Tropic of Toronto

When I was a citizen of  Toronto, from time to time I would realize that for Canada, Toronto was a southern destination.  I think it's the same latitude as Denver, or something like that. 

Really....western Canada STARTS level with Thunder Bay, which (for Torontians) is the North...and a great deal of the east is the same.  Southern Ontario doesn't know from cold!

Why do I reflect on this today, you ask?

Because we're going to have a high of freakin' 6C today!  Likely have snow this weekend, just like Calgary's been having.

So, I would tease my fellow Torontonians when they cringed at an unseasonable 12C in May.  Remind them of the the rest of shivering Canada and point out that they were living in the Tropic of Toronto.

Not that I minded.  I loved living in the tropics (apart from heat and smog emergencies...not so much). But it was NICE to have more that 10 weeks of gardening weather, patio weather, where-something-other-than-parkas weather.  Nice, I say.

Sure clean air, breath taking horizons, no traffic jams are great....but so is summer.

Happy weekend everyone.

Rough Day in the Coop

There was a wee Candillo family outing to do the Chick Check this evening.

We refilled the water and marveled at how fast the chicks are growing....the usual.

Just about ready to leave when I noticed one belly up in the back of the corral.  Yup, definitely dead.  That makes two.

Chris lifted it out with the pitchfork...a brief eulogy was completely disregarded as it landed in the burn barrel.

We're looking for patterns in deaths.  The only thing so far is that Dad was doing the Chick Checks prior to each discovery.  We're not pointing fingers...yet.

Forensics are inconclusive.

Cloud Bursts and Bug Guts

Just a little shout out to the short-lived, but fierce cloud burst I drove through this afternoon.  

The intense rain and wipers made short work of the bug guts encrusted on the windshield which was already impeding visibility.  Much easier than the squeegee.

Thanks!

Philosophical Breakfast...

Somehow we got the topic of global warming over rhubarb crisp (hey, it's got oatmeal AND fruit/veggies) this morning.   Dad wondered why melting icecaps will cause rising sea levels.   Ice is denser than water, when it melts, the level doesn't change.  Wasn't that a 7th grade science project?  The glass full of ice and water is currently sitting on the kitchen counter.  Discussions to resume at lunch.

I noticed Peter quietly sitting just looking out the window at the (very) wet and rainy yard.  I was going to ask him if he was okay and then thought..."Why wouldn't he be okay?  Isn't that just as valid as sitting watching TV?"

So, I shared my train of thought.  Dad agreed and pointed out when they were growing up, there was no TV, and only a little radio, so people visited more, worked together more, played cards and generally had more to do with each other.  That doesn't happen anymore.  Neighbours live farther apart as the homesteads disappeared, everyone has TV and internet...no need to visit. 

Ain't technology grand?

UPDATE
The laws of physics remain unchanged from my time in 7th grade...the ice melted and the glass did not overflow. Whew...

UPDATE 2

Clearly science class served me well...ice is LESS DENSE than water.   Duly noted Dad. :)

Never too cold for the first dip of the season

We are fortunate enough to live less than 5 minutes away from Good Spirit provincial park, so we loaded up the kids to go play in the playground and get the season's park pass - this being the iconic May Long Weekend.

It was a GHOST town.  No one taking money at the gate, empty parking lot, no one in the playground...it was that gross of a weekend - everyone had given up.  Poured on Saturday, huge winds on Sunday, overcast morning on Monday...but it cleared up a bit, so we went.

So, the boys were happy for a little while in the park, but inevitably, the beach beckoned.   So the adults huddled in  a sunbeam and the kids had a blast.

Finally pulled the plug when Nathan's lips were blue and Matthew ASKED to put his clothes on.

Remember being a kid and not caring about anything but playing??? 

Ya, so do I.... :)

Getting things done before the rain...

May long weekend ensures it will be rainy.  And so it is...

Before it hit though, the farm gang took full advantage of the beautiful morning.

I headed out to check the chicks (I had forgotten the other morning and had to redeem myself) while my boys were still in bed.  All was well...no squished chicks to report.  Just thirsty.

On the way back I was invited to go on the morning cattle check with Peter and Dad.  Sure...why not?  So we drove around...confirmed there were cows in the fields, a few people teeing off on the golf course, the water level is too high in the lake, the ducks' nest is no more (whether due to hatching or attack is unclear), the juice is flowing on the electric fence (Peter gets to test that) and three carloads of people had arrived to fish in the channel going through our sections.  Oh...and witnessed the first few minutes of a new calf wobbling to his/her feet.  Awww....  All this by 9:30 in the morning.

