Just another Day on the Farm

Hmmm, Could be producing thousands of pds of food annually or ……..

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

Dh sent me this note, I just shook my head, Silly peaple, we could have thousands and thousands of pds of fruit produced in city every single year, and instead we have a program that is helping make peaple sick in record numbers.. So glad that we picked and planted all our tree’s and bushes with food production in mind.

Here’s an article in the Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Health/6575229/story.html. Is it not ironic that modern cities prefer (male) trees that create allergies to (female) trees that create fruits and nuts?

Here’s the text:

OTTAWA — There’s a biological war of the sexes raging in Ottawa’s trees, and people with pollen allergies are the casualties.

A huge majority of the trees here — and in many Canadian and U.S. cities — are male.

Female trees are messy. They are the ones whose flowers go on to produce nuts, seed pods, apples and other seed-carrying debris that people don’t like to sweep up off decks and patios or scoop out of clogged eavestroughs.

So growers have switched to supplying male trees, which don’t produce seeds.

Instead, the male trees produce pollen. And that aggravates allergies.

Tom Ogren, a horticulturalist from California, came to Ottawa this week as part of a cross-Canada tour sponsored by the makers of Reactine allergy medicine.

The average male tree produces an amount of pollen equal in weight to the female tree’s seeds, he says. But the pollen is mostly invisible.

Ogren doesn’t have allergies, but his wife of 45 years does. Years ago this gave him the idea of searching for the most pollen-free plants for his own home, and eventually for other people as well. He writes books on the subject.

But a funny thing happened when he went out to shoot pictures of male and females samples of each species. Near his California home he had trouble find the females.

“I thought maybe my city was unusual,” he said in an interview. But the same weirdly skewed population showed up in city after city — anywhere that the trees had been purchased from growers instead of growing naturally. It doesn’t occur in rural areas or small towns.

Ogren calls it “botanical sexism,” and he says it contributes to needless suffering by anyone with allergies to tree pollens.

On Wednesday, he toured Ottawa to see what kinds of trees we have in our parks, schoolyards, nurseries and streets.

In a word, they’re male. At least most of the time.

That goes for a huge variety of trees and shrubs — juniper, horse chestnut, katsura, yew, ginkgo, ash, oak, aspen, poplar, honey locust, Manitoba maple, mulberry, and on down the list.

In some cases growers have even found a way to produce “all-male” versions of a tree that’s naturally both male and female, he said.

The locust, for example, naturally produces male branches and female branches on the same tree. It doesn’t occur in nature in an all-male or all-female version. But growers have learned to cut off a male branch and clone it, producing new trees without female branches.

Manitoba maple isn’t usually planted here, so he suspects the male majority came through “chainsaw selection” when people cut the trees that drop seeds and leave the seedless (male) trees standing.

The emerald ash borer infestation leaves Ottawa at a crossroads, he notes.

“I’ve driven through Ohio, and just about every ash tree they have — green ash, black ash, white ash — is either dead or dying” from the emerald ash borer infestation.

Ottawa’s urban forest is about one-quarter ash, “and I expect the emerald ash borer is going to do a number on most of them.”

That leaves the question of what to replant. Go with more female trees for a healthier environment, he suggests. Not only do they not produce pollen, but they attract it and clean the air of the tiny particles, and even smaller particles of airborne soot from vehicles that cling to them.

Posted in Life moves on daily | 4 Comments

Garden Monday- Apples/Ontario, Sea of Blue and Plants Swap..

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

Well, we all worried that this would happen, and here is the lastest news.. Sigh..

“A catastrophic freeze has wiped out about 80 per cent of Ontario’s apple crop and has the province’s fruit industry looking at losses already estimated at more than $100 million.

“This is the worst disaster fruit growers have ever, ever experienced,” orchard owner Keith Wright said Friday.

“We’ve been here for generations and I’ve never heard of this happening before across the province. This is unheard of where all fruit growing areas in basically the Great Lakes area, in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York State, Ontario, are all basically wiped out. It’s unheard of,” the Harrow, Ont.-area grower said.

Wright lost hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of apples and peaches last Sunday when freezing temperatures killed the blossoms.

Warm temperatures got fruit trees blooming early and when temperatures plummeted it damaged or wiped out much of the $60 million apple crop and 20 to 30 per cent of Ontario’s $48 million tender fruit crop, which includes peaches, cherries, pears, plums and nectarines.

