Just another Day on the Farm

Now I don’t know if this is holding true to any of the rest of you but for me, here in Ottawa Valley, Ontario, Canada.. we are right on track..

We had a drought in 2012, it was a good one..  but 2016 was far worse..  deeper, harder and more spread out covering more areas..

In 2012, we had a early spring, I was harvesting from my garden in june, I planted some things in March! March..  the summer itself was a wash out before of the dryness and the never ending heat.. my hugelbeds did well that year.. then we had a late wet fall that turned into a early snow filled winter.. dump after dump of snow.. the pack was deep and we shoveled off a small area to try and warm it up to plant it out in very late april, early may..  the seeds and bulbs and plants just sat there, cold and pouting at me.. then came the spring.. Rain, RAIN and more RAIN..  it Rained for week.. the ground was a soggy mess, we planted to see it run away, we planted to see them start and then rot in the ground..

We could not even get to the bottom half of the main garden, my hubby dug small drainage lines in the big gardens, we made raised compost beds that thrived and produced like a house on fire later in the season and the next year as well.

I take a lot of photo’s and I post them to facebook..  which means each day, facebook says to me.. would you like to see your memories and I look though them.. and I can tell you from my photos. that 2016 is right on target to 2012 for this time of the year..

We will see if the rest of the year is as well.. if so, I am going to need to really raise that small area almost like a paddock for Bo, because by the spring of 2012, we had snow pack that was close to four feet high in some areas, and while Brandy was a good girl, and would stand behind that itty bitty fence..  I can not expect the same from my boys..

but more important, I am planning my garden for a wet one, I am planning on putting the sheep into dry lot for the full spring, and the horses will need to have a smaller then normal area, as I intend to redo my pastures..

If the spring is as wet as I expect, if I do a mix of frost seeding and heavy green crop seeding, I should be able to get my pastures back into fighting shape with careful rotation grazing with a hot line and electic netting..

In the one back half area of the barn with the lean too.. half of it is a cement pad and half is a dirt floor, I will put the feeding on the cement to help give the horses time off the wet and I think I will plan for mats in the other half to create a dry loafing area and then lots of walks off the farm..

So the driving force behind this.. ocean patterns..

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/winter-hasnt-been-cancelled-but-will-be-milder-for-most/60506

Its from the 2016 but it goes into a number of details that I like and good grafts and such if you are not already caught up on it..

So here is my question for you? A) are you having a repeat of the weather in your area from 4 years ago? b) Are you planning for its effects in your pastures, your farm or your gardens in 2017? c) if you facebook, are you finding the memory day updates interesting and useful as a journal type tool?

Up, UP and over..

I had just settled into my warm bed for a afternoon movie, with my hounds all sighing and settling down around me when hubby called.. come quick.. Bojangles is out of the pasture..

The snow told the tale, he had jumped my sheep fencing, it has a top line but in the winter we don’t normally keep it hot..

Now the great news is that Caleb stayed behind the fence, and Bo didn’t go far,  he just explored our unfenced food forest and when he came out on the other side at the big hay field, he had a good leg stretch but as soon as he heard and seen Jason, he came right back to say hello.

I am so pleased that our bonding has been going well enough that he came running to be caught and get his halter on..

I am blessed enough that we have a nice stall in the big barn that is safely tucked in and I expect that as long as I am around on turnout, that he will stay in our pastures while we work on plan a, b, and c

I am happy to hear from someone that used to know him well that they had hot lines and that he respects them.. I normally only use one in the warmer months.. and when we fenced the farm, we fenced for sheep.. not horses.

Having said that, Bo is the first horse I have had on the farm that has hopped the fence.. lol

“I knew a man Bojangles and he’d dance for you in worn out shoes
Silver hair, ragged shirt and baggy pants, that old soft shoe
He’d jump so high, he’d jump so high, then he lightly touch down?
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance.”

So we are in “Eval” mode.. Bojangles and Caleb are in the big barn.. and we are heading out after supper to the local hardware place for a couple hundred dollars worth of things that will go along way to getting us though the winter months without a repeat.

I am very grateful that Bo showed that he could and would do this today.. While we were home 🙂 to deal with it quickly and all ended well, the weather outside is snow, more snow  and more snow, the roads are bad.. so we canceled a visit out with good friends..

but it got me to thinking about “fences” Brandy and Caleb would no more come over a fence then fly to the moon and back..  I have seen the snow drift so high that they could have taken a big old draft step over the fence and they would stand on the other side waiting..

Bo on the other hand, certainly could not step over the fence, he jumped it, and from what I could tell by the snow trail, he did it nicely! He didn’t see the fence, he just saw where he wanted to go and made it happen..

My job now is to make sure.. he can’t do it again.. Challenge on.. Challenge on!

The Perk as I see it.. I will need 15 to 20 more min a day in a work out.. as I will need to clean out stalls and haul more to the barn etc.  This will be very good for my waist line..

I am coming out of Christmas not to bad, three to five pounds heavier for the month, not what I was hoping for, I just wanted to stay level.. but I am back on the lose it wagon and I am sure that extra time working in the barn will help get that done, and the perk is that most of it can be done in the barn itself so at least I am out of the wind etc.

