I see that I have quite a bit of updating to do now.
There have been some exciting developments lately, not the least of which was the blowing up of our heat pump. OK, maybe blowing up is a small exaggeration, but it did let go with quite a bang when it died.
So we got the local guy out to have a look at it to see what the trouble is, and after doing some testing it turns out that the compressor has gone, along with one of the PC boards - naturally it is the bigger of the two - and at the same time he advises us that there definitely needs to be a disconnect right close to the pump, and that little item is conspicuous by its' absence. There might be a few other bits that need replacing, but I don't know much more than that.
He calls in to his parts supplier, located down in Kelowna, and checks on the available parts and any possible warranty claim on the compressor. By a stroke of good fortune, it seems that the compressor is covered under warranty, but nothing else. OK, that's good, because the compressor is a very cool $1,200 bill. So now we are awaiting the parts delivery and the ensuing installation thereof. Next week should see things back in order again, but in the meantime, we are putting the old wood stove to good use.
Next item: A couple of weeks ago Val decides that we need to remove a couple of trees which are shading an area which she wants to turn into a garden. No worries sez I, and the next day I get all set up to remove the fir tree, which was by far the bigger of the two. There is only one option for the direction for the tree to fall, and that goes without incident. We successfully limb the tree, burn all the branches and cut the log into firewood. In turn we move all those chunks to the carport where we have the wood splitter. That is all now split and stacked and will be ready for next winter.
The other tree is a much smaller cedar, but with all the branches growing off to the south east side, about 90º off from where I need it to go. The weight of the branches is obviously going to be a problem, so I attach a long rope to the tree, haul it up the driveway and instruct Val to pull like hell as soon as I start the back cut. As soon as the tree starts to move, it is obvious that Val's weight is no match for the tree and it unceremoniously lands on the side of my Chevy. I am not amused. Fortunately, the damage is very minor, more an annoyance than anything.
After this little happenstance, Val immediately changes her mind as to the location of the urgently needed raised beds, thus rendering the damage to the poor vehicle unnecessary.
Which brings us to today, wherein I am advised that I must build several raised beds, but not the kind you and I would normally be thinking of. Oh no! These raised beds are to be raised right off the ground, literally up in the air! In other words they are to be magically constructed high enough so that we don't need to be bending down at all in order to admire the beautiful little flowers, or harvest the abundance of food that these beds will magically produce. It seems that Val has seen some little gadget maybe about three feet long and a foot or more wide that stands on legs which will do the job. It is, naturally, filled with gorgeous flowers in the advertising, but honestly it appears to be totally useless for growing any veggies in the real world. I didn't dare ask the cost of this contrivance.
The end result of all this is that Val has no idea how these raised beds are to be built and she was quite aggravated with me when I tried to explain that raised beds are normally built on the ground and filled with dirt and you go from there. Of course, this simply will not do, and I am told in no uncertain terms that I will build these wondrous devices forthwith as the newly planted seeds are all now coming up in the greenhouse and will need to be planted outside sooner rather than later. Never mind that it is still going down to just below freezing at night lately. Hmmmm, OK, let's see what we can come up with.
To make a long story short, a trip to The House of Pot in Kamloops follows and we return home with another $700+ load of lumber and treated plywood. I am sure that with the cost of the greenhouse materials, the deer fencing paraphernalia, (more about that later) and this new pile of stuff, that we are well into the $2,500 range so that we can grow eight bucks worth of veggies and a few flowers. I'm hard pressed to come up with a more financially impressive use of funds!
Stay tuned, more to follow shortly.....
