Camp out and other updates

Hello all :) we are finally done with the numbing heat. All week we had beautiful temperatures in the mid 20th. We even got some rain and nature just seems to take a deep breath. 

The kids and I started our week with a fun camping night in the backyard. We are in a fire ban right now so it wasn't quite perfect since we couldn't have a bon fire but we had fun anyway, with a movie and popcorn. I just recently bought a 6 person tent at a flea market and the kids have been wanting to camp out since we got it, of course. We all snuggled up and slept peacefully through the night. I love sleeping outside. I love the fresh air, all the noises u can hear at night..especially living on a farm where everything comes back to life after a hot day ... we heard horses munshing, cows moooing, donkey braying ... the roosters started to crow at 5am ... but being farm kids, everyone slept through all the noise until 8am. It was a real fun night. 

The next day we went blueberry picking. We've been enjoying blueberry pancakes for breakfast for a while now. I am not one to pick and freeze. We pick and eat whatever we want to eat and when we have enough we stop picking. Sharing with others and especially the bears that are waiting, just like us, all year for this yummy treat. 

The garden. Well, it is growing but not really. It is such a weird year. The spring was so cold and then it got soooo hot all of a sudden. Everything is dried out and for whatever reason nothing is growing as it should be. This was my lunch from the garden the other day. The cucumbers are still very small and I just picked this one because I was craving it and didn't want to wait any longer. The Kohlrabi was delicious. I only picked one so far. Do you like them ? I love them, raw or cooked, just yummy. 

My first zuccini. There are a whole bunch still growing and I only picked this one because the skinny top was starting to get squishy. I was hoping for some ripe tomatoes to eat with the zuccini but they are far from turning red. I have lots tho. 

The beans are growing but there is just not as many as there usually is. It was the first time that I planted beans and peas in buckets and maybe it has something to do with that, I don't know. 

My kale is growing fine and so is the lettuce. The beets are getting bigger but the carrots are tiny still. 

oh well, every garden brings something new to learn and experience. 

This year I am just grateful for the farmers market. 

Sky took on a big project the other day. Him and his hand saw. I wanted to prune this maple tree and he said he would do it for me ... this little person with his little saw. And look what he did in a couple of hours ....

ta daaaa ... he was so proud and I was so please with the result :)

Baby goats are growing like weeds. Exploring the barnyard with their mommas. 

I have all the babies sold . I am glad they will be going all together to a lady in Thunder Bay who has a wonderful place for them and more goat friends to play with. I am really really sad to see them go at the end of August but happy this worked out like this. 

I have a little buck lined up to rebred the ladies in the fall. He is a tiny little guy and I am not sure if this will work out but if it does the babies will be a whole lot smaller which I wouldn't mind at all. I would like to breed the size down a bit and maybe keep a couple girls of the next batch ... if there is any ... hopefully ;)

pretty girls are getting so big

Our two lady cows seem to have been successful with dating the neighbours bull. Neither one of the two has come into heat which is a good sign that they are both pregnant. 

Our little Calf Belle is not so little anymore. Her, her momma and her auntie Clarabelle love to hang out in the indoor riding arena during the day, laying in the hay, away from the bugs and out of the sun. 

Horses and burrs, will be my fight for the rest of my life it seems. This time it is the minis who all kinda look like Milly here in the picture. This will take lots and lots of baby oil, patience, itchy fingers and lots of treats to get all this nasty prickly burrs out of their hair ... grrrrr

The turkeys are awesome. They are so easy and smart. They know their daily routine so well and never give us any trouble. So ... I just found out when I made an appointment at the butcher for the meat chickens that they don't process turkeys or geese ... actually noone here processes Turkeys or Geese ...

Can anyone guess what that means ??? This will either be our first time butchering ourselves or the Turkeys and Geese will live a long happy life with us, which was not the plan. 

So far we are determent to do it ourselves. We will see whats gonna happen when the time comes ;)

Having a breakfast snack before going to to graze all day 

The geese go out again as well and have not ended up in the manure puddle again. However it is a little hard to leave them in the barn yard . They follow all of us around like puppies ....

Just this morning I found them right outside the door. They went under the gate and came down the driveway ... lol I thought it was funny finding them all sitting on our deck ...

Good thing is they also follow us back to the barn. I guess in a few days they will also know their routine and hopefully stay where they are suppose to be. I think they are just the cutest. 

We have big plans for the rest of the week. Friday our foster son will be moving out. Of course that needs some organisation and celebration. Shopping day on Wednesday, my least favourite day. 

One day of this week we have to make a little road trip , couple hours north from us. I bought a used kitchen buffet that I want to restore and finish for our dining room. I am very excited about the find ... I've been looking for a long time for just the right one. 

