Morning chores

We are enjoying this last bit of winter. It seems to be even more enjoyable now that the end is in sight!



I thought we would share some pictures of our morning chore time. We savor this little window of time in the morning that we set aside just to visit with and care for our creatures. Little farm girl has suddenly hit a the magic age where her help is truly a great help. Instead of little helping hands being towed along and shepherded, her mits work right along side me and she actually is very capable. She collects all the eggs completely herself, checks waters and spreads new hay bedding in the morning. She likes to help me feed horses so I allow her to "work Tex " for his breakfast. She usually asks him to side pass in either direction and I have been impressed to see her timing improving quickly and Tex learning to take her seriously!

Lovely Tex. Note the all the shedding hair!

A surprise in his breakfast

Little Filly (actually La Thair) and friends. Everyone loves to be out in the sunshine!

Something about hay piles just attracts cats. They hide and chase each other between them. Always good entertainment!

Sometimes I do worry about these little guys. They scoot under the horses and bat at tails. The horses don't seem to mind at all, or even notice. One day I saw Marshmallow come up behind the little filly and grab her by the hind pastern. She wrapped her little cat arms right around with that fierce kitten expression. I was expecting her to fly into the nearest snowbank but little filly just looked down at her and kept chewing her hay. Maybe they have some sort of truce.

After the horses and kitties are looked after we head to the chickens.

They love to have veggie scraps and new hay bedding to scratch in.

Two ameraucanas working hard in the nesting boxes.

A Buff Orpington (or Goldie as the little people call them) supervising the fresh water delivery

With all the melting and freezing we have been getting, the snow has frozen into a very hard crust. We have been simple delighted to be able to walk and play away from our thoroughly traveled winter paths! Just seeing our buildings and landscapes from different angles has been new and refreshing! We have been exploring snowmobile tracks and following animal tracks all over the property. Lots of new games and adventures have ensued!
Along the same lines, little farm boy has suddenly become adept at crawling and pulling himself up on things. I imagine he feels the same excitement and curiosity as his world suddenly opens up! It has certainly been keeping me busy!

This is a drum that I use to practice barrel racing in the summer. It has appeared in the last week.

Tracking a bird across the snow

We are seeing the spring coming and are trying to get our plans and ideas sorted out and ready to be put into practice. I am certainly discovering that my free time and energy is limited. As we are making our plans we are being pretty careful not to take on more than we can handle, which is hard when the enthusiasm is so high!

Our farm start up - Year 1, Spring!

I thought I would share some of the events that brought us to where we are now.

 I still don't know exactly where we are headed with this little farm. When you put your plans in God's hands you never know where you are headed, but its quite the adventure! When we bought this place I would not have imagined our farm plans would include Pigs and Veggies. Our farming experience lies mainly in dairy, horses, hay and I just somehow pictured we would continue along that path.

We bought this little 40 acre property in the spring of 2012.
We moved in with our little family (Matt, Me and little Farm girl), my Quarter horse Tex (who moved up to Prince George with us), Charlie (a project horse and company for Tex), Quinny (my little sheepdog) and Thomas (a barn kitty we had accumulated). We were so excited to watch all our farming dreams become a reality.
Our very first goals we set were: to not collect too many animals that will not earn their keep and to slowly acquire enough various machinery to make and sell hay.

The first year was a wonderful adventure and a bit of a learning experience!

Almost right off the bat we responded to an ad for some old haying equipment.
We went to see it with high hopes. The lady said some was good and worth some money, and other pieces we could just take.  We got there and found a field area with about a dozen different machines tangled into the grass. We had decided to have a look and see what she wanted for some of the machines we could use, and take any free ones she didn’t want around. When it came time to talk prices I just listened. She said she wanted about $1200. I kind of wondered which machine she was referring too and then she said, $1200 for everything in the field. I waited to see what Matt would say, as he is a notorious lover of good deals. I was shocked when he said “How about $1500 for the lot?” And then, “I would feel better with $2000 for everything.”
And that is how we made our first farm purchase and became the proud owners of a whole parade of haying equipment.
It took more than a week of trips back and forth, and some neighbourly help to get the whole lot home. After just the second trip home Matt looked over the equipment we had brought over and thought it was already worth more than $2000. Even paying more than she wanted he said he still felt like he was stealing.

 This is a 320 Massey Ferguson Disk

A plow

 A New Holland Rake

 A Massey Furguson Rake

 A Hesston Mower Conditioner

 We got 3 Massey Furguson 124 Balers. A good one, a parts one and a scrap one. I am not sure which one this is.

