Autumn in the back "3" {WORDless Wednesday}

Happy Mid-Week!  Already!!

This WORDless Wednesday post is really my testament to the wonders of the iPhone.  :)  We headed out into the back pasture on Friday evening and found ourselves exploring the back 3 acres that is all forest.  Having not planned on doing so, I found that my iPhone really is my must have accessory.  Why?

#1  IF your four year old is CONVINCED that Daddy has you lost.. and not just lost but in her words: "We are REALLY, REALLY VERY lost Daddy", then you know you have GPS back up to guide you out should your darling Hubby really have made a wrong turn.  ;)  Kidding honey - I had complete faith.

Setting out

#2  Feeling artsy on your walk?  Click and Edit photo on the fly.  :)

Maple Leaf.

#3  Come across some interesting nature and your children ask all sorts of questions about what it is called, how it is growing AND can we eat it?  (Always, can we eat it??  Why?!)  Your iPhone has handy-dandy google connection!  :)

The next two pictures are of two different kinds of bracket fungi... these are parasitic to the tree and will continue to feed off the bark and wood even after the tree has perished (Niiiice).  You CAN eat some species but most of the ones without poison are hard and woody.  Okay, no comment.  ;)

Lots of this common stuff:

Green Moss... you can only eat the tip of the plant and not get sick.  Hmmm.

#4  Lastly, thank you iPhone for letting me know the school bus was a little bit delayed, allowing me a couple of minutes to snap these toadstool pictures this morning.

 Google was not so helpful in identifying this 'common' lawn mushroom and thankfully, with bellies still full from breakfast, nobody asked if we could taste it.

Today is "run errands in town" day and my iPhone will once again be there for me with the "twist my arm I need a treat" starbucks app..  ;)

... Happy Wednesday!

Jeanette

September Rainbows

Hey there!

Where have I been?  I've been curled up crocheting like a crazy lady.  And other than the stiff neck and sore shoulders I have no complaints; more importantly, I have a happy Krista to show for my week's work.

Krista LOVES rainbows... especially in the form of rainbow sweaters.  I knit her a sweater last year from some variegated yarn that she adored but sadly had outgrown.  She pointed this out to me very matter of factly before sweetly asking me for a new rainbow sweater.  I had come across this crochet sweater pattern on pinterest from the very talented Vendula a while back and decided to give it a go as I had plenty of pretty cotton yarn leftover from my horse jumper bonnet making last spring - I still make these on order if you know of anyone looking for a custom made horse show bonnet:

Capri - Super pony and still one of our favourite boys.

Alright, so I happily crocheted away changing colours as  I liked and felt like the end of the sweater was surely in sight... until I remembered there were still yarn ends to weave in and secure!

What a tedious job this is!!  But I persevered and Friday morning I had a very happy little girl in a colourful sweater making her way to the school bus!

 Yeah.. her hair is a bit messy because my wrists and arms were a bit too sore to hold the brush and tame the mane.  ;)  Focus on the smile (and the sweater.. lol)

Happy Monday!
Jeanette

Walkabout {{WORDLESS Wednesday, September 16, 2015}}

Hello there!

We are now a full week into school routines and all the extra curricular activities that come with this. This year I have four little ladybugs away at school full time and have found it has taken me a couple of days to get used to the quiet.  Did I really admit that??

Here is a collection of photos from this week of where my pacing and contemplating have taken me...

Mr. Micro is all snuggles when it comes to yarn.

The woodpeckers are here and are so fun to watch from my spot in the kitchen.

Took my yarn out to sit with the chickens and ducks in the sun for the afternoon

I had help with my crochet.  :)

The girls jump off the school bus and onto their bikes to go visit at the barn before dinner.

And that is where I am at.   We are all adjusting to the new routine and everyone has had a very positive start to the school year!  I hope that everyone is well,

Jeanette

The big yellow bus...

Good morning!

The first day of school for our family is always bittersweet.. even more so this year.  We have had an amazingly simple but exciting summer and today, our girls are off on the big yellow school bus.

I'm going to get up on my soapbox a little this morning but its all with good intention. 

