There is nothing like a good hot summer filled with beach days by the ocean, meet-ups at lakes, and lots of yummy BBQ’s. I love how the pace of life changes. With the sun being up early and setting late, we adjust and move in time with its rhythm.
This summer started out perfectly. My parents came for a visit near the end of June. It was so good to see them and spend time with them. And of course the kids were ecstatic to get time with their grandparents.

Dad surprised us by bringing one of his canoes with him. Pete had the time off work, so we decided to kick off the season by building a dock.

This dock build was a crazy push! The forecast had rain set for the day. Pete and my Dad had went the night before to pick up a few used barrels off Facebook Marketplace. Then early that morning they went to the lumber yard and the hardware store to pick up supplies. Once they got home, we had lunch, and got started. The rain came in the form of a drizzle that stayed for most of the day. We had to bring all the supplies down to the bottom of the hill, as we figured it would be too heavy to bring down if we constructed it up by the shop. By the time we’re done, we knew we had made the right choice. It turned out to be a very solid dock! The whole build took us about 5 hrs from start to finish.
The weather finally cleared up and we were able to take out the canoe on its first voyage up the river.

This canoe is pretty special. 23(or so) years ago, back when I was a wee little girl, my dad decided to build two canoes as a winter project. Every summer, when I was young, our family would go camping in Algonquin park. We were a family of six, thus the need for two canoes. My older sisters did most of the work with my dad… I got to watch a bunch and bring snacks to the workshop. Many memories were made… and now many more will be made with my own kids.

One of my summer projects has been to build up my flower gardens. Around late May to early June, I started planting in these two spots. One is along the steep hill going down to the river, the other is on the back side of the yurt (hmm… can there even be a backside to a circle?).
The spot on the steep hill has been deemed my wild flower garden. Last year I seeded it with a low growing grass and red clover. This year I put Phlox, Gooseneck Loosestrife, Lupins, White Yarrow, Lilies, Pearly Evergreen, Violets, and Queen-Ann’s Lace. (I had golden rod in there but decided to move it further down the hill) I have some white poppy, bee balm and chamomile seeds that I hope to put in there next year. My point for this garden is have a wild look to it whilst feeding the local pollinators.
The other spot “behind” the yurt has more flowers that are more purposefully placed. Many of these plants were found at garden centers or from friends graciously sharing their extras. One of my favorite things about perennial gardens is that you get to share the plants as they get too big for your own garden. This garden has berries mixed in. I have a red current bush, raspberries and strawberries (all sourced from a local marked that grows them!).

Just look at how well these two spots have filled in over the Summer!!!

Over the summer we had been talking about how to increase our water storage. The 1000 L (275 gal) IBC tote was working but there were days where I’d have to do a few loads of laundry where we’d find ourselves running out of water. One day, while combing through Facebook market place ads, Pete found a great deal on a large 3785.41 (1000 gal).

Now most of these pictures are full of wonderful beautiful sun. However, this wasn’t the case for most of the summer. Nova Scotia had a VERY wet summer. It rained a lot here. Up ’till this point living here we had not really experienced thunder storms, but this summer has been full of them! Nova Scotia even made the news with one storm back in July. Below you can see pictures of the damage it caused on our land. The ditch going down the hill eroded a good 3ft in some spots. We were lucky it only washed out the ditch. Many roads were washed out, cars and houses were flooded, power was out in many places. The main road into town is still not open due to work being done to replace the large concrete culvert.

In August, over the long weekend, we rented an excavator to move a bunch of dirt on the other side of the container and to fill in the ditch (the waterline was exposed due to the rain storm). The mini Ex made quick work of all the jobs. A few weeks later we had 5 dump trucks of gravel dropped off. A friend let us borrow their skid steer so that we could spread it around. Everything is so much cleaner now. No more muddy mess around the Yurt. (Less mud makes me one one happy momma!)

Finally to cap off this summer, we decided to fall one of the big scarry trees that was a little too close for comfort. This white pine was a big ol’ beauty. But every time we had a storm this past year… it has been the tree that has kept me up at night. Yes, we live in a glorified tent… but even for a standard house this tree would keep anyone up at night.

It was an elaborate plan to take this one down. Peter rigged up a rope that kept tension on the tree to make sure it went where it needed to go. And it worked! The tree fell with a big thump right where we wanted it. Thank goodness!

As we get ready for the cool weather to set in, I look back and am very thankful for all the hard work our family has done. An area for wood has been prepared. The wood has been chopped, stacked and covered. The new water tank has officially been put in place and plumbed in. The waterline has been re-buried and a new culvert has been put in place near the end of the driveway. There are still a few more things to get done before the snow flies… but we still have time and a few more weekends.
Until then, we’ll take it one day at time. Watch the sun sets come a bit earlier every night. Sit on the dock and enjoy the cool breeze blow as the Canadian Geese fly by on their journey south, and say one last good bye to the ruby-throated humming birds.
So long oh sweet summer… Until next year. ❤