# Canadiannee - "These Old Ways"



## Canadiannee (Mar 17, 2013)

I've been telling myself for years that I should be keeping a journal - but each year goes by and I don't... almost like those New Year's Resolutions we make but never stick with them! What a GREAT idea to have journaling within a forum, like having a diary that actually answers back! 

To begin my journal, I've decided answering the suggested questions will work for me... Although I've done well responding to posts since joining Backyard Herds this week (I'm usually a "lurker" on forums), I'm actually a very shy person, I never like to put myself out there, and I think answering many of these questions will give me a little boost in confidence! *crossing fingers* So please bare with me while I journey into the world of journaling! 


1.    What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?

_I live in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada which is in the southern part of Ontario. I'm about 2 hours north of the Niagara Falls border and 3 hours east of Windsor/Detroit border. Our climate here is cold in the winters and hot in the summers... but not as cold as our northern Ontario neighbours, which makes me happy... I'm not very tolerable of the severe cold or the severe heat, and would be happy to live with spring and autumn temperatures all year round!_

2.    How many people are in your family? Marital status?

_Oh, I am definitely married, although for a second marriage of 15 years, I still feel like we're newlyweds... something pretty darn wonderful about finding your soul mate the second time around! Right now we are a family of 3... my husband, our youngest son Sawyer and myself... My daughter Rae and her husband Stephane and our first Grandson "B" live in Edmonton, Alberta, and my middle son Caleb lives in Grande Prairie, Alberta..._


3.    How would you define your farm?

_Sadly we lost our farm in the recession of 2008/09 - it was a real turning point in our lives and a very humbling experience, but the losses didn't outweigh the joy we have with our horses and livestock, and thus we lease two properties now; a horse facility for our horses (and take in boarders), and a second property across the road for our horse property which is home to our livestock... Our horse property is small, quaint and cute, lol, and our livestock property is enormous, and definitely not beautiful by any means... it's currently our newest renovation project._


4.    What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?

_Oh golly, I think I am doing what I like to do best... my husband and I are project people, many years in the construction and renovation industry and building and creating is what we do in our spare time... If I took the projects out of the equation, I probably would spend more time riding northern Ontario and camping with our equine babes._


5.    Have you ever built a house, barn , or other types of building? Do you want to?

_Yes, we have built barns, houses and various types of buildings for ourselves and for others when we owned a construction company... Now I'm finding myself leaning towards the small house trend and showing individuals how to recycle and reclaim building materials to build tiny homes and reduce their debt._


6.    Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?

_I remember when I was 18 years old and announced to my father that I wanted to become an underwater welder and he almost had a coronary when he shouted "My daughter is not going to be diving under ships and start talking like a longshoresman"... so I didn't pursure my dream of being an underwater welder and instead enrolled in college to become a Tool and Die Maker... I did learn the basics of all forms of welding during follow-up courses to my trade, but not enough to to call myself an expert... and years, and years after the fact, I'm not so certain I'd trust one of my joints to hold!_


7.    Who or what inspired you to be a farmer/rancher, hobby farmer?

_This one is a toughie... My paternal side of my family have been in the Thoroughbred Racing industry since the 1930's, and my maternal side were all dog breeders... with that much influence, I don't suspect I could of survived childhood without being very passionate about animals and their welfare, care and management. We always had goats, chickens and rabbits on our farm, it was my parents belief that children should have responsibilities, and thus when I married and had children of my own, I wanted to raise my children with the same values and work ethics..._


8     Is it a hobby or an occupation?

_Our horses have always been our hobby... we were a family that rode together, trained together and shared a passion.... livestock was originally a hobby to fill our freezer and keep me supplied in eggs and milk, now it's become an occupation for myself and our youngest son... My husband works outside "barn life" and my son and I run the barns._


9.    In what areas are you knowledgeable and in what areas would you like to learn more?

_I'm an information "junkie", and have my little fingers in too many pots... I guess in some sense, I am a "Jill of all trades, but master of none", so in respect to that, I would like to learn the art of "slowing down"... it might not be in relation to gaining more knowledge, but it would certainly allow me to smell the roses more often!_


10.  In what types of farming will you never choose to do?

_I don't think I could be a chicken farmer... I like having a small flock of poultry and fowl, but to raise and house them on a larger scale, it's definitely not for me!_

11.   Are you interested in providing more of your own food supply?

_I am always interested in expanding my self-sufficent repoirtoire!_

12.   Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?

_I am always living on an off-grid property away from traffic, pollution and excessive noise, snuggled into our small log cabin cooking on my Findlay wood cookstove and looking out the kitchen window to gaze over our homestead. Husband is semi-retired and we're living a life of self-sufficiency and the personal rewards of being debt free!_

13.   Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?

_Farm tractors yes, semi's no... I wouldn't trust me on the road with a semi! _

14.   Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?

_Honestly, we get back to that project information seeker that I am... I have too many craft hobbies to list, and I'm an avid food prepper who enjoys revamping old recipes... Currently I have a leather working studio in our livestock barn where I tool leather and creat custom tack for horses and riders._

15.   Can you legally have all forms of livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?

_Legally we can, although we do have to have a game license for quail and pheasants, and we're limited as small flock farmers to how many animals per flock we can have... We have goats, rabbits, ducks, chickens, quail and pheasants..._

16.   Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?

_Yes to both... having been a Tool and Die maker, I am an experienced lathe operator in metal... but at home here we have a lathe for our woodworking projects_

17.   Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?

_My husband is more the gardener than I am, I'm more interested in the finished produce to can it, dehydrate it and store it!_

18.   Do you fish? Bait or explosives?

_Would it count if I said we had rods and equipment? I have a love hate relationship with fishing... I love fishing for food value only, sitting in a boat or on the shore waiting for a bite tests my patience... I'm not a golfer neither for the same reason!_

19.   How much space/land do you have or rent? City farm? Country?

_Our livestock barn is 10,000 sq ft with 60 acres, and our horses property occupies 5 acres with a 4-stall barn and a 5-stall barn... both on the outskirts of a city which is moving in on farm land._

20.   Are you a Novice, Technician, degreed?

_?_

21.   What is your farm specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?

_lol, our farm speciality seems to be manure! And honestly, I'd like to learn how NOT to produce so much of it! _

22.   If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?

_The possibilities of this question are endless! It would be like creating a dream-job, and gosh, I couldn't decide!_

23.   Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?

_Yes, yes, yes and yes..._

24.   Are you interested in herbal animal medicine?

_I am interested in finding herbal remedies to replace our societies dependancy on pharmacuticals...whether for our animals sake or our own health._

25.   If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?

_I love the Maritime provinces of Canada... New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland. I like being near the ocean, but it's the small town and friendly communities that draw me in... some places feel like you're stepping back in time!_

26.    Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?

_One of my dreams was to learn how to cook and bake on an old wood cookstove... it was a dream I had since I was a little girl when my Great-Aunt had one in her farm kitchen... This past October, my dream finally made reality when I purchased an 1922 Findlay Condor wood cookstove and installed it in our 35' camping trailer that sits at our horse barns... Christmas turkey and all the trimmings were cooked on that stove this year, and I do most of my bread baking on the cookstove while I'm working at the barns each day... It's definitely one of my greatest achievements, and I have nothing but admiration and respect for all woman who lived prior to electricity!_

27.    What would your ideal super hero/villain be?

_My ideal super hero is "Mother"... all Mothers... golly, the hats we wear!_

28.    Are your family or friends also interested in animals?

_I'd say most of our family is interested in our animals, however, there are many friends and aquaintances that come to the barns wanting to see the cute baby bunnies and baby goats, and then ask the question "And what do you do with them?"... and when you say "eat them", the horror begins!_

29.    Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?

_There's not much I don't do in the kitchen... what we produce, we eat in one form or another..._

30.   What was your best animal experience? Worst?

_I've had too many best experiences to keep track of or be able to point my finger and say "That was undoubtedly the BEST!", however, I've only ever had one real "worst" and that was back last July when a tree branch from a large tree on a neighbouring property fell down, crashed into our paddock fence, scaring a 9 month colt we had, who bolted into the heavy metal gated entrance into our arena, flipped over the gate, with his leg caught between gates and shattered both front legs before dying of shock... it was a horrific and tragic accident and a very gruesome discovery, in a million years, I will never forget arriving at the barns that night to do turn in and finding that gorgeous little colt twisted and dead in those gates. R.I.P Harlow!_

31.    Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?

_We have numerous books on forging and hunting, but I suspect it'll be something we'll try come retirement time!_

32.    What skills do you have that help you be more a self sufficient farm?

_I don't know if it's a skill, but I'm going to have to say "Interest"... I am interested in being as self-sufficent as possible, and therefore I am always reading and learning..._

33.    Do you process your own meat? Can or preserve?

_Yes and yes, and I also dehydrate our produce for longer term storage._

34.   Do you use alternative energy sources on your farm? Would you like to?

_At this current time no... but solar and wind power are in our plans for next year._

35    What is on your to do list?

_lol, it might be best to state what is on my "Honey Do" list  Sometimes my husband and I are our own worse enemies when it comes to piling on the projects and having a long "to do" list... Currently we are doing a full structural and interior renovation on the 10,000 sq ft barn, and we just agreed to take on a demolition of a 3-car garage in order to recycle the materials for use in the barn renovation... jeepers, I'm sure if we could squeeze a few extra hours out of the day, we'd take on building the superdome! _

36.   Have you ever lived completely off what you produce? Would you like to?

_No... we've gotten pretty close, but there's just some things that make it impossible, like toilet paper and umm, womanly necessities... _

37.   In what do you trust?

_God_

38.  Do you make and fix things yourself to save money?

_Long live the DIYer! Pre-recession, I was a "if it's broke, replace it kind girl", post-recession, it now goes on the "Honey-Do" list... if it can be fixed or recycled into something else... I'm all for it!_

39.  Has the experience with animals changed your attitude or habits

_I can't see anyone who owns animals or raises livestock not having their attitudes or habits changed... I don't necessarily like getting up at 4am every morning to begin the morn chores, I'm a night owl, I love the quiet serenity and peace I find staying up late while husband and children are fast asleep in dreamland and I can read or work on something quietly by myself... but it's a part of our lifestyle, lol, and if I could teach our animals to tend to themselves, I'd sleep in a few extra hours!_

And speaking for 4am roll call... that's it for me! Sweet Dreams!


