Duck Mountain Provincial Park

Even just preparing this post has left me close to tears. It’s hard to contemplate how life might have gone and what a blessing it is that it didn’t. We decided in May that we would try camping as part of Dick’s recovery from the March stroke, one, three night trip, per summer month. Due to COVID-19 our options were limited. We were allowed to stay in a provincial campground but it had to be one close to our home. There were also a bunch of rules and regulations about reserving on line in advance, not going into the ranger station/campground office and very minimal services where people might end up getting too close. We were advised we had to bring all our own toiletries and have proper footwear if we wanted to use the showers. We were also not allowed to shop in any nonlocal stores along the way. We were supposed to bring everything we needed. Since we own a travel trailer, we were prepared to be entirely self sustained and we knew we would not need to use any of the park washrooms.

We picked Wellman Lake in Duck Mountain Provincial Park for our June trip. One of the rules is you are not supposed to go so far that if you need a hospital, you are not going to one you would not normally attend. Since Dick was in the Dauphin Hospital after his stroke, Duck Mountain Provincial Park seemed like a good bet. Wellman Lake is one of three campgrounds in Duck Mountain. We had been there once years ago at Child’s Lake. We picked Wellman because we had never been there before and the campground is on two lakes Wellman and Glad Lake. Glad Lake is a small no power boat lake and looked especially promising for our first canoe ride in over a year and two major illnesses ago. 

One thing I did not take into account is that from just north of Grandview to the campground is all gravel road. Most of it was well maintained but there were a few rough spots and it was gravel. This mean our maximum speed with the trailer was only about 70 km/hr (45m/hr). It was slow going and Duck Mountain is mostly heavy woods with lots of little lakes. This meant very little to see. Plus it is logged in certain parts in a controlled fashion and there is also a lot of gravel harvesting. This meant there was a lot of big truck traffic on those gravel roads. Fortunately the trip was uneventful. The first thing I noted on arrival on our huge campsite, was glorious boreal forest bluebells. I’ve seen a lot of bluebells but this particular variety was brand new to me. Wild onion and wood roses were also in bloom everywhere around our campsite.

The second thing I noticed was one of our underside access pipes for winterizing our fresh water system had been hit by gravel and cracked. This mean the water we added began pouring out on the ground as soon as we started the pump and no chance for it to pressurize. Fortunately, we’ve dealt with this one before so it took me only ten minutes to pull off the offending part and fix it with a spare cap. We are kind of fanatical about spares of everything. Whenever we have to fix something we always get spares. I now have ‘only’ four spare caps left for the water system. Dick did the rest of the trailer set up while I did the repairs. This included cleaning cat vomit. Klinger apparently got motion sick, as he sometimes does, I suspect due to the gravel. I figured I had the better deal of those jobs.

We were tired from the long drive so we decided to have dinner at the little lodge. We ate on the patio. It was a plain but very well prepared huge burger and real homemade fries. They even had a gluten free bun for me. We took a long hike along Glad Lake in the evening. Misty was beyond thrilled. Walks are her favourite thing to enjoy. That involved some steep up and down and a lot of rough terrain over roots and rocks. Dick managed it very well. He went slowly and carefully, picking his footing, and we all enjoyed the walk. He only began to fall backwards once at a very steep part but he caught himself and got upright again even as I put my hand on his back. In some ways it made me feel little sad because in familiar territory I can hardly tell he had a stroke. On this walk I was reminded that while he has recovered to a remarkable, near miraculous degree, he isn’t all the way back yet. I look forward to seeing how much he has improved again on our next trips.

The main impression of nature I got on the hike was stunning green, green ferns of all sorts many I had never seen before. The wildflowers were everywhere. There were surprisingly few birds. Boreal forest is not the habitat most birds like. Birds generally prefer open parkland with some gentler woods. We did hear the incessant screaming monkey cry of the pileated wood pecker. We saw grebes, ducks and ravens and as a special treat, the sight and long call of the common loon. We sat around a campfire and we talked and talked. We talked about how the stroke had felt from both our perspectives and we shared some more intimate feelings about it than we had to date. It was a good talk for both of us.

