Down to the Wire

What a mess. So much to clean up and get organized! Got the last of the plants in ground for the winter. So curious to see which ones will make it. Put together a little tropical section next to the wood stove. The fish, crayfish, and snails all seem happy. Made a specialized squeegee to take the condensation off the polycarbonate roof. Bricks are all in and the gaps are seeded with creeping thyme. Bees seem to be doing better inside, behind the net, than they were outside, but it is too humid for them and although they don't like the net, it's better than dying on wet and colder windows. It all came together and I like it! Finally can say this project is done. Barely made it before the final deadline I set this spring - Thanksgiving. 

The girls had a half day on Wednesday, and Naomi was able to pick them up and bring them to her office. Fun to spend some time together. Naomi has several more colleagues who are actively looking for other jobs. Sure wish they could find a way to create a stable, not so toxic workplace, because she likes her job and so do the people that keep leaving. 

Looking forward to some time spent with family, and some rest in December! Also will be nice to have everything cleaned up and organized, for a little while anyway. 

Needs some landscaping.

Lots of light.

Plenty of height.

Balancing all the straight lines.

Happy fish.

Probably won't make it, but who knows.

Nice spot to work.

Great woodstove!

Lots of condensation in the winter.

Through the table leg.

From the top step.

Working with Mommy.

40

I had a pretty special birthday. Henry Ford was really active in this area - he owned 500,000 acres, set up lots of sawmills and factories, even a giant power plant that was run on the scraps from his operations which powered a third of this region. We got to spend the night in his hotel, his room actually, the same place where he hung out with Edison, Kingsford, Firestone, etc. Had fresh whitefish, a great breakfast, and even hiked back to a waterfall without getting shot on the opening day of deer season. 

We did get some snow earlier this week but it is mostly gone. The girls got to enjoy their first snow day! Even had a friend over. Almost done with the greenhouse. Planning to finish it up in the next week or so. Got some steps in and the aquaponics all set up. Happy with how it's turning out. 

Also, brought my book into a new local bookstore this weekend. Hopefully they will want to put it on the shelf. We shall see. Would be nice to have it available in town. The girls are in Escanaba for the weekend, so we will head down to pick them up later today. It was great to have a bit of time away, but definitely a lot to wrap up before Thanksgiving!

It got a bit dark on the inside!

Snow day.

Wrapping up the steps.

Sugarloaf Mountain. 

Henry Ford's hotel room.

Big Bay.

The lighthouse turned out to be private, but we found a sunset.

I want one!

Yellow Dog Falls.

Losing the Race

My goal this spring was to beat the snow with this greenhouse. The exterior is done, but lots left to do inside. The snow has come. Luckily it isn't here to stay! Not ready yet, but it sure is pretty. Working on getting the ramp in and the water system set up. Tried replacing the hose, but still need a pump to run the water jacket on the wood stove as I can't get the air out. 

Put the first two ground plants in the the ground, so that's exciting. Hopefully they will adjust to their new environment. Treated the water to address the chlorine and added a couple water plants to it. Should be ready for fish in a few days!

Naomi has been busy at work again, but it is starting to slow down. My mom came up again for the night and we had a nice lunch with Naomi. The girls have had a good week too. Amélie has had some trouble with her friend at school, and Abigail got a bit of a cold, but other than that they are doing well. Amélie baked some zucchini bread for French Claire and we dug up some plants from her garden. 

Lighting up the stove for the first time!

The draft is good.

Testing the water jacket.

Finished exterior!

First in ground plants.

Working on the ramp.

Two Doors

Another milestone this week. Got the greenhouse sealed up! My dad helped to hang the door. It was so heavy! Also got the new door from the garage to the house put in. What an improvement. Started working on the cladding and got all the windows in. I thought they were all 26x26, but half of them turned out to be 26x27, so I needed to do a bit of demolition to get them in. Whoops. Hopefully this week I can wrap up the cladding if the weather cooperates. 

Nice that the door install could be combined with Halloween! The girls had fun trick or treating. It was warmer than the last couple years. Hard to believe it is November already. I would be up for a bit of hibernation, but lots of hard work left until at least Thanksgiving! 

Last of our garden produce.

Great morning for my run by the Dead River.

A rainbow!

Amazing how hydrophobic cork is.

Wrapping up the door install.

Done!

Ready to go.

Third year in a row for these costumes!