When we lived in the subdivision in Burlington, our avenue was the main thoroughfare for most traffic - including the school buses.  Our property frontage was a matter of 6-8 feet from porch to road.  And although we could SEE our school from our porch, we needed to cross this road to make it to there.

Many mornings as my girls and I waited to cross this busier road, I would watch as cars would pass other cars that were waiting to make a turn into the parking lot and on occasion a STOPPED school bus!  By last May, I KNOW that a particular mini-van mom cringed when she drove by in fear of the crazy lady of BlueSpruce yelling at her to SLOW DOWN!!  There is no excuse for anything over 40km in a school zone!!

I'm not there this year.  And this year it is my little treasures that will be waiting for school buses, getting on and off buses and crossing streets... so although I could go and yell at the end of my driveway, I'm not sure we get enough traffic for anyone to really hear me.  So I'll make my plea here in the blogosphere.

I have had my little girls attend the school bus orientation day - they have learned how to safely ride the school bus and how to wait for instruction from the driver when it comes to crossing; we've done our part.   For all of my driving friends, please take the time to review the traffic laws when it comes to school buses but more importantly, remind others that the big yellow buses are out and about and please - never pass a stopped bus... flashing lights or not.  It really isn't worth the risk.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week back at the books and for all of our friends starting new education adventures - be kind to one another; support one another - let's all learn, grow and succeed this school year!

Blessings,
Jeanette

The COOP - fruits of our LABOUR (Labour day weekend 2015)

Good morning!

We are wishing everyone a very happy and safe LONG weekend - the last one of the summer.. where did the time go???

I am so excited to finally be sharing some photos of our chicken coop.. the SCHNICK project of the summer.  Yesterday we moved our flock from the barn to the coop and I was able to clean out the horse stall so that it is ready for an equine friend.  :)

In July, Derek and I discussed what our perfect chicken and duck coop might look like.  We read a lot of articles on the subject and made some decisions.  We would definitely like the coop up off the ground, we would like it to be insulated and we would like to frame in a utility room so that the entrance to the birds would be inside (think blowing snow come December).  Derek used his schematics to calculate how much wood we would require.  We decided to go with pressure treated 2x4s and barn board - to match the barn.  :)

Determining WHERE to put the coop was a big decision as well.  We ultimately decided that it should be closer to the barn instead of behind the workshop - here it will get beautiful morning sun as well as the wind protection of two large evergreen trees.  And although I don't doubt SCHNICK plans, it is comforting to know that should we need to move the birds back into the barn in the future, the barn would be close.

Let the framing begin!

When family came out to visit during this time, we put them to work.  :)  Big thank you to our siblings and our nieces and nephews.  xo

Next came the outer walls... the roof - (again I am amazed at how my hubby knows how to angle, cut and install trusses and shingles) and then the insulation and plywood inside walls.  We also constructed the windows and vents to allow for storm windows and shutters to be placed in front of the metal screening when the weather requires.  Soffits were equipped with venting as well.

With these finished,  we decided to floor the coop using recycled pallets (thank you for the donation, Papa).

I spent one day in the sun ripping the top boards off the pallet legs.  The time trade off for the price, but you can't beat free!

I then laid the boards out in the coop staggering the seams and began screwing them down.  

My little helper.

I really like the way the floor came up...

Finally... we were ready to set up a temporary chicken yard using the green chain link fencing that we had ripped out.  We hope to have full free ranging chickens and ducks but until we get them used to coming into the coop at night, we thought it best to keep them somewhat contained.  

The girls and I cleaned the hardened mud out of the bottoms of the fence posts and Derek used the tractor to push them into the ground.

With fencing in place, we prepared to move the birds.  Now, this is where I noticed a HUGE difference in approach between hubby and I.  I hadn't realized what a cowboy I had married.  :)  I knew that Derek had worked at moving livestock during his teenage years but I was not prepared to see my husband grab three or four chickens by the feet, turn them upside down and carry them to their new abode.  In contrast, I cradled one bird at a time and walked each bird in turn to the coop with gentle words of "look at that glorious sun darling, welcome to your new home!"... yeah it totally would have taken me all afternoon without Derek.  :)

But all forty chickens and ten ducks made it safely into their new coop and I was so excited to finally open that door and get them out exploring the grass!

Thinking about venturing out...

