Green Again

 Here we are, the last day of the year and the end of the first month of winter, and it's green, green, GREEN!

Putting the Brakes on the Holidays

 We had two successive days of mild temperatures--above zero during the day. On the first, we had our usual cookout: slightly raw potato slices with somewhat charred sausages. On the second, I changed the right rear caliper of the Kona. It went well, all things considered. I love the look of fresh new brake parts!

White Christmas

 Between thaws, we DID have a white Christmas. This year we have kept paths all around the house clear--now that we have a miniscule front stoop, this seems essential!

Christmas!

 It comes and goes so quickly...

Full Moon

 

So far, it has been a stop-and-start winter. We received a lot of snow at the end of November/beginning of December. I had to plow three times and the roofs were heavily laden. Then it warmed, rain washed much of the snow away, and more rain today. The only traces in town are the banks heaped up by the plows.

Respite

 Quite abruptly, we had a thaw. It rained and stayed well above zero, and most of the snow, too deep too early, has gone. Shafts of golden sunlight and grass beneath the trees!

The End

 The green days are done, and winter is upon us. First plow of the season... 

So Far, So Good

Nearly the end of November, and the stream is still flowing. It is now too late for this to be a terrible, endless winter. I will disconnect and drain the sump pump this week--by next weekend the temperatures will be well down, and the week after will see double digit negatives.

Farewell

 This is possibly my last November visit to the Island ever. House clearing continues but it is excruciatingly slow. Two vehicle loads to the dump, another filled with books to take away, and a large dumpster filled, and it barely shows. 

Window on the World

 I replaced two windows in the garage. For one, I had to rebuild part of the rough opening, which was rotten. Quite a pile of debris--but it has all been denailed and chopped up for firewood.

If you really zoom on the image below, you can see that the bubble in the spirit level is damn near perfect (for once). Now I'll have to make new trim boards, because the old ones can't possibly fit.

Dado

 I finally bought a new dado set. The Mastercraft one was starting to tear a bit--and it must be about 20 years old. The new one is certainly more robust looking....

Snow Fun

 Uh oh...snow before Hallowe'en. Never a auspicious sign... 

Getting Close...

 

Three walls shingled and stained...just the blind north wall to go. I recall that the north wall of the woodshed remained unshingled for nearly 20 years. We'll try not to let that happen this time. I hope to attach the crane beam to the front and of course add lights, but it is definitely coming along.

Finally

 This is the first time we have witnessed the Aurora Borealis in the Crick.

An eclipse AND the Northern Lights--what next?

Eaves

 In spite of the rain--mere drizzle--I've almost finished the eaves on the east side. I used some bits of leftover oak faced half-inch ply. After this, just the final window (under Tyvek) and then on to the north face, which has no openings at all...

Seeing Is Believing

 Two--that's right!--TWO windows in place. The second one went a lot faster. Now I have to make the third, a slightly smaller pane which will requite a little creativity.

Glassy

 And now...a window! Ironically, what is reflected in the glass is the OLD potting shed.

Colour

 Looks quite smart with some colour. 

Fire!

 The date of the first fire varies widely. For the woodstove, it's usually in October. Note this year. No sir. Fortunately I did the chimney earlier in the month, and gave the woodstove itself a thorough emptying out.

Still Shedding

Painfully filling in the shingles on the front of the garden shed. 

 Only about a dozen could be added whole; all the rest are cut to fit. Still, I should be onto the east side by the weekend.

Traitor!

 Much as I love our ash tree, it is always the first to turn. By the time the maples change colour, it is usually wholly denuded of leaves. 

Shed fer Brains

 

Jo stained the shingles on the finished side (well, the windows need glass, but otherwise...). The trim, now raw, will be painted green.

I mounted the man door as well. I lapped the cedar planks, so it will be fairly weather tight. I rushed the double doors in front and simply butted them together. I'll have to pump some brown silicon in to keep out the snow and rain.

We were determined to have a door that swung OUT so that we could maximize interior space. This means that the latch is basically backwards, but I don't care. It does the job, and I'll add a grab handle later.

Progress

 

Out of three bundles, I've found only one bad shingle, and even that I salvaged, making two narrow ones out of it. I'll have to pause and finish the soffit before I go much higher. Fifteen rows so far!

Lost Summer

 Nothing has really gone according to plan this summer--which is nearly over. I've spend quite a bit of time on clearing out the old homestead. 

This is the dining room--not clear, but it's about the best so far. A long way yet to go...

Still Flowing

In spite of the claims about this being the mercilessly arid dustbowl of a summer, the Crick, with small interruptions, has kept flowing. I look forward to clearing the channels back in the woods and increasing the flow....

Closing the Barn Door

 

Work on the shed creeps along. Here are the doors, mounted and stained, with cane bolts and latch attached. I have started on the cornice returns and eaves, but it's a bit slow, what with the heat and the guests. 

Flow Soft...

 

Late July...and the Crick is still flowing! 

Long, Hot Summer

 

We have been getting enough rain to keep the trees flourishing. Really, one cannot complain about a bit of heat in July--it is, after all, summer!

