Autumnal update

My goodness, It has been more than a month since I've posted to 'the homestone.' Where do the days go? The summer and fall seasons are such busy times there is barely a minute to spare. We are well into fall already ~ very cool mornings that call for a fire in the woodstove and and most evenings now, a fire in the wood heater in the basement too. The weather is spectacular! Mostly bright sunny days with a crispness in the air. It's firewood getting time! We had our first snowfall of the season in mid September but fortunately it came and went and we hope not to see snow again for a little while now.

So what's been happening around the place other than a change in the season? Well the dogs are getting older and sillier :) the hens continue to lay beautiful eggs and the sheep are looking great going into winter!

Couldn't resist taking a photo of our hens' lovely light brown eggs in the blue bowl. The bowl is a treasure ~ one of Charmaine Johnson's creations. Charmaine is a potter and visual artist who lives and works in Vancouver BC.

The pretty cloth that the bowl is sitting on is another treasure. It was woven by Hildred Finch, (aka Mum). Hildred is an accomplished weaver who lives in the Similkameen Valley. She is a multi talented woman ~ a writer, a master gardener, the family genealogist, an amazing cook (she still bakes her own bread)! A list of her accomplishments and talents would fill a page !! She recently started a blog called 'daybyday'. It's a wonderful read ~ we provide a link to it here in our links list.

It's Sunday today. The day before our Canadian Thanksgiving. We have so very very much to be thankful for.

Till next time. Bright blessings!

Baby in the grass

At the height of summer we had an estimated 500 swallows around the house and yard... now we're down to 10 or 20 at most. There are two nests with late August babies. One of those nests is just over the kitchen window and we found this little swallow in the grass the other day. David gently placed her back in her nest and she hovered on the edge of it for about an hour and finally snuggled back in with her siblings. Success!! The other nest is inside the tiny old log shack that serves as winter quarters for the sheep. It's amazing to watch the swallow parents swoop in and out of the little shack ~ navigating the wire, the doorways and the low roof.

We had a visit from an owl last night. In the moonlight we could only make out his profile as he perched on the fence post just outside the kitchen. We heard him for hours as he 'bless his need for feed' took out some of the rodents who are in ample supply this time of year.

August days

... and August nights. Two very different worlds on this high plateau. Our days are hot and sunny, our nights and mornings cool and even frosty! We're stockpiling firewood and already thinking about winter. The sheep are happily ensconced in their fall pasture courtesy of David's new fence. They are in seventh heaven ~ a heaven full of willows and shade and lots of space. We're keeping very busy. There is always much work to do ~ managing fifty acres, our off the grid lifestyle and our animals through 4 seasons is a constant challange. That being said, there is little time to write but I will take a few minutes to post some August pics from around the place. Till next time.

Record highs

Along with much of the rest of the world, the province of British Columbia is experiencing a major heat wave right now. Temps in the high 30's and low 40's. 40 celsius is 104 Fahrenheit. In our area it's haying time. That means our ranchers and farmers are out working in the scorching heat right now haying their fields. That's if they are lucky enough to have a crop this year. Our 25 acres of hay fields are also ready. Haying will begin here in a few days. *oh yeah* Here is a pic of our fields being hayed the old fashioned way ~ with horses.