A look back at May 2023

I’m going to be honest with you.  I totally expected to be blogging about my weekly/bi-weekly happenings at the property, but instead I’ve been on a roll jumping from project to project.  I’m sure everyone has had these moments where you just feel so in the zone and one thing comes after the next.  In my case, things have been going better than expected and I’ve been riding the high/pushing what I can do.

I certainly know the value of slowing down and re-calibrating for the overall good of the project, but sometimes you have to ride that wave.  That wave was abruptly cut short about a week back when I threw out my lower back doing a routine lift of a water jug.  The day prior I had been swinging a large sledge hammer taking down lath and plaster walls.  While this was painful and unfortunate end to that run, it was welcome in a way.  It’s forced me to finally write this blog and to plot out a more methodical way forward, rather than getting excited about that next thing to do.

In my first month here at our Nova Scotia property, the projects so far have been mainly outdoor and to ensure basic comforts/essentials are covered off.  I would say that my pride and joy is the rainwater/shallow well pump system that incorporates a small on demand electric water heater.  This was a chance to play around with pex piping which makes plumbing pretty fun!  Going in I was unsure this plan would work - I wanted to set up a rain barrel reservoir, a pump, a high quality filter and on demand Bosch water heater with a reasonable power draw.  Adding 3 extra lithium batteries to my offgrid system allowed for something like this to be possible - but I questioned if it would work out as I’d never seen anything like it.  All I have to say is so far so good.  Since setting that up I have created an outdoor shower set up, hooked up a left behind washing machine from the house and finally got myself a sink with hot water to wash my pesky dishes that seem to always pile up.  Let me tell you that it feels so very good to take a hot shower after a long day working outside.  Prior to this I did have a small portable shower set up but it ran off of propane and the pump had low or no pressure leading to mixed results.  Having shower, laundry and sink all taken care of will finally allow me to focus on the house itself which I’m very much looking forward to.

The day to day has been going pretty well and I have adjusted seamlessly to tent trailer living.  Of course there were a few chilly evenings where it was just below 0 - my sleeping bag and Freddy furnace(dog) helped to keep me comfortable.  I now awake as the sun rises and feel about ready for bed as the sun goes down which has been nice (and likely more natural for the body).  Cooking wise I’m a one pot master and like to feed off the same thing for several days which is common for me even in the city.  Having a full sized fridge out here has aided in keeping those leftovers longer.

It’s been really nice to witness the trees establish their foliage and the property come to life.  The amount of birds around here is astounding and I’ll have to download an identifier app to determine everything I’m hearing.  There are still several downed trees after last years hurricane and some even still developing foliage on their side?  It will be a task to clean up and I’m hoping to give some of the older apples trees more space to thrive.  I was also able to find some room at the front of the property to plant 19 new fruit and nut trees. I can even picture myself one day harvesting plums, pears, cherries, hazelnut, chestnut, walnut, butternut and apples once matured.  Our rhubarb is exploding as usual and we’re starting to see the strawberries/asparagus planted last year pop up.  Although working the land is not a major priority, it still is great to develop these areas alongside the house and provide my day to day with some variety.  Along with that, it helps build up my skills and experience for what will likely be the majority of tasks once the house is more or less completed.

Anyways, I hope the month of June goes as well as may(minus the back stuff) and I’m able to provide you with another positive blog posting.  I’ll also take the time to write more this month - promise!

Nik