Here comes our shed

Sooner than we had expected, our new shed got delivered. It is such a smooth process and totally painless for us.  Thankfully the foundation or shed pad was ready. Just a couple of days before we had added a little bit of clear stone to top up the sand and gravel foundation that we had filled in previously and I had posted about in my last update.

The finished shed pad

A heavy 4x4 pickup truck with a trailer that had two sheds on it pulled up yesterday. On it sat one shed for us and another one to be delivered to someone else in Leamington. 

Our shed has arrived

The driver had no problem backing into our lot and smoothly went along the fence and in-between the mature trees to get to the gravel pad.

Skilful maneuver along the fence and between the fence and trees

With a hand held remote control the Mennonite driver maneuvered the shed with the help of the high tech hydraulic on the trailer smack into the middle of the pad. He brought two guys with him who directed him where he could not visualize the position and proximity of the foundation border.  It all went very smooth. 

It's a marvellous trailer that can slide in all directions

Meanwhile our next-door neighbors struck a conversation over the fence with the delivery guy and his helpers as they discovered that they are all Mennonites from the same area. Small world.

Our trailer is loaded up with 2x4s, generator and tools, ready to go!

So here is now our new shed. I think it is a cute one. It has vinyl siding on the outside and should be maintenance free. The entrance doors are located just in-between three trees with enough clearance. There are a couple of vinyl window boxes in front of the two windows. The shed is tucked into a corner where the trees will provide a shady canopy in the summertime.

Benno is already busy inside wiring the shed up and preparing it for some inside insulation and paneling. Good thing he is working inside as it is pouring rain off and on today.

I am sure I will post more pictures of the shed and other beautifications on the lot, so stay tuned.

Hope you all stayed dry and had a good day today.

Another project on the go

After all these days from the beginning of March through the end of April that had us sitting idle at home Benno and I are ready for some outdoor activity. 

Last year we talked about setting up a shed on the new property we had been working on for most of the summer. First of all we wanted a fence because once the shed is in position there would be no room to erect one. We built that fence toward the end of October, just before the weather turned cold and wet. You can read about it  "here"

Last year's fence project

Now the time seems right to tackle that shed project. Of course we could build one ourselves. It is not that difficult and there are so many different kinds of options to build one. Likewise there are just as many readymade sheds available to purchase. There are metal, plastic and woodsheds sitting at most building centers. However, if you recall we bought a readymade shed for Benno from Wagler Mini Barns to have his little shop inside and he is so very happy with it that we thought we would look at what else this company has available.

Benno's shed we placed in October 2017

Wagler Mini Barns is run by Amish/Mennonites in Aylmer, Ontario. They manufacture just about every size and shape of a Mini Barn. From our house we took the Talbot Trail along Highway 3. It is scenic, has almost no traffic (even before the Covid-19 restrictions) and is a very relaxing 2 ½ hours spent driving while looking at rural Ontario. 

Talbot Trail through rural Ontario

Once we got to the Wagler Mini Barns place we were amazed at the shear volume of mini barns that were on display ready for purchase and delivery. I estimate maybe 200 barns were lined up on various lanes. It didn’t take us long to find what we had in mind and the price was good too. 

Just some random pictures of sheds available for purchase

Close up of a shed I liked but we didn't purchase

More sheds going the other laneway

Also a nice shed I could call my own

Only a few of the many sheds on the property

So with the shed purchased we better get going on building the foundation or shed pad, which is a bit more complicated than the last time we did it because of the Covid-19 lockdown of all the building centers. However, we managed to order on-line, waited for our pickup confirmation and then a day and half later went and got the materials to build the frame for the shed pad. I didn’t help much with that as Benno had it all under control.

Benno making sure the frame didn't shift while gravel was added

The next step was to get some gravel delivered to fill the frame and that happened today and we started with the filling in job right away. This task requires some physical labor, because we had the stone delivered and dumped in front of the property, as the ground is still way too soft for such a heavy truck to drive all the way to the frame. Also there is not much room to maneuver, as the shed will be in a corner surrounded by some trees. So some shoveling is involved.

Benno and Dave reducing the gravel pile

I am measuring to make sure the frame is square

Dave, our very nice neighbor, gave us a helping hand with the shoveling of the gravel into the little green JD dump trailer that is being pulled or pushed by the JD lawnmower and then the gravel being dumped into the frame and shoveled by me into the three sections of the leveled frame.

A bit labour intensive but doable

Another load in the JD dump trailer

The good news are that our garden centres, hardware and building centres will be allowed to open up again in a couple of days as the curve of new Covid-19 cases has flattened here in our area.

