Fall Update

Fall is well under way here! Its beautiful and has brought a bit of a change of activities for us.



We scrapped our summer To do lists and prioritized what we need/should get done before the snow flies. This week kept us busy with finishing the garden up and also working to get the greenhouse set for winter.



Also, I have been busy in the kitchen, which is not my favourite but it sure feels nice once you are done! We had a pumpkin pie and roasted seeds making day, lard making day and spent a day making soap with friends!

This pretty much sums up what is left in the garden now. Just beets and carrots, and a little bit of quinoa left as an experiment.

A braided garden snack while we work.

A gardening failure. A beet supposed to go to seed this year. It sure grew large, but that is about it! The pigs really enjoyed it anyway...



It feels very natural to have pigs next to the garden! As we pull things out they get tossed over our shoulder to their eager snouts. Here are Popcorn and River shaking their quinoa stalks like puppies. Pigs are never boring!



They all have favourite spots to be scratched. The magic spot for "the Biggie" is his forehead, and its sometimes the only way to get them to hold still for a picture! That is a very cute snout!

Here is my quinoa before I pulled most of it.

Here is where I put it to finish drying. I am quite excited to see what happens with it.

I was amazed at the variety of colours that we got.

Here is one little quinoa flower in my hand. It doesn't look much like quinoa does it?

But after a gently rubbing it with my finger, ta da! There is a quinoa seed there on the left. Not quite dry enough yet, but getting there!



We had a good few days work of harvesting potatoes. The little farmers really enjoyed it! I wasn't really happy with the quality or the yield of each of the varieties we planted, but they are so delicious and juicy. We will be eating potatoes for a very long time!



Here is what was keeping Matt busy this week. We had some logistics issues because we would really like to put the chicken camper in here for a chunk of the winter, but once the walls are on it complicates things. Where there is a will, there is a way! Just a more complicated way...

It looks awesome! I am so excited to start using this greenhouse!

And because I never get tired of horse picture, here is Mr. Charlie looking goofy.

And, I may have spent more time in the kitchen than I would have liked but I can't imagine a better view than this!
Things like this make my heart so full!

When will we paint it green?

We are still busy as ever on the farm!
Our greenhouse is looking awesome and nearing completion, which is really exciting!



We put up the plastic last week in the quick breaks between downpours. Even Little farm girl was working hard.

We were very thankful to have our friend Kevin out helping get it finished!

The weather forced us to take lots of breaks

Matt securing the wire that holds the plastic on

Ta da! Now it just needs some end walls and possibly a heat source. I am so excited to have this up before winter. Next year is going to be a really exciting growing year for us!

Little farm girl was a little disappointed though. She had made the assumption that to make it true to its name we would paint it green once the plastic was on.



We also implemented the next step in our plan for next years garden. We staked off next years plot, which is planted with peas and rye to improve the soil, and have our pigs rototilling and removing the weeds for us.



Its a pretty nice feeling to be out working and look over and see the pigs hard at work too. They love this and it is sure an asset to our gardening.
They were pretty enthusiastic about eating the peas. By the next day they had sure made a big difference already!



Matt cleaned up and disked the area they were in last. We should be able reclaim a good chunk of it into hay field again.

I have a favourite chicken! (Hint, its the one with the toque...)

The pigs commandeered the chickens portable fence energizer when we moved them so the chickens had to move along too.

With the shorter days they have gone into their seasonal molt. They are putting all their protein into growing new feathers and egg production takes the backseat for a little while. It is their natural cycle and its good for their bodies to have a break so we are happy to let them. So far we have been able meet our egg customers requests but I don't think I will be able to say that for long. Right now we are getting a little over half of our summer time egg production. We do have up and coming hens from our summer hatch but I don't expect them to lay until just before Christmas.



For a day or two we felt like pretty good farmers this week. We have our animals moving systems quite down pat. They are happy to load in the trailer and be moved, we know what we are doing in terms of taking it all down and refencing, everyone including the little farmers have a job to do and everything worked like clockwork. It was exciting to feel efficient and to celebrate a day of hard, satisfying work as a family.



