Forsythia failure

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’m not sure I should even be posting about this, but it’s part of an annual tradition for me and something I like to track, so here goes.

Here is the forsythia out in bloom this year.

Impressive, n’est-ce pas?

Allow me to look back 4 years to our first spring here.

Yeah. So apparently we have not been good for the forsythia. Our bushes are doing big fat nothing this year.

After a few years of less than impressive blossoms, I gave it a vicious haircut last spring. It didn’t bounce back the way I hoped. In fact, we have the fewest blooms yet–three. Yes, I counted.

Even the green leaves don’t seem to be as plentiful. Some of the old branches that I trimmed last year have hollow centres. Anyone know if this is a symptom of anything?

I’m choosing to believe that the forsythia is still in the process of bouncing back, so maybe new growth will come this year, which will bring more blossoms next year.

A girl can dream, right?

Any ideas of how to convince the forsythia to bloom?

Guess who’s at the door

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

In a bit of poor planning, a robin has set up her nursery right by our front door. There was already a nest in the yew bush, but it was a bit rundown. We didn’t notice it was being rebuilt until the eggs showed up. Actually, we didn’t notice the eggs either. We noticed the robin exploding from the nest every time we used the door.

The last time we had robins outside the door, it was the back one. It was relatively easy to avoid mama and the nest and the babies.

The front door is a little more challenging.

She sat for a few days, and we managed a couple of entries and exits without spooking her, but we haven’t seen her in a little while, and I think she might have given up on her nest.

I’m not sure how this is going to play out.

Garden Dueling DIY Week 4

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Sarah in Illinois and I are in week 4 of our Dueling DIY challenge.We’ve been making slow progress on our gardens (you can check out the progress in our previous posts), but recently Sarah’s attention has been directed elsewhere.

Distractions. It sounds a lot better than: “I am really far behind and worried that Julia may very well win the competition.”

What has me distracted?

Bad weather:

A full day of shopping at an antique/craft market and then shopping at a HUGE garden center with my mom and my brother’s girlfriend:

My purchases: rhubarb, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, rosemary, parsley, fun flowers and a micro cherry tomato plant. (I can’t wait to see what it produces!)

And then finally a surprise litter of kittens:

I mean, seriously, who can get any work done when you have this to cuddle?

I knew that one of my cats was very likely pregnant and when one day she was noticeably thinner, I started searching. She hid them very well and it took me four days to find them. But now that I have, I can’t stay away. I will be sure to find homes for all of them as soon as they are old enough but until then, I get to love on them!

Thankfully I did take advantage of some beautiful weather the last few days of April, and I made great improvement to the landscaping on the north end of the house. I hand washed the siding to remove all of the green that has been building up.

Before:

After:

My mom gave me two of the roses I had planted when I still lived at home and I transplanted to this bed.

However, until I get some mulch, I can’t mark this off my list. So I hate to admit it, Julia, but I cannot mark a single thing off this week.

Make some kind of designated area (possibly raised bed) for annual vegetables such as asparagus and strawberries — Area is tilled and asparagus planted but strawberries need planted and needs border
Neaten, and define north flower bed and add mulch — So close!
~~Divide mums and spread around deck~~
Make a designated gardening area complete with workbench

I am very aware of how few days are left in this challenge. So I am going to dig down and find the drive to make these last two weeks count (between kitten snuggles)!

Okay. Sarah definitely wins in the cuteness category. And some of the shopping and roses are in the gardening category, even if they’re not on the to-do list. I’m ahead for now. Hopefully it stays that way for the next two weeks.

The highlight of my week

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Mother goose and gosling

The highlight of my week happened last Wednesday. I held a brand new baby gosling.

It was just a few seconds, but it was pretty special.

The gosling was outside at my work. His Mom was in the flowerbed above, but he couldn’t make the leap up the ledge. She just stood in the flowerbed and kept calling him, and he kept valiantly trying to leap more than 6 times his own height.

After observing–and (who am I kidding) talking to them–for a few minutes, I decided I would see if Mama would let me touch the baby. I walked over to the ledge, kept a close eye on Mama and made a quick grab. I set baby in the flowerbed, and he and Mama trotted up the hill.

No geese or geese-crazy women were harmed.

Although my geese craziness has reached a new level. I think coop construction just moved up the priority list. I need some birds back in my life.

What was the highlight of your week (or weekend)? Do you have any goslings in your neighbourhood?

A Mother’s Day wish

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

One day visiting my grandmother, I was in the guest bedroom when I noticed a photo on the dresser. I asked, “Where did you get this black and white photo of me? And where are my bangs?”

She said, “That’s not you. That’s your mother.”

My Mom and me

Browsing old photo albums, I’m occasionally shocked by how much my Mom and I look alike.