Brian Gilroy, a Georgian Bay area apple grower who is chairman of the Ontario Apple Growers, said the loss to fruit growers and the economy will easily be more than $100 million. On top of the lost yield or no crop at all, orchard workers and spinoff industries such as juice, packing, storage and farm supplies will be affected.

Gilroy said consumers will find locally grown apples pricey and difficult to find this fall. Some kinds of apples such as Empire will be very difficult to find.

Washington State has a good crop but consumers should expect apple prices to jump because all of northeastern North America was affected, he said.

What crop growers do get will likely have visible damage such as apples with ridges like the ones on pumpkins.

“This past weekend in southwestern Ontario and the Niagara region temperatures got down to close to -7 (C) while things were out in full bloom and it’s pretty well wiped them out,” Gilroy said of orchards already hit by previous frosts. “It’s very widespread and the worst that anybody’s seen.”

Gilroy said about 65 per cent of the 215 commercial apple growers in Ontario have crop insurance but the disaster has the board approaching the provincial and federal governments for help under an agri-recovery program.

Some growers across Ontario have also lost entire orchards of peaches, sour cherries, pears, plums and nectarines, said Phil Tregunno, chairman of the Ontario Tender Fruit Producers Marketing Board.

It depended on location. The board is estimating 20 to 30 per cent of that $48 million crop is done.

“It was just way too early,” Tregunno said of blossom season that came about a month early. “That just put us at a huge risk.”

Dave Nickels of Nickels Orchards in Ruthven, Ont., said he lost all his apples, peaches, cherries and pears. He said when talking to other growers you can’t even get a word out of them because they’re just sick.

“It’s kind of like having a death in the family except there’s no closure to this one,” Nickels said.

In some varieties there is still a chance to get some apples. In early June, trees shed excess fruit as a natural thinning process and growers will have to wait to see if shocked trees will drop all their fruit, Wright said.”

For myself, I am sitting ok at the moment, my plum and cherry’s are just now starting to bloom, and the night time temps are looking good, my apple tree’s are behind the plums/cherries. Still, I typically wild pick a fair amount of local apples, it will be interesting to see if my local wild apple tree’s got hit or were slower to go like my own tree’s on the farm where.

So I arrived home yesterday to a sea of blue that had overtaken a huge sections my garden LOL, my hubby decided to spread out thick heavy blue tarps and weight them down over whole sections of my garden to help start killing off the green cover for ease of planting over the next few weeks, I am unsure if this will do what he thinks but regardless the soil will certianly warm under it.

This weekend, put a few miles on the van and headed out to meet Deb at a half way point between our places and had a lovely lunch with her and her DH, and then we had a great plant swap of all kinds of great green goodies..

Posted in gardening, gardens | Tagged Farm Life, Fruit Trees, Garden, Wild Foods | 5 Comments

Did you know that this week is Emergency Preparedness Week in Canada?

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/ep-wk/tlkt-eng.aspx

Using technology during a disaster

We rely on technology more and more to keep in touch with our family, friends, and colleagues with a click of a button.

But what happens in the event of a major emergency? Suddenly these tools can become vital in helping you and your family deal get in touch and stay informed. So here are some tips on the use of technology in an emergency:

If possible, use non-voice channels like text messaging, email or social media. These use less bandwidth than voice communications and may work even when phone service doesn’t.
If you must use a phone, keep your conversation brief and convey only vital information to emergency personnel and/or family. This will also conserve your phone’s battery.
Unable to complete a call? Wait 10 seconds before redialing to help reduce network congestion. Note, cordless phones rely on electricity and will not work during a power outage. If you have a landline, keep at least one corded phone in your home.
Keep extra batteries or a charger for your mobile device in your emergency kit. Consider getting a solar-powered, crank, or vehicle phone charger. If you don’t have a cell phone, keep a prepaid phone card in your emergency kit.
Keep your contacts up to date on your phone, email and other channels. This will make it easier to reach important contacts, such as friends, family, neighbours, child’s school, or insurance agent.
If you have a smartphone, save your safe meeting location(s) on its mapping application.
Conserve your smartphone’s battery by reducing the screen’s brightness, placing your phone in airplane mode, and closing apps you are not using. You never know how long a power outage will last!

Remember, in an emergency or to save a life, call 9-1-1 for help. You cannot currently text 9-1-1. If you are not experiencing an emergency, do not call 9-1-1. If your area offers 3-1-1 service or another information system, call that number for non-emergencies.