We did feel pretty good until we crunched some of this years numbers. I think this winter we will have to take a realistic view of our farm and make some changes. We are so passionate about what we are doing and just savor these days we get to spend out working on the farm. I can't imagine anything better than working alongside each other, raising these animals how we believe they should be raised and being able to feed our family with confidence and joy.

One of the very biggest struggles in starting this farm will be changing our mindset about trying to compete with grocery stores prices.
Silly! I know, but it is going to be a big struggle for us!
We honestly feel like what we raise and grow is some of the very best you can buy, not just in quality, but better for the environment, the animals themselves and for your health as well. We have a huge desire to share it with friends, family, neighbours and other young families that may be budgeting for groceries. The reality that we are finally coming to is that we have to be realistic and we cannot lose every year and still make this farm a long term venture for us.

I mentioned to Matt that maybe we just should not raise pigs if we can't make a go of it and keep our prices very competitive. He quickly reminded me of those icy spring mornings this year and going out to check on the newborn piglets. The squirmy warmth of them against your chest and the feeling of great responsibility to give them the best lives we can.

We can't change how everyone eats, and we cannot change things for the pigs being raised in industrial factories.

We can give these pigs the best lives we can, and we can a give a choice to those out there who feel the same responsibility that we do to what they eat.
For now, I think that is all we can do, and I think we should keep doing it.

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.

WWOOFers

We have had two sets of visitors on the farm in the last two weeks, and of course we put them right to work!

There is a term they use on Organic farms for people who stay and work for their accommodations. Wwoofers, which stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms.

I think some of our guests may need a little vacation to recover from their time here!

Our first wwoofers were my family.
They came up to share the celebration of little farm boy's first birthday. It was a wonderful time of visiting, eating farm food and of course putting our guests to work!

We were able to eat most of our meals just from farm food.

Matt and my Dad pulled out the greenhouse and did the preliminary planning.

We also all went to the BCNE together. It was a lot of fun, but Matt's favourite part was finding this farm sign!

A few days after my Parents and Sister left the farm, Matt's parents came and also brought along Matt's cousin all the way from Manitoba. They stayed for a whole week and together we got a ton of work accomplished!



Its not quite finished but I am sure you can get an idea of what we are hoping to have built before winter.

After much planning, they laid everything out and drilled holes.

Then they showed off their juggling skills and put down sauna tubes.

 

The pigs watched from their jungle

Then they made concrete and cemented in the foundation poles.

Then they made a weight bearing center wall to help with our crazy snow load

Little farm girl drilled the final post.

Us girls, beside cooking up lots of farm food, completely reorganized the tackroom and also revamped the raspberry patch.

The tackroom was a big job! I wish I had a before picture because you couldn't even walk through it! It looks amazing now!



We had a little extra concrete after setting the posts for the greenhouse so we made a step for the door of the tack room.



The raspberries crop this year was very dismal. They needed a lot of work! Matt and I had drilled posts to expand the rows but they needed some serious weeding and thinning.



Matt's Mom and I spent a lot of time working on them. It felt like crawling through a jungle but slowly, bit by bit and cane by cane, we were able to regain some order!



We also took a walk around Ferguson Lake. It was just the right time to see all the tiny toads hopping everywhere!



You may have to look closely, but you can get an idea of what some of the paths looked like. Little toads everywhere!



And of course we load up our wwoofers with farm fresh veggies before they leave!

Besides those big jobs, we have been busy with the usual farm activities:



Harvesting, washing and sorting veggies to be included in Hope farms weekly CSA box share!

Its not too much work because we use child labour...

"Gorger" and I making a farm invoice

Little farm girl measuring pigs

Pigs hard at work dismantling the log pile

Brothers playing on the logs

Can you find the hog in the logs?

Rosie bedded down for a nap

Little farm girl found her first snake

She was pretty thrilled and named it Tangle

The chicks have the run of the yard during the day. They get into everything and I have to frequently shoo them out of the shop. They really liven up the yard and I think I will miss them when they join the laying flock.

One of the best parts of summer: A quick trip to the freezer and garden...

and a bit of BBQ work. I don't think we have eaten this well in our lives!