On the weekend we will have a friend here with an excavator. There is so many little projects that require professional muscle power .... things need to be torn down , levelled out, cleared out, fence posts need to be set, sand for the riding arena needs to be dug up etc etc ... I am very excited for this and I am sure I will have some pictures by next week !!!

until then, take it easy !!!

Summer has arrived

Summer days can't ever be long enough. Don't you feel the same ? I try to get up as early as possible and most days am not done outside until I lose daylight. Speaking of daylight, Happy Summer Solstice to everyone out there. Our solstice celebration was rather small today since it was also fathers day and the kids had so much planned already. However we baked a peach cobbler and we to pick some yellow flowers in the pasture today. The picture you see is our walk down to our pasture, the Thimbleweed has started blooming. My favourite time on the farm. Everything is in full bloom, growing, having babies ... all fun things. Hard to believe that from now the days will get shorter again. I wish we could bottle these days up and bring them out like a good bottle of wine on a cold winter night ... ah lets open a bottle of SUMMER  

It was my birthday this week. This beautiful lady in the front was my favourite birthday present. She came to us from a rescue in Manitoba who brought her home from an auction last fall. When I saw her on their facebook page, after they brought her home, I fell in love with her. Well and voila ... here she is. She came in a package with that lovely mare behind her. She is an Alberta wildie, was captured when she was three and never been handled since. Both were baby machines in their previous home. Now their time to be a horse begins. Both are settling in well and are very relaxed and start to trust a little more every day. We keep them in a pen by the house for now, just to do some trust work and basic handling first before we let them out to pasture with the rest of the herd. 

I was joking with a friend the other day who said...oh wow...you got a horse for your birthday, you are so lucky ... I said, ya whenever G. doesn't know what to get me for my birthday, he buys another horse...haha.  People often ask, what do u need so  many horses for. It's easy tho ... of course we don't need them, or maybe we do, but they need us. All of them are here for a reason and often it is not a happy story that brought them here. We have a heart for those ones that noone wants, the old ones, the broken ones, the once that need a little extra care or groceries. 

When someone asks me, mostly with a critical undertone , how many do you have now ??? I tell them, we don't count in numbers ... we count the many reasons that brought them here. 

Anyway ... I love them all ... My new girl is Luna :)

Can u tell the girls are getting close ??? Big bellies and big utters. I can't wait for the little guys to run around the farm.

Our Cows left us this week. They went away for a date with a handsome bull at a friends house. 

We have two ladies and a calf this year. Next year our little herd will hopefully grow again. WE are planning on keeping the heifers and selling the bulls or keep one for our own freezer. G. wants to build up the herd to around 10 to 15 Cows. 

I have to admit they intimidate me a little.  I know I say I can't wait to milk Clarabelle next year fut honestly, I will have to work hard on my confidence until then. They are such big, powerful animals and not at all like a horse. They run right through you if they think that's the way to go ... 

Our broilers are growing quickly. These little guys will be ready to be butchered by the end of July. I find that a little crazy and am not really happy with the choice. This is the only meat chicken available for us tho.I wanted to give it a try but I am scared of giant chickens with broken legs and heart attacks and all those horror stories people tell u about them. I wanted to give it a try , that's why I only got 10. We lost one chick, so now we will hopefully have 9 in the freezer by the end of the summer. I think if I go with cornish again I will let them graze in a chicken tractor for the summer. 

These are my black and blue Maran chicks. They are growing nicely. I hope I won't have too many roosters. These guys are the future breakfast egg suppliers.

These guys are so freakin cute but oh so messy. I love those little geese. I could just cuddle these guys all day. The geese and Turkeys moved out of the nursery yesterday. It was getting too small for them. Once they are used to their new big coop, they will be able to come out during the day to free range. 

I never had Turkeys before and I must say, I really enjoy them. They are such friendly and calm birds. They never fuss about anything, they are tidy and clean and always come running when I come into the coop. I can't wait to see them all grown up. 

The newest member of our family came to us last Friday. Sky lost his beloved best friend Orange cat two years ago. He never gave up hope that Orange cat would come down the driveway one day ... 

He has been asking for a new kitten for a while now and finally it happened.  Orange cat jr. Sky loves him and I really hope they will become best buddies as well. We are waiting for a little friend for Orange cat .... maybe in my next post. The two are suppose to have a purpose as well. We need a couple good mousers for the barn !!!

My glorious three !!! The two big kids on their fathers day outing with dad.

The peonies are starting to bloom. Summer is here. Enjoy every minute of it !!! 

 Until next time, take it easy ❤