The major work is done on the greenhouse.

Greetings all.

It seems the only thing I post about lately is the greenhouse. I am glad to say that all the major work is done. The roof is on, the windows installed and the door hung. I am in the minor task portion of the job now, it took me a week longer than I had hoped but the result is quite pleasing to the eye and will be quite sharp looking when we paint it up. Margaret will have lots of room for starting plants for the growing season.

I'm going to occupy myself small jobs next week, some clean up, grass cutting, weed whacking etc.. I'm also going to set up for the next major project which is the storage shed on the shop. I'm hoping it won't take me as long to do as the green house.

I should mention that I used electric power tools for a total of 15 cuts all told. Every other cut, all of the screws were done with hand tools alone. This is one reason it took me longer to finish the job. Every cut took three to five seconds longer, every screw nail took five to eight seconds longer so over the course of the job it added up to about an hour all told. In addition to this, There were some tasks which I had never done before so I had to figure them out in my head before I attempted them. These new tasks were framing for roof valleys and in the end, my solution was pretty much what every other carpenter has done. The solution was simple, elegant and once I figured it out, easy to do.

I would love to add pictures for all top see, but I'm something of a computer Luddite and our camera has bit the dust as well. As  soon as I get the picture thing figured out I'll post some.

This has been an exercise in Victorian tool usage and time management. I have noticed that I'm not as tired from the work as well, probably due to the lack of electrical tool noise (and they are noisy for sure). I noticed I could think ahead better about the job because of the lack of noise. The draw back here is the job took longer to complete. However, I do think the Victorian way of working suits me down to the ground. This is somewhat ironic given that I currently work in a nuclear power plant.

Until next time, take care.

Ken and Margaret

Roofs and Rain and

Stage 1: Monday morning

I finished the framing on the greenhouse extension today. Now to put on the roof , walls, eaves-troughs and door. Yippee skip, then onto the next project. :)


Stage 2: Monday afternoon


Roof is on the greenhouse! Finished it the rain so I got to see how it works and I am quite satisfied with the results. I have to install the windows, the eaves-trough and the door. I hope to be done by Wednesday at the latest. 

The hardest part of the framing was the third gable end at right angles to the main roof tree. Once that was done and I figured out how to do the plastic on the roof it was easy sailing. 

Here's hoping the windows go up smoothly, the door hangs easily and the eaves-troughs mount with no issues. I recognize wishful thinking when I hear it but it would be nice to get this project done so I can get on with the next thing. Windows and door tomorrow and maybe a good start on the eaves-trough. Eaves-trough done for sure on Wednesday.


That's all for now,
Ken and Margaret

Cider presses....

We bought 2 original cider presses yesterday . A small one, probably a table top version and a floor type press. The floor type press has a chopper set-up as well as a press. We found them in Frankenmuth while we were at a Rotary District Conference. We have to go back to pick up the floor press (another opportunity for antique equipment hunting!). I think we'll use the small one for grapes and such and the floor press for apples, peaches and the like.

We also picked up a hand pump in very good shape, it just needs the cylinder and a bit of piping and then we can mount it on our south cistern. Just need one for the north cistern and we be set to utilize the water in the cisterns. Something we haven't been doing to the best advantage.

If you are ever in Franfenmuth stop by "Around the Farm" antique mall at 12025 S. Gera Rd.,  Birch Run in Michigan. Helpful, knowledgeable folks and good prices too.

Green Houses and Wooden Eaves-troughs

Planting isn't the only thing happening. An extension for the green house is taking shape, 8' X 15' in size. This makes the green house look like an Ontario house. Same basic pattern as our home. Main frame is mostly done and the door is rough framed. That leaves the roof tree and rafters, windows for walls, plastic for the roof and sand on the floor. Shelves, dirt tub and water barrel inside, fed from the eaves-trough (Margaret's brilliant idea).

I made the base out of rail road ties and half lapped the joints which were tarred to protect against the rain and damp.

The eaves-trough will be made of wood and sealed against leaks, down-spouts are old metal ones. There is already one on the old part of the green house and I watched it today during our downpour. Water was coming out of the spout in a three finger wide stream at one point. The rain barrel was 80 - 90% full after wards. I was amazed at the collection rate. This bodes well for the rest of the green house roof. We'll need more barrels to catch it in.

I want to experiment with wooden down-spouts as well, something I have yet to do to my satisfaction. I have made two different eaves-troughs, one with a square cross section and one with a triangular cross section. The triangular one uses less material and has just one seam to seal whilst the square one has two seams and uses 33% more material.

I like the triangular one better, mostly because I can vary the size I need more readily that the square type. I was just thinking aloud and asked Margaret what she thought of the idea of making our own eaves-troughs for the house as well. That's my girl, she's game if I am. Love her to bits I do.

That's all for now, until next time take care

Margaret and Ken

Victoria's Holiday weekend

What  a beautiful weekend this will be, well at least according to the weather forecasters. And the excitement that seems to be in the air. 1st long weekend of the summer season. Cottages will be opened , gardens will be planted with the assurance that frost will not be visiting until the fall.. 

We here have been busy planting and planning.

We have news to tell you. We have bought(almost) 2 lovely cutters. I say almost because we still have to pay for them. 

