Sunday, April 27, 2008

Spring = Lots To Do

With spring finally being here; we have so many odd jobs that need attention. Clean up has been our main focus as the melting snow uncovers more and more things that need to tidied. Katie is coming along nicely, and I want to devote an entry on her progress. The other day we had to go out to sea and rescue the dock as it had spent the day floating past the sandbar. I also want to post an entry on that particular outing; Judy ended up walking the dock through 2ft of cold, cold water, lots of pictures!







Jenny is arriving tomorrow, Judy is so excited. We spent the day grooming the driveway and finding a place for sleighs, wagons and buggies. The Llama's seemed to have found a way through two strands of electric fencing; so this morning was devoted to "llama lockup". Four strands of electric fencing and some extra posts should hold them at bay!





More on Katie's progress and Judys water adventure another time. Enjoy these pictures for the time being.








Thursday, April 24, 2008

Funny Pigs and Miserable Weather

It was raining during chores this morning. The pigs were still sound asleep as we brought them their food.


Yesterday I had the chance to spend a few hours installing electric fence throughout the pigs outdoor area. They had spent the last week with 2 strands of electric wire across the opening of their shelter. The idea being that they try to go outside, get zapped and turn around. This allows all the pigs to become familiar with electric fencing and trains them not to challenge the fence in the future. The training worked and this morning as we fed them outside, they were all hesistant to walk through the doorway; eventhough the 2 strands of wire had been removed.


Now we will be able to contain them in the woods and on pasture through the use of 2 electric strands. The electric fence charger is run by a solar panel and relies entirely on the suns solar energy. The unit itself is very compact and can hold a charge for more then a week without getting any sun. With proper grounding rods and installation the fence will run for 15 miles and be able to contain all of our farm animals.





The picture above shows one of the pigs contemplating whether to come through the doorway and make its way to the trough.


Eventhough it has been raining and snowing all day, we decided to integrate the horses. So far Katie has been seperated on one half of the pasture, away from the others. Today we removed the dividing wires and allowed the horses to interact.


It is a matter of acceptance. The other horses want to let Katie know that she is new and will have to join them under their terms. So far April, who is at the top of the pecking order, has not stood down and her little side kick Moses (the Donkey) is making sure that Katie doesnt get too comfortable too quickly. It might be days before they all settle down.


Below is a picture of Katie after standing up to Moses. Again, the picture quality is poor; I am still trying to fix this. I believe it is due to the fact that with dial up, I am just not able to upload any high pixel pictures without it taking over 20 min per photo.





Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Katimavik


This weekend we had the pleasure of hosting 12 youth from Katimavik, Tatamagouche. They arrived Friday night. While navigating their way through PEI they had followed a dead end road and bottomed out their van. Not only was the road marked "dead end" it started out paved and turned into mud as it became increasingly narrower. Alan and I went to pull them out with the truck and had no success. The 14 passenger van was packed full of luggage and had sunk all four tires into the mud. The neighbours John Deere got the job done and everyone arrived safely that evening.


It was so nice to have them all here, lots of energy and good times had by all. Andy joined us and was nice enough to perform a few songs on top of a big round bale. Thanks Andy.


Sunday and Monday were long days, spent cleaning up the farm and fixing fencing. Without the help of Katimavik we would be doing these tasks ourselves; well into May. Not only did the farm get cleaned up, we managed to stack 4 cords of wood, introduce Katie to the pasture, enjoy a wagon ride and had some good ol' campfire fun. Thanks Allyson and Crew! We wish everyone much success and hope to see you back some time.
Roy




Thursday, April 17, 2008

Mud Mud Glorious Mud

I am trying ever so hard to put a positive spin on this mud which with 2 dogs and 4 cats you can imagine what my poor house looks like.
It is slowly drying up so I'll stop my ranting. Spent the day catching up with chores. The emus will be happy to be back otside which won't happen for a while yet. The sun was in full tilt today so we are making lots of power these days.

This evening Roy and I did some ground driving with Katie this is only the second time she has done this and what with Agnes and Teddy( 2 dogs) running and barking around her feet as well as the other horses kicking up a storm and racing through the snow, she did exceptionally well.

We will introduce her in a sectioned off portion of the paddock next week.

Our natural food regime is kinda getting to me. We didn't come into the house until noon and there were no leftovers to eat so I had to make a quick veggie soup with turnip, potatoes, onion and cabbage I was so hungry. Supper also tends to be very late as we don't finish evening chores until after 6pm or so and by the time we get somehting on the table it's usually after 8pm, not the best time to be eating supper. I am also craving something sweet tonight but will settle for tea and an apple.

After this we shall order our seeds from terra edibles as well as a biodegradable weed barrier that we can cover the whole garden with. It should make a big difference this year.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

such is life on a farm

I have definately been remiss at my blogging duties and happy that roy has kept at it. We have had a busy 2 weeks. I will point form the highlights

1. Rescue of cattle that had fallen into Little Pierre Jacques river.
Aweek ago our neighbour Bill came tearing down the driveway asking for hands as 5 of his beef his cattle were drowning. Roy Jim and myself found ourselves Hauling out 4 live cattle and trying to keep them alive before they succumbed to hypothermia. Two had drowned as we watched on. The local fire dept were called and helped haul them up to the barn. Only one made it through this awful ordeal. The whole incident felt surreal and left us all with such a feeling of helplessnes.

