Getting my act together

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

A month ago, I said it was time to get my act together, and I posted my fall to-do list.

I’m most productive when I post regular updates to hold myself accountable, so today is about sharing where I’m at in getting ready for winter.

And I am pleased to report that I’m getting my act together.

The vegetable garden

Hang the gate
Edge the garden
Put in raised beds
Spread manure

Okay. Perhaps this isn’t the best way to start. Beyond the harvest and clearing out the dead plants, I haven’t spent much time in the garden. My plan is to make the garden my focus for November.

The bird feeder

Reattach feeder bracket – My cousin who made the birdfeeder post for us originally very kindly bolted the top bracket back into place.
Install a sleeve for the post – I put a section of pipe in the ground so that the post can just slide into place, no hammering required.

I restocked our seed supply last week, and we have a steady stream of blue jays, chickadees, juncos and a whole bunch of other birds I can’t identify visiting the feeder every day.

Firewood

Tidy up the trees – Matt and his Dad went to town.
Put up another row of firewood – As Matt and his Dad cut, I split and stacked, and we are set.

More details about our latest lumberjacking episode will be coming in a future post, but for now gaze upon our woodpiles.

Get Wiley ready for winter

Change the oil – My handy cousin (he of the birdfeeder) changed the oil for us.
Check the battery contacts – My handy cousin also made us a little sleeve to tighten up the battery clasp, and Wiley’s starting so smoothly now.
Remove the mower deck – Done. There will be no more grass cutting this year.

The house

Take off the screens
Clean the heat pump filter — Done
Clean out the gutters — Matt’s done this twice in October, and he’ll probably have to do it at least once more.
Turn off the outdoor water
Annual service and filter replacement on indoor water system — A new to-do

The house is another area where we’ve not done a whole lot. What does that say about me that I’m putting less time into the roof over my head as opposed to the property around my house? Thankfully, Matt’s on it.

Anyways, three categories out of five are completely done. That’s pretty good. Now to keep the productivity coming before winter comes.

How are you doing on your pre-winter to-do list so far?

A post about a post

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’m a little bit geeky when it comes to my birdfeeder. When I first built it, I was super disappointed that it took a whole month for the birds to find the feeder. But when they finally did, I spent a lot of time watching them through the dining room window. And the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. It’s become a winter tradition for me.

This year, I wanted to make installing the birdfeeder just a little bit easier. Unscrewing the feeder from its base and hammering the pole into the ground was a bit too much effort–and we ended up breaking one of the brackets off the post last year.

Not the best approach. So the post went to my cousin’s for repair, and I went to work.

I found a length of pipe–because we just happen to have things like that lying around here–and cut a 16 inch section.

Then, I used a very narrow shovel–since we don’t have a posthole digger lying around–to dig a 16 inch deep hole.

The object of the game was to have the top of the pipe level with the ground so that the lawnmower can drive right over it.

I carefully backfilled around the pipe (not in the pipe), and then my sidekick inspected to make sure everything was as it should be.

When the repaired birdfeeder post returned to the farm, I slid it into the sleeve–perfect fit.

I screwed the feeder into place, stocked it up with seed and waited for customers.

This year, it took just a couple of days for the birds to find the feeder. The chickadees were first as usual. I’ve also seen juncos, a woodpecker and a pair of blue jays (small consolation for not seeing the other Jays now that they’ve been knocked out of the baseball playoffs 😦 ).

This post has the story about where this birdfeeder design came from–and plans to build your own feeder.

Who else enjoys bird watching? Do you have a feeder at your house? What birds do you see in your neighbourhood?

Finishing up the deck

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’m pleased to welcome Sarah in Illinois back to the blog. Today’s post is full of the things I love: a big doggie, country views and a great DIY transformation. Take it away, Sarah.

One of Steve and my favorite places to relax is on our deck. The summer of 2013 we drew up plans and built a large deck off the back of our house. There are some things about the deck that we wish we had done differently, but overall we are very happy with it. (Hello, Treu!)

We had done a little research on how to protect it. One thing that we had read was to wait a year to put any sealant on it.

We chose to wait even longer. The boards we used were very green. That is, they had a lot of moisture in them. This was obvious when we installed it, but it also showed up over time as the boards warped more than we had liked as they dried.

