Home on the Hill

It snowed a bit last night. When I was backing up the trailor to unload the new Iron Remover I ran over a bog that I had inadvertantly made myself. Last summer we graveled part of the road to the house and installed a culvert to drain a wet spot on one side of the road. Unfortunatly I didn't put a culvert on the south side to drain the water away and lo and behold made a beautiful truck trap. Tried the waiting till it freezes trick, but it just didn't get cold enough. So, some shovel work, gravel and a couple of boards ( and some swearing ) later and I got out. Now have plans to put in a culvert and make a new gravel road to the basement ( South ) side of the house. Continuing the packaging rant. And thanks for the suggestions, keep 'em comeing. Here's one I like and tried the other day. When purchasing something like a mouse just take it out of the packaging and leave all the packaging crap at the store. It's not reducing the amount of crap but it gets the message ...

OK rant starts here. I have been doing some thinking lately about sustainable living and how that fits into my life personally and dare I say it - globaly. The straw that broke the proverbial camels back of my personal indifference, although it was probably more like powerlessness. Or perhaps procrastination coupled with lazyness. Anyway here's the packaging from a mouse we bought the other day: And this is what came in the package. The goods. What is the point of so much packaging Who decided that this is a good idea How much of this crap ends up in landfills Why should I care What am I willing to do about it I am spending some time thinking about these questions. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. More ranting to follow. In a loving non-threatening way of course..

We stopped by a friend of mine's today and during our socializing I mentioned that I had always wanted to get an original Cowichan wool sweater. Especially now that the Chinese have started mass producing look a likes. So my friend reached into his closet and came out with a wool sweater that his Mom had knitted for him but it was too big for him and she had made him another one. He selected the loon pattern. He gave it to me and said he was glad it was going to a good home. Which it its. It is something that I will treasure. I wore it home and used it when I went out to do the chucks. And measure the new tire garden. There was a bitter North Easter blowing and I was warm as toast. With my Elmer Fudd hat pulled over my ears. Even the Mizzes , who has glycol for blood put on a pair of wool gloves for the yard expedition. I am starting to get the stuff, sawdust, pex conduit and another 150 tires together for the new expanded "retired" garden on the West side of the house.

Winter that is. I got back from the Coast yesterday after a run that started at 3 am. It was the quickest run yet. No traffic in the Fraser Canyon so that part went fast. Leaving at that time of the morning I was able to get home by 1:30 pm. I was glad to have my road lights installed as there was plenty of deer on the side hills as I went by. Wreckage. I think that the major snow falls are over. Now that its melted it shows where all the crap was that was buried in the snow. Or knocked over by the snow plowing guy. Me. The gravel we put down last summer made a huge difference in the Road. And where we didn't put it, like around the house, it's still a sea of mud. Not much I can do with that before we do the foundation around the house. Then I can dig out the yard add drain rock and build a proper road around the place. One of the problems is that I have natural springs all over the place and one is right in the middle of the front yard. Or backyard - depending on whose telling...

It didn't take to long, like zero minutes before Xena and her friend Ewe were renewing their friendship. I think they both missed going outdoors when ever they wanted. Ewe has been in and out like a YoYo since we got home. I was pleasantly surprised to see the road and the ditch clear and hard. That is untill we got near the house. We never put any gravel on that part of the place last year and now I remember why I had wanted to. I don't want to put any down around the house untill I dig it up to waterproof the basement. We got home to free range chickens. They had managed to work a pop hole loose and were merrily cleaning up the new grass that is starting to show where the snow has melted. And it is melting, slowely. It's -7c today, that's around 20 I beleive for those of you South of the Border. And snowing lightly. I noticed the tops of the tire garden showing through the snow. I will have to take a tromp out to them to see what the temperature is getting t...