Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Photo by my mother-in-law, Audrey.

Today, I am thankful for (in no particular order) a day off, starting the weekend with a fun night out with my father and brother, Doritos (Sweet Chili Heat and Dill Pickle) and fizzy Coke, a squirmy nephew, a wiggle-butt dog, a barn cat with a serious balance issue (and an affinity for belly scratches), two turkey dinners and all of the chefs who cooked them, my mother who works so hard to bring everyone together, my father-in-law and his chainsaw, my mother-in-law who takes the dog for a walk and shares pictures for my blog, my husband and helpmate (who supplies the Doritos and wields his own chainsaw), an outstanding harvest that’s more than enough to share (seriously, so many squash), this farm and my favourite tree out behind the barn.

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians.

Dealing with my hang ups

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Hang up #1: Plumbing makes me nervous.

Hang up #2: The hose by the driveshed lies on the ground and is super awkward to use. It drives me crazy.

Hang up #3: Less emotional. More physical. As in galvanized. As in the solution for hang ups #1 and #2.

Allow me to back up for a moment.

When we had our whole water system fixed during our first summer on the farm, my Dad had our contractor trench across the driveway and add an exterior hose at the corner of the driveshed. Since then the hose has been laying on the ground–a very inconvenient configuration.

Every time we mowed the grass, we had to move it. Turning the hose on and off and coiling it up were a pain.

Hose coiled on the ground

It was on my to-do list last May to fix this situation, but I didn’t get it done. I was distracted by other projects, and honestly I was a little nervous about tackling even this simple plumbing job on my own.

Now that we have the vegetable garden, we’re using this hose all the time. My frustration finally motivated me to pull up my big girl pants and deal with my hang ups (all three of them).

The first step was shortening the waterline. I turned off the water, pulled out the hack saw and sliced the pipe. I yanked the tap out of the original waterline and jammed it back onto the shortened pipe (hint: some boiling water softened the black pipe enough to slide the tap into place). I tightened the clamps to hold it in place.

A 2×4 mounted on the side of the driveshed holds the tap far enough off the wall so that I can turn it easily, and some metal brackets hold the waterline to the 2×4.

Then comes hang up #3. The galvanized hose hanger holds our three hoses. Yes, three. We need every single inch of hose to reach the vegetable garden.

I’ll admit that lugging three hoses out to the garden is still not super convenient. However, having the tap attached to the wall and the hose hanging on the wall are an improvement.

Some day, I’d like to split the waterline and add another tap out at the garden. Despite confronting my hang ups, that’s more plumbing (and trenching) than I want to tackle on my own at this point.

However, this simple update boosted my confidence about tackling a simple plumbing job on my own.

What hang ups do you have at your house? How do you handle plumbing? How do you handle irrigation?

Watch out rabbits

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Ralph is a top-notch barn cat, but she’s become a bit… soft.

This winter, as soon as HRH deemed the temperature too cold and the snow too deep, she retreated to the barn and refused to venture outside.

As a result of her hibernation, we had our first rabbits this spring. Two of them living behind the barn.

The snow is now mostly gone, so Ralph is outside again and the rabbits are also gone. She hasn’t gotten that soft.

But then last weekend the snow returned. It fell all night from Saturday into Easter Sunday.

HRH poked her head out of the barn.

She looked to the left and the right.

She paused for a moment to consider.

And she retreated back into the barn.

Oh, Ralphie. You’re such a tough barn cat.

At least the Easter bunny was safe.

Our new pond

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’ve written before how important it was to me to have a pond on our property.

Well, this spring we have a new pond, although it’s not quite what I imagined.

Behold the pond in the driveshed.

Can’t you just picture it? A peaceful afternoon at the shore, watching the trees reflect in the water’s surface, surrounded by recycling bins, tools and the smell of oil. Ahhh.

There’s always been a low spot inside the door of the driveshed. Occasionally after a big rain, we have a puddle. However, this year’s thaw resulted in more than a puddle. The really hazardous part of our new pond was that for a long time it was still partially frozen. The bottom layer of ice was extremely smooth and extremely slippery. Taking out the recycling took on a new layer of adventure.

