we had a couple of super hot days last week and one afternoon i took a quick walk to the river - it takes a few minutes - there's home circled in red ;-)
you can see some ruts in the road... there are some low lying and soggy spots that require more drainage. i figured it was a good day to start. in the below pic you can see the water across the road just before the shore. the ditch on the right hand side is today's little project as water trickles from the left to the right.
here is a better pic as it nears the river.
and right where it meets the river grass has created a dam. the drop is about a foot which is significant.
here is a close-up, nothing a few minutes with the shovel can't fix!
and sure enough water starts to flow!!
i let that get started and walked around a bit to enjoy the ice melting.
i came back, cleared some more debris and stomped it down a bit to make a solid channel. i got my first soaker of the year!!! my mom will appreciate that as a sign spring has arrived, i ALWAYS had wet feet in march ;-)
the right hand ditch needs a bit more effort - yep, i chose the easy job this day - you can see the canoe ready to go fishing when the season starts - can't wait!!!
on the way back, i found some tracks - either a HUGE deer or a moose - can't tell for sure but it's always nice to see the visitors leave their trail.
hope everyone is having a great spring!!!!
cheers!
great job, take a walk, move some dirt, get some sun, find kymber's tracks as she is running wild naked through the woods. ah life is good...;)
ReplyDeleterob:
Deleteyou should know as well as anyone that one NEVER makes fun of a woman's feet ;-)
life is awesome - thanks for stopping by!!
hey Rob, buddy - i got the tiniest feet known to man! girl's size 3! that's why i can get all the funky coloured shoes and boots!
DeleteThat looks like the area where I grew up. The road full of ruts in mud season, the beaver ponds overflowing in all the wrong areas, lots of wetness and marsh land all over. I would float my GI Joes around in the stinky water (after I shot them with the bb gun) and come home covered in mud.
ReplyDeleteThe cold well water shower never seemed to prevent me from doing it again. Good times, good times.
seems to be a young boy thing... we used to make "boats" out of sticks and then throw rocks at them to sink the battleship... no bb gun... lotsa mud!!
Deletegood times indeed - cheers buddy!
Other ditch Jamie!
ReplyDeleteTed
ted:
Deletea post on the trench progress is coming soon ;-) ;-)
Always the Joker, eh Jamb?
ReplyDeleteYou have heard me grumble about the dry winter we've had with rainfall about 30% of normal. Well, no longer. We have been rained for more than two weeks solid and up to 62% now in Redding. The homestead is further west in the mountains and I don't have seasonal total there, but the creek is flowing strong and I am no longer worried about the coming summer.
On the other hand, getting potatoes planted in the soupy mud just ain't gonna happen.
As fir your "road," when I saw the pic I thought it was a plowed field, LOL. Gonna take a lot of rock to drive down here. I know THAT problem, too.
Let's see, the ditch problem? Wait until it is dry. Fire up the Cat, tilt the blade, and push some dirt. Make you smile. And easier on the bones.
Winston
w:
Deleteglad you have some water now - that is a worry that isn't easily remedied except by rain... try planting yer taters in tires ;-)
the road is mostly rock solid when dry, just not in a few sections.... a cat, my god could i EVER use one of those... gotta spare? hahahah!
nice to hear from you - you sound good!!
cheers my friend!!
nice to hear from you Winston, buddy!
DeleteI do plant in tires, but not exclusively. I usually plant anywhere between 50 and 100 lbs of spuds and that means tractor time. I'm too old to drive a stupid spoon very much.
DeleteLet me tell you, moving my old D8 from here to you would cost more than anyone but the gummit could afford. Getting it home from Eureka years ago about broke my bank and that was only 100 miles.
Thanks about sounding good. I feel pretty good again. Like Stephen something ugly caught me a few years ago, but I am thankful every morning I wake up and get to play some more on this earth.
Both of you are often in my thoughts, but I don't talk so much sometimes. And I was in Dark Territory for a while so no communications at all. But agree with you completely about feeling close to the blogging community.
Winston
w:
Deleteglad to hear you so positive - love having you here and providing your wisdom, insight and wit!!
planting that many spuds would be a chore in tires for certain !!
maybe you could send a pic of the ol' D8 so i could drool, i can't imagine ow much it would cost to ship - HAR!!
i am certain the earth is still happy to have you around, we are - cheers x 100!!
ya Winston, you dear font of incredibly useful knowledge, experience and advice - we are thrilled to have you back! we have been wondering but not sure if it was right to contact you. i, especially, am glad to see you back. i am sorry that you were in Dark Territory...i pray that all is well with you now and please know that you are always in our prayers.
Deletewe have much to learn from you. so teach away, eh? xoxox
Mrs Bunny Ears,
DeleteIs Jambe drooling too much now?
Winston
i am w. i am - i would LOVE to have that beast here today!!!!
Deletecheers!!
Winston - i'd love to have that beast and the tractor too! you rock buddy!
DeleteAs much as there is work that comes from living near a river or the ocean, the abundance of water is a very great gift in so many ways. Have fun Jam, and try not to work too hard.
