Tootfinder

Five days in a row of record breaking temperatures compared to the last 30 years.
#climatechange #endfossilfuels #portalberni https://socialbc.ca/@alberniweather/115100859229365413

A really nice story in our local news about how a small town musician got to be lead singer for the band he grew up idolizing. He just finished his first tour with Bachman Turner Overdrive ( BTO/The Guess Who). He did a shoot with Rolling Stone.
Lance was in my high school graduating class, ADSS 1995. He played guitar and bass in band. He's a good guy. I am so very happy for him. What an opportunity and honour!
#PortAlberni #BTO #Music #GuessWho #RollingStone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtygrQegVSw

started the drier at around 4PM yesterday, now, 17.5hrs later the I'd say the bananas are a little more than half done. The grapes are not that close. I can report both are extremely tasty in this state of partial dehydration but I will resist! 😂
Funny. The internet says to shake/roll the grapes a little so they don't stick to the trays. But our trays have fairly large holes so even just the act of pulling a tray out results in escape of little marbles! so we'll just let them be and deal with the results at the end. 😆
#fruit #harvest #portalberni #grapes

grapes over the deck are now picked. I managed to get at least some of them in the bucket lol
The blue bin is probably 80 pounds? #fruit #harvest #portalberni #grapes

progress shot. I have about half of this 10' x 4' section cleared. Achieving about a 80% hit rate on the bucket lol
steady rain now ☂️ #fruit #harvest #portalberni #grapes

trying something new! going to make raisins with a bunch of them. we have a big drier so it should put a decent dent in the bin of grapes.🍇
#fruit #harvest #portalberni #grapes

drier filled! two big red mixing bowls full of (unpicked) grapes filled 8 trays and I added some bananas for the last two.
set for 135°F
The internet says the grapes will take about 48hrs. Bananas should be less than that.
We got this drier probably 10 years ago at Cabellas. Love how much we can stuff it full!
#fruit #harvest #portalberni #grapes

Got my water/utility bill for the spring/summer yesterday. (we get billed 3 times a year as part of our general city utilities bill including water, sewer and garbage/recycling fees).
Figured it would be a big water year this year so I've been wanting to see this. And of course, I have data going back to 2019ish.
Today's bill only goes to August 1st, so it doesn't include when we started to fill the #pondpool!
This was already a dry year in the spring and we were doing lots of watering in the front yard for the new ground cover in the modified driveway and the 3 new fruit trees.
Verdict:
2024: Apr 12 - Aug 7: 122, 200L
2025 Apr 14 - Aug 1 (7 less days!): 136,600L
It will be interesting to see if the August pond filling will add a big chunk onto our summer/fall consumption or if that is offset by both the brief August water restrictions, and the departure of both kids this fall to consume other people's water. ;=)
If you want an indication of how much water people use vs. yards: look at our August 2022 bill, which captures when we were on our cross-Canada roadtrip for 30 days in July/August of the 100 day period.
#water #consumption #gardening #utility #PortAlberni

The new fence is basically done!!
Funny story that will hit home to anyone on Vancouver Island:
Two days ago the builders hadn’t added the new top section to the big gate in the back. A very large buck/deer jumped the fence and bent the wire so they had to try and bend it back out the best they could”
This is particularly funny for us because the other side, near the chicken coop (before it was there) the old fencing was bent from an over-eager bear trying to climb in.
Just mother nature ensuring balance, new and old, bent and unbent.
I am glad we are now bylaw-compliant for the #poolpond and the edibles should be out of the reach of the larger animals (racoons and birds and cats and squirrels and whatever other small creatures are inescapable)
The arbutus tree is now leaning against the fence. We'll see if it gets the message and grows in a more vertical kind of way naturally relieving stress from the fence, or if we might have to provide in a portal.
The most surprising part they managed to conquer was lifting the grape as high as they did! Very satisfied with that development!
#animals #garden #deer #PortAlberni

