Friday, March 2, 2012
Blogging on the Go
Well, in bed actually! Publishing to Blogger via my iPhone. Procrastinating, as I have to get up, feed the hens and plough the drive.
Monday, December 26, 2011
From One of the Year to the Other
2 blog entries for 2011 is fairly pathetic. I mean, I know noone actually reads any of this stuff, but as an exercise in diary-ing it hasn't exactly stretched my typing muscles. I'm in contemplative mode, so this may not be the most entertaining read...
Interestingly, though 2011 felt like it was a year in which we/I headed off sidey-ways, reading the post from the start of the year proved that there was, in fact, consistency.
I did run a marathon in 2011 as well as a lot of other running races, and brought my pace down to the sort of times I was running 12 years ago. That was a big success point of the year and made me very happy. I did manage to get to bed at 10:30 by and large, and I cut my alcohol intake to a fraction. The eventual effect of these three actions was a surprising improvement in my mental health! Why surprising?!
With me concentrating my recreational time on running and cycling and us both spending more time on gainful employment, the farm has taken a back seat. I said this time last year that I did not want to spend a lot of time on it in 2011, that it should go back to being a hobby for Jane, if she wanted that hobby. Where we go with it next year is up for discussion at the moment.
We all made it back to the UK for Judy's wedding in October. It was interesting being back in the UK, in Scotland, on Arran - my first trip out of Canada since we moved. On Arran it was like we hadn't left really. Jane had worried that it would unsettle me, but no fear, there was nothing that made me very homesick and it was good to get back to NS again. Albeit thousands of dollars lighter, with a cracked rib and bad road rash on my hip from a cycling fall on the wedding day.
Work-wise things were very lean in the last quarter, worryingly lean, especially no longer having the money buffer that the UK trip used up. One web project went poorly and then there seemed to be no more coming through. At the end of the year though, I won the contract to carry out a feasibility study into creating an 'Innovation Centre' in Caledonia, and will be teaching another IT course in the New Year, together with a couple of web projects means that we should haul back out of the trough.
So, 2012, what's the plan Stan?
Well, I have some racing goals; I'd like to run under 20:00 for 5k, 1:30 for a half-marathon, and possibly under 3:30 for another full marathon. However, I also want to try another triathlon which I haven't done for 10 years or more. There's a half-ironman 70.3, long course tri in Bridgetown in August that I'm thinking to make my main season goal. I can't do any swim training until the ice is out, but thesufferfest.com makes indoor bike training bearable and I'm managing to run outdoors so far this winter.
I want to lose another few kilos, if I could get under 70kg it would be good. Keep concentrating on healthy living other than the training.
We decorated the kitchen and I made a new kitchen dining table, and I want to keep the house improvements going. I enjoyed the woodwork and would like to do more in 2012.
I always feel that I want to play more music, but never seem to make the opportunities. I want to sing! Maybe in 2012 I'll join a choir.
So, there you have the scoop. Not very exciting wursent it not.
Interestingly, though 2011 felt like it was a year in which we/I headed off sidey-ways, reading the post from the start of the year proved that there was, in fact, consistency.
I did run a marathon in 2011 as well as a lot of other running races, and brought my pace down to the sort of times I was running 12 years ago. That was a big success point of the year and made me very happy. I did manage to get to bed at 10:30 by and large, and I cut my alcohol intake to a fraction. The eventual effect of these three actions was a surprising improvement in my mental health! Why surprising?!
With me concentrating my recreational time on running and cycling and us both spending more time on gainful employment, the farm has taken a back seat. I said this time last year that I did not want to spend a lot of time on it in 2011, that it should go back to being a hobby for Jane, if she wanted that hobby. Where we go with it next year is up for discussion at the moment.
We all made it back to the UK for Judy's wedding in October. It was interesting being back in the UK, in Scotland, on Arran - my first trip out of Canada since we moved. On Arran it was like we hadn't left really. Jane had worried that it would unsettle me, but no fear, there was nothing that made me very homesick and it was good to get back to NS again. Albeit thousands of dollars lighter, with a cracked rib and bad road rash on my hip from a cycling fall on the wedding day.
Work-wise things were very lean in the last quarter, worryingly lean, especially no longer having the money buffer that the UK trip used up. One web project went poorly and then there seemed to be no more coming through. At the end of the year though, I won the contract to carry out a feasibility study into creating an 'Innovation Centre' in Caledonia, and will be teaching another IT course in the New Year, together with a couple of web projects means that we should haul back out of the trough.
So, 2012, what's the plan Stan?
