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Meandering Across the Countryside
This past fall our family decided to finally take a trip with just the 4 of us. Most of our vacation time up till this point is either working on large projects around the property or visiting friends and family in Ontario. We have lived in Nova Scotia for over 7 years now and still haven’t traveled around like we had hoped. At first we thought perhaps we could enjoy the Cabot trail with all the colours changing. However, due to a few small projects that needed attention (we can never seem to get away from these things. lol!), the decision was collectively made to stay closer to home and do day trips. Peter had been wanting to go whale watching for quite a while now… so that was the first thing added to the list of places to go. The whale watching tour would be the furthest destination on Briar Island. Since the season was closing the first week of October, we quickly reserved our spots on the last trip of the year. The next big wish (from the kids) was to go somewhere to view the world record tide of the Bay of Fundy. A quick google search brought me to the provincial park called Burntcoat Head park. After careful consideration of what the weather might be up to for that week, we planned to go there the day before the whale watching tour. Friends advised us that the tour would likely be a long day, they suggested we might like to book a spot to crash afterwards (we live about 3hrs away from the spot). I took their advice and ended up finding a lovely cottage located on St. Mary’s Bay. Now that the main bulk of the planning was in place it was time to head out and see what adventures lay ahead.
Our vacation time started with the boys doing some errands on the Monday. They took an ATV engine to a repair shop and an old gun pete aquired to a gunsmith. They also tied up a few loose ends around the property that needed to be buttoned down before the winter season. I took some time to make up a few maps on google that included our destinations and a few places that looked interesting to stop at along the way.
Project atvs and wood storage Tuesday, we took a small trip into Mahone Bay to check out the Scarecrow Festival. The Scarecrow festival usually runs a week before (Canadian) Thanksgiving. In the past we have driven through the town while the festival was on, but we had never actually took the time to stop and take a good look. The day was beautiful—sunny blue skies! There were so many interesting looking scarecrows. Mahone Bay really goes all out!
The next day we made our way up to Burntcoat Head park. This park is recorded to have the highest tides in the world. The tides at Burntcoat Head Park have an average height of 47.5 feet (14.5 m) and an extreme range of 53.6 feet (16.3 m). It is about a 2 hr drive from our place. The views were stunning as we drove down into the valley, such beautiful fall colours! At one point we were concerned that we might get caught in a bit of rain (that we didn’t dress for), but it stayed on the other side of the Bay until we were done exploring the park. The park was amazing! Give me a good summer day, and I could have stayed there until the tide pushed me back to dry land. It’s a whole other world exploring the ocean floor and the areas around the cliffs. So cool! A definite “must see” for anyone visiting.
Thankfully, the rain held out until we had finished exploring. Rain drops started falling the minute we had gotten to our car! At this point the crew’s stomachs were starving and ready for some lunch. We ended up finding a good spot in Windsor called “Walkers Restaurant.” And boy, was the food delicious! 🤤
The final stop of the day was a book store in Wolfville called “the Odd Book.” This book store, though very interesting, wasn’t quite what we were expecting. We were hoping for a spot that had more recently used titles. This spot however, was more of a collectors store. A huge selection of antique books with prices to match! And the smell… you could literally smell the history pouring out of the old books.
Thursday, we were up bright and early! Otto needed to be dropped off at Pete’s parents for 8am and then we had to make good time to Breir Island. When traveling out to Breir Island there are 2 ferries that you must be aware of. If you don’t time it right, you could end up arriving late and miss the tour boat completely.
The whole drive there I was all full of nerves! I don’t really love the idea of being on the ocean in a boat that is smaller than the animal we are going to go look at. Said animal could easily bump, tip, or even land on the boat! So many scenarios ran through my mind as we got closer to our destination.
We made it there with time to spare. But true to Nova Scotian fashion, signage and direction once there was terribly confusing. Whoever said, “There is only one company on the island conducting tours” was wrong. There are 2! And they both leave from the same spot. We first went to the wrong company to try to sign in and pay for our tickets. Then when we finally found the right one, they weren’t sure they were going to go out on the water due to it being super choppy. Once we got the green light to go, we went down to the dock they directed us to and followed the people that were getting ready to board. Once we got to the boat, we were turned around again to wait for the next one. This gave us about an hour to wait for the next one. We ended up taking a walk to the end of the road to pass the time.
