Just another Day on the Farm

Seed catalogs are coming in

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Well, I am pleased to see the seed catalogs coming in, I am very looking forward to 2017 garden season, I have my grow lights up an on for microgreens for salads to go with my sprouts..

But I made my list and then I checked it twice.. then I looked at my pantry, I looked at my cellar and I looked at the food prices and then news.. the loonie is to go as low as 65 cents to the us dollar, I looked at the fact that in Ontario, those growing food are leaving the province due to the high cost of power, I looked at the reports on the rising food costs

Then my commercial catalog for my soft fruits came in and I read it and took a deep breath, after over 60 years of business, they are stopping growing Ontario different soft fruiting canes, strawberries and so forth, they are going to import from the states at 3x the price per plants, plus a paperwork fee.

and then I went back to my list, and I sighed and took off many “play” and fun try this and that items and I pared that list down hard. I have a number of produce that I had seed back from or held over and I am adding in growing upland dry rice.

But overall, I am taking back to the basics, the heavy produces, the proven, and the old faithful.

What is your plans in regards to your garden in the coming year?

Posted in Life moves on daily | 3 Comments

why i got a cell phone-finally

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Hi Folks, I have been a hold out.. but this week in dec of 2016, I broke down and got a cell phone an plan, I know have phone and texting..

There is a part of me that is going… NO!!!

but there were solid reasoning behind sinking money into a monthly plan, only time will tell if I made the right choice.. or if I will live to regret it.

the top reason I got the phone, hubby will be traveling regular for days at a time monthly for the next x years.. its changeable and flexible on when those days are.. but bottom line, I think for safety on the farm, being able to reach out for help no matter where I am at.. good idea!
hubby really likes the idea of me having it when I am riding alone and as I intend to ride a lot in 2017, this is a fair request
I am already booked for a few speaking events for 2017 and it’s just safer to have a phone when traveling because good luck finding a pay phone these days
a dear friend is very hard to get on the phone but can be got on text and I miss her lol
my niece loves to text and I want to be part of that world..

yup.. that’s purdy much why I stepped into the world of a phone in my pocket..

Any last hold outs? Anyone else given in lately.. i am sure it will be used to keep in touch but truly what tipped the scale was the safety of being able to text or call out for help if something happened on the farm and i was alone for x days.. the dogs are amazing protectors but not in the same way as the phone will be

Posted in Life moves on daily | 9 Comments

Intoducing Mr. Bojangles

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Arriving in the very wee morning hours on the farm before the sun rose up.. Mr. Bojangles stepped off the trailer and onto our farm.

I am honored that we were selected to get this amazing and handsome gelding.. Bo is a 9 year old 3/4 perch draft cross, he is a broke to ride and has been used as a riding trail horse. He is calm and steady, I can’t wait to get him settled, and then tacked up and see what he can do. His momma is still going strong at 30.. so I have high hopes that with good care that Bo will also be with us for many years to come.

Posted in Life moves on daily | 6 Comments

Caleb in snow! Photo Monday!

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Getting up to speed..

Now we are trotting out..

Had to change the filter on this one.. kicking it into higher gear..

floating on a cloud of white..

If this weather warms up even a touch, with all this fresh snow, I will be back out and see if I can do better on my next round.. learning.. learning is the name of the game..

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged photography | 2 Comments

Man, its been a crazy bit..

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Well, you are getting a this and that post, I would love to tell you that I just wanted and took a writing break but the truth is I have been moving it..

Hubby went on a trip out west to see his mom and my mom and it was a working trip on his end as well. so much to get done with a bit of visiting thrown in as well. It was bitter cold in alberta.. like -30 to -40 and the roads were bad that he was driving on..

Back here on the farm, I was also being snowed in and the cold was settling down over the farm.. inches and then more inches and then drifting of snow.. sleds were cracked out and ice was chopped and warm water was hauled. Extra bedding, extra hay, extra grains..