We went to bed early. It was still light because it was the longest day of the year but we were both really tired. I checked my telephone and I was horrified to find there was no cell service out here. This gave me a sense of panic. If he had another stroke how would I call for help? I talked myself out of the panic by reminding myself he’s stable and there’s no reason for him to have another stroke. There is a nearby ranger station with a land line if I need it. I felt angry that had risked this but then reminded myself what the doctor in hospital said. He’s 76 and he’s had two strokes so we need to think about quality not quantity of life. There is not much quality to wrapping him in cotton and refusing to go anywhere out of fear of lack of cell phone service. The sense of panic faded and I was able to fall asleep. I think we were both far more tired than we realized because we both slept a solid ten hours. That is extremely unusual for us. It was a healing sleep.

We got up and took Misty for another walk and then we left her in the trailer with Klinger (the air conditioner set even though the trailer was sitting in shade) and we went to Glad lake. This was our first canoe ride in a very long time and first since the carotid artery dissection and the March stroke. I was a little nervous but Dick managed just fine. The boat launch had a nice shallow beach and a dock and he was able to get in and out with little effort. The darn left leg had to be lifted out with his two hands because it was a little too high but he did it. He sat down and stood up without help. We paddled about the lake for in a big circle for over an hour enjoying every precious of minute of the experience. We finished with ice cream at the lodge.

That evening we had another campfire and another long deep sleep. Dick got up once to look for northern lights but the sun is very quiet now going into its minimum so there weren’t any. The weather forecast was for hot (well by Manitoba standards hot at 26C (81F)) with no breeze. We decided to take the canoe out again early and this time take Misty along. We went to Wellman Lake which allows motor boats and sea-dos and things we generally try not to canoe around. It was midweek and early so we had the lake to ourselves except for some fishermen trolling far away. The view wasn’t as nice because Wellman Lake has lots of cottages but we enjoyed being out canoeing again so much. It felt like a miracle to be able to be doing this.

Misty was mostly well behaved but she kept giving us these looks of total disgust like she could not figure out why we would bother to do this crazy boring thing when there were walks and stuff to sniff instead. She started getting hot in the canoe and complaining so we turned around and headed back spending only about forty-five minutes on the water paddling. We returned to our camp site and spent a couple of hours planning our second book together. During the heat of the afternoon we napped. Even Klinger seemed to enjoy himself watching dragon flies outside the window. After that we went for a drive and sat on the shore watching the sea-doers race about and people on the beach. Misty had a swim at the dock which was nice for her in the heat. We had a quiet dinner in our trailer, with two more short hikes, before and after. This was much more to Misty’s satisfaction and we had another early bedtime. I can’t get over how much sleeping we did.

The forecast on our return day was for thunderstorms and rain by noon. We were on the gravel road heading home by 8:00am. We made a brief stop on Dauphin for brunch, groceries and some odds and ends for the greenhouse and pool. Since we normally shop in Dauphin anyway it did not break the “no shopping in nonlocal stores on your trip” rule. We got home well ahead of the rain. At suppertime, a thunderstorm rolled in and dumped a perfectly lovely 18mm (7/10 inch) of warm summer rain in a long easy shower. That was a perfect end to a perfect summer break.

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Building a Greenhouse – Part 2

My greenhouse project is coming along. The progress is slow because I will not let myself work on it until I am caught up on my other yard chores. This is a very busy time of year for the garden and lawn. It has been dry so I have had a lot of watering to do. We’ve just had two days of lovely light rain allowing me to devote a good block of time and get two of my three planned shelves in.

What have I accomplished since my first post on this? I have finished all the interior and cross bracing. I have put in strips to attach the polycarbonate waiting in my garage. I have two shelves. One shelf is low and my plan is it will be a place to plant lettuce and radishes at the beginning and end of the season when the sun is very low. The space between the first shelf and second is the height of my tallest tomato plant before they went into the garden this summer. I have as much shelf space there are all the space I had in my little pop up greenhouse. The second shelf is just right for seedlings. I can hang some plants in the middle if I want to. The opposite side will be a kitchen counter height shelf. I am going to use some leftover smooth lumber from my pantry project and this will be my work area. I can use the area under my work bench for taller plants like peppers or beans. Somewhere in there I will put some storage space too.

