Week 21 - Dirty hands, happy heart...

The last week has been exhausting yet satisfying. We put a huge dent in #plant16 and if the weather cooperates next week the greenhouse will be empty. 

While there are some plants that we plant every few weeks, to
keep a fresh supply (lettuce, spinach, peas, beans), the first round of seeding is done and plant are popping up after this weeks' rain. Transplanting of broccoli, cauliflower, onions, squash, zucchini, artichoke, and cucumbers is done. 

We tackled the strawberry bed this week and moved over 400 plants.... pretty good as the bed started with 12 free plants we got from a neighbour a couple of years ago! Their original generosity was paid forward this week as we invited anyone who wanted to come and dig the remaining strawberries up to come and get them. Six or seven households will enjoy a taste of strawberries this year.... never under-estimate how much one simple kindness can multiply and touch many others! 

Mid-week we discovered that a skunk had killed almost a dozen of our young hens we hatched in early spring. The skunk dug under and into the chicken tractor that they were in. Put the temporary electric fence and set up the trap and caught him the following night.. but where there is one, there will be others.  

All the rest of the critters are doing well, our broiler chickens are almost ready to go out onto pasture and we are expecting another batch of broiler chicks and our turkeys to arrive this Friday! The geese are huge and act like godzilla among the smaller chicks. Oliver (the baby goat) continues to thrive and is now down to two bottles a day as he is eating more and more vegetation as he grows. Finally the piggies are doing very well. They are a riot to watch especially when they wrestle with each other. 

We end the week with dirty hands and happy hearts... we are truly blessed to live in a place so beautiful and nourishing. 

Week #17 - A busy week!

As we head into May, we are ramping up for our busiest time of year. This week was a busy one! 

We started the week with a bang when Patty, the pig gave birth to eight healthy piglets. As a first time mom, we weren't sure how she would do, but she did great! The piglets have almost doubled their weight in 6 days and are doing very well. Patty is a very attentive mother and we are planning on moving the crew outside to pasture shortly. 

This week we also rounded up some lovely new chicks from a lady near Dugald. While we are hatching our own, I wanted to explore a few new breeds and bring some new genetics into our flock. Looking forward to watching these little ones grow! 

Our third arrival this week, was Oliver! At a week and a half, he is a strapping young fellow. He and his twin sister are half Nubian/half Alpine. Their mother was struggling to feed both the twins so their owner decided to sell Oliver. We are bottle feeding him of course so back to regular feeding times we go! 

At the end of the week, we managed to get most of our field prep done. We plant in black, biodegradable plastic mulch which heats the soil, traps moisture (there is a drip tape hose running underneath) and keeps weeds away. This weekend we put the mulch down on both fields and smoothed, shovelled and hoed the rows to be sure that all are even and secure. We even got a few of our kozy koats filled up - we put our tomatoes in these waterfilled mini-shelters to give them an early head start. 

Just talking about the week leaves me satisfied and tired... definitely will sleep well! Sweet dreams!

Beware the big bad wolf...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 208

Today three little pigs came to stay at the farm! 

These little cuties gave Farmer Phil a work out to catch them... which was fun in the heat. What should we name them?

The nose knows...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 156

Not that long ago, I was complaining that I couldn't get a picture of our piglets as they wouldn't come close to us... well how things have changed. 

Always curious... and hungry, they come to greet us whenever we are around. 

This one was willing me to pick him the fresh dandelion shoots that were just on the other side of the fence. Which is ironic given that they are in a large open area several hundred square feet in area... full of dandelions! #sillypigs

These pigs are shy!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 118

I've been trying to get some pictures of the piglets for days but every time I got remotely close to them they would take off! 

This is the best I could do today and that was only cause we bribed them with some whey. 

They are Berkshire pigs that live in a large treed area. They are new to our farm so hopefully they will warm up to us (and the camera) in the near future! 

Everyone loves babies!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 116

Had a super day, which began with visitors to the farm to check out the babies. Chicks, piglets and goat baby were all a hit as usual.

Shared a meal with good friends and then worked hard, getting much accomplished! 

Romance & Bacon?

FFF Photo a Day - Day 107

Our regular followers know that Friday night is frequently date night on the farm. Indeed we had that on the schedule when the need to go pick up some piglets interfered. So ... I'm here with Farmer Phil driving west. I've always said that everything's better with bacon...

Bubba and Chunk

Bubba loved to get dirty!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 43

I stumbled upon this picture of Bubba today and thought I would share her story with you. 

Bubba and her sister Chunk were two pot belly pigs who we first met at the AMazeIn Corn - a local corn maze that featured a small petting zoo. Our middle son who was then around 9 or 10 years old fell in love with them, so naturally at the end of the season, we brought them home. Two cute, little pigs!

As you can see they grew into their names, filling out in various directions, reveling in Caleb's attention. Unlike other pigs that came and went on our farm, Bubba and Chunk stuck around from one season to the next. 

Caleb even bred them both as part of a 4-H project and learned many lessons about raising piglets - fun and not so fun.