I don't think I have twisted off the cap for the cleanout since I bought the whole assembly... 5months? I only slid the end into the pipe in August so hadn't needed to screw off the cap. It took some leverage/persuasion to turn it.
But I was successful, and now the big filter can be drained. The water was actually higher than the bottom of the cap but no big deal, it's not really under any pressure.
#poolpond #diy #backyardproject #portalberni #gardening #pondlife

emptied the pond overnight. We have had so much rain this past month! All are full. I am going to drain it all and keep it drained until I get the pumps wired and can habe them installed and running. Don't want the water to get stale and unhealthy.
I think I might hire a stone mason to build the wall.
moving the pump into the intake bay now. It should be empty by the time I am back from the day's ceremonies.
#poolpond #diy #backyardproject #portalberni #gardening #pondlife

The Federal NDP are on Vancouver Island strategizing for the upcoming Parliament.
Interim leader Davies:
""There's an ebb and flow to politics and I view it as an opportunity for our party to regenerate, to reimagine what a bold, progressive NDP looks like on the federal scene.””
I loved Jack Layton too, but I think it is time to leave Jack to the past. They really need to find someone who is here, in this moment, and can present a real vision for Canadians to strive for and achieve that is the opposite of what the Conservatives and Red-Tory Liberals are trying to do.
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Tseshaht #Hupacasath #PortAlberni #Courtenay #Tofino
https://www.albernivalleynews.com/local-news/federal-new-democrats-meet-with-nuu-chah-nulth-leaders-in-port-alberni-8243469

Our apples are ready! The northern spys (the pair) are a little smaller and have a few more spots and things but they cut very nicely (in bowl) and they are very tasty. A little dry. Taste like pie. :)
The blushing delight is big and beautiful! Definitely an eating apple. A little sweeter than the N Spy.
Will pick them all tomorrow before the bears come!
#apple #portalberni #northernspy #blushingdelight

got home in the dark last night and left in the dark this morning but there has been #poolpond progress in my absence!
The fence builders started!
They augered post holes. They managed to not cut any pipes or wires in the frontyard pond... the holes are BIG.
Glad the fence is happening though. The rains have come with a vengeance and the ponds are filling fast! I wil feel much better knowing no one can get into the yard and be in danger of falling in.
#building #portalberni #diy #gardening

There's nothing quite like the energy of a small town fair :-)
I've probably been to the Fall Fair 30 out of my 47 years on the planet and I have never had a bad time.
#smalltown #portalberni #fair #home #fallfair #bc #canada #midway

Now that we have had our brief bit of fun with the #poolpond, it’s time to drain it so work on completing it can continue! It took just over 12 hours for my little spare pond pump to empty the main pond of about 80% of its water.
It will be empty by morning. I will empty the filter and intake bay as well just to clean everything out. The movement of the past couple weeks through the system will have loosened up a bunch of the gunk still on the various rocks in the filter so a full pump out should remove all that.
I will then concentrate on finishing the piping in the bottom of the main pond for the intake for the second pond and the “periscope” for the bottom returns.
Then I can work on building the rock wall to line the inside of the pond. Or at least experimenting to see if it will work at all!
If it *does* work and I have enough rock to at least start on the bottom layers of the inside wall, then I’ll be able to achieve another milestone: placing the final pebble on the bottom. Important, because that will prevent any groundwater from infiltrating and causing the rubber liner to bubble out.
Really really want to get past that mark before the autumn rains come! For obvious reasons! ☔️
Other jobs that need to be done before winter:
- finish the manifold for the second pump to distribute water to the sprayers and filter and figure out how and where to house and conceal it.
- Dig the electrical trench from the house all the way around the long side of the pond to the back tool shed so we can start wiring it in.
- Clipping the wires on the pumps and adding extension wire to them so they can reach said electrical supplies.
- permanently shore up/modify the borders of the ponds where they were found to be low.
- make a few other minor terraforming modifications for the stream and some of the edges so the water goes a little more where I want it to and a little less where I don’t.
#poolpond #backyardProject #portalberni #ponds #watergarden