Okay... I want back in now!

Derek and I installed some roosts and began constructing nesting boxes that will have accesses from the utility room so we don't need to disturb all the birds when collecting eggs.  I'll be sure to write another post about those as I plan on sewing curtains for the nesting boxes.. yup, you read that correctly.  Don't believe me that there will be sewing for chickens happening?  Its a real thing, as are crocheted sweaters - its coming!!  :)

By 8:30pm we had our babies tucked into their new coop for the night and I was showered and into my flannels with a glass of wine on the back deck where I could appreciate the view of our coop.  Our LABOUR of poultry love.  :)

Another SCHNICK-success and a venture that brings my heart so much joy and contentment.  Thanks for reading along,

Jeanette

xo

Sammy the frog catcher

hi its sammy and i am a frog master! i move fast just like the frogs i catch.  i look at the frogs and let them go,  mom helps me to find out what kind of frog i find

this is a small green frog

I almost walked right on top of this big leopard frog!

This is a large brown toad that I caught after the sun had gone to bed my sisters and me were playing hide and go see

this is a cool wood frog from near my pond  it makes a cool noise

school starts in 3 days but i hope i still get to catch frogs  bye now from sammy
thanks for reading my blog

How Erin got her hamster...

Hello again!

Well, our family has welcomed a new little face yet again... yesterday Erin adopted a wee little hamster.  A black and white long haired syrian hamster that she has named "MOO".  This happy decision was preceded by a little bit of sadness (AGAIN?!?)

Last week when walking to and from the barn, Sammy was met by a little adolescent red squirrel.  It bounced right up to her and climbed her leg.  She of course came running to me and her story was met with disbelief.  I continued to put away my groceries until Erin came to me with a repeat of this story.  I left my thawing groceries in the walkway and followed my girls.

I witnessed this kamakazee squirrel for myself.  I could tell it wasn't an adult by a long stretch but it wasn't an infant either.  I insisted to the girls that we watch from a distance to be sure that momma squirrel was nearby.

Two hours later and no sign of Momma Squirrel and the baby we've taken to calling Tarzan is starting to look tired from his adventures of tree trunk climbing and jumping.  I wanted him to be able to nap safely while we waited for Momma so the girls procured our old hamster cage and I collected the baby squirrel.  As I was not sure what bugs might be crawling on him or how big his teeth might be, I removed my shirt and caught him with that... Imagine this occurring in our old subdivision??  My neighbours would have been seriously scarred:

My photo text to Derek with the baby news.

Snuggled in my shirt and wood shavings, Tarzan dozed under the tree while we kept an eye and ear for his Momma.

Later that evening with no sign of Momma, we offered Tarzan some bird seed and an apple slice.  When neither of these were eaten, I mixed up some warm milk with a little sugar and a dash of salt (energy and electrolytes) and Tarzan lapped it up from a syringe.

Now.. red squirrels are a very polarizing subject - no big fan club from what I can tell.  Many people find them an especially destructive nuisance, however to us, it was a living animal that needed a little help.

For three days we fed milk from a syringe and offered seeds and fruit and for three nights Tarzan slept in his cage on our enclosed deck.  Finally by the fourth day he seemed more interested in the trees and rocks where we had first come across him.  We decided to try and help him make the jump to independent living.  Any time we were out in the barn yard we had Tarzan out exploring on his own a short distance away.

UNTIL...
It's all like something out of a JAWS movie... one moment little Tarzan is frolicking around on the pathway and the next, our 20 pound Mainecoon cat, Micro is on the little squirrel and has picked Tarzan up and run off into the thick bushes.  It was devastating...

WHAT?  I only did what I thought I was supposed to do!!

Over the next 24 hours the girls eventually forgave Micro and Derek and I decided it was long overdue for Erin to have a pet of her own.  And that is how we have come to have a little rodent running in a wheel safely in Erin's room where Micro won't be welcomed in without supervision.

It is noteworthy that Micro has now been with us for a full year.  He was a rescue cat who had no ambition of leaving our house in the city.  Since our move he has loved being outdoors and has to date caught and brought home a mole, a mouse, a chipmunk and of course a little red squirrel.  I can't help but be a little impressed with this guy.  :)

Jeanette