----------



## Bridgemoof (Mar 17, 2013)

HI Canadianee!

I enjoyed reading your first journal! I hope you keep at it.  I'd like to hear more about your farm. Besides the horses, what kind of livestock do you raise on your farm now?  I was horrified when I read your horror story of your young colt. That's so sad. We had a 2-year old colt try to jump over a stall door today. It wasn't anything serious, but makes you realize what kind of trouble a large animal like that can get into. Sorry you lost your little colt. 

Look forward to reading more.


----------



## kstaven (Mar 17, 2013)

The pre-recession Post-recession answer really hits home for many here.

Night owl here too. Many times on a quiet summer night I can be found wandering the property, visiting the animals or working on the plans for the next project while there are no distractions.


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Mar 17, 2013)

Really looking forward to reading. Already has the makings to be a real good journal.

That colt story is so sad. Boy that stinks.


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 17, 2013)

Good Morning!

Whew... so nice to hear the words "Off to a good start!" Almost feels like getting an "A" on a Chemistry Exam! 

Thank you to all for the sentiments and words of feelings in regards to the loss of our wee colt Harlow... Oddly, we work with these big animals and we hear so many stories of tragedies like this one, and we KNOW it can happen, but nothing ever really prepares us when it does. God bless our wonderful neighbour on the adjoining property... when he heard what happened, he came over and cut his tree down... he didn't have to do that, the tree was well within his property line, and it was the only branch hanging over the back paddock fence at about 30ft high...but he took it down anyways, he was just as devastated at the loss as we were... a very caring man!

Oh gosh, haven't most of us changed our ways since post-recession? lol, we use to live in a 5,000 sq ft home on 45 acres, and now we live in a city apartment and lease two barn properties... we use to think we had our savings locked away and we were set up for semi-retirement, lol, now we're not! Going into our 50's, we can't build that kind of "empire" again, these years were suppose to be about "becoming a couple again" (after raising our children and seeing them off into their adult lives)... but despite huge losses, and starting all over again, I suspect in many ways, it feels good... admittedly, theres a small amount of bitterness, I mean the construction industry which is our bread and butter hasn't totally recovered, but there's also much excitement there too. It as a humbling experience, and truly changed our idealogies to what made us happy... in the end, it wasn't about the trinkets and toys we owned, it wasn't about the new trucks and cars that came with new price tags and new car insurance, the big house and devine property, nor all those things that creates our debts... it was simply about being a family, and loving what we do. lol, And besides... do you know how much time I have for other projects now that I'm not sucked into cleaning that massive house?!?! I mean four bathrooms! C'mon... who on earth likes cleaning toilets! *cheeky grin*

And on that note I really do have to scadaddle... now that the snow is melting, there's paddocks to rake at the horse barns and a couple months of manure underneath the snow to haul back to the manure pile! UGH! 

But I leave you with these pics....

Horse Property (picture taken from the livestock barn across the road)







And big ole barn picture taken from the arena at the horse barns (and youngest son Sawyer and his girl Summer)






Wishing you all the BEST in your day!


----------



## alsea1 (Mar 17, 2013)

Your writings are interesting.
It looks like you guys are coming out of the melt down okay.  You still get to live the life for the most part.
I look forward to hearing more and seeing more pics of your place.
LOL Its the only way I get to travel theses days with gas prices like they are. Via pics of where others are.


----------



## jodief100 (Mar 17, 2013)

This is going to be an interesting read.  What a lovely place and your son and his horse are wonderful.  We didn't loose our place in the recession but it did remind us what is important.


----------



## bonbean01 (Mar 17, 2013)

Enjoying your journal and love the photos!  You are not that far from my son...he lives in London, Ontario.


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 18, 2013)

Thank you to each of you for your kind words and sentiments... you sure know how to make a girl feel welcomed!

Bonbean - We're not very far from London at all... maybe an hour and 15 mins. We were just out that way in February picking up a goat... does your son farm up here?

lol, Today didn't start off as a good day... I was filling water bottles for rabbits, got distracted in thought and when I heard the water rushing too fast to the neck of the bottle, I jumped to turn off the valve quickly, hit the side of my head on the door frame of the pump room and felt something sharp stab into the inside of my ear... a little piece of the insulated aluminum flashing used inside the pump room was sticking past the doorjam and just my luck, when I jumped and brought my head up, the corner of the flashing gouged into my ear canal... 

Did I stop work and clean it? Noooooooo... fool that I am! Instead I just went on working for another 9 hours. So now at home, I can feel the beginnings of an infection beginning to brew. *rolling eyes* 

Wound cleaned, ear drops are in, but golly, how completely silly was that?! How many times do we chide our loved ones about proper wound treatment for themselves and the animals we keep, and here I didn't even follow my own precautions! *sigh*

Other than the hiccup at the start of the day, the rest  of the day went well, there were a few glitches in measurements for the layout of horse stalls for the old barn, and because I am doing this barn renovation out of completely recycled materials, I came up short on one set of bars that were suppose to be used for the end of the last stall... now I'm up to my knees in a pile of old metal gates found laying under heaps of barn debris that have been laying around for centuries (ok, maybe decades!) and improvising... I have to come up with enough bars to fill in a 5' section for the end stall wall, and the three walls between a row of four stalls at 3 1/2" centers.... so it's just me, my grinder, a metal cut-off disk and a few muttered swear words! (very, very cold fingers!)

Ironing out these glitches has taken my mind off a few "life-as-we-knew-it" decisions I have made recently... Over the last 3 years, I've re-homed all but 4 of our horses... The economy was tough, the children grew up and went off onto lives and starting families of their own, and who keeps 14 horses for three riders in this economy anymore? We kept my husband's gelding, one of our youngest son's mares, as well as my one of my mares and my pony... but sadly I've had to give up riding recently (accident and an illness has taken that enjoyment away from me), and I dislike going to the barns every day and watching my fiesty girl becoming a lawn ornament... it's a waste of a talented mare, and thus I've decided to sell her because she needs a job. It hasn't been an easy decision, I bought this girl as a two-year-old and I've had her for 7 years... she's also my last thoroughbred mare from my family's line of tb's, so I have a lot of sentimental feelings for this girl.  

With the decision to sell Lady, I also began to wonder if maintaining a whole other property for just 2 horses and 1 pony was worth it... I mean just in lightening the work load, it isn't, and with that thought alone we have now made the decision to put everyone under one roof (hence working on stall walls today) It's been almost four years since we had to let go of our farm, and to bring all our animals and my studio under one roof again... simply said... "Wow!" lol, gosh, with the money saved, and no longer taking care of boarder's horses... maybe my husband and I can actually have a night off and be able to afford to go out to dinner! Wouldn't that be something! *cheeky grin*

And on the livestock front... I lost one 3 day old bunny from a litter of 9 today... I had my suspicions this one wasn't going to make it, it was tiny and feeble, but I hoped it would, and it didn't... mother nature's way of self-culling... I also have a pygmy doe who's pregnant but I have no due date for her. I bought her and a pygmy buck from a young woman who had purchased them from a friend, and decided she didn't much fancy goats after owning them for 3 months... Wellllll the doe (Prudence) is definitely pregnant, I've been watching her belly grow, and grow, and GROW and I'm figuring since I've owned her for 4 months now, those babies have got to come out sometime within the next 30 days!... lol, I betcha they (Prudence and Angus) bred the day before I purchased them, just to keep me in suspense!  Goats... how can anyone NOT love 'em?!

After working on stalls for a bit, I drove over to the horse barns and worked a bit with my pony... I purchased Alice the beginning of October when I finally accepted that it was highly unlikely I'd be able to ride again... It's hard watching my boys (husband and son) saddle up and head out without me... raising our children on horseback was some of the most precious moments of my life, and I'm just not willing to give it up totally. I had to think long and hard on how I was going to continue being a part of our equine lifestyle... and thus I decided it was time to revisited my driving skills from 30 years ago and go the route of pony and cart... small enough that I can still adventure with them on the groomed trails, and on the trails I can't cart, there's always sticking to the roads... it might not be a perfect solution, but it's better then sitting on the tailgate of the truck reading a book and waiting to serve tailgate brunch! 

Alice and I have a LONG way to go... so no hoping for pictures of Alice in harness and hitched anytime soon! Alice's and my training exploits are always news in the community... tricky little pony that she is! But I've got her number now, lol, I just have to figure out if she's got mine!

Alice and my husband Rodney







And that's where I am leaving it tonight!

Best Wishes for your tomorrow's!


----------



## bonbean01 (Mar 18, 2013)

Ouchie on the ear!!!!  Hope that heals quickly 

Alice looks like the perfect project 

And no my son doesn't farm...wish he did that instead of doing that commute on the 401 every day...scares me!

I miss riding horses too..grew up with them and had them while my kids were growing up.  My Dad and I trained...hate the term breaking in...horses and I managed to ding my lower back up pretty good.  So, now I no longer ride or have horses and I do miss it.  Horses were a huge part of my life and I'm glad I had that


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 18, 2013)

Ewww the 401 traffic... yep, I'd be wishing anything but that for anyone! I dislike hwy's to begin with, but the 401 and the 400 do a number on my nerves.

Yeah, I think I'm finally hitting the acceptance stage of life... you know those years when your children have finally grown up, fledging for lives of their own, and everything as you knew is changing... the time when you're becoming an empty nester, and you're not quite sure what to do with the time you use to devote to raising your family? And the fact that you're getting older, have more aches and pains then you had the previous year, and the year before that, and you're not able to do all the things you use to do with the same fluidity of agility and grace? lol! 

I am sure I'll be super content with switching to driving once Lady is sold... it's that going to the barn every morning, gazing across the paddock, looking at my girl and wistfully thinking, "maybe next year" despite the reality that physically I just can not do it anymore... and that's just another part of accepting "life's changes" isn't it?

