January - COLD!! Lots of snow and ice. Jordan broke his ankle and we spent a night at Ronald McDonald house while he had surgery.
February - Weather is still bitter and nasty for man and beast. Absolutely horrible out but plans for Spring, food preserving etc. all continue.
March - First lambs are born in bitter weather. Spring is nowhere in sight but life continues and we're working on getting the bare mobile ready for habitation. A $1000 trailer doesn't come with many frills or even a kitchen in our case. It's not a lot of fun working in the cold but it still has to be done.
April - Barely warm but we'll take it. Spring was late coming in 2014. We got the water and power hooked up and house ready for sleeping in. Nothing fancy but it's clean and functional, if small.
May - Time to move! Permanently! And wouldn't you know it one of the ewes gave birth the Saturday we moved. Fun! Gardening begins in earnest, ploughing, planting, seeding and caring for lambs. Our first wwoofers are expected soon so work on the humanure toilet, outdoor bath/shower and cabin had to be finished. All hands on deck! And Steve and the kids and I built a storage shed for all the insulation we were able to get for cheap for later use.
June/July/Aug - If you can believe it, snow on June 4th wiped out all above ground crops. Time to re-plant and gear up for wwoofers and summer. Lots of the usual animal care, weeding etc. We had a fun summer and despite hurricanes that wiped out power for days when it was hot enough to cook an egg, we survived and got lots done. Next year we definitely want to run a solar hot water system after leaving our water pipes above ground for a week and experiencing the joys of free hot water. Better than bating in the slow pools beside the river and coming home with leeches like Meghan did, lol.
September - Harvest in earnest. The addition is going up now. We'd like to get it enclosed before bad weather stops outside work so we work like mad and it's done before the first big rain hits. And yes there's a leak in the roof joint but it's still warm enough to dry out and fix the problem. Lots of apples to process now.
October/November - Apple pie making time! And sauce. And cake. It's time to use nature's bounty to the fullest. There are so many delicious vegetables available and fruits and nuts too. Happy Thanksgiving. We're working on filling in the trench with the water pipes now that they are insulated and have heat tape. The pipes did freeze a couple of times but after lots of exploration Steve discovered that a small spot under the trailer in an access area behind the tub and toilet was blasting in cold air and freezing the main line inside the house. Steve re-ran the pipes and problem solved. Bless him, he also took my suggestion and installed the woodstove we found on Kijiji for $60 in the kitchen where the cookstove will go next year. He even build me a baffle for it and it works perfectly. It's a little airtight thing that I can cook on and with the help of a fan it blows warm air all through the trailer. Chris is home again and I appreciate the extra hands. He's living in his own little trailer. But the best part of Autumn? I got to attend ACORN conference and it was awesome. I learned a ton!
December - We have the addition exterior finished except for trim. The insulation is in and the vapour barrier too. So we have a semi-heated dining room and future bedroom but for now we're still sleeping in the living room which is warmer anyways. Christmas was lovely, time spent with family and friends with little stress and lots of rest. The weather was crazy with Christmas day being +18 degrees. Now it's turned much colder and at time of writing it's -18 with the windchill. Brrr! Our sheep are safely tucked in their barn, the poultry and goat are in theirs, and the dog is expecting puppies in a month. William is moving into his own place in January so the kids are planning a big bedroom shuffle and are very excited.
Looking back over the year we got a well, power, a septic system and the mobile all set up. We moved in, we grew a lot of food and best of all we learned a ton and fell even more in love with this place. Humblebee Farm, we love you! We'll take care of you and you take care of us. Thanks for all the blessings in 2014.
February - Weather is still bitter and nasty for man and beast. Absolutely horrible out but plans for Spring, food preserving etc. all continue.
March - First lambs are born in bitter weather. Spring is nowhere in sight but life continues and we're working on getting the bare mobile ready for habitation. A $1000 trailer doesn't come with many frills or even a kitchen in our case. It's not a lot of fun working in the cold but it still has to be done.
April - Barely warm but we'll take it. Spring was late coming in 2014. We got the water and power hooked up and house ready for sleeping in. Nothing fancy but it's clean and functional, if small.
May - Time to move! Permanently! And wouldn't you know it one of the ewes gave birth the Saturday we moved. Fun! Gardening begins in earnest, ploughing, planting, seeding and caring for lambs. Our first wwoofers are expected soon so work on the humanure toilet, outdoor bath/shower and cabin had to be finished. All hands on deck! And Steve and the kids and I built a storage shed for all the insulation we were able to get for cheap for later use.
June/July/Aug - If you can believe it, snow on June 4th wiped out all above ground crops. Time to re-plant and gear up for wwoofers and summer. Lots of the usual animal care, weeding etc. We had a fun summer and despite hurricanes that wiped out power for days when it was hot enough to cook an egg, we survived and got lots done. Next year we definitely want to run a solar hot water system after leaving our water pipes above ground for a week and experiencing the joys of free hot water. Better than bating in the slow pools beside the river and coming home with leeches like Meghan did, lol.
September - Harvest in earnest. The addition is going up now. We'd like to get it enclosed before bad weather stops outside work so we work like mad and it's done before the first big rain hits. And yes there's a leak in the roof joint but it's still warm enough to dry out and fix the problem. Lots of apples to process now.
October/November - Apple pie making time! And sauce. And cake. It's time to use nature's bounty to the fullest. There are so many delicious vegetables available and fruits and nuts too. Happy Thanksgiving. We're working on filling in the trench with the water pipes now that they are insulated and have heat tape. The pipes did freeze a couple of times but after lots of exploration Steve discovered that a small spot under the trailer in an access area behind the tub and toilet was blasting in cold air and freezing the main line inside the house. Steve re-ran the pipes and problem solved. Bless him, he also took my suggestion and installed the woodstove we found on Kijiji for $60 in the kitchen where the cookstove will go next year. He even build me a baffle for it and it works perfectly. It's a little airtight thing that I can cook on and with the help of a fan it blows warm air all through the trailer. Chris is home again and I appreciate the extra hands. He's living in his own little trailer. But the best part of Autumn? I got to attend ACORN conference and it was awesome. I learned a ton!
December - We have the addition exterior finished except for trim. The insulation is in and the vapour barrier too. So we have a semi-heated dining room and future bedroom but for now we're still sleeping in the living room which is warmer anyways. Christmas was lovely, time spent with family and friends with little stress and lots of rest. The weather was crazy with Christmas day being +18 degrees. Now it's turned much colder and at time of writing it's -18 with the windchill. Brrr! Our sheep are safely tucked in their barn, the poultry and goat are in theirs, and the dog is expecting puppies in a month. William is moving into his own place in January so the kids are planning a big bedroom shuffle and are very excited.
Looking back over the year we got a well, power, a septic system and the mobile all set up. We moved in, we grew a lot of food and best of all we learned a ton and fell even more in love with this place. Humblebee Farm, we love you! We'll take care of you and you take care of us. Thanks for all the blessings in 2014.
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