Returned to find Auntie Nicole and the boys had surfaced...they headed out as I headed in to eat.  After tidying up, I pulled on my coveralls (hugely attractive) and went out again.

Chris and Dexter took a ride on the quad to check out the fishing action, came back and fired up the rider mower.  They were set for the morning.

I was issued some pruning shears and took care of a maple stump that was getting right out of control...didn't stand a chance. 

Next on the list was flipping the hay in the chick corral.  They've gone from ardorable fluffy cute chicks to molting toddlers with a dirty hay issue.  After a panicked few minutes on their part, the poop was flipped and out of sight.  Tick that off the list.

Dad was planting in the greenhouse (former, really...as the recent windstorms ripped the plastic siding off of it, it's now a raised bed garden).  I pitched in with watering it to the point of looking like a rice paddy.   Apparently that is just perfect.

As the rain arrived, I hustled over to the main garden to gather some of the prolific rhubarb already taking over part of the big garden.  A request for crisp had been made...must do something with all the growth. (Add "Search for other rhubarb recipes" to my list).

In the meantime, Peter was weed whacking the yard, Nicole was doing her random junk-hauling and Julia was puttering in her corner of the garden.

And then...the deluge began...and that was the end of outside time.

Now crisps have been made, Dexter's nap has been had, blogging ensues and surfing for acceptable cartoons is underway.

Happy Soggy Long Weekend Everyone!

You gotta be fast!

I was on Chick Check this morning.  It's the very arduous task of making sure they are

1. still there,
2. have food  and
3. top up the water.

Once the incubating phase is over, they will be split into two groups.  50 to Team Peter, 50 to us - Team Candillo.  Part of the summer fun is to see how many survive out of each group - farm excitement. But for now, it's one big (little?) chick herd.

I opened the coop door to a flurry of excited chirping. So far, so good.  One little guy was motionless in the straw, but upon nudging, turned out to be a sleeper-in-er.

Plenty of feed, so I took out the water - a big inverted jug with a basin screwed on the bottom - to refill it.

Upon my return, I was about to place it back in the corral only to notice a squished chick right in the middle of the circle marking the water jug's spot.  Poor little guy wasn't fast enough.  You gotta run!

Chick count...99

Must speak to Dad at lunch - He-Who-Installed-the-Chicks.  Which team's count does this one come out of?

PS.  I was very stoic and dealt with the remains all by myself - coop is right next to the burn barrel.

In my heart...

...I have been blogging daily and captivating all 3 of my readers with tales of recent adventures.

Karen and Mac's Wedding, the Calgary road trip, Day at the Zoo, How We Spent FOUR Hours in the Pool on our Holiday...all of it.

In reality, I am a fair weather blogger.  Opportunity, time and energy MUST coincide.

Hey..what's that?!?!?!  The WALL.  And I just hit it.  Hope to do more soon.

'night!

Moose crap

...for those who were curious. 

You can thank me later.

Growing like crazy!

With scorching almost 30C days, the garden seeding is well ahead of schedule.

This is sure to be tormenting Mom as she is city-locked with her grandson Andrew in Calgary as his mom Karen and new step-dad Mac are off on their honeymoon.  Everyone makes sacrifices for mom.

The peas have already poked their tender shoots forth, the rhubarb is borderline monstrous and we had our first feed of asparagus today...yum!

The seedling plants have been released from their basement dungeon and installed into the lap of luxury in the back of the red pickup truck to acclimatize to the great outdoors.  No need to move them in and out...just drive the truck into the garage if need be.  Genius idea by Dad.

Peter's been rototilling like a crazy man, Nicole mowed for 8 straight hours today (yes, on a rider lawn mower), and there was a potato planting fest this afternoon.

Even got some mushroom huntin' in...Dad 1, Michele 0, Peter 12.  He's like a truffle pig...very skilled in finding the morels. I found mosquitos and I think I grabbed a stinging nettle.  Not so skilled...

So cute and fluffy...

100 new chicks arrived today.  From cardboard box in the front seat to little chick corral in the coop...they're settling in.

Dexter was very concerned about finding their mommies.  He wanted to go right away to find them.  He remains unconvinced that they do not require milk and they can flourish in the dubious care of people.

Of course they can...for about four months.