Even now that the ice has melted, the adventure remains. Ralph was helping Matt with the garbage this week, and she had to make quite the leap to get in and out of the driveshed.

Addition for the spring to-do list: as soon as the gravel pile thaws, pick up a big scoop (or two) of stones for the driveshed.

How are things thawing at your house? Any water where it’s not supposed to be?

A painter’s premonition

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Matt’s grandpa was a painter. It was his hobby, and he was very skilled and prolific. Everyone in the family has a few of his works. This summer, Matt’s Dad came across a piece, and he immediately gave it to us. For our Christmas present, Matt’s parents had the painting framed.

It looks like it could have been painted at our farm.

What makes this a truly uncanny back to the future moment is that there’s a stump right at the edge of the driveway where the big centre tree stands in the painting. The small evergreens behind the barn ramp in the painting have now grown into our towering stand of pines.

Matt’s grandpa died in 1991. I never met him. With this painting, it feels like he is a part of our life at the farm in a very meaningful way.

Do you have any artists in your family? Do you have a painting of your house or property?

Danger from above

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Some fairly impressive icicles have formed along the edge of the barn roof.

However, they are fairly dangerous as well, as they don’t stay on the edge of the roof.

This particular one landed straight up right outside the cats’ door (the gap cut out in the barn boards). If you imagine a cat fitting through that hole, that might give you an idea of the size of these icicles.

The roof edge above the human door was clear thankfully, but Matt rightfully thought that all creatures should be safe, so he went to work removing the daggers. As the edge of the barn roof is about 20 feet in the air, this was a bit challenging. Heaving things at the icicles seemed to be the most effective.

He was successful in the removal, but we now have a hunk of wood on the roof of the barn. Not quite sure how we’ll get that one down.

Snow day

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Friday brought a record-setting snowfall, a day off work for both Matt and me and lots of unusual happenings, like going back to bed at 7am, eggs and bacon for breakfast on a weekday and movies in the afternoon.

Some of the other unique ways we spent our time included rescuing a not-so-bright kitten who decided she was bored in the barn, but then spent some time cowering under Matt’s car when she realized there was no one outside to play with and the snow was too deep for her to return to the barn.

In this oh so flattering picture, Easter is being de-snowed over the kitchen sink.

We returned the kitten to the barn, which was definitely more sheltered than under Matt’s car but still slightly snowy. Lots of light and fluffy snow combined with strong winds meant drifts were everywhere, including inside the barn.

We traded the kitten for Matt’s GT snow racer, picked up a crazy carpet that came with the driveshed and headed out across the fields.

Snow was deep and the field with the best hill is farthest from the house. The walk was a workout, and rest stops were required.

The quote of the day came from Matt: “I don’t remember tobogganing being this tiring when I was a kid.”

A tip for anyone else who’s no longer a kid, yet still wants to ride his GT snow racer: the best way to “fit” on the sled is to ride in a mostly standing position.

Kid or not, a snow day is a pretty good deal–an unexpected free day. No excuse needed to stay home, break from the usual routine and have some new experiences.

Who else loves a snow day? Have you had one yet this winter? Anyone have a pet who’s not too smart? How about a GT snow racer? Matt figured out that his is about 24 years old. Have you been tobogganing this year?

No chandeliers here

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Last week on the Art of Doing Stuff, Karen professed her love of chicken coops and shared images readers had submitted of their coops.

Her post inspired me to get out and investigate our chicken coop. I confess, this is a spot that I usually prefer to avoid.

Karen wrote, “some of the most dilapidated coops are among my favourites.”

Well, dilapidated is a good descriptor of our coop. If you’re feeling charitable, you might call it rustic. Usually, I tend to just call it gross.

Perhaps a chicken laid a very heavy egg and broke the concrete floor?

I’ve seen some coops with chandeliers and artwork. The leaky roof in ours has started to form stalactites, which I guess could be considered sculpture.

And in case you’re starting to wonder, you are in fact correct. The coop has not been cleaned out. Likely not for several years. (Warning: The next photo may spoil your appetite).