Today was not a barn day for me... wonderful son Sawyer went out at 5am to do chores at both properties, and equally wonderful husband is stopping in on way home from work to feed, turn in and close up... it's been a very quiet day, I took the dogs out for a walk, but the temperatures out there are blistery and when the dogs are rushing to get back inside, you got to know it's a cold one! 

I have my bread dough rising, but haven't really done much else since I woke up this morning... I'm just feeling super duper lazy today!


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 19, 2013)

Today was one of those "good day, bad day" scenerios... A VERY good day that I had finally finished tooling my husband's new belt (considering it was suppose to be his Christmas gift!) and a BAD day because out to the barn I went and discovered two 9 week old kits we kept back from our last litter displaying signs of mucoid enteritis.  

This is the first time I've encountered it in one of my litters but have witnessed it happening to some of my fellow rabbitry owners... some have had success treating it and others haven't... but we're going to give it the old college try. So packed up the babes and brought them home. 

Oh, and lucky ducky us... MORE snow! C'mon Mother Nature... paint me a new landscape of tulips and daffodils, I'm kinda getting tired of the winter landscape!

My husband's finished belt - all he wanted was his gelding's name and acorns and oak leaves







Closer up details


----------



## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Mar 20, 2013)

Sorry about the kits 
Wow! Did you do that!? Its beautiful!


----------



## Symphony (Mar 20, 2013)

That belt is great and lazy days seem to happen more the older I get.


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 20, 2013)

Thank you CochinBrahmaLover - Definitely very sucky over these two kits... but you prepare for the worst and hope for the best right? They both made it thru the night, and both looked a little more bright eyed at 6am this morning, but still grinding teeth and feeling sloshy inside... not as dismal looking as I've seen some at friends rabbitrys, so can only do my best, and cross fingers!

And thank you for your compliments on my husband's belt... I enjoy working with leather, ok... lol, a little more than "enjoy", I like it enough that we've built my new leatherworking studio into the old barn renovation. I wish I had taken the "before... BEFORE" pictures of these rooms in the addition of the old barn... both these areas were about 4' deep in years of accumulated manure and straw... old metal penning, chicken wire up to the ceilings, and dust webs hanging down to the floor... not pretty at all!

This is the wall we've just built to divide my studio from the rest of this part of the barn... since most of my leatherwork is western tack, I wanted the 20' x 40' room to look like a bank of stall fronts... each metal panel has been placed opposite to where windows are on the barn's outside wall to continue allowing the natural light into this part of the addition... it's far from done yet, still have to add a faux beam across the top of the wall, paint the bars and stain the recycled wood before moving my studio in... but with the change of plans for our equine lifestyle, we had to jump to the back half of the addition and start laying out horse stalls.

I haven't fully decided what I'm doing to the other side of this front half of the addition yet... right now there's a 20' x 40' pen there wintering my pygmy goats until their area in the original structure of the barn is completed... In this barn project, I have to keep shuffling the pygmy's, boers, and rabbits around as we tackle the structural repairs needed on the barn and build in their permenant areas... Old man winter isn't making it easy! 






This is the back half of the addition after we tore out all the metal fencing and brought in the front end loader and cleared it... All the supporting posts were rotted where they were buried in in manure... and all that debris scattered around and up against walls in this picture is everything we either pulled down or found buried in this room... DEFINITELY was NOT one of my favourite tasks for this renovation! Simply said.... YUCK!






All the most recent pictures of what we've done on this area are on my husband's phone, but this picture gives a visual on where we're going with this back half of the addition... we're running 12' x 12' horse stalls up along the stone wall of the original barn and the other side of this area will house a feed room, wash stall and tack cupboards with a large open space for grooming and tacking up... This barn is being renovated back into usefulness by using totally recycled materials... lol, it's been a challenge, but a rewarding one. When I think back to all the waste materials we took to landfill from the countless numbers of kitchen, bathroom and basement renovations we did for clients, I certainly hope Mother Earth is going to forgive us a little when we get this old beast done!! 






Symphony - isn't that the truth of it! When I wake up in the morning I think I'm still 19... and when I move to the side of the bed and my plant my feet on the floor, I am very much reminded that I am not! ooooer... this body just needs a rest some days! 

Wishing everyone the very best in their day!


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 24, 2013)

Today I am a VERY happy camper! The sky is bright, the sun is shining and it looks like my two kits may have survived their 'bout of mucoid enteritis. (and I may have survived my first time experiencing it too!)

I am absolutely floored... they've come thru looking very little "worse for wear"... a wee bit of lost coverage on their spines, but that's it... 5 days of treatment, and their bottoms are clean, they've started back to eating hay and rolled oats yesterday, and they've got some nice little round bunny droppings happening again... what a relief!

As I said in an earlier post, I've never had a litter come down with enteritis or an adult rabbit for that matter, but I have witnessed many of my rabbit friends and aquaintences suffering great losses to this bacterial infection and most told me to cull them... I have to admit, by Wednesday morning I almost did... I was ready to give up... they looked miserable, I felt miserable, and everything I read about mucoid enteritis and treatments from various authors seemed to contradict each other... not to mention that many of the medications and products mentioned or advised for treatment were not available in my country... that made me feel even more helpless in any quest to try and save them.

I'm sure my treatment may spin a few heads... it certainly wasn't vet advised, however, for whatever it's worth, it seemed to work for these two... I used a combination of Alka-Seltzer, Tetracycline 250 and Kefir Milk - 2x per day. 

With the amount of fluids we were syringing into them morning and night, they didn't dehydrate, and weight loss throughout the 5 days was very minimal... I'm not going to say they're out of the woods... I haven't started them back on pellets yet, I'm just enjoying seeing them both bright eyed and hopping around their cages with energy and curiousity... a far cry from the bloated tummies with the distinct sloshing sound of fluid, the grinding of teeth, the listfulness and the liquid bunny poop and masses of clear mucus coming out of their nether regions... 

On the goat front... I still believe we have a couple weeks before we're being seeing any kids coming out of Prudence... she's getting bigger by the day and more uncomfortable, but her ligs are still tight and no changes to her vulva... I'm very much for planned breedings, I like having a due date on my calendar to reference to, and purchasing a "may be bred" goat gets me anxious... 

I have a showing scheduled at 11:30 tomorrow morning for my tb mare, and thus my brain is in active mode and although I should be sleeping, I just can't seem to make it to bed... It's the anxiety... she's an incredible mare, and I've listed her at a price to sell... anyone sliding onto her back and picking up those reins will know instantly that they've come upon a wind fall... why is it so hard to say goodbye, even when you know you're doing the right thing?

And on that note... this girl has got to go to bed! Sleepy or not, I can't be staggering my way thru tomorrow on a couple hours sleep! 

Wishing you all the BEST of your day tomorrow!


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Mar 24, 2013)

Congrats on your kits looking like they are going to make it!!!!!    Lol, I will keep your treatment mixture on hand incase I run into the same problem!
Good luck showing your mare tomarrow!
Oh, and I love the belt! To bad we dont live closer, it would be awesome to see you at work!!!!!


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 24, 2013)

Hey Four winds Ranch  Gosh you just never know who may turn up on your doorstep one day! lol, Oldest daughter, son-in-law and gorgeous grandson "B" live in Edmonton, and other son "C" lives in Grand Prairie, so there's always that wistful thinking that we should (or could) move west, but golly, if I cursed out Ontario's cold winter temps this year, I took one look at your even colder temps and thought "Those poor, poor people!"  (I'm truly a wuss when it comes to the cold!) And thank you for the congrats on wee "Soot and Smudge's" journey to recovery... I woke up this morning to bright and white "bunny bottoms", empty bowls and a large amount of firm (but not too firm) bunny droppings... it was like winning the lotto! (Except instead of winning money, we may have won the saviour of two babes lives)

I'm fairly certain their recovery had more to do with luck then any degree of medical knowledge when I tried this combo of alka-seltzer, tetracycline and Kefir milk, so I won't be writing this up as a cure in my folder of notes anytime soon... Indeed, I had to wonder if the ASA in Alka-seltzer would kill them, but I was working on some well thought up (or perhaps imaginary) theory that Alka-Seltzer would help eliminate the pain and reduce the bloating.... lol, and just the plain fact that my Momma use to make us drink sodium bicarbonate whenever we had sick tummies and we always felt much better afterwards! 

We didn't show Ms. Mare today... sadly, the young woman coming out to meet Lady lost her Grandmother unexpectantly in the wee hours of this morn (condolences to her and her family) and has rescheduled for next weekend... In the meantime, a talented rider (and friend) we've engaged to exercise Lady and handle her showings/sale has now found herself smittened by the red-head mare after putting her back to work this past week... It's been really wonderful watching Lady working again; to watch her collect, to extend, her lead changes, her side passes, and that head toss she does when you reach down to pat her neck for a job well done, as if to say "I already knew that!"... it's odd watching these movements under someone else's hands, and at times standing by the fenceline, I close my eyes and can still feel those horse muscles under my legs... I know her movements so well, I know from a distance when she's being testy, and I know when she's relaxed and pushing for more... and I also feel in my heart of hearts, that the woman who is handling her sale will probably be the one to buy her... there's a connection between the two of them, I don't think there's any words in my vocabulary to describe it except maybe "magic". 

Today wasn't a work day for either Missy and Lady or our son Sawyer and his mare Summer... instead they took the mares into the arena riding bareback and frolicking in the snow and the sunshine together... gosh, the temperatures were glorious today, and I hope Mother Nature isn't faking us out this time... I don't want to see those day time temps doing anything but go up, up, up from now on... simply said "Good-bye old man Winter!"

After putting Lady and Summer away, I decided to bring my pony Alice out and tackle an issue that's been very distressing for me... I've come to a major roadblock in her training, and I don't want to push further until we correct this... it makes her down right dangerous.

