A Week On The Farm

    What a beautiful week! Every morning that I wake up and the water hoses are not frozen is a good excellent day! Hauling icy water in buckets to each chicken house is not a fun way to start a day, so please let there be about 100 more days JUST LIKE TODAY! Chilly in the morning, peeling off the sweater by lunch, almost "hot" in the afternoon. Perfect!!

     Peyton and I took a little time to have an afternoon of fun (she did not realize that we were actually working) and I have never heard squeals like that before! It sounded like I was trying to catch a baby pig! It is still hard to believe that 25 years ago we planted these trees and this is the FIRST year that they produced enough leaves that we had to rake them. In retrospect, I guess that the hail brought the leaves down for the last few years and we raked them - but this year we were hail free! It made for enough leaves to have a good, old-fashioned afternoon of play.

     The gardens are just about bare - everything is in storage, or in glittering jars, the last of the potatoes are dug, just a few more rows (about six) of beets - I am about 500% over making pickled beets! One day this week, I went over to "the farm" and helped Dad dig their potatoes and carrots. I went, determined NOT to take any of their veggies, in protest of the ridiculous garden that my parents made Darla and I plant for them. We planted it, Dad weeded it, then they GAVE PAWNED it all off on anyone that came to the farm! I think I have personally canned every single beet that grew in that garden, I think everyone in Pincher Creek has been loaded up with carrots. It was the epitome of a plentiful harvest! As Dad and I were chatting and digging, wedges of geese flew, honking overhead and I could hear the leaves falling off the poplar trees. There could not have been a more idyllic autumn day. Guess what? I ended up with two, five gallon pails of carrots and a 5 gallon pail of beets, in the back of my truck! So much for my resolve!
   As if I do not have enough animals to look after this winter, I also am incubating a new covey of quail for the spring... Mike just shakes his head! It takes 18 quail eggs to make an omelette - ONE OMELETTE! Other than being super cute, they truly are pretty useless birds - he just can not understand, for the life of him, why I feel the need to make more of them. Personally, I just want to try - so that I can move on to bigger and better incubating adventures! (Insert evil laugh).
   This week, the grizzlies that have been romping around our farm have concerned me a little. I am (or was not ) afraid of walking up to the barns after dark, to close doors and shut off lights. I don't think I could outrun a grizzly, while sporting fuzzy slippers and a nightgown, but I sure in the hell would try! The three yearlings that have been living on our farm need to move on - no tasty duck or chicken entrees here! (Please eat the quail, if you are going to eat anything!) I think even a hungry griz would find my dozen quail useless. Extremely grateful for the heavy duty doors that Mike built for me on the DUCK BARN!
    The very best thing about this week is that when it is over - CRESTON HERE WE COME!
   

Mad Cow Disease!

       I still have to pinch myself - I can not believe that it is true, I finally found the PERFECT milk cow! Unfortunately, she was in Alberta Saskatchewan. When we set out, we believed that the farm we were looking for was at/or near Walsh, Alberta, but as we drove by the small town and then crossed the border, we realized that the directions given to us were leading us into Saskatchewan. When we passed by the "Welcome to Saskatchewan" sign, I got "the look" from Mike.

      My poor husband is convinced that I am loosing my mind and have entered into a full blown state of midlife crisis. Why else would I make him drive all the way (over 730 miles, round trip) to another province to buy a milk cow????? As if there are not enough cows in Alberta! And why a milk cow? Even though he was a little skeptical and not as excited as I was, about owning a Jersey, he was still a good sport, hooked up the stock trailer and drove me to meet Rosie.

      Little did Mike know, (or even myself) we were going to the mother ship of small farm animals. The second that we stepped out of the truck, we were met with an assortment of geese, ducks, dogs, llamas, chickens and horses. ANIMALS WERE EVERYWHERE!!! There must have been at least 30-40 breeding pens for heritage chickens and ducks, and I could not even begin to count all the "free range" animals. I am sure by the wild look in Mike's eyes, he was contemplating putting the truck in reverse and peeling to hell out of there! I jumped out as soon as the truck stopped - just so he could not bolt!