Facts about emergency preparedness

Emergency Preparedness Week 2012 marks the 17th annual event. Here are some interesting facts to mark 17 years of getting better prepared for emergencies.

Roughly 5,000 earthquakes are recorded in Canada every year.
Canada gets more tornadoes than any other country except the U.S., averaging about 50 tornadoes per year.
The worldwide cost of natural disasters has skyrocketed from $2 billion in the 1980s, to $27 billion over the past decade.
Canada’s first billion dollar disaster, the Saguenay flood of 1996, triggered a surge of water, rocks, trees and mud that forced 12,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
Some hailstones are the size of peas while others can be as big as baseballs.
Approximately 85% of Canadians agree that having an emergency kit is important in ensuring their and their family’s safety, yet only four in ten have prepared or bought an emergency kit.
In 2011, flooding in Manitoba and Saskatchewan featured the highest water levels and flows in modern history. Over 11,000 residents were displaced from their homes.
Ice, branches or power lines can continue to break and fall for several hours after the end of an ice storm.
The deadliest heat wave in Canadian history produced temperatures exceeding 44ºC in Manitoba and Ontario in 1936. Rail lines and bridge girders twisted, sidewalks buckled, crops wilted and fruit baked on trees.
In 2007, the Prairies experienced 410 severe weather events including tornadoes, heavy rain, wind and hail, nearly double the yearly average of 221 events.
The coldest temperature reached in North America was –63ºC, recorded in 1947 in Snag, Yukon.
The largest landslide in Canada involved 185 million m3 of material and created a 40m deep scar that covered the size of 80 city blocks in 1894 at Saint-Alban, Quebec.
Hurricanes are bigger and cause more widespread damage than tornadoes (a very large system can be up to 1,000 kilometres wide).
85% of Canadians agree that having an emergency plan is important in ensuring their and their family’s safety, yet on only 40% have prepared one. Complete yours online at http://www.GetPrepared.ca.
One of the most destructive and disruptive storms in Canadian history was the 1998 ice storm in Eastern Canada causing hardship for 4 million people and costing $3 billion. Power outages lasted for up to 4 weeks.
The June 23, 2010 earthquake in Val-des-Bois, Quebec produced the strongest shaking ever experienced in Ottawa and was felt as far away as Kentucky in the United States.
Using non-voice communication technology like text messaging, email, or social media instead of telephones takes up less bandwidth and helps reduce network congestion after an emergency.

Emergency Management in Canada: How does it work?

In a country that borders on three oceans and spans six time zones, creating an emergency response system that works for every region is a huge challenge. That’s why emergency management in Canada is a shared responsibility. That means everyone has an important role to play, including individuals, communities, governments, the private sector and volunteer organizations.

Basic emergency preparedness starts with each individual. If someone cannot cope, emergency first responders such as police, -re and ambulance services will provide help. If the municipality needs additional assistance or resources, they can call on provincial/territorial emergency management organizations, who can seek assistance from the federal government if the emergency escalates beyond their capabilities. Depending on the situation, federal assistance could include policing, national defence and border security, and environmental and health protection.

Requests for assistance from provincial/territorial authorities are managed through Public Safety Canada, which maintains close operational links with the provinces and territories. It can take just a few minutes for the response to move from the local to the national level, ensuring that the right resources and expertise are identified and triggered.

Everyone responsible for Canada’s emergency management system shares the common goal of preventing or managing disasters. Public Safety Canada is responsible for coordinating emergency response eorts on behalf of the federal government. More information is available on the Public Safety web site at www.publicsafety.gc.ca (click on “Emergency Management”).

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This week, I encourage you to take concrete actions to be better prepared. Please do your part! Experience has shown that individual preparedness goes a long way to help people cope better – both during and after a major disaster. Get an emergency kit now – it can make a world of difference.

Quiz

1. A family emergency plan should NOT include which of the following?

Information about your children’s school(s)
The name and phone number of an out-of-town contact person
A list of important phone numbers, including those of doctors and emergency services
Arrangements for each person in the family to be at a specific land line telephone at a specific time
A meeting spot outside your home and one outside your neighbourhood in case you need to leave the area

The answer is D. The arrangements for each family member to be at a specific land line telephone at a specific time may not be possible or useful under many conditions, as people may have to relocate or evacuate entirely during a disaster. Families should create an emergency plan and carry important information with them so they know how to get in touch and get back together during an emergency. Finally, both telephone land lines and cellular phones may be overloaded or out of service during or after an emergency, so knowing in advance where to meet is important.