I’ve gotten a lot more than just my looks from my mother, and I’ve been thinking about that a bit as we celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend.

No barriers

My mother went to college at the end of the 1960s. She shared the story of walking into her marketing class, and the instructor greeting her with, “Typing’s down the hall, honey.” My Mom didn’t let that stop her. She earned her diploma and started her career–and never learned to type. Seriously, you should watch her write an email.

My Mom was also an avid sewer. Some of her biggest projects were her own wedding dress and several prom dresses for both herself and her daughters. She taught me how to sew, but she also taught me that I can sew, cook, push the lawnmower, work in the garden, paint a room, refinish furniture, speak my mind, manage my money and choose my own path.

Homemade wedding dress

Family

My Mom enjoyed her career, but when she became pregnant with me, she quit her job and became a stay-at-home-mom. She and my Dad decided it was important to her to be present in that way for their kids. Even though I was there, I look back now with a completely different perspective on the situation. I cannot imagine how my Mom held it together as well as she did when she was always on duty for four kids. The experience of having my Mom always there is a really, really formative part of my identity. And she’s still always there.

My family

With my Mom

Marriage

My parents are truly partners, and that has had a huge influence on my own marriage. They view each other as equals and appreciate each other. My Mom handled a lot of the financials and did whatever was needed for my Dad’s business. My Dad valued how she took care of the house and us kids. Although there were lots of “Mom said no. Let’s go ask Dad” moments, when it came down to it, Mom and Dad were always on the same page. They problem-solve together, share the same values and put their kids first.

My family

My Dad is sick, and my Mom has taken on pretty much everything to do with the house, their lives and his care. So far, I’ve not seen anything my Mom won’t do for him. Sometimes it’s hard for me to accept how much she’s taken on and how little help she’ll accept, but it’s definitely given me new understanding of “for better and for worse.”

Mom and Dad

The biggest thing I got from my Mom is to be true to myself. She may not always understand my decisions, but she’s always on my side.

However, being true to yourself is an area where I sometimes don’t feel like my Mom has given herself the same opportunity that she gave her children. I hope that she has more opportunities to sew, to garden, to fix up the house, to spend time enjoying her children and grandchildren–to do the things that give her joy. That’s my Mother’s Day wish for my Mom.

Garden Dueling DIY Week 3

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Sarah in Illinois and I have entered into a friendly competition this spring to help us get our gardens in shape. We’re now at the conclusion of week 3 of this Dueling DIY, and I’m sharing my second update. You can check out all of the previous posts here.

It was just noon on Sunday. I had a long list of things that I wanted to do in the garden, but I was running out of steam. I managed a few more hours before I ~~hobbled~~ retreated indoors. (Sarah, take note that I said the garden claimed a temporary victory. I am not conceding anything yet in this DIY duel).

I still don’t have any dramatic before and after pictures to share yet. But I can report some progress.

The big accomplishment so far is edging the garden.

Our garden is 2,462 square feet, which means, if I’m remembering my geometry formulas correctly, its outer perimeter is roughly 175 feet. Whatever the distance, it felt like it took a very long time to go around the whole outer edge.

Here’s what the edge looked like at the start. Ugh.

Edging a weedy garden

Here’s the progress shot.

Edging the vegetable garden

And here’s the final.

Wood "curbs" to edge a vegetable garden

We used the fence posts (or in the case of the image above, the telephone pole) as “curbs.” I’m hoping they accomplish two things: 1) Keeping weeds out of the garden. 2) Keeping small critters from crawling under the chainlink and into the garden.

Matt cut the fence posts to length with his chainsaw and then we dropped them into the shallow trenches that I’d dug around the perimeter.

Remember this picture from my last update of all of the materials for the garden?

Materials for the garden update

We’re now down to a single pile of posts (and some firewood).

Fence posts

I also made a dent in the lumber part of the pile when I went on a marathon stake making session.

An electric mitre saw is perhaps not a conventional garden tool, but I wanted a lot of stakes.

Cutting garden stakes with a mitre saw

How many stakes? I couldn’t find the energy to count. More than 10 gallons worth.

Pails of garden stakes

The stakes came into play with my plan for the other half of the fence posts: the raised beds.

My plan is to build shallow raised beds just around the outside edge of the garden. These will host asparagus, grapes, rhubarb, sunflowers, and probably beets, lettuce and who knows what else.

Again, I’m using the fence posts as curbs, and I’m holding them in place with the stakes.

Shallow rustic raised vegetable garden beds

After digging my way around the outside of the garden, I have no desire to do more weeding, so I’m giving the lasagna method a try within the raised beds.

I used cardboard for my base layer. (Die weeds, die).

Using cardboard to kill weeds in the vegetable garden

Then I covered that with a layer of straw mulch that has been composting in the garden since last fall. I was surprised how much the straw has broken down already. I think it should be good food for the new beds.

