It's 6:22 a.m. on a Friday morning and I've been up for nearly an hour. Usually I sleep a good eight hours but last night was one of those nights when a deep sleep wasn't meant to be..I thought I'd sleep extra long too after being up to the farmhouse my husband and I are restoring for our retirement home.
It's hard to tell by the picture but we have 35 acres to play around with, excuse me I meant work forever on, but one needs a hobby when a person retires, right? Thankfully a farmer a few miles down the road from us is using our land for soy beans this year and last year planted potatoes..We will never have to buy potatoes which is an added bonus. By his using our fields we are keeping the weeds down and more trees from growing where not wanted at least at present.
Not knowing fully what one acre looks like, it's hard for me to estimate how many acres of woods we have but at the back of the last field, our wonderful woods start..I am guessing 15 acres at least are trees of all kinds. In my front yard I have what I hope turns out to be a crab apple tree, the leaves right now are a gorgeous red. We have two willow trees, it took me quite a few hours to pick up all the branches that came down over the winter. It's a lot of fun to watch the huge buds of the chestnut tree unfurl and I'm anticipating the half dozen apple trees will blossom before we leave in early June.
There are many other apple trees around the perimeter of the property but what kind is not known yet. But the MacIntosh tree by the garage produces delicious apples which I tried one fall when here. I have set myself the task of doing some weeding while waiting for my husband and his son to arrive, I arrived a week ahead of them..The burning bush out front reminds me of our home in Muskoka as we have 3 out front..I happily discovered some peonies, struggling to be seen in the lawn, hidden by the long grass, so shovel in hand I started digging around them..years ago someone planted chives among them, a strange combination to me but I left it there. I also weeded around my two rhubarb plants out behind my little barn, then started on pulling the long grass around the raspberry canes. Another delightful surprise is the wild cranberries growing in the front lawn.
As P.E.I. is known for it's blueberries, I anticipate planting some bushes as I try and eat a small bowl everyday, they are so tasty and good for you. Inside the house I have been vacuuming and sweeping, seems lots of flies took up residence over the winter. I have so enjoyed cranking out our new windows which replaced 6 old ones last year. That just leaves 6 more to replace perhaps this year.
We took the house back to it's studs inside to insulate so you might say we are starting from scratch. It's a huge job and sometimes it's hard to see the end result in my mind's eye. But it's a labour of love and the closest I'll ever get to a "new" home. I get to chose all the new light fixtures, sinks, flooring, paint colors and on and on..Some furniture we will bring from home, two antique pieces have just been given to us and some my husband will make. Did someone say "Hodge Podge?"..It will all come together and look great in the end.
Can't wait for Monday night when hubby will arrive, he will be tired sharing 18 hrs. of driving with his son but if I know hubby he will be up bright and early Tuesday morning raring to start the next project on our wee house..In a project as big as this, sometimes I get impatient and want it all done now! But patience must win out as holidays only last for 3 weeks and money doesn't grow on trees. As soon as we get back home, the saving starts all over again for next year's holidays and renovation. Thankfully there is still lots of time for me to change my mind about where the closets will go and which room will be the spare room as I find myself second guessing myself from day to day. Everything will fall into place all in good time and as I watch the eagle outside my bedroom window enjoy his morning flight I'm at peace and all is well.
35 acres!! wow. that is so great Lannie, you'll be able to have your own personal walking trails. Won't that be wonderful! I know that feeling of wanting it all done now but I have found it's nice to have the time to think and re-think some of the plans. Things have changed along the way and that's a good thing. Perhaps as you learn more about the house and how you want to live in it you'll enjoy having the time to think it over.
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