While our work is in progress, stay tuned to my next update to see how we get on with the new shed. Thanks for following my blog. Wishing everyone a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day to all moms!

Hiding behind my mask

There is so much coverage in the media about the Covit-19 that I personally would now really hear something positive. Following the news, some countries have eased up on the restrictions and opened up businesses and parks.  However, in Germany, who opened up yesterday, as an example, it is now mandatory to wear a facemask in public. This might not be a bad idea if we follow suit by opening more and more businesses here in North America. I have been wearing a dusk mask and latex gloves when grocery shopping. We also have a few N-95 masks but those I would like to hold onto and not wear until I really feel threatened to be infected. 

I have been wondering what material to use if I want to sew our own facemasks. Of course we want them to be pretty, but that is totally unimportant if the material turns out to be unsuitable and useless by letting those darn viruses through. 

Benno read on the Internet an article written by the US Army as they have tested numerous materials and found that using four-ply microfibre cloth to be the best for a facemask. Included is a link "best material for a face mask"

So we researched and found that Canadian Tire (a famous Canadian chain store) sells a microfiber cloth for glass cleaning by the name of “Frank” that is really tightly woven and smooth. It comes in a two-piece package, is turquois/green colored and costs $3.99. Walmart is also selling a microfibre cloth from Scotch-Brite, a 3M product that is $4.25 for a single piece in light blue color.

So I ordered the Frank product at Canadian Tire online and used the store-pickup option. The 3M product I got by going into Walmart, but had to search the store a bit before finding it. I figure if we don’t like wearing these masks I can always use them what they were intended for, cleaning my windows! 

Today I sewed two masks for starters. I folded the shorter side of the cloth in half but had to cut off a bit from the sides as it was to long and made three pleats. For the elastic pieces for the ears I had to experiment a little because the suggested length of 6.5 inches was too long. Benno’s mask is a little bit bigger than mine but has the format recommended in the instructions I found on the Internet. 

My mask is slightly shorter and the folds are larger so the side is narrower. I also inserted a metal nosepiece in mine by using a double strip from twist ties that are included when you purchase trash bags. It works great and so far I am happy with the outcome. The real test will be when I go shopping again wearing my 2-ply mask.

Today turned out to be a sunny day with temps at 17C/62 so no complaints. Just wishing we would have more of these balmy days. Benno added a tablet holder to his CJI Mavic Mini drone remote controller and tested the new gadget out by sending the drone high up above our property. He can now angle his iPad Mini better with this holder and see was the drone camera sees and attach a sun hood to it when needed. He finds it so much better than using the smartphone as a monitor. 

As you can see we need more warm weather to green things up around here. 

the bare spots need grass seed

view of our property and Lake Erie

part of a Lake Erie beach next to Wheatley Harbour

Hoping everyone is staying safe and healthy and thanks for dropping by.

What to do when boredom overtakes our lives

Even Reggy and Elsa are bored most of the day as I keep them inside.

Besides the repetitive everyday chores I have been doing like keeping a clean house, cooking meals, Internet browsing and a good dose of TV time, what else is there to do? Baking of course like this apple-walnut cake. But wait; if I keep baking cakes we’d be overweight by the time the Covit-19 restrictions are lifted.

For me it is still way too cold to go out into the garden. This springtime the weather here in Ontario is way behind the usual warmer temperatures we’ve had in previous years. Actually I think it is simply awful as I watched snow flurries yesterday evening twirling around the deck.

This is what it looked like last week

However, the local bird population is a tough bunch. They have been busy building nests through snow, hail and heavy rain. I am happy to report that all the birdhouses at our property are now occupied. So I started bird watching and have been trying to capture some pictures of the nesting process, which takes patience.

There is a Robin’s nest on the second floor window at our neighbor’s house that I can see from my kitchen window. It is quite a distance away but with my binoculars I can observe it quite well. However, my telelens on my camera is not as powerful, but I took some pictures anyway. The male and female Robins take turns feeding the young.

This is the actual distance to our neighbour's house

In the tree next to our neighbor’s house at the same height as the Robins nest, there is a Mourning Dove nest. I have been observing that the male and female Doves take turns breeding on the nest, but it is too far away for me to see if they already have chicks in them. I have felt sorry for those birds, as those nests are not very well protected from the elements. 

Mourning Dave nest in the tree if you look closely

The birdhouses at our garage wall are on the small side and I think those are House Sparrows breeding there, but I will update once I know for sure.

Lets hope we get some warm temperatures soon to enjoy some gardening, because I am getting restless.  

Birds eye views of our home from Benno's DJI drone

I heard the humming sound of the drone overhead

Thanks for dropping by.