The fog bank from yesterdays rain is rising off the lake as the sun breaks through. The flock is working the grounds for fresh grub lying about after the rains, when a figure passes by my window. Herb has wandered down from the Bunk House cabin (a cabin we have here that we don't rent out) it's available for people in the area who need a place to stay. We met Herb a couple weeks ago on the Rodeo Road trails. He came out to pick the now huge Morels. Just navigating the flooded, muddy trails on his quad. He got caught in the thunderstorm and downpour yesterday afternoon. When…

Hard to believe tomorrow will be July! We're still having Spring-like weather. The swallows are feeding their ravenous young with the hoards of mosquito's buzzing about. They may be too fat to fly from their nests! The fish are jumping for flies all around the lake as far as the eye can see, leaving hundreds of ring like ripples all over the lake. What a sight! We have a Moose that comes into camp by about 4am that makes the dogs stir from their silent slumber. Plus we are waiting for the duck up the hill to hatch out her clutch of eggs and bring the little ones safely down…

The rain fell intermittently through the night, and being such a light sleeper - I woke up to it's soft rhythm each time it danced lightly across the roof. Training myself to ignore it's comings and goings is something I'm working on. The light rain is doable to sleep through but not the pounding rain that signals my warning senses. This year is mirroring our first year out here 3 years ago. When flood & famine were routine. It's been raining off and on for a month, which is all good (for less chance of forest fires). Unless you need to go to town for supplies, then your battling flood…

Another few projects wrapped up! Quad is overhauled and like new again, took it for a test drive on the trails and it runs so much better. It's nice to always have 2 of everything Off the Grid - you always need a back-up. I'll know better next time not to mention about washing it while the body is lying there in pieces... I put together a YouTube video about our Morel harvest in case anyone wishes to view it click here - Harvesting & Cooking Morels. It's amazing how you can pick over 8 trays and lay them out to dry and just a few days later they have…

The steady breeze is critical. It's the only natural bug deterrent there is this time of year. (Unless it's below 5C and then they find a place to hide out until the weather warms up.) It was dock time at sunset where we hung out and enjoyed a raft of loons that swam by. They displayed a fishing technique where they formed a ring and swam in a circle, as they rode the waves passed the end of the dock. One or two would take turns diving for fish, returning to the circle in motion without missing a beat. Together we watched them float by which had to take about…

There is a 'moral' to this journal entry, and hopefully a lesson to be learned. For the moral of a story is to teach you how to be a better person. I'm only offering you information as I live, eat and breathe it. Better to hear it 'straight from the horses mouth'! After all, isn't it better to get your information from people that are actually experiencing things instead of the ones who aren't? I'm sure that's why many of you are here, and we're very happy that you are. We touched on 'natural' Morel's in the last entry. The elusive - hard to find, highly sought after 'Morel mushrooms'…

What an adventure you can have when you are both into a Fungus hunt. We love hunting and this is a whole different kind of search for sustenance. From May till June you will find the elusive Black Morel hiding on the forest floor. They look like scattered pine cones laying all about and are not so easy to spot. While out on the Fungi hunt we met someone on the trail. Yes, it was crazy and surprising! He was just as surprised to meet us as we were! Meet Herb. A long time traveler of this area. He's been here for 50 years and knew everyone from the legendary…

With hot sore feet that curled around ladder rungs all day, I slipped into bed and was instantly soothed with the cold sheets that hugged my feet and as I heated up every spot they moved to. My feet searched for the next cool spot until I had heated up the entire bed. The window by my head was wide open and there was a bit of a wind storm going on. It was the chilly breeze that made the curtains dance above my head, and with the sound of Mountain Mans deep breathing beside me, my eyelids became heavy. I was tucked snugly amongst my 4 pillows and light…

Are you getting sick of greenhouse shots yet? I think we are getting tired of working on it. But what a reward to walk up the hill as the sun is rising and see that 'big beautiful building' that will grow everything we will eat this Summer. Providing for ourselves is our biggest goal out here. The more we can be self-reliant the better. There are things we still are reliant upon such as fuel & propane, but we want to get to a place where that will be all that we need from town. Other than supplies like toilet paper. Once we have our battery bank for our solar…

My morning visits to the dock, sipping my coffee and calling to my Loons over a calm glass lake is temporarily over. The hoard of mosquito's will carry you away. Even the dogs are hiding in the cabin. I've heard people complain about this years mosquito infestation all over BC. At least we have had lots of rain and it's keeping us damp for those lightening strikes. The downside is the little bloodsucking vampires born of the excess moisture. With the last windstorm we have insulation blown loose from between the logs in the cabin under the strapping and now have to fight off the mosquito's inside the cabin. As…