Well, I have some racing goals; I'd like to run under 20:00 for 5k, 1:30 for a half-marathon, and possibly under 3:30 for another full marathon. However, I also want to try another triathlon which I haven't done for 10 years or more. There's a half-ironman 70.3, long course tri in Bridgetown in August that I'm thinking to make my main season goal. I can't do any swim training until the ice is out, but thesufferfest.com makes indoor bike training bearable and I'm managing to run outdoors so far this winter.
I want to lose another few kilos, if I could get under 70kg it would be good. Keep concentrating on healthy living other than the training.
We decorated the kitchen and I made a new kitchen dining table, and I want to keep the house improvements going. I enjoyed the woodwork and would like to do more in 2012.
I always feel that I want to play more music, but never seem to make the opportunities. I want to sing! Maybe in 2012 I'll join a choir.
So, there you have the scoop. Not very exciting wursent it not.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
I feel like I need to counter Richard's rather negative last couple of posts. Tonight, having done the barn chores, I sat on the step watching the quiet night. It was one of those moonlit nights that makes the snow sparkle like magic, and it was quiet, but for the sound of Max, the barn cat, sitting on my knee, purring almost loudly enough to drown out the wonderful sound of the horses munching contentedly on their hay. All that contentment rubs off a little. I wouldn't say that there aren't times when the animals are a tie and strife inducing, but they do add something to it all, especially when everyone is fed and happy.
Reflecting on the last year; 2010 was just too busy for my liking, and whilst I accept that the next couple of years are likely to be hectic a lot of the time (- the kids are involved in various clubs and hobbies, which is great, I am hooked on producing as much home-grown food as we can muster, and the farm continues to crumble and need constant repair, oh, and yes, we do have to make a living too!), I see the last three years as a steep learning curve, and want 2011 to be a year of consolidation, with a little more attention to stepping off the treadmill occasionally to admire the view!
Reflecting on the last year; 2010 was just too busy for my liking, and whilst I accept that the next couple of years are likely to be hectic a lot of the time (- the kids are involved in various clubs and hobbies, which is great, I am hooked on producing as much home-grown food as we can muster, and the farm continues to crumble and need constant repair, oh, and yes, we do have to make a living too!), I see the last three years as a steep learning curve, and want 2011 to be a year of consolidation, with a little more attention to stepping off the treadmill occasionally to admire the view!
New Year, New You
The Family Von Krapp brought in the new year in the traditional manner, annoying people with a fairly enthusiastic, if poorly played, rough approximation of Auld Lang Syne. The advent of skype has brought a new dimension to playing live, and we felt we had to apply something of the visual dimension to our performance - thankfully, we didn't go the whole hog to Jane's suggestion of an Abba tribute version - jeez.
Because UK 'bells' is only 8pm here, we are relatively sober for the performance, which is probably not that great a thing. This year lost a little spontaneity too, as various family members were queued up on skype trying to get it over and done with, so they could get to bed - not very rock 'n roll.
I made several resolutions this year including: run a marathon in 2011, be in bed by 10:30 unless there's a very good reason not to be and drink well under the recommended 21 units of alcohol per week. So far, I've done very well and you'd think I would be beginning to burst with health and vigour. The reality is that in the last two weeks, I have pulled both calf muscles, had a upset stomach for several days and now have a cold. I was healthier steaming every night.
Because UK 'bells' is only 8pm here, we are relatively sober for the performance, which is probably not that great a thing. This year lost a little spontaneity too, as various family members were queued up on skype trying to get it over and done with, so they could get to bed - not very rock 'n roll.
I made several resolutions this year including: run a marathon in 2011, be in bed by 10:30 unless there's a very good reason not to be and drink well under the recommended 21 units of alcohol per week. So far, I've done very well and you'd think I would be beginning to burst with health and vigour. The reality is that in the last two weeks, I have pulled both calf muscles, had a upset stomach for several days and now have a cold. I was healthier steaming every night.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Deep Sighs
Damn, only two posts ago I was talking about the spring task list, and no here I am with the pre-winter essentials stretching out in front of me. It has been a very busy spell, but the focus has switched to off-farm work for both of us since the early summer.
Jane is working fairly full-time for the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI) creating a group of owners of woodlots certified to FSC standards. I think she's enjoying it, doesn't talk about much else now anyway! I've been working with webprogrammingsolutions.com providing web build and programming for design agencies, primarily on the US west coast. You might think that LA, San Fran, Palm Springs and Seattle would be hoaching with programmer types, but apparently designers have trouble finding folk to do the work accurately, on time and in budget - we're probably mucho cheapo too :-)
In fact, this is the first time I feel like I've had time to draw breath for a while. There has been so much that I could have reported on over the summer, Cam's first place in Provincial 4H woodwork, and Breagh's 2nd in photography, my return to cycling and success in the scything competition etc.