My wee little Alice has a tremendous fear of bags... and it's not a "little" fear, it's a trembling "bag gonna eat me" bolt and run for her life fear... a bag rustling in the wind 500 ft in the distance will send her into instant panic mode... honestly, I have never come across an equine who has this kind of WAY over-the-top reaction... you know those old equestrian cartoons you often come across with the little pony jumping off the ground and landing cradled in their rider's arms... well that's my girl Alice! Oh, how the ladies and gents in our horse circle laugh and razz me about my little pony... our battle with those evil pony eating bags is becoming legendary... No one greets me with "Hey Annie, how you doing?" anymore... it's "Hey Annie, another bag eat Alice?" *rolling eyes* 

So what do you do when you're stumped and have exhausted decades of horsemanship knowledge to get one wee 10hh pony to accept a crumpled up plastic bag within 10 ft of her space... well, you hand the lead rope to another trainer and hope to heck they have something in their arsenol of techniques that you haven't thought of or tried... lol, it didn't happen today though... Nope, instead I had one very muddy pony and one very mystified trainer!

And no work for me at the big barn today... nope, not me, I had to come home and pick clods of muck out of my hair... who knew such tiny hooves whizzing around an arena could kick up so much mud!?!?!

One of Alice's mild reactions - son Sawyer walking her down the road and a plastic bag blows across road from adjacent field... silly, silly pony!







And as always... Best wishes for your day!


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Mar 24, 2013)

I am not sure what methods you use to teach/train your horses, but if she were mine, I would tie her up to something sturdy. Brush her for a bit and then touch her with a bag. If she jumps around, I would keep at it until she realize that bags don't hurt. Then  the next day, rub the bag on her body, all over if she will let you. Once she stands for that, tie her and tie bags to fence post around where she is so she gets used to them. Over the days when she is tied, put bags, and do with bags, anything she might come across, and let her realize that they don't hurt hores!
That is my method, it might be a bit old fashioned, and maybe you have already tried it.
Hope you can figure out how to help Alice!!


----------



## Pearce Pastures (Mar 25, 2013)

Beautiful belt!  You are talented.  And I see you are a fellow barn remodeler.  We are in year three of our project   I just love old barns, but they are a lot of work to keep alive.  

Glad to hear the kits are doing better.


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 25, 2013)

Four Winds Ranch... nope, lol, I can not say your methods are old fashioned, indeed, I think you and I might be "kinfolk" in many ways!  Little Alice has been thru every bag desensitizing trick in my 40 "something" years in the horse industry... I won't tie her to a solid object tho, her reaction and fear of bags is too over the top... I've had to rehab a few horses that were sent to us after tearing neck muscles from a solid tie, so we always train by hand or by a special hitch ring that is designed to release pressure on the line (give them slack) if the animal reacts, and therefore takes away that fear driven "fight or flight" response... but other than having a different approach on this part of the equation... lol, everything else you suggested is "spot-on" to where we've gone with this wee black beauty.

She spends her day in a small paddock with bags of every shape, colour and size tied around every fence post and top rail, she has same pony eating bags hanging in her stall... she gets rubbed down daily with bags (a permenant part of her grooming kit), we have put her in a surcingle and tied bags to her, walking her by lead and also letting her run loose in the arena to work it out, she's been walked thru narrow gates with bags on gate and posts... we have put bags in her corner feeder and dumped in her feed (she won't touch it), we have sliced open feed bags and stuffed them with her night hay... lol, the hay is always still in the bag, and the bag is exactly where it was put in her stall the night before... I'm starting to believe I won't ever need to invest in fence posts and wire to contain her in the new paddocks being built at the big barn... just stake bags into the ground in a large square and she will not cross the line! *laughing* I know I am making humour out of the situation, but in 6 months, there hasn't been much we haven't tried... It doesn't mean we're not going to nip this in the butt, it just means we have to find that overly reactive switch in her brain and turn it to OFF,  OFF, OFF! She's a very sensitive girl to begin with, not very confident and always attaching herself to your hip and seeking reassurance... she's done beautifully with every other aspect of her training these last 6 months... from a 3 year old who had never been halter broken or handled (running wild in a pasture with other ponies) to sheer delight to work with (other than this bag issue) each day... but until we get this bag worked out, there's no way I'd even consider hitching her to cart.

The running joke in our circle of horse people is that I have been bested by a "pony"... you see, I have never much liked ponies or miniature horses for that matter, and my friends and aquaintences have known my views for decades... and please no offense to those who love 'em, because I myself have now converted! lol, I love, love, LOVE my pony! However, in the past, I just found them to be rather expensive lawn ornaments... but life changes, situations happen, and even the most unrelenting and vocal views (as my own were) have the ability to be altered... so yes, I am taking a good hearted razzing over my exploits with Alice, and after allowing me to flounder and wallow in what was once smugness, the calvary are descending, and hopefully with all our combined experiences and methods, we'll find something that works for wee Alice. LOL! I have no problem admitting when I'm tapped out of knowledge!

Thank you Pearce Pastures for your kind compliment... I was extremely happy to finish that belt for my husband, poor man... husband to a leatherworker and he's got his pants hitched up with a Walmart Special!  Oooer... 3 years on your barn project?! Golly, I'm hoping in 3 years I'll be finished this one and preparing to build off-grid on some sweet little acreage on the east coast, sleeping in my little Tumbleweed home and living off love and the land!  And on the serious side... I "get" the 3 years and still going at it... Holy Krumba, open up one wall to fix one structural issue and find a kazillion other issues that need to be addressed first! But yes, there is something oh-so rewarding about breathing life into these old barns isn't there? I stand in the hay mow and gaze up at the holes in the roof and can't help noticing every notch in those big hand hewn timbers and being in utter awe over the structure and the craftmanship... it's a far cry from our cute modern horse barns, but the big old barn suits my personality much better... as ugly as unkempt as she is right now, she feels more like "home"  I'd really love to see pictures of your barn!

The Soot and Smudge are still improving... we're not moving them back to the barn for a week or so... I don't want to stress them out after recovering from enteristis and here at home I can keep a better eye on them should one or the other regress... It's not a barn day for me today, nope... it's bread day! Although, I'm not being very quick to get my dough started and rising because I've been too absorbed in catching up on recent posts at BYH this morn... lol, you wonderful people are soooo distracting!  (in a great way of course!) I think today also calls for chocolate cake! Nothing like chocolate cake to sooth the Monday ho-hums... or is that the Wednesday hump-days... gosh, perhaps I should bake two! 

So as always wishing you all the BEST in your day!


----------



## Pearce Pastures (Mar 25, 2013)

LOL, yeah three years.  It is a two story,150 year old wooden peg building and it had been neglected for awhile.  Year one was practically just cleaning it out (it was loaded with old hay, animal remains, junk and garbage from previous owners).  It was a mess.  Now the roof has been replaced, walls rebuilt, support beams installed, and we are on to saving for siding and paint.  

So how long does a belt like that take to make?


----------



## promiseacres (Mar 25, 2013)

Makes me jealous to hear about your barn! I gave up 2 horse barns when we moved....we too did a ton of work to make them. usable again....  but maybe someday we will either build one or move somewhere with one already there.  For now will make due with shelters and sheds. Alice sounds fun i hope you can get thru to her about the bag thing. Never fun to sell a friend but sounds like you mare has some good options


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 26, 2013)

150 years old... gosh where's your "brag album" Pearce Pastures? Old wooden peg barn, c'mon no teasing... show, show, show... I want to see what you've accomplished thus far!  Ouch, one full year to clean her out? UGH, I can only imagine what you were finding in the debris just going by the decades of stuff we've been finding... lol, I haven't found any buried or hidden treasure yet, but I'm still fantasizing about what I'd do with it if I did!   

Tooling my husband's belt took maybe 10 hours... a little longer than normal because I was working on it between projects, but it's just a simple straight leather piece... he didn't want any bling or pizzazz, no fancy belt buckle or belt tips, no silver, no stitching... just his geldings name, and a simple oak leaf and acorn design... Depending on how intricate the design, or whether you're designing in cut-outs, backing and stitching, many more hours can go into a belt. 

But I enjoy it immensly... I use to be a 1/12th scale doll artisan, put to mold and then poured in porcelain... Leatherworking is much more useful to a larger range of clients then designing doll art to sit on shelves and become dusty! *laughing*

These are just two examples of my dolls... this first one is Lucille O'Ball, and the second one is Motor Molly... both these dolls stand 5 1/2" and were both designed for my International online workshops... I retired from doll art in 2006, lol, and had to find something else do to... leatherwork just seemed to fit my lifestyle better! 












Promiseacres.... ooer, don't I just love your username! There HAS to be a story behind it... do tell! Gosh, I so hear you on the "giving up" part... it's truly a kick in the pants when you move, and you have say goodbye to all the hard work you put into a renovation to make an old barn uniquely your own... Lucky for us, we're not going into this barn renovation with any notion of permanance, it's just part of a 3 year plan in getting ready for the retirement years. And hey, I like shelters and sheds... I find my critters to be healthier running them in pasture all year round rather than to cooping them up in stalls or in a barn during the cold months... specially our horses. 

And speaking of horses... Saturday was a gorgeous day... it wasn't a working day for the horses, but who could resist romping in the snow on a day like this? This is my red-head mare Lady, and the girl riding is the young woman who is exercising her and handling her showings and sale... Lady's not doing too bad for an equine babe who's been on a rather long hiatus, she still knows her stuff, a little rusty, but she's been eager to get back to work... it'll be sad to see her go, but watching her this week has done nothing but strengthen my decision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tof9jfEsbx0

I decided against baking two chocolate cakes... instead, I made one cake, and baked two loaves of chocolate swirl bread, along with my regular white loaves... hungry boys and neighbours came over, and the cake and one loaf of chocolate bread disappeared faster than you could say "Rumplestiltskin"... I then made the mistake of mentioning the words "homemade pasta" and my boys have decided to hold me to it for tomorrow night's dinner... lol, I dehydrated about 100lbs of tomatoes last year along with the usual canning, so I think I'm going to make a tomato pasta with a light cream sauce... and if I change my mind by mornin' (which I often do!), I can switch it around to regular pasta with a tomato cream sauce!! Don't you just love having all this knowledge of self-sufficiency and a stocked pantry to boot! *laughing*

And as I always say - here's to wishing each of you the BEST in your day!