2. Our horse April became caste and we almost lost her.
I went away for the weekend and luckily Roy got up early to find April Wedged upside down between an ice bank and the hay feeder. She must've been there for hours as she was drenched in sweat with her eyes rolling into the back of her head. With the help of the tractor Jim and Roy got her up, she was shaking so badly and almost went down again but after blanketing and being kept quiet she came through this ordeal with a only a lacerated eyelid and some tearing inside her ears as she must have thrashed her head around. Jim called the vet and she was treated with bute, an anti inflammatory and steroid. It truly is a miracle that she is alive as her system could have shut down very quickly. Thank you Jim and Roy.

These two incidents are a lesson that trouble can happen very quickly with livestock and how much we depend on the help of others to deal with such situations.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Trimmed Feet

Today Katie got her feet trimmed. It was a bit of a challenge! The good news is that they turned out a lot better then we had thought. She has gained some weight and is much more relaxed. The manure is slowly releasing from her belly and her coat is much softer, I think we can thank the daily grooming and minerals for that.



I posted pictures onto the slide show. You can also view them in our online album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/PioneerFarm

Enjoy

Friday, April 11, 2008

New Horse

My stay here is constantly full of surprises. 2 weeks ago Jim, Judy and I started talking about a 4 year old Belgian mare up the road. I thought she was beautiful and her size was what I like in a horse, almost eighteen hands.

We knew she wasn't being worked and lived an isolated life doing nothing amongst 120 beef cattle. At some point it had crossed all our minds; "that horse needs a better home". Not that she was being abused or under fed, she just needed someone to work with her.

Judy and I went to look at her one afternoon, she immediately showed us her affection. As she let me handle her I found myself becoming attached.

But how insane, why do I need a horse; how will I pay for all the expenses that come with a horse, not forgetting the purchasing price as well. Where will I keep her, where will I go with her when I move on, how am I going to have the time to train her; can I train her?

All these thoughts went through my mind. After covering every area with Jim and Judy, who were nothing but honest and put a positive spin to the negatives; I walked up the road and struck a deal.

Her name is "Katie View". She is a registered Belgian mare, whose father is a prize winning stallion! She has had no handling and her feet have been neglected. It will take lots of patience and many months to bring her feet back. For the time being we have her isolated in a large box stall. We spend lots of time talking to her, grooming her and are getting her used to being tied.

Before we know it she will be with the other horses and hitched on a regular basis. I look forward to seeing her strength at work!

pictures to come.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Winter Will Not Be Forgotten

I think the we have seen the last of snow, ice and below zero temperatures. This week is supposed to be above zero, sometimes overnight. Jim has been busy with water drainage and driveway rescue; dragging, plowing, blowing and scraping away ice and mud.

The paths we use most are now free of snow, it is so nice to see clay and stone! It certainly gives an uplifting feeling to the farm. The animals spend more time sunbathing and are beginning to snoop around. The horses are rubbing on trees as their winter coats fall to the ground.

Tomorrow the pigs should be running around outside. This will make both them and myself happy; cleaning their pen has become a daily task! I am hoping that they obey the electric fence. Eventhough the electric fence is inside a solid wood fence, it is still important for them to become "afraid" of the electric wire; this is eventually what will keep them inside the woodlot and pasture.

Ice blocks are becoming a priority, if we wait much longer the ice will be gone. Wouldnt it be great to run a fridge off ice blocks all summer. (more on this in another post)

Friday, April 04, 2008

Help From Andy



The picture quality on my screen is poor. I have tried to fix this problem but cant seem to. Hopefully it is better for all of you.....? Let me know.
Andy came and helped us yesterday. Jethro was sunbathing and let Andy give him a big hug. We split some more wood because of this never ending winter (more snow in the forecast) and put up some blankets in the windows of the pig pen. The wind was so strong and bitterly cold that some of the pigs were beginning to shiver.


Today will be 10 degrees. Should be a wonderful slushy mess by this evening!




Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Our Final Grouping Of Many Colours


Here it is on a tuesday morn at 10:30 am amd I am still in my jammys. what bliss, Roy has finished chores on yet another day of fresh snow our friend johnny has just informed me that new snow will help melt the old snow who knew? Jim has taken a trek into Summerside and we shall pick up the long awaited books from the library on straw bale buildings.


Last night Roy and I picked up our final allotment of piglets and apparently the newcomers who are various shades of brown one with a lovely black spot were royally picked on by the others over night. They should all settle down soon.
We have decided that starting today and for one month we shall eat no processed or packaged foods. I am hoping that along with feeling good about doing it and cutting down on our waste, I might even lose a couple of pounds but when Roy presented me with my breakfast of eggs and melted cheese with bacon on the side I was somewhat doubtful of this hopeful side effect. It did taste heavenly. I shall make a vegetable soup for lunch. When I presented this to Jim we agreed that if he decided to get snacks he would do so on his own!