The sudden drop in temp meant that coats are only half grown in and so a goodly amount of extra care was required to make sure the critters were all doing good..

Even Miss Halo needed a winter jacket, as she has not grown in her undercoat yet, Meeow-Meeow has been to the vets and had her spay and is in recovery, as I was not sure on her age, and I didn’t want to risk her having been caught with kittens, I had her fixed a bit early.. The vet feels that she is around 6 to 7 months in age an that she is a tiny bit thin yet, but she has gained a good amount since we got her, (she was very thin when we found her, she was not a good hunter, I still say she was a house cat before she got dropped off here by the farm)

So we have bought her a special kitten food and wet food that will help put weight on her, she loves both of them and is eating very well, so soon enough I will have more padding on her bones, but till then, she has a new double thickness plush bed to snuggle up in just her size.

Had a to get a few things done on the truck, of course I had a issue while home alone on the farm, thankfully friends came over with the right skill set and tools to get me back on the road and I also got new tires for the truck, new working radio, and a new ball joint.. fun times.. but honestly, our sweet Peppy the SUV has been a very good girl in 4 wheel drive on these very poor roads, she has safely got hubby to and from the airport, she got me safely around the farm area and to town, and vet and so forth.. I was truly grateful for that extra 4 wheel drive, we needed it! as well as the clearance on the truck. At least three or four times, If I had still had the van, I would have been stuck and calling for a tow. Not sure why the county is having this hard of time this year on keeping the roads plowed and sanded but yikes!

One of the things that kept me so busy for a number of day is that I put down and dealt with the BIG pig.. Apple was 800 plus pounds if she was a day and I did her on my own, I am never doing that big of a pig again.. sheesh.. she was full blown breeder size.. wow.. I spent a few days just getting the chores done, and then afterwards just dropping into bed to sleep so hard.. No more pigs over 400 pounds..

Thankfully I had Caleb to give me a helping hand, god bless a willing horse. Speaking of horses, I have bought my new horse, Miss G, I will do a big announcement once’s she arrives and I can get photos, she will be coming after Christmas. I am quite excited but I expect my lonely boy Caleb will be even more happy to have a little herd again.

All my extra working has meant that I despite a few opp’s and few drinks over the past two weeks, I have in fact gone down a touch more.. and was finally able to fit into an zip up this amazing knitted sweater that my Big brother bought and then passed on as it was to short (I believe that, I am like 7 inches shorter then him)

We are into round three of yet another snow storm.. more snow to shovel, more snow to pack down.. we are going to have a white Christmas for sure.. Different photos taken over the past while so different overcast coloring, different snow levels and so forth..

Posted in Life moves on daily | 3 Comments

Tracks in the snow..

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Perfect tracking snow this morning.. and I am out doing chore’s and I am just doing.. the doggy tracks are so common that I don’t Blink. as I take a certain path I think.. huh.. in a area, something has turned the snow, and soil and bits of plant stuff is showing.. odd.. then I look at the one set of tracks and go.. those are big.. those led to the rabbit hutches and I stop..

and now I am awake, I have only put the hounds out into the fenced in dog side yard so far this morning, we have fresh clean snow.. those are not dog tracks.. They are Coy-wolf trays, they are more coyote then like then wolf..

And they checked out every thing.. all the pens.. Look someone dug a tiny bit by the goat pen.. and then stopped when they hit the buried railroad tie..

All critters are safe and sound.. but what about that mussed and dug up area.. took me a bit, but I finally figured it out.. its where I butchered birds and while there was not a single feather or bone or anything left there, its where I let the blood go back to feed the soil..

They were following their nose and where trying to see if there was anything else.. they came out of the local woods, right up my driveway, all over my front yard, little barn and back out across the big pasture..

Glad my sheep and all were locked up for the night, they are out today but I will lock them in again tonight when it gets dark.

