Summer Storm

Hello everyone, the heat and humidity we have been experiencing create perfect conditions for summer storms.  This rainfall started a few minutes after I arrived home yesterday.  Although I dont have a picture of it the winds and rain were so strong that the Virginia Creeper on the north side of the house that almost reaches the roof actually came down in the storm.  In a recent blog I mentioned planting climbing hydrangeas to ultimately replace the Virginia Creeper....but I was thinking in perhaps 5 or 10 years?  

The water came down as an incredible rainfall by our kitchen deck.  I wanted to take a picture but the wind was so strong that when I opened the kitchen door the rain came inside...even though this area is covered by our balcony above!  So I had to take a picture from the side veranda instead.

Another shot looking back towards our kitchen deck.

Same veranda but now looking towards Willoughby Gate.

A slightly different angle.

The view from the balcony upstairs.  In the end the storm lasted about one hour and the rain gauge measured 36 mm of rain but I am convinced that we received more than that, the winds were so strong at one point that I dont think the rain gauge could collect the water.  

Today was warm and sunny with very brisk winds so the rains we received wont have much beneficial impact.  The summer has been very dry and many of our plants and shrubs are showing signs of stress.  Next week's forecast calls for another rainfall and with the longterm forecast calling for a warm dry fall we could certainly use the rain!

~Thank you for visiting~

Another Misty Morning

Hello everyone, we have gone from very warm to quite cool and now back to very warm temperatures again.

This was the temperature just before 6 pm on Monday.

The warm days and cool nights are generating a lot of mist for early morning shots!  This is the view from our deck looking towards the barn.

The lawn towards the garden shed is still quite misty.  There is a large statue of a cupid lying on its' side near the garden shed...it is a statue to remember Hercules, our first dog here at the farm.  The statue is quite heavy and I need to move a large piece of flagstone into position so it can stand properly.

Another misty view taken from a different angle on our deck.  We have two of these lanterns that need to be reinstalled after our recent renovations-they will be used to light the lane going towards the barn.

Another spider web.  The dew highlights the web beautifully.

This ewe is wondering if I am going to bring her some apples.

A view from the upper lawn looking towards one of the sheep fields next to the barn.

A view from Ash Alley looking towards Crab Apple Grove.  This mist was still quite thick.

Handsome Drakk loves being on the farm.  In his previous life he and his sister lived in a garage in the city.  At ten years of age he is quite a senior boy and enjoys patrolling the farm.  His sister is 9 years old and also loves being a country dog.  When we are home they love being outside with us.  During the day they enjoy sleeping on the furniture in our living room!  We are very happy to be able to offer safe and loving homes to so many pets.

One last shot before heading out for the day.  The forecast into next week calls for very warm temperatures and unfortunately no rain to speak of.

~Thank you for visiting!~

Early morning at the farm

Hello everyone, the cooler evening temperatures lead to beautifully misty mornings.  The mist was quite heavy this morning so I tried to take some photos to share with you before the sun burned the mist away.

I really enjoy this statue of a German Shepherd.  We have had many German Shepherds in the time we have lived here at the farm and they are one of our favourite breeds.  I like to collect statues to remember the many pets that we have had that are no longer with us.

On a farm it seems that everything is a work in progress.  You can just see my little garden shed in the distance which I have painted green.  When the rest of the trim in installed I will finish painting it.

 This is an early morning view through the big maples on the way to the barn.

This area on the southeast side of the house was excavated last year as part of the drainage system around the new construction.  We have quite a bit of work to do to finish the grading.  The good thing is that living on a farm usually means we have a lot of heavy duty "toys" to make the job a little easier.

A very misty view towards our forest.  Some sheep are just visible in the distance.  The chickens are still securely locked in the chicken coop-we have recently had some unwelcome visits from a raccoon that killed some of our laying hens.

A view from the bedroom balcony towards our front pasture.

We planted this cedar hedge about 10 years ago and it has done very well...except for a couple of trees which were snacked on by the sheep.  If someone tells you that sheep wont damage cedar trees dont believe them!

A very pretty ewe.  The very first ewe on our farm had a mottled face and almost 20 years later we still see some of the markings in her offspring.

Our sheep are free to roam as they wish.  They like to congregate under the apple trees.

The sun is quickly burning off the mist.  Here is our dining room terrance.

I took a lot of pictures of this spider web before finding one that actually looked like a spider web!

I believe that this is some form of rudbeckia that was a gift from a gardening friend.  It blooms reliably every year and has been divided a couple of times.