Beautiful lighthouse at the end of the road. Finally, it was our turn to board the boat! We made it, choppy seas and all. The kids and I had made sure to take preventative gravol just incase. We didn’t want to chance an upset stomach for this. It was a good thing too, they weren’t kidding when they said the Bay was rough! The waves were rocking the boat so much on the way out of the cove. Once we got out on the Bay of Fundy it was a bit better. But I gotta say, this girl definitely doesn’t have sea legs! lol! I stayed seated most of the trip and kept my eyes glued to the horizon as the boat rode the waves.
After about a 2 hour boat ride, we made it to the spot the previous boat had spotted a whale. We sat there for about 20min or so waiting to see if we could spot anything. Then finally a whale crested, turned belly side up and slapped its fins on the water.
T’was a full day! The tour ran from 1pm- 5pm. Thank goodness I listened to my friends about finding a spot to spend the night. The cottage we rented was on Digbys neck right on the banks of St. Mary’s Bay. It was a lovely spot; perfect for a queit retreat along the ocean. Optimal spot for bird & wild life watching as well as stunning sunrises!
The final leg of or trip took us around the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia. We visited the Sweeney Fisheries Museum in Yarmouth, drove around Peter’s old delivery route on Cape Sable Island, and made a stop in Shelborne before we headed back to the in-laws to get Otto.
Museum pictures The Sweeney fisheries museum was quite interesting. They actually took the old wharf’s dock and all its fishery buildings and miniaturized the buildings to fit into the museum. They had a ship and all the rigging, all the old ship building tools, so many things! I highly recommend it!
Lobster boats 
Getting ready 
Lobster fleet 
Fishing boat Along the drive we found a cove filled with fishing boats. There were a bunch of fishermen getting their boats and rigging prepared for the big dump day. “Dump day” refers to Dumping Day in southwestern Nova Scotia, which is the day when lobster fishers in Lobster Fishing Areas 33 and 34 deploy their traps to mark the start of the lobster fishing season. This year, Dumping day happened November 24th. I don’t know how those fishermen(& women) work out there in the midst of winter ON the ocean. They are so brave! We ended up taking a bunch of pictures for Zahra so that she can have some inspiration for her paintings.
On Cape Sable Island we happened upon a guy sailing a 3 wheeled cart on a beach. It was pretty neat.
We were hoping the Dory Boat museum would be open in Shelborne, but unfortunately we missed it by a week. For future reference, if we want to visit museums and tourist attractions, most things are only open from the beginning of June till the end of September. Only a small handful of places are open year round. It was still a beautiful spot and we scored a wee tour of the neighbouring museum. It was technically closed but the manager was there opening for a group that was coming later that day. The gift shop had a bunch of whirligigs made locally. We bought a bee that now has a spot in our wildflower field.
Our whirligig bee 🐝 I think I can safely speak for the rest of my family when I say we all had a really good time. Yes, there were moments that we were tired or even a bit hangry, but it was good to enjoy all these moments– the good and bad together. Our kids are growing up (fast!). One day we won’t be able to do these things all together. Adulthood is just around the corner and then their life will get busy. I am thankful we took the time this year to make memories for future stories of days gone by. Stories they will tell their kids starting with that old line, “back in the day, when I was a teenager…”
Life is always guaranteed to be full… filled with work, routine, and to do lists. On top of that we run our kids around to their different activities. Many times I feel like I’m on a bullet train and the scenery of life is passing too quickly. Days turn into weeks that turn into months and then suddenly the year is gone. So here is a nugget of advice (that I’m sure everyone my age likes to give). Don’t forget to take a minute to slow down and be in the moments. Life is full but we get to choose how to fill it.
Till next time!
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First Year in the Wildflower Field
Dear Reader,
If you recall from the last post way back in the spring, I planted a whole bunch of wild flower seeds on top of our septic bed. As per usual, life is constantly in motion and time tends to get away from me. However, as winter starts to slowly creep over the land and frost starts to cling to twigs where foliage once grew, I am reminded that an update on the saga is a must!
