Fish Pond: The Dig

Last fall, I was fortunate to have my dad show up one day with a tractor. All the topsoil that had been stripped away in order to dig our basement and haul in the house was in a big pile at the south end of my yard. We had already rented a bobcat to do some landscaping and had done some sloping and leveling. However, the dirt was in a pile and winter approached.

If you knew my dad, you would know that taking a day to go landscape a yard would be considered "a day off" when there are too many other farm chores to be done. It was a surprise, and an honour, to see a tractor whistle past my kitchen window one morning (just a guess, but I think it has a bit to do with the two little helpers that he adores).

The house is on a hill and try as we might we ended up with a low spot on the south-facing slope. Luckily, the low spot was in the perfect place for a fish pond. In the last two weeks we had a few days of nice weather, so my boys and I have been busy with the ground work for a pond. In our first day of digging, we stripped the topsoil down to clay, except for a few places that were still frozen.

Those rocks spent the winter in that spot.
The ground was still completely frozen
 beneath them, while I was able to
 dig down to clay almost everywhere else.

child labour...my favourite!

The pond is deeper than these photos show. It got too cold and windy and I haven't made it back there to take a more recent picture. I'm excited to get back at it and show more pictures as we do the rock work, install the liner and (yay!) plant some pretty things. For now, it is snowing and miserable so we have turned our attention back to indoor projects.

hugging...not fighting...I had to get a picture

I intend to plant one of the shrubs that I recently ordered beside the pond, along with reed grass and ostriche plume astilbe. I also have a peony ordered--one of my favorite flowers. I'm looking forward to it warming up. Every day that we spend outside seems like a dream. Before I know it, it is time for lunch and a nap for the little one while 4 year old and I return outside to do more. We have explored the yard, played in the mud, checked on our trees and had all kinds of adventures. I can only hope that the 4 year old will remember this summer working in the yard and the part he played in digging the pond. Did you help in the garden as a kid, or do you have little helpers in your garden now?

Fruit Trees and Shrubs

Got a lil carried away placing my order for fruit trees...so many beautiful shrubs caught my eye as I went through the on line catalogue at T and T Seeds out of Manitoba. I've spent the winter thinking about the yard and feeling, well, tentative about where to start. Now that I have ordered some trees I am super excited to get started in the yard.

Last fall I began work on a stone path flanked by two raised rock flower beds. Husband and I also started a stone path that will lead from the covered porch to a water feature on the south side of the yard. At the moment, my yard is mud. We will most certainly have another heavy snowfall (or two!) but the day is coming, soon, when we can return to giving our yard structure. The trees and shrubs that I ordered will go a long way in doing that. I ordered:

2 apple trees (honeycrisp and odyssey)
1 Golden Pear, 1 Hazelnut Tree
2 highbush blueberry, 10 raspberry canes
5 grapevines

Elderberry Black Lace
Cranberry Blue Muffin (Couldn't find an image but read lots of comments reporting that this shrub doesn't bloom without a companion--trouble with disease--the list goes on. It seems I always find these things after the mastercard has been swiped! But it will be a learning experience)
Euonymus Fire Ball
Hydrangea Vanilla Strawberry
Lilac Bloomerang

I'm hoping that these shrubs will provide visual interest year round. We have a blank canvas right now so a bit of height here and there should help the eye stop and focus (here's hoping!).

I also sent for 2 Hostas that like the sun, a peony, Astilbe, and Reed Grass. I plan to post when they arrive and I get planting. The weather has dipped below zero again (yesterday was -16C without the wind! Awful!) so the thought of these lovely shrubs and fruit trees is giving me hope that warmer days are ahead. How is spring shaping up in your neck of the woods? Are you making any additions to your garden this year?

Tree Update

This summer, before our house even arrived, we planted a shelter belt of trees along the main grid road approaching our acreage, and along the lane way to our yard. If you have been following the blog you might remember that I had ordered 180 one-year-old maple, 200 one-year-old poplar and 120 three-year-old spruce. This chunk of land is extremely rocky so it felt like we had to dig 3 holes for every tree we planted. It might not have been that bad, but by the time 500 trees were in the ground we were T.I.R.E.D. We had a lot going on at the time--if you're interested you can read more here.

We rented a post-hole auger for the weekend and Husband dug the holes. I followed with a bucket o' trees while we kept the boxes of trees moist in the shade. It is important to not let the roots dry out.

We began by staking a twine out in a straight line and using a measuring tape to space the trees. But our land is so rocky we ended up pacing off the distance and doing our best to keep things straight and evenly spaced in spite of the rocks.