I will see if I can get any clean prints to take photos of, but I didn’t think to take any this morning..

Hopefully they will not be back tonight..

Posted in Life moves on daily | 1 Comment

Foggy Morning Rolls in..

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

It was a foggy Morning, it was awesomely thick, with a stunning sun filling up the sky at the same time..

I love the distance photo, I snapped it from my front step with my longest zoom.. it was everything I hoped it would be..

I had to go around and crack water in barrels and buckets, it was a good thick layer in some cases at least two inches thick..

We got snow, I shoveled steps and path’s, on the tarps, it was just over another six inches, I was surprised to find that it was able to hit the tops of my hiking boots in drifted areas..

With Hubby currently traveling, I am both in hunker down mode and have good friends also coming for visits and checking in daily 🙂

Hoping and planning to do more of my Christmas baking that will go into the freezer to be used in baskets or trays, today I have a laundry basket full of thawed out meat that will be trimmed and then canned up, there will be happy hounds as they chew on meaty bones today..

Do you have snow yet? if so how much?

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged Fog on the farm, horse in fog, photography, winter scenes | 1 Comment

Honey Toffee with Spruce an Almonds

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Grand Fir Dark Nougat: Winter Solstice Sweets

The above site was the read that got me working on this, I am not sure I made it right, but its so good my way, I am just not worried about it..

1 cup Pumpkin Flower Honey
1.4th cup of my best blue spruce with under notes of lemon
2 cups whole almonds

One buttered dish..

This mix loved to foam up at the start for at least ten min.. so deep sided pan and don’t leave it!

Add all your honey, your bruised spruce needles and the nuts together, bring to boil an then reduce heat till at steady easy boil

It need lots of stirring, the color will change from creamy to darker and darker.. now I tasted the sauce and thought needs salt, then I thought hmm.. before changing anything, try it together an I had sauce, nut and spruce bit, o my goodness the flavour combo is knock your socks off good.. boil till you get full soft ball stage in your cup of cold water.. pour into your buttered pan, put more fresh spruce on top.. let cool, slice, wrap in wax paper and treat out.

As I made this with a friend, had to try before really ready.. it didn’t matter.. it was awesome..

I am sure I failed at the nouget part lol

but I nailed the spruce almond soft Honey Toffee! those that get these in their xmas presents will be in for a treat for sure

I am going to make this spruce honey toffee again, dropping it on freshly toasted walnuts, drop of chocolate with salted tops, I will share but I think it will be amazing!

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged Spruce Almond Honey Toffee, Spruce Almond Honey Toffee Recipe | 1 Comment

Potato Hash Recipe

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

Now I love my fried grated potato’s, we have talked about rinsing them till the water runs clear for those perfect crunchy ones, we have talked about my families version of germen potato’s where they are crunchy and brown on the outside and creamy an soft on the inside with eggs, flour and spices served with sour cream, cheese or bacon bits.

I am calling this one a Potato Hash, its a full meal and its thick stick to your ribs, this was large portions for two people, but we were hungry, double for a 4 person or serve with some thing else with these split into four portions

six medium potato, I took out the bits needed, washed and grated them with skins on
1 large onion, peeled and grated
1 large carrot or one small sweet potato, your choice peeled and grated
2 cups of fresh sprouts (this would be equal to one of the little trays from the store) or any other sweet green, not a strong green.. you want the health punch without the green being able to take out the sweetness of the carrot or the sweet potato.
2 large eggs, love the color of my farm eggs, the hens are nibbling on the hay
1 tsp of seasoning salt, 2 tbsp. of a basic herb-garlic mix
1 tsp of ground pepper, less if you want less heat

Mix this very well, you want those sprouts evening spread though it.. no clumps of any one things, heat your biggest cast iron and put in some lard or olive oil and when its heated, put in your mix and press it level and then cook 8 to 10 min on each side with a lid on but cracked to the side on med-high heat.. when you go to flip, score them into four and flip each section.. with this much its just a touch to thick to do a full pan flip..

