Best & Worst

Amélie really covered the spectrum this week. She found some baby bunnies next to our driveway that were in pretty rough shape. Eyes still closed, not much more than a week old. She was thrilled to have the chance to try and take care of them. Her best day of the summer. A couple days later she had her worst day of the summer when the last of the three died. She tried her best and it was a good experience for her!

The girls finally got to play some soccer, but Monday wasn't the day. Big thunderstorms and still some smoke. Abigail got to spend some time on her own in Escanaba learning to make stained glass! She really enjoyed it. When I picked her up I had to park under the tree because a huge storm with lots of hail was nearby. Luckily it just missed us. 

We got the doors finished up downstairs, I made some closet shelves, finished up the inside of the greenhouse, and started on the outside of the chicken coop. Should have some chickens coming after we get back from Wisconsin this coming weekend. We had three butterflies emerge in the greenhouse! Two of them didn't make it for long at all, so there won't be any eggs this time. Also got a new client. I will start some work for them in September. Really nice people living just a few blocks away. 

Baby bunnies!

Black swallowtails in the greenhouse.

Finally finished.

So small!

Inside part of the coop.

Nature's garage.

Easy access to eggs.

Hopefully a fun place!

Winter in July

It feels like two weeks in one. Summer and Winter. We started off with so much heat and sunshine! Beach, pontoon boat, swimming, even put the finishing touches on the porch project. Amélie had her first paying customer! She baked cinnamon rolls and a gluten free apple rhubarb crisp for some of our friends. She asked 20 dollars but they gave her 40 - the loved it! She did have to bake the cinnamon rolls twice though as the first batch failed. 

Then the smoke rolled in. No more sunshine. No more outside time. Thankfully I have two filtration systems set up, so the air in our house is fairly clean, but it definitely feels like winter. Plenty of inside projects to do. Finished up with painting the downstairs doors. Sleeping downstairs. Made a quick bench for a client and a few small shower shelves. Even got a new bed to complete the bedroom set from my grandma. The outside air from unloading that and doing some grocery shopping really got to me though. Felt pretty sick yesterday. Who knows how long it will last. 

Beach time!

Hanging out on the pontoon boat.

Smoke plumes from the Canadian wilderness.

Porch bench made from the old porch decking.

The Doors

We have had some false starts this week! It began with a swarm box that was full of honeybees. Thought we had captured a new colony, so we brought it down, opened it up, and found out there were only a few inside. A colony had just discovered the bit of honey I had left in there and were robbing it.

Then we got busy with painting seven doors and the trim around them. Installed them and decided it was the wrong color. Back to square one. Naomi had a special trip to Isle Royale planned for this week and that fell through, but she still has the vacation days, so I guess they will be for painting. What a bummer!

We did get to have a lovely dinner at our friend's cabin on the lake. Amélie was in heaven. Dog and swimming. She gets to bake something for them this week! Made some progress on the chicken coop and finally got the tree chairs hung up. Got the trailer up to speed apart from the lighting. New decking turned out well. Kicking off another heat wave here. So glad we have AC! 

Trailer is ready to roll.

Robbing frenzy.

Fun at the lake!

Sad lawn, happy girls.

Ribs and Crayfish

We had a fun fourth of July. Went down to Escanaba to drop some door handles off for Kile that I made and cut the lawn. Then we stopped at the Rapid River to catch a few crayfish for our pond. Went to one of Naomi's colleagues house for a party where the girls got to try ribs for the first time. They also got to ride a horse and play with the dogs. 

I finally put together the firewood cribs this week and cleaned up a couple brushpiles. Made some progress on the chicken coop as well, but it is getting a bit late for chickens and Dominic doesn't seem to have many. Hopefully we can find a solution!

Naomi has started painting the doors downstairs. Lots of work. At least we get a break from the heat. The girls had their soccer game canceled because it was too hot this week! Sure felt good to swim in the big lake. Amélie refused to put on her swimsuit because she only wanted to get her feet wet. Of course she ended up swimming in her clothes. 

If anyone asks, it's not a shed, it's a raised bed!

Abigail needs some practice.

Searching for crayfish.

Horse riding lessons!

Lots of fun at the old farm. 

Beaming

Got a lot done this week. Started on the chicken coop and finished the garage beam project. The coop is complicated and the beam was heavy, but it came from the white pine that was once growing in our backyard. Also got the bearings in the trailer greased. Sure was difficult getting a few of those lug nuts off! 