The forecast is for a pleasant weekend so I hope to finish staining our gazebo and to start working on the water fall garden.

~Thank you for visiting!~

An August Weekend

I never tire of photos of our sheep.  I actually need to take quite a few shots to get a few worth keeping.  Some of our ram lambs have horns which my husband quite likes...I however am not happy about this as I will always remember visiting a sheep farm with a horned ram that tried to break through the wall of their barn.

This spring our crab apple trees were bursting with flowers and now we can see the result.  Some of our trees are just dripping with apples and the branches are bending under the weight.

Willow is one of the latest additions to our family.  She is a senior girl and knows how to take advantage of the furniture!  Before we adopted her she had lost much of her fur but happily most of it has grown back.  She is a delightful (but quite disobedient) old girl.

This is Lucy.  We are not sure of the relationship between Lucy and Willow but it was important that they be adopted together.  We think Lucy may be Willow's daughter but will never know for sure.  Lucy also had some health issues that seem to be resolving well.  We are fortunate to have an excellent relationship with our veterinarian who helps us make sure that all of the animals we adopt have healthy and happy lives.

Last week I was showing the gardens to a friend and we stumbled upon several clumps of what seem to be lady bug nests.  I have never seen this before.  This week I found several more.

This terrace is off our dining room and is not finished.  It was part of our new construction last year and we had to add tons of gravel to help us navigate across the wet and slippery clay that was the result of all of the excavation.  This is a nice spot to sit in the morning for coffee when our kitchen deck is too hot with the rising sun.  We are not sure yet how we would like to finish this area...perhaps pea gravel or flagstone.  We will probably work on this project next year.

A vintage style shot of our garden privy which is not a privy at all but a little shed to hold the trash and recycling.

I have taken quite a liking to hydrangeas and this is one of my newest purchases...it is called Pinky Winky.  It is supposed to grow up to 8 feet tall and will fill in the area between our little gazebo and our ivory silk tree.  

Now it is back to work for the rest of the week, this weekend I hope to be able to finish my gazebo project.

~Thank you for visiting~

Mid August Weekend

Hello everyone, it is a very hot weekend here...just perfect for a little lounging!

Here is a surprise visitor, this doe actually has 2 fawns that we have noticed lately by our forest.  Although we often have deer roaming our forest we dont usually see them this close to our house.

An early morning view of the gazebo from the balcony.  I still have not managed to apply the wood stain!

The chickens are always early risers.

The sheep will often spend the early morning hours in front of the barn.

Trying to photograph our verandas at night is a little challenging.  I need to practice!  We love to eat and spend time outdoors and our wrap around verandas are just perfect for sitting in the sun or sitting in the shade...whatever we like.

The heat alert remains in effect for our area although the forecast does call for some much needed rain later this week.  

~Thank you for visiting!~

Unfinished Projects

Hello everyone, we have had a very busy summer so far here at the farm.  Sadly though being busy is not always the same as accomplishing something!  I thought I would share some pictures of projects in various stages of completion.

 One of the most exciting things about a major renovation is being able to create new spaces.  This will be the dining terrace just off the new dining room.  As the ground as still settling we have been using gravel as a walking surface.

My little garden shed is coming along slowly!  I have now painted it green and when the trim is put on I will paint it in a contrasting colour...perhaps red!

 In the process of moving some trash I found this little toad.  You will have to look carefully as he is pressed against the opening between the two stones.

At long last our old chicken coop has been demolished.  Tomorrow we will be able to seed this area to convert it to lawn.  I created a little garden around this red maple, partly to relocate a couple of perennials that needed to be moved but also to help protect the tree from the lawn mowers and weed trimmers.

 We are always amused when we find relics in the ground.  While raking the soil to prepare it for seeding the little creature surfaced.

This part of our border is Bailey's Garden.  This statue is quite heavy and was a bit of a job to move.

This spring we fretted over how much rain we had.  The ground was so wet we couldnt get our tractor onto the fields.  Now however the ground is parched and cracking.  Although we had a violent storm last weekend with a tornado only 10 minutes away many plants are showing some stress.

This is a big unfinished project!  A huge pile of top soil that appears to be a mountain of weeds.  I hope to have it completely removed by the end of this growing season!

Today was quite warm in our region and we needed to stop for frequent water breaks with the heat.  Drakk and Holly are exercising their supervisory privileges by resting in the shade!

I think I will do the same.  Time to relax on the back deck!

~Thank you for visiting~