Week #33 - Farm welcome!

Mama and Hazel checking out their new digs!

This week we welcomed Mama and Hazel to the farm. Mama is a cross between a Dexter and Swiss Dairy cow and Hazel is her two month old heifer calf. They came to live on the farm this week and ar hesitantly getting to know the other occupants - both two legged and four. 

Graceson was particularly interested in their arrival, as the sole bovine in the crowd. He is a Dexter bull who has been a bit lonely for his own kind lately..... Raised primarily with goats, pgs and chickens, he was having a bit of an identity crisis! He let the entire neighbourhood know of his joy, as he bellowed and hollered into the night!

We are looking forward to the potential for some fresh cows milk in our future but need to help Mama get used the place first!

Week #9 - Patty the pig..

Patty has joined the FFF team! After surviving a treacherous ride from western Manitoba through ice and wind, she has moved right in! 

Patty is a Berkshire/Tamworth cross and is going to a be a first time mama pig some time in April. Female pigs that have not yet farrowed (given birth) are called gilts. After she farrows, she will be a sow. 

She is a beautiful chocolate colour and has large expressive ears. She is used to living with many other pigs so the crew that met her in the barn was a bit of a shock! 

Our Dexter bull calf and nanny goats gave Patty a wide berth to begin with and Chocolate, the dominant female in the barn, even gave up the water trough to this strange new beast. 

As the weather warms up, she will range from the barn and throughout a large corral and hopefully will get used to her new friends. Welcome home, Patty! 

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'.

Brains vs. Brawn!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 256

Sancho (the goat) has realized that he is never going to be as big as Gaston (the bull), but he's a smart little guy so is using the shelter to his advantage. 

After he came down, Gaston decided to try to get up there too, but quickly realized he was too big so decided to try to flip the shelter over! #goofball

Full of spunk!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 255

At two weeks old, Graceson (Grace's son) is full of spunk and growing fast. While he doesn't wander too far away from his mama, he does run and jump and play with the goats once in a while. 

His older brother has decided he is alright and is quite protective. Like all big brothers... no one can pick on his little brother except him! 

Bulls-eye!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 240

The long awaited day has arrived! This morning sometime amidst the storm and heat, Grace had her calf. 

A beautiful bull calf with the wisest old eyes.... Mom is doing well, the goats seem indifferent and big brother is acting out, just like a toddler who has been displaced! 

We are searching for a fitting name that begins with the letter G to keep the bloodline consistent... and we are having trouble deciding! Any suggestions are welcome.

Grace-full!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 225

Our Dexter cow named Grace is pregnant. Based on our calculations she's due in 10 days...

She looks terribly uncomfortable in this heat and has no patience for the bugs ... Tonight I walked out to spray her down and check on things. I swear she said 'thank you'! 

She's big and looks like she's having twins, we have our fingers crossed for a girl! She is Grace-full!

Not just another pretty face!

FFF Photo Day - Day 76

Gaston is a 8 month old Dexter bull calf. Him and his mother have been enjoying the sun and warm weather. 

Meet Gaston

Day 12 - FFF Photo a Day


This is Gaston - our bull calf that was born this past July. He has turned into quite a fur ball and enjoys running around his mom in circles. 

Local folks may have seen him at the AMazeIn Corn in Ste. Adolphe where he hung out for a few months this summer. There he was known as 'Dexter' and enjoyed being spoiled by everyone who came to visit. 

A month ago he managed to get himself hopelessly stuck in the hay feeder and we had to cut him out with the angle grinder. We were pretty worried for a while but he bounced back with no lasting effect. 

For a beastie who is only 6 months old, he's had a eventful life! 

A Day of Grace

Today's photo features Grace, our Dexter cow (she's the black one) along with her current boyfriend that we affectionately call "The Bull" - (we frequently don't name those animals that aren't likely to be staying long....)  Grace is our current mama cow and has given us two healthy calves so far. Not pictured is Gaston - the bull calf that she gave us last summer.

He's likely hiding in the barn! Dexter is a miniature breed, which means that the cattle are much smaller than your more traditional breeds. They are a good dual purpose animal giving you both meat and dairy. We got into Dexters as it meant we could use the same fencing systems for both our cows and our goats as well as ease of handling. While Grace is a good mom, she is a challenging milker... we are hoping that next summer she will give us a heifer (female) calf that may be a bit more amenable to the task! In the meantime, we will continue our daily negotiation with Grace. 

Week #6 - 2014 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - Dog Days of Summer bring Cows?!

This nice long stretch of hot, sultry weather... often described as the Dog Days of summer... has put a smile on almost everyone's face! With the exception of the need to water more frequently, the hot weather is generally good news for all things plant like. The veggies are soaking up the warmth and growing well. Of course, lettuce, spinach and cilantro tend to bolt in this kind of weather which is only a problem if you want to eat them.. ;).

 Our most recent excitement was this week's birth of Grace's calf. If you haven't met Grace yet, she is our Dexter mama cow, who last year around this time, gave us Gwendolyn, a lovely heifer (which is what you call female cow who hasn't given birth yet). This year she has produced a healthy male (bull calf) who we have named Gaston! (big thanks to all our Facebook fans who sent in a multitude of suggested names!) 

Earlier this week, Grace very politely waited until morning, sauntered out to the back field and expertly delivered Gaston on her own. I think Gwendolyn was more excited than anyone, as she ran around, bellowing at the top of her lungs most of the day! You would swear she was announcing her new baby brother to the world! Mama, babe (and older sister) are doing well! 

It is hard to believe it is week #6 of our CSA share this year, meaning we are already half way through the twelve weeks. As usual the boxes are getting heavier each week, as more and more of the root vegetables become ready to eat! This week we have some yummy carrots ready for our shareholders. I've linked up some nutritional information about carrots  - they do more than help you see in the dark! as well as some recipes that you may expand your ideas of what to do with them! 

So... What's in the Box this week?

• Swiss Chard
• Mixed Lettuce/Spinach 
• Cucumber
• Beets
• Broccoli or Cauliflower
• Turnip - full share only
• Kohlrabi - full share only
• Beans
• Peas 
• Kale
• Carrots - New!
• Hot Peppers
• Potatoes
• Herbs (Dill, Oregano, Basil, Chives, Parsley (Curled and Flat leaf)

... and remember we pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be prudent to wash all vegetables when you get them home. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (ice cream pails, plastic containers, etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 

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