Wine anyone?

FFF Photo a Day - Day 305

Celebrating this Hallowe'en night by mixing up our much anticipated batch of ground cherry wine! 

We've been picking and freezing ground cherries for a couple of seasons in preparation. 

Farmer Phil doesn't want to wait...

Foot rest

FFF Photo a Day - Day 304

Sitting in the barn last night, apparently my foot appeared to be a good roosting spot for this old hen. 

I had no sooner sat down than she hopped up to check things out. #curiouschick

Moonlighting...

FFF Photo a Day- Day 303

We've hit the point in the season where the amount of sunlight is now less than the list of chores to do... so once again we are working in the dark!

Luscious Lily

FFF Photo a Day Day - 302

Lily began sporting a lovely studded pink collar yesterday and has become quite the diva... hogging any attention, oats or photo shoot! 

Purple gems

FFF Photo a Day - Day 301

Spent several days digging up, washing and freezing the last of the beets.

Every time I slice one, I'm amazed at the beauty of each one. Each has its own unique swirl and design that tells a story.

...or perhaps I've spent too much time with beets this week! 

In every nook and cranny....

FFF Photo a Day - Day 300

At this time of year, the house is full of drying bundles of herbs, peppers and greens, hanging off every available hook, in every nook and cranny....

The beet goes on...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 299

The last of the beets came out of the field today... leading to red stained hands, a giant vat of borscht and some happy cows....

Hay day!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 298

Today was hay day... the crisp fall day when we clean out the hay shed of bikes and various other summer odds and ends that have taken over this building during the warmer months, and fill it full of hay bales... ready for the winter.

After much too-ing and fro-ing, the shed is 2/3 full with another load to go to fill it full. This is a picture early this morning before our first load. #walkinglikeacrookedfarmer

Flashy Fowl

FFF Photo a Day - Day 297

Caesar, our resident rooster is doing well out in the back of the property with his select group of hens. 

He particularly likes to pose for pics and actually preens himself when he sees me coming... #flashyfowl #pompouspoultry

View from the post...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 296

A part of rural (and now urban) life is the trip to mailbox to collect the mail. 

For us that means a stop on a windblown corner where two gravel roads meet. 

The view from the post looks over prairie fields towards far off grain elevators in the distance.

Empty nest - ing

FFF Photo a Day - Day 295

Sunday's powerful winds claimed a nest from a high tree in our yard. It looked sad and forlorn lying in the grass.

Given the time of year, we can be rest assured that the nest was long empty and abandoned after the spring hatching.

Waiting on trains...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 294

Living in rural Canada means you inevitably wait on trains... In Manitoba you often can see the train coming from a long way off as it rolls along the prairie.

Trains tend to be long and slow when they cross our road... so you might as well sit and enjoy the wait. 

You turn off the car, crank the tunes and sit back, shutting your eyes to the blinding flashes of sunlight that rhythmically burst between the train cars.

The cry of the train whistle is a note that can instantly transport me back in time and feels like the quintessential Canadian sound. 

I agree with Fred Eaglesmith... "I love trains... fast trains... trains that whisper your name!"

Busy hands...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 293

Farmer Phil and I are glued to the radio and our laptops as we watch the election results roll in... 

Luckily we can keep our hands busy husking ground cherries while we watch history be made!

Four weeks and counting...

Avery lying in the sun, looking dopey but adorable.

FFF Photo a Day - Day 292

For anyone who follows the farm regularly, you will know that Avery, our Newfie cross farm dog suffered a mysterious injury that broke her front leg a little over four weeks ago.... 

Avery came to us from the Humane Society after two unsuccessful adoptions as she became significantly anxious (and destructive) when kept inside. (a kennel or even a house). We felt we might be able to give Avery what she needed... freedom to be outside with an option to come inside on her own terms. 

While she would come and go from the heated barn or garage willingly, it took over two years for her to trust us and come inside the house. 

Needless to say, this injury has been challenging... with orders to kennel her for a full eight weeks, we have had to compromise given her significant claustrophobia. 

After some false starts (bent kennel, destroyed steel door), we've settled on a combination of sedatives, supervised indoor & outdoor time with the remaining time being confined to the garage. 

Tuesday she gets her cast off (we hope) and while her confinement will continue for several weeks hopefully she will have healed well and an end will be in sight! 

Chilly greetings...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 291

This morning greeted me with a somewhat shocking -8C temperature and frozen water lines in the chicken tractors.... (can you hear Farmer Phil giggling in Quebec?) 

