This past year I wrote 25 posts, and with just shy of 3500 hundred posts in total on the blog, on so many subjects the views hourly still keep coming in. There is a wealth of information on the blog that is pulled up both by google searches or Pins or by using the search bar here on the blog. Sometimes its a link back from a different site. I am grateful for all the ways folks find the blog!
Right now we are shifting from a very late fall with record breaking temps over into winter, we are getting our first true snow fall today. A good couple inches of snow nicely driving to the point of the tunnel effect and playing, where is the road edge game on the drive.
Dear Hubby took a kick to his leg a couple weeks back and is still greatly feeling the effects of it and looks like it he will for a while yet. Its bad timing always to get hurt but very bad timing indeed for that cusp of the change over when you shift to winter barns/feeding and so on.
We had our best year for the pastures this year in our past ten years, target grazing by the sheep, limiting grazing pressure from the horses and resting and re-seed as well as manure spreading along with the weather/rains and being able to use the big riding mower to cut some areas down lead to use getting a much extended grazing season.
I am very busy indeed with my photography this fall and now coming into the Christmas Season, Just in case you are local and looking for photography in general, Come on over and like my facebook page for regular updates Farmgal Photography
or if you are looking for a Christmas Family Portrait Session, I have two weekends coming up, Nov 18th and Nov 19th in the monkland area, which is nicely central to anyone coming from all the towns around Eastern Townships. Or St-Bernardin Christmas Bazaar on Nov 25th and Nov 26th
The next few weeks will be nothing
- Farm and changing of the seasons, I need to shift birds from the big pen to their winter pen and get it sorted for the sheep use instead for the hard part of winter.
- The last of the garden needs to be brought in, Brussel Sprouts, beets, carrots and some winter greens, as well as the horseradish still needs to be pulled or dug out and processed.
- Its rose hip picking time with the good hard frost we have gotten as well as high bush cranberry pick and process time, last week I did the last of the ground cherries into a delightful butter, you would not think you could do a fruit butter with them due to the seeds but they are soft and bother nothing in the final product, or should I say they are not “seedy” in the way we think of, we can see them but not feel them in the bite.
- Shifting the house, mainly the living room and kitchen into winter mode for the wood stove use, lots of wood has been hauled and stacked close by with more ready to be moved as needed.
- Lots of indoor set photography and some lovely outdoor photography, including some awesome Black and White sessions coming up.
Otherwise, its steady as she goes, this years young hens are laying nice and steady, the older hens molted early so they are coming back on line, the ducklings (older are full size and easily sexed at this point and fat and ready for butcher) the late hatch is thriving and thankfully appear to be mostly hens from what I can see.
Well, I have finished my big cuppa of Milky Red Rose Tea, Red Rose Tea was the tea of my childhood as was the taste of a drop of canned milk to sweeten it and help take out the tannin after taste. What was the your childhood tea? Did you have one? Do you still drink it? I enjoy a good chia tea and I love Earl Grey but I can’t imagine my tea cupboard being without its box of Red Rose.
Wishing you all pleasant dreams
Just another Day on the Farm 
So good to hear from you Val! Very sorry to hear about Jason’s leg though. Give him a big “Hope you get better soon!” from me, would you please?
(Had a bit of an oops a couple of weeks back myself:/)
Your Red Rose Tea, which kind was it, Black or Orange Pekoe? Did you collect the figurines (or, reaching even farther back, the collector cards & books?)
“Only in Canada, you say? Pity…” https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5763347
Morning Deb, these things happen, granted I am the more injury prone then him. I will pass it along, sorry to hear about your opps as well. I like the Orange Pekoe myself, you? which one do you like better. I have a figurine or two but no cards or books.. Now its seems so strange as almost no company other then childrens and even that is more rare sends out cook books or collector items.. no more collect points and get prizes.
I remember when the lovely lady next door won all three prizes including a diamond ring from a entering a ice cream contest, she loved their icecream and you had to wash and send back the entry filled out and with the skill testing question. . remember when you had to be able to do a little math on those lol.. Turns out she was the only one that did it.. she sent in seven and she won every single prize lol.. o she was so proud of that diamond ring..
Wow, she won all the prizes?? Guess that answers the question of why they don’t do contests any more, hey?
Last time I heard about something like this was the Cheerios ‘Save the Bees’ Campaign and sadly, companies don’t need to try to get your business with freebies anymore, there’s TV and internet for that.
And while I like Earl Grey or Green better for drinking, the smell of Red Rose Black and Orange Pekoe bring back memories of both Grandmothers’ kitchens… ♥️
Off-topic this, but your mentioning it being the time for Rose Hip harvest reminded me to ask… When do you normally bring in Hawthorn berries (and what do you make with them)?
Red Rose tea is my tea as well. I always have at least 5 big boxes as backup – heaven forbid if I should run out if tea! Take care!
I can understand that for sure