March on the Mountain

False Spring

Ultra fun days in the snow

Riding

The month started out with a fresh layer of snow and some fun days of riding the snowmobiles. We checked out nearby peaks, played around in the open powder fields, and explored roads that are too brushy and impassable in the summer. In the winter the bushes lay down under the snow, opening new areas to check out.

We also did our fair share of getting stuck. I’ve noticed that compared to last year, digging out and moving the 600lb machines has gotten much easier. We’ve both developed some serious strength and much better stamina.

Free food?

Hoppy Accidents

I have three girls living in a colony on the ground. When one of my bucks escaped I let him hang out in their pen. I thought they wouldn’t breed and make more bunnies in the cold weather. I was wrong! Baby bunnies are now emerging from a burrow in the ground! So far there are 8: six black ones, a brown one and one that is bright orange.

The beginning of snow rot

Snow Rot

Just when things start to feel like spring - more snow. Lots of it! The total snowfall has now added up to more than 9 feet. Though snow keeps falling, on sunny days it rots and shrinks exposing things that have been lost throughout the winter. I wonder where the snow shovel that’s been missing since November is going to appear?

My trough experiment on the left and another ugly - but highly successful experiment on the right!

Water Catchment Experiments

When snow lands on the roof of the new addition it melts and runs down the black tarp, falling to the ground. Watching that precious water fall off of my roof gave me an idea - time to try water catchment. I made a water trough out of leftover wood, lined it with vapour barrier and attached it to the wall.

The snow doesn’t always melt and run down the tarp nicely. Sometimes, the snow slides off the roof dramatically in one heavy sheet. If the sheet of snow went into my trough it would rip it off and destroy it. With that in consideration, instead of mounting it at the edge of the roof like eavestroughs usually are, it’s against the wall. Since I wasn’t sure that this would work, I did a very makeshift job of piping it through the wall to be collected inside the house.

To my shock - it works! Really well and way better than I expected. An inch of snow on one side of the roof easily yields 30L of water.

Seed Starting

What an exciting time of year! Using soil from the greenhouse I’ve started tomatoes, chives, safflower and a bunch more. I love spicy food, so Curt started a variety of peppers. I also planted some of my favourite weed - lambsquarters. It probably seems strange to plant a ‘noxious weed’ but it’s hardy and tastes better than spinach!

I can hardly wait to get started when the world thaws - also, sorry for eating all of your steak 😆

Chainsaw Carving

To my delight I was able to spend some time with a friend who showed me the basics of chainsaw carving. Art, sawdust and the smell of 2-stroke in the same place!? I’m hooked! Exploring his yard was an adventure in itself, tall cedars overhead, green moss underfoot and his carvings placed strategically throughout. It reminds me of a word that I’d learned the week before:

Pareidolia ‘The tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern’

Like seeing animals in the clouds, the carver sees something in a piece of wood. He uses his skill and ability to bring that ‘something’ out for others to enjoy. What an awesome art to share with people!

Looking Forward

Looking back at pictures from last year, the thaw was way farther along than it is now. A whole lot farther. I was already starting to dig the future pond. Currently, it’s under 3 feet of snow. I’m hoping to be driving out by the end of the month, but remaining cautiously optimistic. Am I still going to be snowed in - in May?!