2. How many litres of water per day per person should you have in your basic emergency kit?

1 litre per day per person
3 litres per day per person
2 litres per day per person
4 litres per day per person

The answer is C. At least two litres of water are recommended per person per day. (Include small bottles that can be carried easily in case of an evacuation order.)

3. Which tool allows you to learn about historical information on disasters which have directly affected Canadians, at home and abroad, over the past century?

Weatheradio
Canadian Disaster Database
Natural Hazards and Emergency Response
Disaster Management Canada

The answer is B. The Canadian Disaster Database references to all types of Canadian disasters, including those triggered by natural hazards, technological hazards or conflict (not including war). The database describes where and when a disaster occurred, who was affected, and provides a rough estimate of the direct costs.

4. When does Emergency Preparedness Week (EP Week) occur?

First full week of February
First full week of September
Last full week of February
Last full week of May
First full week of May

The answer is E. EP Week is an annual event that takes place each year during the first full week of May. This year it takes place from May 6-12, 2012. EP Week is a national awareness campaign coordinated by Public Safety Canada and is about increasing individual preparedness – by knowing the risks, making a plan and preparing a kit you can be better prepared for an emergency.

5. Which of the following items should NOT be included in a basic emergency supply kit?

Water (two litres of water per person per day)
Food
Manual can opener
Cash
Comfortable shoes

The answer is E. While sturdy protective shoes are important during and after a disaster, they are not necessary for survival. You can learn more about the basics of survival by visiting http://www.GetPrepared.ca.

Fact or Fiction: Are the following statements true or false?

Q1 – Water can be purified with soap.

False – Boil water for 10 minutes or disinfect water by adding unscented bleach. Add 3-4 drops of bleach per litre of water with an eyedropper (do not reuse eyedropper for any other purpose). Mix well and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should smell faintly of chlorine. If it does not, repeat the steps and leave for another 30 minutes.

Q2 – You can walk through moving flood waters as long as the water level is no higher than your waist.

False – One of the worst floods in Canada’s history occurred in July 1996 in the Saguenay River Valley, in Quebec. Ten people died and 15,825 others were evacuated when flood waters swept through thousands of homes, businesses, roads and bridges. The flood was caused by 36 straight hours of heavy rainfall, for a total accumulation of 290 mm (approximately to the knees). Estimated damages: $1.5 billion.

Q3 – Tape prevents window glass from shattering during a hurricane.

False – Storm shutters can be put into windows and exposed panes. This is the simplest and most economical way to protect your house.

Q4 – Roughly 5,000 earthquakes are recorded in Canada every year.

True – Although the most powerful earthquakes occur near the Pacific Rim, there are a number of Canadian cities that are vulnerable to earthquakes, particularly Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Victoria and Quebec City. Most of the injuries resulting from an earthquake are caused by falling objects. Use screw eyes and iron wire to hang frames and mirrors on walls.

Q5 – Tornadoes occur only in the spring.

False – Tornadoes occur most often in the spring and during the summer, but they may form any time of the year.

Q6 – Destructive hail storms occur most often in late spring and in the summer.

True – In June, most hail storms occur in southern Canada and the north central United States. Violent storms may deposit enough hail to completely cover the ground, damage crops or block storm sewers. Up to 2% of the value of crops is destroyed by hail every year

So do you have a 72 hour kit? After Reading this, can you spot a weakness in your plans, mine is needing to work on the pantry in terms of earthquakes this year.. we have had at least four earthquakes on the farm since we got it that have been felt and even heard, and I have not done near enough to make sure to protect my jars from falling and breaking.. I will update on this goal as I make process on it.. I am also currently rotating out my bottle drinking water, feels kinda weird to be taking plastic bottles with me as I normally drink out of the steel bottles but that water’s due date is coming and I am not going to throw it away, and we will replace it with fresh dated cases into our storage.. Remember, we can go without food for alot! longer then we can without water!

Posted in Just in Case | 5 Comments

Anyone want to plan a weekend getaway in the fall?? Sept 22 an 23rd?

