Just another Day on the Farm

Setting Garden goals.. 2015

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

well it seems like a grand idea to set some garden goals this year.. o yes it does.. but no cheating on my end, I will keep the plans I have, keep the gardens I have but I am in need of a hard tracking year to see where I am at, its so easy to lose track, harvest x per day for the rabbits or the birds or pick this or that as a horse treat or thin this and give to the pigs, but it should be being all counted as fodder.

lets see folks.. how about some fun numbers.. play along.. yes or no.. put your guesses in the comments

Can I harvest 200 pounds of rhubarb, stalks in weight, not including leaves

Can I harvest 50 pounds of strawberries

Can I harvest 100 pounds of elderberries

Can I harvest 300 pounds of squash

Can I harvest 300 pounds or more in pumpkins this year

Will we be finally be able to grow more then 500 pounds of potatos

will I grow and harvest at a min 100 pounds of sweet corn

Can I harvest at least 50 pounds of comfry

human garden feed, over 3 tons, yes or no

Critter grown for then 1 ton yes or no

Critters extra from garden 1 ton, yes or no

Can I harvest at least a hundred pounds of wild forage food this year, does not include critters.

Have some fun.. add in your own thoughts.. in a kindly way of course.. and I will bring over to this page

Posted in gardens, Life moves on daily | Tagged canadian farm, gardening for fodder, gardening for freedom, gardening zone 5 canada, gardens, harvest | 7 Comments

My personal Cat Herbal Blends- Reader Question

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

Ok, now I know that my choices are not the norm, because if you here worm and cats, you see folks talking wormwood and black walnut right out the gate.. and they both work and work well if you want to use them and if you have bought pretty much any pet store or online herbal dewormer blend, they are in it.

But.. wormwood should only be used in small amounts and for shorter amounts of time in a healthy cat then recommended for the treatment length, add in age onset health issues and its a tricky one

Black Walnut does do a good job as a wormer and has hundreds of years of data to back it but I am allergic. as in, do not mess with it, wow am I allergic

So what do I like to use, well to be honest for my farm cats, do use a blend of wormwood, Diatomaceous Earth, parsley powder, and catnip, with a drizzle of wheat germ oil to make all stick to a much reduced pile of kibble.. this is mixed and feed fresh twice a day for 3 days in the barns, then three weeks off and repeat. Done four times a year.

But the question was what do I give my older purrpot..

She gets a warm buttery farm fresh scrambled egg with her meds mixed in

Dried papaya in powdered form, ground fresh pumpkin seeds into very fine powder, with turmeric and just a tiny bit of black pepper. please include the pepper as it allows the body to help get what it needs from the turmic, if you use meat and it is lean, add a touch of fat, ideally pumpkin oil or wheat germ oil, but any will be better then none.

Mix together, for adult size cat, 1tsp of the three powders and the tinny- tiny bit of black pepper, add to canned wet food and mix, added to homemade wet food and serve..

Ideally for a min three days or a max of five.. wait three weeks an repeat, at least twice a year min, ideally on a 4 x a year program is better if kitty is indoor-outdoor.

Hope that answers your questions in regards to what I normally use 🙂

Posted in Critters | Tagged black walnut, herbal cat dewormers, wheat germ oil, wormwood | 3 Comments

Its Cold out there

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

Its both cold and snowy on the farm, the critters are in hunker down mode, We finally sighed in defeat and turned on the heat lamps for the chickens and other fowl, they are loving it and it has increased our egg output.

even the geese are taking to spending a great deal more time in their house, we moved more straw bales in layers in front of entry ways to block drafts from entering, see that snow mound on the far left, that is in fact bales used to create a second wall and walk out for the birds, birds who say, you can just keep feeding us inside thank you very much.

Yes seemed like a good day to do extras inside, so we did a full worming, mite prevention and heartworm treatment for all our farm cats both indoor and outdoor, other then four really semi feral outdoor drop off or just found the farm, you can look but unless you use the live trap, you are not touching me, they were given the eye, and as they appear healthy, will just be wormed using their food to do it.

