Just another Day on the Farm

Very Cool, Jason’s latest Short Story in the collection called Altered America is currently ranked #4 in “Alternative History” in Amazon’s Kindle Store! (not quite as cool as his last book which made number one on his birthday last year in its sale section in Amazon.ca) but given the much larger market in Amazon.com.. pretty darn rockin!

If you have a kindle and want to read J’s work, The Shining Path #11 ( its very cheap, the book itself is on sale at my last checking on both Amazon.com and Amazon.ca for just under 3 dollars!

Also if you have bought this in hard copy or digtal, please consider leaving a review on one or both Amazon’s, it goes a long way, even if its just a short one, and if you want to be super kind.. maybe making a point to say my darling man’s name “Jason Sharp” in the review would be awesome

The first things going in over the next few days are pea’s.. lots and lots of pea’s, and some spinach, and a small row of radishes 🙂

Most of my garden is sopping wet, and its well below freezing during the evenings and depending on the day, all day long as well.

But a few hardy things are popping their heads up, the lily’s are of course but so are the garlic..

The walking onion is trying hard to get up and going..

All the rhubarbs are starting, love to see that amazing pretty color in the spring, the first fresh “fruit” of the year always..

The comfry is up and beating the horseradish this year.. odd but true..

This lovely flock of fowl has been given access in the main garden area and they have done a good job, but today the gate was closed, its time to start our own clean up, amendments and plantings.. and that means.. no more chickens, ducks, or fowl allowed in the garden area..

What are you planting this fine easter weekend?

Well, lets see got a new hen called Henny (she came with the name) and she is a lovely black girl who is going broody and so she needed to be moved from her old farm to mine.. very nice girl, nice big large pale brown eggs..

She came to the farm with a new rooster.. Cuddles Rooster disappeared (fox? or ?) not sure..  he still needs a name..

And I am now on the hunt for a big dual purpose rooster, to add to the flock, the birds have all recovered and we have had no issues since we did the treatment, we are still going to do the second round just for safety sake.

The peacocks have settled in so well, they are such lovely birds, calm, steady, sweet, they figured out the farms routines in a day flat and have been a true pleasure to have here.. I have only seen him spread his tail once so far..

I’m still snotty and tired fast but slowly, ever so slowly getting better..  had my second ride on Bruno (Caleb?) , So great parts, some learning parts and a few.. challenges.. (are you sure, you don’t want to run and play with the other horse’s, are you sure we want to go though that gate, are you sure we want to do this?) its all about leadership 🙂

His ability to cue from verbal, leg or bit is outstanding, he needs a soft touch, and has a very gentle mouth..

My maple syrup while a very short run indeed (I am hoping that with this cold weather, I get just a few more days yet) was far lacking what I had hoped, the color and taste is a delight..

First photo on the farm!

Matched set in size.. Lovely..

Hello Gang,

Well the flood waters from yesterday are still there, now I don’t have permission to post the photo but I had a good laugh last night, the flooding came in pretty fast and one of the farms by me, farm kitty got stuck up a tree, so they had to take a little raft out over the water/ice and then one climbed a tree to get said kitty back down and raft back to dry land.. Gotta love those that go the extra bit to make sure that everyone was looked after.

Snow geese came in last night on our current waterfront property, then the second flock that came in was Canadian geese, that’s the first geese we have seen this year..

Speaking of geese, Pom mated with Honk currently has half her eggs laid in her nest now, and they are both very protective of it, so all signs point to go on them wanting to sit and hatch, still so sad I lost both Hiss and lou but it is what it is..

I’m on day five or six of a nasty head cold, its not a minor one either, its a full blown even with meds, knocking me flat down to bed.. well mostly, I have the energy to get up and putter for a couple hours, nap for an hour or two and repeat..

The yard is melting out finally and everywhere I look is work, but also there are hints of plants, the lily’s are starting, the feverfew is poking up, along with a few other small things, what I really need to a big old patch of nettles to come up and get going..  If I could, I would be drinking fresh nettle tea pot daily.

I have to tell you no one appears to read the sign that says our road is closed.. they just drive around it and come and stop and stare and then turn around.. dozens of them.. and it sets my hounds off every single time.. can’t get mad at them, its their job.. but sheeezzz,

Then there are those in the big trucks that just have to try and go though the sloggy mess of water and ice, so far no one has their motor die out on them going though but I keep waiting for it..

Have a great day

Just touching in, things are crazy busy..  but good.. its all good.. all morning , the hounds are going crazy as everyone drives up and then turns around at either my lane or Farmer T’s

The view from my deck.. that’s is three fields worth of floodout before it currently is lapping into my own yard.. That one goes two fields over till it hits the creek..

The View from the main garden..Same, but even bigger fields and its three fields over till it come up to the river..

Thank goodness for the sump pump! so far the house is dry..

While not home yet, Its just a matter of time, soon, very soon.. This big boy will be coming home to the farm.. Bruno is 16.2 and around 1500 pounds, he is nine, so the same age as Brandy, same age, same height, broke to ride.. He had everything on my list, other then not being a draft or draft cross breed, but he has the right height, the right size, the right sex, the right age, the right training..  and add in that he is so darn pretty to boot!

I don’t have photo’s today as the hubby snagged the camera to take to work with him.. so I will put up one I took earlier in the week, this is boo cat, one of my wonderful altered farm cats.

We have a spotted a new stay (drop off?) in the area, a short haired black and grey cat, appears in good shape, its a ghost cat at the moment, bold as can be when I spot it out the window, but never spotted when we are outside yet. Only time will tell if its just passing by.