      Rosie was everything that she had been advertised to be. As soon as I met her, there was no doubt in my mind that she was coming home with us. I wanted to look around at all the chickens, but Mike knew better (chickens are like crack cocaine to me) and he hustled me out of there as fast as he could - I didn't even have time to stuff even one chicken in my pocket! I did, however, take the ladies business card and told her that I would be back in the spring, when she was hatching chicks!

       Rosie is a cross between a Jersey cow and a black Angus bull.

      She looks very much like the bottom picture, but she has doe eyes like the typical Jersey cow and a little brown hair mixed in with the black around her muzzle and in her top knot.  Most people that would look at her would think she is a beef cow, but she has the milking capability and the sweet temperament of the Jersey. She is the most lovable cow! Actually, I don't think she knows she is not a human! I am pretty sure that if you walked into the house and did not shut the door, she would follow you right inside!

       It has not stopped raining since we got home last night. I am not sure that Rosie likes the rain very much, she is presently standing by the fence, looking forlornly towards the house. I have not been able to go out and take any pictures of her, but as soon as it drys up, I am going to do a photo shoot with Rosie. 

      Now, all I have to do is find a friend for her! I am going to wait an appropriate amount of time and then bring up the subject of a second milk cow to keep her company. I am pretty sure that as long as it is not is Saskatchewan, I have a pretty good chance of getting a second Jersey!! Poor Mike! Maybe milk cows are my next fix! LOL

Autumn On The Farm

        It is hard to believe that summer is over and we are starting to shut the farm down for the winter. It seems like just yesterday that I was planting peas and stuffing colourful annuals into rusty old milk pails and washtubs to scatter all around the farm yard, making endless batches of freezer jam from the prolific strawberry patch and buying fluffy, peeping chicks. Now I am all pumpkin, falling leaves and cold weather sweaters!

       The girls are enjoying the autumn days, pecking around the yard and scratching under the trees for the last of the juicy bugs. Too soon, they are going to be locked in their snug henhouse and there will be no more days of free range bliss.

The fresh snow in the mountains each morning, reminds me that winter is coming and the days of frozen hoses and chilly mornings doing chores are right around the bend! It will not be long before I will be doing chicken chores in total darkness, to be able to be at the workshop on time to start breakfast for the ladies. Oh, I am going to hate that!! But, I know that it is just weeks away! The pumpkins and corn froze the other night, so I can harvest the pumpkins and zucchini this week - they were grown to feed my girls during the winter, to give them something to peck on and pass the long winter days. Boredom busters, so they won't start bad habits in the henhouse, like pecking on their friends and family!

     A couple of times, early in the morning, as I was feeding the ducks, I have smelt wood smoke from our neighbour's place. It is a satisfying, "full circle" kind of feeling. Part of me is ready for winter rest, a slower time, less outdoor work to do, no more "projects" or items on a list. It is getting time to hunker down with good books, photographs from summer activities to scrapbook and my cookie sheets and cake pans. It is time to test recipes. Time to fill the house with the smells of ginger and cinnamon. Time to see all my friends again. 

     But for right now, I am content to wander among the trees (with my camera in hand) and soak in the last little heat rays of the summer, try to capture the falling leaves and listen to the birds as they flock in the grain fields and the honking of the geese as they fall into line behind one another in the classic formation. It is a time to give thanks for all the glittering jars of fruit and veggies, safely stored in the pantry. A time for tidying up the garden tools and storing them safely away until the spring. It is my time! I am an autumn girl! 

      Bring on the pumpkins!

