Monthly Archives: August 2010

my first bear sighting on the farm

We got a special treat at lunchtime today – a big momma black bear and her cub having a good feast at the farm compost!

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I attempted to take photos with my iPhone, but this was the best thing I could get after doing some online editing (click on the photo to see it in full size). It gives you a bit of a sense of where they were in relation to the rest of us. We all watched them from the balcony at the back at the house. This view is looking across the backyard towards the barn. In case you can’t see them, they’re to the left of the barn behind the fence, probably feeling like they’d hit the jackpot (the compost is full of cherries right now). And if you look to the right of the barn, you’ll see farm family member Matt walking towards, yes towards, the bears – hoping to get some good photos. Momma bear caught his scent pretty quick though, stood up on her hind legs and started towards him to check him out. Matt got out of there pretty quick after that.

Bears

This photo is a much better one – taken by Murray (farm family Opa), who has a real camera.  Thanks Murray!

Speaking of real cameras, I need one.  Anyone got a good one lying around they’d like to donate to the farm so we can better document exciting events like this one?  ;)

And now time for our lunch.  Bon appetit!

Nathan & Trish share their trailer reno experience

My friends Nathan and Trish sent me some photos of a trailer they bought and renovated and I thought I’d share their trailer story on this blog. I know the idea of trailer renos has caught the interest of a number of my friends and we all know I need all the info I can get as I start my own trailer project!

In addition to sharing their photos, I thought I’d ask Nathan and Trish a few questions about their own experience:

Q: So, you guys bought a trailer and renovated it.  What inspired you to do this? 
A: Drove to a wedding… saw it on the side of the road.  Pondered it for a couple weeks, then went and bought it… used it on a Long Weekend trip to Tofino a couple weeks later.  And a few times after that including Kelowna & Desolation Sound on Whidbey Island.

Q: What was the extent of your renovations and how long did it take you to complete? 
A: Took a couple of weekends.  We painted the exterior, installed new cupboards (before there were none!), replaced the existing fiberboard counter top with a sweet green, faux wood-grained arborite counter, painted the interior white, reupholstered the cushions and added matching drapes, installed some leftover laminate flooring from a previous reno, and added a retro mirror inside the trailer.

Q: You’ve sold the trailer now.  After your experience, would you do another trailer reno project in the future and if so, is there anything you’d do differently the second time around?
A: We probably would buy a trailer again, but would buy one that started out with more comforts such as a toilet, fridge, running water, suspension!, etc. As for renos, ensure the materials are light and flexible as your RV or trailer, if moved, will flex a certain amount as you travel down the road.

Q: Any words of wisdom for others who are considering getting into the world of trailer renos?  
A: One of our biggest mistakes was not having a place to keep our little trailer. Had we had suitable storage options near home we may have kept it longer, but for us the timing wasn’t right in the short-term.

Thanks for sharing Trish and Nate! Check out Trish’s awesome online travel tips magazine and blog too – she’s got a sweet camping post that could prove helpful for those times you take your trailer out to the woods with you.

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The only ‘before’ shot of the trailer (above).

After_trailer

The new fresh and classic exterior paint job.

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The new green, faux wood-grained arborite counter.

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A peek at the new painted interior walls, recovered seat cushions and added mirror.

gettin’ around to some actual work

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So, as I’ve mentioned before, the 2.5 acres my friends and I are living on used to boast some lovely veggie gardens and a host of farm animals, but beyond some blackberry, blueberry and raspberry bushes, some potted tomatoes and a small container garden of herbs, that farm that once was died off a few years ago. Our goal: to revive it – making it better (and prettier) than ever!

We’re waiting until September (when everyone’s back from summer holidays) to really set out some serious farming plans and get cracking on the work involved, so in the meantime, I thought I’d get my hands dirty by tackling what’s already in need of some TLC – the gasping raspberry bushes that have been getting choked by some seriously overgrown weeds.

I put in a couple hours of weeding on the weekend and have been putting in about an hour each day since then and I’ve still got a long way to go. Those are some serious weeds!  But the fun part (the part that always motivates me with these kinds of projects) is seeing the difference my sweat and itchy arms are making. I’m seeing progress!

My hope is to get all the weeds out and then to lay bark mulch down around the base of the plants to help protect them and retain the moisture they need on these hot summer days (a raspberry plant care trick I learned from my community gardening days in Ottawa).

I was planning on doing some sluething on craigslist for some free/ cheap bark mulch, but yesterday something even better happened. Lesley and Brian (some friends of Julie’s) came by with a truckbed full of free firewood to give us and Brian asked if we ever needed bark chips. Perfect! He’s going to bring a free load by when he’s accumulated a good solid pile.

Can’t wait to get the job done and take some photos of our soon-to-be happy, healthy raspberry patch with the neat and orderly bark chip pathways! Gosh, this kind of stuff sure makes me happy.