I’d like to go back in time to where we left off in February 2006, but that was too long ago, so these pictures start in August 2007 and go to November 9th, 2007.

August was incredibly rich with rain and mushrooms were everywhere. The next few pictures show a variety of them, starting with puffballs I believe.

It was like a rainforest on Vancouver Island really. Moss and mushrooms everywhere, even in this old tree stump.

This is looking south from our living room window in September. The poplar and aspen leaves had started to turn color and the green spruce trees are now starting to show. (We have not moved our battery shed or rabbit pen, but that is on the “to-do” list.)

Ed arrives with his backhoe and here it is unloading from the flatbed. It was interesting to watch as he slowly backed the machine and the deck tilted to the ground allowing him to drive off. (Reminded me, we used to play with Tonka trucks that did that. Don’t recall real trucks being able to do that in 1963 or thereabouts, or did they?) Ed did a fine job and we now have a trench for the power line that will run from the battery shed to the house. Thanks Ed!

Andrew is levelling the gravel to build the pump house on. It will be on the east side of the house to hold the pump & water tanks. Right now, Andrew still hauls water from town, and the tanks and pump are outside, soon to freeze... The rush is on.

This is the east side of the house where the pump house will be. The round white tank is for water.

There are some beautiful sunsets here. That song, what was it called? Went something like, “Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset…. That’s all I remember, no idea who sang it originally, sometime in the 70’s, maybe?

This is my one and only attempt at gardening this summer. I couldn’t leave it outside to freeze, so it’s blooming profusely in the house. Looks lovelier against the backdrop of falling snow.

The burl is from a dead standing tree that was ~ 175 years old (just had to count the rings to see if it was around when Alexander Mackenzie cruised by, but no, a few decades short …). I can’t leave it at that…. Ok, 2007 – 1793 = 204 years ago he and his voyageurs floated by in their birch bark canoe looking to discover a northwest passage. My how time flies!

Looking east along our driveway, the fencing is visible on the right. Installing fencing along a curved driveway is a challenge. Andrew did a great job by putting just enough brace points to go along with the curves. This gives it nice eye appeal when one drives into the place.

For a Saskatchewan farm boy, Andrew must have paid attention while fencing with his father Clarence. Along the main road it’s nice and straight.

We’ll follow our dog to the house… Looking west towards the house(green rooftop) you can see the fence line on your left. It has several bends to follow the curves along the driveway, unlike the straight fencing along the main road.

(That’s Butler Ridge in the background. On the other side is the W.A.C. Bennett Dam’s, Williston Lake.)

Almost at the house.

Here’s the beginning of the yard. The following pictures show the surroundings.

The horse shed and trailer are on the right, house on the left. That old freezer will be used to store horse feed in this winter. When one doesn’t have a barn, one has to get inventive out here. The local waste yard, a.k.a dump, helps with that, lol.

The heap in the middle is a brush pile that we will be burning soon. Reminds me, I went to a barn burning once. It was Halloween, dark and cold outside, the stars were shinning and once that barn began to burn, we moved waaaay back (big barn). Amazing how hot they can get, took awhile before the wiener roast started….

The white pile in front of the house is insulation for the pump house.

The pump house will be on the right of the house soon, which means running water this winter. In summer, Andrew put together the pump and tank system, so we had running water outside, but not in. That’s the easy part. Its hauling water out that makes me yearn for plumbing. Sinks with buckets underneath are fun at first, then its plain work a few years later… So, I’m crossing my fingers we get to the plumbing this winter, before Christmas, December 1st, next week, touch wood….

Mushrooms like to grow where there is old wood and they were quite happy on this old root. One had to be careful while walking in our yard though… accidentally stepping on a batch was quite slippery…!

November 9th it snowed all day which spurred us into cleaning the yard so things don’t freeze in place (makes ploughing a lot more difficult…). As you can see it was a grey day, but quite nice to work outside in -1.

We lit the brush pile tonight (Nov 9th) after dark. It was nice to watch from our living room window. Does this remind you of the TV channel that runs a tape showing a fireplace with a gas fire burning? They show nothing else but the fire, although from what I understand, they have run it for a few Christmas’s and it is quite popular. It was going to be discontinued but they received many requests to keep it going. Wonder if it will be on this year? The sound effects for the gas fireplace were nice