A Week of Chores

Greetings, Ken here, suffering through a miserably hot day in Upper Canada. I have the week off, and that means catching up on all the chores and jobs that were supposed to be done in the spring. That's right ... spring tasks in July! The spring monsoon we had this year co-incided with time off I had booked to get things done before the heat of summer. A good idea if the weather co-operates!

That being said, I have a list of tasks to complete before I head back to work and I am only slightly behind. Todays task was to make screens for the kitchen windows. Cat proof screens I might add and I was able to complete one of them. I find the first time I do a particular thing it always takes longer than subsequent efforts. I hope to finish the other screen tomorrow as well as tomorrows scheduled clean up job. Thursday's task is a new roof on the chicken run and Friday's task is picking berries and other odd jobs.
The lawn growth has slowed down considerably, but we did get a large amount of grass for bedding the birds and for the gardens. I suspect I'll have to cut the grass this week and then not again for two weeks unless we get some serious rain.

Rain, we need it desperately. There are cracks in the soil a foot and a half deep (45 cm for the younger crowd) There's a lot of clay in the soil around here and it really shows in the dry weather.

Despite the lack of rain, the gardens are doing well as are our fruit trees. The birds got all the cherries again this year but we should have a good crop of pears.

Margaret has been slaving away in the kitchen, making raspberry jam and mango chutney. The heat has been even worse in the kitchen, another reason I want to get the screens done so there's air movement in the kitchen.

That's all for now. Stay cool if you can.
Thanks, Margaret & Ken.

Has it really been 2 weeks

Margaret here to start...
I apologise for not posting for so long. Had a couple of very busy weeks. Had  3 of our Grandchildren here for a week. Was slightly apprehensive about the kids being here with us doing what we are doing, but soon realised that they are used to our lifestyle . So things went along as they normally do, with a few exceptions.They had to get used to absolutely no lights in the house. They flicked on switches only to discover no lights.Then learned to take a traveller in with them when going into a dark room. I do not have to worry about them touching hot wood stoves or playing with the candles, as they are Aidan 11, Zoe 6 and Jude 5, so lot's big enough to understand  about fire. Plus I have cooked with wood for so long it is same old, same old for them. They did have lot's of fun this trip dipping candles though. They learned about how the ice box workes in it's simplicity. Freaked them out a bit,but they soon learned it was just as cool there as it is in a fridge if you do things properly. The kid's know we do not watch tv so that was not an issue. They spent lots of time in the gardens and discovering all the wonderful wild berries nature has to offer...oh and Zoe discovered the pea patch and now there are none for dinner...she ate all of them. Good thing I have started another bunch.
As an aside ...these are our 3 grand children who live in Guelph. We have another who lives in Mass USA, Thor who just turned 3, July 3rd.  He is getting a new sister who will be named Freya ...exciting news for us to share with whomever will listen.
We have received wonderful imput here on our blog and got a new letter from the South Bay Ladies Tea guild...gave us valuable information on tea and how it was packaged during our time period..so if you have a minute read the comment in the Potables post.Very informative . I thank them again for the information and will be doing further research on this ..It is easy to assume ..

I guess I could summarize these past couple of weeks as "hot", I now  truly understand the need for a summer kitchen. It gets brutally hot in the kitchen with the stove going all day. I have been trying to do extra research on summer meals .But am surprised how little is available here in this part of the world for information.But I am still looking .I have some fantastic books but always looking for more information.

What I have experienced so far in our little project  is the satisfaction of what we are doing here together. The satisfaction of dipping candles and using them, of building a fire and making our meals. Realising how easy these things are in reality. The beauty and quiteness of a room lit by candles and simple conversation or a word game. Watching chicken tv.... watching the chickens be chickens..
We have been working in our gardens and enjoying our bounty. It is raspberry season so we have been collecting lots of raspberries and making this years jams. The house smells wonderful. I will be canning everything I can get my hands on this year so we will be busy.
Forgot to mention we have our buggy, picked it up when the kid's were here. So it has been well welcomed by all. In touch with someone for the horse to go with it ,but that will have to wait a while.
 We got some new chickens and their chicks from our friends Sue & Dave and they are happily mixing with the rest of our chicken crew. Haven't convinced them that inside is best at night but I am sure that will come. Dave and Sue leave them out day and night so they are not used to a chicken coop at night. I am just afraid that racoons will get them , but these chickens are pretty smart.Or seem to be. And it is lovely to see these moms with their little ones cruising around the yard munching on everything that moves.
I am going to leave room for Ken to write a few lines so for now I will say "keep cool"

