Change is in the air

This summer has been a joyous time on the farm, but there has been a bit of a change in the air this week and lots of reflections that come with it.



Through this whole season, right from when the snow began to melt, there has been a delicious fragrance that has hung over the farm. I could see its effects sparkling in the little farmers eyes when they got up in the morning, I could feel it filling my heart to bursting as I pulled my farm clothes on each morning. I think it was partly excitement at the unknown possibilities in store for us this summer. Maybe there was some wonder at the fresh newness of life after the stark white of winter. It could even have just been the great expectations we held for these long summer days, and this summer did not disappoint!



Now I am daily checking off little milestones that come with the end of this season. It started with a chill while doing the evening chores and farm coats coming out of hiding again. The vibrant greens of summer pasture fading to yellow golds and brushing the remains of sleek summer horse hair off the inseam of my jeans after a quick ride. With all these little signs there has been a change in the air. Its less exciting but feels right just the same. Instead of the bursting excitement, there is a new reserved anticipation of the quiet that will come with winter. Time during those long winter evenings to reflect and learn and plan. A season for everything.


 

 


In the same way as seasons change, little ones also don't stay the same. There have been little changes in little farm boy as well, an eagerness to explore, leaps and bounds in his little skills and morning naps coming later and later. And like seasons changing, little boys change too.
Today after I got him dressed to go out, I pulled out his backpack for him to ride in. While I laced my boots, he marched directly past the backpack, which he usually tries to climb into, and straight across the farmyard to the feed room where we start our routine. And just like that, another breeze of change blew in, bringing more expectation and some longing for what is behind. So it was the first day I have taken him along for morning chores, just on his own little two feet. There is excitement at seeing him explore the barn chores for the first time, his great delight to ride in the wagon, watch the water pour and just touch everything he can reach.
Just like the first frost and yellow leaves on the ground, the lonely backpack this morning was a tangible reminder that things don't stay the same for long.



It does amaze me at how in the crazy pace of summer work you can long for the forced rest that winter brings, and in the endless sleeplessness that babies bring you can be dreaming of seasons of sleep ahead. And yet as they finally come, as a mother and a farmer, I truly have a hard time leaving that stage.



So today, there is a change in the air. There is a bit of loss and acceptance but also excitement for the unknown joys that are yet to come.

Firsts

This is just the best time of year!

 

Everything is just exploding with new life and we have the whole summer ahead of us to enjoy it! The trees are filling out with bright green leaves, seedlings are shooting up everywhere and piglets are exploring the world with nosy enthusiasm. I love being out and about in the busyness of creation. Birds are filling all that winter silence with their chattering, critters are out and about everywhere and the amazing earthy smells from the warm summer breezes are such a treat to take in. I have such a hard time staying inside for long.

We have had some firsts around here this last week. Some exciting firsts, and others I am sincerely hoping that there won't be a second!

First of all, we weaned our little piglets and put them out for the first time. They are being hot line trained and I am working to get all the ticklish out of them so we can handle and measure them as needed.
We have made a tradition of taking a family photo as we put our piglets out and this is the first year they are piglets that have been born on the farm! Not only that, they are healthy, feisty little Berkshires, which is a breed I have been admiring for a while. Its thrilling to see your dreams pulling together.

Letting the little guys out for the first time

This is a good first spot for them because there is a strong physical fence to contain them while they learn to respect the hot line.



They took a bit to figure out the hotline. Probably because once one touched they would all pile on top of each other and squish together. Then when the next one touched it would shock the whole group. I was scratching one today on the edge of the group and I got shocked through them all!

Horses are always watching them

Wondering what goodie I have for them today

Little farm girl has bonded with them. They seem to enjoy the same activities together.

They say pigs are very intelligent and we have been toying with that a bit. Before we fill the pig trough with feed we have been spooning some to the piglets who are willing to sit. Its crazy cute to see a piglet sitting for its dinner and I like watching the wheels turn in those little heads.

Nope, that is not how you get the food!

That'll do pig!

Another first. A loose pig in the barn. It was my fault really. I noticed something was wrong with how her latch was closing and I couldn't get it sorted out, but I also couldn't get her door open so I figured she would be fine. Thankfully she got out into the barn isle and I had closed up the barn over night. Its was quite a surprise to walk into the barn in the morning and see her her blinking in a very satisfied way while lying in a  pig sized crater in the barn isle. I don't think the dirt floor in there will ever be the same!

Right after that I went outside to discover a bear in the hay field. Not a big surprise really, but it was another first for me.

Once I went in, I watched little farm boy take his first tottering steps across the living room. A big first for him!

And then I also got my first mosquito bite of the year. I guess it had to happen at some point...