I am sure that the extra time with both horses will be a good thing..

Its all over the news the past weeks and days.. 2016 was so bad..

My favorite line so far .. 2016 is limping to a close, battery and bruised and you think it was bad.. no you are wrong.. it was even worst then you think..

WOW!  I get it.. there have been some major things going on in 2016, I see the decreased incomes, I see the increase in food, shelter, power costs.. I see the up and many more downs in other counties, I see the wars, the famines, the droughts, the fires and the floods.

I see the coming political strive, I see the possible threats looming..

And 2016 kicked it when it came to some things in my own life.. dear friends with cancer, health issues with very close family members, the loss of one of Dear Hubbies Aunts, a accident that almost took the life of a much beloved teen and all the after mat that followed. and while I am not getting into in detail some answers to why we have had such a hard time trying for a child.. and that hope and dream died in that doctors office with black and white answers on a piece of paper..  maybe it was wishful thinking after 40 anyway.

And while not the same as people, the loss in my four legged in the past year has been brutal, yes, my oldest purrpot was 19, yes my oldest hound was 17, yes my Beloved mare gifted to me as my 40th birthday present had a health issue..  but the purrpot that got ran over, the younger hound that had a fast acting cancer, my beloved Bella having a massive stroke an Seizure in my arms in the middle of the night..

So ya, I get it.. I do..

But I am a 80’s child.. I grew up in the tail end of the cold war, and into the new age of breaking down walls, I grew up in a area of the country where it was on the redneck side.. I grew up on the poor side (and I am being kind by using that wording) I struggled in school with a learning issue that didn’t have a name back then..

I was raised by my mother and my extended family.. NO quit!  Trying is not good enough… get it done..  No, you can’t be anything you want to be.. (unless you are blessed with inborn talent and the money to support it) but you can learn to be ok at a lot, good at many things and outstanding at a few..

So with that in mind, 2016 still saw my husband fully employed, 2016 still saw both of us in good health. 2016 still saw the bills paid.. 2016 despite the drought, still saw us raise our own meat, eggs, milk, fruits and veggies..  so the selection is more limited but its all there..

2016 might be a turning point in your life.. it might have had something happen that made you make a choice that will create ripples that will be in effect for many years to come.. but it is not the be all.

Ripples can be fought, new Ripples can be made.. those ripples maybe be out there but drop a new rock or a log and suddenly everything can change.. and so for everyone that is reading those headlines..

Might I ask you to consider taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly..  if you have had something truly bad happen in 2016, I am sorry that it did, I am sending you strength and that if you are in the trenches that you have warmth, food, water and someone or something giving you cover, a ladder, or a helping hand.. whatever you need..

but for those of us, that had a mixed year..  maybe make a list of all the things that didn’t go wrong, that didn’t happen..  you know that time you slipped but caught yourself at the last second and walked it off.. that time you almost got hit but didn’t.. that time you where this close to clipping that deer but came to a safe stop with heart pounding, that time that you didn’t quite know what you were going to do on that month, and either you pulled yourself up by the boot straps and got it done or maybe you reached out and a friend came though for you..

Focus on what can be dealt with in the here and now..  I know its dated.. but learn from the past, live in the moment and prepare for the future..

Hugs to all my dear readers!

What a different and yet wonderful Christmas this year has been.. I spent the afternoon and evening on Christmas eve with my heart sister and it was the first time in very long and hard summer and fall that we have had hours to visit with just the two of us.. there was shopping, a drive, good food, a warm wood stove, more laughter, teasing, soul talk and tears..  It was needed, it was a blessing of kind that I am beyond grateful to have in my life.

Then Christmas came, the morning was spent with my husband and my wonderful farm, critters of all kinds.. everyone got their extra treats and hugs and pats and cuddles.. the stockings were filled this year by Santa’s Helper, he did a amazing job and I didn’t even have a hint on what it would be 🙂

I  got some amazing gifts, a new Northern Artist signed raven print.. (I collect ravens) and new hair sticks, new music and new journal to write in.. I got a bit of chocolate and a few other wee goodies.. it was not a huge loaded Christmas, but it was heartfelt and meant even more for it..

The phone rang all morning as parents, siblings, and aunts and uncles checked in with us.. older voices and young sweet ones, photos were sent of .. look what we got 🙂

Then I headed out to pick up Miss T and after tacking up, we took Bo out for a on farm ride and put him though his paces 🙂 What a good boy.. walk, trot, canter, lead changes, and light on his feet, smooth and willing.. could not ask for more for his second ride on the farm!

Then we packed up our parts of a lovely dinner to be, ham and cheese roasted potato dish and we visited and watched a Christmas movie.. Christmas with the Krakes.. it was funny and sweet.. and then more company arrived, so we visited and talked and arrived home just before midnight..

What more could I ask for.. time with my husband, time on my farm, time with my adopted family, a horse ride on Christmas :).. Love.. so much LOVE!!!

I truly hope yours was just as perfect for you! whatever kind of Christmas you like, I hope that is what you got!

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?