L-R: Sweet William Catch fly, Bachelor’s Button, Field Chickweed, Pink & Peach Poppies (x2), Yellow Trefoil/hop clover, Snap Dragon, Baby Blue Eyes, California Poppy, & Wild mustard or turnip. There were so many fun little flowers that graced the field with their presence this year. Some flowers grew tall and wild while others stayed close to the ground. There were big blooms and tiny ones, ones that opened only when the sun shone, beautiful bold colors to soft pastels. Every day I’d go out for a stroll to see if I could find a new bloom. It was so much fun!
A stray poppy seed decided to grow on the other side of the Yurt! 
The Google Lens app ended up being a great helper in the quest to find out what was growing in the field. All it took was a simple picture and a wifi/cellular connection and I’d have an idea of what was growing. At one point mid summer, the field was covered in little tiny fluff balls that resembled “Pussy Willow” blooms called “Hare’s-foot clover.” This had me curious as to how many different clover varieties there might be. Turns out there are somewhere between 250-300 different varieties! On our homestead, we have 4 varieties that I have found so far; Strawberry clover, Red clover, Hops clover, and Hare’s-foot clover. So, whenever you are curious about what’s growing in your yard, download Google lens and see what you have. Who knows what kind of new thing you will discover.
One of my favorite things with growing wild flowers are the beautiful bouquets that I get to bring into the house. A pretty bouquet has a way of brightening up a space. The flowers are bright and beautiful, and some even offer up a sweet aroma overpowering the senses.
Ultimately though, the point is not for just me to enjoy the flowers, but the bees as well. Peter hopes to one day have a few hives on the property. Our family really enjoys using honey for different things… in tea, on toast, in baking and to make mead. Logically, If we are to have honey, we must have bees. And if we are to have bees, we need have the food they like to eat. Therefore, a field of tasty flowers is a must!
Found the perfect whirly-gig on our travels late September. Hopefully the bees find it welcoming. 🙂 
first picture, May 1st – second picture, August 11 It is amazing at how quickly plants grow. It all started with an empty field and over the course of a few months was bursting full with life. Insects of all kinds were buzzing around the blooms. As autumn came, the seed pods started to brow (thanks to the drought), and the birds came to see what was edible. Even a deer braved the proximity of humans to see what kind of yummy treats could be found. Sadly, just as all green things grow, we find ourselves in the season where they start to die.
Frost came last week, signaling the end of the growing season and a time for the earth to rest. It also signaled the time for me to prep the field for winter. According to the Vessey Seed’s maintenance instructions, it is important to mow down a wildflower field after everything had gone to seed. I was able to borrow a mower last week to accomplish the task. Everything is now prepped and ready for next spring.
I’m so happy with how this project turned out this year. I have great expectation for next year. This year, it was evident that the smaller annual and bi-annuals really thrived. Next year, I hope to see the perennial flowers (the lupins, and coneflowers) mature. I will make sure to make a post next year on how the field fairs. I’m sure there will be new blooms to photograph and share.
Signing off until next time!
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May Showers Bring June Flowers
Today, I find myself sitting quietly on a Sunday morning listening to the birds sing. Laundry is washed and hung on the line. My daughter tidied the main living space and vacuumed the floor. The dishes are still piled high waiting to be tackled. Yet I find myself taking a moment to listen. The birds are so happy to have the sun shining again! 2 days of spring rain can make a person, let alone the birds, cranky.
Spring is never as straightforward as everyone hopes it to be here on the East Coast of Canada. There are loads of reels and short videos online that mock and make fun of the ever changing weather patterns that we can experience in one day. From frosty mornings to sun that beats down at 25°C by midday and rain showers by the evening, a person must be prepared! Then suddenly, out of nowhere, we will have Summer. Hot, sticky, humid Summer. It all sounds a bit crazy, but I love it all the same.