I also went herbal for my oldest cat, while I did want them wormed, I prefer to stay away from the chemical wormers if possible when they are more fragile, and I used a safer more gentle kitten safe wormer for Mimi, she will not need her heartworm prevent till she has her first spring on the farm.

Then we did the same thing for the hounds, it takes a bit of time as each one needs to be weighted and amounts planned. I had hoped to get to the sheep for their next round of care but that will need to wait till next weekend, everyone else is up to date and does not need anything till spring.

The hounds were about the only thing that enjoyed yet another snow day, they do love to run and play in it, the wind came in on a odd angle and so I found the horses not in their three side with roof lean too section of the barn but instead pouting on the other side of the barn out of the wind. The barn door was open but they declined my offer that perhaps they would care to join the sheep inside.

So odd in the summer they are in the barn every day, and yet in winter giving them free choice they are outside.. I could lock them in the barn and their stalls but as they are both healthy and doing fine, so be it. They have been getting a little extra in their buckets in this cold on top off their 24-7 big hay bale and heated water trough. The Sheep flock has a increased daily grain ration at this time as well, its a balance game, with the snow and cold they need the extra calories but as they are only so far along in their pregnancies I need to be careful, I do not want the lambs getting to big.

Nine ewes should be expecting.. eight of them are old hands at this and ice is my only yearling new mom to be if she was breed, only time will tell.. I can see nothing under her woolly coat

No signs yet at all that anyone is even getting close or bagging up, we gave them all the eye while spreading yet even more straw and said, cross your legs till this cold snap is over, I hope they do but it does not stop us from bundling up and waddling down to the barn for lamb checks, the jugging pens are set up in both the front little barn and in the big barn this year.

Seemed the perfect day to run the oven, pork roast, and some shortbread cookies, I pulled a goodly amount of meat yesterday to work with this week, ground pork and beef, roasts, steaks and chops.

As I do not need to bake bread today, I am planning on baking zucchini bread, I pulled a bag of the yummy grated green stuff to thaw yesterday but my big plan, with camera in hand is to do a step by step on how to make o so good fluffy but dense and filling dumplings

May you have a wonderful day

Posted in farm | Tagged dogs playing in snow, egg laying in winter, expecting ewes, graining expecting ewes, Heat lamps for chickens, pressing patterns with rolling pin, Snow, winter farm work, Worming farm cats | 1 Comment

Chicken plans for 2015

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

So I am planning on adding in a new chicken breed to the farm, one that is ideally under served in my area, meets my own chicken needs here on the farm and so I have it down to a couple choices..

Swedish flower hen, its a landrace of birds, very colorful indeed, a nice mix of egg and meat dual purpose. Hard to find is a under statement..

Salmon Faverolles, I loved wash and while I can not find these local to me in two provinces, even had a girlfriend who attended the bird show in Canada this weekend and there was one lone poor quality rooster available.. hmmm

I can import a good selection of chicks for this breed from the usa and then breed to both keep the show and work towards also increasing farm wants..

I will be attending a number of bird sales this spring, but as I saw and bought the only faverolles rooster in ten years off sales, the odds are not good, watch for more news on that front at a later time.

so what will I be ordering and raising for sure this year..

Light Sussux Chicken, I am bringing in unsexed chicks of this breed, 24 in total, the best hens and roo or two will be kept, the rest will go to freezer camp.

While I do have Wash the roosters daughters who are coming three this spring, the rest of my hens now range between four and eight years in age and as sad as it will be, need to get some new blood on the farm.

Hope to have lots of eggs, hens sitting, chicks hatching this year as well.

So what are your chicken plans for the year.. Are you adding in new stock, trying a new breed, staying with your tried and true on love, hatching your own.

