Monday forest photo: June 20, 2011

2:30pm 25C clear

Well, not a bad way to see spring out. The weather is perfect. I wish I could capture smells with my camera, because the forest smells amazing. There is the intoxicating balsam fir, a lot of different florals, some medicinal herby smells and the earthy earth. It's such a treat to walk through the woods and it's a different experience every day.

There's a cedar tree with a hole in it, that we've been watching ever since we moved here, to see what kind of creature lives in it. A couple of days ago we found out.

A very busy hive of bees lives in the hole in the cedar tree and we've been fascinated by their comings and goings. The picture fails to capture the very large number of bees and the loud hum that accompanies their activity. If the mosquitoes and deer flies weren't so persistent, I could spend all afternoon watching them.

Ma and Pa are moving house, part 2

Regular readers will remember this post where I talked about how my parents are moving into a garden suite on our property. They've been here now for several weeks, but their house arrived last Friday. It was quite a festive atmosphere as a dozen or so neighbours and family members watched the house get moved into position by a very skilled crew.

The house is a manufactured home with an addition on the back for the living room and an addition on the front which is a porch and front entrance hall. The two additions came on one truck and the living room was placed first. They pulled the truck out of the way so the main part of the house could be brought in.

The truck pulled the house forward and then backed it up onto the gravel pad. They were able to lift the entire house with hydraulics to clear the gravel.

 This was the greatest parallel parking job I have ever seen. The main house was only a few inches from the living room when they were finished. They joined the two parts by pushing the living room forward with big jacks.

This is how the house looks now. The crew will be back to finish levelling the house, shingling and siding the joins, and connecting all the services. Inside, the drywall needs taping and mudding (it wasn't done in the factory because the house was subject to too much movement for drywall seams), the shower tiles, flooring and trim need to be installed. A skirting will be fitted around the entire house and the landscaping will be finished.

The house is situated on our property under a provision in the zoning which allows for a temporary (renewable 10 year permit) house for older or disabled family members. My parents can sell the house when they no longer need it and it will be moved to a new location. This house is extremely well insulated and very well built, so I'm sure it will serve my parents very well.

Monday forest photo: June 14, 2011

6:55am 11C clear

This is another Tuesday picture, posted on Wednesday night and no excuse at all. This was an early(ish) morning walk while the sun was still mostly below the treetops and shining through all the leaves. I had the sensation of being immersed in green light. Lovely.

Monday forest photo: June 6, 2011

9:30am 22C partly cloudy

Glorious summer! I don't suppose the forest photo will change very much from one week to the next for a while now, now that the leaves have filled in. I can't say that I'm bothered by the thought.

I came across a couple of spider webs owned by spiders who evidently are teenagers. I don't know if this is incidental wind damage, or whether it's deliberate, but I have to say, it looks messy. They probably sleep in late on weekends, too.