I think we finally have finished all (or most) of our winter preparations!
It feels good to have things cleaned up and in their right places now that the flurries are flying.
All of our pigs have gone now. They were quite personable so they are easy to miss. We won't keep any through the winter this year and our lovely sow Lady has been given to a friend.
It was kind of a hard choice, but at the same time, for where we are at, it feels right. At about the halfway point of this pregnancy I ended up with a hernia, which really was not fun. Matt ended up doing all the chores and farm work for me before and after his day job, so the less lifting and hauling over this winter, the better!
Over this fall, once the veggies slowed down, we actually got to some tasks that have been overlooked for years!
We got out as much as we could from the garden. Again, having a hernia has really changed the fall for me.
Little farm girl and I joked that this year we accidentally grew armling potatoes instead of fingerlings. They make for some really long french fries!
We have also started the prep for having our own beef cattle. This has been Matt's dream since he was very little. The hay he made over the summer is stacked and covered, round bale feeders are in the pasture waiting and we have our plans for spring calving ready to be put in place!
Our fencing got some much needed upgrades before (hopefully!) our cows come. This section was especially run down and I feel relatively safe saying it should hold them now.
Little farm girl is growing into quite a responsible and hard working little lady and we felt she was old enough for a kitten of her own. This is Sunny.
Somehow, as tiny as he is, he seems to possess enough personality to fill three cats.
His favourite things so far include: sucking on things (toys, toes, earlobes), getting closed into the fridge, getting to the toilet while it is still flushing (and a good percentage of the time falling in too) and sleeping right in the warm spot against the dogs belly.
Tonka just loves him and they spend many hours wrestling. Little farm girl often complains about how slimy her kitten is, but it keeps them both out of trouble!
I just had to snap this picture one evening. Sunny took over licking the gravy off the plate, and Tonka's disgusted expression made me laugh out loud.
Little farm girl has been training everything. The chicks have an obstacle course they are getting quite adept at running through, and even the cat has a hoop it jumps through.
Oh, the things that keep us busy in the winter...
I just got the chickens tucked into the barn yesterday. They were extremely unimpressed with snow and would refuse to leave the camper for the whole day if there was even a dusting!
And another new addition on the farm, and she is just as sweet as she looks too!
I thought after my little Charlie horse sold it would be a good plan to pick out a weanling for me to raise and be able to ride and train once my babies are a bit more grown.
Matt knew how much I thoroughly loved having a horse to ride and train so he convinced me to consider have another young project. This filly will be ready to start in the spring, or whenever I can squeeze in some time! I have been doing lots of ground work with her in the meantime and I am so impressed with her gentle and quiet nature and how quickly she is picking up on things.
Tex photo-bombed this but it still shows what I was trying to capture. The belly on her is so huge!
When I looked at her I assumed she was just boney and wormy and young. Now I have had her a month and I have wormed her thoroughly, I am going to use one more small spectrum variety just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I have her on hay and grain and I work her a few times a week so she should be getting protein and building muscle. The weird thing is, it keeps getting worse! She seems healthy in every other was so I figure its either just an awkward stage, or there is a foal on the way!
And this little guy is the little weanling I fell in love with. He just came home a couple days ago and is still settling in.
We are calling him Milo, and I am already quite impressed with the little guy! He has such a nice hip on him and when he lopes, it looks totally effortless! I can just imagine all the adventures we are going to have together.
I haven't played with him too much yet. Its been a big change for him over the last couple days and he is still warming up to me and getting used to the little farmers. But, as you can probably imagine, I have big plans for the little guy!