We have been working on a few things around Yurt. Pete and the kids have been slowly working on the wood pile. We have 2 solid rows right now… We need 3 more to fill the lean-to. One weekend, we focused on cleaning the container and getting rid of the garbage that was lying around. It is amazing how quickly things can get out of sorts over the winter. Pete made improvements to our water monitoring system. He installed a wifi bridge that reaches to the bottom of the hill. Now, the switches are automated instead of timed. He now has a sensor for the water tank that tells the switch by the river to turn the pump on when the water gets too low. If something in the system isn’t working correctly, he gets a notification on his phone. This system has been working really well. This should hopefully help us in the winter to keep on top of the water situation.
My son had the privilege of joining his grandparents in Germany to visit family in April. While he was gone, Pete and I worked on finishing their rooms. We finished mudding, sanding, and painting the walls. Then Pete glued down carpet tiles that we aquired for free. Lastly, we installed pegg boards for wall storage for both kids. Zahra uses her corner for her painting supplies, while Josiah has his corner set up with a desk for his computer. (I don’t have pictures of Josiahs room finished due to us wanting to keep it a surprise for when he came home)
I’ve really been enjoying my gardens this Spring. The rock garden needed some weeding and a bit or rearranging. Spring is always the best time to move plants around. The wild grass hill has filled in really well. Everything in the hill is growing at the same rate this year; it is not as patchy as previous years. Yesterday, I noticed that I actually have a lupin flower bud on one of the lipin plants! So exciting! However, my main project this spring was to seed the septic leach field with wild flowers. Since sowing them in early April, I have been waiting eagerly to see if any of the seeds would actually grow. And to my sheer delight, there are small baby wild flower plants growing! They are anywhere from an inch to three inches tall right now. I’m loving how these different areas are coming along.
As I conclude this blog post, I hope you, the reader, make a point to venture outdoors. Find a garden to wonder around in. Enjoy the quiet moments, the bird songs, and the sound of the breeze blowing through the trees. Take a moment to breathe it all in… because today (no matter what the weather) is a gift from our Creator.
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Life Goes On
Time… there never seems to be enough of it in the world. To my shock and horror, I find that it has been almost an entire year since my last blog post! It has either been too boring or too busy. Days melt into weeks that slide into months and suddenly a year has passed so quickly that I barely have time to turn around and look at it. However, today… I have time!
Today, I am going to take you on a quick tour of the other half of the year on our property… So take a seat, grab a coffee, and enjoy the ride.
July 5th, Pete and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. Friends of ours treated us to amazing fish and chips from a local food truck. Life has been such an adventure with this guy… 2 kids, 7 different spaces that we have called home, 2 different provinces, and so many people along the way that we have met and get to call friends. Amazing!
Pete’s boss graciously let us borrow his capstan winch for us to pull logs out of the forest (This tool has made it to the top of our “MUST HAVE” list). Josiah and Zahra helped so much this year with splitting and stacking wood for the winter. I’m so thankful that Pete was able to get the wood shed complete that spring. Burning wood this past winter was a breeze! We estimated that we had around 6 cords of wood chopped and stacked. It’s now mid March and we are almost done our pile. The plan is to start splitting logs next week. Spring weather has come early this year (2025) in the Maritimes. Hopefully we can get the majority of the pile done before the bugs wake up.
The garden around the house was amazing last year. Everything filled in like crazy! It was beautiful! One of my favourite things is to watch the gardens grow. I get excited every time something new starts to blossom.
Last year I did something I had never thought I’d do… I kayaked in the ocean! I am a scaredy cat when it comes to being on a small vessel on deep water. The ocean is amazing! I love admiring it from the beach, I enjoy even swimming in it from time to time, but kayaking on it is a different story. All I could think of, laying in bed the night before the excursion, was that a shark would eat me. I battled with anxiety all night! So much so, that I overslept my alarm that morning and was an hour late for meeting my friend. She assured me that she has done this countless times and there was nothing to be afraid of. I squeezed my hips into the narrow hole onto the seat, found my balance, and settled into the rhythm of paddling. It was a beautiful morning. The ocean was calm, the sunrise was stunning, and we spotted a few seals along the journey. I survived!!! After getting home, Pete was not impressed about the whole thing. Together we looked at the shark tracker… and sure enough there was a great white shark that had been hanging out in that bay for a few days. It was even reported by some locals on FB that it had eaten their dog! Needless to say, that put the fear right back into me. From now on I’ll stick to kayaking on lakes and rivers. At least there I know I’m on the top of the food chain.