I have two vents built on and I have special temperature sensitive hinge latch affairs that will open and close with the temperature to provide ventilation and prevent overheating. I intend to add that brown half rain barrel by the garage at the end opposite door to help regulate the temperature inside on cool nights. I think I will be adding some gutters and eaves troughs to catch rain. We shall see. The cost of this greenhouse has crept up to about $1000. I suspect it will be $1200 or so by the time I am finished. That’s still far less than the $4000 for the dream greenhouse and this one is designed exactly how I want it.

Dick is repainting our wooden Adirondack chairs from two years ago. He paints while I work on the greenhouse. Those chairs were getting pretty worn looking. Rather than throw out the little bit of primer he had left, he started priming my greenhouse. If it has all white wood, more light will defuse for the plants. All the wood at ground level is treated but he’s concerned if the greenhouse is high humidity the bare wood might start rotting so a coat of paint will add protection. He’s promised to finish the priming as soon as I get the interior completed. It’s such blessing that he can be painting a mere three months after his stroke.

My container garden is doing very well this year. I am imagining having the greenhouse built by the fall and I can move my containers in there to extend the season. We are eating zucchini, radishes and greens now. My cucumbers are blooming and the raspberries are full of bees. I am having so much fun with my little greenhouse project.

Storm Season – One Eye on the Sky

This is today’s Environment Canada thunderstorm outlook. This whole thunderstorm prediction page is new for Canadians. Until recently, there was little to no monitoring of  severe storms and even less warning. I did a post about that back in 2014. Back then I pointed this out:

“The Canadian system of forecasting tornados is so primitive that professional storm trackers from the USA consider finding and tracking a tornado in Canada to be the ultimate test of their ability because they get so little help.”

Canada’s one and only confirmed F5 tornado in Elie touched down without anyone at Environment Canada noticing until someone called them to tell them it was happening. Even if Environment Canada noticed, they had no way to warn the public in those days because well….it was Friday evening and everyone had gone out to the lake.

Much of this has changed. There are still issues with storm warnings. In 2014, a storm crossed over from Detroit into Windsor with no warning. I was actually awake watching this particular storm system on radar and I could see it was dangerous. The folks at NOAA were going crazy with red patches all over the map. A local private weather forecasting and warning system known as Ontario Tornado sent out warning tweets to those lucky enough to have their ap. There was silence out of Environment Canada, not even a watch, as tornados pummelled life. There was a lot of justifiable outrage from the Canadian public over that one. When bad things happen in Ontario the government will fix a problem the west of Canada has been complaining about for decades and we finally got our national AlertReady system.

During the Alonsa tornado of 2018 which actually crossed our property, hit with EF4 strength and killed Jack Furrie, 77. The tornado arrived with no local AlertReady warning because MTS-Bell had recently done “upgrades”. In spite of three months of complaints from residents, including official ones from local government officials like our Reeve, Stan Asham, they were apparently totally unaware their “upgrades” had ended all local cell service. Mr Furrie had a landline and he knew people would not be getting the cell phone warning. He also had no basement so fleeing was his only option. He died fleeing to his truck after spending too much telephoning warnings to his neighbours. (If there is a special place in heaven for those who give their lives savings others, Mr Furrie is there.) Meanwhile, the rest of Manitoba all knew Alonsa was being hit by the tornado. Environment Canada was spot on the job that day and they started issuing warnings almost half an hour before the tornado touched down. On the bright side (yes, I say this with heavy sarcasm) Bell-MTS did finally get our local cell phone service working.

And so June has arrived and tornado season is on us. Today we have to keep one eye on the sky and be situationally aware. The sky is already covering with floating popcorn balls that typically indicate severe storms might happen later in the day. My first chore for this morning is to double check the stuff in our tornado shelter/storage closet and make sure we’re ready, just in case.

In March, we developed indoor drips on the south side of the house. Our neighbour is a retired roofer and he came over even though it was nearing 10:00pm. He and I together got up on the roof and we cleared off some ice dams. He told us we needed a new roof. This May he installed it. Once it was all done he posed for us with his fiddle. We were expecting something like a rousing round from Fiddler on the Roof. Our cultural differences became immediately apparent as they sometimes do around here. He’s Metis and he played Devil Went Down to Georgia. We enjoyed it anyway.