What's on my mind a lot though, is this balance between income generation and the rest of life. We had to to earn a bit more cash, but now, we're both working full-time, and we won't be able to run a market garden next year. Is that really what we're here for? I'm back to sitting in front of a computer for 12 hours day and I haven't been out in my canoe all year. I think we came to the decision that really, until the kids leave home, we have to concentrate on earning a living, hope to put a bit of cash away, and chip away at the infrastructure. The alternative is to live cheaply and work less, but that isn't the kids vision, it's ours. With hindsight, maybe we should have bought a house in town and stuck at good paying jobs, then bought a big woodlot with lake frontage and room for a cabin as a weekend retreat and 'retirement' destination... on the other hand, maybe we just need to work at balancing work and income, chores and recreation, and enjoy the farm!
On the upside, we managed to cut, split and stack firewood for the year in a couple of wonderful days in the wood. We have poured a concrete floor in one stable, made 30lb of sausages, 2 full sides of bacon and the freezers are stuffed with pork, beef, chicken, fruit and veg. Beer brewing, we're just about ready for winter... bring it on!
Jane is working fairly full-time for the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI) creating a group of owners of woodlots certified to FSC standards. I think she's enjoying it, doesn't talk about much else now anyway! I've been working with webprogrammingsolutions.com providing web build and programming for design agencies, primarily on the US west coast. You might think that LA, San Fran, Palm Springs and Seattle would be hoaching with programmer types, but apparently designers have trouble finding folk to do the work accurately, on time and in budget - we're probably mucho cheapo too :-)
In fact, this is the first time I feel like I've had time to draw breath for a while. There has been so much that I could have reported on over the summer, Cam's first place in Provincial 4H woodwork, and Breagh's 2nd in photography, my return to cycling and success in the scything competition etc.
What's on my mind a lot though, is this balance between income generation and the rest of life. We had to to earn a bit more cash, but now, we're both working full-time, and we won't be able to run a market garden next year. Is that really what we're here for? I'm back to sitting in front of a computer for 12 hours day and I haven't been out in my canoe all year. I think we came to the decision that really, until the kids leave home, we have to concentrate on earning a living, hope to put a bit of cash away, and chip away at the infrastructure. The alternative is to live cheaply and work less, but that isn't the kids vision, it's ours. With hindsight, maybe we should have bought a house in town and stuck at good paying jobs, then bought a big woodlot with lake frontage and room for a cabin as a weekend retreat and 'retirement' destination... on the other hand, maybe we just need to work at balancing work and income, chores and recreation, and enjoy the farm!
On the upside, we managed to cut, split and stack firewood for the year in a couple of wonderful days in the wood. We have poured a concrete floor in one stable, made 30lb of sausages, 2 full sides of bacon and the freezers are stuffed with pork, beef, chicken, fruit and veg. Beer brewing, we're just about ready for winter... bring it on!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Roundup
... haven't used any, but it has been recommended to us for various projects in the last couple of weeks. From clearing under the pear trees, to killing the invasive and tenacious alder buckthorn which we need to deal with in our woods. We won't of course, preferring, as we do, the hairshirt approach to land management...
What else? 100lb of seed potatoes are in the ground in 3 long rows, 3' apart - we spread horse muck to about 4 inches and disc harrowed it in, then I ran the tiller over it with the furrower on, placed the potatoes with at least 18" spacing, and covered them up to a few inches depth. The furrower is also a hiller, so I'm hoping that when the time comes to mound soil on the growing haulms, I can run it between the rows and do two sides at once.
The Queens County Farmers' Market has been running two weeks now and even when it's quiet, can earn a few dollars - we've just about covered the cost of the seed already, but we've been selling our transplants which do seem to sell well - it'll be quiet now until the veg starts cropping properly (nearly have peas though!). We could easily have sold twice as many tomato plants. It's just finding the time to plant and tend for lots of seedlings... maybe next year we take orders. The market is a bind though, and I have a idea of establishing a small self-serve farm shop here. We could sell eggs and veg direct, have a box scheme pickup, I could try some bedding plants and we could even sell some frozen meat of our own, or from friends locally. For the future...
More pressing is the imminent arrival of this years piglets and chicks. Chicks are due on the 11th, pigs are due for pickup week commencing Sat. 19th. The chicks will be indoors for a few weeks, then out - we have a house and fence for the meat birds, but I have to come up with something for the new flock of layers. The pigs will probably go straight out, but I want to create a moveable hurdle fence to restrict them when they are still small.
