Through the efforts no doubt, of the previous owners, our apple harvest was awesome the first year we lived here. The trees hinted at the coming abundance with a beautiful display of blossoms in the spring. As the years have passed the bounty has been less and less. Perhaps its a cyclical thing or a result of the summer drought conditions, but more likely, we are to blame..

My brother and sister in law came by this week for some much appreciated help with the apple tree pruning. We didn’t finish the job because, well it was getting dark and cold and there was Port and a warm fire down at the house… But we got a good start on it…

My pyracanthus pruning was successful, the garlic is doing well and the calla lilies are happy in their new wet home.

The temperatures, considering it is winter have been relatively mild. Eight to ten degrees during the day and above zero through the night. We continue to have winds. Friday night we woke to a wind of 35 Km/h with gusts to 52 km/h.

The scariest trips this week to town for the islanders though, have been because of fog. Zero visibility with an ocean covered in logs and debris make for a cautious nail biting trip. Although fog can be a likely problem in October, I don’t remember it being an issue in January.

Sami is still struggling with eye issues and we aren’t really sure if this is going to end well. We will know in a week or two.

After eight cocker spaniels, Piper is proving to be the first who likes to swim. He has taken to swimming in the algae covered pond on our lane… Ick…

Winter has come and we are snug as bugs, tucked in,

warm and happy