This afternoon we went and bought a riding lawn mower, which we brought to the new house (we move in May 27). Jess and Colin took turns testing it out on the acre of lawn that we’ll soon be responsible for mowing. Seems to work!

Ducks! Today a mama duck and about ten ducklings wandered through our backyard, probably trying to find a nice home somewhere. I felt really worried for them because they were heading for Como Lake Ave, which is a very busy road and they all would have been smushed. So we tried to corral them into the dog kennel, which we succeeded at, but then we didn’t know what to do. I wanted to drive them in the car to Como Lake, where tons of other ducks live, and release them, but when we tried to move the kennel, the mom duck got really panicked and flapped her wings and the babies started fleeing through the bars. So we just let them go and guided them toward the neighbour’s backyard, away from the road. I don’t know where they ended up, but I really hope they’re okay.

A sunny day! We rounded up the gang and had a barbecue at Barnet Marine Park. Jess and the boys were there, as well as his mom and dad and Donay, his sister and her family, and Glen and Char and Nora too. It was loads of fun! And this old cement structure, likely a remnant of the old mill that was once on site, made a great backdrop for photos, and a fun place for the kids to play.

Farming, farming, farming! We learned how to graft fruit trees (specifically apple and pear) this week at farm school. And on Thursday we spent the whole afternoon planting out the farm school orchard with the shipment of 50 pear trees that we’d just received. Over the weekend, we planted our own tiny orchard in pots, ten apple trees, three varieties. I hope they do well with our aggressive pruning tactics!

Time for a little family photo shoot! Great day for it on the beach.