Parge-o-Rama

So the COVID-induced "Season of Home Improvement" continues.......we knew some of the parging around the house exterior was in dire need of some attention, but had been putting it off until fall and cooler weather. I guess we're out of excuses!

We attacked the back corner first, where a large chunk of parging had become loose, exposing the concrete block below. Chipping away the damaged coating created not only a large space to repair, but the uneven decorative brick below made for an added challenge to create flat layering.

Jane applied the parge mix with a skillful hand and artistic flair.....while I performed all the grunt work, set up, removal of the old stuff, clean up.....and hand mixing all the parging in a bucket. In some cases, of course, we had limited ability to repair previous parging work which seemed to be focused more on coverage and less on appearance.

A few spots will require a few more layers, and then a nice fresh coat of paint will seal it all up!

We also had our first visitors in a long time, with Dave and Anne coming by for a distanced gathering. We hadn't seen them since Christmas, so it was great to get together and catch up!

 

Well that doesn't look good....

Peeling away the damaged parging

First coat of several to fill this void

Corner of the front porch - before and after

Front wall

Distanced Visitors on a beautiful day!

August and Everything After

As summer and the COVID pandemic soldier on, the garden has begun to bear fruit....and vegetables! In spite of the late planting after unexpectedly growing tomatoes from seed, the cherry tomatoes have begun to ripen and the tomatoes-on-the-vine are not far behind. The vine beans have also begun to add their strength to the bush beans....so Jane is pickling some of those too!

She can't be stopped - having already dabbled in pickles, carrots and radishes, she got serious and started buying pickling cukes by the hamper and making relish and several varieties of pickles, including fermented "Strubs". Pickled peaches and candied jalapenos are surprisingly far better than they sound, and the homemade salsa is awesome.

Another birthday came and went - very quiet this year obviously - but I did receive a very thoughtful homemade card! My birthday hammocks also arrived on the back porch, courtesy of Dave and Anne and Amazon, and we quickly found the perfect spot to set up for leisurely reading and outdoor sleeping.

The Open Door studio store continues to attract a decent number of patrons, somewhat filling the void created by all the cancelled art festivals. Jane has also been quite busy trying to keep up with custom order requests.

How is it mid-August already??? 

Lots of beans and green tomatoes

Thanks Heather - but I'm not the one that just had their knees replaced!

(Jane is wearing her Pennywise the Cat facemask, for those who are wondering)

Jane's pickling barrage rages on!

Great birthday present from Dave and Anne

That's the spot!

Ready to spend the night outside under the stars!

Reinforcement canning supplies - a jarring reality!

Picking a peck of peaches for pickling

 Homemade salsa!

Hot Day in July

Hot Day in July.....meteorological madness has touched the countryside!

Another wicked heatwave has us scurrying for shade or AC, though some evenings have been nice, or even days with a game-changing breeze if you quarantine yourself under a good shade tree. We even bought a portable floor model AC solely for the bedroom, to keep sleeping bearable and avoid sleeping downstairs in our chairs like we usually do in the hot weather.....thanks Costco home delivery!

COVID continues, though our county has recently moved to Phase 3 - for our part, we are still doing "curbside only" for everything from groceries, produce, liquor, and supplies from the local hardware store. South of the border, things are getting decidedly worse as new flareups emerge and daily infection records continue to be shattered amongst a partisan populace.

The Open Door art studio has seen increased foot traffic as people yearn to get out and go for a drive on weekends - one customer at a time of course, while we sit 40 feet away in the shade of the garage. Leave the money under the brick!

Otherwise we are making the most of this most uncommon summer.

 Finishing off the laundry room

 Nice night to read out by the fire.....

 ....though THAT looks a little ominous!

 All's well that ends well!

 A berry good summer thus far!

 The garden is getting a little more attention than most years

 And there I was, on a July Morning.....I was looking at Lake Erie

 A few fishing tugs returning to port in Wheatley

 A nice selection from GL Heritage Brewing!

 Curbside pickup in Amherstburg

 And a little something for Jane!

Wolfhead Distillery in Amherstburg

Jammin' with Jane

Jane has taken advantage of the pandemic pause to dive headlong into pickling and preserving various foods, a trend that will only continue into the summer and fall as our own garden starts producing.

We picked up fruits and vegetables from curbside stands and farm markets offering contactless purchasing. We've already harvested and pickled a batch of our own radishes, harnessed our dandy dandelion crop, and the mulberry trees in our yard are now burgeoning with purple bounty.....provided we beat the birds to them.

Luckily jars and other necessary supplies have also been available, either through Amazon delivery or via curbside pickup at Canadian Tire.

Yum!

 Making good use of all those dandelions

Yellow gold!

Dandelion Honey and Dandelion Jelly

Now to remove all those stems....

Mulberry Hands!

A labour of love!

Pickled everything!

Raspberries for jam

Strawberry Jam

Thanks Pardo's for contactless pickup!

Weeping for the Willow

We had a nasty thunderstorm in early June, accompanied by strong swirling winds - it was even deemed a possible tornado until further investigation ruled that out.

A good chunk of our beloved willow tree fell victim to nature's fury, literally before our very eyes as we watched through torrential sheets of rain hammering the back door. Unfortunately, the downed branches also took out the hydro line to the barns, and importantly, a freezer full of food.

On the plus side, the line pulled away from the house (source) end, rather than the pole, so the line was dead as soon as it happened.....a live wire in a bunch of puddles could have been far more interesting! We were able to run three extension cords from the house and just have enough reach to power the freezer overnight.

Luckily, help arrived the next morning - first, a local electrician got the power line back in order. With that safely out of the way, we began cleaning up the downed branches, and had just cleared the driveway portion away when our "tree guy" arrived. 

Proving that size does indeed matter, his much larger chainsaws made short work of the rest of the chunk, and we chipped everything right where it fell. Then he tackled the remaining pillar of tree where the damage occurred, and took down an additional seven feet or so of massive willow trunk for future safety.

It sucks to lose a piece of the willow, but it could have been so much worse!

Weepil takes a hit

Power line down and trapped underneath

Earl doesn't seem too concerned....though he hasn't moved in a while either....

Chip it....chip it good!

Clean up in the hot sun

Brad to the rescue!

Let me just move this out of the way.....

The morning after

The line even pulled a little siding away

Timberrrrrr!

....and it was tree......

....tree fallin'

All fixed up!