You can faintly see the row of dark circles--holes waiting for Colorado Spruce

Spruce trees were spaced 10-12 feet apart, with a 16 foot spacing between the next row of trees (Northwest Poplar). We checked that the roots were loose and not bound up in a coil, and planted them to the depth that they had been at the nursery. In the picture below, you can see the darker line on the tree stem. Once it was planted and the hole filled I stepped all around the tree to ensure there were no air pockets in the hole. Then on to the next tree.

The trees are hard to see, but the row
 goes beyond the orange pail in the distance

The trees needed a deep watering once they were planted. It took almost 4 days to do all the planting and watering--in part because of the rocky terrain and also because we were using a long trailer to haul the water tank for watering. It was awkward to get into position so that the gravity-feed tank and hose could even reach the trees. I'm very thankful that we now have a water tank in a small trailer that I pull behind our quad. Once we were living at the house and had running water it was much easier to care for the trees.

We tried to water every couple of weeks during summer. It is recommended to water once a week during the first year, every two weeks the second year, and so on. For deciduous trees, give one last deep watering in August, and then stop. You do not want new growth to begin before winter. For evergreens, water late into fall and a generous final drink after deciduous trees have lost their leaves. The Government of Canada had a very helpful site, but since the prairie shelter belt program was cancelled the website no longer exists. You can still find plenty of information on line; I use the Alberta Ag and Rural Development site if I have any concerns about our trees.

All of the trees in these photos were purchased at treetime.ca. I was very pleased with the condition of the trees when they arrived, and I was especially happy that delivery was free. The trees arrived in 3 very large boxes, so delivery was an issue for me. Along with the poplar, maple and spruce, I also ordered Amur Maple, Siberian Larch and Paper Birch. I planted all of these in a plot so it was faster to water them. This year we will decide where to put them as we work on landscaping the yard. As of the fall, all of the larch had been eaten off by insects or animals, but the maple and birch appeared to be doing well.

birch trees in the summer

We have had some extreme winds this winter. In a two-story house it can seem especially windy, so I am considering where to plant trees this summer in hopes of blocking the west winds in the future. I don't want to block my view so will strategically place trees along the edge of the lawn. More on that when the time comes! This is an existing yard site so we have mature spruce and lilacs to the east and a hillside and bush to the north and somewhat to the west. Along the north, as well, our shelter belt trees curve along the lane and along the hill. When those trees grow up we will have wonderful shelter.

This winter we had enough snowfall to bury our little spruce trees in a nice insulated blanket of snow. Around Christmas things warmed up and a lot of that snow melted, and I got concerned that they would be exposed to the cold and wind--and there has been plenty of that! We have had more snow now, though, and the trees are once again tucked into a snow bank.

 Above, a spruce tree in the snow. Below, you can barely see the top of the next tree over. It is the little point to the left of the center of the picture.

I am looking forward to seeing how our trees fared over the winter. There are a few spruce that have browned off, so I might get a few replacements when I can assess how many I will need. I would also like to find some native trees in ditches and out in my dad's pastures to see if they do better than nursery-grown seedlings. But I will leave that post for another day!

Tree Planting

Well, perhaps I have a lot on my mind. I left a loaf of bread in the oven for over two hours the other day (it was well done!) and I used facial cleanser as toothpaste the other morning (I noticed in the nick of time!). So it doesn't surprise me that I forgot I had used my parents' address on our tree application (in case we had already moved when the letter came out). So for two months I've been assuming that we didn't get trees from the shelterbelt program which is finished this year. Instead, the letter has been riding around in my mom's vehicle and she forgot to give it to me (she probably has a lot on her mind too, this can't be hereditary!). At any rate, the letter was delivered to me yesterday and I was tickled to find that we will receive free trees after all. The program ran out of trees so I didn't get all of the types I requested, but beggars can't be choosers. I'm happy to get any at all.

Including the trees that I purchased, we will have to plant:

150 Hedge Rose
250 Scots Pine
300 Mix Poplar Cuttings
50 Mix Willow Cuttings

120 Colorado Spruce
200 Northwest Poplar
180 Manitoba Maple

I will have to pull out the drawings I made this winter to decide where everything will go...we are going to be busy! As we go, I'd like to get into more detail regarding the use of trees in wildlife habitat and as part of an overall permaculture approach to yard design (as my very beginner perspective understands it!). For now, back to the drawing board as we get nearer to beginning work in the new yard!