Straw mulch

Four yards of topsoil arrived yesterday morning, so I will top up the beds this weekend.

The raised beds were where I lost my mojo. I had a small sledge for hammering in the stakes, but swinging the hammer over and over (and over and over) was surprisingly tiring. So I’ve made it halfway around the garden.

I know it’s halfway because I’ve marked the centre aisle with our super long rope. The picture below doesn’t look like a lot of progress, but you might be able to see the curbs at the far right waiting to be set in place.

Unfortunately, you’re also able to see all the weeds. Matt got the rototiller running with no trouble, which got us very excited, but as soon as he started to till it stalled. And stalled. And stalled. So frustrating. So the straw and weeds and ash are all still sitting on the soil.

Gardening progress

One place the weeds are gone is in the red raspberry row. Woo-hoo for small victories. (The twine is to mark the row until I get a proper trellis in place).

Raspberry row marked with stakes and twine

A bigger victory is how much the raspberries have expanded. Look at all those little plants. This is going to be good. And the black raspberries next door–while still weedy–also appear quite healthy.

Raspberry sprouts

My usual gardening sidekick is Bax. It was nice to be a trio this weekend thanks to Matt’s help with the fence posts. However, as soon as Matt was done cutting, Bax was more than ready for bro time–indoors. Apparently he’s only interested in gardening if he can work on his tan at the same time. The weather was cloudy and drizzly, and as much as dude likes to pretend he’s an outdoor dog, he’s a fairweather outdoor dog.

Thankfully, Ralph is much tougher than her brother, so she braved the weather to keep me company. And unlike the sunbather, she actually participated, inspecting the raised beds and even assisting with some weeding.

Ralph in the garden

Eventually, though, even I gave in and retreated to the indoors. (Ralph as always stayed outside).

However, there’s still some more progress inside. Tomatoes (Sicilian Saucers) and peppers (a random mix) have sprouted, and I transplanted our tallest watermelon sprouts already.

Watermelon sprouts

We cut our seed potatoes down to isolate individual sprouts, and they’re firmly at the grody stage. We really need to get them in the ground this weekend.

Chitted potato sprouts

The weather forecast is supposed to be bright and warm this weekend, so I have high hopes again for progress and productivity. However, I’m away from the farm a bit (have to remember Mother’s Day) and… guess what… picking up my grapes. I’m excited to have my first vines. Finger crossed I can keep them alive and help them grow the way they’re supposed to.

Before I get to that, though, let’s go back to my original to-do list. I can cross at least a couple more things off.

Hang the gate
~~Edge the garden~~
~~Build~~ raised ~~beds~~ around ~~the~~ perimeter (half done)
Build trellises for the raspberries, tomatoes and squashes
~~Start a few seeds indoors~~
Till in the ash, straw and manure

Three weeks to go, Sarah. We’re halfway through this Dueling DIY. Are you going to make it? The garden may have kicked my butt last weekend, but I’m going to be back and better than ever in just a few days. Watch out.

What progress have you made on your spring projects at your house? Any tips for lasagna gardening? Or building raised beds? How about growing grapes? Or keeping a rototiller running? Do you have any furry gardeners at your house?

Solar panels two years later

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Two years ago we flipped the switch on our solar panels. It’s hard to believe we’ve had them that long. They’re still a bit of a novelty for us, and we check often to see how much power we’re generating.

Solar panel array

Last year, I took a look back at our first year, remembering some of the highs and lows, and calculating how much we’d made and how long it would be until we’d made as much money as we invested in the panels.

I’ve been waiting to do the same thing again and see what progress we’ve made.

Last year, my calculations were only based on part of the year. While the panels were live as of the end of April, we didn’t receive our first cheque from the hydro company until July. This year is the first time we have a full 12 months of payments.

Just in case you’re new to our solar saga or don’t remember all the details, we’re part of Ontario’s microFIT program. Under this program, we install solar panels, and then the power that we generate goes back into the provincial grid. The province pays us $0.396/kWh. You can read about the whole saga of Going Solar here.

But now onto this year’s report.

The grand total that we made on the solar panels last year was $4,473.91–up just a bit more than $850 over the year before.

So what does this look like? Something like this. The golden yellow is this year and bright yellow is last year.

Bar graph of income from solar panels

We had a better fall and winter this year compared to last year. Everybody knows it was a much milder winter, but it was also sunnier.

I was often amazed when Matt told me at the end of the day how much we’d made. When the sun’s in the southern hemisphere, it sometimes doesn’t matter how bright it gets during the day. The angle of the sun is just so bad that there’s no way our panels produce at their max. But even in the depths of winter we had days where we were making double digits, which was a huge win.

