The Re-Farmer

As I write this, it’s coming up on 4:30pm, and we’re at 29C/84F, with the humidex at 33C/91F – and we are just reaching our high for the day. Things are not supposed to start cooling down for another couple more hours. We have a 1% chance of rain where we are now, but some … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: reclaiming for corn beds started

After waiting for the call from my doctor until well past the clinic closed, I headed outside to finish up. The bi-color pear gourds transplanted, I wanted to sow the short season luffa next to them. I also wanted to mark where they were and protect any seedlings, but I was out of collars, so … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: transplanting gourds and hollyhock, direct sowing luffa and sunflowers

After today, the only transplants I will have are whatever survives in the tray that got decimated by a mouse and re-sown. At this point, I have some melon seedlings, two different winter squash and that’s it. The first thing I got transplanted was the chicory. To the right, you can see some garlic that … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: last seed snail transplants are almost done

First, I just have to share an update, so you can laugh at me. I’m certainly laughing at me. I am so silly. I mentioned yesterday that I got a parking ticket, while waiting for my daughters at the hospital clinic. I’d been diligent about buying more time on the machine, as things dragged on … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: transplanting and direct sowing – we’re almost there!

This morning, my daughters and I headed into the city. I am so glad we left more than 2 hours before the appontment! Knowing there was construction on the highway I normally would have taken, we took a different route which, unlike my usual route, has an actual town along the way. We stopped at … Continue reading That was a lot longer than expected!

Okay, I did not have the stomach to do a Costco trip today so, instead, I went to the nearest Walmart. This was a bit of a test run on the truck, as I haven’t driven this far since I took the yard cats to the vet and started getting weird readings on my battery … Continue reading Not-Costco stock up trip: This is what $334 looks like

Yes, there is actually something that can be harvested right now. The rhubarb is doing fantastic, and there’s even a flower coming up in southwest corner patch. I didn’t get anything else done in the garden. I didn’t even do the watering, counting on the rain we are supposed to get today. My first task … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: first harvest

I’m not done, but the heat drove me in. Here is what I have been able to manage before the temperatures reached the point of risking heat stroke. I’ve been getting up at about 5am, when the ski was getting light, and outside by about 6 am. Of course, the yard cats got taken care … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: two days of transplanting and direct sowing

Today, I’ve been pushing to get things in the ground. Normally, I wouldn’t even try doing the transplanting until after June 2, when the risk of frost is theoretically past. Instead, we’ve got the heat and a thunderstorm coming in a few days. Soil thermometer tells me the soil is more than warm enough for … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: May garden tour video

Technically, today is a touch cooler – we hit a high of 31C/88F this afternoon, and it’s just starting to slowly drop for the evening. It didn’t feel cooler, even though I was done well before we reached the high of the day. I started off around 6am and it was already getting hot. I … Continue reading Tree planting done

First up, I’m happy to share this photo of Havarti. After how bloody and swollen he was after his spay yesterday, then disappearing when the cleaned out isolation shelter was dry and ready to hold him for the night, I honestly would not have been surprised if he didn’t make it. Instead, when I came … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: preparing to direct sow

This is not the shop I intended to make. With Damocles living up to its name while I took the cats to the vet yesterday, and the heat wave hitting us, I was going to skip another trip to the city. I did, however, need to go into town. My husband’s prescriptions were delivered yesterday, … Continue reading A semi-stock up shop: this is what $212 looks like

Normally, I would be in the city today, doing our second stock up shop. I’m going to wait a few more days. Instead, here is the stock up shop I did a couple of days ago, when I came back too tired and in too much pain to do a post. That and I needed … Continue reading First stock up shop: this is what $258 looks like

Well, this was a day… My younger daughter and I were out shortly after 6am to try and snag cats into carriers. Particularly the two in the isolation shelter with Bug. We let Bug out. She’s been in there for a week since her spay, and my daughter was able to give her the dewormer … Continue reading Another good bye, and I think the heat is getting to Damocles

I did our first stock up shop tonight, but will do my regular price post later. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and got up early to do the morning routine and watering while it was still relatively cool. Then I headed into the city, doing Canadian Tire, Walmart, and Dollarama and a Fresh … Continue reading Not tonight