ReplyDeletejane:
Deletewe are blessed by the amount of water we have have and we know it - all so fresh too... the river is full of brook trout and they are the first fish to go when things get polluted... needless to say, no problems here.
thanks, i'll try to take it easy :-) you try and have fun this spring too!
Jane - we are always grateful for our water situation - we have access to so much water that it is amazing! and we're water babies - so that is really good for us! xoxo
DeleteI understand. Here in Virginia we usually have fairly abundant well water, and some lakes and rivers. However, the organism shigella is a frequent contaminant. In addition, several people died in Virginia this year from Naegleria fowleri, the "brain eating amoeba" which though rare, is alarming. A couple of years ago Virginia had some very serious droughts. In Canada we are absolutely giddy at all the water nearby, but then our animals, and everything we really need all the water for, are all back in Virginia. I am so glad you both appreciate how much natural beauty and water there really in in NS.
DeleteJane - you need to move to NS. teehee. xoxo
DeleteMy son never saw mud or water that he did not jump into with any shoes he had on his feet.
ReplyDeleteYou have your work cut out and it looks like the fun part is over.
that's what mud puddles are for!!!
Deleteohhh, the fun is JUST beginning!
cheers!
PracticalP - we go around naked AND barefoot all of the time. i love walking through mud, wet grass, sand - whatever with bare feet - i love it!
DeleteHey Jambaloney,
ReplyDeleteAAHH - To be working outside on your own land - sure beats long days at a boring job in any city . Freedom is everything !
Enjoy !
thanks helga!!
Deleteyou hit it on the head... two years ago i would have been checking my email again - never going back to that!!
have a great one!
oh Helga - it is sooooo awesome! we try and remember several times a day to stop, look around and give thanks. we have never been so happy! xoxox
DeleteYou are so lucky to have that much land! The Grey Knight and I have big plans when we win that 500 mil powerball! As if!
ReplyDeleteif you win that much, come to cape breton - TONS of good land left for decent coin - the water is tip-top!
Deletethanks so much for the seeds, i know sweet-grass grows here, i am pretty certain i can find it in our river, if not, i will enlist the help of the the local Mi'kmaq, they are only 30 mins away!
http://www.potlotek.ca/
cheers!
Beth - sending each other seeds and whatnot is all fine and good - but let's make a deal right now that if either of us wins the 50 mil that we will send the other at least $50,000! i promise we will pay you back in monthly installments, as i am sure that you will too! oh if only eh?
Deletethere are so many people that i would want to help if i won a ton of money. as i don't really have any family...i would start with the people in my blogroll. oh gosh - how i would love to surprise each of them with a checque for $10,000!
oh and Beth - our Mi'kmaq rock! if you are interested, i will send you more links about them. they were incredibly peaceful Algonquin people who never really left the island and then inter-married with gorgeous, blonde Gods (Vikings). their children became a people like none have ever seen. their myths and oral histories are to die for. i am trying to learn as much as i can about the people who populated my island, and still populate my island. my feet were born on this land. my feet walk where theirs walk. xoxox
Sweetgrass is a prairie grass so you would most likely find it in a grassy area. It has a very vanilla smell to it when you crush it between your fingers. I surely would appreciate seeds if you manage to find them, if not I will replace them in May at the county sale (if supplies last).
DeleteThe tribe I will definitely look into, according to untraceable (as of yet) history passed to me from my father, my great great grandmother was a Cree medicine woman that married a French Canadian trapper who then settled in Vermont in the U.S. Maybe that is where I get my ties to the herbs from.
slobberly kisses from Bear,
Beth
i'll see what i can do beth!
DeleteBeth - thank Bear for the wonderful kisses! you have some serious genes if your great grandmother was Cree AND a medicine woman! and a great grandfather who, from the sounds of it, was probably a coureur de bois!
DeleteI cannot imagine the lovely walk this must be in real life!! I love your little paradise and am certain you both do too.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the ice is still on the water-as we have been in the 80's and well have no body of water nearby-lol!!
Can't wait, as I know soon, you will be posting photos of whatever critter left his hoofprints!!
xoxxo your desert friend
Jennifer
it is breathtaking no matter what time of year, as i love to fish and be near water, it sure seems like paradise to me!
Deletethe ice is now gone. back in ottawa, ice isn't often gone from the and rivers until the last week in april. a really cold winter can create a sheet of ice on a small lake over a foot thick. it takes a while to melt that!
i will keep posting footprints, come visit anytime for a taste of the wet life!
cheers!
Jen - we sure do love taking that walk down to the river! we are the only people in the area that have a road down to the river and we are the only ones who canoe and swim in it! it's awesome! lots of love desert friend! xox
DeleteUsing the rubber boot in the photo as a reference, I would lean towards the track belonging to a deer. I grew up in Cape Breton on the outskirts of Sydney and I love reading about your BOL out in Framboise. I hope to see an entry of some brook trout in a few weeks.
ReplyDeletethanks - now i know for next time!
ReplyDeleteglad you find the blog a good read, trout season starts april 15, you KNOW i`m on it! ;-)
cheers!
Fishing it something that is definitely on my to do list, even though I hate the taste of fish. :D
ReplyDelete