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 28, 2013)

Seriously? More snow?!?! Ok... albeit, not a LOT of snow... a smattering of maybe 1/8th of an inch of the ground.... but still, we're mere days away from April 1st, and I'm craving green grass, warm temperatures, daffodils and tulips... no more of this white stuff please! 

Haven't journaled in a couple days... not much going on here... ok, re-evaluate and re-phrase, always heaps going on, just nothing that is incredibly newsworthy!

Soot and Smudge have recovered from their 'bout of enteritis... Smudge is full of vim and vigor, back on her pellets and ready to go back to the barns this weekend... Soot however, is coming along a little slower... it took him a couple days to get his full appetite back after treatment, and he's just started to eat pellets today... an extra week at home should bring up to picture perfect bunny health and then he can return to the barns too.

First time Momma "Lightening" is doing wonderful with her kits... she had a litter of 9, but we lost two within a few days of kindling... she's such a friendly doe, almost proud to show off her babies, and always at the cage door waiting for someone to stroke her head and scratch her ears before she scampers off to eat her morning hay or evening pellets... so unlike an up and coming "savage" doe our son named "Ms. Toffee" (we could have 10 does or 100, and Sawyer always has names for each of them) I've sworn a few times she's going in the slow cooker... You open that cage door and she comes at you with claws out and teeth bared (not a pleasant experience 2x per day) just nasty and vicious that one! While thinking of rabbit stew for her, I am reminded of how much feed dollars have gone into her to bring her up to breeding age, and thus I'll try breeding her once, maybe twice and if she's a lousy mommy, her new name will be "Dinner"! 

Pygmy goat Prudence was moved to a kidding stall two days ago... She is my mystery birth, with no idea when she was bred, I have nothing to go on but to watch for the signs of impending labour. Having purchased her 4 months ago... it could be next week, or we could be playing "maybe today or maybe tomorrow" for a few weeks yet... There's signs that it may be soon, her utter is dropping, her ligs are very soft and almost non-existant some days and she's laying down more often and getting very cuddling with a much cooing... but her va-j-j is still tight and pink, and no signs of a discharge... she's just getting bigger and bigger by the day. Apparently her first kidding was a single and I look at her now and am thinking we're probably having twins... lol, probably twin bucklings with my luck this year... seems all my critters are producing boys this season. Not that I'm complaining... I always hold back the girls and the boys go to pay for the expenses of feeding everyone, but for increasing stock, it kind of sucks doesn't it?

I traded off two young muscovy drakes I had from last years hatch for 3 New Zealand/American Chinchilla 6 week old rabbit does a couple months ago and they're growing up to be very nice girls... small, compact, but weighty... I've always bred Californias and New Zealands and thus I'm interested to see how this cross grows... so far I like these girls.

Hatchery order dates are coming up... I think I'm going to increase my pheasants this year... I'm a little perturbed that my quails stopped laying when I moved them from the horse barns to the big barn... They were laying prolifically over there, and although I expected them to stop laying for a week, it's been four weeks now and not an egg in sight. The last time I moved them, the Manchurians came back within a few days, the Corturnix were longer... but this time nothing.... I have no idea what has changed, other then maybe the water... if anything, they're getting more light at the big barn and now the daytime hours are longer... fickle little birds anyways, but no eggs means no pickled egg sales, and a drastic drop in my weekly "pin money" (or cookie jar money as my Gram use to call it) If they don't come back soon, I'll probably dispell of them and pick up day olds from a friend...

I was considering adding some Emden geese to my home "poultry and fowl" flock... I've never had geese before and quite frankly all my experiences with them have never been pleasant ones... I remember an old friend of my fathers had a huge gander that use to protect his salvage yard... most people were scared of the giant German Shepherd he had, until they met that gander... it wasn't uncommon to see people running down the driveway as that big bird came running at them with it's enormous wings flapping, it's neck stretched out and honking louder than a car horn... I was petrified of it, I'd face a kazillion guards dogs then one enraged goose anytime! 

I'm excitedly waiting for May when my two newest boer doelings from my friend Luanne's stock are ready to be weaned and come home... I've already named them Agnes and Minwinta, so they'll be Aggy and Winnie... Luanne always produces very nice stock, both in size and friendly attitudes, and her and her husband are just plain "good people" which makes purchasing from their stock even more enjoyable. 

I almost bought a herd of 13 yearling boer does and 1 two year old buck the other day, but decided against it... Most of the commercial job sites my husband is working on are being held up with inspection delays, which means days off here and there in the work week... that tells me to keep my cash monies close to my chest until everything is up and running smoothly again... And of course, bringing in another 14 goats means shuffling around the big barn again, and by doing so, it would mean adding more to our already over-loaded plate... beloved husband, as amazingly wonderful and good sported about all barn activities that he is, just might start exhibiting signs of having a coronary if I throw an increase to our goat herd at him right now... Starting tomorrow, we're beginning to tear down the 3 car garage at the horse property to recycle those materials for the big barn renovation... between plywood, 2x6's, 2x4's, roof joists and vinyl siding, I should have enough material there to finish the structural repair to an outer wall in the back half of the addition (where the horse stalls are going) plus build a fairly sizable outdoor shelter for the horses, and a couple outdoor shelters for the goats... lol, I don't think 14 goats would be cause for divorce, but I'm fairly certain it may just push him towards the edge of insanity for a couple weeks! 

And thus as always - here's to wishing everyone the BEST in their day!


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Mar 28, 2013)

Thats awesome about Soot and Smudge!!!!!!    
How many breeding does do you guys have? About what weight and how old do you butcher? I raise Standard Rex for meat, but would like to get something maybe a bit bigger! Lol, I have a ferocious doe too!!   I always wear gloves  when feeding her, and even then she tries to rip my gloves apart! I have found the viciousness is hereditary!!!  
Lol,   I have a the bad habit of springing new animals on my DH I am afraid! He gets home and is informed of 20 new rabbits, or 50 chickens, ect,ect........., he just stands there with his mouth open,     poor guy!    I secretly thing he has come to expect it now!!!


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 28, 2013)

Yes, I am absolutely thrilled about Soot and Smudge, and will be one very happy camper to get them back to the barn... not that I don't like having a bunny or two at home to remind me when I arrive back to "city life" after a full days work at the barns that I am indeed a "farmer"... but man-oh-man, to be changing bedding in cages every night... it's not like you can keep them on wire and just let the poop fall on your laminate floors! 

Post-recession rabbitry... we're only back up to 15 breeding does as of this week... I honestly thought when the recession hit and I had no choice but to sell out (save for our 3 personal horses) I'd be able to retire peacefully from livestock and be ok with just the 3 horses... 2 years of not knowing what on earth I was going to do with all this new spare time on my hands was enough to convince me that once you've lived this life, it's very difficult to let it go... 

I started back by bringing in the quail... husband and son missed their pickled quail eggs too much, but after the quail came... then it was, I miss rabbit stew, I miss lamb chops, I miss chickens, I miss goats cheese, I miss, I miss, I miss... and what-do-you-know, we're back at it again! Do wonders ever cease?!?!

Funny, alot of people ask me about weights and at what age we butcher, and I don't go by ages as much as I go by weight anymore (unless they're going over the 12 wks because some depots in this area don't want fryers over 12 wks of age) 

If we're sending them to a depot... as soon as they start weighing between 4.5 and 5lbs, we make plans to ship them on the following shipment week ... Ideally I'd like to see them at this weight by 8 wks of age, and that gives me 1 or 2 weeks to get them somewhere between 6-7lbs by the next drop-off date. And of course, another consideration is that our depot pays approximately $1.60 per lb (live weight) between 5-7lbs... over 7lbs drops to 0.50lb.  

For my own freezer, 10lbs is good, but it's my personal observation that I spent a great deal more in feed costs to get those few extra lbs on them by keeping them back longer... I try and look at raising livestock as a savings for my family, (sell livestock to pay for the livestock we eat) if I had to go to the market and pay $3.99 and up per lb for rabbit gussied up on a styrofoam tray, we probably wouldn't be eating rabbit frequently... lol, it wouldn't be in my grocery budget  and thus if they're slow growing and costing me more to get them up to a higher weight, then I'm satisfied to put them in the freezer between 6 and 7lbs. 

haha... you don't know how thrilled I am to hear you have a vicious doe too!! Honestly, not something you'd want to wish on anyone, lol, but misery loves company right?  I've maybe had one or two unfriendly does, but nothing like this hellion...  How is your vicious doe as a Mommy? Does she get worse when she has a litter? So far my leather gloves are holding up, but I'm thinking perhaps chain-mail might be a better investment! 

Oh I was going to post on your journal that you MUST have a very understanding spouse with the 50 chickens you just sprung on him last week... God Bless a good man!!! Do you really think he's secretly come to expect it, or perhaps he's just come to the conclusion that he's got no hope in heck of fighting it?!  

There's only one time that I can ever remember that I almost pushed my beloved husband close to hauling my backside into divorce court over one of my "surprises"... funny though, I knew it wasn't going to go over well... but I bought "him" anyways! HIM being a 2 year old 1800lb 17hh Percheron stud colt... hmm... who hadn't been halter broken!

It was a moment of insanity on my part... I just remember the hauler pulling thru our farm gates behind my car and watching my husband come out of the house with "the look" as he eyed the rocking trailer and heard the thunderous banging of giant hooves striking the trailer sides... and when I got out of the car with a big cheesy smile on my face (I had kind of expected him to be at work and not home early when I snuck the big black monster in) beloved husband wasn't smiling back at all... instead his gaze was locked on the trailer and I'm pretty sure his head rotated 360 degrees as he swung between gazing at me and gazing at the beast tearing up the trailer... I can't recall his exact words after "You didn't...." but umm, I knew I was in deep do-do... lol, I also knew he'd forgive me... maybe not that week, or the next, but sometime in our wedded future... 

That was many years ago... and we're still married! But no more stallions for me!