He told us yesterday our new roof, made with all the best possible, highest quality of ice and water underlay and finest shingles Canada makes, combined with his skillful application, can take any hailstorm nature cares to throw at us. I find that comforting as I watch the sky although you must excuse me if I hope we never get to test his boast.

“A fiddler on the roof? Sounds crazy, no? But every one of us is a fiddler on the roof!”

And that is especially true during severe storm season.

Building a GreenHouse – Part 1

I have wanted my own greenhouse for as long as I can recall. To me, greenhouses were places of peace and quiet and the bigger the better. At about age 14 or so I created a place in the basement crawlspace and raised plants on an old door under some lights. It was a truly wonderful but rather short experience. It was the start of my love of gardening, an addiction I have never recovered from. Every time I thought of getting myself my own greenhouse there was always something better and more urgent to spend the money on. So I made due with small portable greenhouses such as my pop up 6X6 tent (I found at a church bizaar for $5.00) and the little $40 four shelf one that fits so nicely on my deck.

Spring was unusually cool though not record breaking. I used my greenhouses daytime but for many nights had to bring plants indoors for the nights. This picture was April 26, 2019 which shows how cold our spring often is.

This year I am finally doing it. A big wind came and knocked over my pop-up tent greenhouse and I lost some tomato plants. I was so upset. I reasoned, well, if I can’t get a real greenhouse when I am retired and no longer traveling, when am I ever going to get one? I started shopping. My dream come true one is made in British Columbia and is aluminum and polycarbonate. However, at a mere $4000 and arriving still needing to be put together, I decided I could do better trying something by myself.

After a lot of youtube video and pininterest research I had my plan. I started with this kit from Amazon. It is a basic 2X4 construction kit with end fitting thingies so you only need to cut straight edges. It looked like something I could manage myself. I then bought the lumber they said I would need. (The frame sits on treated wood which you can not see in the picture.) The frame will be covered by polycarbonate sheets that are no where near as strong as the plywood exterior the shed was designed for. To account for that, I am adding lots of extra screws. I am also planning extra cross pieces. I am going to build in my greenhouse shelving so the shelves add to the strength of the frame as well. (I got that idea from this video by Mike Montgomery of Modern Builds.) I made careful note of two major criticisms of Mike’s build in the comments. I have plans for ventilation and I used some two foot rebar spikes to avoid lack of ground anchoring. I even found polycarbonate sheets at 25% at our local Co-op home hardware. So far I have spent just under $800 for the supplies.

I also decided to leave the bottom open and not have a floor after seeing several videos where that ground space was used to grow cold hardy plants like carrots and lettuce in during early spring and late fall in places like Alaska. Since my home is way up near the 51st parallel and is as cold as Alaska, I’ll take whatever I can get in the way of season extensions.

How is it going? The frame is taking shape and I am really pleased! It wasn’t hard so far and I have even been having fun! The directions on the kit are very clear and easy to follow and it works. I am measuring twice and cutting once . (So far.) This is what it looks like as of today. I am working at a slow pace doing an hour or two a day. It is my retirement hobby project after all and I don’t want to work too hard. I’ll keep updating as I go.

I added this picture of one my soft sided flower pots simply because I am so pleased with how pretty it looks. The pansies and marigolds I grew myself from seed. (Now off to get caught up on my weed whacking.)

 

Vegetable Garden Update

In Manitoba we don’t go from winter to spring to summer. We go from winter to summer with hardly even a few days to catch our breath in between. After the frost last Friday night, summer came roaring in with temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s. (80s for my American readers.) I took full advantage of this abrupt warming to get my garden in. Maybe I should say my gardens, plural, because I have more than one. I have a tradition dirt patch in one corner of my yard. That is where I started gardening when we moved here some years ago. At the time I moved in, it had almost gone back to grass. A neighbour with a huge tractor came in and worked it up and I’ve been battling the grass ever since. I use this patch for larger crops usually potatoes and corn. Last year we had a cob with a corn borer in it so this year I went for potatoes, onions, cucumbers and a row of mixed carrots lettuce and radishes.