So lets switch gears here, and go to shortages..  I like to keep a med kit, a people med kit, a couple critter kits, I buy a big old tool box and then I tailor it to the barn, or the small or big critters and I need to do one that is just for the horse’s etc, while there are crossover’s, I do a lot of different things based on what is needed.

I don’t like to down to one of anything, I am a firm believer that two is one and one is none, its amazing how fast you can go though something if you need it, and for sure, the odds on a farm are always that you will need it and need it right now.. not the time it takes to get to town or worse for a number of things, to order things in etc.

So we needed to pick up a antibodic eye drop (you know the one, they sell over the counter at all the drug stores for basic pink eye or any other infection) and so I said to hubby, pick up a new box, well.. that turned out to be a easier ask then do.. turns out there is .. wait for it, a national shortage of both the drops and salve currently in Canada..  he stopped at this and that  drug store, same thing told to him each time..

Then my man put his thinking cap on, in a city, there is so many thousands that would or could need this and therefor it made no sense at all to keep going to drugstores in town, so he instead went to a itty bitty drug store in a village on his way home and sure enough they still had some, which is now safely tucked into my human and critter kits..

I will keep a close eye on this and when the supply starts back up again, I will get backups, as a fresh batch can be good for up to three years  Its not the first nor will it be the last thing this year that I ask about that I am told, can’t be got anymore or its on backlog or we are waiting for that. I have been waiting for two months for a certain medication for the sheep to come in..

I find it interesting, its not just that costs are rising, and packages are smaller, its also showing up here and there, that you having trouble just finding something. Has this happened to you in this year?

Well, the birds are all still doing well, we will continue to follow the vets advice and will continue to do the once a week, vit/mineral water and then we will follow up with a the full program again at the 30 day mark..

Plus as soon as the weather allows it, we will continue our cleaning program, o the cleaning, my whole farm looks like a mess, while I am so happy to have the snow melting, it just shows a whole winters worth of barnyard poo!

I know that every single farm owner knows just what I mean, and even you town folks that have a hound, I am sure you know what I mean, its wet and melting and mucky, so the poo’s are not easy to pick up yet but they are visable..

I personally both love spring for so many reasons but I also don’t like the muck! The cows and horse have added in so!!! much more pasture work, unlike the sheep or goats, who’s poo you can just leave in place, the horse and cow must be picked up, during spring/summer/fall, its a once or twice a week chore, you walk along with the wheelbarrel and the rake/shovel and its a hour or two.. but in the spring.. o my, its a huge mucky job just waiting to happen..

In the area’s that I intend to resow, I can hitch up Brandy to the single harrow and ride her back and forth while she pulls it to break up the overwintered poo’s, and to level out some ruts in the pasture to boot. I am so glad I was able to find and buy that last year! it will be put to good use this year for sure..

Most modern folks pull one behind a quad but for us, its all draft or people power..  I am ok with this, an extra hour mucking will do me good.. the fresh air, the sun giving me some natural vit d, the moving of muscle and bone.. all very good things, and as I can do this for a number of weeks before I can really get into the gardens, it will get me back into better work mode when that time comes.

Ah, the gardens, we have started moving snow off of certain spots, more of that will be done this weekend, but up on the side of the house, o yes, there is melting.. Speaking of the house, the heaters have all been turned off, and will not be turned back on till Nov (well my mother in law is coming in sept/oct for a visit, and she gets cold so she might turn on her room heater but for the main house.. no more heaters..  No more dryer other then to finish off Hubbies work cloths and even they will get line dried, just fluffed and dehaired in the dryer

Well, the ferrier was here yesterday and Samwell was a total gentleman, even to the point of lifting his next foot up in the air, love that horse, he is herd bound and its enough to drive me crazy, if you ride him with Brandy, he is a gentleman, try and ride without her, fight, fight, fight and that big old dork is strong..

Still having said that, he is a big old puppy in the pasture and yard, a total pleasure to have on the farm, Brandy had a big old meltdown on getting her feet done, and I will be talking to the vet to get some help on this.. She has to have her feet done, No, if’s or buts, she is trained, when its her and me, I can play feet games, I can clean her feet, I can hold them up, I can play all kind of feet this and that.. but add in the ferrier and it all goes out the window..

So we will go over this with the vet and If needed she will get a little help to chill and mellow out, the horse’s are getting their coggins, and yearly vaccines this month, plus I need to have their teeth checked, I know they both need work but how much is the question.

Brandy should just need basic work done, but Sam, well samwell, he is going to need more then a bit of basic given his age.

Had to laugh, wish I could get a photo of this for you, the sheep are laying down, and the local breeding set of crows are coming, are plucking the falling clumps of winter sheep wool on their backs, the sheep are just chewing cud and relaxed, and the crows are coming and going, clearly their nests are going to be wool lined LOL

I have decided to name the peacocks Vlad and Matilda, they are such sweet birds, I have been treating sam’s scars with Coconut oil and let me tell ya, the horses love to beg for the last bits, if I needed to slip something into their feed, just melt a little coconut oil over top and they would slurp it up like it was candy

Slow but steady my days are coming back together and things are settling, for those that do prayers, can you please add send a healing prayer out to my sister in laws brother, I don’t know how to do this right, I don’t have permission to give his information out, but I want to have the prayers said.. so I guess.. to Val’s Sister in laws brother, for healing prayers, please an thanks.