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 30, 2013)

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day! The sun was shining and the temperatures rose to 8 degrees C... a wonderful day to start tearing down the garage at the horse property and recycling the wood. Unfortunately though, our deadline has been changed... instead of two weeks, we now have one week to salvage what we want before the demolition crew comes in next Friday to bring the rest of it to the ground and break-up the concrete pad it rests on... It means no Easter celebration for us, we went from dawn to dusk today, and will do the same tomorrow and Sunday...  

The shingles are off, most of the vinyl siding and eavestroughs are down, and by nightfall we had the entire roof off the garage and had bagged the ceiling insulation... I know there's no way we're going to get it down before the demo crew comes in... but we're going to give it the old "college try" I've pretty much given up on saving the plywood sheets, we're just going for the 2x4's and 2x6's, and the old clapboard siding that was under the newer vinyl siding... the old clapboard with be set aside for siding the goat shelters at the big barn...

Front of the Garage






Side of garage (3rd car)






Beloved husband and son starting on the roof






I was very excited to see green grass today... what I wasn't excited about was the mess the dirt paddocks are in! In the spring, summer and fall, I spend two hours a day picking up the manure in each paddock and raking the dirt... in winter, forget it! The snow does a wonderful job of hiding it... but the downfall is, that when the snow melts in the spring, we have to plan an entire weekend to rake up 2 tons of winter manure! Not my idea of a good time!






Coco Blue coming up to investigate (the sand arena behind him is still snow ladened)






A nice trek of hay and straw droppings making a path from the lower barn to the upper barn was uncovered in the melt... UGH! 






Not much different in the lane between the upper barn and the lower barn






I'd much rather pick manure then draw straws for the chore of raking up 4 months of soggy wasted hay and dropped straw... so I'm going to pull the "Mommy card" on Sawyer this week!

A very exciting find yesterday at the big barn... my first Pheasant egg for the season! That has to be a sign that old man Winter's finally gone to bed!

Sawyer's last litter of bunnies came out of the nest today... and upon checking the goat pens, I found one of the inherited barn cats had just finished giving birth to 6 kittens in my doe kids pen... obviously she felt very comfortable in with my young girls, but we quickly built her a box with a little cat size opening and put it over her and the babes... I could see my little Calpurnia getting quite cuddly with Mommy cat and trying to snuggle in with the kittens... and where Calpurnia beds down, wee Elspeth isn't but an inch away... I was a tad fearful these that my two goat tots might smother the newborn kittens.

Caught up Prudence and checked her over... the kid or kids were more active tonight and seemed to have shifted a bit, but nothing else has changed since the other night, so I'm fairly confident we're not going to see any babes this weekend, and I have my doubts we'll see their arrival this upcoming week... I'd really like it if I was wrong, it's so easy to feel kind of left out when everyone is posting pictures of their precious newborn arrivals and you're kind of sitting in the waiting room! A bit of that green-eyed jealousy monster I suspect!

Well, the time is in the wee hours of the mornin' and I have to grab a couple hours of shut-eye... I have to empty the stock trailer of wood at the big barn and then go pick up a couple rounds for 8am... then it's back to the garage! How can anyone not love this life?

ishing everyone the BEST for their day!


----------



## promiseacres (Mar 30, 2013)

Good luck on your projects this weekend!


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Mar 30, 2013)

Love your barn!!!!    I have to say, my barnyard is no were as clean as yours!! I just leave all the manure where ever it falls, and once a year, the barnyard gets dug out with the tractor into a big pile.
Good luck on your busy weekend!!!!


----------



## Canadiannee (Mar 30, 2013)

Thank you for the best wishes in our salvaging project today promiseacres 

Yes Four winds, I love these barns too!... it's a sweet little property with it's two green barns (the upper barn has 3 stalls, a tack room and a lounge room, and the lower barn has 5 stalls and a 2nd tack room) and it's wide flower beds that run around the perimeter of the upper barn... The entire farm area is surrounded with black fencing, as well as each individual paddock and the sand arena... lol, sometimes I think I'm dense in the head to leave it and move the equine babes over here ----->

(swinging my camera over to snap a picture of the old barn across the field and road)







But in this economy, and making the decision to come back to livestock, I could certainly put those extra dollars that go out on the horse property lease to increase my livestock instead... lol, go back to the old adage of KISS - "Keep it simple stupid!" 

lol, I'm really OCD when it comes to our paddocks... You know how sometimes you tour a neighbourhood and happen across the odd property where the house owner has mowed their lawn in a diagonal pattern of perfectly straight lines and you think... pretty, but gosh, obsessive... that's me! I am so bad, that if one of our farmer neighbours pulls in with their truck or tractor and make a rut, I rut out there with my trusty rake and fill it all back in as soon as they leave! It's extremely excessive, I make no bones about that... LOL! Darling son Sawyer is much the same way... beloved husband, not as much.

I have no newborn goat kids on the ground, so my baby album this week is just bunnies and kittens -

This is first time Mommy "Lightenings" litter who just came out of the nest box yesterday - it was a litter of nine, we lost two in the first few days after kindling and now have 7... four whites (with Daddy's California markings coming in) and three blacks... it was a pleasant surprise that they came out for Easter weekend 






And of course Momma Cat and her less than an hour old nest of babies






As soon as these babes are weaned, this Mommy is going in to the vet's to be spade... the cats we have at the horse property are spade, and although they'll be moving over with us, I really like this Mommy cat, she's super friendly and we've decided to keep her in the family... we just don't want more kittens and more feline mouths to feed. We haven't named her yet... just keep calling her "Momma"

The coyotes were out the other night, the whole pack was standing on the shoulder of the road between the horse property and the big barn... quite a sight to see if you knew they weren't looking to terrorize your livestock and find a meal... Old Momma fox who lives in a den a few feet from our back paddock fence was out and about huntin in the field beside the arena yesterday... last year she delivered 10 pups, and every morning I'd find those pups playing in the manure pit... it was like watching "King of the castle"... Momma Fox and her babies don't bother the horses, she did grab a cat one time, but quickly retreated when the nasty Tom Cat turned the tables and advanced on her... now she' just happy hunting field mice and small animals, and helps the cats keep the horse property fairly rodent free... We do her a good turn once in a while... when we're processing poultry or a baby bunny dies... we toss the remains in the forested area beside the property for her to find. Momma Fox and I have a good relationship, she knows that if she's caught hanging around the barns, or inside the fence line, I'm going to start hollering and chase her out... Now she patrols the border of fences and all I have to do is give her THE look if I think she's even considering deeking under the fence and she retreats immediately, usually moving back 10ft to sit in the grass and watch me... In return for this respect between her and I, I get the rewards of seeing her pups emerging from the den for the very first time in the spring, and observe them play, grow up and finally leave the den for ventures of their own by mid-summer... 

And on that note, my ride is here and it's time to hustle my butt!

Best Wishes for your day!

Edited to include missing picture of bunnies


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 4, 2013)

I haven't done much by the way of journaling since last week... I'm sorta kinda recovering from last weekend I suspect.... Still dropping by BYH everyday to oogle over everyone's newborn babes, send congratulations (and some condolences) and dropping into various threads; some to read, and some to respond... but just haven't found the energy to write an update on our own farm life...

Last weekend was grueling... my boys (husband and son) got most of the front half of the garage down (just a side wall remaining) and we did so with very little waste. *whew* The wood we salvaged has already been taken over to the big barn, sorted and stacked, and the boys are still chipping away on the garage for a few hours after work each night. I don't think we're going to get the back half down by Friday when the demolition crew is set to come in, but we will be on hand working beside them and salvaging what we can out.

By the end of Saturday we had the roof off 






and the insulation out






And by Sunday evening, we were down to the side wall











It was after packing up tools, that the rest of the evening became a nightmare... heading down to the horse barns I noticed my husband's windsucking fool (gelding) Coco Blue phelming... Many, many years of owning this big boy, and many, many years of dealing with his 'bouts of gas colic, gosh, I know his warning signs well... By the time I ran down to the lower barn to fix him up a dose of bute, he was already beginning to paw the ground and when I got back up to the upper paddock, he was going down. Gave him the bute, and then beloved husband, son and I kept him up and moving for two hours in the dark and cold... Oh we had tons of gas, lots of poops, but no tummy gurgles or rumbles and it was then going on 10pm. At this time we're exhausted, having worked on the garage for the 3 days straight, and thus I decide to give him a dose of banamine... HOWEVER, the banmine wasn't at the barns... nope, instead it had been left at our apartment in the city where I keep my freezeable meds to transport to and from barns during the winter months.... So a race home and a race back to the barns with the banamine, and what do we find? The big man happily in his stall munching on hay and looking at us like nothing had happened! The time was after 11:00pm, we hadn't done big barn chores and beloved husband has to be on the road at 5:00am...

The original plan was that while husband and I were keeping Coco up and moving, son Sawyer would go over to the big barn and do feed and quick chores, however, during the whole time we're were dealing with Coco's colic, there's a drunken after Easter Sunday supper family squabble coming from the house tenants at the big barn property... Ever hear that phrase "Words are on the wind?"... well, we heard EVERYTHING... The husband was sitting in his truck revving the engine to the red-line right beside the main door of the barn, and the wife was running out of the house every 2 to 5 minutes to scream, yell, threaten and beat on the truck... Boy does that ever make you want to go over and do your night time chores! NOT!

It's not the first time for these two; the police have been there on several occassions since we leased the barn... they generally call on each other, or a farm neighbour does. We've never met them personally, don't know their names, and don't want to... our landlord says they're nice people, and maybe they are when they're not drinking together, but thus far the drunken domestic disputes hasn't warmed me up to anything more than a wave of the hand or a nod of the head as we pass each other by in the driveway...  

We didn't arrive home until somewhere close to 1am... beloved husband had to be on the road at 5am, and he was past exhaustion... My brain was too wired, I had to sit for a couple hours and digest... actually, I had to re-sketch my plans for the outside of the big barn, and made changes to close off the entrance to the barn on the house side and put the driveway and our entrances on the pasture side, essentially using the barn as a big wall between the house tenants and ourselves. It's far from ideal... I didn't want to have to put a gate at the road, but if it ensures not being put in that kind of position again... so be it!