Fortunately, I was still able to see the beauty of the frosty morning. The whole yard looked like it had been brushed by a giant paintbrush of ice and diamonds! 

Welcome! Come on in...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 290

Finally got around to putting up a somewhat seasonally relevant display at the end of our driveway.... Happy Friday!!

My favorite prairie road...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 289

Like so many prairie roads... our road is long, straight and covered with various thicknesses of gravel... which at any given time depending on the weather, gives way to mud, potholes or a unique blend of sand and slime that causes all vehicles to slip and slide in a weirdly comfortable yet gut wrenching kind of way. 

....and like many prairie roads, our road leads you by various fields and farmhouses, by barn cats slinking through the corn and dogs that bark and chase the car. Our road leads by friends and farmers alike that offer the inevitable wave or the more subtle lift of the finger off the wheel on the way by...

Our road of all prairie roads, however is my personal favorite.... as it leads me home.

Egg-citing facts!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 288

Did you know that hens will lay eggs even if they never see a rooster? 

Similar to humans, female chickens have all the eggs that they will ever lay in their body when they are hatched and will lay eggs as part of a regular cycle (usually every 25 hours) as long as they are well nourished, happy, stress free hens. 

That being said, laying will decrease or cease for periods of time when depending on hours of sunlight, temperature changes, and periods of molting (losing and re-growing of feathers). Egg laying also decreases as the hen ages! 

Quiet moments...

FFF Photo a Day - 287

If you have ever raised geese, you will know why many farmers keep them as watch animals that can protect their property and raise alarm when predators are around... 

We can attest that geese take this role and responsibility on quite seriously and seldom let you slip by them without raising a cacophony of honking and hissing! 

The other morning shortly after sunrise I managed to capture one of their rare quiet moments...

Harvesting Coriander

FFF Photo a Day - Day 286

One of my favorite herbs is cilantro! I love the smell, colour and taste of the green leafy herb. Even better is when left to go to seed in the fall, it turns into coriander which is one of my favorite spices! 

Simply shaking the plant over a large container or running your fingers through to harvest the small pods, results in a small harvest of tiny fragrant pods which when ground into a powder makes a fresh, wonderful jar of coriander to remind you of summer... all winter long! 

Morning sun...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 285

We were up early this morning with the sun, taking advantage of the good weather to get needed work done. 

We were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise and a warm, bug free morning.

Bittersweet...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 284 

It is always a little bit bittersweet the day we clear the field and till. It means the end of another season of lessons learned, challenges & successes and of course, most of all delicious food.

It also means we can look ahead to a period of more rest and the ability to focus on other things. 

A day of mixed feelings and aching muscles....

Grace's long weekend message!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 283

Grace wants to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! 

May your tables be full of fresh local food grown in a sustainable way, surrounded by friends and family in a spirit of gratitude and generosity. 

Homegrown goodness!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 282

Tonight's homegrown offering is New York Steak on the BBQ and sweet potato fries. 

It is both yummy and rewarding to grow your own food! #whywedowhatwedo

Rescue mission

FFF Photo a Day - Day 281

With frost a more regular occurrence we rescued our rosemary plants and brought them inside for winter. They smell so good!

Harvest means happy hens!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 280

Harvest inevitably means lots of leftover, not quite perfect veggies for the chickens. This makes the girls very happy... and happy hens are a good thing!

Growing strong!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 279

Graceson is growing strong, showing signs of dwarfing his big brother if he continues at this rate. 

He's still quite shy meaning its rare to get a good picture of him. His mom and brother are very protective and effectively keep him on a 'short leash'.

Good times!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 278

During harvest time, there are many late nights bringing in produce from the fields and processing it all once its in.... 

At this time, many hands are needed and appreciated! Yesterday we sat as a group around the kitchen table husking ground cherries. (We are making wine with them this year!)

Thanks everyone! 

Happiness is....

FFF Photo a Day - Day 277

Happiness is a wheelbarrow of turnip greens... at least if you are cow or a goat. 

Tucking it away...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 276

It's that time of year when we begin to tuck away food for the winter season. Our cold storage room is full to the brim with squash, onions, potatoes, and tomatillos. 

What are you tucking away to enjoy when the snow comes? #winteriscoming

Grumpy old men...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 275

We love geese eggs and were hoping that at least one of this year's geese would be a female... however as luck would have it, we believe all are ganders! 

They live out in one of the back corrals and honk and hiss at anyone going by. They are like a group of grumpy old men who fuss and gossip about each other, yet can't stand to be apart! #sillygoose