The coop is cozily tucked into the west side of the barn under the pines. The worn barn boards, old mullioned windows and generous size are appealing. The abandoned water and food dishes in the run, the layers and layers of manure inside and the overall dilapidated state both inside and out are decidedly not appealing.

I’m planning on adding geese, ducks and chickens to the farm someday, and they will need a home–a better home than this coop. My Dad (the general contractor) upon seeing the coop for the first time suggested that dynamite might be the best solution. We probably will end up starting over, but we’ll likely still end up more on the rustic side of coop design–I can’t see myself putting a chandelier in a chicken coop.

If you’re looking for some slightly more inspiring coops than ours (albeit no chandeliers), check out what Art of Doing Stuff readers submitted. And while you’re there, make sure to check out Karen’s own coop which completely puts ours to shame. Even though she says her hens don’t care how their coop looks, I don’t think Walnut and the ladies would be too happy if their home was anything like ours.

Friday night lights

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’ve mentioned before that the farm is a wee bit dark once the sun sets. Well, since the time change a few weeks ago, things have been extremely dark out here in the country.

This is not just a black square. I actually went outside and took a picture for you to show how dark it is.

Arriving home had gotten a bit hazardous between stepping on cats and randomly jamming the key in the general direction of the lock on the front door.

The time had come for a call to the electrician.

After a quick rewiring of the driveshed, an installation on the barn, relocation of a timer and a new circuit panel–also in the driveshed, the top of our driveway now looks like this when we arrive home at night.

Exterior lights on the barn and driveshed

Let there be light! This image was taken from roughly the same angle as the one above.

We had lights on the driveshed and barn already, but neither of them were working. In the driveshed, we’d killed the power because of sketchy wiring and an obviously unsafe fuse box. On the barn, the old light had a blown transformer, and ultimately the whole light had to be replaced.

Thanks to a timer we already had in the basement of the house that the electrician was able to repurpose outside, the lights come on automatically before we get home and then go off before we go to bed. The new barn light also has a photocell that senses darkness, but we decided we don’t need to see what’s going on outside all night long, so we let the timer shut everything down around 9 o’clock. We may adjust that, but for now it’s working well for us.

The lights are also working well for the cats who no longer have to worry about being stepped on or run over. Up until now, our only way of seeing them when we come home was watching for the glow of their eyes in our headlights.

As much as I’m thrilled with our new exterior lights, I do have to admit that I’m looking forward to being home during daylight this weekend. I’m starting to forget what my property looks like outside of the lighted sphere of the barn, driveshed and house.

Cozy kitties

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

A giant crate had been sitting in the burn pile beside our fire pit ever since Matt and I dragged it up from the end of the driveway at the start of the summer. I kept saying, “I’m sure we can use that somewhere.” However, it was Matt that finally had the vision of where.

Slice and dice with the sawzall

He sawed it in two, filled each half with straw, placed them in a sheltered corner in the basement of the barn and, voilà, cozy cat beds.

One bed even got a canvas tarp for extra coziness.

Cross task #3–fix up some winter beds for the cats–off our fall to-do list.

Our hardy, independent barn cats are living in the lap of luxury now. Easter and Ralph have each claimed a crate and made their own nests in the straw. Although they’d probably stay warmer if they snuggled, Ralph has put her paw down at babying her kitten any more. It’s in everyone’s best interest that they each get their own bed.

Documentation of their enthusiasm for their new beds was difficult to obtain.

Pictures of Easter look like this.

“What are you doing over there? I’m going to come see you!”

Or this.

“Treats! Oh yes, please! I like treats!”

We finally got Ralph to model for us, but even she looks like she wishes she was somewhere else.

“Are you done yet? Back scratches will only get you so far.”

The crates may be a little rustic for other felines, but our pusses think they’re just purr-fect.

Sorry.

For future photo shoots, anyone have any tips for encouraging cooperation from cat models? Is there anyone else who has four legged creatures sleeping in your barn, shed or garage? For other cat owners out there, where do your kitties sleep?