I cannot believe this summer has gone so quickly. It has flown by indeed.
We had the grandchildren here again for another week and took them home on the weekend. So it seems very quiet here tonight Spent the weekend in Guelph,attending a Civil War reenactment event at the Milton Heritage Museum. Lots of fun and Aidan had a good time watching the battle.(they re enacted the battle of Bull Run) After that we stayed in Guelph and visited with our children and Grandchildren...reason I am pointing this out.
While staying at Vivians we noticed a couple of things .First the noise, of tv's and cars and just plain noise,noise,noise. Secondly we noticed the brightness of the lighting. I guess we have gotten so used to the softness of candle light that electric lighting seems so harsh and bright to our eyes. I ended up on sunday night with a headache. I am sure it was from the light.
Driving around the city especially at night one realises how many lights most homes have going at the same time . Most homes look like they have every light in the house on . I wonder how much electricity we would save in Ontario if we all, (and it would have to be everyone) would take one day and not turn on any lights. You wouldnt have to shut off your freezers or fridges ,just no tv,radio,computers or lights...wonder how much we would save. Oh well ,just a silly idea as one could never get everyone to participate. Well for sure we have lost all of our tomatoes with the exception of some herlooms that are just starting to get fruit now. I am going to bring some plants into the house and see what happens.But lesson learned , never assume !!
We have lots of squash and they are lovely. And Aidan has committed to return as soon as the cantelope is ripe to have his fill. Our grapes our turning and I cannot wait to taste them. We are thinking about our wood supply for the winter and that is our next project. We have a bunch now but between the kitchen stove and the furnace we use alot. Well I think that is it for now . Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather.I certainly am, one thing about this project ,if one asked me to describe my summer it would start with the word "hot" and end with the word "hot"
Talk to you soon
Margaret
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Our buggy
Brian and Danute took this picture of our buggy. Have no idea how to add this to our pic section but thought you might like to see it.
Margaret
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Another week.
Well we ended our week this week with a film shoot here at our home in Dutton. A good friend of ours has a production company and used our grounds and home to do a short film for Sharpcuts. Was cool to have everyone here. Rained part of the day so the woodstove was welcome today as it kept people warm and the tea hot.
The chickens and cats certainly kept everyone amused especially when we ate outside under a canopy. I believe the outside beasts thought it had been all especially laid out for them.
Was funny watching the kids from the city interacting with the chickens. By kids I mean the 20 somethings...everyone learned something, our guests learned that roosters crow all day long and will eat your dinner if you hold your plate low enough and the chickens learned that not everyone will share their food ...just cause you are pecking at their shoes.
We had another usual week this week. I am busy trying to get canning done & we dug potatoes from the front garden and got a nice amount. Our tomato plants are I think beyond repair , we keep finding more huge tomato bugs, interesting cratures they are for sure. But wow can they do in a plant quickly.
Our peaches are turning beautifully. And we may not get alot if peaches this year but we are looking forward to tasting them. I am looking forward to the apples that are coming also . Lots to do before all this summer goodness is gone.We have the grandchildren here again this week . All three of them, so should be a very busy week ahead. Interestingly how easily they adjust to the candle only enviroment. And taking a traveller with them into rooms.
Well that is all for now ,think it is time for little people to go to bed....and the kids too
Night
The chickens and cats certainly kept everyone amused especially when we ate outside under a canopy. I believe the outside beasts thought it had been all especially laid out for them.
Was funny watching the kids from the city interacting with the chickens. By kids I mean the 20 somethings...everyone learned something, our guests learned that roosters crow all day long and will eat your dinner if you hold your plate low enough and the chickens learned that not everyone will share their food ...just cause you are pecking at their shoes.
We had another usual week this week. I am busy trying to get canning done & we dug potatoes from the front garden and got a nice amount. Our tomato plants are I think beyond repair , we keep finding more huge tomato bugs, interesting cratures they are for sure. But wow can they do in a plant quickly.
