 October 16, 2019. Earlier this month I got serious about moving things forward at the homestead. Being a part-time homesteader with health issues makes everything move at a snails pace. With Emily's heart transplant appointments coming up, I decided that I would devote a couple of weeks at the homestead (alone most of the time). I made a TO-DO list, listed supplies (free or inexpensive) I needed, and drove the 2.5 hours northeast. Gary and Evan came up on weekend.
Monday: Airbnb Prep. Our tiny cabin behind our house had been my art studio for years. Now that I have to spend more time in Toronto it made sense to move all my art supplies to one location. I emptied the tiny cabin and took more photos for the Airbnb description. This is an exciting project for us! Tuesday: Haliburton, Ontario. With the Airbnb tiny cabin being off the grid I need to find ways to provide comforts, like coffee, tea, cooking, etc.,. So I spent Tuesday looking for an off te grid coffee maker for guests. I found two! Wednesday: I had planned to spend today fixing the outdoor stone oven but I didn't realize how high the chimney was and didn't think it was wise to work alone on a ladder. So I'll wait for Gary to come and help. Thursday, Friday, Saturday: LOTS of tree trimming for the meditation platform near the pond. I can't wait to stock fish in the pond for guests to feed and enjoy. Weekend: Gary and Evan came up so we all worked together fixing the stone oven and enjoying the Autumn colours on the trees. I have to take a lot of breaks to rest my bones, but eventually I got many of the projects completed. A wonderful side effect of working at the homestead was losing 20 lbs. and feeling more fit! Stay tuned for more updates.  .September 21, 2018
Not many of you are old enough to remember the tv show Green Acres. It was about a wealthy city dwelling couple who, upon the husbands request, move to the country. The wife, Lisa, played by the glamorous Eva Gabor (Zsa Zsa's sister), went along with the simple life to please her husband, Oliver (Lisa pronounced, Ol-lee-vr). When we bought our off-grid property I knew my "Inner-Lisa" from Green Acres would occasionally emerge. Spring mosquito season is one of those times. Every Fall I anticipate Spring planting and working around the homestead. And every year I dread the mosquitoes and avoid outdoor work. Our 2.5 acres is wooded, rocky, and full of water sources that mosquitoes love. Standing water is their favourite place to lay larvae. Our medium sized frog pond is over populated with mosquito larvae. The frogs, birds, and bats are awesome and do their best to eat the mosquitoes, but we still have too many mosquitos. This week I started my annual Spring mosquito deterent research. I had always wanted to try putting more fish in the pond. Our creek is full of fish. The creek was the source of water for the pond, however, a previous owner of the property dammed off the pond so no new fish enter the pond. (We are grateful to him for creating the pond.) My research lead me to a fish called, gambusia (mosquito fish) that love eating mosquito larvae. I can't find information on these fish in Ontario. They appear to be tropical pond dwellers. I will never introduce a potential invasive animal on our property. (see below *). Gambusia fish look a lot like the minnows in our creek. This weekend I will move a couple dozen creek minnows to the pond and see what happens in the Spring. I don't anticipate that this will solve all our Spring mosquito problems, but I think it's a good start. I have plans to thin out the overgrown branches around the pond, create an Earth Loom, and sitting area for meditation around the pond. It would be awesome if we could enjoy the pond area in Spring 2019. I'll keep you posted. Sandra XOXO * Mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) - Aquatic Invasive Species. Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. The virtues of the mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis, have been extolled by many mosquito control organizations. However, the species can be a major pest when introduced outside their natural range. |
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