Monday 8 April 2013

Up and Down

Up and down goes the thermometer.  The greenhouse was +27C yesterday afternoon and then all the way down to -14C overnight.  URGH.  Not sure that my newly planted seeds will like that steep variance!    I've planted only cool weather crops as of yet, but -14C is tough for even brassicas and greens to take (especially at the tender stage of sprouting).  Oh well, time will tell.  If I have to reseed, so be it.  We really need to get a larger heat sink in the greenhouse to hold and release some heat over the cold night temperatures.

Today is Monday and that means it's weekly list day.  I didn't get everything crossed off the list last week, but as usual, many other things were added and attended to.  A list is really only a jumping off point isn't it?  LOL!   My days all seem to unfold uniquely so I hold my plans loosely...    For instance, just this morning, I was able to suddenly secure some fertile Blue Orpington eggs which meant that I needed to drive the 2 hour round trip to pick them up.    I could have had them shipped, but I want them to hatch out close to when our live chick order arrives on the 25th.   That way, we don't have different batches of chicks at different stages/ages for weeks on end.  It's so much simpler to have them all together in the same brooder roughly at the same age.  The incubator is warming up now and I plan to put the eggs in shortly.  With any luck, we should have baby Blue Orpingtons hatch out on or around the 29th of April.

This week's list (so far):

buy chick feed and wood shavings
plant another round of seeds
finish all homework by end of Thursday
set up clipboards
touch up paint
swimming lesson registrations
plan celebratory supper for Friday night
arrange childcare for Saturday afternoon
orthodontist appt (Wednesday)
call for appt with mechanic (Tuesday?)
pick up freecycle sawhorses
shop for Grandma and deliver
coop maintenance
pick up library holds
pick up worms (Thursday?)
hang pictures in basement
pantry and fridge freezer inventory
Costco run (Thursday?)

In other exciting news, our son, Ian arrives home Thursday following a 3 month scuba diving course in Thailand.  He is now a Dive Master!   We miss him and can't wait to see him again.  He's happy to be coming home to see everyone and this weekend will be FULL of celebrating, I'm sure.


Here he is right before he left in early January...  He'll be tanned now after 3 months in a swimsuit - I'll post a picture when he's home :)

I'd better sign off - I've got LOTS to do before Thursday!









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2 comments:

  1. Meggie9 April 2013 at 05:15

    Your post got me to thinking how you could keep your greenhouse warm and not break the bank, so to speak. I did some google searching, and there are ideas. I just don't know if they would help in your low temperatures. I'm sure you will figure out something in the coming year. I read something about black painted plastic barrels, filled with water and stacked on top of each other.

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    1. Little Home In The Country9 April 2013 at 08:58

      Yes, Meggie - water barrels make excellent heat sinks. We're going to install them elevated on supports (fed directly from the gutters) so that I can have the benefit of gravity on my side. They will drain out by way of soaker hoses into the greenhouse beds. Also, we've investigated a solar powered fan that sucks hot air in the daytime from the top of the inside of the greenhouse and pumps it down (through a plastic pipe) under the pathway which will be a deep layer of rock or brick. Rock and brick make great heat sinks, too.

      Hubby is currently working 6 days a week and is gone 14 hours/day for a project at work. His one day off is spent trying to recover from that so we are taking things nice and slow on those days... I don't want to see him working his tail off on his ONE day off :) Poor guy. We'll figure something out but by the time do it won't be needed until fall :)

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