Yardwork, cherries, grapevines, windows and a hedgehog
Time continues to move along and the work on our yard continues in earnest. The weather is much warmer these days with each day passing 30 C. Unfortunately the nights don't cool off as in Saskatchewan where most nights are 11-15 C. Here we are 18-22 C at night, but so far we have been able to move air through the house at night and find the house very comfortable during the day. Our Russian teacher, Ulzana finds our home a reprieve on a hot day as their house doesn't have the insulation that ours does nor does she have screens for the windows. Not a good combination.
Ulzana continues to slowly move us forward in learning Russian. She is very patient and we are very thankful for her.
One of the things we have done outside recently was to make a weather cover for our chicken feeder. We have been blessed to have some rains recently that are so needed considering our temps and the days that are full of sun. We like to keep the feeder outside, but knew that one day we were going to get caught by a rain and plug the feeder up. We found an old well cover and stripped it down and then took some old roofing and our feeder is now fully protected. The chickens were not leery of it at all as they continue to munch down their food.
We have had a few additions to our chicken park. Garry brought over 4 turkeys and 2 geese. One turkey wasn't well and within two days he was no more. The five stick together and we think our chickens are wondering why we let some infiltrators into their park. Shannon is almost ready to cook a goose as she planted morning glories along the fence and the geese think that every runner that gets high enough is to eat. She is a little frustrated with them eating her plants. Maybe Garry will be getting his geese back!
We finally built the trellises for the grapevines. We have two trellises that are about 40 feet long and 6 feet high. We welded a chain link on at about 3 feet high and then ran braided cable through the links to help with sending the vines upwards. We got them all welded together in one day and then they were all painted on the second day and then Shannon get the vines up in the next two days and it looks pretty cool. It is much better than the jumbled mess they were on the ground as they tangled each other, fence lines and trees. It looks like there will be good grape harvest this year.
I had mentioned to Max that we would like to put a couple of new windows in our porch area. The one window had to be held in by screws or it would have fallen out. None of the old windows opened up and the porch became an oven during the day and even by morning it was still very warm. Max brought an installer around and we measured the north and south windows and within a few days the windows were in. Each end of the porch now has a window that opens (with a screen) and the porch is much cooler. Thank you Max!
We were amazed with the price of the windows. They are a good sized window and double pane and with installation they were 7000 Greeven, which equals about $350 Canadian. It didn't take us long to say "yes" and we are so thankful for them.
One night Shannon went outside and she heard something move and there was a hedgehog in the yard. We picked it up and it goes into a tight ball and they are definitely prickly, but at the same time, very cute.
We picked some cherries the other day and froze them and will enjoy them later in the year. We are enjoying a lot of our garden produce now and it is very tasty. We thought we had bought spaghetti squash, but it turns it is only another variation of zucchini. Now we have 5 plants of zucchini and all it takes it one plant of zucchini to keep you well stocked. We noticed today that our apricots are starting to ripen, so that will be a great day! Scott really likes apricots! The potatoes are amazing as it the rest of the garden. You just cannot buy that taste in a store.
As you can see the fall crops are turning fast here. With 30 C + temperatures, the wheat, canola and peas are going to be combined soon. It is totally different from back home where the seeding of crops has just finished and gardens are just starting to show up well.
We have another Russian lesson with Ulzana this afternoon. We meet twice a week. In between lessons, we are putting a lot of effort into our Summer English Institute (SEI) lessons as three weeks of classes kick off on July 8. Shannon has done this once before and it is an intense time for both of us with Russian lessons, yard work and preparing for SEI.
We have a lot of work to get fully prepared, but at the same time we are excited about the opportunity to speak into people's lives and hopefully make a difference. Scott is speaking about INTEGRITY and how it is so vital in every aspect of life. One of the people who modelled integrity in my life consistently was my Dad. He was always, and still is, a man of his word. Not once in my life did I ever see my Dad tell a lie or stretch a truth for his benefit. Dad is a great role model!
Shannon is teaching about the Distinctives of a Difference-maker, building on what she taught two years ago - You Can Make a Difference.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!!
