A Brief Update

Just a quick note to show I am still here.
Yesterday was a beautiful day, so spring like and different than the last two Marches.  Last year and the year before we were still buried under snow.  We have had hardly any snow this winter.
We put in our first outdoor workday of the year yesterday.  While the chores were not too onerous we still felt sore when the day was done.  Some of things we were at:

• Adjust doors on the chicken house, they had swollen over the winter and did not fit well.
• Get the last window in the chicken house.
• Clean up scraps of wood leftovers from chicken house construction.
• Adjust door on the cat house.  Same problem as the chicken house doors.
• Put up some decoration on the Multi-use shed.  A couple of old saws that hang on the wall.  These I had taken down last fall prior to the painting project.
• Tessa cut off the old dead Peony stalks from last year.
• Wanda cleaned up the pile of leaves from the backyard I had raked up the other day.
• Organise storage shed, just in time for more junk from house to arrive.
  

A lonesome feeder

This cute little bird feeder we got for Christmas.  We have had very few guests so far.  There was a few Chickadees a couple of days ago.  Perhaps it's the mild winter.

Some road work this last summer

This past summer we undertook some much needed road work.  We had been using our driveway for over 20 years without much more than the initial work it took to cut it into the hill.  At first it was quite muddy but over the years most of the mud has washed away leaving ruts and half buried boulders.  It was fine for me, I figure with a driveway like that only those who really want to visit will undertake the challenge.  The big problem was plowing snow.  We hire out the task of snow removal and the plower didn't like hitting the rocks with his plow, can't blame him.  So with that said we decided to put some money into it and have it topped with a thick layer of crushed rock.  I will have to admit it was nice, almost city-slicker nice.
Here are some before pictures, they really don't do it justice, its rougher than it looks:




Here it is getting the topping:


About the same time we decided to start a road across the hillside below the orchard.  We never really made it as far as the orchard, we will have to save that part for another year.  We stopped at the water line that comes from the well.
A before picture:


After the work.  The orchard is behind the sheds on the left.  This road will eventually extend further in the direction you are looking, below the orchard where it will turn to the right and cross over the gully.  The idea will be to build up the road at the gully and use it as a dam for pond we hope to dig out.



This coming summer we are planning on constructing a cellar directly the left in the above photo, about where the bush is.  You can see the location better in the 'before' picture.  There are about 1/2 dozen trees to remove. The cellar will extend above the grade a bit, the floor of it just above the new road.  The upper part of the cellar will need to be covered with dirt and seeded to grass.  It will make a hump about 6' high and steep enough that no one can accidentally drive over it.  You will have to use your imagination until I can start the project and post some pictures.

Adah Lou Who from Whoville?

Testing editor

Just a test of my blog editor.  This picture is the backyard at Wags-End earlier this fall.

One of my favorite meals

Here is a simple meal that I would like to share. It's easy to fix and pretty good, in fact it is one of my favourites. The ingredients, listed below, are all optional, meaning you can add or delete according to your own preference. I don't usually add any meat to this but I don't see why some hamburger, roast or ham couldn't be added.

In a casserole dish layer in:

cabbage

lima beans

oinions

garlic

sun-dried tomatoes

mushrooms

zucchini

brussel sprouts

broccoli

add about 1/2" water

sprinkle with sea salt

cover and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until tender

It's delicious heaped on a thick slice of homemade bread!!

Starting to look a little like Christmas

First, I would like to congratulate Lance on becoming debt free.  You can read more about it at his blog in the links to the right under "Living the Dream".  Now that you no longer have any personal debt Lance, you can start in on your share of the national debt, let's see, that would be about $80,000.  Keep in mind you will have to pay at least $10,000 per year to stay even.
A couple of Christmas pictures from around Wags-End: