July 2009

So, another truck load of triple mix and a mother's day gift that needed a home.  A Pond !...Instead of digging into the rocky clay soil we have here in NB, I decided to go up.  I latterly moved a mountain !  Heavy rains on the second day and I had quit.  I physically couldn't do it anymore.  

My Hubby decided to get the ATV hooked up with a snow plow thingy and pushed as much as he could, nothing too much happened to tell you the truth as he was digging himself into a hole ! Slippery as hell and wet as hell, heavy as hell.  

2 days later, I got my rubber boots on and fought the beast with a shovel LOLLL   Got high enough good !...  took the rest of the day to get the pond into place securely so that the sides wouldn't collapse with dirt pressure, added snow, more rain or whatever else that could me this one big mess !

Downstairs we had cut railroad track logs thingies.  I got there and got the ones that were the closest in length so I didn't have to cut them.  Bingo, got enough ....  one by one up the stairs out to the garden..this is like way to much work for anyone but obsviously, not for me...grrr !  I got them in place and added spikes so they wouldn't move!  Now we got steps!  Beautiful!

The next day, I knocked at a few doors on this highway i was on.  I had seen flat rocks in what it looked like a dirt pit.  Nobody could help me so I got my truck in there and took as much as the truck would hold.  It took me hours!  Slowly, one rock at a time.  Gosh, never would I think of rock gardening again.  My back was aching so bad.  I sat in the seat of the truck and felt like every vertebrae had moved an inch off side !....This was too much!  Got home and dang, I had to unload every freakin' rock off the truck, one by one and puzzle them in place, applied them  around the edge of the Pond liner...  Done !  Finally !  I am pooped !

Next day, mom and I want shopping for cheap/sale/bargain plants.  I hate shopping but my mother is a pro.  Mom knows how to find a deal anywhere, she's unbelievable!  But really today, I should have stayed home, my back is still not ok.  Wow!  it's a mess, I have a hard time to keep up with her in the aisles.  Mom has so much energy, she does.  I feel older then she is.  She's on fire !

On the 8th day PLANTING DAY !!!  yay !!  i planted the purchased plants, all gift plants and  my own divided plants that I had in my position. Tadda !!

It did look good, yeah it did but something was missing.  I knew that i had to do something for erosion.  It wouldn't stand up to the winters and spring melt.  Tree trunks?  Got lots of them around but i am no lumberjack.  So then what?.........................flat rocks !!!!!  

But is was worth it !  I am very happy with the end results but I wouldn't do it again.....alone !!!!

This one is later in the season, the plants have matured a bit ...  it's amazing!  I love it...

And so did the rest of the new flower beds.  This is the back of the house.  I have added a birdbath

and a few weeks later.......... nice

this is a before picture early plantation:

and the front of the house.....that was instant maturity because the plant exchange was from a local neighbor that knew her stuff and all the samples given were not sample size, they were mother plants already so BAM !..

I bought this seat in Moncton were the lady was selling all her assets.  She had a few interesting pieces but I absolutely wanted to go home with this one.  

As you can see the pic above, I extended the flowerbed to give it more definition.  I know, I know...


And this is a few weeks later !

I love the marriage here of colors, height and textures:  My favorite front corner !

And we can't forget the veggy patch !!!   ...  That was more daily work that my flowers.  The weeds in here were a daily to do.  The soil I received wasn't triple mix so it was constant, manure vs compost vs peat moss and watering 

May 2009

Well, as you can see next, I haven't been able to keep my own promise.  I had to fix it, add more, ding more, extra more...Holy Gees, I am obsessed !!  I just couldn't just leave it.  It wasn't to my standards so there....

I had to call mom for help there though.  I had a hard time with the lifting, mush to my surprise, my heart rate was through the roof, out of breath, sweating like I have never sweat before.  I took much longer then expected.  I would work for a day and then off 2.  Wow, unlike me !!  Just to get rid of the grass was a job, never mind the 16 cubic foot truck load of dirt I had to move around....

At the same time, just I would normal do things, I created this veggy garden by hand.  No tiller, no machines, no magic wand.... Thinking back, I would do it all over again if I could !!  Loved it.

And the front too.... no really, What did you expect?  Don't you get to understand me by now?...go go go..never stop, here's Nat, there goes Nat...  I love creating beauty.  Flowers are my passion, my creations

Of course, You will see soon enough, the matured look of this...doesn't look like much now but just wait a sec !!!

June 2008




I tried to find the original pic in November at the back of the house but I only could find this one ???  Where did it go?... oh well, there it is for now.




I wanted to show you what it was before the deck!

After... Year 1





My first year creation at the back of the house.  Mostly annuals but the perenials were gifts.  I promised not to create too many flower beds here, after all, We have a lot of acreage to cover.  I had control myself....

Then I said, "  We'll, can't leave the front looking like that so shortly after the back was planted, I planted under the window, created a corner to prevent mowing problems and flower pots.

It all seems a lot of work.  Well yeah, It was lolll...   I was overworked and never paid loll  but see, I was trying to make another home for ourselves.  While  my husband was at work as an employee, I was home trying to do as much as I could without him.  Here and there, hubby would pick up a drill or a ladder and get at it too but most of the time, he was already tired from his day.  It is taking a lot longer to get project finished.  It isn't the same life, nothing was the same....

Ma première création d'année à l'arrière de la maison. La plus part sont des annuelles mais le vivaces m'ont éte donnees en cadeaux. J'ai promis de ne pas trop en faire  après tout, nous avons une grande superficie pour couvrir. Faut bien avoir un certain contrôle de soi-même....!



Alors je me suis dit, "Je ne peux pas laisser le devant de la maison comme ca.  Bon la juste un peu sous la fenêtre, et un coin pour empêcher des problèmes de tondeuse et des pots à fleurs ici et la.   C'est tout, pas plus. 


Tout semble beaucoup de travail. Bien ouais, c'était lolll ... j’étais surmené et jamais une maudite cent !! J'essayais de nous faire une autre maison pour nous. Tandis que mon mari était au travail comme un salarié pour la première fois dans 15 ans, j'essayais de faire autant que je pouvais sans lui. Des fois, il aidait avec des projets avec besoin des outils ou une échelle.  Mais la plupart du temps, il été déjà fatigué de sa journée. Il prend beaucoup plus de temps pour finir un projet maintenant mais c'est comme ca.  Ce n'est pas la même vie, rien n'est le même....

May 2008

It's time to get to work.  I have done enough floor pacing, worrying, business crap, I need something new.  This is not !!..... Remember this?  This is the time when I still had all the energy, strength a woman could have.  Besides a few aches here and there, I could move mountains and more !!

This is one picture that will tell you how much work we had to get done around the property.  We cleaned up with gloves, a shovel, a homemade trailer, a burn barrel and lots of garbage bags, LOTS !!!  We had for the first big garbage pick up 60 construction size garbage bags on the road plus all the metal pile, broken glass bins, plastic bins, wood and cardboard bundles, newspaper bin and all the reno toilet, tub, sink, drywall boxes and I could go on....

We have found have buried old days garbage dumping on the edge of the woods, full of broken glass, clothes, open food cans, old broken medicine bottles and an old 14 size rubber boot.  I was scared to pull it out of the grown and find a leg attached to that boot !!!  I was creeped out ! 

Old barn doors were also found under huge rotten logs full fire ants, omg them things were huge and eggs in the millions........ spay boomed !!!

We stacked up enough wood for fire camp for the next 5 years.  No problem.  Every night, while we could, we burn for hours.  It was our relax time !  

So, when the piles got smaller and we could access to the garage, it was time to  PIMP DA GARAGE !!

So, we filled it up with 3 cords of wood !  Yeah, we had to get a wood stove like everyone else there, you just had to or you were weird city folks !  Dear God, that was a lot more work then I thought.

First, You have to un-pile one pile to pile it up in another pile !

Then you had to make that pile square.

Then when the sides collapsed, you had to figure out why.

and re-pile it again and again until you get the sides strong enough to stay !

Until it collapsed again.  

So we decided to take drives around the neighborhood and stalk the wood piles and see how they did it.....ohhhhhhh, that's how !

Return home and un-pile the collapsed piles and re-stack them again...ugrhhhhh

C'est Assez.  C'est le temps de trouver d'autre chose a faire que faire du va et vient avec tous les stresses de toutes niaiseries de la business.  J'ai besoin du nouveau....et bon, voila, un bon commencement !!!!  Ceci est le temps où j'avais toujours toute l'énergie et la force qu'une femme pouvait avoir. Quelques maux ici et là mais je pouvais déplacer des montagnes et plus!!


Ces images vous donne une bonne idée combien de travail nous a dû faire autour de la propriété. Nous avons nettoyé avec des gants, une pelle, une remorque faite maison, un baril pour brûlé et un tas de sacs de déchets!! Nous avions  60 sacs de déchets de taille commerciale sur le bord de la route, pour la collection des vidanges de la semaine. En plus, tas de morceaux métalliques de toutes sortes, des verres cassés dans des poubelles en plastique, des paquets en bois et du carton. Les restants de la rénovations de l’intérieur: toilette, bain, lavabo, des boites de morceaux de drywall  et je pourrais continuer....

Nous avons trouvé  à  moitié enterré des vieux déchets des années passées au bord des bois, pleins de verres cassés, vêtements, des boîtes de conserves ouvertes, des vieilles bouteilles de médicaments cassées et une vieille botte en caoutchouc de taille 14 !!. J'ai été effrayée pour la tirer et trouver une jambe attachée à cette botte!!! Yikes  ! 

Des vieilles portes de grange ont été aussi trouvées sous des énormes billots pourris remplis des fourmis rouges, Seigneur, elles étaient énormes et les oeufs par millions ........Kaboom, Poison en masse!!!

Nous avons empilé assez de bois pour les feux de camp pendant les prochaines 5 années. Aucun problème. Chaque nuit, tandis que nous brûlions ce bois, on se reposait.  C'est notre temps de relaxation...

Une fois que les allentours étaient passables, c’était le temps "D'enjoliver le Garage"

Ainsi, nous l'avons rempli de 3 cordes de bois! Ouais, nous avons dû obtenir un poêle à bois  à  la maison comme tous les autres, il le fallait ou nous étions des gens bizarres de la ville! Seigneur le travail, beaucoup plus que nous pensions.


D'abord, vous devez défaire la pile de bois pour l'accumuler dans une autre pile!  L'empiler en façon carrée ! Alors quand les côtés se sont effondrés, vous devez comprendre pourquoi.!! Et la re-piler à maintes reprises jusqu’à  ce qu'elles restent en place!  Et elles s'effondrent  à  nouveau... Donc nous avons décidé de prendre des promenades en voiture autour du voisinage et fouiner les piles de bois et voir comment ils l'ont fait ..... ohhhhhhh, c'est comme ca!  Dang !!  Retournez à la maison et re-défaire les piles qui sont re-effondrées et re-empilez-les de nouveau ... ugrhhhhh