Saving Geraniums Through Winter

Last year, I was successful in keeping some of my geraniums alive outdoors over winter. You can see what I did here. Two of the four roots survived and regrew into beautiful big plants with large blossoms. This year I had even more geraniums, so I decided to try again.

I trimmed back and dug up all nine of my plants (including the two survivors).  The soil was dry and the roots came out in balls that I tried to leave undisturbed. I replanted all of them close together in one large blue barrel on the transition float.

To make a mini-greenhouse, I bought a clear plastic paint drop sheet at Canadian Tire. There was plenty left to use in case a replacement is needed later during the winter. I also bought a long heavy weight bungee cord to hold it in place. I poked small slits around the edge about 5 cm (2 in) apart to allow the plants to "breathe."

The blue barrel is in direct sunlight (if we get any) for most of the day. My plan to periodically open the top on warmer days so the plants can get more air circulation. After the leaves die back, and before long freezing nights arrive, I will mulch the surface of the soil with crumpled newspaper like I did last year.

Last year's survivors ready for a new winter.

Hopefully this will help prevent the roots from freezing to death. I'll let you know in the spring how my experiment turns out. Hopefully there will be more survivors to tell the tale. -- Margy

Satellite Radio

Last week I posted about technology, explaining that our float cabin is off the "technology grid" for Internet. But we do use satellite technology for radio.  We've had XM radio (now SiriusXM Satellite Radio) for over ten years. Ours is set up on our kitchen shelf along with our phones (tech central). From here, wires lead to their antennas.

www.siriusxm.com

We love listening to audio for television channels such as CNBC (for Wayne's stocks) and CNN (for world news). Wayne follows U.S. professional and college sports on channels like ESPN Sports Radio and College Sports Nation.  We also enjoy today's hits and classics on The Pulse. Having a wide range of music, news, investment, sports, and talk radio keeps us up to date with current affairs.

Satellite radio does have one drawback. On occasion, transmissions are interrupted, usually only briefly when weather and wind conditions are the worst. Speakers indoors and out let us listen to our hearts content. Here up the lake, we have the best of both radio worlds, traditional and satellite. -- Margy

Islands in the Sun

This time of year, our skies are usually cloudy or foggy. Occasionally, they are brilliantly clear. Recently, we headed down the lake on calm water with bright blue above, and beautiful reflections below.

Cassiar Island in the foreground with a small cabin on the shore.

On our way, we passed .75 acre Cassiar Island. Before the dam at the mill, installed in the early 1900s, Cassiar was larger and the site of a produce farm for the new town of Powell River. Now it's privately owned with two cabins and several outbuildings. A warning light on the west shore guides logging crew boats (and cabin owners).

Goat Island on the right with fog still hanging in First Narrows.

Next is huge Goat Island that makes Powell Lake circumnavigate its steep shores. And yes, you can see mountain goats climbing its towering cliffs on the north shore. Goat was instrumental in the creation of Powell Lake, forcing ice age glaciers around its resilient granite outcroppings. Grinding ice and embedded rock carved a deep fjord all the way around on it's way to the sea.

Our cabin looks out on the southwest shore. The triple rounded peaks remind me of a sleeping sea monster. Yes, sea monster. At the bottom of Powell Lake is ancient sea water trapped after the glaciers receded. Goat Island the first thing we see every morning, and the last view we get every night. When we see Goat, we know we're home. -- Margy

Fog at the Shinglemill

Fog cleared from Powell Lake in what seemed like just moments.

But, the narrow channel of Powell River let the remaining fog over the Strait of Georgia make its way to the Shinglemill marina.


Our finger was easily visible at the edge of the gloom, but the boat launch next to the Shinglemill Pub was still obscured. -- Margy

Cleaning Woodstove Creosote

Last week I told you about how important our chainsaw is for gathering wood. Without our wood-burning stove, we couldn't live in our cabin year-round. Another important task is maintaining our woodstove to prevent creosote buildup.

Several times during the burning season, Wayne goes up on the porch roof to clean out the external stovepipe. At least once a year, we remove and clean the indoor pipe and scoop ash off the smoke shelf. There are two beneficial reasons. The first, is safety. Creosote can cause chimney fires. Secondly, the fire burns more efficiently, which in turn reduces creosote buildup. Here's what came out of the pipe this time.

I designed a tool to use to help scrape out the horizontal pipes. I call it a Woodstove Sock Puppet. Since we always clean our pipe when there's no fire, it isn't dangerous to you a cloth device. The extra surface area helps Wayne scoop out as much buildup as possible.

Now our woodstove is burning bright, and we're Kozi warm off the grid. -- Margy

It's just like the Golden Gate Bridge ...

... once you're finished painting, you have to start all over again. That's what Wayne says about our float cabin deck.

At least once a year, the cedar boards need to be repainted with wood stain. We've tried a variety of colours. The first was light tan, but it didn't go well with our light yellow walls. Then we tried redwood, and it was a hit.


The wood stain helps our cedar deck boards last longer. Another bonus, the slimy moss that used to come after winter rains doesn't form on the painted surface. That used to make it dangerous walking outdoors on a wet deck.

Deck painting is one of the things Wayne likes to do alone. Who am I to argue with that? -- Margy

Cabin Baking: Easy Sourdough Starter

My life took a lot of twists and turns last year, and I didn't use my sourdough starter.  When I checked in April, I found my cabin batch had gone bad.  That was a sad day. I'd been nurturing it in my fridge for over four years! But I'd cloned a batch for town. When I cleaned the fridge last week, I was surprised it still appeared OK after a year of neglect. So I took it back up to the cabin to see if it would revive. And to my surprise, it did! YEA!

Here's the original recipe from Sourdough Cookery by Rita Davenport. It's available at Amazon, but maybe you can find one at your favourite used book store like I did. It's a great little paperback with 220 recipes from starter to breads to cakes to main dishes.

SIMPLE SOURDOUGH STARTER

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water

Don't use metal bowls or utensils. Mix dry ingredients. Add lukewarm water (I used skim milk) and stir to a smooth paste.

Cover with a towel and set in a warm place (85°F/30°C) to sour. Stir several times a day. In 2-3 days, the starter will be ready. Store in a heavy plastic container with a hole in the lid (or a small plastic bag) to allow gases to escape. I also use a bowl underneath to catch drips. Wayne says it's "alive" (actually the yeast is) when it bubbles over like the blob.

When using your starter, always reserve at least 1/2 cup. Replenish it with 1/2 cup water (again, I use skim milk for a tangier flavour) and 1/2 cup flour. Leave out overnight, stir down and return it to the refrigerator. They recommend "feeding" your starter once a week if you don't use it, but mine lasted a LOT longer.

 If it doesn't bubble enough, add a little extra dry yeast and lukewarm water for a boost. Sometimes a clear liquid will form on top. That's OK, just stir it back in. If the starter or liquid turns pink, it needs to be discarded.

I like to add starter to my pancake mix for an extra special taste. Here are some of my recipes using sourdough starter:

Sourdough Biscuits
Sourdough Wheat Bread
Sourdough Sopapillas
No-Knead Sourdough Bread 
Buttery Sourdough Pan Rolls

Do you have any favourite sourdough recipes? I'd love to hear them. -- Margy