We had a run in with a fox. I looked down the farm the other night to see him/her wandering off with a hen in his gob. The following night, we were keeping an eye out, but in a flash he was inside the fence! Jane and I plus two clueless dogs hurtled to the rescue. I got to within a few feet of him, before he shook free of the fence and streaked off across the field. We brought the hens back up closer to the barn and electrified the net - he hasn't been back yet.
We had an interesting walk through the woods with a local guy who won the Woodlot Owner of the Year a couple of years back. It's amazing what we have when you take the time to look, and I feel a blog entry coming about the woods.
There's a gap in IT work this morning, so I think I'll take the opportunity to get out and cut grass in the plot. I've been out with the scythe more, but this is a job for the flail mower!
What else? 100lb of seed potatoes are in the ground in 3 long rows, 3' apart - we spread horse muck to about 4 inches and disc harrowed it in, then I ran the tiller over it with the furrower on, placed the potatoes with at least 18" spacing, and covered them up to a few inches depth. The furrower is also a hiller, so I'm hoping that when the time comes to mound soil on the growing haulms, I can run it between the rows and do two sides at once.
The Queens County Farmers' Market has been running two weeks now and even when it's quiet, can earn a few dollars - we've just about covered the cost of the seed already, but we've been selling our transplants which do seem to sell well - it'll be quiet now until the veg starts cropping properly (nearly have peas though!). We could easily have sold twice as many tomato plants. It's just finding the time to plant and tend for lots of seedlings... maybe next year we take orders. The market is a bind though, and I have a idea of establishing a small self-serve farm shop here. We could sell eggs and veg direct, have a box scheme pickup, I could try some bedding plants and we could even sell some frozen meat of our own, or from friends locally. For the future...
More pressing is the imminent arrival of this years piglets and chicks. Chicks are due on the 11th, pigs are due for pickup week commencing Sat. 19th. The chicks will be indoors for a few weeks, then out - we have a house and fence for the meat birds, but I have to come up with something for the new flock of layers. The pigs will probably go straight out, but I want to create a moveable hurdle fence to restrict them when they are still small.
We had a run in with a fox. I looked down the farm the other night to see him/her wandering off with a hen in his gob. The following night, we were keeping an eye out, but in a flash he was inside the fence! Jane and I plus two clueless dogs hurtled to the rescue. I got to within a few feet of him, before he shook free of the fence and streaked off across the field. We brought the hens back up closer to the barn and electrified the net - he hasn't been back yet.
We had an interesting walk through the woods with a local guy who won the Woodlot Owner of the Year a couple of years back. It's amazing what we have when you take the time to look, and I feel a blog entry coming about the woods.
There's a gap in IT work this morning, so I think I'll take the opportunity to get out and cut grass in the plot. I've been out with the scythe more, but this is a job for the flail mower!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Spring with a Vengeance
With no further ado, preamble or farting around, Spring, with it's over long task list is upon us. The black flies are upon us too, making the task list into more than chores.
I also managed to get the field behind the house ploughed and disced with the old tractor. My ploughing isn't going to win any plooboy laddy prizes, but hey... The field needs a huge quantity of horse muck, and luckily we know a man with immense quantities of horse muck. Then I can plant my potatoes.
The other big task this weekend was felling, logging, drilling and plugging some hardwood logs (ash and maple growing in the wrong place) with mushroom spawn dowels. We have a mixture of shiitake and elm oyster and I have prepared 12 logs. They still need to be sealed with cheese wax and planted end-up in a special grove I have created in the woods, hopefully shady and damp enough for them to develop. Then we wait and see.
The horses are on the move; grazing them on smaller areas of pasture but keeping them moving with electric fence in an attempt to lessen the bad influence they have on my pasture. Chickens too, the mobile house is mobile again. This years meat birds (18) and additional layers (24) are ordered, and 2 Berkshire piglets are scheduled to arrive in June.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
just stuff
Just a general catch-up, I have nothing earth-shattering to say today...
Spring is with us, and it has been great start to the year - dry and warm. The lakes are open, we have heard peepers and loons in the last couple of days, crocus and daffs are blooming and even the grass in the field has started to come away. I got the top field clipped off, but am still pinching out rocks that the frost heaves to the surface to wreck unwary mowers.
It's easter weekend and it should be torrential rain in a traditional Arran sense, but the forecast is for sun and temperatures averaging 22deg :-)
The new greenhouse is still coming along, but shouldn't take too much more work in time to fill with transplants for sale.