The small cutter is done in black material and has a child's seat that folds down. The larger cutter is beautifully decorated with trilliums , this one even has boot scrapers on each side. 

We have almost finished putting in all of our vegetables. We seem to have been planting for a while now ,but we have spinach,lettuce,peas,carrots,peppers,turnip,potatoes,onions,garlic,sweet potato squash, butter nut squash, hubbards and other squashes,cauliflower,broccoli,brussel sprouts, water melon, cantelope , zucchini, pumpkins, leeks,egg plant. So not too bad this far.

So now we watch, water and hope for good growth. 

We wish all of you a wonderful long weekend , in celebration of Queen Victoria's birth. 

Until next time

Margaret & Ken 

It is no wonder May has always been a celebrated month

One hears of spring celebrations.; But nothing says spring/summer like the month of May. It is really no wonder there were/are so many celebrations in May. The birds are happily celebrating the birth of their young and everywhere you look new life is forming
The gardens are full of new  life , especially the vegetable gardens,I cannot believe how everything seems to have sprung up. We have had a bit of rain and wow . To date I have peas that are starting to flower, I have garlic that is at least 4 inches tall.Lettuce that we will start to eat this week,spinach that is also ready to start to appear on the table. My onions are showing nicely as our my potatoes. We have had treats made of rhubarb twice now and I think rhubarb jam is in order.I have extra maple syrup to sweeten with.My greenhouse is full of tomatoes,squash,turnip,cauliflower,broccoli, brussel sprouts and other goodies just waiting to be planted outside.
I watched a raccoon moving her babies this morning ,one at a time she scampered past with a little one in her mouth. Hope they are happy with their new home .I am sure in no time they will be driving us crazy.As cute as raccoons are they surely can be a pain .
Out front the area we have designated for our future horse is growing nicely and will look rather wild soon I am sure.I went today to have a look at a pair of absolutely beautiful cutters.Wow they are lovely.The family that owns them were very friendly and has much information for me about what is available in this area. So I kind of gave them a wish list . Sounds like with their connections they can point us in the best direction for livestock and such . Very lovely family.
The more I meet people and describe what we are doing the more I am encouraged .People no longer stare at us with odd expressions.Or offer us a free tv. I think people are beginning to realise the importance of real food , and less corporate dependence and this make me for one very encouraged.While I know that not many will adopt our lifestyle I do know many people are relearning to do small things such as preserving and growing at least some of their own food.
So this is my thoughts for today at least,I will get back to you soon. For now I am enjoying the magic that is May and loving the beautiful sound of all of the birds ..they seem so very happy.
Talk to you soon
Margaret

Wow ...and before you know it ,it is May

I/we must apologise for not posting much this month. I/we have been swamped preparing for spring and summer. In addition I am incoming President of the London North Rotary Club so have been very busy learning all of  my duties.
Unfortunately I did miss speaking at FIPT this year to tell you how our year has gone so far. I had to attend a Rotary meeting instead that weekend. I hope Ken was able to answer all of your questions.
The weather has been kind to us indeed and we have much coming up in the gardens already. We have peas, garlic,lettuce, spinach,onions,potatoes,leeks,turnip, the cantelope and tomatoes ,cauliflower,and other veggies are growing happily in the greenhouse.. We have also planted carrots,watermelon and squashes that have not appeared yet
So we have a really good start so far. We are hoping this years gardens actually sustain us through the next winter . So we will be working diligently in our garden beds this summer.
 We are also concentrating on water preservation in a big way this summer, according to many in the know, there may be drought this summer. Now we will know this  for sure in the fall , but to be on the safe side we are not taking any chances. So we have added many new rain barrels. Water or lack of water will be what makes or breaks your food production capabilities.So it is most important . We are not taking any chances this year.
We had a great loss last week. I arrived home from a meeting to find 8 of our beautiful chickens had been killed in the yard. As you know we allow our birds to run free range.Makes for happier chickens and much nicer eggs. We have never had a problem before especially in the daytime. So to arrive home to find such a horror was awful. My beautiful white leghorn rooster who was a favourite or mine died in my arms . I can only assume this was the work of a dog ,because this appeared to be a thrill kill. A thrill kill is when something (generally a small dog)chases the birds until they literally drop dead. They do not eat the kill , they just move on to the next bird to chase.
So we lost our beautiful birds and the guilt was overwhelming.
We have a wonderful friend who has a farm near Orangeville Ontario.She is an expert on chickens . We were fortunate enough that she had extra newly hatched chickens ,so we travelled to her home and picked up more chickens to add to our flock. They are absolutely lovely and Ken finally has his Chanticlairs(sp)
We hope to pick up some ducks and other birds from her in the next couple of weeks. If you either want to learn about chickens or want to buy please ask and I will pass your information on.I have rarely met anyone who knows more about chickens and the breeds ,or is more passionate.Wow .
We found a lovely multi candle mold at an antique shop in our travels . It will make 12 taper candles . Our candle wax pot stays on the wood cook stove all the time so we have wax at the ready to make candles any time .Well I will write more some time this afternoon.I would like to tell you my summary of how this year has gone and what I would like to accomplish this next year. Until then thank you for reading and supporting our little project
Margaret