Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
I’ve been working on my rock dams this week. My goal is to take one wheelbarrow load–a light load–of potato stones down the driveway to rebuild the dams to stop erosion. Yesterday I actually did two loads. Today I didn’t want to do any… Continue Reading “A Funny Type of Breed”
Last week several mornings started out with heavy fog. Once the fog dissipated, the skies were very blue–the deep vivid blue that occurs only in the autumn. The trees are just beginning to get some color. The temperature has been both cool and hot… Continue Reading “A Hint of Autumn”
Yesterday there was a strong possibility of seeing the Northern Lights so I went outside at around 11 p.m. in the hope that I would see them. Usually the Northern Lights are low on the horizon and on our hill surrounded by forest we… Continue Reading “A Ruff Night Out”
EJ and I had a very quiet weekend. He was going to go to a gun show with his friend on Saturday, mostly just to hang out. EJ invited me to come along because he enjoys being with me, but I figured that he… Continue Reading “Garden Chickens”
Yesterday the weather was very beautiful. So I decided to mow the lawn. I usually like to mow early in the day when the morning is still fresh and cool. However, yesterday I had to wait until about noon because there was heavy dew… Continue Reading “The Knife”
The clouds were thick and low-hanging today. It was cool and misty all day today–rainy enough to need windshield wipers on, but not rainy enough to drum on the roof of our house. Weather like today always reminds me of the old children’s poem,… Continue Reading “After the Storm”
We had severe storms during last night. I woke once to the sound of heavy rain tap-tap-tapping on the skylight in the bathroom but I fell back to sleep again. In the morning I heard that trees were down and many people lost their… Continue Reading “The Eighth Chicken”
Miracle of miracles, it actually began to rain Friday night and it continued into Saturday. Just before 6 am on Saturday morning, I heard thunder and thought, “Well, no sense getting up now since I’m not going to let the chickens out of the… Continue Reading “Our Garden Stockade”
I didn’t sleep well Friday night–I only got about four hours of sleep–so I was tired all day Saturday. However, EJ and I still stayed up late last night to watch the Perseid meteorite shower, which occurs every August at this time. We dragged… Continue Reading “Finding Josette”
I feel as if I am moving very slooooowly this week. I’m getting a few tasks done, but slooooowly. If we had been real homesteaders, we would have butchered our ducks to eat. By “we,” I actually mean EJ. I was born and raised in a… Continue Reading “Chickens and Other Critters”
Because today was forecasted to be very hot, our plan was to work outside in the cool of the morning and then go into the air-conditioned house and work on the floor in the afternoon. Days don’t always go according to plan. I slept… Continue Reading “Coop Redesigned”
In the last couple of years, EJ’s friend has become interested in roller derby. He thinks it’s a fun sport, he likes the action and camaraderie between players and teams, and he’s amazed at the team members’ skating ability. Because he enjoys the sport… Continue Reading “Small Town Outlaws vs Shipwreck Alley”
EJ had to work Saturday, which is only the second time he’s had to work on a weekend at this company. This is totally different from EJ’s company downstate where he had to work seven days a week for months without a break. Poor… Continue Reading “The Repairman”
Yesterday as soon as EJ left for work, I quickly took my shower and ate breakfast because EJ had told me that the septic guys were expected to arrive before 8:30 a.m. I waited as the hours passed and they still hadn’t arrived so… Continue Reading “The North Post”
This morning was cool and I actually wore a sweater when I went out to do my morning chores. It did warm up later in the day, but it did not become hellishly hot like the last several days. Our bodies feel battered by… Continue Reading “Refreshing…”