Everything was in serious disrepair, but that was part of the adventure! Matt evaluated everything, ordered parts and put it all aside as a winter project.

Shortly after bringing home the machinery we leaped in with both feet and brought home our first piglets. There was certainly lots to learn, but hands on experience is sometimes the best way. Despite our plans to not get attached, the pigs charmed us very quickly with their zest for life, endearing personalities and unquenchable curiosity. We tucked them in a nursery stall in the barn while we prepared the former bull pen on the property into a hotlined pig pen.

Bringing home our first pigs

And then without losing farming momentum, we welcomed the very best house warming gift we will ever receive!

Matt's parents surprised us with a tractor! Getting it home was a whole adventure in itself!
We imagined in the first few years we might be able to find a small old tractor for farm work, but we never imagined this awesome machine! From farm work to snow removal, we have been so thankful for it on many occasions!

My favourite part though, was having my first project horse! I enjoyed every minute of the journey from having an uncatchable sassy critter to a tenative, easily confused riding partner. I spent hours and hours teaching him to come to me, enjoy my touch and respond to beginning riding cues. The thrill of climbing on for the first time was something I won't forget!

That first spring was quite the whirlwind. There was so much great excitement seeing our farm starting to come together, but also lots of feeling overwhelmed. We discovered lots of challenges that come with buying an older house and farm, including leaky roofs, leaning buildings, fields with more weeds than grasses and things falling down faster than we could build them up! We were certainly up for the challenge, and I guess we still are!

Even better

I thought I would share a conversation I had yesterday evening with little farm girl. It refreshed me and convicted me a little about my perspective on life.

We were out removing snow in the evening as the sun was going down. Little farm girl was perched up on a snow bank chattering away in her little way. Suddenly she stopped and looked around and said "Wow! Look at the clouds! They are so colourful!"
As we worked we kept watching the sun setting and remarking at the changing colours and silhouettes of the trees against the clouds.
Finally I said "I wish I had brought my camera out with me"
"Why don't you run and go get it?" She questioned
I was thinking of all the work of going inside, trying to reach my snow boots with little farm boy tucked in his carrier and then getting it all back together to come out again.
"I think the sun will be done setting when I get back and it wont be as beautiful"
"But mommy, what if it is even more beautiful when you come back?"

That one last question has stuck in my mind since our conversation. The optimism of her little mind was brighter than last nights sky.

And the funny thing was, that when I got back with my camera in my hand, the sky was even more brilliant that when I went in.

Things are about to get ugly!

Ok, I think I am officially not jumping the gun! We have up to 12C forecasted!

The Melt has begun!

The barn is dripping under the avalanche off the side

Its so tropical feeling out there. After the rain (yes rain!) stopped this morning there was a tropical breeze blowing. After doing the chores we stayed and played outside with no mitts on(!) and I gave the horses a bit of a trim while their hooves are not hard and frozen.

And these walls along our walkway should come down

I am so excited to see some green around here, but I also remember the little transition period between winter and spring. There is a sliver of time that is so ugly most overwhelming! Last year, there was about a week during this stage where I thought we had made a huge mistake. There were huge puddles and rivers everywhere plus mud and muck, and suddenly all the broken fences and mess hiding under the snow reappears.



You can see some mess appearing already on our pathway to the barn. Every bit of manure, dirt, trampled hay or firewood debris over the last 5 months will be appearing.

Just for fun I am going to make a "Spring Watch" album on our facebook page. We can watch the melt in progress. But just remember! Its going to get ugly before its gets pretty again.

Bring it on!

Where I belong

Me and my little people spent this last week in Vancouver. It seemed like a bit of a practical joke when our plane touched down in a slushy blizzard!
Thankfully the weather cleared up and we enjoyed some mild weather and a bit of sun on our skin while we were down there.
One beautiful afternoon me and the little ones went for a walk. There was a frosting of snow on the sidewalks and as we passed another pedestrian they remarked "It sure is rough to walk in the snow!" 
I just smiled and nodded.
It is hard to walk in the snow. But especially when it is over your thigh...



It was a very nice trip and so wonderful to see my amazing family! But I have to say, when I came home I breathed a huge sigh.

There is certainly something to be said for knowing exactly where you belong.

I love the uncluttered wild spaces.



I love that I never have to close my curtains.



I love that I never have to compete for a parking spot



I love the quiet stillness of a country night



I love the bright blue winter skies

I guess sometimes it takes going away to remember exactly where you feel at home.