Monday 21 May 2012

In no particular order...



 Re-worked the garden plan on the fly ~ it's impossible to predict "reality" on paper...


Soaking peas (of the nibbling and fragrant varieties)


Marvelled at my genius husband who installed this incredible automatic opener on a greenhouse vent that he made.  It's very smart and it knows exactly at what temperature to open and let the heat out all by itself.  Apparently, I can be a little forgetful.  

*ahem*

The little "note" on the vent is to remind curious children NOT to touch...  he knows them well.



Celebrating the first tomato blossoms in the greenhouse ~ oh my!




Inhaled the absolutely intoxicating scent of our mayday tree.  7 days of bliss that's worth a whole year of waiting...


Wondered how she could possibly be old enough to learn how to drive.



Was impressed (once again) at my husband's ability to "whip up" what we need with what we have on hand.  For those who want to know - it's 2 sheets of 4'x8' plywood attached at a 90 degree angle and secured inside with 2x4's around the perimeter.  A door, some roosts, a vent, some flashing, and an area for nesting boxes at the other end (to come when the pullets start laying in a few months).  Stain was leftover from the coop build 2 years ago.


Greeted the fruit tree blossoms with unbridled enthusiasm ~ it astounds me that these trees can survive -30C for months on end and non-chalantly bloom again EVERY spring.




Planted most of the main garden (potatoes still left to plant).  Brassicas are under the row cover to keep the dreaded cabbage moths off.  They're out already!



Received a lovely new apron all the way from Australia (thanks, Marnie!)



Set a celebratory table for our Daughter-In-Love's birthday dinner



which (of course) included some Mayday blossoms!

How was YOUR week?



9 comments:

  1. What a really interesting post - my husband is fascinated by the automatic vent opener, very clever husband you have. The whole post is filled with joy and celebration and I thoroughly enjoyed it - your Mayday tree is very beautiful - and Happy Birthday to your Daughter-in-Love!

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  2. Congrats Kelly, that is genius!

    Sherri, are mayday flowers the mayflowers Anne (of Green Gables) picked?

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  3. Such a nice week! And yes, your husband is a genius! congrats to your daughter for driving! And exciting to have a daughter-in-law to celebrate. love,andrea

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  4. What a happy post filled with so many events of love. Congratulations to your very inventive husband. I would love to know how the vent works. The moths seemed to be out in full force this year. They got in my greenhouse and did a lot of damage. Great photo of your daughter!

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  5. Thanks all :) My husband bought the opener mechanism on eBay. He made the vent hatch, assembled it with the opener, cut the opening in the wall of the greenhouse and installed the whole "shebang" :) The opener works on the principle of expansion. The wax inside the tube heats up and pushes the rod out which opens the vent. We can adjust the temperature that it opens at by turning the rod. Currently, when the greenhouse hits 80 deg, it opens. When combined with windows open on either end, we can get a good cross breeze going and avoid cooking the plants :)

    Rose, I believe the Mayflowers you speak of (Anne's pick :) ) are actually wildflowers here in Canada - a false Lilly of The Valley :)

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  6. I totally agree with what others have said - joy just radiates from your last few posts!! Thanks so much for the info on your chicken tractor, too :)
    -Jaime

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  7. I too love to make things from the stuff I have already...your hubby is so handy!

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  8. I see that you have John Seymour's Self Sufficient Gardener. I'm a Seymour groupy and have almost everything he wrote. He didn't have to contend with your deep winters, though, Good luck with the new growing season, ours is just heading into the winter frosts,

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  9. Thanks, yes hubby IS terrifically handy :)

    Cassie, oh YES - I DO love Seymour.... been studying him for 15 years!

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