Today was an "interesting" day! Have you ever tried to bandage up a duck? A live, wriggling, squirming and SCREAMING duck? Me neither - until this morning!! LOL

This adventure started yesterday, when I noticed that Peaches had a wing sticking out at a 90 degree angle. A little search on the internet provided the diagnosis - Angel Wing. A condition caused by the duck growing so rapidly that the tender, wing tips twist under the pressure of the fast paced bone growth. A wild duck with this condition would die. Without the aide of flight, to escape predation, a duck with Angel Wing would be... (wait for it) A SITTING DUCK!!!!! ROTFL

Fuzzy Peaches, being a pet duck, could survive with a twisted wing. But she would not be pretty! Her cock eyed wing would stick out and bump on everything, she could be picked on by her siblings, Gumdrop and Jelly Bean, (yes, Peyton named the trio of ducklings!) but most importantly, it would just look WRONG! A quick Google search for a remedy led me to this morning's adventure! The only way to heal a twisted wing is to tightly tape the wing to the ducks body.

How hard could that be? (insert hysterical laughter)

With help from my dear husband (who just might think that I am losing my mind), a roll of green vet tape and two rolls of medical tape, we tried to catch the duck - turns out that even a handicapped duck can put up quite a fight! LOL. Then we had to hog tie  hog tape the duck! Not an easy task, when the patient is biting, hissing, screaming and defecating on you - did I mention that she was trying to rip my face off! LOL

The eventual outcome was one, football shaped, torpedo-ish, bitterly complaining, Muscovy duck. Peaches flopped pathetically around for the morning, refusing to stand or walk. I guess that duck wings must aide them in balance, judging by the sight of my duck rolling around on the ground. And did I mention the SCREAMING? There was a lot of screaming - some of it might have been from me!

Tonight, the tape is still on. Peaches is resting comfortably. I have to leave the tape on for about a week - please, God, do not let that tape come off! I might just not have the stamina to go through that duck rodeo again.

One thing is for sure - if I have to treat another duck, I will wear earplugs!

Oh, my friend... I have wanted to talk to you "one more time", no less than a dozen times in the last few days! You would be so excited to know that all the art supplies that we ordered are pouring into the workshop, you would love the new colours of paint and sprays, you would have been so encouraged to know that all the classes were full...

Just last night, we were talking about the fact that no one can fill your shoes. But, my dear sweet friend, we ARE NOT QUITTING! Everyone feels the same as I do - if we stop creating art, we loose the memory of you. We will not remember what to do when the canvas "goes south". We will not remember where the horizon line is supposed to be. We will not know what to do when our colours get muddy. We have to keep creating, to keep fresh in our mind the lessons that you taught us.

We will miss you asking if we trust you - just before you scribble all over our canvas. We will never forget you telling Jackie that her canvas was f****** ugly. (Insert hysterical laughter) We will miss your comments on our work and your suggestions. Our art will be ugly... it will not be as polished as it would have been had you been here... we will probably swear a lot... we will lament the fact that "it does not look right" and dozens of times a day, someone will say that they wish you were here!

BUT WE WILL KEEP CREATING!! We will not forget your teachings, oh wise one! We will create in your memory. You will be with us, guiding our hands, wiping our tears and laughing at our antics. You will be with us.

FOREVER!

I Am NOT ALLOWED To Go Back To The Auction!

   Early Saturday morning, Ellen and I headed out to the Odd and Unusual Sale in Picture Butte - I think that the phrase "The early bird gets the worm" should be rewritten to say "The crazy, early girls get the birds". There were a LOT of birds at this sale - and a few llamas, a donkey, several miniature horses, a pen of 22 white pekin ducks, lots of cute goats and an ENORMOUS boar (pig) that Ellen fell in love with (??????). I guess there is no accounting for tastes! LOL. And sooooo much more - the pens were full and busting with odd and unusual animals. Limited by the fact that whatever we bought had to fit underneath the topper of the truck, sadly we had to leave the freaking giant pig behind and focus. Weirdly, Ellen is still going on about that pig!

   It was hot! After driving most of the way to Picture Butte in drizzle, the sun came out and the day turned muggy and hot, bad conditions for the hundred boxes of poultry that were sitting out on the pavement. Ellen and I wandered around and marked down the numbers of the boxes that I was interested in - two boxes of quail, one box of bantam hens and the number on the box that contained a mother duck and her fuzzy little ducklings! The sale started right on time and within minutes I was packing away a ox of hens (whose number was NOT on my list). That should have been an omen!

