One of our favorite wineries had a socially-distant tasting where members sampled pinot noir from 8 barrels (different clones, sites and types of barrels) and selected 4 to be blended into one wine and released next year. Great fun. The beakers added a nice covid touch.

Bought 2 truckloads (30 tons) of recycled asphalt and spread it over 500 feet of driveway with the bobcat. Rented a 5-ton packer and, with the help Mizuho and a neighbor, watered and rolled it all day (34 above). They did not have a roller with two smooth drums so had to use a roadbed packer which made it difficult to get it smooth. It seems to be setting up fairly well but the true test will be if it survives snow plowing in the winter. If it works, we will do the remaining 700 ft next year. Delivered material and packer rental came to under $1,000 vs $15-20,000 to pave it.

The rest of the month was taken up with several golf games with friends and watering the 100+ seedlings. Next month should be full-on garden harvesting and canning, kayaking, motorbiking and more golfing (and finally starting on the stair railings:)

After a very cool and wet June, July began with the coldest July 1 in 40 years and ended with a week of mid-30s weather, peaking at 37. Took a trip early in the month to Whistler, which had just re-opened to visitors, and Vancouver. Whistler was food and hiking, including to a site where a train wrecked 60 years ago and the wrecked cars are covered in graffiti. Vancouver was Japanese food and groceries, staying at the Pan Pacific at a super rate (it also had just re-opened), and taking Taisho for walks along the waterfront.

Next up was the neighborhood sip and sup, with social distancing measures, plastic plates and cups, and hand sanitizer in abundance. First opportunity to try out the new patio. An eclectic bunch.

Sister, BinLaw and nephew came for a visit and we fit in a day of wine tasting around Oliver. New rules mean one must reserve a time but that allows for a much greater exploration of the winery and its wines.

The Marmots this year are active and abundant. We have 4 live traps set (borrowed from the neighbors) and have caught 6 so far. However, we also caught a skunk in the trap. I was able to let it out, only for it to go into another trap two nights later. When I tried to free it, I got sprayed a bit on my legs. Rather unpleasant.

Went to a local show n shine car show with 2 neighbors who have some classic old vehicles – rode there in a 1941 1 ton truck. Show has been going for past 12 years every week through the summer.

We decided to pave the parking area and where the driveway meets the road. The crew of 7 graded the area, placed and rolled 6 truck loads of recycled asphalt, and put down 2 3/8″ of new asphalt, about 2,700 sq ft (250 sq metres). It was 37 that day, and sunny. It needs to cure for a couple of days but we are rather thrilled with it; it feels very civilized. Gravel and dust have their charms, but asphalt is truly a beautiful thing.

I have been particularly busy this month with trees. A neighbor gave me 120 really healthy seedlings: high altitude spruce, lodgepole pine, and a few larch. Although we have lots of trees, I couldn’t say no. I have planted 105 so far, mostly in the lower part of the property where there is no readily accessible water. The remaining 15 having been potted and will be planted in the fall. Planting involved digging a hole, banking up the sides, placing rocks and mulch around it, and putting up cages for some of the trees. As these seedlings arrived in mid-July, I have had to water them almost daily due to the heat. This involves filling up 5 gallon pails by the house, driving the water to the trees with the ATV, pouring the pails into a watering can, and repeating several times. The trees are too spread out to develop an irrigation system for them but they should be self-sufficient by the fall. They are doing really well so far (have not been eaten by voles or deer). In about 10 years, we should have a lifetime supply of Christmas trees.

We moved into our house 5 years ago. What a long strange ride its been. But very satisfying and fun. From bare land 6 years ago, and the framing of the footings 5.5 years ago, lots has happened. And the project continues.

So, best to you all in these interesting times. D and M

Social Distancing, travel restrictions and the closure of most services have encouraged us to renew our attack on the to-do list, and to add some additional items. And the consequential cancellation of my birthday visit to Portugal and Paris resulted in an excellent celebration here with the last bottle of a Cote de Castillion that we bought en primeur in 2005, and a cake with the number of candles equal to the square root of my age.

We spent a good part of the month designing and constructing a new rose bed and second patio area. I built the block wall for the roses and Coop and I placed and flattened the fill for the patio and then built the forms and placed the rebar. I also formed a ramp for the motorcycle/garden shed in case we had extra concrete, which we did.

May has been unusually cool and wet so we are expecting a much sunnier and warmer June. We will be shifting from work to leisure – motorbiking, kayaking and golfing – although we still plan to make some progress on outside landscaping – trees, shrubs, irrigation and possibly a retaining wall – and on the ever-elusive posts and railings for the stairs. We intend on continuing our caution and staying safe and hope and expect you will as well.

I hope you are in good health and spirits during these challenging times. Apart from the lack of concerts, theatre and meeting/dining with friends, and the cancellation of a planned trip to Portugal and France, life here on the mountain hasn’t changed much. We have put away all the winter stuff and gotten out the shorts and garden/golf/biking equipment. Irrigation running again, lawn mown, aerated and fertilized, and gardens prepped for planting. Got some tempered glass for table tops for the wine barrels and made some brackets for the gate posts. Tried to get out for a game of golf but we were rained out – the first real rain of the season. Finished grading my course – the last 3 classes were cancelled. Enjoyed preparing for the lectures and the interaction with students but the next few terms are apparently going to be done on-line so I think I will give it a pass.