What is your oldest hen in your flock, if you live in Canada, do you follow the rule of lighter colored chickens, or do you go darker but provide more light or just know you will less winter eggs.

Will you be heading out to your local bird sale this spring

Posted in Chickens | Tagged Adding to your flock, chicken breed, hatching chicks, Light Sussux chicken, Salmon Faverolles, Swedish flower hens | 4 Comments

The Healing Bubble’s 2015 LOVE YOURSELF GIVEAWAY!!

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

The Healing Bubble’s 2015 LOVE YOURSELF GIVEAWAY!!.

Hello Sweet Soul!!

This post is to introduce The Healing’s Bubble’s FABULOUS 2015 Love Yourself Giveaway!

There are a total 3 prizes. Each prize consists of …

1- Large & small heart shaped glycerin soap scented with a delicious sweet, fruity tea scent that has been kissed with mouth watering tartness!Black tea & home grown thyme are speckled within. Thyme is wonderful for Healing, Sleep, Love, Purification & Courage. Tea is often used as a base for mixing lust drinks-oo la la!

2- The Venus of Willendorf shaped glycerin soap. The Venus of Willendorf is a lovely, luscious, lumpy lady statuette. The original statuette is said to have been carved in the Paleolithic age, everything about her is a mystery! Many consider her to be a Goddess of Fertility because her fabulous attributes are given extraordinary stress. I, myself, view her as a powerful symbol of love. Self-love to be more specific. Consider how precious a woman of this shape would have been at the tail end of an ice age. Her fat has meaning as all food had to be gathered or killed, and its availability was never guaranteed. In her age, corpulence would have made the most positive kind of statement; but the bottom line is that every woman comes in her own fabulously unique and Goddess-like shape. This is what The Venus of Willendorf speaks to me. She is scented in a rich, complex and sensual fragrance of warm amber, sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli, and musk, with mid notes of rose, orange flower, iris, and lotus blossom, and top notes of berries, plum, orange, and bergamot. I have sprinkled her with hibiscus, a flower with a strong feminine energy about it. Its planet is Venus and its Element is Water and it is often used magically for Love, Freedom, Harmony, Relaxation, Independence and Passion. Bring her along to the bathtub, light some candles, and celebrate yourself as the Goddess you are!

3- Nefertem Cold Process Soap Bar- My best seller! A sweet & spicy unisex scent! Sweet orange, Patchouli & Cinnamon essential oils. Cinnamon is a great herb for Success, Healing, Protection & Love! Oranges’ Folk name is known as “Love Fruit” and Patchouli is also known for it’s “Love-inducing” qualities!

4- Solid Lotion Mini- Coco Butter, Shea Butter, Beeswax, lightly scented with an ultra sweet and decadent scent of milk and honey. Perrrfect for showing your GORGEOUS skin some love during this dry season!

All of these bath time goodies have been infused with Loving Intention & packaged in a a beautiful box that opens like two doors to a magical world of pure SELF-LOVE & RELAXATION!!

*crystals in photo are not included & boxes vary slightly by colour, but are all beautiful- xo

Posted in Blogging | Leave a comment

No Buy Feb week one overview

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

Well our first week was pretty darn easy, and we were successful at not buying any wants and very limited needs..

We had no issues in terms of food, clothing or any other basics.

The only thing I was lacking was covered here with a spray bottle, but as you can see a week later, they are thriving with the spice treatment that was given to them, more seeds were plants, garlic was plants, some herbs and some pumpkin seeds and greens for some added fresh food value.

I did get gifted a number of things this week, that I feel should be listed

2 cases of quart jars
8 loaves of multi grain bread
a full size tube of polysporn
4 popcorn corn cobs

Money that was saved

Regular allowance for both him and her -20
ebooks- 10
Movie allowance normal got every two weeks, split into weekly-20
Church basement-5
Coffee out- 2
Grocery- 50

Total Savings to date : 102

Posted in No Buy Feb | Tagged freezing on spending, No Buy Feb, No buy feb overview week 1 2015, pumpkin seeds, spray bottle | 1 Comment

Growing Turkeys- CSA style- Reserve yours today

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

I am planning on growing out a small flock of turkeys this year, I was thinking six to eight for ourselves, I had a good look at my planned pen, and my outside grow out areas and went hmmm.

