Busy month of playing in and with dirt.  Some call it gardening.  Now that we have a deer fence in place, we can plant anything we want rather than just deer food.  So this led to several projects.  Having realized that the irrigation in the front and side was overtaxed, I ran another pvc pipe (so each line had fewer sprinkers) and rerouted the hose.  Works like a charm now.  The manifold which provided outlets for 4 pipes had some threads stripped (plastic) so I wrote to the manufacturer (Melinor) and they sent me a new one.  The internet and social media has certainly heightened the value of customer satisfaction.

As I want to sell the pickup to simplify things, I bought a used trailer.  It tilts and dumps, can carry about a yard of material, 16′ long pieces of wood, and the ATV.  Having used it to get a 1/2 yard of mulch, it was clear I would need something bigger for the mulch.  So I got Les to bring up a truck load (about 11 yards). 

Also had time for three bike rides – to Cherryvale for breakfast, to the 97 Diner near Falkland for lunch, and 350km down a mountain road to Osoyoos and back through wine country, including two stops at boutique wineries.  One of the guys below has been across Canada on his bike, two went to Alaska last summer.  Bikes from 4 countries, 3 continents and with 3 different drive trains – shaft, chain and belt.

Taisho continue to provide lots of fun.  Here he is staring down some deer on a walk, and fighting with some fuki (you can eat the shoots in the spring and then the stalks)

Brother in Law Steve and Susan came up for the May long weekend and we felled 4 trees that had been killed by the Pine Bark Beetle.  Each fell exactly as planned (always a good thing). 

This was the largest of the 4, about 30 meters tall and just over 100 years old (as per the growth rings).  The dark areas are where the beetles sucked the sap out of the tree – they stop when they hit the heartwood.  All four were limbed and two bucked up – just need to buck up the last two and drag it down the slope (easier to say than to do).  Will make some more benches and have lots of firewood.

These are the views before and after.

Started some raised bed planters – 3 in total, each 3′ x 6′ by 2′ high.  Corners are 4×4 cedar posts, sides are old OSB and plywood left over from construction and sided with most of the remaining fir tongue and groove with a cedar stain.  I lined the sides with heavy plastic and put in 8″ of rock.  Then some landscape fabric and 16″ of dirt/mulch mix.  I also pre-plumbed for irrigation which I will need to figure out how to install in June.  Also need to put cedar caps on top of the sides.  Two planters are now finished and planted, one more to go.  In the background of the 3rd photo is a raised rock planter that has lilac, spirea and sunflowers.

Have also been spreading more mulch around and more river rock beside the house.  The front garden is now done and will should grow in through the summer;  the irises will be moved outside the fence later this year as the dear deer won’t eat them.

And because all work and no play makes Dave a dull boy, I had my open reel deck refurbished and am delighting in the rich analogue sound, not to mention my rather eclectic tastes of a few decades ago.