Used a lot of firewood last winter so needed to replace with split wood that has been aging a year and to set aside more to age for a year before splitting it next year. Most of the wood (fir, pine and walnut) for next year was obtained free of charge – just needed to go pick it up.

Mizuho wants a rose garden so we have started to construct one behind the garage. Beside it will be another patio. Have started to dig out the garden and level the area with the Bobcat but lots more to do. Will construct the rose bed and then build the forms and place the rebar for the concrete patio before getting someone to place and finish the concrete. Watch this space!

Spent much of the month working on a bench for the front entry and a door for the pantry/laundry room. The bench is a slab of cedar I bought from a place that was moving, along with some other slabs, and then trimmed, edged, sanded and oiled. The door is from the Kelowna Mountain Equipment Co-op – they replaced their front doors with glass and I bought them – see February Blog. It has a scalloped 1/4″ veneer on one side (no idea how it was done) and straight grain fir on the other side. A friend helped me move it into the house and install it. Also completed the baseboards so the entry is finally done! Mizuho refilled planters with new dirt/mulch, weeded and planted many lavender plants that she had raised from seed.

This is our neighbor’s creek that we walk Taisho along most days. It is running well with the snow melt from the mountains.

And this is one of the neighbor’s many friendly llamas who live at the bottom of Booth Road. First time for Taisho and he was mesmorized and wanted to play.

The month started with dining out, dining in with friends, a concert and a play, cross country skiing twice, and a short trip to Vancouver where we stayed at the Hotel Vancouver with Taisho, dined downtown and met our cute-as-a-button grand nephew Finley for the first time.

Then over a couple of days, it all changed: self-isolation and social distancing; restaurants, shops, ski areas and golf courses closed; concerts and plays cancelled; and my last 3 classes moved from the classroom to skype. Interesting and scary times. But apart from all of that, life on the mountain continues.

In the event the social distancing continues for the summer, I thought it prudent to buy a used kayak for exploring the local lakes and rivers. Thinking of calling her Socially Distant.

Also got the car out last week for the first time since I drove it home December 23rd. I like is as much as then and maybe even more. Hope to get the bike out in the next 2 weeks – the roads still have lots of sand and gravel from the winter. Cousin Pat found this old photo of me and an earlier bike from 40 years ago – I was moving from Winnipeg to Vancouver at the time.

Found time to clean up the shop and garage and build a 3″ live-edge bench top out of a slab of cedar. The bench is for the front entry and tapers from 18″ to 12″ over its 7′ length. The U square steel legs should arrive tomorrow.

We bought and installed a pair of gates for the driveway (some trim and adjustment still needed). When we built the fence 2 years ago, I had two fence posts left over so decided to auger a hole and place them, in anticipation of a gate one day. As the posts were a bit wonky, I needed to clad them in some 2x material to give me a plumb post. And as they were an odd distance apart, I needed to place the hinges on the front of the post rather than on the inside face. This makes it almost impossible to adjust them to level but I remain hopeful we will get there (the post are plumb but don’t look so because of the camera’s parallax distortion). Because we walk past the gates twice a day to walk Taisho, we don’t think it will be a chore to open/close the gates for the car – they will be open and closed randomly I expect as we have no concerns about security.

I hope everyone continues to stay physically isolated and practices social distancing and stays healthy. That is not a problem for us up on the hill. And our long list of projects has proven to be a valuable benefit as we have lots to keep us occupied.

We started the month off with some sausage making with neighbor Klaus and Cam. We made 3 kinds, two fresh with no preservatives (bratwurst and Italian), and one smoked – about 100 links each. Made from pork, milk, water, spices, herbs and some salt. Great fun and very satisfying. Klaus also gave us some smoked pork hock and spec (like prosciutto) that he made. Its nice to have a butcher/winemaker as a neighbor! Also found time for some foreign films and several concerts and David continued to enjoy his seminar on International Relations.

C and E invited us to dinner-on-the-Silverstar-mountain via snow cat. Totally excellent experience. Highly recommended. The cats groom the hills at night and this one has a cabin on the back. Mizuho and I got to ride up front!

The local Mountain Equipment Co-op store in Kelowna had 4 large fir entrance doors for years, the same doors as on their HQ in Vancouver. I noticed the other day they were replaced by glass doors and asked what happened to them. Long story short – we bought all 4 of them for $800 (the manager first asked $500 for each). The are 8.5 feet high and 41″ wide, and weigh about 250 pounds each. The doors are solid core with about a 1/4″ veneer, straight grain on one side and scalloped on the other. Planning to use one for our bedroom door, one for the laundry room door at the front entrance and one for a very large desk. These will be projects for 2021:)

Finally got around eliminating the temporary work bench I built 5 years ago and replacing it with some storage and room for the drill press. One cabinet door is a piece of art we bought locally and the other is made from western maple panels and is intended to hide the electrical panel but allow access to the breakers.