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

I’m really thinking about making this seminar, if anyone else thinks they might like to join me, a) I will carpool if you are local to me and b) willing to share a room, we could all book the same place and have a nice dinner and visit in the evening.. Drop me a note by email if you have it or leave me a comment on the blog.. might a great way to learn lots, get to visit a off-grid home, and have a girls (guys welcome but not in the overnight room part) weekend!

Upcoming Intro-to-Permaculture Courses at Greenshire: May 12th and September 22nd If you are interested in learning how to live sustainably and beyond, if you’d like to learn environmentally friendly ways of providing for your own basic needs, if you’re thinking about taking a permaculture design course but are undecided…Then this is the course for you!

Our two-day course will cover:

The Permaculture Ethics and Principles Observation skills building/Site analysis for both urban and rural environments Design methods – including a group design project, and how to apply these techniques to your situation

Practical examples of permaculture Forest gardening basics

Plant walk – forest garden tour, plant identification, polyculture and guild examples

No-tillage, minimum tillage, and minimum/no irrigation techniques

Off-grid power generation, passively heated greenhouse construction

Ecologically friendly building design examples

There will be a mix of classroom and hands-on learning using our 100-acre permaculture farm to showcase permaculture in action.

There will also be a field trip to a nearby off-grid homestead, and a stop on the way to see a straw bale building.

About the Teacher: Travis Philp has been wild-crafting and farming professionally, using permaculture techniques for four years. He has two diplomas from Fleming College: Ecosystems Management Technician and Environmental Technician. He received his Permaculture Design Certificate at the Living Centre near London, Ontario. Spring Course

Times: Saturday May 12, 8 am -12 pm, 1 pm-6 pm Sunday May 13, 8 am -12 pm, 1 pm-6pm Fall Course Times: Saturday Sept. 22, 8 am -12 pm, 1 pm-6 pm Sunday Sept. 23, 8 am -12 pm, 1 pm-6pm COST- $50 (bring your own lunches) or $75 (lunches included for Saturday and Sunday)

If overnight accommodations are required, please inquire. *This is NOT a full Permaculture design course, therefore we cannot award a Permaculture Design Certificate upon completion of the course.

Posted in farm | Leave a comment

Friendship..Caring for others brings so much into our lives..

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

Posted in Family | 3 Comments

Red Flags-? One VERY grumpy Farmgal-Rant Warning….

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

Ok I swear I didn’t want to talk about this one on the blog, I had a number of folks email letting me know about what was happening in regards to this one, that the cull was coming, I went- I read the owner’s of the flock website and little red flag after little red flag went up, and I really! wanted to have the offical other side but unlike the owner, the other side was keeping their side much more private publicly..

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-sheep-kidnappers-say-infected-flock-is-in-protective-custody/article2417448/

Then came the sheep napping, and I was so pissed I couldn’t see straight for about ten min, DH hubby got to listen to me rant and it was a true one, I went up and down from one end to the other, I try and keep a even balance on this blog between who I am and keeping some things private, but in order to understand why I say, I went from one end to the other, you need to understand that I am the type of person that votes, and lets them know how I feel on many polital subjects- not just once, and not just with one party..

I am the type of person that does not just send one letter, I have been known to write letters, call every single party till I get someone to speak with and not just provide my name and comment but want a followup letter back so that I know that at least ONE person has heard me. I have been known to call my MP on certain issues every single time they annouce on the issue. DH and I are both willing to go to seminars and marches, join groups we support etc. I have seen my man, take the day off work to go picket with a sign on the hill..

So I ran the from Big Brother Snarl, Snarl, share the whole story with the public and we have rights, covering ground on social media and how it can be used to both in a good an bad way, and how I could clearly see “issues” with a number of things that had a wicked amount of spin on them(by the owner of the flock, not the goverment in this case) and finally ended up in the…” needs and wants of one can NOT outway the good of all”

So when yesterday I read the next statement that a sheep has a confirmed case and then say the owner go all big brother, its not real, the results are not real, and its all a set up, and once again a read a very pointed and well done letter from Ontario Sheep Board (which in truth said it far more clearly and honestly then I could have) I was once again blown away by just how badly this could end for so many..

I pray and hope that whoever has this sheep has a clear proven line of direct from here to here and that they didn’t cross the path of any other sheep flocks, I hope that their being taken does not lead to many more sheep deaths in order to contain this mess..