We had some fun projects that were completed that made living in our tiny house that much more enjoyable. Below you can see Pete framed and (mostly) completed the area under the stairs. There is a space for the dog crate, space for electronics, and space for a few tools and paint that we need to keep warm during the winter. The area behind the TV is meant to be a pantry one day. However, we ran out of materials at that point. Hopefully this year I will get some shelving and a door.
My parents came for a visit for a week in September. Grandma showed Zahra how to cross stitch and Josiah and Grandpa had fun going on mini bike adventures. Dad and I decided to build me a kitchen island to replace the small Ikea table we had been using. I had been desiring more workspace in my kitchen. And boy, has this island been quite the improvement in our house!
Fall had arrived and so did our need to come up with a better way to dry our clothes. Pete had been contemplating for a while about how we could do this better. For 2 years we have been using a folding rack. Though it has been useful, it was getting annoying to have to constantly move it out of the way. Peter came up with a system of pullies and rope connected to a wooden rack. It works so well! You first lower the rack down, put your clothes on it, then pull it up and secure the rope to a boat cleat. Every house needs one!
The final project of the year was the installation of the septic system! We weren’t sure if we’d be able to squeeze in the project by the end of the year. But we did it! Every last dollar, dime and nickel was saved for this project. The company that installed it was amazing. They squeezed us in the last week of November. Literally, the day after they finished up, we had our first snow fall of the season.
November 30th marked the last day I’d ever have to clean out the buckets for our composting toilet. The new toilet was installed… and might I add, works amazing! I’m so thankful that I didn’t have to deal with cleaning the buckets this winter. This winter turned out to be quite the doozy as far as snow accumulation.
Good bye buckets! 
Hello NEW Toilet!!! 2024 was such a full year. Family, projects, friends and adventures that we will never forget. Pictures only offer a sneak peek into all the things that happened, mostly centering on projects around the property. What the pictures don’t show is how our family has grown closer. The kids can hardly be called kids anymore… they are teens bounding towards adulthood. This year Josiah has enjoyed working with his hands and learning about engines. I don’t know how many times he has taken apart the mini bike engines. Zahra has excelled in her art. We have even added a page on this website to show off her skills. (Click HERE) Through out this last year, she had her art in the local museum along with other homeschool students, one of the local news papers featured her artwork, and she had some pieces for sale at a local cafe. Over the winter she has been hard at work creating more pieces of art to supply the cafe and hopefully have enough for a proper show.
Zahra with her paintings. the light house & picture of kids in a field 
Lighthouse NOW News Paper article 
Dora the dog.
A commission piece.
An innovative way to bring the garbage out! Finally, we ended 2024 with a big snow storm on Christmas Eve. The South Shore hadn’t seen a white Christmas in years! It was pretty spectacular. I decided we should take some family pictures to mark the occasion.
What a great way to finish off 2024!
And what now?? What has happened so far in 2025? Well…. I think I’ll leave that for another blog post. I am going to put a date on the calendar to make sure I get it done. Stay tuned! If you haven’t already subscribed to the blog… I encourage you to do so. That way you will get notified the moment I publish a new update.
P.s. I am still bugging Pete about making an update video for YouTube. We haven’t forgotten… we just honestly haven’t found the time between work, projects and family life. -
Spring Things
Just wanted to pop on here before we fully jump into Summer and share with you all what we have been up to….
This springs big project was to get a wood shed built before we headed to ON for vacation. The plan was to build a lean-to off the side of the container. Pete spent a good day leveling off the container with a bottle jack and a few big rocks. Amazing how well that worked! And like most of our projects, we picked up the lumber from our local saw mill. The steel roof was picked up at our hardware store. Now we have a perfect spot for the wood to stay dry.