Our peaches are turning beautifully. And we may not get alot if peaches this year but we are looking forward to tasting them. I am looking forward to the apples that are coming also . Lots to do before all this summer goodness is gone.We have the grandchildren here again this week . All three of them, so should be a very busy week ahead. Interestingly how easily they adjust to the candle only enviroment. And taking a traveller with them into rooms.
Well that is all for now ,think it is time for little people to go to bed....and the kids too
Night
Monday, August 8, 2011
Garden Scourges
Greetings, Ken here. We have been visited by garden scourges! Margaret found tomato caterpillers today. We were wondering what was eating our tomatoes and now we know. I picked them off, 6 in all of various sizes and fed them to the chickens. They had great fun with them and five minutes later ... no more tomato caterpillers. We also have something eating the potato plants and the brussel sprouts so tomorrow we are going to douse them witha 40 to 1 solution of water to dish soap and do the little scourges in as well.
We dug up a potato plant to check out our potatoes and found a good variety of sizes, I expect we'll get about 1/2 a bushel from one patch and maybe the other half from the side garden. The pumpkins are doing well, a couple of them are a chewed but otherwise good.
Our first rooster, Henry is feeling his age I think and one of the younger roosters is making a play to become Henry the Second! Ah, to be king and loose it all! Such is life.
Margaret is painting the foyer to freshen it up. The new paint makes the old paint look positively grotty! It should go well with the colour we have on the front door which is a soft yellow, a few shades lighter than butter I think.
I spent the day catching up on spring clean up chores, it takes no time at all to make a mess, but a long time to set things right again. I hope to have the shop and the outside cleaned up by the end of my time off. Then we can get on with doing the framing inside and get things set up inside. I want it all done before the snow flies.
Margaret here ..when we discovered the caterpillars on the tomato plants it made me realise what that might have meant in the time period we are trying to live/portray...1865, a loss of opportunity, a winter without tomato sauces and preserves. And possibly hunger for my family.
In my defense..
Had this been 1865 I would not be working out of the home and my gardens would be a much more serious endeavour. Not that we are not serious but we also have the comfort of knowing that if we screw up we can drive into town and buy what we need. But regardless I should have paid better attention when I first noticed the tomatoes were being eaten. I origionally thought that the chickens were having a snack, then I thought perhaps the racoons. But I should have had a closer look.Next time I will.
I have given the grapes the 40 to 1 treatment and it worked wonders . Have done the brussel sprouts, the cauliflower,cabbage and the egg plants ...I am not sure what has happened to the potatoes, perhaps they are just ready to dig. This has been an odd summer for rain or lack of .
Looking forward to the film crew arriving this weekend to shoot a short film on our property. A period ghost story...
And our Grandchildren are coming this week, I am excited and looking forward to them coming..
That is all for now folks ...thanks for reading!
We dug up a potato plant to check out our potatoes and found a good variety of sizes, I expect we'll get about 1/2 a bushel from one patch and maybe the other half from the side garden. The pumpkins are doing well, a couple of them are a chewed but otherwise good.
Our first rooster, Henry is feeling his age I think and one of the younger roosters is making a play to become Henry the Second! Ah, to be king and loose it all! Such is life.
Margaret is painting the foyer to freshen it up. The new paint makes the old paint look positively grotty! It should go well with the colour we have on the front door which is a soft yellow, a few shades lighter than butter I think.
I spent the day catching up on spring clean up chores, it takes no time at all to make a mess, but a long time to set things right again. I hope to have the shop and the outside cleaned up by the end of my time off. Then we can get on with doing the framing inside and get things set up inside. I want it all done before the snow flies.
Margaret here ..when we discovered the caterpillars on the tomato plants it made me realise what that might have meant in the time period we are trying to live/portray...1865, a loss of opportunity, a winter without tomato sauces and preserves. And possibly hunger for my family.
In my defense..
Had this been 1865 I would not be working out of the home and my gardens would be a much more serious endeavour. Not that we are not serious but we also have the comfort of knowing that if we screw up we can drive into town and buy what we need. But regardless I should have paid better attention when I first noticed the tomatoes were being eaten. I origionally thought that the chickens were having a snack, then I thought perhaps the racoons. But I should have had a closer look.Next time I will.