This year I decided that it was time to get at least one coat of sealant on it. The thing was, after two years, the deck was very dirty and stained. I believe this was a combination of normal use, stains from the grill, mold from moisture and just pollution in the air.

So I chose to clean it first. It took just a little bit of prep work. I have two unbelievable huge and beautiful mums, so I made sure to drape plastic drop cloths over them to keep the cleaner off of them. The deck wash I purchased was a bleach base and it worked like a charm for cleaning the deck.

I bought what I believed to be enough based on the square footage that it said it covered. This was way off. I ended up needing double the amount. I think that part of the reason was that maybe the square footage listed did not take in account the railings. But I am sure it also had to do with how heavy I sprayed it on the wood.

I used a hand held pump sprayer to apply the cleaner, then I used a broom to lightly scrub trouble spots, and finally I sprayed it off with a garden hose. This was easily a one person job and if I had had enough cleaner would have taken just one afternoon.

Then I let the deck dry for a couple weeks. I wanted to make sure not to trap any moisture in with the sealant.

When it was time to seal the deck, it took more prep work and took two people. Steve and I used the same hand pump sprayer to apply the sealant. We found the method that worked for us was for Steve to spray the railings, then the floor and for me to follow up with a brush and smooth any drips and puddles. We wanted to make sure we put a heavy coat on, but we wanted it to be fairly even.

The sealant was much messier than the cleaner. It got everywhere–on us, on the siding, and even oversprayed to my nearby herb garden. We are planning to reside the house in the next year when our addition is finished, so I was not too upset by the overspray on the siding, but I sure wish I had harvested my basil and oregano before we got started.

We feel the deck needs at least one more coat of sealant for us to be happy with it. But since harvest has started, it looks like it is going to be next spring before that gets done.

In the meantime, I am so happy to have the first layer of protection on it. The cooler weather is just begging us to come out of the house and relax!

What a great outdoor space, Sarah. Those mums are amazing. I’m always so impressed by how wood can be restored with a good cleaning and a bit of work. Good job. I hope you get to relax outside and enjoy it.

Anyone else have tips to share about restoring wood? Have you ever stained a deck? Who else has had a project that’s taken a bit longer to complete than planned?

The trouble with our trails

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I completely love that we have a property where we can go for a hike. However, I have two issues with our trails.

1. Our trails are ~~slightly~~ extremely overgrown. Because we’re not riding horses over them, because we don’t have a mower that we can take on them, because in the spring the trails are mostly underwater, because the mosquitoes were so bad this year that we haven’t been on them in months, hiking requires a fair bit of bushwhacking.

2. Our trails do not loop. They are all out-and-backs. Despite knowing this, I persist in trying to find a way around. The result is predictable: I end up either in water that is higher than the tops of my boots, or I end up in impassable brush. Sometimes both.

This was the situation Baxter and I found ourselves in recently. Deep in a marsh, tangled in grass so thick that at one point we actually lost each other, and we were right beside each other.

Completely true. I had a panic attack that I’d lost the dog, looked to my left and saw him sitting there staring at me.

Baxter’s reaction was, “I don’t know where we are, but it smells delicious.” Helpful, dude. Very helpful.

The bright side was that since it’s fall, the marsh had dried up a bit, so the water didn’t quite reach the top of my boots.

Here is a ~~completely accurate~~ ~~fully to scale~~ rough map of our trails. (For context, the trails go through the forest that covers roughly the back half of the property. This post has a full overview of the entire property in case you want to see how it all fits together).

The west trails are our best ones, but they’re also our wettest ones. We could probably get Wiley in the first 10 feet or so, but then things get squishy. And see that blue line above? There’s a creek that never completely dries up. I don’t think Wiley can swim. And I have no idea how we’d get him out if he ever got stuck.

The east trail is on higher ground and has much less grass, so it really doesn’t need mowing. It does however need a battalion of forest rangers with chainsaws. There is so much deadfall that this is less of a trail and more of an obstacle course. The dotted lines show how you can make this trail loop–if you’re willing to risk being poked in the eye with a stick (also completely true–I thought I’d done serious damage).