The temperatures continued to climb today. I started things off a bit early, and it was still lovely and cool. My priority, after I did my morning rounds, was to water the garden beds before the heat hit. I’m happy to say that I am seeing new sprouts in the rows of spinach, chard, turnips … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: one more bed prepped, and got a visit in

Ah, life on the Canadian prairies. One extreme to the other. A short while ago, we were still getting snow and overnight temperature at or below freezing. Today, we reached a high of 25C/77F – I don’t know what the humidex was – and passed 20C/68F by about 8 or 9am. I headed out a … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: the potatoes are in, next bed ready, and the heat has hit

Getting that raised bed at the chain link fence done has taken way too long! I’ll get to that in a moment. My brother and SIL have been out working on their caravan, and whatever else my brother was able to do outside as the weather allowed, this weekend and had invited me to join … Continue reading It’s finally done!!!

I finally got that front wall done! The rain came to a stop this afternoon, so I headed out and grabbed the draw knife so I could put points on the prepared stakes I’d made for the chain link fence bed’s deadwood wall. That did not take long. With the rain we’ve been having, I … Continue reading Raised bed progress – almost done!

First, though, we got a few other things accomplished today. Bug looks like she is doing quite well. She is eating with her usual enthusiasm and is moving like she’d never had surgery. I did, however, make a confirmation. We were pretty sure the mostly black cat in there was female, partly because the females … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: starting melons, winter squash, pumpkin and cucumbers, plus updates

There was good stuff and sad stuff. It was a very early day for me, mostly because once I woke up at around 4am, I wasn’t able to fall back asleep. I finally have up well before my 5:30 alarm. We expected to need a lot of time to get Furriosa and Bug – we … Continue reading Today was a mixed bag…

Today has turned out to be a dreary day with rain on and off all night and continuing on through today. Translation: I feel like I’m about to fall asleep at my keyboard right now. The ground is way too saturated for the work I hoped to do outside today, but I can’t complain. First … Continue reading Good news!

We dropped to -3C/27F last night but, from now on, our days are supposed to be hot, and our overnight temperatures are expected to drop no lower than 7C/45F for the next while, though in the first 10 days of June, we’re supposed to have overnight temperatures barely above freezing. I just realized. Today is … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: protecting and preparing garden beds

Well, crud. While feeding the cats this morning, I noticed the cat bed in the isolation shelter was askew. Not far enough to be pushed into the hammock, which has happened before, but getting there. So, after finishing with the food and water, I reached in through one of the windows to straighten the bed. … Continue reading Critter escape, and critter butt

I wasn’t expecting to get much done outside today. It’s been a damp and chilly day – the sort of overcast day that makes me want to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. Tonight, we’re supposed to dip below freezing for one last time. Hopefully. The first thing we had to do today … Continue reading One step closer on the garden bed construction, and an update

And it has nothing to do with what’s going on in the Middle East.

I must have been way more exhausted than I thought. The night before was one of those nights were I just didn’t sleep. Not restless or busy brain or pain, just… awake. Until about 4am. Last night, I decided to try going to be early. I was in bed and messaged my daughter in the … Continue reading Our 2026 garden progress, surprise worms, and home!

First, let’s start with the cuteness! Today has been a chilly day, with the possibility of rain – rain that has held off until just now, as I can finally see drops hitting my window. When I was done outside and coming in through the sun room, I spotted this cuddle puddle. Havarti, Gouda, Flopsy … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: more direct sowing, cuteness and an update

So May has been just all over the place, this year. This morning, it was snowing. We have frost advisories for tonight. It’ll be almost a week before things really start to warm up again. This has had an unfortunate affect on our winter sown beds. Most of what germinated did not survive the temperature … Continue reading Our 2026 Garden: direct sowing four beds

*sigh* Woke up this morning to falling snow. It didn’t take long for things to warm up enough that the snow on the ground melted away, but it was a bit longer before the snow turned into a light rain. Yes, we need the moisture, but we also need warmer temperatures! Especially overnight. We were … Continue reading Yes, more snow, plus updates and moving the chicken coop