Spring is always beautiful with everything starting to turn green…. the flowers start to bloom… the woods come alive with sounds! I’ve spent a few good sunny days on my dock soaking in the sun. However, like most springs… they aren’t ever sure if they are still holding on to winter or if they are going to make the switch to summer. This year we were still lighting our wood stove at the end of May. And even as I type right now (July 6th), it’s 16⁰C outside. We had a chilly misty day today. But in-between these chilly days there have been really hot ones! It’s been a rollercoaster ride temperature wise so far this year.
The trip down to ON was a lovely one. It was good to see family and friends. This time it was a bit more chill than other trips. I spent time fixing up my mom’s side gardens… Pete built a computer for my sister… Josiah found a new-to-him Mini Bike to bring home with us…. and we barely saw Zahra as she spent most of her time with her cousins. I had tea times with my sisters. Got to help out a bit in the flower shed and make a few bouquets for their stand. My mom and I went to the local dutch shop and picked up a bunch of treats. Though I can order things and have them delivered to my place, it’s nice to be able to meander through the store and pick things off the shelves. It was so fun to be able to eat all the yummy things. I spent a bit of time with my grandparents. I loved sitting with them and hearing about all the things that have been going on. Got to touch base with a a couple cousins, Uncles and Aunt.
Mom’s side garden make over 
Mom’s side garden make over 
Josiahs mini bike 
Building my sisters new computer. Like I mentioned, this time I didn’t make a ton of plans. But the plans we did make were like an oasis to the soul. We met up with a couple we’ve known for 16yrs… we hadn’t seen them in 8 years as they were living in Turkey for a season. And oh, was it ever amazing to be able to catch up and share all the stories we could in the span of 4.5 hrs. It was so amazing to see them. Pete then spent an afternoon with our pastor/friend, Mark. Again, just a refreshing time for him to hang out with an old friend that shares his passion to build the church.
The last weekend in ON, we spent a couple days at our friends place. It was so fun to be there and spend time with them and their kiddos. Pete and Pat have been friends since high school and at this point we are more like family than friends. It was so fun to see how much the kids have grown.
By the end of it all, it was good to come home again. We missed our beds, we missed our puppy dog, and we missed our Yurt. There isn’t anything quite like your own home. All the little things like the sunsets, the birds in the morning, and my own coffee… ahhh so good to be home again.
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Rain
Rain pours down from the sky. It’s clearing away the remaining bits of snow that’s left on the ground. Though miserable and dreary feeling it may be, it’s a welcome change from the icy snow covered walkways. The South Shore weather has been very different this year compared to the last 5 years we have lived here. We actually had a winter full of snow storms. Usually it’s wet, rainy and damp with a few days of snow. Now that we have the rain back, I am thankful. Everything is starting to thaw, and we can enjoy warmer days again.
Last fall I planted a bunch of different bulbs. I took care to plant things that would flower in different months. Earlier flowers like Snowdrops, Crocuses, and grape Hyacinths bring early pops of colour to the garden. It makes me so excited to see the little shoots peeking through the dirt, eager to grow at the first sign of warmth. The other bulbs will come later through the summer and fill in the spaces between the other plants I have in there. Gardening is truly a wonderful pass time…. It brings me so much joy.
People often like to ask us how rainy days and storms are in the Yurt. Rainy days in the yurt are noisy! The sound on the roof is just how one would imagine— anywhere between a soft pitter-patter to loud drum like plunking. We are everywhere on the scale today. In these cases, it’s good to curl up with a book, a knitting project, or maybe some colouring or painting. Or if you’d rather watch a show, it’s better done on a tablet with some headphones. But of course in this house, whatever the choice for you pass time is, make sure there is a blanket for Otto. That way he can snuggle in for a good rainy day nap while you do whatever it is you do.
What are your favorite things to do when it rains? Maybe you like to cross stitch, or bake cookies? Let me know in the comments. 😊
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Winter Updates
Months have gone by without me writing much here on the blog. There are parts of me that feel bad for not keeping up with it, however, I know that life can just happen sometimes. Then suddenly months have gone by. Even for Pete and the Vlog, he has struggled to find the time to get creative. When a project arises, its much easier to just go for it with the energy that presents itself in that day than to gather the camera equipment and make a video. At the end of the day, it’s really about living our life in the here and now, rather than having to encapsulate every little moment to megabits of data.