Another beautiful week

Greetings to you all. What a wonderful week it has been. We have been so fortunate with the weather. The gardens are growing amazingly and our feathered friends have enjoyed good days running around the yard visiting with the cats and birds and whomever else they run across. I was watching one of the chickens yesterday and she seemed to be acting unusual.Jumping kind of straight up and down.Then it registered what whe was actually doing...she was jumping straight up in the air and stealing cherries off of our cherry tree. Who says chickens are dumb. Ok Ok!!! most of them are but this one was clearly thinking with her tummy.
Ken here, it was truly a sight to behold! A leaping chicken, feasting on cherries. Never seen anything like it before. I finally got the last of the hay (grass) off the lawn. We use it to cover the soil in the gardens, over top of newsprint to help keep the weeds down and keep the moisture in. It works quite well actually and we've been doing this for three years now. No new purchases or devices to tell about. Just catching up on all the work which was supposed to be done in the spring. The very wet spring really delayed the outside work and we'll likely get it caught up just before the snow flies again.

Not much else to say other than Happy Dominion Day! (Canada Day for the younger types). Enjoy your day and the weekend.

A lot to tell you

Greetings everyone .
We haven't been on here for a while and we have much to tell you. We would like to start by thanking Shelly & Dave for selling us their ice box, we are finally ready to make the transition to "unplugged" food preservation. We have a "block" of  ice in the ice box to test what temperatures we can get. There are two more buckets of water in our electric freezer getting ready for tomorrow (Sunday) and we now have to go through the fridge and empty/clean it out in preparation for moving it out and moving the ice box in. There cubic in the ice box is smaller that the fridge which means ... we must be careful about what we put into it.

We had a day off today, something which doesn't happen often. We stopped at a few antique shops on the way to get the ice box and finally picked up an authentic candle mould (yay, we can pour candles now as well as dip them), a masher tool, two creamers and put a down payment on a doctor's buggy. It needs work, but we have a year before we'll need to use it.

When we arrived home with our possessions, we realized we would need to map out a paddock for the horses and we have done so. All that's needed now are some posts, some rails, a shelter, water trough and a manger.

We also did a little more planting, and put cut grass around the plants to help retain water. We will need a lot of the grass cutting for this and fortunately, our lawns are very good producers. The weather we've had so far has made for quick growing grass and a lot of harvesting for me. I'm still gathering materials for a hay loft and will be storing grass (hay as I call it) for bedding the birds and perhaps a little bit of feed should we need it.
Margaret here...in our travels when we meet people and tell them what we are doing, the first thing they say to us is "I bet it is hard to get used to " and truthfully we tell them .."no it is not"
Now we understand that this is the summer and winter might bring us challenges we had not thought about, I am thinking laundry might be a challenge. And frozen fingers hanging laundry in the winter. But we will deal with that as it comes. most people think what we are doing is cool. Which is fun to hear. Although it is funny watching their faces change when they think about no tv ...they kind of get this panic look ...
Our gardens are growing wonderfully and today we lucked out by finding more squash plants for 50 cents a container...we are going to have lots and lots of every kind of squash imaginable ...I am sure we will have lots to share. Our brussel sprouts are getting huge, and we have cucumbers ...too small to eat yet but won't be long.
Our potato plants are just beautiful and flowering , my lovely husband is so excited about all of our potato plants and how well they have done this year. It is proving to be a good growing year indeed.
Ken mentioned our buggy ,,wow are we excited to have found it . We have lots of plans and will keep you informed .Hopefully we can figure out how to post photos on here to show everyone . Well that is all for now. I need to take my lovely husband upstairs and beat his butt in scrabble so I will say good night to you all for now.
Nope this life is not hard at all, it is quiet,peaceful,time spent talking and sharing, gardening and enjoying life ..

