Goodbye Winter!

Things are cruising along right into spring and we have lots to keep us busy!

I am just sitting down to rest my winter weakened muscles and let little farm boy have some time off my back so he can get into some of his own mischief.
Seems like a good time to share some pictures of the fun that is going on around here!

Horse Pictures! Always my favourite pictures.
Here is handsome Charlie inquiring about his hay delivery.



And little filly and her goofy little ear muffs. I am sure they will be shedded out soon enough.
I am feeding the horses on their "marks" which are just piece of wood big enough for their front hooves. Filly learned in three meals that she had to go and stand on her mark, which is way quicker than the boys picked up on it when they learned!



The piglets are always a delight! Their personalities are starting to show already.



We used the deep bedding method for our chickens over this winter, which means we added a layer of new bedding two or three times a week. It was nice because it stays nice and clean on top and they say as it starts to compost underneath it creates some of its own heat. The bedding was really thick and it made for a much bigger job of cleaning up, but Oh! The compost we will have!



And then Matt did a bunch of fixing in the chicken barn. Tightening screws and resetting doors that had shifted over the winter. When we first looked at the place we thought we would never use this old barn. It shifts around every year and is very aged. It has turned out to be such a cozy spot and I can't imagine not having it! We store firewood and farm equipment, feed and tools. It winters chickens and stores hay and has made for an excellent pig nursery. In the winter it is so nice to come in out of the wind and have power and running water and critters out of the snow.



Halfway through our barn cleaning we had a quick game to see who could find the coolest old thing stored in the barn. Its full of old things. I believe I won with this neat old measuring stick, possible meant for measuring horses? Matt insists that he won value wise because he revealed a very long banister railing in great shape.



If we cleaned out the barn, where did the chickens end up?
They were delighted to be out on pasture once again. Its kind of heartwarming to see such happy critters!
Although, a few hours after we put them out it started to hail and sleet. I wondered if they had more appreciation for their barn coop after that!



The old chicken camper is back in use. We had a good laugh recently when we heard from a neighbour that there was someone asking if we would consider selling it!

Little Farm girl's favourite chickens: Buff Orpingtons. They are from our friends at Lone Pine farm and are much friendlier than our other birds. They get packed around a lot because of it!





I love seeing this. The sun hits and all the birds stretch out and sun themselves. Even the one in the doorway.

We are all loving the sun on our backs!
Anyway, back to work for me!