Friedensfeld West

The flowers are blooming, the fruit trees are ripening their fruit and everything is bursting with life.

The promise of spring!

Picked our red grapes today. First year the bear didn’t get them...🤨 Usually we are away in October so it’s been a real treat to enjoy this fall weather and all the colours! I thought the vine had a nasty thorn, but then noticed a yellowjacket had sting my hand. Grrrr. #nofilter #redgrapes #ilovefall https://www.instagram.com/p/CVMBIdTPPd6/?utm_medium=tumblr

Mushroom hunting with our son and came across this inky beauty. https://www.instagram.com/p/CUtB5_fPzCq/?utm_medium=tumblr

Aren’t they pretty? If it’s fall in the air it must be soap-making season. This is a 🌲 scented cold-press soap made with green and “white” swirls. Olive oil infused with fir tree needles, coconut oil, sunflower and avocado oil. Coloured with soap colouring and green drink powder. Extra fir scent added. Can’t wait to try it (in 6weeks!) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUdpCHlvsHv/?utm_medium=tumblr

Our harvest of green grapes was very good this year! Well over 4 lbs and so sweet! The red grapes are a bit behind these so will harvest in a week or two.The elderberries are another story. I got a paltry few elderberries this year; the extreme heat we had and drought were very hard on them. They are in their second year and should have done well. In fact I got quite a few blossoms but they burnt off and I couldn’t seem to keep them moist or cool enough to prevent it. (Our local elderberry farm had a similar problem with their second years.) I have high hopes for next year.😉 https://www.instagram.com/p/CUORyeFpCbQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

One side done! While I love spring and all the promise of new growth and the excitement of a new year to (try to) grow things, I also love fall: a time to clean things up for winter, to set things “in order” for the blanket of snow to cover for a season of outdoor rest. Pruning the raspberries is a task I particularly enjoy doing and today is “Labour Day”, a beautiful sunny day with just a hint of autumn in the air so it’s pretty much perfect! https://www.instagram.com/p/CTfJTcQsFSG/?utm_medium=tumblr

Garlic harvest. Now set out for drying/curing. Bulbs are smaller than the ones I planted probably due to our hot and dry spring.

The functional outhouse—still a few finishing touches to go but we are functional! Sawdust for sprinkling over any “deposits”, hand sanitizer and a wash-up station. Still to go? Screening and hanging some windows, some painting left too. But we’ll keep it mostly rustic as it is.

Making progress on the Outhouse. Urinal, urine-diverting seat, and sides pretty much done.

We call it the Apple Tree Arbor! This year we added more river rock, put up some saris and net curtains and some solar lamps to give it a real magical ambience. And with the new deck, this place is peacefully awesome.

The outhouse is coming along fine. With lumber so expensive we are re-using boards from the old deck. Much levelling, testing, fitting and trial by error going on until it’s perfect! Can’t wait til it’s done!

Deck boards in! Now just to space them and secure them down. What a nice space this will be for our guests. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQMeKfaMllz/?utm_medium=tumblr