Ordering Trees

Well, I've ordered several hundred trees, in addition to any that I might receive from the shelterbelt program. (Unfortunately, the program is almost out of trees and I'm sure my application is getting there late to be considered for trees. I'll be lucky to get a few hedges methinks. So sad about that!) Alas, my purchased trees should arrive just before May Long Weekend so that we can toil away Husband's days off. He just doesn't know it yet ;)

I ordered:

120 (3yr old) Colorado Spruce
200 (1yr old) NorthWest Poplar
180 (1yr old) Manitoba Maple

That quantity is for shelterbelt on the 200 or so metres into our yard from the grid road. For some colour and visual interest in the yard, I also ordered:

10 Siberian Larch
5 (3yr old) Amur Maple
5 Paper Birch

I plan on posting once the trees arrive, and doing several posts on tree planting and care once they are in the ground. I can't wait to update on how they are growing! I so look forward to the brilliant spectacle of yellowing larch against birch and blue spruce. The reds of the amur maple are going to be a show for miles around, now to be patient and watch them grow (and water, water, water!) I am going to give the yard a year to take shape and then order more trees, possibly a flowering crab for spring colour and a weeping willow or two. Even placing the order has made the February blahs dissipate somewhat....I can almost feel the sun on my back and the dirt under my nails!

Authenticity, Commitment and The Blog

You won't normally find grand statements or opinions expressed here. This is a place where I want to find positive connections between myself and what I'm doing. For that to happen, I want to strip this platform of any inclination to preach, complain or boast. And I want it to honestly illustrate my attempts at a more authentic life, including the failures and bugger-ups.

When I talk about authenticity, I mean the real me--the timid, terrified, self-conscious child the woman struggling with confidence that resides within. I mean the kitchen that needs swept, the baby that needs a bath, the supper I've made 100 times that suddenly doesn't turn out. I am no expert on any of the topics I've written about. I've got no discernible talent at all, really. I forget when to use an apostrophe and I take most of my pictures with my phone because it's one step closer than the camera. But yet I choose to write a blog.

This blog has already forced me to ask myself: how committed am I to keeping our home/ lifestyle/ choices environmentally friendly? The reality is it is often less expensive to chose less environmentally friendly options. In the short term it is tempting to save the money and commit to doing it "later". We have had to go with power and natural gas since solar and geothermal would add upwards of $55,000 CD to our mortgage. Cost is a very real barrier to making major lifestyle changes that we would otherwise make. As I find rebates and grants I will provide links and information. As it is, the geothermal grant ends this month and the shelterbelt program, after 111 years, has been discontinued by the Harper Government. Discouraging, really.

It is easy to write a post about what we want to do. It is quite another to go about doing it. So I'm using this blog to keep me honest. I tidy a couple feet of counter top in order to take pictures for the blog. It's tempting to come across like my whole house is spotless but it isn't--not usually--especially when I'm taking time to write and take pictures. My recipes are not the best ones out there, they are the best ones I have. I have felt inadequate a million times before realizing that a craft or recipe or flowerbed or home has been prepared and displayed on blogs and websites (read: pinterest!) to look its very best. It's like the burger in the commercial that has had the cheese melted and ketchup placed just so. But when you go to the drive-thru and some kid tosses it in the bag without so much as a hello, goodbye, or go screw yourself acknowledgement of any kind, there's your real life. There's your authentic. I'm not saying real life can't be beautiful and touching, I'm just saying I (and this blog) won't just be showing what turned out. Sometimes you learn more from what doesn't turn out--this site is about the learning.

I'm done now, I have to go make supper. I'm putting it out there for myself to remember: keep trying to do better, forgive yourself when you don't, and then try again. And blog about it.

Our Flowering Crabapple Tree

As near as I can tell, the tree that was in the front yard when we bought this house is a "Thunderchild Flowering Crab apple". http://www.thehoneytreenursery.com/Flowering-Crabs.php

The beautiful blossoms have been a real treat every spring, except last year when it did not bloom at all. We had  a LOT of snow in March and April, so that might have cost us this beautiful view in the front yard.

Although the fruit is inedible for us, it is common to find deer feeding around it in the fall and winter. It hums with the activity of bees while it is blooming, and is a year-round shelter for different birds. We want to provide beauty and habitat in our new yard so I will definitely plant a flowering tree or two, hopefully where I can see it from my kitchen window as I could this one. In the four years we have lived here, I've spent countless hours admiring this tree from my kitchen and out on our deck.

The pink blossoms are such a cheerful contrast in the spring when all the different shades of green explode in the yard. It is equally as beautiful when it sheds its leaves to provide us with a week or two of raking and playing. Yup, gotta get another one in the new yard!