Canadiannee - "These Old Ways"

[Canadiannee]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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!