Clearing Some Trees

A few weekends ago we decided that we needed to clear some trees that were too near the house as our lot is quite heavily treed. The house in Goldcreek has been quite chilly due to the shade, in fact, even in June and July we frequently had to start the wood stove at night to get rid of the chill. What a difference getting rid of some of the trees has made! My gardens love the sunlight and our house is no longer in darkness. We took down 14 so far and will probably take down another four. At first, I thought this was going to be way too many, but actually, it looks great and our lot still has tonnes of lovely trees and shade.

Above,  Daryl cuts a wedge into a tree trunk.  This directs the tree to fall in a certain direction.  He then uses the chainsaw to cut the trunk on the other side of the wedge.  The tree then falls wherever the wedge is pointed.  It's amazingly accurate.

Here is Dan (Daryl's brother) wrapping a rope around a tree which he will then attach to the back of the quad.  Sometimes, the trees (especially if they are leaning or have twisted trunks) need  help falling in a safe, proper direction.  Daryl's step-dad Mert would drive the quad putting tension onto the falling tree in order to direct it away from the house.

After the tree was felled, there was tonnes of work clearing the branches, some of them 3-4 inches in diameter (read this "heavy") and 8-10 feet long.  We then took them up to the fire pit  and burned them, which was fun. (think massive bonfire).

Digging some holes

We had some stumps on the acreage that were bugging Daryl when he was mowing and trimming the lawn, so we decided to rent a mini excavator to remove a few of them. We also had to dig down one side of the shop to level it out so a floor could be installed. Mert (Daryl's step-dad) hauled away the carnage with the quad and then flattened out the area after the holes were refilled with dirt. Fun was had by all playing on the machinery that day.

Camping Again

Well, so much for the nice weather.  This weekend..... well...... not as good. We did manage to roast a huge pork loin over the fire with Dan and Yvette and Yvette's sister Deb and her husband Brandon.  The next day, we made pulled pork sliders with the leftovers, topped with coleslaw.  They were soooo good!   Here is a shot of Grandma Deb looking at the piles of hail which were sliding off of the tarps we had to string up.  We spent the weekend huddled by the fire (with friends and family) under the tarps chatting, telling stories and playing games. Even though the weather was the pits, we still enjoyed our time with everyone.  On an up note, the day we left the sun was out, the birds were singing and the air was becoming much warmer. Go figure.

Camping Finally

We are finally able to go camping again with the beautiful Spring weather here in the mountains. We tried a new lake  this year called "Northstar" and really enjoyed it, we caught 3 Rainbows all around 2 Lbs (no pictures as Karen was too excited to snap a few shots after netting the beasts) and cooked them up for a snack for 8 people that evening. Ginger and Logan really enjoy their new bed, they sleep together on the bottom bunk and usually beat us to sleep every night. Dan (Daryl's brother) received a turkey frier for Christmas and had to break it out for a feed of wings and fries for a snack one afternoon, mmmmmmmm.....yummy.

Joy ride

Last Saturday we took a break and went for a quad ride.  With our land being right next to crown land, it's super easy to just jump on the quad and zoom off; there's no packing up the truck or driving anywhere, we can just go.  We crossed a spillway (from Cranbrook's reservoir) then went up the powerline (big open area underneath the hydro lines) to a lookout above an area called Mayook which is a little farming community about 25 minutes from Cranbrook by highway.  Nice view,eh? 

Moving In

Here is the new and final house (says Karen, Daryl is skeptical) in Gold Creek.  Karen reports the only other move she will be making is into the old folks home or into a wooden box.  Daryl says when the shop is set up he can build the box.  The house is very brown.  The cedar siding will be painted at some point.  We have 3.08 acres with a 25 by 35 workshop and a huge fire pit.  It also has a raised veggie garden with built in sprinklers (yes!)  It's right next to thousands of acres of crown land, so Karen intends to get some cross country ski's this spring when they go on sale.   The house is dated, (built in 1978) but solid and very clean, so Daryl will do updates, including gutting the kitchen and moving it to a new location (and Karen will paint) as the money trickles in.  Stay tuned....

Our Move

Here we are packing and cleaning during this past March break.  Shayla is the one up on the counter helping Karen clean the cupboards.  We are getting ready for the big (and final) move out to Gold Creek, a rural area on the outskirts of Cranbrook. (think small acreages, horses, hobby farms, plenty of wild animals, that sort of thing).  The last picture of this set is the morning of moving day.  Daryl is just about to jump into the moving truck (not featured here due to our friend's picture taking) and take it to the new house.  More to come....