Saturday, May 29, 2021

As you May....

We rounded out the last two weekends in May with some mainly great weather, which also led to some productive outdoor time. "We" finished off the landscaping on the west side, having ripped out the high yew bushes and replacing them with grasses and low juniper. "We" also moved the firepit further away from the property line, which is somewhat fluid as the line of cultivation, in order to comply with an updated fire by-law.

We even resumed training kung fu in our "gazebo dojo", doing private lessons over the internet with our Sifu. Jane has to adjust a few things for the titanium knees, and rural internet isn't always the best....but it works! 

Of course, we also made time for a few movie nights on the back deck.....and play with the drone! Jane got it for her birthday back in the winter, and we had been awaiting better weather. Stay tuned for better footage once we get more practice.

Our stand-up freezer unfortunately crapped out - luckily we caught it relatively quickly, and also luckily have access to a large walk-in freezer for temporary purposes. The new one should arrive today....good thing since we have a quarter-beef scheduled to arrive in a few weeks!

Momma Pooka approves this post!

Raised walkway to keep feet dry in the spring!

The west-side landscaping put to bed!

Cole onions!

Moving the fire pit away from the property line

Views in spades!

Playing with the drone

A glimpse eastward

We'll get a better landing pad

A rocky landing...

New fire pit lined with roof slate

Another classic for movie night!


A Walk in the Woods

On a muggy May weekday afternoon, we decided to go for a nice walk in nearby Wheatley Provincial Park. The park was surprisingly quiet - even during COVID lockdown, we thought more people might take advantage of the property to get in some distanced exercise. 

We walked just over 5 km, from the front gate and down along the Lake Erie shoreline, across the pond bridge and back around through vacant campground loops Two Creeks, Middle Creek, Highlands, and Boosey Creek. We only saw a handful of other walkers the entire time, and the cacophony of birds and verdant greenery was incredibly soothing.

Thankfully we brought along a bottle of water!

End of the Road

Beach and eroding shoreline

A pleasant stroll


Lake Erie

A nice bench overlooking Two Creeks

Bridge dividing Two Creeks from Sugar and Boosey Creeks


View of Two Creeks from the bridge

A family of Canada Geese


Saturday, May 22, 2021

A Shot in the Arm

 

May came in bringing wonderful spring weather, and we spent much of it basking on the back deck and alternating between Netflix or Prime on the wine barrel TV and retro movies on the big screen. Sure, the lawn needed cutting....a few times.....and the dandelions came on stronger than ever. 

Ontario remained in a state of lockdown, though with increasing vaccinations there was more light at the end of the tunnel for some potential summer liberty. Jane got her first dose of Pfizer in early May, and I followed soon thereafter with a jab of Moderna.

We even made a list of things we'd like to do when life returns to (semi)normal - from ambitious travel plans, right down to small things like going out for breakfast or hitting a drive-through for fast food. We haven't had a Timmy's in 14 months!

Jane's bike of choice finally came into stock at Canadian Tire (she had been watching!), so we took the van into town for a curbside pickup......followed by some pedalling down our quiet country road.

Jane also did some very early tomato processing - one of the local greenhouses had an excess of supply given the diminished restaurant demand, so they were selling them for $5 a flat - hard to pass that up! She canned some pasta sauce, salsa and marinara.....and she will still make more in the fall using the more traditional and delicious field Romas.

Bring on the May 2-4 long weekend - hot and humid!

Athens can be a puzzling place

A few 2-4's from Anderson Brewing arriving just in time for May 2-4!

Jane's new bike

Jaws on the big screen!

She's never met a Mike she didn't like!


Moonlit windmill over the barn roof

Jane rescues a rodent!

First wave of local berries from Raymont's

Netflix and chill....

Too good to pass up!