I Can't Believe It's November

Like our friends and family in Ontario - we got snow this week. I am definitely not ready for winter to  settle in yet, so I hope this was just Mother Nature's idea of a joke. But if not, I am at least loving having the fire burning again in the living room.

I did finally get the last of the tomatoes in out of the garden realizing that even though many were not ripe, they would not ripen any more outside. My windowsill is full of the last harvest in hopes that some may still turn green. I got the garden rototilled and the garlic planted. For my first Nova Scotian garden, I was overall pleased with the final results. Although most of my beans and squash were eaten by animals, my peas didn't grow and my tomatoes didn't ripen, I did get fantastic red onions, potatoes, hot peppers, beets, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, blackberries, basil, thyme, oregano, and lemon balm. My garlic grew despite being planted in June, the asparagus looks promising for the coming years, the blueberry bushes, rhubarb, raspberries and strawberries also survived the weather and animals and hopefully with continue to grow and fruit for years to come.

The person putting the roof on the barn has started and it is already looking so much better. The barn as a whole will not be finished until next year as it still needs some new flooring and stalls built, but I am thrilled with the progress and am so excited by how great it is looking.

Last October (a year ago) I purchased the first window in the long task of replacing all the windows in the house. This October I purchased the second and this weekend they were installed. Our friend Dave came over Friday and Saturday and taught me how to remove the old and install the new. They look fantastic and now I just need to pull out my carpentry skills and finish the interior trim.

Zoe was asked by a friend to housesit for her so it has been very quiet around here with just Dixie, Charlie the cat, the chickens and I. Zoe has told me she is going to return to Ontario for the next semester of school as the difference between the Ontario requirements for high school and the Nova Scotian requirements were so different she thought it would be better for her to complete her OSSD. This time of her absence while housesitting has given me a taste of what life is like with just One Girl and a Dream and her 31 animals. While the house is quiet, and I have to do all the cooking (yuck) and I will miss Zoe and our adventures tremendously, I do have great neighbours, great coworkers, great friends, property I love, and I am happy to report that it will be okay!