I am taking reservations on a max grow out of ten, five mini-classics, white compacts butterballs, they average 9 to 14 pounds for the hens and 12 to 18 pounds give or take for the toms, a perfect fit for todays more modern family, then the huge! 45 pond toms I have raised here for us on the farm in years past.

The MiniCLASSIC may be small in stature, but big in everything that counts. This special bird has been bred to develop and mature like natural bred turkeys of the past, and this little meatball is sure to impress. For the farmer, this means that the Toms don’t grow as big and can be harvested more efficiently. This bird can be harvested early without sacrificing meat quantity or quality. It is a perfect complement to any specialized or free-range operation, and thrives under those conditions. For the consumer who wants a small, organic, locally-grown bird for a special occassion, they won’t find anything that compares to the MiniCLASSIC.

Then I will be taking reservations on a max of five artisan Gold

The Artisan Gold is a rare breed that is smaller in size and slow growing. It has black feathers, unique colouring in the face and feet, long black legs, and a pronounced beak. It has natural tendencies such as roaming and roosting, and offers a robust, gamey taste that is exotically different from traditional turkeys

My research shows this to be a older French breed with some very traits indeed, if the hens are as goo of sitters and mothers as wrote about, I might pick the cream of the crop and see if I can have them hatch their own in 2016.

I have looked locally and it would appear 5 dollars a pound is the local rate based on what I am offering. They will not be organic but they will be as close as I can make them, they will not be quote pasture free ranged.

But what they will have is a large floor space inside and a large fresh air space outside, they will get watched over walk about time, time in my movable chicken tractor, daily greens brought to them, sprouted grains. fresh herbs and fruit and veggie bits.

What you will get is a well photographed journey from poult to feathering, to weights to butcher day, to the cleanest, healthiest meat I can raise for both myself an few folks.

They will be butchered at a provincially approved butcher. I need to do research on where yet.

I put the offer up on facebook a few hours ago, and I am pleased to say that I have a total of four booked. Two of each kinds, so have a total of six CSA turkey spots available for 2015.

A ten dollar deposit per bird will be required. if you have any questions, or would like to reserve a turkey or two, please reply to me in the comments

Posted in turkeys | Tagged turkeys | 2 Comments

Popcorn Garden Plans 2015

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

Strawberry popcorn or Tom Thumb Popcorn, or hmmmmm

O yes dear readers, I am on the hunt for the best home grown popcorn, Zone 5, average frost free days 124, yup that is not really that much time and it flex of course from year to year.

We do not buy a lot of store made treats but I do love my popcorn! Flavored, plain, with butter or spiced or poppycocked.. it does not matter.. its all awesome goodness!

Its something else that we here on our little farm can take over growing and producing, I am going to be checking everywhere on both seedy Saturdays to see if there are other kinds available.

I have strawberry popcorn seeds here at the house, and I have ordered the tom thumb, I would be happy to take suggestions on what you have grown and has done very well. Also its my understanding that the heritage popcorns can have different textures and flavours, I would be very much interested in feedback on this

Did your mom used to make you popcorn balls, of course there are different kinds of them, and they are all good.

Posted in gardens, local food | Tagged growning your own popcorn, hertitage popcorn, non gmo popcorn, seedy saturdays, strawberry popcorn, tom thumb popcorn | 1 Comment

Rolled Stuffed Beef Roast.. Flashback Thursday

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

The finished dish is above and it was delightful, the flavour combo’s was perfect, its the way to take a poor cut of meat and turn it into something outstanding! This was a simple cut of a rump roast, I sliced it into a butterfly cut

Then I covered it with wrap and took the roller to it till it was flatten by about half and even out.., sprinkled with salt..