Off to another concert in Vernon on the leap day before turning in earnest to getting the stair railings done, or at least starting them.

We started the new year off with a bang, or more accurately, a splash, with a Jan 1 polar bear dip in Lake Okanagan. It was invigorating and lots of fun, as I said during my interview on the local TV. I am wearing a Saudi Farwa; perfect for the event. After the dip, we repaired to the RV in the background for some champagne and bites.

Front hall closet (maple veneer and fir edging) finally finished with installation of maple top and toe kick on the bottom. Just started working on transforming a 3″ cedar slab into a front hall closet and have almost finished the last cabinet upstairs which will allow me to finally begin work on the stair railings.

Have been busy with cleaning/organizing the shop and garage (storing, giving away, and throwing out); plowing the driveway (we had 9 snowfalls this month!); preparing lectures and readings for the 4th year seminar course I am giving at UBCO on International Relations (lots of fun and work and a very active and involved class); and several concerts in Kelowna and Vernon. Mizuho expanded her culinary skills to baguettes and a truly excellent galette des rois she made for a French friend of ours. We also enjoyed a day of snowshoeing followed by an excellent 5 course meal (with wine pairings) based around BC truffles at a first nations’ lodge about 2 hrs from here.

And lastly, Taisho continues to charm.

As we pass the 5th anniversary of the start of this project and approach the end of the year, I thought it appropriate to reflect. Major house projects included building planters, terracing the back yard, felling trees and cutting/splitting enough firewood for a few years, moving tons of dirt, mulch and rock, acquiring a seacan container, building two rock walls, filling two more gabions, creating a dirt verge along the driveway, chipping up branches, and finishing the cabinets in the kitchen and almost in the front entry, and tonight cutting, trimming and putting the first coat of oil on 8 shelves. Also found time for some travel to Japan (friends, flowers and hot springs) and to the UK and Vienna (music, theater and museums), a road trip through Alberta and Saskatchewan, and several motorbike trips in the valley and to the Kootenays and Washington State (twice involving camping and once kayaking). Also enjoyed several visitors from out of province and out of country, helped our former neighbors in Ottawa move to Kelowna, helped our neighbor transfer this year’s pinot noir to wine barrels, bottle last year’s pinot noir, pulp up several hundred pounds of apples for cider, and made some sausage. And we have had a full year of enjoying the company of the delightful Taisho. In the final days of the year I am preparing to teach a 4th year seminar on international relations at UBCO and preparing my house to-do list for next year – we shall again not be idle or bored.

The front closet, with doors.  Cam made the two top and end doors and gable – I sanded, finished and installed.  Still need to install maple baseboard and maple/fir top.

The new 20′ container, leveled and placed (shoved around by Bob).  Am building wood storage on the left and at the back, and general storage on the right.  There will be additional wood storage outside the container, to the right, and a roof to the left to shelter the ATV and Bobcat.  But will first need to paint something cool on the outside walls.

Having had seller’s remorse since I sold my 335 18 months ago (had it for 11 years after our Saab 9000 for 19 years, I have been looking for a fun 3-season car that is more engaging to drive than the SUV. Found one in Penticton – a 2014 M235 rear-wheel drive manual with a in-line six that benefits from an aftermarket EMU. To paraphrase the Beach Boys – fun, fun, fun until Daddy takes the Beemer away… Next summer, the ATV will live outside and next winter, the motorbike will be in the gardent shed but even now, they all fit in 1/2 the garage.

Taisho continues to be a delight – he loves all dogs and people, and is very easy going, especially for a Shiba. Mizuho and I are girding ourselves for a polar bear swim on Jan 1 with some good friends. Happy New Year to all our blog friends!

Rented a chipper for the day to chip up all the branches I had been collecting over the past year rather than burning them.  This is Cam the woodworker deconstructing.  We now have a large pile of chips for mulch, compost or pathways.

An orchard in the neighborhood was changing from Spartan apples to Ambrosia apples and cherries so offered about 200 of these de-limbed tree trunks for free.  They were green and very heavy, about 3m high.

We had our first outdoor fire in our new firebowl and kept warm with our farwa desert coats from Saudi Arabia

The local Kelowna-Kasugai sister city group had a Japanese culture day, including odori dancing.

Cam and I helped our neighbor fill 120 bottles of last year’s crop of pinot noir…

…and he gave me his bandsaw which he hardly uses.  It will have a new home with us and will be available whenever he needs it.

Dear friends from Tokyo came from Vancouver for an overnight visit before returning home.  Always a delight to see them.  Big blog fans 🙂

We had several days of stunning sunsets at the beginning of November – red sky at night, sailers’ delight

Cam, gentleman, cabinet maker and good friend, greatly advanced the house project these past several weeks.  This is a view of the living room side of the front hall closet, with maple veneer and hemlock strips that should darken over time.

Cam also completed the last piece above the upper cabinets, and the corner cherry.   Still not sure about the corner so there made be some changes in the future.

And, Cam made the cabinets above and beside the fridge.  They look great and we have a ton of storage space in the kitchen now – 17 doors and 27 drawers!