My looooooong term goal (seriously, this is so far in the future I have no idea when it might happen) is to one day have nice clear looping trails and boardwalks through the marsh. I’ve been saving any skids that we come across in the hopes that they might work as boardwalks. Now just to find my battalion of forest rangers to move them into place…

Do you like to hike? What’s your favourite trail like? Has anyone else gotten lost recently?

#Harvest15

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Happy first day of fall!

I had a different post planned for today, but this is too timely not to share.

I had a great day yesterday. I had booked it off work, and set everything up so that I wouldn’t have to look at my phone or open my computer all day. The result of a random Tuesday off is a very relaxing day.

Bax and I started the day with a long walk. On our way home, we saw our farmer. He shouted out the window of his truck that he’d be on our fields in a couple of days.

At least that’s what I heard.

When B and I drove past the farm on our way back from the dump (where they stock doggie treats at the gatehouse) and headed for the charity scrap metal bin at the local therapeutic riding centre, we saw a combine circling around the east field.

Apparently the farmer had said he’d be on our fields today.

Harvest is such a special time. I love that I was home to see it.

B and I walked out to the “four corners” (the crossroads where four of our fields meet) to watch.

We timed it perfectly to see the combine coming up the hill to the truck.

I missed seeing the combine unload the beans last year, so I was glad we were able to watch the transfer this year. In just a matter of minutes, the beans had slid through the chute into the truck.

It turned out that the truck was full after this transfer, so we got out of the way so that it could hit the road. Can I just say how cool it is to have such a large property that a dump truck driving across it looks small? And this is far from our biggest field.

Bax and I decided to stay out of the way of the combine and investigate the freshly cut east field. We sat at the crest of the hill (just above the dump truck path) and watched the combine through the gap between the fields.

What a great way to spend the last afternoon of summer.

A changing view

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

At the end of August, over the course of just one week, our soybeans suddenly turned gold. We knew it was coming after our first soybean crop last year. However, we were amazed at how quickly it happened this year.

And within a short time of going gold, the plants went brown. They dropped their leaves and the beans are starting to dry. I love hearing them rattle as we walk through the field–a familiar sound from last year.

We do still have a few spots of green–the random corn stalks that were mixed in with our soybean seed lot.

Pretty much any view across the fields is special to me. It’s awesome to look over the property and know that it’s all ours. Seeing the productivity of the land and how it changes over the year is something that I’ve come to treasure since moving to the farm.

If we go with last year’s experience, we are still about a month away from the harvest. We’ll continue enjoying the view and monitoring the crop.

What’s the view like at your place? How do you track the progress of the seasons? What harvests are happening in your area? Does anyone else have random plants that spring up on your property?

Garden update

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

It’s been a little while since I’ve shown what’s in the garden–and it’s awesome.

Our tomatoes have done super well. They just keep growing and turning red. Our cherry tomatoes in particular have grown super tall. Taller than Matt.

Next to the tomatoes, Matt’s onions are getting ready to take their first steps.

Our beets and zucchini are producing like crazy. I have to pick every day to stay on top of the zucchini. I finally tried out the grater attachment on my food processor for the first time and grated up 34 cups of zucchini. They’re tucked into the freezer. It appears that I’m going to be making zucchini something all winter long–and pretty much every day between now and then.

Despite having only four plants, we’ve had a decent crop of beans. Although Matt did make fun of me one night when I steamed just 10 beans for us both. I thought they were pretty much done, especially given that I broke the main stem on our biggest plant, but new blossoms are appearing on the other plants, so I think more beans are on their way.

I’m probably most excited about our raspberries. I have a full row of reds that have all successfully transplanted from my parents. The blacks haven’t done so well, save for this one plant, which has lots of green shoots. I’m going to try to transplant a few more blacks to see if they’ll establish themselves before winter sets in.

The biggest challenge is to protect the raspberries from the squash.

Matt and I are both a little bit afraid of the squash. Seriously. They have ambitions to take over not just the garden, but also the farm… and perhaps the world. Keep an eye out. They’re coming for you.

We have acorn, butternut and pie pumpkins. And we’re going to have tonnes of them. I’ve already notified Matt’s and my families to not buy any squash at any point in the future.

Anyone know how to tell when squash are ready to harvest? Some of these are looking pretty close, and some of the leaves on the vines are starting to die.

