First frost!

 

Our first frost happened in the night of Oct 12 this year, and the thought of up-coming snow filled my heart when I woke up the next morning (it's really silly, but the seasonal changes never cease to amaze me).  Seeing the miniscule icicles all over the vegetation was a reminder that soon we will be celebrating our first year on the homestead.

I was doubly thrilled because a few weeks back, during fall cleanup, I had moved my cold frames right on top of my garden beds, to lengthen the growing season for the few vegetables we have left, but also to protect them from the up-coming frost. We have been watching the weather on a daily basis, and I was eager to see if the cold frames would do everything that people claim they do.  Result: on October 13, on my daily morning walk around the grounds, I noted that the peppers, eggplants, ground cherries and squashes had succumbed to the cold, but that my carrots, parsley, lettuce and turnips were strong and still growing quite well under there little glass roofs.   The kale, my favorite green, doesn't need a cold frame yet.  There have been two frosts so far, and it is still tall and green :)

our garden taken over by frost, but inside the cold frames...

the warm lettuce and other greens are 7 degrees warmer and loving the fall temperatures :)

Léo, my garden helper

We are both loving his new entertainment center :)

Yesterday was a beautiful, unusually warm day, so I took advantage of the sun.

I don't know if you can tell the difference, but the parsley inside the cold frame is twice as big as the one outside.

My garden helper disguised as grass

Because of other pressing issues (painting before it gets too cold, redoing the mud room, fixing the gutters, etc), Alex has had his hands full and couldn't really work on the greenhouse.  Here are the latest developments: he has dug and put up the foundation posts (with some help from Andrew, a couch surfing visitor) and is nearly finished the network of drainage ditches which will receive the excess rain water from the roof when the rain barrels are full.  Soon, the walls will go up, Exciting!!!

Alex, reaching for many rocks in his 5 foot hand dug holes

The structural posts are up and drainage ditches in

With everything that we have done over the last 10 months, some of you have the impression that it is work work work on the homestead, but it is not so, there are plenty of opportunities to rest as well :)

Hunting mice is exhausting!

The boys during their evening nap

 Since we've been here, we have had many visitors on a constant basis.  In October it was our turn to do the visiting, with Léo's first vacation to Montreal.  Our first stop was of course the coolest co-op in the world www.coopdugrandorme.ca (ok ok... I'm a little biased), and Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue where we received a good dose of love from our friends over there (we miss you guys!).  Then, no Montreal trip would be complete without stopping at the TamTams, and Léo took part in the dancing :)

Beautiful Sunday at the TamTams

Tia Antonella :) and cousin Saja

We knew we were going to love our wood stove, but we are now realizing how much.  There is nothing better then cooking your food on (or in!) a nice hot wood fire.  And so, I am enjoying a nice spaghetti squash and tomato ratatouille, cooked on and in the wood stove, as I write this very late October blog.  Hopefully next time won't be too far away

Til next time, be well

Encounter of the third kind :)

ummmmm... solid foooooood