   In the next two hours, I made many trips back to the truck to deposit my latest treasures. Ellen wryly commented that it was a telling state of affairs that the auctioneer knew my number by heart! LOL. #945. #945. Again with #945. Seven boxes later, I realized that at some point I had to go home and explain this all to Mike - who had NO IDEA what a run away I had been on!

   Ellen did not buy the pig. There was no room in the back of the truck for a 500 pound hog! (Because I filled the whole thing!) I ended up with 6 quail, 3 Ameraucana chickens, 2 booted bantam chickens, 3 mixed barnyard hens, a Khaki Campbell duck and her 4 ducklings and 5 Bearded Belgian D'Uccles chicks (only two weeks old). HOLY CRAP! As I was filling out the cheque in the auction office, I was running a script in my mind about what I was going to say to Mike. All possible scenarios ended badly. Not that Mike cares about my poultry fettish, but because most of the critters I was paying for would need pens, coops, cages, nest boxes, roosts... and this is where Mike comes into the picture! You can see my dilemma - it is haying season, how do you ask your husband to stop cutting green feed and start building pens? See my angst? And fear!

   All the way home, I kept praying, "Please let Mike be in the field when I pull in... PLEASE, let Mike be in the field when I pull in." NO SUCH LUCK!! As soon as he saw me pull up to the greenhouse, he was walking towards me and asking what I had done. Then I opened the back of the topper. Held my breath. Closed my eyes. Sent a prayer up to God. Waited for what came next. Opened one eye to see why there was a timed delay. Saw the look of SHOCK on my dear suffering husband's face.

  The whole afternoon, he help build a pen and enclosure for momma duck. I knew that he was as hopeless as I am. A sucker for any baby animal. I gotta love that guy! All he said was that I was NEVER ALLOWED TO GO BACK! By next Saturday, he will have forgotten!

 

 

 

Saturday Adventures

      Every Saturday during the summer break, I have been going on an adventure to the Picture Butte Auction Mart. It is an early start to the morning, we have to be in Picture Butte before 10:00am - the small animals and poultry sell first in an outside ring and shortly after the small animals start selling, the indoor ring starts up as well, with the larger offerings of pigs, cows, goats and the occasional surprise. Peyton has enjoyed coming to the auction with us and she wants to buy everything!! I am SO glad that the auctioneer has turned a blind eye to her frantic waving of our bidding card - she has tried to buy a baby calf, sheep, a miniature goat... she wants ALL THE ANIMALS!!

      Last Saturday, Megan, Peyton and I headed off extra early, snacks and strong black coffee in hand. (I still can not believe that Megan came with me when I invited her!) We were at the sale almost 45 minutes ahead of the start. I had noticed that Jersey calves were being brought in for this day and I wanted to have a little look around before the circus began. For a regular Saturday sale, they had lots of "smalls" consigned - Peyton pretty much stood on her head to peer into the boxes! It was not long before she spotted several boxes of baby muscovy ducks and she was DETERMINED that she was going to bid on them.

     Peyton was also convinced that we needed to buy two little bummer lambs that we noticed inside one of the stalls. I have never seen her as excited as when we told her that she could wave her card "for real" and buy the box of chickens that she wanted and the baby ducks that she had fallen in love with. The auctioneer didn't take her bid at first, but once we made him aware that she was really bidding, he acknowledged her, until she owned three ducklings and six assorted-breed chickens! Peyton could hardly contain herself! Then, some tears were shed when she realized that while we were loading the ducklings into the back of the truck, her little lambs had been sold to someone else.

   In the end, we came come without a baby Jersey calf or the miniature lambs - but there is always next Saturday!!! And guess what? Megan had so much fun that she wants to go back to the auction next week - she really enjoyed herself and was upset that we missed the little lambs. The ducklings cost us a whole $12.50 - not a bad price for a day's entertainment and a summer's worth of fun for one little girl!

   Poor Mike, he does not know what is coming home next! Soon we will have a petting zoo!