Then overlapped four slices of Bacon, trying to leave the edges free..

I then thinly sliced half a med size onion and layed them out, half of a med size red pepper, and then I sliced pieces of soft sheep cheese (but cream cheese would work) in slices and layed them down.

Salt, Pepper, Dried Nettles and Dried Horseradish greens, Once it was rolled and tucked into its pan, I covered the top of the roast with montreal steak spice, it was baked with cover on for 45 min at 350, then uncovered for 15 min, then wrapped and allow to rest for ten before slicing and serving.

Update: I would love to make this, I want to make this but alas I am waiting for a sheep to give birth, I have no fresh milk in the house, I do have cheese, one large block of aged chedder an one of pizza mozza in the freezer but they need to be carefully rationed because until I have fresh milk, they are all I have for both feb and march..

on one end I am thinking of adding in some of my home canned hot peppers or maybe some black olive bits, maybe I can do a version with bacon and herbed stuffing..

Posted in Food Production and Recipes | Tagged beef cheese filling, cream cheese, Rolled Stuffed Beef roast Recipe, stuffed beef | Leave a comment

Question from a reader- homestead help

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

ok, I am feeling cheeky this morning, a certain fellow blogger has once again got tongues wagging, I try so hard to not reply, I will admit reading that blog is like watching a train wreck in very slow motion to me.. its been happening for years.

important: this is not talking about ANYONE who is on my regular reader or comment lists, to the best of my knowledge this blogger has never been to or read or commented on my blog

However I did get asked a honest question privately by a new homesteader on what is the norm, and how did it work for me and mine.

First answer would be.. what is normal, just like with all things in life what is normal for one is not normal or another, living your life the way you want with certain rules if you look after livestock and land is totally up to you..

And that is just the way it should be 🙂

However, in the much more detailed question of.. does it take a community to keep a homestead..

The answer in basic from to me is No

No in the sense its being asked about.. We had a big snow and storm, we have had weather related issues, we fixed them and that was that, we buy our hay and our feed locally, the hay is from down the road some by Farmer R and the grains and straw are from Farmer J, both are amazing gentleman, I pay them for their wears and I do it with a smile and true warmth in my heart.. I like and respect them, I want to see my money go to them.

I would say I have a friendship with them both, but its a farmer friendship, we visit as we have time for maybe 30 to 60 min once a month or so

I have known Farmer R for 11 years this spring, we have had a farm to farm friendship from the first spring I moved here, we have visited in driveways, him stopped in tractor, me stopped on horseback.. we have never had a single coffee or meal together.

twice in ten years I have called and asked for help in snow removal, once I hired him to come clean the barn and once to spread gravel, that’s it..

Miss T is one of my best friends and we have known each other for coming on 11 years, we do help each other a touch more on bigger projects, I think she has asked for our help four times and we have asked for hers twice, some time later this year she will help us put the new roof on my new part of the house. She has the skills and we will be working side by side, the grunts and learning as we go

As we are closer, we do share coffee and meals together.

Do I believe that if I placed a phone call that Farmer R, or J or Miss T would come help me, yes I do.. the odds of me placing that call.. almost nil!

As I write this its not because I do not like them, I do, I trust them, they are highly valued in my life but if I called out for help on things myself, hubby or hubby-myself combo can do, then I am not being true to myself

I am not allowing myself to be all I can be, I am not allowing myself to make the mistakes, learn the lessons, grow in knowledge.

The Ability to learn, grow, change, flex and challenge yourself, is what makes me feel alive, grateful, proud and humble all at the same time.

I am Always honored when someone offers help.. Thank you.. but I would not be me.. if I did not first give my all to make it happen first..

And as I am as stubborn as they come, I tend to find a way 🙂

I know when to ask for help and I will pay a fair wage or trade for that help, otherwise we will getter done. every single new day is its own journey, I am so blessed to be on mine!