Tag Archives: planning

Apr8

The Wedding

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So I haven’t posted anything about the wedding yet.
I had hoped we would be able to have it at the farm, outside, with guests perched on quilt covered hay bales on either side of a petal covered isle, leading to an alter, with an officiant covered in white robes….but we are still miles away from having comfortable spots for guests to sleep, as well as a decent place to cook for more than 10 people. Wouldn’t it be grand, though, to have some kind of celebration there for our tenth anniversary? Maybe that will have to do.

Enter Loreto Aprutino – A tiny town in Italy, only 30 kilometres from the coast, and roughly 2 hours from Rome, is the magical spot chosen for our wedding.
The bride will be dressed, unconventionally, in fuschia and white with white peony’s and a modest veil; the groom in (of course…) an italian suit, looking every bit the Sean Connery stunt double. There will be photo’s taken outside the town hall, and on the beach and in the cafe and ….. and…. and…. yes, there will be photo’s!
In just under a month, I’ll be there, with my sweetie and my world will begin again. A new chapter that I am excited to read in this book I can’t put down.

After our trip, we’ll be getting ready for our journey east once more. Back to the farm for the summer. Building fences, enriching soil, mapping future pastures and starting construction on the house.
I have been making lists for weeks now, and have narrowed down the tasks at hand, counting back from departure date to now, the things that need to be done. My plate is full, but I like it that way. I can feel the bubbling anticipation and it’s hard to sleep.
Tomorrow is Easter. I have an easy plan for the day. A drive in the country, toss around a glider in the park, pizza and a movie, then sleep. Monday the countdown begins. I’m ready.

Mar27

Clover Hill Heritage Farm Photo’s

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Mars Hill wind farm,in Maine, can be seen behind us on the ridge. You can make out sticks on the top of the hill that are the windmills.

As seen from our field, this is the barn, built last summer, but the photo was taken in October when the leaves were changing. Behind it you can see through the trees, is the workshop built the year before.

This guest cottage only had two guests last summer. (it didn’t get finished until August) I hope it gets more use this summer. Great for sleeping when the nights are cool, but it sits out in the open, alongside the orchard and heats up during the day – making it quite stifling midday. Maybe we’ll get to insulating it at some point to make it comfortable no matter the time of day. It needs a coat of paint or stain, and a shade tree beside it. It keeps the rain off and the critters out, though.

I loved the whole process of setting up this little cottage. This one was built off farm, and delivered to us on a flat bed truck. It was amazing watching it being pulled off the truck and slid to the level spot chosen for its' view. The next few will be built by us, a little bigger, hopefully, with room for a small fireplace or cookstove, and perhaps we'll get creative with outdoor solar showers, or in-ground bath-tubs! I would like to make a spot for a fire pit to set up a tri-pod and chain to hang a cooking pot. Maybe set up a little oasis back there for private morning coffee. As with everything, the ideas are evolving.

This Coop is 8' x 10'

The chicken coop window boxes

The chicken coop was more or less finished in 2010. It’s been painted, had flowers planted around it, but the nest boxes aren’t done and neither is their screened-in-run. They will free range, but I want a place for them to go to hide if there are hawks, eagles, racoons, weasels, or any other predator that loves the taste of chicken. It’s large enough for 15-20 chickens (although I will likely only have a dozen) and has a spot that would work well to place a brooder. It is tall enough to place a small loft for feed storage, too.

The window boxes have some kind of ornamental pepper in them and another kind of draping annual of which I don’t know the name. I got them from the garden centre and thought they were pretty. I’ll plant seeds in there before the chickens come, and they will be pansy’s and stocks. The perennials along the side are Monkshood, Lily, Delphinium, and Cranes Bill geranium.

Some of these flowers aren’t good for chickens, if they eat them, so they will be moved in front of the house when it is complete, or donated to a neighbour who doesn’t have chickens. The screened in part will be at the back, away from the window boxes and surrounding a walnut tree there.

Jun13

Packing up the car…..

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Kings Landing

Just outside one of the cottages at Kings Landing New Brunswick

…and heading East!
Under a week, and the trailer will be packed, and we will head off toward the morning sun.
I must admit I am a little overwhelmed with the number of tasks that need to be completed before I go. I am thigh deep in laundry, and have piles of tools, implements, and manuals that will need to find their home at the farm.
The plan is to head out early, stop for breakfast on the road, continue until lunch, then drive again until 2:30 or 3:00 when we will find a hotel with a swimming pool and swim the road off of us.
It should take us 5 or 6 days to arrive in Toronto where we will spend a day or two, pick up my eldest daughter, and get on the road again.
I have arranged the purchase of 8 baby chicks when we arrive in Fredericton. Barred Rocks – speckled black on white, or the other way around, and we will raise those this summer.
I ache for the farm under my feet and all around me more and more each year. I cried when we left last summer. I suspect I will again this year. I’ll let you know.