I have given the grapes the 40 to 1 treatment and it worked wonders . Have done the brussel sprouts, the cauliflower,cabbage and the egg plants ...I am not sure what has happened to the potatoes, perhaps they are just ready to dig. This has been an odd summer for rain or lack of .
Looking forward to the film crew arriving this weekend to shoot a short film on our property. A period ghost story...
And our Grandchildren are coming this week, I am excited and looking forward to them coming..
That is all for now folks ...thanks for reading!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
August has begun...time to think of fall
I am at the library for a while today. Just said Good - bye to my lovely husband as he goes away for "another" 2 days for work. I am missing him already .
Have been busy preserving for the winter months and soon our gardens will be giving us the gifts that we will use for the winter and spring. We are hoping to have a large harvest and from the looks of things we will. Especially squash. I think I may have goon a bit overboard witht he squash planting. But they do last well and will almost certainly get us through the winter. Our potatoes are doing well and I am going to perhaps dig a plant and see where we are as far as size. I have preserved a ton of raspberry jam and if my Grandson Aidan does not eat it all it might last through. The blueberry jam is down and I am making chutneys this week. I am being blessd with a copy of Mrs Beeton's book of household management, an origional copy rebound. Ken has seen it and held it in his hands, I have not and can hardly wait to see it. I have over the years referred to it only on line and it is fantastic. But to own a real copy wow...I can hardly wait.(oops did I say that already?)
I am sure I will be busy in the next few weeks as everything will be coming out of the garden at once as it is want to do. the tomatoes ae ripening and will be turned into stewed tomatoes. Good for soup and wonderful to poach eggs in for our breakfast.
I have planted a ton of plum tomatoes for tomato paste and sauces for pasta too. So I am sure to be busy Ken will be busy expanding our chicken coop. Our growing family of chickens needs more room . And with the arrival of our quails we will need extra housing . We are a little concerned as we have 4 roosters and they are quite active, which I think is a bit stressful for our hens. So if anyone wants a beautiful bard rock rooster please let us know . Not for the stock pot though. I will close for now as the computer here is telling me my time is almost up..Oh I have forgotten to mention that our home will be used for a short film set in the Victorian era. So that will be exciting.
For now I will say good bye and I may add to this later .
Margaret
Have been busy preserving for the winter months and soon our gardens will be giving us the gifts that we will use for the winter and spring. We are hoping to have a large harvest and from the looks of things we will. Especially squash. I think I may have goon a bit overboard witht he squash planting. But they do last well and will almost certainly get us through the winter. Our potatoes are doing well and I am going to perhaps dig a plant and see where we are as far as size. I have preserved a ton of raspberry jam and if my Grandson Aidan does not eat it all it might last through. The blueberry jam is down and I am making chutneys this week. I am being blessd with a copy of Mrs Beeton's book of household management, an origional copy rebound. Ken has seen it and held it in his hands, I have not and can hardly wait to see it. I have over the years referred to it only on line and it is fantastic. But to own a real copy wow...I can hardly wait.(oops did I say that already?)
I am sure I will be busy in the next few weeks as everything will be coming out of the garden at once as it is want to do. the tomatoes ae ripening and will be turned into stewed tomatoes. Good for soup and wonderful to poach eggs in for our breakfast.
I have planted a ton of plum tomatoes for tomato paste and sauces for pasta too. So I am sure to be busy Ken will be busy expanding our chicken coop. Our growing family of chickens needs more room . And with the arrival of our quails we will need extra housing . We are a little concerned as we have 4 roosters and they are quite active, which I think is a bit stressful for our hens. So if anyone wants a beautiful bard rock rooster please let us know . Not for the stock pot though. I will close for now as the computer here is telling me my time is almost up..Oh I have forgotten to mention that our home will be used for a short film set in the Victorian era. So that will be exciting.
For now I will say good bye and I may add to this later .
Margaret
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