I managed to get some chores done and work on the compost pile continues. Naomi as ordered me a small 4 liter composting pail for my kitchen. This pail has a lid and charcol odor filter and will work much nicer that the tuperware pail I am using now. We ordered this through Lee Valley tools and it looks like it will work very well. I have seperated the completed compost from the pile and am starting this years batch. I took a 17 gallon garbage can full of very nice compost out of the pile and making more will be easy if we just get some warm weather. The pile thaws during the day but it is still freezing at night which is slowing things down.

I managed to squeeze in a short 5 mile bike ride and my regular 16,000 step walk so work on decreasing my wasitline goes well. Devon then Edmonton are my next two goals on the walk. I am presently at the 5,908,000 step mark and Edmonton should be the big 6 million or very close to it, one way or the other.

The other big project was the spring cleaning of my gravity fed oil space heater. This is really not that difficult but the soot can be messy and get every where if your not careful. Once the cleaning was completed, I fired her up and she is purring like a kitten This is a good thing as yesterday was supposed to be -18C and snowing. The weather guys were wrong, which is great as I am getting tired of cold and want some warm sunny stuff a few months worth would be very nice.

I have no idea yet what or where I will put this to use but a pile of great black dirt created from by kitchen scraps and lawn clipppings is a very handy thing to have. When using compost for your indoor plants or outdoor flower planters , remember to mix the compost with with potting oil or good dirt as compost is an excellent food source it doesn`t retain water well and needs something with a water retention ability.

I have my area where I practice rope access techniques and it has dried out enough for me to set this up and start praciting. Very handy stuff to know but quickly forgotten if one doesn`t keep at it. There are seven basic techniques that you need to know, none of which are that difficult but require a certain amount of concentration as they need to be done right. After a few days of practice I will be back into the swing of things.

I live beside the lake and where iIusually store my kayaks and canoes is undergoing some work and I need to find a new launch spot.  I think I will just keep the boats close to the house and make the  carry to the lake when I want to paddle. Cheers, Greg