Just another Day on the Farm

Plans for 2015

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

1- Go Camping! I want to go camping in a tent at least once this year, ideally after riding in on the horses, but I will take hiking in with a trail pack horse second and going by van third.. its been far to long since we have been out on the land

2- Go to Romance the Capital Writers Con- Do it to the fullest, this includes both cos-play events, the dance and all the different courses, including all things that help or relate to either my blog writing or hubbies in terms of promotion etc

3-Grow potatoes from seed for the first time in my life..

4- Be a test gardener for heritage rare plants to help save them for future Canadian gardeners

5- Go on day trips to the local parks at least once this season, at least two of the three, the hills, the river or voyageur park

6.Attend a four day Rother Clinic with Caleb

7-Go to the Biggest water Park in N.A.. Calypso

8-Cavalia is coming back to monteal, I have been watching and waiting for three years for them to come back..

9-Garden art.. I know that is a different one but I work hard in the gardens but I have not fun, silly or pretty garden art and I want to change that this year

10- Horse agility, add more things to my own home courses..

Ten seems like a good cut off point..

Posted in Life moves on daily | 15 Comments

Happy New Year 2015

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Just another day on the farm

May your fire burn bright! May the flames burn away what is not needed and leave you with a tempered will of sweet iron that will allow you to fulfill your dreams

Posted in Life moves on daily | 3 Comments

New Years Eve 2014

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Just another day on the farm

I normally write about following your dreams, staying true to your path, and that is very true but as this year of 2014 has taught me, good health can be taken for granted and when you lose it, o my.. o MY, can it shake the very ground you have built your world on.

the effects of my health will be carried over to the new year but I have hopes, plans and dreams of a much better year. None the less I believe that the challenges will be reflected on the blog in a number of ways, how can it not when the blog is a reflection of my life and world..

Hopes for the year,

New Milking Sheep- Polar Ice
Shearing, working with wool, felting and hand dye with natural coloring
Soap Making
Garden, increase in size, growing out rare beans, growing out a tester for new strains of plants for a girlfriend, continue filling in food forest
Bird breeding program for the year
Recipies, food related
Horse training, riding and 4 day Rother horse training clinic in fall 2015
My first writer Con
Many other things I am just forgetting at this time

Posted in Life moves on daily | 6 Comments

Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Just another day on the farm

Buttermilk Corn Bread Recipe

This is a super easy recipe to make.

You can make in a number of shape’s in a thin cornbread pan, muffins or as shown above in a cornbread pan

1 1/2 cups buttermilk ( you can use powdered buttermilk, really buttermilk or whole milk with two tsp of lemon juice in it to turn it)
1/3 cup oil
1 large egg
2 cups yellow cornmeal flour or cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-4th cup of sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 half teaspoon salt

Mix in order give above for the wet in a bowl. to be added to dry. In a bigger bowl add your dry in the order given above. Mix the dry before making a well in the middle, add the wet.

Do not over mix.

Always use a greased pan or spray it

Bake in a 350 oven.

time depends on what you cook in.

Ideally best served warm and fresh.

these are ok the next day, but if you need hold much longer freeze and then softly heat before serving

Posted in Food Production and Recipes | Tagged Buttermilk cornbread recipe, Cornbread recipe | 4 Comments

Some of my different landscape photos in Nunavut

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Just another day on the farm

Below was my backyard, the others are just a collection from different areas, some taken on the land, some from the chopper or float plane at times. hope you enjoy the blast from the past

Posted in photography | Tagged nunavut | 1 Comment

Bird Breeding Plans for 2015

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Just another day on the farm

If I get my way, the year of 2015 will be filled with lots and lots of wee chicks, ducklings and goslings..

On the goose front, my bonded pair, honk and pom are getting all new digs, a small corner of the big pasture is being fenced out for their use only, they are getting a new fancy custom built goose nesting house to increase success in hatch rates

Then Come the ducks.. Five Hens, o my. We have Black, Black an White Barred, We have Chocolate barred and Chocolate and White and we have Blue. If I can get two clutches per hen, we could have a lot of ducklings indeed

The Males are Black and White carrying chocolate or Black Barred Carrying Chocolate and Blue. The Duck hens are getting new nesting built as well, as last year we had a number of hen lost on the last week on the nests due to the fox, so we have redone our plans for this year in a plan to give each hen her own space but more protection.

Next Comes the Chickens, they are going to be split into two different breeding groups (with a possible third later in the year..