The east front of the squash advance is headed by the pumpkins. They’ve broken through the fence and are heading for the soybeans. Matt mows them every so often, but a few fruit have climbed the fence to get out of range. These green globes are my test case to see if the stalks are strong enough to hold the pumpkins while they mature. I’m adding squash trellis options to my Pinterest board as I plan for next year’s growing season.

The northern advance of the squash has already consumed the rutabags and potatoes. My only hope is that both of these crops grow underground, so they might survive the surface invasion.

Just to the edge of the advancing squash are our poor peppers. They’re actually looking a bit better finally. They’re growing bigger and they’re blooming again. I’m hoping that the blooms finally set into actual peppers.

We have one lone pepper in the first bunch of plants that we planted at the opposite end of the garden. He’s a little bit warped, so maybe this is a symptom of the other problems we’ve had this year with the peppers?

The lettuce have officially bolted. We’re leaving them alone as Matt wants to see how tall they’ll grow–apparently he has a thing about height.

A nice touch that I’m also enjoying is the stone bench that we’ve added to the garden. This sits at one end of the raspberry rows–the cross axis of the garden. The curve of the bench fits in well with the curved edge of the garden. I’m looking forward to sitting here and seeing the view across the garden and out over the fields.

For now, the other half of the garden is still under wraps with a tarp and some old carpet. (The rope marks the centre axis, so I can keep the raspberry rows lined up). This photo is definitely about keepin’ it real for all of you fellow non-Pinterest-perfect gardeners.

I’m patient enough to wait for next year to farm this other half. I’m definitely satisfied with what we’ve accomplished this year. And we’re more than satisfied with the harvest we’ve had.

What fresh food are you enjoying this season? Have you grown anything this year? Any thoughts around what might be wrong with our peppers? Have you had any sightings of our squash yet invading your neighbourhood?

Snapshot

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

The field across the road has been in grain this year for the first time since we moved to the farm. Saturday, a combine was hard at work harvesting the crop.

Over-thinking

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

My thought process went something like this:

“Now that we have the garden, we could really use a composter. I should put it near the kitchen so it’s convenient.”

“While I’m out here, I might as well clear the weeds from the patio.” (I did not ask Baxter to pose. Dude was in a photogenic mood.)

My technique is to take a sharp spade and shove it sharply against the joints between the slabs. If you feel like you might break your wrist, you’re doing it right.

“Now that I’ve cleared the weeds, I might as well see if I can uncover the steps.” (We’ve never seen the steps, and you probably can’t either).

“Holy heck. What was I thinking trying to clear the steps? This ivy is ridiculous!”

“Wow, these steps are much bigger than I thought. And they look amazing.”

“Now where to put the composter? I’ll just clear a little more of this ivy.”

Clunk.

“What was that? Are there more stones under this ivy? Why?”

“Oh hello, husband. You have great timing. Milkshake? Yes, please.”

—Break for Matt’s amazing chocolate peanut butter milkshake—

“Alright, that gave me the fuel I needed. Let’s do what I came out here to do in the first place.”

“Finally done.” (And yes, the dog abandoned me after the milkshake break).

“All this work for a composter? I think I need a shower.”

“But hmmm… what about the patio on the other side of the house?”

“I need to stop thinking so hard.”

Who else has ever over-complicated a simple project? Do you have a composter at your house? Do you have a weedy patio? Any tips on how to do battle with ivy?

Rough ride

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

The car was up on the hoist. Matt was underneath. The mechanic turned to him and said, “What are your intentions with this car?”

Never a good question when you’re standing under a 12 year old vehicle.

There had been signs that not everything was right: warning lights, new noises, a dozen years on the road, the 262,000+km on the odometer.

Driving home, the car broke down three times on the side of the road. Jumper cables were required.

I was at work and unaware all of this was happening, so my question when I got home of “How did the appointment with the mechanic go?” was met with an answer I didn’t entirely expect.

“Ummm… I hope you don’t mind, but I bought a car today.”

To roll out the red carpet for Matt’s new car, we pushed the old car out of the way of the front door (the dealership sent someone to pick it up… with a tow truck), and we patched the potholes in the driveway.

We can’t have new suspension and steering put to the test by the obstacle course that is the usual access path for the farm.

What state is your driveway in? How old is your car? Have you ever had to buy a car urgently? Who else thinks I should have got to drive the tractor while Matt handled the rake?