Projects have peppered their way in between the everyday rhythm of life. We (mostly) completed the water shed. It now stands tall and proud in all its glory. The shed feels particularly tall since its on top of the hill. This project started at some point in September and wasn’t finished until November. The water tank is now fully out of the wintery elements. We have a a small bubbler to keep the water from freezing and an electric heating coil around the inlet and outlet that we can plug in if the temperatures dip lower than -10 degrees Celsius. Everything has been great so far. No frozen water pipes! Yay!
The Kids ended up having the awesome opportunity to visit their grandparents in Ontario the first few weeks of December. You’d think we’d get a bunch of work done with them gone… but again.. we puttered around between our work schedules. We chopped a bunch of wood one weekend. We installed a new propane regulator that we found on amazon (which works fantastic!!! No more freezing). Pete also built a few shelters for things like the generator and the propane tanks.
The year ended with us deciding to get a new washing machine. in 2022, we had picked up a cheap second hand one. I wasn’t sure how our water situation would work out, so I didn’t want to get a brand new machine right off the bat. This year, after that crazy rain storm, getting the new water tank in place, and figuring out what we needed for filtration, we can finally say the water situation is figured out. However, the second hand machine just wasn’t working well… and it clearly wasn’t a water issue anymore. It would leave a ton of lint on the clothes… and wouldn’t even clean dirty ones. They’d have to get presoaked and washed by hand before I put them into the machine. Pete tried taking it apart to see if there was a lint collector, or some place where dirt was building up… but he couldn’t seem to find a solution. Last time I checked, the point of a washing machine is to make life easier not harder. So, we took advantage of the local Home Hardware’s boxing day sale and got ourselves one that was, A. Energy efficient for our batteries, and B. Would actually clean clothes. Getting the new washer meant that Pete had to finish another little project– the back wall of the bathroom.
Thus our bathroom is now mostly complete. There are still a few things I’d like to get done….trim, a shelf or two, and once the septic is in a proper flushing toilet.For now though, the bathroom is as done as it can be. Clothes are properly clean again! Plus the motor is much better on the batteries. It takes around 250 watts for one load of laundry!
Since Christmas, life has been focused on other things. The business Pete works for moved to a new location this past weekend. Lots of time and energy went into that project leading up to the move and as the get ready for opening day this week. I have been more focused on getting the kids to their different activities, schoolwork, as well as working part-time, and juggling one car between the two of us. That has been a bit more of a challenge with the weather finally acting like Winter (as it should be).
Speaking of Winter…. it has been up and down… sunny and warm to cold and icy. Snow comes and goes, it hasn’t stayed long when it does come. We had a good freeze a couple weeks ago and we’re finally able to make it out on to the river for a skate. Unfortunately, my kids aren’t fans of skating, but Pete and I had lots of fun!
While our projects might not feel big right now, but come the summer we will be at it again with more exciting changes. We found a steel of a deal on Facebook marketplace for a set of 4 windows ($40 a piece) and a new cedar front door ($100). That will drastically change the look of the yurt. I look forward to next winter knowing that I’ll have hard windows in the main area that we can look out of. They will let so much more light in! The new front door will seal out the rain better than the currant double french doors. No more leaks will be amazing! This year will have many new projects. Hopefully, I take enough pictures to share with everyone.
Until next time!
Cheers! -
Oh Sweet Summer!
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. ❤
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Spring is Here!
The mornings are starting to get noisy around here. Canadian geese are squawking as they make their way back. Chickadees, Yellow Finches, Jays, Cardinals, and Robin’s have started singing their songs again. As we get into May, I expect more migratory birds to arrive. Then it will really be a symphony of birds in our forest! I look forward to having the Thrushes arrive; they are my favourite song bird.
A few weeks ago, we started hearing a Loon call echoing up from the lake in the evenings. One evening I went down by the river to see if I could maybe spot it. However, instead of the Loon, there were a pair of beavers swimming down the river. It’s so fun to discover the different wildlife that live within our little piece of paradise.
