Category: Home Fires

The trip to see the kids and attend the wedding is off. We are learning to live with the uncertainties of aged related health issues and climate change related travel complications.

It was our intention to drive this time as each of the last three times we flew we caught some kind of virus and spent weeks hacking and snuffling afterwords. The gong show that is the domestic airline business also makes me prefer driving.

In order to make the trip we need to go through the interior, which for the last several years has either been underwater after atmospheric river events or burning down with forest fires exacerbated by record heat and pine beetle caused die off. Whether or not the roads are open has become a bit of a crap shoot.

Not that you can’t get through if you wanted to. The only time there was no actual route was when the roads were washed out after flooding. The fires just add to the uncertainly of our travel plans. The straw which made us decide to not go was health related this time. When you wait 18 months for a test you don’t just cancel the appointment haphazardly.

Instead I have started two new client projects. First an off grid bathroom with outdoor shower and then renovate an off grid A frame cabin. Same client, which is nice. No hard deadlines, which is nicer!

Additional projects continue to fall in my lap as well. I met the new neighbour the other day and he has a few things on the property he asked me to look at. Re-standing a collapsed (a.k.a rotted out) arbor and sketchy deck rails.

The other day I was loading up tools from the workshop and a random walker stopped and ask if I could come look at her project. Turning a 16×24 foot unfinished outbuilding into a guest/studio space. The estimate I sent last night came to $20K. If she decides to give me the work, in addition to the other stuff on the list, will probably book out the remaining calendar space until the end of the year.

Somewhere in there I need to find time to put new metal roofing on my two sheds and rebuild the car shelter. Rains will start in a few weeks and I want three BMW under a roof by then.

The garden is winding down, maybe a few beans left to pick this weekend then we wait for the squash and potatoes to be ready. Good thing too as I suspect the cisterns are getting low. Might see an inch of rain this weekend, fingers crossed.

I’ve been trying to knock a bunch of things off the job list before we head east for a couple weeks. Made pretty good progress too, with only one small job left to do before I can either work in the yard for a couple weeks or start the next major job. I spoke with that client a couple days ago and she’s not totally convinced to go ahead yet, so maybe I get some time to do my own thing soon

It has been a wet early summer for us. May and June saw more rain than I think we have had during that period than any of the years since we moved here. Not complaining, I think it is a wonderful and very welcome change from the drought like conditions of the previous several summers.

The rain has aided in my quest to do less paid work and more work for myself on the property. Good thing, because there is an endless list of things to do.

The garden

Our tomato starts were the best we have ever grown. Nice big stalky plants. Carefully babied and planted later so they don’t get cold shock and stop growing for weeks (ref: every other year we tried ☹️).

We started almost 100 plants and I think I planted 75 which is a ridiculous number of tomato plants for us. We will see in a few weeks whether we get a crop off. Stay tuned.

Also put a new rhodo in the yard and two new blueberry bushes that as of a couple days ago had a nice little crop of berries forming. Yay! The Saskatoon bushes have never bloomed in 5 years so fingers crossed for the blueberries.

Deck and tree fall cleanup

Most of the damage from the January tree fall was cleaned up a couple months ago but this week I finally got around to moving the shed deck. This move, from the side of the shed to the front (door side) allows what we hope will be better parking for the fleet.

Moving wasn’t too hard either. My little electric Warn winch and some tow straps and a couple opportune tree trunks together with a collection of spare 2×6’s and it moved reasonably easy.

Firewood

I’ve managed to split half of the rounds stacked in the yard from the last couple of trees that came down. I figure another day and I’ll be done the rest and I can start to haul it over to the mother inlaw’s .

Trailer(s)

After a couple years being embarrassed at the state of my enclosed trailer I finally got around to working on it. I installed the two extra vents to hopefully get a better handle on the condensation problems it has. Nice because I bought them two years ago.

As part of that exercise I completely reorganized the inside. Much much better. So much so that I think I could use it as a mini workshop and not just a cold storage place for seldom use tools. All I have to do is figure out how to get power to it, or how to fit it up by the house. Unfortunately those are both difficult to solve right now. I either have 1) not enough money to trench a power line or 2) too many vehicles sitting on the driveway.

That other trailer which we will call Peter needs a new deck. A new deck means I will need to do from frame straightening as well because the existing deck has quite the bow in it. Someone in Peter’s past really overloaded the poor guy. I haven’t started this work yet but it is floating higher up in the to do list.

Landscape steps

After a year hiatus work on the landscape steps has restarted. I had hoped to be farther along this weekend but once again the rain chased me indoors and I had to settle with watching sports on TV.

My shed build was paused a couple weeks to fit in two client projects that have been on the list for months. First is the fifth and sixth fence of the year. It was originally only the fifth fence until the neighbour saw us there.

We’ve done wood privacy fences, wire deer fence, mesh deer fence and cedar slat fence. This time it will be a combination of three different ones.

Thankfully no 4” pencil posts on this job. I’ve had enough solo pounding those with a 40 lb post pounder. A complication is bedrock six inches down in some places. We also have ground water problems for the privacy fence. It will be another job where we have to pour piers for some posts.

Second project (third?) is a rustic storage shed. Simple three walled on a slab with sliding barn doors. The marsh right behind the shed made for an interesting couple days. Barn doors will have to wait until the new year.

Two shed projects started this week. A little one for a friend’s generator and a big one for me. Thankfully I have help.

Not help with the actual building. Oh no, don’t think that. These guys are more managerial. They lean toward the supervisory roles.

I figured I would start with the large shed floor. That would give me a nice level spot to build the little one. Maggie was excellent at quality control and made sure the layout looked correct.

Once I got going Grey settled in to his new role as site safety officer. He was very observant!

You may recognize the pieces laying around in the background. The large shed will be the salvaged one I got a while back. It’s been stacked in the yard waiting for me to finish my last fencing job. Now I need to stand it up before the snow flies.

Freezing weather is also the timeline for the little shed. Its purpose is to house a small genny that will be used to power a heat lamp hanging over a water pump. Only needed in cold days AND when the power goes out.

Unfortunately Grey gave in to his dark side. We caught him in the act taking material from the site. Maybe he has plans for a doghouse?

These two projects are being done over the course of a couple weeks. I do it in between other client work. I am really happy too be getting both done. My mind will rest a lot easier.

After putting the gen shed in place we have decided to replace the metal roofing. I used some salvage stuff I had but she has some nicer stuff leftover from the pump house roof. I should have known, since I also built the pump house!

Lifting the walls up single handed was a bit of a grunt, especially the back wall. It’s heavier than you would think. Even heavier yet considering Maggie the building inspector insisted on climbing on it like a goat while I was moving it into place.