The other huge win this year was finally getting our HST refund. This is the 13% sales tax we pay in Ontario on pretty much everything–including the labour and materials to install our panels. Because we run the solar almost like our own small business, we’re able to claim a portion of the tax–in the amount of more than $4,000.

Our other big numbers were finally setting a new daily record when we finally broke the $28 mark and making $831 more than we spent on electricity for the whole year.

Because it was such a mild winter, we didn’t have any issues with snow on the panels like we did last year. Even the ice storm wasn’t a big deal.

In fact, now that we have them, we really don’t have to do anything–except count the deposits to our bank account.

Solar panels

Last year, I estimated that it would take about 9 years and 4 months before our income equaled the investment we made in the panels. When the panels were first installed, I thought 8 1/2 years was a realistic estimate. Using this year’s numbers, the payback period would be just over 9 years.

This is definitely a long term investment, but the money is only part of the equation for me. I really feel alternative energies like solar are something we need more in the world. And I feel like I have a personal responsibility to support these alternatives as I can.

At the farm, we rely on our own well for water and our septic for sewage, we have geothermal for heat and air conditioning, and we generate power for the grid through these solar panels. Plus we’re preserving 129 acres, doing our best to be responsible stewards of our own little chunk of the earth.

Shoe tree

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

In the city, shoes dangling over the wires mean you might not be in the greatest neighbourhood. Out here in the country, we do things a little differently. Although I’m not sure what the meaning is of the shoe tree.

Literally, a tree covered in shoes.

Shoe tree

There are fancy shoes and casual shoes. Big shoes and little shoes.

Shoe tree

Sandle shoes and boot shoes and fuzzy shoes.

Shoetree

And of course, Canadian shoes.

Shoetree

I think the fact that we have a shoe tree says less about the neighbourhood and more about the people who live here.

Crazy country folk.

Garden Dueling DIY Week 2

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Sarah in Illinois and I have entered into a friendly competition this spring to help us get our gardens in shape. We’re now at the conclusion of week 2 of this Dueling DIY. (Week 2 already, yipes!) Sarah is here today to share her first official update. You can check out all of the previous posts here.

Lots of rain and cool weather has continued here, and I was running out of time to work on this week’s challenge. I was getting nervous because I could just picture Julia having beautiful weather and getting ahead of me. (Ha-ha-ha. Be afraid, Sarah. Be very afraid). I was able to do a second till of the garden Tuesday before another round of rain came through, but that was as far as I had gotten.

However, the forecast called for perfect weather Sunday, and I had a list a mile long to work on. Of course at the top of the list were projects on our challenge. I can’t mark very much off of the list yet, but I sure got a great start.

The first thing I did was divide up my two big mums and spread them around the deck.

Splitting mums

I was easily able to make 7 different clumps of plants. I dug holes and planted them and watered them well.

Transplanting mums

While I was doing that, Steve changed the oil and put new blades on the mower. Then I mowed while he tilled the garden for the third time and then we decided where our “annual garden” would go.

We made a few first passes over then new garden, but I still have to make some type of borders and plant it.

The foreground is our new bed for plants that won’t get tilled up every year such as strawberries and asparagus and in the background is our yearly vegetable garden. You can see the fencing ready for the cucumbers and sugar snap peas. And in front of it is the hill for our row of potatoes.

Tilled garden

The beautiful weather also meant it was time to bring out our deck furniture from the barn. I got everything scrubbed and hosed off. I let it all sit in the sun to dry and then we set it up on the deck. We finished our hard day of yard work with brats and shish-kabobs on the grill and ate it outside on the deck. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.

Despite all of that hard work I was only able to check one thing off of my challenge list:

Make some kind of designated area (possibly raised bed) for perennial vegetables such as asparagus and strawberries.
Neaten, and define north flower bed and add mulch.
~~Divide mums and spread around deck~~
Make a designated gardening area complete with workbench.

It may not look like much was accomplished, but I am setting myself up for the kill! So how was your weekend, Julia?

Oooh. See how she throws in that little jab at the end? We’re pretty much tied up right now. Sarah and I have each officially crossed just one thing off our lists. However, I have big plans for both Matt and me this coming weekend. Watch out, Sarah.

Sprouts

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Sarah in Illinois will be sharing her update in our Dueling DIY gardening challenge later this week. I couldn’t help sharing a small–very small–garden update of my own today.

We have sprouts!

Watermelon sprouts

Two of the seeds we planted last week have sprouted. These are sugar baby watermelons.

There are 36 little soil pellets in this container, so we have a lot more sprouts to go. And we have a long way to go until the garden is ready for these sprouts. Dueling DIY continues.

Do you have any sprouts at your house? Have you ever used pellets like this before? (This is our first time). Any watermelon growing tips?