All dual purpose heavier brown egg layers are going with Big Red, there are four different breed of hens, it should be a great mix of hybred crossing..

The smaller sized hens, that are a mix of easter eggers or my lovely French breed, I have three daughters out of Wash, who are all the correct color, pattern and feather markings of what the hens of the breed should have, I really want to find more of this breed.

(my late rooster) are all being mated by Snickers, this will produce smaller birds then above but great layers, colored eggs and should give me very broody hens.

The guinea fowl, well.. we will figure sex once they start to lay, we have six unsexed at this time plus the one white male, in the six, we have a great mix of colors including chocolate

The Bird Sale is at the end of March this year, and who knows what I will come home with.. but I can say, its will not be peacocks, quail or doves lol

I would like to come home with at least one new rooster, but I doubt it will be that simple…

Posted in Critters | Tagged Bird breeding plans for 2015 | 2 Comments

Happy Anniversary Dear Husband

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Just another day on the farm

Posted in Family | 5 Comments

Roughly composted uses in the garden

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Just another day on the farm

I know that not everyone has access to farm compost or even backyard rabbit or bird compost but everyone that does has a little issue.. most of the time their compost looks nothing like what you see in the stores or the screened compost that is in the magazine or local garden group.

O no, our compost has chunks, hunks and lots of straw bits in it.. if you are lucky enough to have a tractor and a few years, you can turn it into rich black gold, but for those of us that are doing it all by hand, it took long enough to haul it, water it and give it some turns to keep it going..

I know, I know you just looked at that and thought, that is uncomposted stuff.. right..

Wrong, that is one full year of naturally composted bedding with nothing done to it, its last years feeding pack to be accurate.. its a combo of hay-straw, horse, cow and sheep with a bit of goose and the odd chicken poo and despite the look of it here, its composted down in size to a third of what it started at in just one year..

Lots of composting going on in there to reduce in size by 2-3rds, its filled with worms and all other goodness, I know this because its a chicken magnet, let them out and the hens are flocking to it to have a good scratch and find session.. This also helps greatly in regards to working the first layer lightly..

Looks a bit better dumped out right, at least now you can see its pretty light and fluffy and that the biggest pieces are about half the size of a horse apple, now you are most likely thinking, I sure would not want that anywhere near my root veggie double dug areas and I agree but this is perfect for in the garden use

Have you figure out why yet..

hmmmm. It allows the always busy gardener to both bed down and feed plants, in this case six wheel barrels where needed to bed down and fall feed the rhubarb patches, the bedding in the mix will give some added protection to the wintering plants, the compost at a year old and well after its first heat up is no longer hot to the plants but it will still be lots to do heavy feeders like rhubarb..

sure in the spring, I will rake back a touch on the main plants but not much and they would easily push threw that 2 to 3 inch deep cover. This type of compost works very well for heavy feeders, but that’s not all, it can also be placed and spread to about a two inch depth on any area that will have above ground plants for the 2015 season.

Posted in gardening | Tagged compost | 4 Comments

Boxing Day Melt.. Ducky Fun Photos

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Just another day on the farm

Posted in Critters | Tagged Bathing duck photos, mild winter temps effecting the farm, odd weather pattern, winter melting | 5 Comments

Warm temps..

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Just another day on the farm

Rain has come to the farm, it was a green Christmas, my plans for dressing up the horses, rain, my plan for going riding, rain.

But today, o toady is overcast but its currently dry, there is only one big issue.. my whole farm thinks spring has arrived..

Birds are playing in the pond and breeding, rooster are Randy and chasing hens around the yard..

Sigh, and my poor garden, I have plants that are going.. hmmm, cold then warm, now spring rains.. to which I am going!! NO, NO!!! and in some cases I am bedding them down with straw to keep them without the light as much..

I am always amazed at how tough feverfew is.. but its pretty green is very temping to the birds..

However it has allowed one thing.. unlike the folks that are heading out for big boxing day sale, we are dealing with one thing today.. Poo!

Yup, we are going to give all the pens a once over, most of them have been done, but this warm snap allows us to get one more final clean up before we hit the deep pack method for the cold winter..

We will see what I have the energy for, I intend to do some compost adding to certain parts of the garden, cleaning all outside runs (as there is very little work left on the inside runs) and doing some small garden clean up..

If after all that, I have the energy, I am going to go do a couple wheelbarrel loads of horse poo pickup from the pasture and move it to be composted up by the front drive garden..

I will drag the camera around with me and we will see if I get anything worth sharing 🙂