We didn’t add anything else to it.. you could put a bit of cheese on, you could serve with sour cream and green onion but we devoured it as it was and loved it!

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged Potato Veggie Hash | 1 Comment

Winter arrived overnight!

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Just another day on the farm

The DH had taken Friday off so we had a three days weekend on the farm and we got busy.. you have seen some of the photos over the weekend..

Rabbit hutches got a re-work, new wire floors for some, new roofs for others, all got the big clean, and the winter stuffing of bedding on the big inside box’s, the rabbits were wormed the week before, so we are heading into winter with Big Girl (white with brown eyes) Breed to Black Buck

Blackie (Black Doe breed to a Black Buck that has since been sent to butcher camp.

Moon (Black Doe) who was breed to Brown Boy who also went to butcher camp, leaving me with Snowman for my main Buck for the winter.. a huge! Buck with pink eyes.. This means that if I choose to keep back any does from these litters, they can all be bred back to Snowman.

So then we moved on to the goats, we did another pen cleanout which was fast and easy as it was less then a week of build up to clean out, and then we re-bedded down their goat house, and then I gave them a raised outdoor pallet with bedding in a sheltered spot but with full sun for when they want to sit in the sun.. We also did them a makeshift but effective Hay feeder, I expect that I will cut a few of the wires carefully and make two of the feeding holes bigger so that they can get it all from bottom. We took one of the older rabbit roof’s and make a solid floor for them stand on, as its all raised off on the pallet.

The goats got taped, wormed and Jack’s one foot got a bit of more of a trim..

Checkout how happy the ducks look with their new hut.. I am greatly amused that the big Drake is hiding in the hut and that all three females are out in the snow.. but mostly I am just glad that they are using it when it gets dark out and are warm and dry when they choose to be.

We needed to do repair work both in the little barn but it was all minor but time consuming at the same time, cleaning a bit, new straw bales put out, and new hinges on doors and this and that.. everything takes time 🙂

Our faithful farm cats trailed us all over the farm, even today with all the snow, they still needed to come with us while we did morning chores

Then came the big barn.. it needed more repairs, we had a fair amount of work needed to be done in one of the bigger stalls, Brandy was not a happy girl when she got put in her stall this summer and kicked the wall doing a goodly amount of damage, it got a patch job which was not bad but then we put Caleb in and he decided that the patch job was a funny haha, and broke out.. needless to say we needed a big repair job before winter hit, and so we rebuilt that whole half way, re-done, as well as re-enforced, new window frame and all the summer windows were all set with their winter frames and their double plastic, the rest of the old barn was looked though and a few other small things repaired.

We got our huge healthy and growing Calf Bull-winkle moved from the big sheep pen to Caleb’s big winter stall for the moment and we filled the big hay feeder and called the sheep in for the big storm coming in..

I can move the calf to a smaller stall if I need to but as Caleb much prefers to have 24 indoor and outdoor access, we touched up his big lean to area and put out more bedding for him, didn’t need much as we had just done it in the past weeks, we prepped his hay feeder so that if a bad storm is coming in, I can just slid some of the hay we moved into the big barn and put it in the back for him.. he has a winter coat in but not quite as much or as thick as I would like yet and he is not a easy horse to blanket.. only in the very coldest part of winter will he even consider blanket or stall. He came on the trot for his apples despite the weather 🙂

Last night, I got a call from a friend on the road not far from the farm, to give me the heads up that a huge stunning coy-wolf female trailing her yearling pups behind her was coming my way.. love friends that would think to let me know.. It was all good, everyone was locked up tight -safe and sounds, the barn cats were snug in their straw area in the little barn, we did a head count and blocked the kitty door for the night, the farm cats were called and into the house the rest came, the locks were checked on gates and pens, the big barn door was chained shut and we took the hounds out for a good night marking of the farm..