Summer Projects

I love the opportunity to putter around the yard in the summer for lots of reasons, but my two favourite are picking fresh foods to eat and doing summer projects.  This year, they have intersected in Mike's summer kitchen.

Summer Kitchen
We went to Gus and Greta's in early July, and while we were there, we saw their summer kitchen. They have an outside table, and a grill, burners and an oven.  They also have a covered area where they can eat.  The covered area is less important here, where if it is raining it is usually cool enough to cook inside.  However, we were generally inspired by their ability to be outside so much, and Mike decided he needed a kitchen, too.

We have toyed with the idea of building a cob over or buying a pizza over for years. We liked the idea of being able to make pizza at the right temperature, and liked the idea of baking outside in the summer.  We've thought about building an outdoor kitchen a number of times, but just not acted because we were waiting to decide with option to do.  Then I found a pizza oven at Canadian Tire. Alton Brown might have called it a uni-tasker, but Mike already has it doing nan, bannock and breakfast scones.  As soon as we knew we have the oven solution (and at a fraction of the cost of the other options), Mike wanted to build a kitchen to go with it.

Last week during Mike's off days, we got most of the way finished the construction of the kitchen.  We still need to mount the hose sink and put up the trellis, but it is perfectly functional already.  It has a pizza oven, BBQ and a large cedar L shaped counter.  I like a lot of the details like the hanging utensils, the covered storage and the copper sink. I'll post pictures when the sink is done.

We've been using the cooking area a lot for cutting things, making pizza and flat bread, and serving.  It will be even better for me when I wash veggies out there and I have completed the compost area.

Picking Fresh Foods
This week the garden in in full swing.  I have been picking a lot of peas, beets, beans and cucumber, and we've been enjoying cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and saskatoons as well.  Sunday we went to a U-Pick to get saskatoons.  My usual place doesn't have them anymore, but Moon River was a great place to pick and the prices were reasonable.  They were shocked how quickly we picked 6 pails, but they didn't expect Leo and Anwyn to pick any because they are teenagers.

I have been making lots with our fresh veggies, including stir fry, many salads and bruschetta. I also love fruit salads, crisp, and fresh salsa's.  Mike has been pickling and making yogurt to eat with all the fresh fruit and sauces. We are having a picnic at the river today at lunch and we are eating fresh bruschetta and nachos, devilled eggs, cherries and bean salad - all made fresh with our food.

My side bed has been doing well, but I am growing cauliflower and broccoli for the first time and they have both gone to seed. My kohlrabi and greens are doing well in the same bed, though. I'll need to pay closer attention in the future.

New Patio

Our deck has been slowly rotting out from under us, and last weekend we put in a new patio.  We spent one day in demolition of the old one.

We started by removing the top boards with a crow bar, then we cut through the supports or demolished them with a sledge hammer. It took us two loads to get the whole thing to the dump, and I even drove one of the trips.  The sledge hammer was the best part - I treated Mike to lots of advice about the way to use it best every time he tried to take a turn.

I wanted to replace our high deck with a low deck and stairs, but Mike really wanted a patio.  We compromised on a recycled rubber tile. I wasn't sure about it first, but now that it has been in a week, I really like it.  It has a bit of give and great grip.

Just like a stone patio, you lay a bed of gavel and level it, then add a layer of sand and level it. That took us most of the second day. We rented a tamper (to compress the sand and make it hard), then laid out the tile to see how it would look. To the right is that version before the stairs were in.

On the final day, we put in the proper boarder (I wish we had done that before tamping, as it would have saved a lot of time) and Mike built the stairs down from the patio door to the patio itself. Then we cut and placed all the partial tile. Cutting them was pretty hard at first, but Mike got the knack of it. He needed a really good grip to be able to push the jigsaw through. I think I would have struggled. He also did a number of tiles with an exacto knife.

I did come up with a good system of chalking the back of tile to get the exact line we needed. I got the idea from the chalk lines used for roofing. I chalked the back of the inside edge of the boarder, then snapped the tile against it to mark it.  Mike was pleased, but still pointed out more than once that it would have been much easier to have a plain square patio.  He's right, but this version fits the amorphous shapes of the planting beds, and makes a lovely conversational shape for the table and lounger.

Once we were done the tiles, I added a series of beds the next day to make the patio feel embedded in the yard.  Above is a photograph with the look from above so the layout is clear.

We are still debating putting tiles on the stairs, but the top small deck is painted to match the house. It is salvaged from the old deck.  We are hoping we can salvage the old bench as a boarder on the south side to block the view of the airconditioner and provide more seating.

The last thing we did was buy a few lanterns so I could sit out at night and some solar lanterns to mark the step down. We also set up Mike's outdoor kitchen between the patio and the garage (it is on the right of the night time picture). I love to be out at night reading or listening to Mike play guitar. That's where I am headed now. You can see all the images of the new deck in Mike's photos.

Loving my yard for 100 posts

We've been home a week from Teela's and I have spent every minute I could in my yard.  We've been replacing our deck with a patio (I will do a post on that as soon as I have pictures) and I have been enjoying the full feeling of summer in the yard.

My favorite thing is eating fresh things moments after they are picked and storing food to eat in the winter. Today I picked the last of the saskatoons and froze four cups of cherries - we are sad because all the rain killed all the saskatoons at the U-Pick. I also froze 8 cups of raspberries and made the rest into fruit salad. Today we ate peas, tomatoes and beans from the garden, but we are also eating kohlrabi, cucumbers and all greens and spices this week. Mike just made homemade pesto and cherry sauce. All the picking and fresh food actually fills me up emotionally and physically.

I have 7 types of lilies and 4 types of roses blooming right now, and they are my favorites of this iteration of the yard. My astilbe and white clematis will bloom in the next couple of days, and both look like lace to me. Mike and I have taken to sitting out in the evenings listening to the fountain and looking at all the flowers. Today I bought a couple more lanterns so we can see well at night.

Currently blooming

• 4 types of ground covers
• 7 types of lilies
• Lavender 
• Sewell
• Hosta
• Bee balm
• Comfrey
• 3 types of Bell flower
• 2 types of yarrow
• Himalayan orchid
• Cone flower
• Beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squashes, peas, eggplant and spices 

This is my 100th post, and today I enjoyed looking back to see how far the yard has come. I mostly keep this blog as a record.  For example, I know I fought with cabbage moths for 4 years but my current cover appears to be working. But more importantly, the blog is a celebration for me. It notes the satisifaction (and occasionally joy - I don't feel things very strongly very often) I get loving my yard.