Wintering the Bees

We started getting the bees ready for winter by feeding them medicated sugar water and reducing the hive entrance. In another month we will lock them down for the cold weather, but right now the days are pretty mild and they are still finding pollen from somewhere.

NEW BATHROOM

When we bought the house there was a room on the east side of the kitchen. It was heated by an electric monitor heater and primarily used for laundry, storage, and had a large chest-freezer. It had wood paneling and a hatch that went to the basement and another that went to the attic. There was a fiber tile ceiling and linoleum floor stapled down over a plank sub-floor.
When we moved in we got rid of the chest freezer and moved the laundry machines to the basement. We christened the area the 'Mudroom' and it was an off-and-on storage area for things as we did renovations on the house. About two years ago I started chipping away at making the space usable, which not only included the mudroom, but the area above and below as well. The first project to be done was the basement, because it was the easiest. Next was making a functional second bathroom (sink and toilet) which was completed about a year ago, but not finished... just functional.
About a month ago I got the bathroom finished enough. There are still a few bits and bobs I want to do, but for the most part it is complete. Toilet, shower, sink, tile, lights, shelves, cabinets, and the rest.

We also had the outer walls insulated, new electric and plumbing, and new windows along the way.
We did everything ourselves except run the plumbing.
Tah Dah!

Food initiative

On Oct 9 we went to the Oaklands Farm to help support a local food initiative
It is part of a food local food initiative started by our friend Sarah. There was a big community turn out and lots of kids for Alden to play with.Karen and Kenny at the event

Skunks 4, Woodchucks 3, Racoons 3, neighbor's cat 1

One more skunk catch and an eventful night when we got this lovely couple brings the trap count up to:
Skunks 4
Woodchucks 3
Racoons 3
Neighbor's Cat 1
All but the neighbor's cat were taken to the beach.

The traps have been quiet for awhile and I hope this will be it for the season

Monhegan Island Visit

We took a trip to Monhegan Island a few weeks ago to see Uncle James, an old family friend who has known Kerstin his whole life. James traditionally rents a little cottage on the island for two weeks or three weeks every September and has been doing so for over 30 years. The boat ride to Monhegan was Alden's first oceanic trip and we got to see Minke whales on our return! Alas, they only surfaced for a short while, and I didn't get my camera out in time to snap a pic.
We walked around the island and did a little tidepooling and boat wreck climbing. Then we hiked up to the cliffs on the opposite side of the island where we enjoyed stunning ocean vistas.


We also took a jaunt through town, which was filled with beautiful gardens and butterflies. One house had chickens, so we stopped to watch them for a while.

Alden's favorite part of the island was playing a chase and hide game along the road. Thankfully, there are very few motorized vehicles on the island and the roads were mostly empty, so Alden was free to run about as he saw fit.It was really great reconnecting with James on the island, although it was only a brief visit. We were lucky enough to see him a week later when he stopped by our house and joined us for a rousing evening of poker.