A Small Egg, a Porcupine and a Busy Spring

Well Pump

At the end of March my well pump stopped working.  After doing a lot of research and watching many fix-it videos I decided to tackle the job of putting in a new pump myself.  I have a shallow well so the jet pump is in my basement. Five days without water and four trips to town to get parts at Canadian Tire and my water system is working again. Since we were having fresh snow almost daily I was melting snow for my interim water source. It was quite a time consuming process because a pail full of snow equals very little water but the water was very clean. On the last day I filled some jars of drinking water at my neighbour. I learned a lot about plumbing and feel more confident when the time comes to tackle the next job.

New Chickens

Four new chickens have been added to the flock to replace those that are no longer there. I did not get many eggs over winter, perhaps because it was a tough winter weather wise - although the little improvements I made to the henhouse kept it warmer and Duke, the rooster, did not get frostbite this year. I couldn't supply my customers with eggs and went a number of weeks without any for myself. When asked why I didn't buy eggs it made me contemplate. If I truly want to be committed to a more self-sufficient lifestyle it means doing without sometimes - sometimes for a short period, sometimes for a longer time. A bonus to this is the joy and appreciation that came when my chickens started laying again, and when I had flowing water again from my taps when I fixed my well pump.

A very small egg laid by one of the hens:

  

There were still patches of snow around on May 16th and the ground frost didn't disappear for a bit after that. I can tell when the ground frost is gone when the latch on the henhouse screen door lines up again to close properly. The last frost we had was May 30th; then suddenly it was 30 C on June 3rd. My asparagus and rhubarb were stressed and immediately sent out flower stalks. I will still get some crop out of both but not as abundant as last year. 

Porcupine

Teaka discovered a porcupine. She must be super smart or super lucky because she didn't get any quills. It was midnight and she had been barking at it for a while before I decided to get dressed and see what was going on. The porcupine was by the henhouse - perhaps it had been living in the big tree in my driveway because for about a week Teaka has been barking at the tree which has a nice hollow spot near the top for a den. It is possible the porcupine was displaced because recently they removed a forest south of me, likely for expanding farmland, so now there are another three lights visible to me in the darkness of night. I put Teaka in the car and armed myself with a flashlight and broom and shooed the porcupine down the driveway and across the road where it rolled down into the ditch. I was hoping it was scared enough that it would cross the field into the woods, a much more suitable home for it.

The Well Hole

I was able to remove the rotting wood that covered the hole that I had fallen into last year in my back field. It seems to have been an old well constructed with wood logs as described below:

The "Cribbing" Method (Falling Frame): A square or circular frame made of heavy timber was constructed at the surface. As men dug below the frame, the weight of the structure—and often the added weight of stones or bricks—caused it to sink into the hole. As it sank, new sections were added to the top, keeping the rim at ground level.

It was much larger than I thought and I was lucky I didn't completely fall into it. When removing the rotten wood pieces I found metal pail handles, a round anchor and chain and some other metal things. As I was looking for more artifacts - safely harnessed to my tractor - I uncovered ABS pipe.... so now the question is: is this my current well? It is over 200 feet away from the pump so I'm not sure. It could have been an additional well to water the cattle in the fields, when there was a dairy farm here. There are no existing official registered well records for my property. I also need to figure out how to cover the opening, but if it is an active well I also need to keep it clean of ground and debris and to make sure it doesn't freeze in winter. ...to be continued

  

Fruit Tree Update and New Spruce Trees

As farmers are removing trees, I am planting them. I planted three more apple trees. One of my apple trees from the original bunch died and the other two, as well as the pear trees aren't doing great, but they are surviving. My plum trees are thriving and one had plenty of blossoms this spring. I enjoy that the three plum trees each have a very different style:

I transplanted 26 white spruce in two different field areas north west of the house with the intent they become a wind barrier when large enough. I came up with a different strategy for clearing the ground of grass and weed because the 22 trees I planted last year are having a tough time growing among the grass and weeds which I never cut, except with the trimmer to give the small trees room to breathe. I bought a box blade attachment for the kubota tractor and can scrape the grass away 54" wide. Actually the box blade was purchased to grade my driveway, but has found a dual purpose. It doesn't scrape down deep enough to remove all roots but I'll find out soon enough if it is sufficient. So far so good and there will always be weeds to remove and water to lug in. 48 trees sounds like a lot but in such a large area they kind of disappear so I will probably buy more next year to plant in 2028.

Indoor Projects

A few indoor projects I have worked on are finally adding a handrail and choosing a finish for the steps down into the bedroom in April -- one might think that it was priority after breaking my ankle but I couldn't decide what to do and how to do it. I like the final result. It was important that Teaka could still walk from the step to her couch under the railing.

 

I creatively repurposed some sliding closet doors I had to make a controlled entrance so Teaka and I could go outside without having the cats run out.  It also helped with cold drafts and fly control, especially after Remy tore away the weather stripping on the entrance door. I am mulling over a permanent solution to the entrance door weather stripping issue. Brie politely sits outside and meows when she wants in whereas Remy meows while trying to claw the door open. Perhaps he learned this from watching Teaka who will paw the door when she wants inside. The entrance door is not the original door and as mentioned in one of my first posts, hammer marks indicate there was trouble closing it in winter so the gap left by Remy tearing away the weather stripping is somewhat significant.

Frost heave around here can be damaging. This winter our township office back wall cracked to the point that the part of the building was condemned. It is a small building to begin with so now there is access to one room and a washroom. At least it is enough space to function and keep the office open, not sure where the money will come from to repair it, considering our township was talking financial woe last year.

https://www.thespec.com/news/canada/brethour-awaiting-provincial-guidance-on-finances/article_3dd3ed3e-a4b6-5527-abc3-2d7cfc2a4aef.html

Brie and Remy are busy everyday hunting for rodents.  We now have a ritual where they catch a mouse, usually a field mouse which is pretty big, and when they bring it close to the house to play, Teaka kills it and I will then dispose of it. The cats respect Teaka and when she runs up to them they simply walk away, instead of the more natural cat response of growling and running away with their prize. I walk the dead rodent down the driveway and toss it across the road into the field and I have seen a raven and a hawk swoop down to carry away the rodent --- full circle, no waste.

 

I decided to start keeping a journal to track happenings. It will help me year to year plan when certain things need to be done, as maintaining farm equipment is still new to me, and it will remind me (especially in spring when things appear overgrown with grass/weeds) that even though it looks like I am doing very little, I am actually doing a lot. There are magical moments that are easily forgotten such as the light show by the fireflys, the week of hot temperatures and humidity that had toads and frogs knocking (jumping) at my door during the night, seeing northern lights and the super cool mini fireball - called a bolide, that I saw streaking the night sky with a clear trail of fizzling out debris behind it. Perhaps it can become a New Year's ritual to read through the happenings of the previous year.