Week #46 - Tis the Season

In our family, Christmas is a big deal.... 

We plan and conspire all year round to create, search for and find just the right thing for each other. 

Most of our gifts must be made, upcycled or re-used but this year we are also 'allowed' to buy from local stores. 

It always amazes me what we come up. For us Christmas is not a religious ceremony but one built on family memories and traditions.

The season begins on November 12th and lasts to Jan. 2nd. (our poor tree usually has only about two needles left by New Years' Day! 

My No. #2 son showed us all up by making and wrapping the first gift before the tree was even up! 

This weekend saw most of us ramping up the list making and planning and holiday tunes were at full blast! 

Next weekend the tree goes up and the eggnog season begins! What are your holiday traditions? 

Week #31 - A busy week!

Busy crazy week as most summer weeks are around here. We've had visitors all week from around the world! (quite literally). Today we are off to enjoy the corn maze with a crew of eight and have a party tonight with dear friends. So.. going to let pictures be my story this week! 

Got some fencing in! 

Beautiful geese in the morning sun!

The universal language of board games

Double rainbow after it rained again and again! 

Sunflowers are coming! 

Got some funky squash this year! 

Yuki caught a chicken

Our visitors feeding the pigs! 

Hope you have a wonderful week and your home and heart as a full as ours! 

The end of a good day...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 171

Thanks to Taryn for snapping this great pic of the sunset. Today was full of work and waiting... waiting for our visitors from out West! 

This evening they arrived after a long drive and its so good to see them! #family

The Family Farm

FFF Photo a Day - 101

Today we took part in a screening in of a great film exploring a wide range of issues experienced by small scale farmers. 'The Family Farm' is well worth the time. You can check out the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/107501264

After the screening, Farmer Phil took part in a panel and a discussion on the realities of being a small farmer in Manitoba. Another good event put together by Kalynn Spain and Small Farms Manitoba! 

Ripple Effect

FFF Photo a Day - Day 47

Today was spent witnessing a dear friend become part of something I have taken for granted all my life. 

Eighteen years ago, we hosted an German exchange student for a year in our home. Who knew he would fall in love with a Canadian girl, make three beautiful babies and today swear his oath and became a Canadian citizen. 

A wonderful example of the ripple effect of one small decision. 

Congratulations and much love, Florian. 

Everyone helps - yes that means you...

 

FFF Photo a Day - Day 20

This weekend featured a regular chore at the farm - hauling wood from the woodpile to the house. We cheated a bit by using the truck to move the majority of the pile given the location of the stack. 

This task is a family affair with everyone pitching in, in some way. We have a wood stove as well as a fire place in the house and right now use wood to supplement our furnace. 

In the past we have heated the house solely with wood. There is not much better than curling up in front of a wood fire on a cold winter night.

Thoughts about counting days....

The way we look at time is interesting... so much of how we perceive time depends upon our perspective. 

Time seems to go so slowly when we are looking forward to something pleasant, it spills through our fingers when we are immersed in an experience we hope would go on and on and appears to flash by when we are dreading an event. 

Here on the farm we have our 4-H Achievement night in 8 days - something that likely is  being met with some mixed feelings depending upon how ready each of us feels.... This event is the culmination of a year's worth of work for us all - members and leaders alike - and the house is a buzz with preparation. 

This year we have been involved in a wide range of 4-H projects. From blacksmithing to microbiology... from dairy cattle to fashion design - whoever thinks 4H is only about farming hasn't seen the awesome video that Noel made this year... (come to think of it I haven't see it yet either!) 

We are about 75 days away from our first delivery of our CSA (weekly vegetable box) to our shareholders - which we always look forward to with both excitement and stress... made even greater by the height of the snowbanks still on the field! Hard to believe that in 40 days we should be safe to move our plants outside! 

Grace our Dexter cow is due in about 102 days if all goes as planned - which is not typically the case on our farm! Our chicks arrive in 18 days with another batch coming in 60 days. New piglets arrive in 24 days.... we seem to be always counting days around here! All these events will come and go and the rhythm of the farming season will roll on. 

There are other more important days to count however! The days that I am blessed to be alive (15 919) days or married to my best friend (7 623 days) or a mother to smart, funny & healthy children (6 216 days). Yes, time is an interesting thing .... what days are you counting??

Goodnight sweet heart!

Sadly, tonight we said farewell to a loyal friend and constant companion, Tipi! Our dog of almost a decade, she will be sadly missed by all who live on and ever visited the farm. My 10 year old daughter created this fitting tribute to this faithful friend. Good night sweet heart!

Tipi,

Although you were a little bit skippy,

I love you too much to say,

I pray,

That you are in a better place

and you race and race and race

just run,

and have fun.

Although you don’t have a baseball to throw,

You have grandma willow to help grow.

I want you to know we love you so,

Alive or dead,

You had a cozy bed,

And I put it with you,

I hope you enjoyed how we,

Fed, lead and petted your head,

Because I sure enjoyed doing it to you.

We love you,

Taryn.

A family that fences together.... does not always get a lot of fencing done!

 In preparation for the arrival of our new Dexter cattle, the family marched out to do some fencing. We didn't have much time, so all hands were needed! We were reinforcing the current fencing with rails and posts that hopefully would prevent any more dramatic escapes. Last summer. Brutus (Noel's giant steer) had crashed through several portions of the existing fence.

One of the things I love about our lifestyle is the opportunity to work together on these types of projects. The sense of accomplishment and team work that is created is awesome. While we did eventually get the fence done in time.... there was also much fun and often not much fencing actually being accomplished.