Planter?

 

This is not the first time I have lost a wheelbarrow. After digging around the foundation of the new shed, I parked the laden wheelbarrow behind the woodshed...and forgot about it from October to July. Now it's a planter.

Framed

 

I have one half of the shed's double door pieced together. Here's hoping I got all the measurements right....

Growth

 

This has been a good year for growth! The needles on these new shoots are hardening up. Our dry patch in the spring doesn't seem to have done the trees any harm--and the Crick is flowing, though it did dry up briefly. 

Hail and Farewell

 The children complained that we didn't make the house nice until they left. There is an element of truth in this, but we did make many important improvements: stabilizing the foundation, replumbing and rewiring the house, replacing the seepage bed. While necessary, none were especially interesting or attractive. However, as I say farewell to Grand Manan, I regret that the excellent deck appeared so late...that would have been nice, many years earlier.

Bridge Over the River...

 The bridge was giving a distinct lurch when one crossed it, so I finally made a new one. I was surprised to find that it was more elaborate than I had recalled: the framework consisted of four Tamarack trunks levelled with deck boards. I was pleased to find that the Robertson screws backed out quite readily--I pried out only a few. The beams were quite rotten, so I hauled them up and tossed them aside. A number of the rocks that had served as its base had tumbled into the Crick, so I started by re-laying the foundation. On the west bank, there was a surprising amount of actual earth; usually I strike the hard bones of the land within an inch or two. I dug down a foot and then laid a solid course of rock. My new "beams" were pressure treated two-by-eights. I scavanged all the deck boards I could find, which meant taking several down from the woodshed, where they served as strapping. Even then, I had to reuse a few of the original boards, after running them through the planer to take off the weathering. When I was done, it looked fairly homogenous. The bridge, in one form or another, had been there for about twenty-five years. The next one will be someone else's problem! 

Wrapped

 

Capped, flashed, and wrapped. Now the fun begins....

Blooming

 Our little apple tree is in full bloom. Unfortunately, it never recovered from the beating Tropical Storm Arthur gave it back in 2014...and I think it suffered a little when the tree behind it was struck by lightning. This may be the end--but the hummingbirds love it.

Capped

 I finally attached the cap to the steel roof on the shed. 

I did it much as planned, but rushed it a bit, which resulted in some scalloping from the ladder I laid on the roof. I clamped a 12-foot plank to the platform as a backstop for the 10-foot ladder. It was comfortable enough, but I should have dropped the platform another rung to ensure the ladder lay below the peak--well, next time.

New Found Land

 Tromping the grounds at the new place our daughter and son-in-law have acquired. Aha! A concrete culvert. Good find, that....It will need a little clearing out, of course. Couldn't find the markers with the metal detector--too much background junk!

Last Lash of Winter?

The sky to the north looked grim, and sure enough it started snowing at about 8:00am as we set off for work. Our spring cleanup continued this weekend. I had the chainsaw out again, and I cleared a tangle of blowdown and a large co-dominant stem that had cracked off a multi-stemmed maple in the Grove and bridged the North Drain. Perversely, as I sectioned it up, almost every log fell straight into the drain. The lawn tractor battery seems to have died, but we used the quad to haul away all the piles of debris Jo had raked up. I dragged 7 pails of gravel from the cellar as well; I used it to build up the near bank on the North Drain. Inside, the two new balusters are installed and painted; It's not the end of repairs to Ollie damage, but it's a start. Now I just have to prepare the Ashy barriers around the back stair and fit the gate. Baby-proofing a 19th century farmhouse is no joke!

Crick

 The Crick is flowing--very pretty, but the only green is provided by the moss on the rocks! I did a great deal of digging on the north tributary. At least two "temporary" bridges made of pallets had collapsed, damning the flow, and the culvert was largely plugged with leaves and branches. 

Eclipse

 It was genuinely eerie. Unfortunately, I didn't break out the Canon, so I had to content myself with a few rather grainy snaps.

The stars came out. It grew dark and cold. When the sun returned, it remained chilly for about an hour.

Winter Once More

 It's hard to believe I was driving about on grass just a couple of weeks ago. All the snow had gone, all of it! And now it's deeper than it has been all winter. It is a little discouraging. However, I can still work indoors...or underground.

Johnny Underground

 

At the end of the March break, and again today, I poured more of the west footing. It was good to see the undermined base of the wall getting filled in; it was looking rather unstable. I am getting better at arranging the metal, but I rushed the end piece so the line strays from the wall a bit. 

Faint Gleams

There are some encouraging glimmers of brighter days to come amidst the disappointing piles of snow. Big projects are waiting for better weather: finishing the new garden shed for one, and demolishing the old one for another!

Dreadful Drizzle

 A dreary March day: cold, with pelting rain. Too much snow still for proper outdoor work, so I tidied the workshop and improved the storage in the woodshed.

The boot tray under the saw collects the oil that very slowly seeps from the chain. There are hooks for my helmet and chaps. Thanks to the shed project, I have a much higher quality scrap lumber than usual...

Cellar: Before and After

 Starting to extend the east footing. Heavily undermined!