I then have two small gardens with cedar board edging. One contains my strawberry plants. For some reason this winter was really hard on them and very few survived. I am at a loss because the winter was not that cold. it might be the way winter came so fast, before the leaves fell off the trees and the plants were caught off guard. I dug up the plants that survived, cleaned out all the grass, put in fresh soil and fertilizer, and replanted the strawberries. I am hoping they will send out runners and refill the space but I will be very surprised if I get any strawberries this year. I am also considering making these beds into raised beds to try to keep the grass out.

I have an herb box with perennial herbs and oddments. I also started taking seed from my asparagus plant and planting in the box and wonder of wonder, two baby asparagus have started. In intend to keep this up and if we get enough I can devote the entire box to asparagus. Asparagus has no trouble competing with our prairie grasses. It acts like a native and rapidly takes over. I also had a lovely perennial oregano which was, like he strawberries, decimated this winter. I thought it was gone entirely but a small bit is coming up in one corner. I cleaned out the grass and filled the rest of the space with onions, celery, and parsley. The shortages we had due to the COVID-19 have thoroughly spooked me and I am worried about the predicted second wave. I planted more and I planted that which I use. Celery and parsley are staples in many of my soups and stews and both freeze and dry beautifully for winter use. The dandelions are really thick this time of year but I always let them go to seed in the lawn because the American gold finches love the seed and hubby dearest loves the bright cheerful yellow color of both the birds and the dandelions. In a few weeks they will vanish into the green grass.

I also have two large cedar enclosed gardens in a particularly sunny spot. One, against the garage, is for my tomatoes and one is mixed peppers and seed vegetables. I had a large amount of garlic I had started from seed three years ago in my herb bed. It grew up but was getting really crowded so this year I broke up all the tiny garlic plants and spaced them out. With luck I can use these some of the garlic plants for pickles. The rest will keep over winter in the garden. The balance of the mixed garden is the usual lettuce varieties, spinach, beans, radishes, carrots and beets. It’s not a lot of them but then with just two of us, we don’t need a lot. If I get any excess I can always freeze or can it.

Because of the corn borers I had last year I am planting my corn over in one of the community raised garden boxes. These were put in with a community grant for seniors some years ago and they are all used. I said I would take a box only if no one else wanted it and fortunately for my corn, one box was free. Having battled corn borers in the past I know a one year break from corn should mean next year it is safe to plant corn again.

Finally I have my containers. I grow several things in containers, especially my zucchini squash. I already have some tiny squash! Last year I also purchased six marigold plants and stuck them in odd spots and they did seem to work keeping bugs away. Even if they didn’t, they were so cheerful and bright looking. This year I started five dozen marigolds from seed indoors and I have popped them anywhere there was space.

This year I added extra tomato, pepper and peas and I did a little experiment with a container having a mix of peas, lettuce, carrots, radishes, beets, spinach and a few onions. The idea was to get a jump on the homegrown veggies by starting some indoors. I’ve already pulled all the onions. Yesterday I harvested enough spinach and a few radishes for a nice snack. As the radishes get pulled there will be more room for the carrots and beets. I can eat beet greens with the spinach. So far it has been worth the fuss and it’s felt fun doing it.

A few years ago I had a container garden and planted a single potato in one container. I didn’t think anything came of it until I dumped the soil and discovered, to my astonishment that the container was packed full of potatoes. So I trying that again. I am also doing two containers of peas, one a regular variety and one edible pod snow peas. I’ve never had good luck with peas. I’ve never harvested enough for a meal. So I feel I have nothing to lose trying a container dedicated to peas. I have one just for a mix of green and yellow bush beans. I also made some extra containers of peppers and tomatoes. I have a container of cucumbers I am hoping will give enough to eat. We’ve had two very cool springs and very late frosts so I am chary about what fall will bring. Last year, winter came in with a harsh blast very fast and very early. I am hoping that if winter comes in early, or even earlier, this year I can at least move some pots into a safe place and get a little more of my own veggies.

So far the year has begun well if a little cold and late. Last year was cold and exceptionally dry and my garden was poorly at best. Gardeners are eternal optimists. Maybe this year will be better and maybe by having a variety of gardens, I will also have of my own veggies for a longer stretch of time.