Some days chickens, some days eggs

Greetings. We are posting today because we'll be away this weekend ay an event in Guelph called Fairy Fest which is a fund raiser for the local hospital. There's a lot of activity here, what with packing for the festival, daily chores and whatnot.

Speaking of chores, Margaret was in London today and found a couple of metal chicken feeders by the side of the road. I don't know if these are period or not, but they are in very good shape, made of sheet steel and have all their bits. Together they hold a complete bag of feed so feeding the birds will be a simpler task (I hope) in the future. Just a check on the feeders every day and fill them as needed.

We didn't get many eggs this morning because the local chapter of four footed bandits supped on them last night. They made their entrance through a broken window in the coop, didn't bother the birds, just ate the eggs. Said window has now been replaced and should discourage a repeat of the nocturnal egg raid.

I've been trying to maqke hay here and not having much luck. Between the rain and my time away I can't get much headway and this bothers me because we'll need the hay for the winter. I'll just have to get on the job and get the hay raked, dried and loaded or I'll lose it.

I've noticed something which also bothers me. I've worked on farms a great deal, especially as a younger man and I find myself thinking of the farming methods I'm used to. I then try to reverse engineer them to something I think would've been used in Victorian times. To complete the task, I research the methods on the net and ... much to my dismay, I'm frequently wrong in my assumptions.

What this means is that I must obtain a copy of some Victorian farming books and read them to familiarize myself with the methods then in use. Everything was done by hand or used horse or steam power to ease the labour. On this farm in 1865, I doubt there was a steam engine around, so horse power and human power were the two energy sources available. I think I'm going to be much stronger before this experiment is completed.

Margaret here ...as you have read Ken and I are heading to Guelph for the weekend for Fairy fest. Wonderful event that raises money for the Guelph General hospital's pediatric department. I have a food booth, so by sunday evening I will be tired. But happy as I love this event and love watching the happy faces on the children dressed up in their beautiful dresses and fairy wings...Very Victorian in fact, as the Victorians has a fascination with fairies.
It has been a busy week around here. And the weather has been some days really warm and some cooler. So my kitchen has been way too hot or just right with the cook stove going . But summer or winter there is nothing so wonderful than the smell of wood smoke as you stand outside in the breeze.
I am researching laundry soap recipes and will post something on here when I come up with something I like . Someone has asked us to post photos and as soon as we can get a camera to work we will.
We will also be adding more details regarding our Christmas weekend. To be fair we would like to be able to choose who will be joining us at least 4-6 months in advance in order to give our guests a chance to make or purchase the appropriate clothing and such. We are striving for an absolutely authentic Christmas weekend. Any how we will be back on here as soon as we are able .Have a lovely weekend and thank you for your support .
Margaret & Ken

This week and laundry

I can certainly understand why the invention of modern washing equipment was so liberating to women of the 19th century. My week has been all about laundry and when and if the weather would cooperate and let me finally finish. But oh how lovely it is to be hanging clothes, listening to the birds,smelling the outside ...and hoping the rain holds off for a while. Not the first time I have hung laundry but for some reason this past couple of weeks it has meant something more to me ..I think we have lost this art of appreciating what we do for each other. Of understanding weather, of smelling our world. I can say our world inside smells like wood smoke and cooking and outside ...well it smells like it should , breezy, flowery, fresh, sometimes earthy but always real and good...I thoroughly enjoyed my week this week...regardless of the mountain of laundry and the threat of rain.

Ken here, I have been treated to a thoroughly Victorian meal, complete with a botanical theme. At least 15 different plants graced the table (if not more) and a fine array of sweet and savoury delights in a room lit by close to 30 candles. We went for a stroll after supper and the light from the dining room was warm and homey as any I've ever seen. My wife Margaret certainly makes the atmosphere as close to Victorian as can be. Well done I say.

