help), but hopefully I can accomplish them by winter.

How are you doing right now? Anyone else feeling whelmed? What’s on your to-do list? Is fall a busy season for you?

Odds & sods

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September has been full, but good. School is going well for both Ellie and me. I’ve discovered I enjoy teaching. When I hook the students and see them light up is such a great moment.

We started the month with one last campout and ended with putting out the bird feeders. The leaves are changing, the nights are cooler, but there is still lots of sunshine and warmth. We’re soaking it up as much as we can.

Here are other things we were up to this month.

This video has me thinking how I can repurpose more materials when I build the chicken coop. Anyone have any old screen doors?

Would you choose this toilet for your home? (If you had $12,000 to spend on a toilet.)

Matt’s Dad grew great cherry tomatoes several years ago. I saved the seeds and grew delicious tomatoes this year. So I’m saving seeds again.

We made our tried and true brownies twice this month

Ellie is learning to read, and it’s coming so quickly. This joke book and this series have been laugh-out-loud hits.

“Death has its usefulness to the living… It creates an urgency within you. To do all that you can. To make things right. I wonder what that must feel like, to have a sense of true motivation.”

In The Lives Of Puppets by TJ Klune

We’ll be ending the month with another full week. But amongst work, school, errands and appointments we’re making time for fun. We’ll be meeting up with my friends for dinner at a local riverside hotdog stand. Friends, food and a great venue is always a special time.

How has September been for you? What have you been reading, baking or watching? Is anyone else saving seeds or moving plants indoors? Anyone else squeezing in al fresco meals or even campouts?

Tips to build a tire ladder

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My elementary school had an epic playground. In my memories, it is huge. There was a firepole, multiple monkey bars, an upper level, slide, swings and a tire ladder. As I was building Ellie’s treehouse, I knew I wanted to channel some of that history and build a tire ladder for her.

There are lots of tutorials online of different things you can build with tires and how to work with them. This post is not that detailed, but I wanted to share some of my tips for building a tire ladder.

Strong is beautiful

Make sure your structure is strong enough to support your ladder. Tires are heavy. Several tires connected together are really heavy.

Our ladder is bolted through a beam that’s about 3 inches thick by 13 inches high (a combination of 2x6s and 2x8s stacked on top of each other and sandwiched together). The beam and the tires are all supported by three 4×4 posts, one at each end and another in the middle.

Size matters

Select tires that are (roughly) the same size. Smaller tires make the ladder easier for little legs to climb.

Thanks to previous owners, we have a big stash of old tires. They’re various sizes and are spread all around the farm (including at the edge of the back forest, which meant a post-bedtime trip with the tractor to dig them out by headlight).

I chose ones that were roughly 21 inches in diameter, which seemed like a good fit for Ellie. I used eight tires–two columns of four. The treehouse deck is 5 feet off the ground at this end, so four tires high gives a gentle slope (more on this below).

Gravity is not your friend

As I mentioned above, tires are heavy. Therefore, the easiest option is to build your ladder on the ground. Lay your tires flat, bolt them all together while gravity is on your side and then hoist the finished ladder into place.

However, I was building the ladder by myself (the treehouse was my pandemic project), and I knew I wouldn’t be able to lift eight tires up to the deck and bolt them in place once my ladder was complete.

So I attached one tire at a time to the treehouse. I started at the top and worked my way down. It was a bit of a trick to hold a tire up and slip a bolt through the hole and screw on the nut, but hoisting one tire at a time was a lot easier than lifting eight.

We’re gonna need a bigger drill

I drilled all the tires while they were on the ground. Drilling through tires was surprisingly difficult. The rubber was super thick and tough. And you’ll also run into steel mesh embedded in the rubber.

I ended up using my Dad’s hammer drill. I didn’t need the hammer feature, but I needed the power of the big heavy drill. I also needed a big bit. I had bought 3/8 bolts, but even a 1/2 inch hole was too small. Go big. I think I ended up drilling 1 inch holes. Washers will be your friend.

Each of the top tires is attached to the treehouse in three spots. All of the other tires are attached to one other at 12, 6 and either 3 or 9 o’clock (depending on what side of the ladder the tire is on).

The nuts and bolts of it

I used 3/8 galvanized carriage bolts for all of my fasteners. I put washers on the head and nut end of each bolt to ensure they didn’t get pulled through the tires.

A nut bit for your drill will make fastening your bolts much easier. I don’t have one, so I used my socket wrench.

Also, gloves are a good idea. The rubber is not soft and reaching into the tires can be rough on your hands.