Ulzana continues to slowly move us forward in learning Russian. She is very patient and we are very thankful for her.
One of the things we have done outside recently was to make a weather cover for our chicken feeder. We have been blessed to have some rains recently that are so needed considering our temps and the days that are full of sun. We like to keep the feeder outside, but knew that one day we were going to get caught by a rain and plug the feeder up. We found an old well cover and stripped it down and then took some old roofing and our feeder is now fully protected. The chickens were not leery of it at all as they continue to munch down their food.
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| Chicken feed cover |
We have had a few additions to our chicken park. Garry brought over 4 turkeys and 2 geese. One turkey wasn't well and within two days he was no more. The five stick together and we think our chickens are wondering why we let some infiltrators into their park. Shannon is almost ready to cook a goose as she planted morning glories along the fence and the geese think that every runner that gets high enough is to eat. She is a little frustrated with them eating her plants. Maybe Garry will be getting his geese back!
We finally built the trellises for the grapevines. We have two trellises that are about 40 feet long and 6 feet high. We welded a chain link on at about 3 feet high and then ran braided cable through the links to help with sending the vines upwards. We got them all welded together in one day and then they were all painted on the second day and then Shannon get the vines up in the next two days and it looks pretty cool. It is much better than the jumbled mess they were on the ground as they tangled each other, fence lines and trees. It looks like there will be good grape harvest this year.
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| Grapevines in a mess along the ground |
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| Welding on the chain links |
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| One trellis up and painted and put to work |
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| Looks so much better! |
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| Grape season is on the way!! :) |
I had mentioned to Max that we would like to put a couple of new windows in our porch area. The one window had to be held in by screws or it would have fallen out. None of the old windows opened up and the porch became an oven during the day and even by morning it was still very warm. Max brought an installer around and we measured the north and south windows and within a few days the windows were in. Each end of the porch now has a window that opens (with a screen) and the porch is much cooler. Thank you Max!
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| South window (2 screws holding it in) |
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| North window |
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| Work underway |
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| Insulating the window |
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| North window in place ( the guy said, 'Beautiful.') |
We were amazed with the price of the windows. They are a good sized window and double pane and with installation they were 7000 Greeven, which equals about $350 Canadian. It didn't take us long to say "yes" and we are so thankful for them.
 |
| South window |
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| North window |
One night Shannon went outside and she heard something move and there was a hedgehog in the yard. We picked it up and it goes into a tight ball and they are definitely prickly, but at the same time, very cute.
 |
| An evening guest - a hedgehog |
We picked some cherries the other day and froze them and will enjoy them later in the year. We are enjoying a lot of our garden produce now and it is very tasty. We thought we had bought spaghetti squash, but it turns it is only another variation of zucchini. Now we have 5 plants of zucchini and all it takes it one plant of zucchini to keep you well stocked. We noticed today that our apricots are starting to ripen, so that will be a great day! Scott really likes apricots! The potatoes are amazing as it the rest of the garden. You just cannot buy that taste in a store.
 |
| Lots of cheeries |
As you can see the fall crops are turning fast here. With 30 C + temperatures, the wheat, canola and peas are going to be combined soon. It is totally different from back home where the seeding of crops has just finished and gardens are just starting to show up well.
 |
| Crops are turning fast! |
We have another Russian lesson with Ulzana this afternoon. We meet twice a week. In between lessons, we are putting a lot of effort into our Summer English Institute (SEI) lessons as three weeks of classes kick off on July 8. Shannon has done this once before and it is an intense time for both of us with Russian lessons, yard work and preparing for SEI.
We have a lot of work to get fully prepared, but at the same time we are excited about the opportunity to speak into people's lives and hopefully make a difference. Scott is speaking about INTEGRITY and how it is so vital in every aspect of life. One of the people who modelled integrity in my life consistently was my Dad. He was always, and still is, a man of his word. Not once in my life did I ever see my Dad tell a lie or stretch a truth for his benefit. Dad is a great role model!
Shannon is teaching about the Distinctives of a Difference-maker, building on what she taught two years ago - You Can Make a Difference.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!!
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