Then on Monday sad news came calling... our apartment building landlord lost his 33 year old brother to a heart attack, the gentleman lived across the road, and was a very nice young man, he'll be sorely missed. We also learned that the new tenant who rented the apartment below ours last month had passed away as well... I had just met the tenant for the first time last week while he was walking his bulldog... he was remarking on how much he and his wife loved the renovations we had done to the unit (my husband does the renovations for the building) and hoped to live in this unique building for a long time... my heart aches for both families.

On a good note... all animals are well and happy... wee Soot has gained back all his weight after surviving enteritis, and will be going back to the barn this weekend. He won't be rejoining his sister Smudge as their time here at home has brought them to the age of separation... but he'll be going to a new cage beside his Daddy's in the buck area, and with hope, his father will give him the "birds and bees" talk, and he'll grow into the romancing rabbit gentleman like father is! Let me tell you, "King" Soot's father is our go-to buck for any hard to breed does... he is like a latin-lover that one, he woos the girls and makes their heads spin! 

And Pru still hasn't kidded... 

I finally sold my mare Lady... although possession doesn't take effect until May, she will be boarded at our barn and trained there... funny, it was the woman who was exercising and showing her that decided to purchase my mare... We had many offers for her, but after three weeks of riding her, the woman couldn't part with her... I'm really thrilled how things worked out, she's got the best home (lol, because she's still in my barn) and a very loving and talented owner. Her first show of this season is May 26th, and then she's off to a few clinics... I couldn't be more happy for her or her new owner!

And that is it for my journal in these wee hours... tomorrow is suppose to be 12 degrees C (the only warm day before it drops back to 3 degrees C for another week, and I have a date with my wee pony Alice and a bunch of bags! Oh Lucky me! 

So here's to sending everyone BEST wishes for their day!


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Apr 4, 2013)

Those are very cute bunnies you have!!!!!  
That is awesome about Lady!!!  Sounds like she will have a good home!!!!
Taking   apart and demolishing buildings is definatly not my thing! So I have to say as I read your journal, I keep thinking, "I am sooooo glad I am not Canadianee"!  Lol!   
Good luck with Alice!!!


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 7, 2013)

LOL Four Winds! Believe me, there are some days I wake up, plant my feet outta bed, and don't much fancy being "me" neither!  Between the soreness of unused "winter muscles" and the maladies of aches and pains from just getting "older"... if I didn't "love what I do, and do what I love", I'd roll over and go back to sleep! 

On that note, YAY!!! The garage is down, down, down! WHEW!!!  It was definitely a neighbourly day at the horse barns yesterday... Kyle's crew pulled the rest of the garage down, beloved husband, son and I salvaged, and neighbouring Farmer Bruce and neighbouring Farmer Ed (who's our Landlord for the big barn) cut down the big tree where the footing for the new garage is going... and everyone chipped in and did clean-up.

Garage gone, and just starting on removing the tree






Our livestock trailer full again! (Lost track of how many loads of 2x4's and 2x6's we took over to the big barn yesterday)






No rest for weary on this rainy cloudy dismal looking Sunday though... today son Sawyer and I are on denailing (oh fun, my arms already feel like jello), and husband is back to building horse stalls with help from city neighbour Brad.

After the horse property was cleaned up... dear farmer Ed came over to take a look at Prudence. Without knowing a due date for her, I've been holding off giving her Tasvax 8 (our B, C, D and Tetnus vaccine) but finally gave it to her Friday night... Ed agreed with my timing, lol, the only thing we didn't agree on is "how many babes"... I'm thinking she may be having triplets (probably wishful thinking) Ed says "twins"... he's got 50 years more experience than I do raising goats, so he's probably right... but a friendly bet has been wagered anyways! 

Not too much time today for journaling, the boys are dressed and waiting at the door, so time to hustle me bum and get denailing!

Wishing everyone the BEST for their day!


----------



## jodief100 (Apr 7, 2013)

WOW!  Y'all got a lot done.  So glad your mare has a good new owner and you still get to see her.


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Apr 7, 2013)

Good luck with Prudence!!!  Heres to her having triplets!!!!!!  
Looks like the weather isn't too bad for you all to get your work done!!! (It has been snowing here all night and so far all of today! We have about 8 inches and still snowing! Only -6 C luckily!!)  :/


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 8, 2013)

Thank you Jodie for dropping by my journal and sending sentiments for my girl Lady... I AM thrilled with the way things turned out... lol, tickled purple really! (pink is just too common  ) It's always hard letting go to a stranger, and I was spared that... Missy and Lady will go on to a wonderful show career together, and me, well... for the time being I get to sit in the front row and watch... how blessed can a woman get? 

Oh-no Four Winds, poor you! You must of received the snow storm we were slated to get yesterday! UGH! On Friday they were still calling for snow mixed with rain here - Saturday; the weatherman dropped the "snow" part of the equation and kept telling us rain... but we didn't get the rain neither. The morning was sunny around 8 degrees but with extremely strong winds, and then the dark clouds came over and it became chilly - not dreadfully cold, just kinda ewww feeling. (Thank goodness!)

Today dear weatherman called for 19 degrees and rain... so far at 2:11pm, we've had the glorious warmth (not the 19 degrees though) and sun, but as of yet, no rain... however, I am seeing dark clouds coming this way, so I don't think we're going to avoid it a second time around...  Ooops, change that... rain is now pelting skylights... lol, no doubts now!  

ONLY -6 degrees C? Seriously Four Winds, YOU are by far a more rugged Canadian farm woman then I am! lol, I'm already throwing a temper tandrum, and whinging and whining over 2 and 5 degree temps and rain!!!  

Sadly, we lost one of our rabbit does suddenly to bloat last night... morning feed she was fine, by evening feed she was gone.... Grrrrr! This was an up and coming doe who had just come of breeding age and I was planning to put her in with a buck this week. I believe her loss was my fault, I ran low on pellets this week; I was too crunched for time getting the garage down to hit our feed store within their open hours, and had beloved husband pick up a bag of pellets from TSC. I mixed it with what I had left over from my regular feed mill (about half and half).   So far everyone else looks fine today, but it doesn't dispel that awful feeling of anxiety while waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop. RIP Ms. Chocolate!

I think we've been fairly lucky this year though, first adult rabbit lost... we did lose a couple litters (birth on wire), and a few day old babes from one litter... I mean I personally prefer we didn't lose ANY, and all litters survived, and the rabbitry was growing and flourishing grandly, and we had HEAPS, and HEAPS, and HEAPS of monies coming in... and then REALTY check huh?  So in the overall grand scheme of a life raising livestock and the perils of what could happen... I'll take my losses as "we're doing ok" Still so sad to lose a fine looking doe... I had high hopes for this one!

On another front... we've been offered a lease on a parcel of pasture land which is directly behind the horse barns and across from the big barn. It's a fairly sizeable piece of property, perfectly fenced for goats, nice little barn to use as a run in, has it's own well, and the offer is much less than what I would deem reasonable... kind of a steal really. It's not a year-round lease... just spring and summer pasture for the goats which would allow me more rotational pastures for the horses at the big barn... I haven't said yes yet, but I haven't said no neither... my brain is kinda feeling like mush this week, lol, a wee bit overloaded perhaps. 

And that's that, so as always... here's to wishing everyone the BEST in their day!


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 14, 2013)

Gosh, it's been a busy week... lots of news, most good, some bad, and all of it unexpected!

My first "unexpected" was walking into the barn Thursday mornin' to find our newest arrival... ok, I expected Prue was going to kid soon, but I didn't expect it to happen this week... and I certainly didn't expect this little urchin out of my doe and buck... imagine the surprise, mentally I was picturing another black agouti kid and whammo... there's this white face lookin' up at me! He kinda looks like a negitive image of his mom's and pop's!

Later that day I received a message from darling daughter in Alberta... it said "We need to talk"... when you don't get a "Hi" first, it's generally serious stuff, and it was... but this was the kind of serious stuff that's uber exciting... Rae announced that we're going to be "Grammie and Grampie" a second time!  lol, at least this time I have a due date!  Our newest human bundle of joy is expected on December 1st! No word on whether we're having a boy or a girl, but I'm sure as soon as they're able to tell in an ultrasound, we'll get the word... lol, darling daughter was never good for waiting on a surprise!

Later that night I got hit with the bad... One of the boer doelings I had purchased from my friend Lu had passed over the rainbow bridge (and her buck twin also)... Lu's been going through a tough time with some devasting kid losses this year... she's sent a few for necro and the results have come back inconclusive. Now the vet is testing her herd for selenium deficiency because they're running out of possible causes... so sad, Lu and her husband have been raising goats for years and years... it's so hard watching them go thru this.

The other boer doeling I purchased from Lu is doing perfectly well... her weaning date is the first week of May, and I've been wishing the days and nights away to get these two new girls home... The girl's were to be my Birthday gift to myself, and after the news of the one doelings passing, I was devastated... but on the heels of bad, good eventually emerges again, and tonight Lu told me one of her other boer does kidded twins this afternoon, a doe and a buck.... so if all goes well, maybe I'll be celebrating my B-Day twice... once in May, and once again in July! Maybe cake and ice cream each time?!?! 

Tonight is a quiet night at home alone... it was suppose to be a nice warm day in our area, but around 6:30pm it started to get really blistery cold and began to snow... by then I had enough at the barns and came home... the boys however decided to stay on and keep building stalls and here it is almost 2am and home is still silent. I expect with the lateness of the hour, I'll be awfully surprised in the mornin'!

Tried to get more pictures of the little laddie, but it seems my camera has suddenly sprouted legs and ran away (or I put it in a safe place and forgot where the safe place was) so I snapped a few with husband's phone... not high quality photography mind you, but enough to add to the baby album. I've already had offers on the little tyke, and I'm struggling to decide whether I'm going to keep him or sell him... I just bought a second pygmy buck a couple months ago, and I don't think I "need" to keep 3 pygmy bucks... ok, rephrase that, I KNOW I don't need to keep 3 pygmy bucks, but he's awful darn cute... good thing we're many, many weeks away from weaning, and I have loads of time to make the decision. All offers were to keep him intact so we won't turn him into a whether...