Last Sunday we went for a walk along the Yellow Dog River and had lunch in Big Bay. It was a lot of fun. The girls and I also went down to Escanaba on Friday to cut the lawn and water some plants. We stopped at Dominic's to see the farm and mill up a bit more cedar. One round left. Still no chicks. We also rescued a skunk that had fallen into the window well. That was a bit scary!

The girls had fun with a friend this week and made lots of boats for the stream. They are testing out different designs. It has been a rather chilly week, so the garden hasn't grown much, but this week it will heat up so things should change quickly. Finally got a new dehumidifier and it makes a big difference!

Fun at the Yellow Dog River.

The final beam.

Amélie learning to cut the grass.

More cedar!

Payday

I was able to wrap up the job on Middle Island Point. Client is very happy and it was a lot of fun to work on it with him and the builder. What a beautiful spot, and we lucked out with the weather apart from one storm that got everything wet. Managed to get the screens attached to the posts in a fairly seamless way. Nice to be able to get through this summer financially without dipping too far into the savings account! That was getting stressful. 

Also managed to get the stream flowing. Garden is planted. Now we just need some more rain! On Sunday night Naomi cooked a 5-star meal to celebrate the girl's good report cards this year. Normally we go out to eat but this was better. Got the new grill fixed and working as well. Teaching Amélie how to use it. 

One of our teachers is retiring, so transferring her students over is taking a lot of time. Giving too many to one rather unreliable teacher who has been doing better lately, but I just don't have better options. Really hard to find good teachers. 

Got ladybugs for the greenhouse. They should take care of the aphids. The problem is that I got black swallowtail caterpillars as well. Nice snack for the ladybugs. Also worried that the plants I got for them to eat are full of pesticides. These unexpected wrinkles always seem to throw a wrench in things!

Fancy dinner!

Garden is ready for the rabbits and chipmunks to enjoy.

Screen attachments. Tricky.

They kept the roof but everything else is new.

Sean the builder. 

Nice covered workspace!

The wall keeps out most of the wind and rain. Original windows.

Rough cut cedar looks great.

Rails for grandkids to grab.

Black swallowtail catepillars.

The chef learns a new tool.

Jobsite

It was a pleasure to work for a client who has a cabin on a rocky peninsula jutting out into Lake Superior. He is a great guy, and helped out a lot. There was a builder who he hired as well. The three of us had fun together and made some good progress with rebuilding a screened in porch. Had to get creative to match the old style as much as possible. 

Didn't leave much time for other things this week, so the garden got pushed back. Fence is done for now and tomatoes are in. Maybe the rest will get planted today. Just in time for some colder weather, haha. 

The girls wrapped up with their last week of school. They had all sorts of fun activities planned. Definitely a transition to figure out the new summer routine! We did get to collect some tadpoles from the Black Rocks for our pond, and that was fun. 

Lucky with the weather!

Nice walk at Black Rocks.

Scribing trim to fit the old logs.

The rails are in!

Collecting tadpoles.

Amazing they can live there!

Garden Building

It's been a busy week in the backyard. Pond plants arrived along with some snails. Got the raised beds in. Tried to avoid the heat, but got pretty sweaty anyway. Even turned a stump into a planter for a blueberry. 

Bringing the plants out of the greenhouse to get used to the great outdoors. Reluctant to plant them until the fence is up. Got some posts and the gate in. Had ideas for the gate which didn't work out. Not happy with the look, but it should be functional. 

Started work on the porch project for a client as well. Need to prep further for that this morning. Finally getting some much needed rain, so I was hoping to plant today, but not sure time will allow it! Had a nice dinner with Pish last night. She was surprised by our lack of bugs.

The stump planter.

Ready to go out!

Tractor sure made this job easier. 

Tourist Time

A friend came up to visit from Ann Arbor this week, so we got to be tourists for a bit. It was his first time to the UP and he enjoyed it! Lucky the weather was good. He also interviewed me for an article in a Michigan Alumni publication. We had fun, and hopefully we can stay with them if we visit Ann Arbor some day.

Got a lot of cleaning up done this week and made some progress with the landscaping. The spiral raised bed is ready to go and the girls helped me get the pond liner in yesterday. School had their field day on Friday, and it was fun, but Amélie hurt her wrist. She gets to wear a removable cast for a while. 

Way too hot dry here. Can't seem to get many seeds started even when I water them. Feels like August. Sure hope it rains soon, but the forecast isn't promising. 

The dam by our house is impressive!

It was Miss CJ's double golden birthday.

Got the tire off the camper. Need to figure out how to get air back in.

Goose school.

Been a while since we saw a sunset!

Went out to TNT.

Partway blown over.

Fun with the drone.

Pond time!