SPRING THINGS

The weather was good for the first part of April and we jumped into spring pruning, thatching the lawn and rototilling the garden.  We had so much dead grass from thatching that we had to make a big pile of it in the garden and spread the rest of it on all our flower and shrub beds as well as on top of a grassy section beside the driveway.  We hoped that it would pack down and form a nice mulch layer but a few windy days thinned it out quite a bit.  What’s left is starting to compact now and we can work it in to the soil as needed.

We had high hopes of going out fishing on Christina Lake but by the time we got the boat ready to go, the weather changed.  We decided to purchase a 5 HP Honda kicker motor to replace our 9.9 HP Johnson motor.  The new one, which is a 4 cycle motor, will run quieter and cleaner and at higher RPM which will be better for the motor.  We were able to sell the old one within a week to someone from Nelson—nice not to have to keep old stuff around.

OLD MOTOR

NEW MOTOR

We don’t have any major inside projects planned this year other than painting one of the basement bedrooms.  We did put a hardwood polish on the hardwood floors upstairs and it turned out very nice.  The wood grain is more prominent and with the smoother surface, it seems to be staying cleaner longer.

We haven’t been out to the golf course or playing pickleball as my sprained knee is still not totally healed.  I’ve had a couple of physiotherapy treatments and have home exercises to do, so I’m working on getting it in good working condition before trying any sports.  However, I’m able to build fence and we started on that a couple of weeks ago.

The first section is between the west side of the house and the existing fence on the property line and it only took a few days to put in place.  We decided to purchase ready-made cedar fence panels to match the existing fence on that side and it is very quick and easy to build as long as you get your fence posts at exactly the right distance.  We had to reduce the width of one panel and it was fun to take one end off and reconstruct the edge.  The fence staining will have to wait until it is warmer and drier and a gate will need to be built.

The next fence section will be between the house (garage) and the shop and after it’s built, our backyard will be completely enclosed by wooden fence.  We’re hoping that will keep the deer out and we can start planting some fruit trees and more shrubs and flowers.  We’ll have to test its effectiveness before we plant too many things.