Lately, however, there has been a particularly bothersome woodpecker that has fancied a few trees near the yurt. The crack of dawn seems to be it’s favourite time to go bug hunting! Learning to wake up with the rest of creation has been a learning curve. I’m not a morning person on a good day, but to be woken up by a noisy knocking sound around 6am… yup… you know it’s going to be a day FULL of coffee!
With spring comes all the urges to clean and start new projects. Pete and I have so many ideas! The trick is trying to sort out how to navigate them. At the moment we are working on cleaning up the container. It seemed to have collected a lot of garbage since the initial build. On our free time we’ve been sorting through everything. Some things are given away, while others are being sold, and the rest is sitting in a pile waiting for dump run. Once everything is cleaned up, we plan to get started on building a woodshed. We’ve struggled to keep the wood dry this winter. The winters in Nova Scotia are prone to be very wet with lots of mixed precipitation. Wet wood is terribly difficult to burn. It makes a mess of your chimney and doesn’t heat very well. We did the best we could with what we had. The bottom line is that wood needs to be stored properly to have the best burn. Thus a wood shed will be the first order of business for this year.
I’ll be sure keep the blog updated with pictures as we actually dig into new projects. Hoping for big things this season. Until next time! ☺️
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Walking Through Winter
January…the first month if the year. So full of promises and wonder. On the South Shore of NS, this is when the temperatures usually get cold. The colder mornings, we huddle by the fire wrapped in blankets to warm ourselves. For some reason my nose always seems to take forever to warm up. It’s on these days I wish I could stay snuggled under my blankets just a little bit longer. However, promises of a hot cup of coffee makes it a little bit easier to brave the chilly mornings.
Our mornings are so different now that Pete has an “office” job. Up till now he had primarily worked in the truck driving field. His mornings were always so early. Now, we all have time to wake up and have breakfast together. Slow mornings are my happy place. Feeling rushed to get out of bed and run out the door is definitely not my cup of tea.
January came and went. It was the usual south shore winter… snow, ice and rain coupled with days of sunshine and the feelings of spring. We had settled into a routine of bringing in wood for the fireplace, waking up in the middle of the night to stoke it, and keeping it going during the day. Most evenings up to this point were not lower than -5°C (the odd -10°), and days usually stayed above freezing. However, we were in for a doozy com February!
We had a forecast of -19°C with a windchill of -35°C! February came in with a drop I’ve never seen before. We prepared as best we could at the time and prayed really hard that it wouldn’t be as bad as they were predicting. Guys it was cold! We kept the fire as hot as we could, waking up a few times through the night to keep the fire going. If it was just -20°C without the windchill it wouldn’t have been so crazy, but the wind made it that much harder to keep the yurt warm.
This was the temperature right before we went to bed. 
Our dome was pretty frosty… 
This was the temperature come morning, 
It was an extreme cold warning. Nova Scotia had warming shelters open all over the place for people. Thankfully, after such a crazy cold snap, the only nuisance was a frozen water pipe. And as you can see by the weather report, we had that sorted out by Sunday. We also had some ideas about how we can make sure that the waterline doesn’t freeze again. Unfortunately those adjustments would have to wait for the mail man to deliver them. Lol! Good old Amazon…
I’ll have to say one of the most amazing things living close to a lake in the winter is hearing the sound of it freezing. It’s a sounds like no other… If you have never heard this sound before check out this LINK. This YouTuber has other videos that are hours long of the sound recordings she has collected. It’s beautifully paired with her amazing videography.
We are approaching the end of February now. March is around the corner and I’m getting the itch for spring! Most of March will likely be a mix of snow, ice, rain and sunny days. Much like December and January, but unlike December and January in that there are longer days that are generally more sunny than cloudy. The sun starts to feel warm again… and you can feel the forest start to wake up from its slumber. Soon we will have the song birds retuning and the bullfrogs will wake up. The quiet stillness of winter will be over and the beautiful songs of spring will be sung.
Icicles! Alas, I must be patient and wait. And as I wait for spring to come, I’ll be as snug as a bug in a rug, in my yurt on a hill, with a view of the river…. Hibernating just a little bit longer.
‘Till next time. ☺️
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