And What a mess it is, I care for my animals, and in some cases it cross’s that line to a feeling of love and I would do everything I could to give them the best chance at it but sometimes you need to suck! it up and deal. I honestly feel for the person who had this happen to them, I have no doubt at all that their world has been flipped upside down.

However life often does not go as planned, and sometimes it sucks! and you are allowed to be angry, sad and have days where you cry but then you get the hell up and pull up your boots and get back to building and working your life… One foot forward somedays is all you can do, so be it..

Its not healthy or good to drag down the rest of us if you choose to stay in one spot and flail, which is how I see this personally, this person, these peaple took what was a personal stuggle with all the good/bad/ugly things that went with it and CHOSE to make it my problem and every other single sheep owners in ontario and in canada’s problem.. and let me tell you, I will stand up and fight for our rights as peaple, but don’t kick your mud into my pool!!!

I hope that they find that flock and soon, and I hope and pray that this mess will not lead to other flocks deaths and I also hope that it will not effect the market for ontario lamb both at farm gate sales and in stores.. but I see so many “maybe’s and what if’s ” that this could go anyway..

Posted in Life moves on daily | 15 Comments

Hardy Kiwi.. O my O my.. What a project this will be!

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

You see this is all my fault, when I made the list of “cool” things to add to the farm in terms of gardening, I put “Hardy Kiwi” on the list but the prices of this plant in the garden catalogs always keep me from ordering it, it gets put on the list each year but it always gets bumped down for something else that we could use more.. However that means that Dh see’s it on the list..

So about two years ago, he said.. we really should get those Kiwi for our zone, after all, you know what they say, plant now for food for tomorrow line.. and I just kinda did the ugh ok.. and they didn’t get ordered..

But for the first time ever, guess what was at one of our favorite garden centers, yup, really great priced looking lovely big pots of hardy kiwi, now its is of the “self-fertile kind” but I will still be ordering a male shortly and keeping him very pruned and small but if we are going to put the effort into the girls, I want the most bang for my buck, and the boy will make sure that we get lots of fruit, and that the fruit will be fertile, if we just have the self-fruitful females, we will get less of a crop and the fruit will be sterile.

This is not my own photo, it’s a stock one-off the net.

Now once I got home and had time to look up this hardy kiwi in my books and on the computer.. O-va.. what a project, each vine will require at least 15 feet or more of very heavy-duty support, and each one can with care and time produce upwards of 100 pds of small large green grape non-fuzzy kiwi fruit.. now that means I could get upwards of 400 pds of kiwi fruit per year.. now sure what I would do with it.. but first lets work on the support structure and getting them off to a good start and worry about what to do with the fruit afterwards.

So the big question is do we build a solid wood structure to hold it, or do we build a huge heavy-duty 6 foot high 3 wire overhead structure.. so any of you grow Hardy Kiwi, and if so, what structure did you decide on? Are you happy with it? What would you keep the same, what would you change? How long did it take you to get fruit? on the plants after planting them out? What is your favorite way to use the fruit?

Posted in food, gardens | 8 Comments

We are expecting little ones this coming week!

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

Right now, I have two ducks sitting on big old nest’s, one is due this week and one is due next week, the one nest has 18 eggs and the other 15 eggs, typically the girls hatch out 12 to 16 little one’s.. So I am both really looking forward to seeing little fuzzies arriving..

Very excited that appleduck decided to sit on a huge nest this year, I think she is being a little hopeful sitting on 23 eggs but I am pleased to see that a second nest is also being laid and that a Blue Swedish hen looks to be going broody.. So that means I should ducklings that are swedish laying ducks (purebred) and half Appleyard/Swedish crosses for my regular ducks plus of course my other two big girls who will hatch me a lovely flock that will grow up to be freezer camped.

I’m not done yet, I have two rabbit does due this week as well, and I am expecting some pretty, pretty babies, I breed a solid chocolate brown doe with great bone and a truly plush coat to my lovely big broken blue boy. My second breeding is a lovely red broken who is as sturdy as they get to the same broken blue buck.. I should not only have a mix of solid and broken coats but I have upwards to at least four or more possable coat colors that could pop out in the mix..

Looking forward to seeing what they have in both numbers, colors, patterns and sex’s..

Posted in Critters | 5 Comments

What a Weekend for farm sales and freebies

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

Between Friends moving and a little curb shopping, we added in these items to the farm on the weekend.

