Fun on the Property!

We had a great Sunday afternoon playing on our property cleaning up some of the downed trees and small deciduous shrubs and allowing the dogs to have a good run.  We are starting the process of adding trails through the wooded part of our property.  It's amazing how different it is back there with the leaves off everything other than the evergreens.  We also took a hike to check out a creek that runs behind our property.  I must say it was lovely. (Sorry, we forgot the camera so no photo of that - hopefully next time)

Looking out toward the field from the treed area



A cozy spot we cleaned up a bit.



Trail we cut toward our large bush pile

Our bush pile

CAT and I were bickering about cutting down the poplar in the centre of the screen.  I have won so far but I wouldn't be surprised if it went missing when I wasn't looking. lol

The view out toward the field again.

Labour Day Monday

Another before shot of the fenceline, just to refresh your memory

After brushing out the stone fenceline

Well the front fenceline has been brushed but we still have to move up some of the stones that have fallen down over time and also eventually we will be doing the road side of the fence as well.  I'm including another before pic for reference.  Also, I forgot to mention that we met our neighbour who has purchased the 5 acre parcel to our south side and he seemed like a fine fellow.  We chatted about our plans and it was fun to find out that he has a lot of similar ideas to ours.  He also plans on keeping chickens and having a garden and weirdly, where I have been thinking of planting a few fruit trees on our property, he was thinking of planting a few in the same general vicinity on his side.  This would be great for pollination for types that need such a thing.  He is also thinking of building next year but it is not for certain yet.  I look forward to getting to know him better.

Abbey and Jasper after running several times around the perimeter of the cleared part of our property

Here is a better shot of Abbey and Jasper although their tongues are hanging out from running around the property non stop.  At this rate Abbey will certainly be loosing that  excess weight she's been carrying.  Jasper just tries to keep tabs on her when she does her rounds (she walks the perimeter of the property and has always done this even in our old house) and then comes back to lay down for a minute.  Jasper will sigh deeply as he lays down beside me as though he's saying "finally" and then two minutes later she's up to do another round and he grunts as he gets himself up to monitor what she is doing.  After several go-rounds he just gets up and walks in the general direction she's gone and then stops and watches her instead of following right behind.  If it weren't for Abbey, he would be content to lay beside me and never move, although he has been very intent on the cows across the road and a few times looked as though he was going to saunter over to investigate.  I think we are going to have to really watch him just in case he gets it in his head to go cow hunting.

A few more pics of labour day weekend fun!

I thought I would introduce you to my canine companions, Abbey, our Springer Spaniel who is 10 and Jasper, our Golden Retriever who is 9 although Jasper seems to have his head down in the hay for both the photos ( I will try to get a better one of him).  They are loving the new property and are staying for the most part within our property line.  I haven't allowed them in the treed part of our property yet for fear they will be covered in poison ivy oils and transfer it to us but hopefully one of these days we'll be able to go for a romp back there.  For sure once the ground freezes and we get a bit of snow we should be safe.

Check out the pile of brush we pulled from the stone fenceline and also a pic of CAT's jeep with his prized and much loved trailer on behind.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to hear "that trailer is not as nice or as good as mine" as we travel the roads.  We did get an amazing deal on it though, and have thanked our lucky stars ever since.  The stone fenceline is almost done.  Hopefully there will be some completed photos by the end of tomorrow.

6:00 am adventure

I somehow convinced my husband (CAT) to go to the property for sunrise this morning so I could see where the sun will come up and how it relates to the house.  It is going to shine right into my french doors in the dining area which is open to the kitchen so I am thrilled.  I know we could have simply determined the directions using a compass but there is something wonderful about watching the sun come up for the first time on your new property plus since we have a tree line on our east side I wasn't sure how much this would impact us.  The sun rose beautifully over the trees at 7:05 am.  We also had a few sightings of wildlife today as we drove into town for supplies.  The deer was just south of our property and the red wolf was sighted approx. 5 minutes drive away.  I am also including some pics of our stone fence we (read CAT lol) are working on across the front of our property.  It is completely overgrown but with some tender loving care it may be quite something eventually.

A section of stone fence before being cleared.

A section of stone fence after being cleared.

A pretty visitor who is likely going to want to eat any garden I try to grow.

This guy started to high tail it and then....

He stopped to check us out.

And so it begins.....hello!

Our beautiful view!

My husband and I have just purchased 5 acres in the Ottawa Valley with the plan to build a new farmhouse and start up a small hobby farm/homestead in order to live as self sufficient a life as possible .  We both work full time so it will be an interesting challenge to see how we can balance both work and crops/animals and we are starting with a blank slate.  Our property currently has about 3 acres of hay field in the front and 2 acres of light bush at the back.  We have a million steps to get to where we want to be but I'm excited to begin the journey.  I want to say thanks to Leigh from "5 Acres And A Dream" blog, for setting a fabulous example and inspiring me to record my own journey.  Her site touched a chord with me and I hope mine can be at least a fraction as interesting.  I welcome anyone who would like to follow along with us to see how we progress, and welcome any comments and suggestions.

A view of the front three acres.  The property measures 333 x 667

The cows across the street.