Another hill to climb

Once all the tires were together hanging on the treehouse, I was thrilled. Then Ellie and I each tried to go up the ladder and I was less thrilled. The tires were hanging straight down and they were so hard to climb.

I had to get the ladder to slope so that we were climbing a steep hill rather than a vertical cliff.

The solution that I came up with was to dig a hole where I wanted the bottom of the ladder to be. I set two cement blocks in the hole and wired the bottom tires to the blocks. Then we buried the blocks and the edge of the tires with dirt (and now with mulch).

That slight slope made all the difference. Three-year-old Ellie mastered the tire ladder quickly.

Drip, drip, drip

Tires are very good at holding water. Drilling some drainage holes at the lowest point on each tire will ensure your ladder doesn’t become a mosquito nursery and a mucky, splashy hazard.

I’m really glad that I chose a tire ladder for Ellie’s treehouse. I like that I was able to use up some of the tires we have lying around. I also like that it’s somewhat challenging for kids and different from what they see at most playgrounds.

I hope it is part of her memories when she’s an adult, as my elementary school playground is part of mine.

Do you have any playground memories? What’s your favourite playground feature? Have you ever built anything out of tires?

Playground upgrades

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Over the summer, Ellie’s playground got a few upgrades.

The treehouse has been a hit, and I’m so glad that I made it for her. It’s large and high (with room for her to grow) and has most of the things she likes (she is very proud that she has mastered the firepole).

She had very quickly outgrown the little playground that I bought for her three years ago, so this spring I sold it. The departure of the playground meant we no longer had swings, so building a swingset was on my to-do list.

But before I could get to the swingset, we did a few other things.

First was adding a simple ladder to her climbing tree. I knew we had a little section of wooden ladder somewhere in the barn. When I stumbled across it one day, I immediately grabbed it and brought it out to the tree she likes to climb (but can’t reach the lowest branches on her own).

A little digging anchored the bottom of the ladder into the ground. A few screws anchored it into the tree. And our girl scrambled up right away. She also enjoys jumping off the ladder. (I’m used to her leaping, so my heart doesn’t completely stop anymore.)

Next up was spreading woodchips under the treehouse. I’d had a load of mulch delivered for this purpose and the pile was where I wanted to put the new swingset.

Unfortunately, when I was ready to move the mulch, the tractor wasn’t due to a flat tire. A shovel, a pitchfork, a wheelbarrow and tenacity got the job done.

First I mowed the grass under the treehouse extra short. Then I covered it with a layer of cardboard. (That person you saw heaving surprisingly heavy bales of cardboard from the drugstore’s recycling pile into the trunk of her car? That was me.) Then I spread a very thick layer of chips under and around the treehouse.

The mulch cleaned up the treehouse so much. No more crazy grass and weeds sticking up here and there. No more contortions as I try to mow under the platform. Ellie also enjoys it as it makes a softer landing zone for her jumping.

With the mulch pile gone, I moved onto the swingset. I had bought a set of brackets and swings off kijiji last spring. I’d even bought the 4×4 lumber I needed to go with them and found the instruction manual online, and then it all sat in the garage for the winter.

Assembling everything was pretty straightforward. Though moving, attaching and flipping 10 foot tall A-frames required some creativity (thank goodness the tractor was back in action by then). My sister also gave me a lift to move the swingset to its final position.

I purposely chose ten foot lengths, even though the manual called for eight, as I planned to sink the A-frames into the ground to anchor them securely. Matt’s Dad helped me dig the holes and move the posts into them. Then a few bags of concrete, some dirt on top and a sprinkle of grass seed, and the swingset was complete.

The final touch for the playground was a flag. The bracket and flagpole have been on the treehouse for more than a year, but I finally sewed up a personalized pennant last week. Ellie helped to colour in her name, and she now loves waving the flag around.

This spot has come together as a great play zone for our girl. Ellie now has a treehouse with tire ladder, firepole and slide, a climbing tree, and swingset with two swings and bar or rings.

A true playground in our own yard.

Beginnings and endings

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Walking in the hayfield

September has made its not entirely welcome arrival. I savour summer. The warmth, the freedom from our schedules, the togetherness for Ellie and me and the rest of our family. Time matters less, and I treasure it.

Last year I chose to “do” summer. I made that choice again this year, and we succeeded. It’s hard to let go of that.

September means routine, school, separation.

In some ways, September is a beginning. Ellie is starting senior kindergarten and for the first time we’ll be apart more days than we’re together. I’m also starting a new job as a college instructor. I’m excited and grateful for this opportunity, and I love watching Ellie grow and become more of her own person. I know we will both adjust and enjoy, but it’s hard to take that first step down a new path.

