Patience

This week we have been practicing our patience.



We started the week with a Houdini pig that refused to be contained. It was something we have not had to deal with before and it was a bit of a problem. She would come and go as she pleased leaving a path of vegetative destruction wherever she had been. She also was encouraging the others to follow in her little hoof prints. Worst of all, the spot they are in is kind of a piglet training spot before the go out in the big pasture with just hotlines and no fencing. We like to know they respect the hotline before they go out, and she seemed to be getting bolder and bolder in her ways of exiting. 



 It was one of our smallest pink ones and she would hesitate a second before the hot line and then spring herself through. It was kind of our fault to begin with. When we moved them onto this new spot the hotline was just a touch too high. I figured it was pretty close and they are growing like little weeds so the problem would be very short term. That was not a good outlook!

Once I realized how freely she was coming in and out, we fixed the hotline to the proper height, but the damage was done. She had to spend a bit of time in the barn, where she showed off some very impressive climbing skills, and it took multiple tries, alternate fencing set ups and finally some advice from local farmers before she decided that the hotline was not worth tangling with.
Another lesson learned! Sometimes good enough is not good enough!



Another place to practice my patience is my ponies. At this stage in my life, with the busyness of my little farmers, I just cannot seem to get away to ride. It feels like a constant itch that I can't scratch. Sometimes the draw is so strong that I accidentally hop onto a sleek shiny back as I pass by their pasture. I really try not to do it as its a terrible example to the little ones.



This would be such a cute picture without that muzzle. It is very not picturesque!
That being said, I love that muzzle. Charlie, who ended the winter nearly obese is able to spend all day on the grass with his friends and it reduces the amount of grass he is able to eat. I don't worry about him being bored, lonely or the dreaded foundering that can happen to a horse with his metabolism. It ruins pictures, but it could possibly have saved his life!



Here is a Grizzly sow and her cubs, I think the first grizzly I have seen? We took a little road trip this week...

We had the opportunity to visit an Organic vegetable farm! Garry and Wendy Lowe of Twin Meadows Organics invited us out to have a visit with them. What a learning experience that was!
We came back very encouraged and excited to make farm plans of our own! We have been scheming and discussing different ideas and plans and Matt has been sketching out ideas for implements and layouts for garden growth. Its pretty exciting to have an idea of where we are headed and that could look like!

A huge Thank you to Twin Meadows Organics for sharing their experience!

Our garden sure looked pretty skimpy once we got home...



The chickens are slowly moving their way closer and closer to the garden. Then Little Farm Girl can play with them while I work.



A stripe of Quinoa growing.

And that is another area we are practicing patience!

Some of our seeds were really taking their time coming up! We did have some very chilly mornings so it could be explained. We were having a really hard time waiting and watching the weeds coming up. Its possible that in our impatience, a couple potatoes got dug up and examined...
Finally we are seeing some action though! Our potatoes are now up! The Carrots, Kale, turnips and more are making appearances! I am still waiting impatiently on my lettuce and a few other things. Some things you can't rush, and its probably better that way!

A potato!

Kale making an appearance

And one last thing to practice my patience on...



Our eggs in the incubator were due to hatch yesterday.
I candled them on day 17 and there was lots of life. Candling eggs just leaves me speechless and this was exceptionally awesome. I could see little chick legs kicking and moving inside. It left me with so much awe at how that little life can grow with everything it needs inside that egg!
The last bit of time in the incubator is lock down. You raise the humidity, and stop turning them so they can get in position to hatch.
Yesterday morning was day 21 and their due date. I went and cheeped at the eggs and one rewarded me by rolling over so I know their was life then. I am getting less hopeful as time goes on. There are a lot of variables in egg incubation and lots of room for error. Until I know for sure, I am going to be spending way too much time looking in the incubator and practicing my patience. Once again, something that you just cannot rush!
Hopefully my next post with be pictures of cute fluffy chicks.

By I am certainly not going to do any counting...