We have lots of different egg cartons we regularly reuse and I did a bit of research on the different egg labels that are all over them: cage free, free range, free run, omega enriched, vegetarian fed and so on. It was pretty disappointed to read what they actually mean. If the best you can say about your eggs is you don't feed your chickens other animal byproducts, that is kind of frightening! I also stumbled on some interesting research and articles regarding pastured eggs and how much more nutrition they contain, but I think that would be another whole blog in itself!



Our chickens are thoroughly enjoying being out. We were moving them every 3-4 days when we first put them out. I am glad to see the grass is growing quickly and we don't have to move them quite so often. In the this picture you can see the spots they had been. I replace and rake out their hay bedding from the camper over the areas so it looks kind of yellow. 



And an interesting observation. I actually noticed last year that we had the same crows around all the time.
Last year we had a Momma crow with three babies. They were around for most of the summer and they really made me laugh. The "babies" were indistinguishable from their mother until she would find a worm or insect. Suddenly there would be three full sized crows throwing themselves at her with their mouths wide open like baby birds. It would be a big cawing commotion and she would feed them as they all fought to be closest to her. It went on for a good chunk of the summer and I am sure they were fully capably of looking after themselves.

This year we have a crow with a limp. Its like one of her feet is stuck in a closed grip position. She hobbles around and seems to go places with us as we work around the farm. I am actually starting to think of her as a bit of a companion. Its kind of weird too and I imagine I am thinking to much into it, but three times now when I have gotten home she is waiting at the end of the driveway and comes with me to the house.

Anyway, as always, lots to do!

Spring Time Update

Things have been crazy busy around here. We have had a stretch of amazing weather recently and we have just crammed it full of spring time activity.
I was walking around yesterday thinking there is pretty much work to do on every square inch of the property! This has been a good lesson in priorities for us!

Anyway, this is what we have been investing our time in this week.



This week was little Farm Girls birthday! She requested a piggy theme for her birthday party and this was the cake that we made. I used the Quinoa cake recipe again. You honestly can't tell that its made with quinoa so everyone can enjoy it.
I told her she could pick any meal to have for her birthday dinner and the only thing she wanted to eat was eggs with meat from her "best pig, Scritchers." I had just run out of our usual cuts but I didn't want to disappoint so she ended up having pork jowl for her birthday dinner...

One of the piglets, nicknamed Popcorn because she pops and leaps, made a guest appearance at the birthday party. Unfortunately she was a bit of a party pooper.

And this week we had a farm visitor/ farm hand. My friend Stephanie stayed with us. We had a lot of fun together and I also put her right to work! Here she is enjoying a puddle in the hay field.

This is what I have been enjoying. The riding ring is dry and the horses are getting lots of work all of the sudden! Little farm girl got a riding crop for her birthday and has been delighted to try it out. Tex still is not keen to get moving, even with a crop tapping on him. It frustrates little farm girl, but I figure its a problem that I am happy to have!

I have been playing a lot with little filly. I did some work with her the other day and figured out exactly where she is at and where I would like to go with her next. She has a great attitude and lots of random skills from over the winter, now she just needs the important things! I have discovered that if I get up around 6:00 in the morning, I get a bit of time to myself to work with the horses. But, with little Farm Boys usual 4+ wakings during the night, it has made me into a bit more of a zombie than usual. I am not sure how often I can keep it up and still form complete sentences.

I have been having way too much fun with the three ponies. I line them all up and work them as a trio. Its a pretty cool feeling to have three moving in unison! Tex and Charlie remember everything from last year and are keen to work. The first time I did it, little filly was in the middle and she was licking and chewing with her lips for like ten minutes straight. Generally when horse do that they are digesting a thought. It must have given her a lot to think about! I have had some excellent moments with all of them working together, but if the center horse slacks off I can't seem to cue it back into action without disturbing the horses on the outside. Its got me a little frazzled, but I betcha I can figure it out by the end of the summer!



And we finally invested in a purchase that has been on our list for a long time. We would like to eventually work out a no till system, but for now while we are learning and breaking ground, we are going to use this.



This has been keeping me busy. Our lawn is very weedy and an increasing portion of it is just hawkweed and bare dirt. The soil needs a lot of work in itself, so before my garden leaps into action and while manure is still very scoopable behind the hay barn, I am spreading some into the lawn.



This was an experiment last year. We pastured chickens on the lawn in one of the worst spots to see what the effect would be. There was not the difference that we had hoped for, but as you can see in this picture (right in the center, towards the bottom) there is a circle of grass that has shot up through the hawkweed and is nice and green. This was the spot right behind the camper where the chicken impact was the heaviest. Maybe if we can get our soil a little better as a whole it will be able to compete a little better. Its all a learning experience...



Seeds coming up. This picture is of the broccoli, or maybe the cabbage. Its exciting to watch them grow!