Over the summer, my university asked alumni to write welcome notes, sharing advice for first year students. As I was thinking about this fall and the changes to come, I realized that some of what I wrote to those young students applied to me as well. I’ve adjusted it slightly to share it here with you.

While you may have your path in mind, life is meant to be explored. Take advantage of those opportunities that come your way–and navigate the bumps as well. They may help you along your route, or they may open you up to a new direction. I hope that you will find the paths that fit you.

Through your life, you will walk many roads. I have changed jobs, switched fields, tried new things, and followed new paths. And that’s okay. The foundation of who I am, the skills I have and what is most important to me stays with me.

Be open to possibilities, today and for the rest of your life. Choose the path that is right for you, right now. Don’t be afraid to change direction. Keep moving.

I wish you all the best this fall, whatever path you are walking.

Another hole in our lives

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Two years ago, Matt’s brother organized a family getaway to Manitoulin Island at the end of May. We had a great time together, so this year he did it again. This time we went to Killarney in Northern Ontario. It was another wonderful experience. During that weekend, Matt’s Mom told us that when she returned home, she had an appointment for a CT scan to try to find the source of some back pain she’d been having for a while.

That scan led to scary doctor appointments, treatments, a couple of stays in the hospital, and, then last month, Matt’s Mom died.

Another hole in our lives.

I often say that Matt’s parents and I work hard at our relationship, but that it’s not hard. We prioritize each other and make sure we connect, through big things like weekends away and little things like emails about how our day went. We do it for Ellie and for Matt, and also for each other. We love and appreciate each other.

Every Monday, Ellie and I go to Matt’s parents’ house for lunch. It was a rare week when Matt’s Mom wouldn’t have a new shirt or hat or outfit for Ellie. She would comb through the children’s section at the library so that she had a stack of books to read with Ellie. She made sure she had food Ellie would like, and we always came home with enough Bear Paws to fill Ellie’s lunch pail for the whole week. And she and I would chat about everything.

Matt’s parents both support us in so many ways. We are different people, but we respect and accept each other. When Matt and I bought our first house, Matt’s Mom showed up on the first day and cleaned our bathrooms. When we bought the farm, she did the same here. I will always remember how when I finished Ellie’s treehouse, Matt’s Mom was so proud to share my blog post on her Facebook page.

When she was in the hospital, we talked about some things that are happening in the fall. She wanted to make sure we would still do what we planned. Right up to her last moment, she was assuring me that I would continue to do a good job with my work, the farm and Ellie.

That unconditional love is for me the epitome of family.

When we were in Killarney in May, Matt’s Mom was in a lot of pain. Yet she walked all over that little town, she went to every breakfast and dinner, she watched her grandchildren play, and she even went out in a canoe with Matt’s Dad. She worked hard, and it was worth it. She soaked up every moment with her family. And we soaked up every moment with her.

Odds & sods

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The new well garden has attracted a snake. Ellie has adopted it as a pet, and the snake seems to be just fine with that. He appreciated the picture that she drew for him and occasionally lets her pet him. I love seeing her comfort and gentleness with animals of all kinds.

Summer is a time of animals, plants, the outdoors and family, and we’ve been doing all of it. This summer has also had some hard times, some of which I will write about later. I try to meet the lows with love, and savour the moments of joy that we have.

We had a cottage week with my family, which is always the highlight of our year. Growing up, my siblings and I were at our grandparents cottage every weekend. We swam, waterskied and played with a big group of cousins. Now, we give our children that experience, though only for one week of the year. Watching them learn to ski and swim, seeing how they help and encourage each other, and being together as a family is so special. Giving each other our time, presence and love is very important. The most important thing I can do.

On a lighter note, here are some less important things that I enjoyed this month.

This real life Hobbit House is beautiful.

I still look at our grain silo and think of the possibilities.

How is this math right? I feel old.

This book has changed the way I think about the rest of my life… and my breakfast.

Kid’s book of the month: Greek Myths & Mazes. A cool way to introduce Greek myths. Ellie has loved the mazes and the stories.

I made myself a cup of plantain tea on a particularly bad air quality day after watching this video.

I know everyone says it, but it’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through summer. As I’m looking ahead to August, I feel like time is going to fly even faster. I’m hanging onto as much as I can and making sure Ellie and I continue to work through our summer bucket list.

How’s summer going for you? Have you had any getaways? Do you have any wildlife (or weird “pets”) hanging around your house?