Nature

Guilt Trip

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Laura

Still no word about Baby.  Apparently the bike hospital cannot figure out what is going on with her.  Even so, I took the train from Hamilton to Kingston today.  I am going on a boat bash with a gang of girls tonight in Kingston.

The trip down was great.  Sat with a fantastic woman, Bonnie, for most of the trip and we had a great gab.  I bashed the monster, which is always good sport even if this is an easy target.  Too, the Via rep was a total sweetheart and easy on the eye, all in all not too shabby!

Forgot my sunglasses in Hamilton and hope that my husband will pick them up for me when he comes tonight… I can’t reach him, but think that time will tell me.

The guilt trip, I confess, is that I had to stop by at Tiny House Ontario.  You see, when I left last Sunday I sprayed for carpenter ants (I hate to do this but the eco traps were not working).   The nest in the dead tree next to the house seems to make them think that Tiny House Ontario is a part of their territory.  I am afraid that if this does not do the trick, I am going to have to remove their home.  I really hate to do this because it brings the woodpeckers and insect eating birds right up to my windows.  I really love to see the birds up so close and personal.

If anyone has and suggestions on how to get RID of ants without chemicals, I would really like to know!  Again… I want to have them as tasty little NEIGHBOURS that bring in birds.  Their home is four feet from Tiny House Ontario.

You know, I really hate to poison them because I think that poisoning is an awful, awful way to die.  Also, I also want to keep the house organic… but I already blew that last week when I relented with poison.  The tipping point, was that I cooked a pot of rice and found that an ant had fallen in and this was gross to me.  Vegetarians also don’t eat bugs – unless they were Starbugs clients that is, because as we now know that company have been feeding bugs to the people who chose to buy $5.00 cuppas for a long time.  Thankfully, I never go there.  So, the pot of rice-a-la-ant went to the compost and I started again.  Propane, water, rice and time all wasted.  As soon as I could I went to Home Hardware and bought some big gun spray… squirted out the stuff for 7 seconds and shut the door and left for Hamilton.

The point, I went to wash the floors and wipe the counters and table so that when the dogs get there, they will not be exposed.  There were about 50 dead ants on the floor.  I was not surprised!  It was absurd how many there were in the Tiny House.  They were crawling out all over the place.  Thankfully when I went to wash up today the only sign of life (inside of the house) was me.  I really hope that this stays that way because I really hate to murder even the smallest of creatures, even those who are intent on eating Tiny House Ontario.

Categories: Nature, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario | 1 Comment

Mullein

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Laura

I have a bumper crop of Mullein growing at Tiny House Ontario.  Check to be sure that you are not allergic to it first like with any plant, but this is a GREAT toilet paper replacement if you get caught in a pinch.  I am going to dry some of it this year too.

 

I have not tried any of these things and thus do not suggest that you be my guinea pig.  I understand that Mullein Leaf has served many purposes over the past few centuries, from making candlewicks to casting out evil spirits. However, as an herbal treatment, Verbascum thapsus was primarily used as a cure for diarrhea, respiratory diseases and hemorrhoids. The leaves and flowers of the Mullein Leaf are classified in traditional herbal literature as expectorants and demulcents.

Mullein Leaf or scientifically referred to as Verbascum Thapsus is a wildflower native to much of Europe and Asia which can grow almost anywhere. Because of its thick, soft leaves, it is also called Grandmother’s Flannel and Our Lady’s Flannel. The word Mullein is said to be derived from the Middle English word for “soft” which is moleyne.

Traditionally, Mullein Leaf has been used by medicinal herbalists to aid with problems of the respiratory tract, such as cases of irritating coughs with bronchial congestion. Some herbal treatments extend the therapeutic use to pneumonia and asthma.

As far as natural herbs go, the Mullein Leaf is purported to reduce inflammation of the trachea along with soothes irritated tissues. Due to its high mucilage content, Organic Mullein Leaf is also recommended for topical applications by herbalists as a soothing emollient for inflammatory skin conditions and burns. Externally, an extract of these herbs made in olive oil is used for soothing and easing ear problems.

Mullein Leaf is also thought by some herbalists to provide constipation relief, help with sleeplessness, care for the kidneys and help with nervous tension.

The Mullein has very markedly demulcent, emollient and astringent properties, which render it useful in pectoral complaints and bleeding of the lungs and bowels. Slightly sedative and narcotic properties.

