Under the sink
Under the sink
Darling it's better (not)
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me.
Leak discovered this morning. Trip to Mindemoya hardware for replacement faucet. Then hours upside down under the sink. Luckily, finished in time for supper. Not the planned agenda, but such is cottage life.
…alas. (But no alas really, of course; turkeys are just part of the local avifauna.)
Photo by Sue
Yard and garden today. Herb garden given its spring tuneup, driveway raked, part of the garden turned over, etc. Chilly. Tomatoes not planted because of frost advisory tonight.
…waterline problems (but not ours). Spent the afternoon working with Bob trying to get his system going, Given the laws of physics and the nature of reality, there is no way we could have failed, but we did.
Boats and mergansers photo by Sue, who produced a wonderful chicken dinner complete with home (Whitewater) grown rhubarb pie while the waterline fiasco was unfolding.
Having a sit on the screen porch, listening to the wind in the treetops and watching the catspaws on the bay. Porch cleaned and furniture reinstalled. Kayaks moved down to platforms by the water. Chats with Bob and Murray. Etcetera.
Not sure what one sock is doing on the line.
Last night a whippoorwill whippoorwilling nonstop, without taking a breath, for at least an hour. This morning, fog on the bay and chilly, so a fire in the stove.
…after a long and arduous day. First outdoor shower since what? September. And a sure sign that the back-to-the-cottage hassle was mostly successful. Only 3 leaks and one broken toilet supply line. Bottom line—we have light, refrigeration, and hot and cold running water.
Photos below by Sue.
…and a day early as a result of a change in grand parenting plans.
The caravan parked in St. Ignace—three boats and a bike.
Wild fluctuations in temperature as we drove in and out of lake effect—some swings over 20 degrees. Chilly here now.
Blistering hot day, quickly making it summer.
Petals raining down, being replaced by leaves.
Redbuds in blossom.
Tomatoes and basil started from seed now growing in the garden. (That was a hot job, let me tell you.)
Our neighbors are living up to the intent. We have a mowing service somewhat out of our control. But we do have violets and a few dandelions—and I’ve convinced another good neighbor to stop using pesticides.
Ellie’s tournament a good reason to meet up.
Hot and humid. I need to switch from complaining about the cold to complaining about the heat.
Not us, but the wind. While we are gathering, organizing, and preliminarily packing, the wind is roaring up from the south bringing 80 degrees in the shade. Below, a few spring shots, taken before summer’s arrival.
…a long, slow process.
First, work on garden.
Then, prep cockpit grates for Cetol. (Sue, again)
Meanwhile, practice getting things tied down for travel.
Mother’s Day walk in the prairie, and a bike ride with dad.
…or, more accurately, nurse stump.
Some years back this silver maple in Vi’s back yard lost a limb and took out most of the garden and half the compost bin. Several years later the remaining tree had to be removed. And, for several years since, the old stump has been slowly rotting away.
It’s a prominent part of the back yard view, and I’ve had my eye on it for quite some time—several years at least. Today, Vi’s daughter, Anna, and I turned it into a nurse stump.
I had previously hollowed out the rotten core. Today we filled it with compost, sand, and soil, and then planted Mugo pine, and Juniperus horizontalis, along with a bit of yarrow and a clump of fescue.
This will be fun to watch over the years.
…at last, among other things.
Shadbush, serviceberry, saskatoon leafing out—a sure sign of spring. The little strip outside to the west of the garden has been planted in zinnias and other cut flowers. Squash seeds have been planted in the year-3 compost bin (which they seem to like real well), and…
…the seeds started inside have been moved to the great outdoors. (Cloudy today, so hardening off, not being sunburned.)
Warmer, and mostly sunny all day. While Sue went visiting with old teacher colleagues, I did some library time in Fort and later rode my north-of-town 13 mile loop.
The photo of Heliotrope, above, arrived by email this afternoon from Mike Coomes, formerly of Kagawong but now of Calgary. Interesting timing. We have recently been thinking about getting ready to start arranging things to prepare for the trip north—with plans already in place to get Heliotrope back into the water after three years on the hard.
Another dim, damp day.
Breakfast with Tom (Tig artist) and Mary, but little else. Attempted bike ride rebuffed by rain (which persisted pretty much all day).
…all on the same afternoon.
Ellie volleyball, Ben and James soccer, Maddie and Becca track. Creative logistics required.
Another cold, dim, damp, windy day. But, on the plus side, the daffodils are lasting a long, long, time.,
Despite the weather, I got in two rides. Below, a portion of the morning ride. The route stops at the Sweet Spot, where I, in order to warm up, dropped in for a cappuccino.
…indoors, along with First International Children’s Day, due to inclement weather.
Big internal debate about scrambling to find more inventory. I lost, but that might have been a good thing. Next year, even bigger variety (including evergreens) and lots more sugar maple, redbud, pagoda dogwood, along with oaks—chinkapin, swamp white, and burr. (I’m also going to push for American sycamore, and hackberry.) Furthermore, it will probably be best to hold the sale over one weekend (Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday), and to demand that Mother Nature provide better weather.
Tomorrow is our Arbor Day kid’s activity, and the forecast is for thunderstorms (potentially severe) and winds up to 40 mph. We are planning to move inside, into the Senior Center, alongside the International Children’s Day program. Might just be a great move.