More pictures of Shamus, now 2 days old











Mommy Prudence and Shamus











And Daddy (Angus)






And it looks like one "boy" walked in... son Sawyer is home! Now to wait on the other one... 

Here's to wishing everyone the BEST in their day!


----------



## Pearce Pastures (Apr 14, 2013)

Wow that is a lot of happenings.  Congratulations on the new grandbaby on the way.  That is so exciting.  Sorry about the loss.  Hope your friend gets some answers about her herd.


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 14, 2013)

Thanks for the congrats Pearce! We're overjoyed with the news!

Gosh yes, I certainly hope our friend gets some answers soon... she still has a number of does ready to kid, and it's got to be terrifying having losses with no definitive answers to why? They have a fairy substantial sized herd, and are so meticulous with their herd health... she's absolutely dumbfounded.

This morning I DID have a wonderful surprise by my boys at the big barn... the stall walls were framed across the back of the addition, all the old water pipes taken out, and dear son tore down the walls of the pump room... lol, it seems the "til 2am" shift works well for them when I'm not around!  However, we've come to that moment where we can't move any further ahead until we open up the south wall of the addition and see what's going on in there. The roof is sagging and the windows tilting in; there's never been a doubt we'd have to tear out this section and rebuild it... lol, just didn't know how much we had to rebuild until today!

With balmy skies and warm winds... you betcha, no rest for the weary... the tin was coming down! 

Now note, I am on the computer and at home... lol, after pulling off the siding in the area we knew we had to rebuild, it just kept coming down, and down, and down... we could not find one portion of the foundation sill plate that was not rotten... Oh I'm not fazed by the task of tearing it down and rebuilding the whole section if we have to, but I am FREAKING OUT because I'm on a DEADLINE! 

I decided the best place to have my meltdown was at home... not even wee Shamus's baby goat antics were enough to sooth my ruffled feathers late this afternoon... uh-uh, no how! I had to get home and ummm... bake bread! Yep, that's what I do when anxiety gets to me... I bake bread. I won't say pounding the bejeepers out of my dough is the magical cure, but it does help to relieve a bit of the anxiety... enough that I can think and do some quick re-evalutating. Although in this case, there's not much to re-evaluate... it is what it is... a right royal time exhauster!

Opening the initial problem section






Can't find a decent part of the foundation sill






And when I left... still more siding coming down...






Maybe a good sleep will help! LOL!

Wishing you all the BEST in your day!


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 16, 2013)

When it rains it pours... truly!

With threats of another rainy week, husband's company has sent him to a job site 1 1/2 hrs away... a courthouse in another city, where no construction can be going on during the day; hours for this job are 6pm til 5am, plus 3 hours of drive time per day... just got the word late last night, didn't leave us much time to prepare the animals for the new schedule... and certainly wasn't what we had been planning when we opened forty feet of barn wall on Sunday! 

Mother Nature and I are NOT on good talking terms!

Beloved husband is now on the road heading towards the new site and dear son and I are sitting at home twiddling our thumbs... it's 4:53pm, and neither of us know what to do with our time. 

The horses were pretty darn confused when they were brought into their stalls at 3:15pm and given their night time feed, normally they just walk to their barn and go straight to their stalls when the gates are open... NOT today... today the mares ran into the lane where we saddle up and then hightailed it through the open gate towards the upper barn paddock... smart cookies, they knew it wasn't suppose to be dinner time!

If we had of had more time to plan for dear husband to be working a night shift, I would of aired out the trailer on Sunday, packed up the dogs today and we would of spent the week at the horse property... might end up doing that tomorrow and eliminate some of this extra drive time between home and barns so dear hubby can get in the extra sleep.

Nothing much new at the barns... some baby rabbits weaned, pheasants are in season and laying eggs... still nothing coming from the quail since we moved them over... umm, new goat kid Shamus has discovered the art of Houdini, and has learned how to squeeze thru this tiny opening under his and his Momma's pen door and get in and out... we fixed his escape route this afternoon. Horses spent their day in the arena as there's a big backhoe working right on the front paddock fenceline digging out property owners new garage foundation.... Not worried about the horses being sensitive to the backhoe or the other heavy equipment coming in and out, they're use to machinery and tools, but, lol, I am worried about human error and having the backhoe operator take out the fence accidently... 

So far since being home, I've watched a video on a woman hatching two Emu eggs she bought at a local auction, and thought that was kinda cool... hmm, then I had a bowl of Rice Krispies for dinner... how exciting huh?! lol! 

Sending best wishes for everyone's day!


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 19, 2013)

Things this week went much better then we expected them to... beloved husband spent two nights on the courthouse renovation before they caught up to the other trades on site... Not wanting to switch him (and the other fella working with him) back to days on short notice again, his company had a small local job that they quickly arranged to be completed last night... The fellas completed it at 2am and beloved husband was home and crawling into bed at 2:30am... lol, I thought I was dreaming, but when I woke up this morning and rolled over, there he was! Such a wonderful surprise!

Today it is raining, and although anxious to get back to rebuilding the big barn's south wall, the weather forecast doesn't look too promising and so we're going to work on another much needed project today... an incubator! We use to have a really nice cabinet incubator but it was one of the causalities in the whole "recession/retirement from farming" chapter of our life and we're not looking to shell out another $2000 to buy another cabinet, and I'm certainly not looking to incubate 400 eggs at a time anymore... indeed, the "need to know/do-it-myself" drumming that goes on in me wee little head makes building a small table top incubator an exciting project. If it works, GREAT... if it doesn't... well, nothing lost because we're digging into our recycled materials...

I must be feeling confident tho... I ordered 24 peking duck eggs from a local farmer to hatch and add to my fowl flock  (maybe putting the cart before the horse a little huh?) 

On the rabbit front... dear son Sawyer FINALLY got that vicious doe "Ms Toffee" to breed! Had she not just come to breeding age, she would of been in my freezer by now... nasty, nasty doe! But 6 months of feeding her, I guess we have to give her at least one or two tries at motherhood... if she's this vicious now, I am certainly not looking forward to how she'll behave when she has kits in a nest... will probably need thicker leather gloves! 

The quails still haven't come back to laying eggs since the move... so I think the boys are going to butcher them this weekend and we'll buy new chicks... it's kind of sucky, everyone is missing their pickled quail eggs!

I don't think there's too much else going on around here thats newsworthy... 

And as always wishing everyone the BEST in their day!


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Apr 19, 2013)

I sooooo want an incubator too!!!!   Logically, I don't NEED one because I have at least 20 hens that set for me and that ends up being a lot less work for me in the long run.  It is just the endless opertunities that could come with one!!!   And I want ducks too!!
Good luck with your vicious bunny!!!


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 20, 2013)

Gosh Four Winds... why couldn't you live a little closer?!?! lol, I'd sneak over and snafoo a few of those hens when you weren't looking! 

haha... when it comes time for kindling, I'm not going anywhere near that doe... dear son Sawyer can feed her and check on the kits, I'm just bidding my time with that one!


----------



## Canadiannee (Apr 22, 2013)

Ok... I give... I think I have gremlins living in our city apartment! Items that I know I have just keep disappearing! A 12 volt CPU fan I bought last spring to build this incubator has gone missing... I have picked it up a billion times where it's rested on the top of my canning and equipment shelves to dust underneath it, and suddenly it's gone! Yep... gremlins! 

I didn't get too far on building my incubator this weekend... nope, the truck broke down on beloved husband way home from work friday morn, and he ended up spending friday overnight at the big barn right up until late Saturday afternoon fixing the truck while I was stuck in the city... not that it made much difference, I spent those 36 hours tearing apart our home searching for this $3 fan. (ok, not all true... I did spend some of that time on the computer... lol, but it as purely "thinking time"  )

With no luck in finding the fan, I hit the road yesterday driving to every computer store I could think of... most were either closed for Sunday shopping, or had closed their doors permenantly and of those who were open... many didn't sell just the fan, but the whole power box... I'm not paying $20 when all I need is the fan. Ditching the idea of using a 12 volt fan, I started to look for any small fan that would run off 110v... but didn't have much luck there neither... So today I am tearing apartment apart again, and if I don't find where these gremlins are hiding stuff... I'm heading downstairs and I'm going to rip about one of our portable heaters and scoop the fan out of that!

Beloved husband of course is as cool as a cucumber... "I'll pick you up one next week" he says... haha, all these years of marriage, he ought to know I'm not a "next week" girl when I'm hot on a project! Gosh we're so different he and I... he's one of the most laid back individuals I have ever met in my life, a missing fan or not having all the pieces sitting in front of him for a project doesn't bother him in the slightest... me, I'm the opposite... I like having my ducks in a row, everything has to be laid out and accounted for... I don't like to have to stop or put something on hold.... yes, I am impatient, and probably why the good lord put he and I together... his mellow attitude, my firey one! lol, I figure I was suppose to learn patience form our union... just can't figure out what my darling fella was suppose to learn?!?! 

Late last night the plywood was finally cut, and the outer box put together... today I'm going to cut and line the box with 3" thick styrofoam, and then work on modifying the water heater and begin wiring components together... minus the fan, unless I succeed in finding it today! GRRR!

Had to butcher one of dear son's breeding does at 10pm Saturday night... when I went to the barns to do feed and collect tools, I noted she hadn't touched her morning hay and wasn't looking herself... She was one of our son's older does, her last litter was a bust... 4 babes squashed in the next box... I was going to try her one more time before making the decision to send her to freezer camp, but as I said, she was older and I didn't want to come to the barns in the morn and find her deceased... I never feel overly upset about butchering the young ones we raise for meat... but the breeders I do, probably because we name them, and get to know them... I always get a hitch in my throat when giving that last scritch and saying goodbye...

And that's it for me today... it's a glorious day outside... sunshine and warmth, and I got a mission to find a fan!

Wishing everyone the best in their day!


----------