These little critters are 4 weeks old now. Commercial pig operations usually wean at about 10 days old! Both our sows have small litters so they are not being drained by the nursing. I think we will watch the sows and how they feel about the matter. I notice this sow lying on her belly a little more, and when she gets up she will get a bunch of little piranhas on her belly. I would like to be able to put the sows back together when we wean so I think we will wait another week so the other litter hits this age too.



They are starting to think of me as the goodies lady!





If the pigs don't finish their grain overnight, we give whats left in the morning to the chickens. I will sprinkle it in a rows and jokingly say I have swath grazed the chickens. I didn't bring any this morning, but they were all hopeful.



Here is our garden plot, awaiting the weather to warm a little bit more. Its was below freezing last night here again. The front right quarter was last years garden. All the rest was pig rototilled last fall and they did an excellent job of clearing the sod. We are going to till compost in next and make some raised beds again by hand.

And here are my lilac leaves ready to join the world. I am loving spring time!

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!

Farm Action

Finally! Something to write about besides snow!

We have had a stretch of warm weather and it has really changed things up around here. After that long season of cold and quiet, we are just bursting with all the newness around us! Green is starting to show and the snow recedes noticeably over the day. There are new sounds of dripping water and the chatters of birds in the morning. Today we were delighted to find that there were cheerful robbins hopping all around our driveway! Unfortunately, in our great excitement we scared them away, but I am sure they will be back.

We have had some exciting farm developments in this last week.

This is the smaller pig (Flora). It looks to me like her belly has dropped. Its hard to see when she is lying down though. They are both looking uncomfortable, stretching lots and eating a little bit at a time all day. I was there not long ago and I have so much sympathy!

I have been taking time to sit with them everyday and just get them used to me being around. They are both due soon and I really would like my presence not to throw them into a tizzy. Slowly they have been making abit of progress, which I think is worth celebrating.



A few days ago one came and sniffed my pants. It doesn't sound very good but its certainly progress from where they were before. Then yesterday and the day before, I was able to give one a quick rub. She was just barely at the point of tolerating it but that is a start!

They can really disappear in the hay when they want to!

We also got our taxes finished up and all our numbers from our farming year tallied. We were really encouraged to see that we made our farm status amount with no problem.

It was hard when we went to pick up pigs. The area we got them from was a big farming area and the farm we went to was 7 quarter sections and known as the little farm in the area. We were driving through with such a desire to be full time farmers and seeing all the people with full time farm operations. It made it feel like such an impossible dream from where we are at.

So yesterday it was a really good feeling to see that we have grown from the previous year. Of course our farming goal is not just to make farm status, but just like with the pigs, you have to start somewhere and we are going to enjoy the journey!

Another really awesome farm development.
Last year we did our farm taxes with FBC which is a farm specific accounting group. They are there to help you all year round and we hoped we would be able to learn enough to do things ourselves in the future. As part of that we got a book keeping system that was really handy to use. This year we are doing things a little differently and don't have that book keeping system anymore. Matt took things into his own hands, and with some tech help from his parents, whipped up some incredible spread sheets.
I have been just raving about them for days! The are so easy to use! Everything calculates itself and you can tally everything by category (like pork, or eggs or hay), or customer or vendors.

Numbers are so important to running our farm as a business and this will allow us to easily keep track of ourselves, and because Matt made them, he can adjust them as we grow and change!

Now that he has revealed his spreadsheet skills I have some gardening spread sheets in mind for him to make...



I absolutely love days that we can go and work outside as a family, and we have had a couple of those recently.
The sun has warmed up the area that the horses have packed down and there is an extremely scoopable layer of manure that has thawed. We spent an afternoon just scooping and piling and dreaming about the compost it will make in the future. Who knew manure could be so exciting.

Little Filly has to be part of everything

Little girls cannot resist soft horse noses. Actually, I am not sure if anyone can...

Tex has been making a point of rolling in all this thawed manure. Some days he is wet and coated and absolutely reeks.

There is always time for petting cats

Little farm girl kept the horses busy and out of our way nearly the whole time

We could have gotten a lot more done this weekend but we got a little sidetracked. There is water melting and running and I just can't leave it alone. Its almost getting compulsive. I dig channels and free puddles, I join them all together and guide the rivers to the culvert. Even when Matt is talking to me, I can hardly take my eyes from these little rushing streams. I have spent far more time than necessary playing in this run off, and its strange because it doesn't feel like time wasted.



And I feel like I have connected with an old friend.

Yesterday I pulled out my favourite, most wonderful, trusty, steel toed rubber boots. All those days working on the farm together, slipping them on all warm and soft from the morning sun, slogging through whatever the world throws at us from the knees down.
Welcome to the world again Rubber Boots, lets see where this year takes us!