One small pop-up greenhouse
12 8 foot pen panels plus 2 gates
4 by 4 chick or duckling raising box
1 large glass wine making jug
2 1 liter brown wine making jugs
1 full new case of canning jars
1 large box of assorted canning jars, and box’s of lids
1 bag of assorted rags, and cloths etc
1 Green Large living room Chair
3 Pink livingroom chairs(that fit together, one corner with a side on each)
1 Full Size Sears Hide-a-bed with mattress couch(as you can see it is approved by hound and purrpot alike, I agree with them, very comfy!)

Went a huge two ring farm sale on saturday and bought enough that we needed to trips to bring it all home..

64 4 inch by 6 inch round cake pans
5-3 loaf bread pans
6 huge bun pans
2 French loaf pans
14 wire freezer baskets
40 Welded Wire Trays with 2 inch lips
Small Cast Iron 7 Egg or Po Pan
Small Steel 2 shelve Table
2 Med Size Water Troughs on wood bottoms with castors

So what do you think? Did I find some amazing things to add to the farm/house/barns, all total we spent less than $200 the whole weekend. Which items have you scratching your head? Which ones got you going, ya-lucky duck?!

Just a few thoughts on things that seem like they are odd one’s but in truth I think are Awesome deals!.. Lets start with those metal round cake pans, so some of them will end up as feed bowls, some will end up as measuring bowls in the steel feed bins, but most of them will end up in my house (or in truth more in my freezers), being 4 inches high and six inches round, they are perfect size for a two meal dinner, and they stack, so I am planning on making meat pies, a couple different Shepard pies, some homemade lasagna and lazy man cabbage rolls, a lazy man progies, along with fruit pies and five into round loaves of bread dough and five or so into fruit buns. This way when I leave the farm or its summer and crazy busy, DH can pull a bread pan out, thaw in the fridge during the day and bake-off when he gets home, and or for the meal ones, he can pull his choice out of the freezer, into the oven when he gets home and by the time he is done chores, it will be hot and ready with a full leftover second portion for his lunch the next day.. suddenly having 60 when looked at that way, and they will be so! useful.

Then comes all those freezer wire baskets, DH is going to make me a shelf for them to hang from and now I have open air drying and storage baskets for things like onions, and garlic and the list goes on!

So what idea’s would come up with if you had them? I would love to hear them?

That huge stack of welded heavy-duty 2 inch lips wire trays, Going to take them to the care wash and clean them up and in the summer, will lay one tray with greens, cover with a second tray and then clip them together and hang on the big tree branches to air dry massive amounts at a time on the good natural drying days, and then second, they are perfect size to fit my pantry shelves and with those 2 inch lips, they will work great to hold small jars in rows and keep them from shifting on the higher shelves, so that I can have them be the open rows where I can see everything instead of in the box’s etc.

Posted in farm sales | 11 Comments

Small Grazing Paddocks -New for 2012

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Just another day on the farm

Well, It has taken more years then I want to say for us to go from when we bought this farm, with no fences other then a number of dog runs from the attached kennel building to have fenced off the Big Barn Pasture, the Corner Pasture, the Small Pasture, the Big Pasture, the Baby Pasture, and the Main Garden, we only have three more area’s to fence, and then we can work on cross fencing off the Big Pasture and then the Small Pasture into lots or maybe just maybe at that point, we will do with solar electic for some of the cross fencing.

Needless to say, we still have about an acre and half still unfenced or around 65 340 Sq feet, let me tell you, when you fence by hand, it takes alot longer then anyone thinks. However thanks to friends of ours we have been graced with borrowed built fencing panels for a number of years.

Which will allow us to make a 400 sqaure foot instant paddock at a time. So I am going to try my hand at using this to be moved across the remaining unfenced area thoughtout the spring/summer/fall in the methods talked about in one of my books on pasture management, not only will this mean that I will be able to move my flock around but, it also means that I will be able to rest my big pasture for however many days it will take me to finish a full round of the mini paddocks, which would be a very good thing indeed.

Updates will follow, will that space be enough for my flock for a day or will I have to move it twice daily? It means that there should be around 163 mini paddocks and so I can do two fully eaten mini paddocks a day and still get 80 days worth of grazing on them and ideally I want to give the Big Pasture at least a sixty day rest, before starting it on the same mini paddock eating, they say that I can double my pasture yeild, and increase my pasture qaulity on the same amount of land if I graze them this way.. so let find out if they are right!