We are toying with idea of having guests in our home over Christmas weekend for a true Victorian experience. We are looking for feedback and welcome your comments in this regard. Whom ever spends the Christmas weekend with us will need to be in full Victorian garb and need to want to experience the Victorian Age in total. This means park your car at the back of the driveway, lock your cell phones, laptops and all other modern electronic gizmos in the trunk and be ready to talk about the events of Upper Canada in 1865, ie: the debate about Confederation, the happenings in Toronto, London and England. The Queen and her mourning status after the death of Albert. In other words, no hockey, no TV, nothing from the 20th or 21st century shall be discussed. Our guests should read up and research Victorian parlour games of 1865 Upper Canada.

What does everyone think? We welcome your comments.

My husband mentioned our botanical supper ...The Victorians took great care in their meals and how they were presented.Food was real and beautifully presented.Meal time was formal by todays standards ...but it was relaxed, unhurried, and real. This is a wonderful time of the year for mealtimes as we have fresh everything coming up in the gardens. Fresh greens were eaten at every meal, I am sure savored especially because of the knowledge that they would not have access to these fresh delights all winter long. We have lost the joy of seasonal eating, of dandilion salads very early in the spring before the leaves turn bitter, of making the flowers into wine or jelly to last the rest of the year...of beer as we have so recently discovered. We have forgotten the smells and the bursts of flavor of our first strawberries,raspberries and gooseberries...with todays all year round tastless wooden fruits we have forgotten these joys and the need to savor them to their fullest before they are gone for another year..And I think many of us have forgotten the art of really planning and putting by for what we will need in the future and especially for the long winter...This year is really reminding us of these gifts !!
See you soon...

Well that was a hot one

Wow that was a super hot day today. I am imagining what summer would have been like here 150 years ago, with many layers of petticoats. It was hot from first thing this morning as the "summer kitchen" woodstove is not hooked up to a chimney yet, so the "inside kitchen" woodstove was pumping out heat like crazy.
Good day for gathering small wood pieces as the grounds have finally "mostly" dried up. And so has the fallen branches . So my mission this week is to gather as much small wood as possible. I need it to light the wood stove in the morning. Lights much faster and gets up to heat better if started with very small wood. I must admit I am still using newspaper to light the fire because I have not collected enough grass to use as a lighter source. We are using much of the cut grass to put around the vegetable plants that are up and growing. Will keep in the moisture and hopefully cut down on the weed growth. I have heard this will be a dry summer this year. So best be prepared. We had a look at the cherry trees and wow if we are lucky to get to them before the birds we will have a wonderful crop.Grape vines look to be full too...so I am excited about that. I will follow an age old irish tradition of canning the cherries in whiskey...for Christmas....Yeah!!! that's it ...for Christmas.
I will make pickled grapes and grape jelly and hopefully some cordial.
Gardens are doing wonderfully, we have growing to date, potatoes..lots and lots, spinich,corn,beets,cucumbers,watermelon,cantelope,radishes,an assortment of squash,including summer squash(zucchini) and pumpkins, brussel sprouts,spinich,peas,beans(green),a variety of onions,lettuce,egg plant,.

Ken here, I have been experimenting with hay making. Very small scale as yet but all raked and windrowed by hand. I shall have to get a sythe and stone in order to do a complete cycle of haymaking. We plan to use the hay we make to bed the chickens this winter. Hopefully we get enough to do the job. Like Margaret said, it was very hot today. I suspect that by August we'll look at this as being chilly, but for now it seems very hot and sticky.

Margaret here again..
I started this by commenting on what i imagine it would have been like 150 years ago in this heat. I have participated in many Civ war era re enactments ..dressed in the expected 7 layers , have strolled and shopped.Visited and sipped cool drinks. Worn lovely hats and carried parasols to keep me cool. And at the end of the day have driven home in an air conditioned car...
This may prove to be a very long hot summer for us ....I had better learn some period cool drink recipes ...fast
Talk to you soon...thanks for listening