Demulcent, emollient, astringent and sedative.

 

Categories: Environmentalism, Forest, Magical, Nature, Off Grid, Simple living, Sustainable living | Leave a comment

Waiting and Going Green

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Laura

It has been 15 days since I arrived at Tiny House Ontario.  The forest changes so much every single day; I can’t capture it’s move from brown to green.  A slow motion camera would be fantastic  – or even a shot of photos taken three times a day, every day would have been great too.  Next year, perhaps I will remember to do this?

Now the canopy covers me and Tiny House Ontario disappears into deep forest.

Here is Leo packing up after the build a few days ago… see how green?

These days, the trees are so dense that the dogs hear people arriving before I can see them coming down the half kilometre lane.  Still, they keep me aware of what is going on.  This is Minnie standing guard.

It is so warm now that these plants that I initially had in my window are moved outside.

I start the little 10×10 raised garden too.  At dusk… another day until the soil arrives to the rock.

Categories: Dogs, Erazim Kohák, Forest, Nature, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment

2012 Season Begins!

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Laura

After we arrived yesterday, and unpacked, it was so great outside so we decided to take the dogs out on a nice walk through the woods and see how spring was looking on the land.  First observation is that the forest is very dry.  It is a dry spring so far.  Also we have at least one black fly that lived through the winter.

The pathway grew in quite a bit with the prickly bush, so we have to do a little more clearing this year so that we can walk through with the dogs.  Their little faces are just the right height to be scratched and their leashes get annoyingly wound up in the branches.

Also a lot of rocks fell at the fence line for the dog’s garden so these had to be put back up to keep them safely in and other critters safely out.

The stone cairns in the back of the land are still there and looking great.  No trees lost, that I can see, but still a few to clear from last year when the storm brought a tornado close to us.

We cleared a path through this morning and will bring the dogs out this afternoon to check it out.  Hopefully it goes a little better this time.

My husband put the rocks back up along the dog’s garden.

It was cold too but with the small camp heater we got cozy and slept long and well.

Now we start the real work!

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Categories: Dogs, Forest, Nature, Off Grid, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Tiny house, Tiny House Ontario | 1 Comment

Something Very Unusual.

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Laura

So, let me give you some preemptive information.  When I downsized a while ago, I thought I lost something which is important to me.  It is something very strange, and one of a kind, and probably weird.  Still, I think that by this post, number 101, you have already come to understand that I do not ever want to be a sheep (not an ordinary sheep anyway) and I guess the those who look at and read my blog also desire the unusual.

When I was a kid there was this thingamajig at the house of my grandma Violet Augusta Compton (Rickards) and my grandpa Robert Charles Rickards.  I would pick up the jar it was in and look at it for hours when I was a little girl.  I don’t know… I guess I thought it fascinating, you know, I still do.

I need to go back even farther… My great grandmother Violet Augusta Henderson (Compton) and my great grandfather Frances Gilbert Compton were living on the Carey-on Farm, on what is now the Rudledge Road, leading to Sydenham in Ontario.  The great depression was on when they moved there.  Times had been very hard… they had lost a lot.  This was their fourth home during those years. They could not keep up the payments and had been forced to move on, and move on, and move on.  They had nothing but kids to feed a couple of black faced sheep.  Sadly one of the sheep miscarried a malformed babe just after they arrived there.  The baby was stillborn with two and a half feet on every leg.  A sort of siamese triplet.  For some reason, my great grandfather who we all called Dad, took the foot off that poor lost babe to show it to others because he had never seen anything like it.  At this time in history, I guess, you would look it up on the internet, but then, word of mouth and show-&-tell was about all they had.

Anyway, the depression began to grind to a halt, and things got a lot better for Dad and Ma and their family.  But that unusual sheep’s foot was there and somehow it became sort of synonymous for changing luck – like a rabbit’s foot… not so lucky for the rabbit – but you understand, just one of those funny talismans.  Personal to us.

Anyway, my grandma gave me the foot many years back.  I had a rough time as a single mom and I guess she thought I could use the upswing… and now you know why I was so sad to lose it, happy to find it and now I will share it with you.

Here is the tiny footlet.  It is just an inch and a half long and from spring of 1937 (if I remember correctly); it is 75 years old.

Categories: Kingston, Nature, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Stuff, Tiny House Ontario, Writing | Leave a comment