The kids have been very busy. Cameron won his Grade 6 Science Fair and went on to the regional finals where he came away with a prize. Breagh designed a 'peace poster' which went on to Provincial level and was given an 'honourable mention' - they framed it for her and is currently on display in the school. Cam was headhunted to play drums and played a gig at Westfield Hall last week with Billy Martin & Old Country - they want him to sit in whenever he can! Breagh is working on her Heritage Fair projects. They are both in full swing with 4H, in particular the public speaking component just now.
What else? Well, with Jane's work and my interest in woodland, we've been out at a few workshops recently. Last weekend we went to Windhorse Farm in Lunenburg County. Jim Drescher manages a 100 acre block of old growth woodland which has been continually harvested for over 100 years, and serves as a model of sustainable approach to forestry. The woodland with big trees, diverse species mix and regenerating younger woods accessed by low impact sawdust paths, and extracted by horses is a lovely place to spend time, and indeed in addition to selling timber products, they also provide retreat and conference facilities. The whole place was really inspiring and a privilege to visit.
Spring is with us, and it has been great start to the year - dry and warm. The lakes are open, we have heard peepers and loons in the last couple of days, crocus and daffs are blooming and even the grass in the field has started to come away. I got the top field clipped off, but am still pinching out rocks that the frost heaves to the surface to wreck unwary mowers.
It's easter weekend and it should be torrential rain in a traditional Arran sense, but the forecast is for sun and temperatures averaging 22deg :-)
The new greenhouse is still coming along, but shouldn't take too much more work in time to fill with transplants for sale.
The kids have been very busy. Cameron won his Grade 6 Science Fair and went on to the regional finals where he came away with a prize. Breagh designed a 'peace poster' which went on to Provincial level and was given an 'honourable mention' - they framed it for her and is currently on display in the school. Cam was headhunted to play drums and played a gig at Westfield Hall last week with Billy Martin & Old Country - they want him to sit in whenever he can! Breagh is working on her Heritage Fair projects. They are both in full swing with 4H, in particular the public speaking component just now.
What else? Well, with Jane's work and my interest in woodland, we've been out at a few workshops recently. Last weekend we went to Windhorse Farm in Lunenburg County. Jim Drescher manages a 100 acre block of old growth woodland which has been continually harvested for over 100 years, and serves as a model of sustainable approach to forestry. The woodland with big trees, diverse species mix and regenerating younger woods accessed by low impact sawdust paths, and extracted by horses is a lovely place to spend time, and indeed in addition to selling timber products, they also provide retreat and conference facilities. The whole place was really inspiring and a privilege to visit.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Dream Farming
We've been following 'My Dream Farm' on UK tv Channel 4, and although we're a fair bit ahead of most the participants in that programme, it has made me reflect on how far I need to get my finger out if we are serious about making this farm work.
The principal of the programme is that the presenter, Monty Don, tries to help folk who want to 'get back to the land' put solid business ideas together for the farm or smallholding that they own. I've often thought that this could be a successful commercial venture, in fact, or even better, a free service to be offered by Agricultural Colleges! Unless you inherit an existing farm business, or are an exceptionally focussed entrepreneur, trying to work out what is actually going to pay the bills from the land is daunting.
Monty Don is obviously of the 'do it now and think about the problems later' school which comes of having experience and confidence. Most of the participants have neither and he becomes frustrated with their reticence. It's easy to say "get some cows", but if you are strapped for cash, how are you to pay for them, how are you going to make your fences stock-proof, will they have a roof over their heads, and how are you going to round them up and restrain them for essential maintenance?
Despite this, he's right - it is the right attitude to have, because problem anticipation = paralysis = energy drain.
It's all relevant at the moment. Jane is currently working full-time for MTRI (www.merseytobeatic.ca) and I'm torn between building my web business back up, or concentrating on making the farm pay. Practically, I'm going to have to do both!
So, Farm Plan 2010:
That's not everything, but it's quite a lot to be getting on with! Must go and have a lie down...
The principal of the programme is that the presenter, Monty Don, tries to help folk who want to 'get back to the land' put solid business ideas together for the farm or smallholding that they own. I've often thought that this could be a successful commercial venture, in fact, or even better, a free service to be offered by Agricultural Colleges! Unless you inherit an existing farm business, or are an exceptionally focussed entrepreneur, trying to work out what is actually going to pay the bills from the land is daunting.
Monty Don is obviously of the 'do it now and think about the problems later' school which comes of having experience and confidence. Most of the participants have neither and he becomes frustrated with their reticence. It's easy to say "get some cows", but if you are strapped for cash, how are you to pay for them, how are you going to make your fences stock-proof, will they have a roof over their heads, and how are you going to round them up and restrain them for essential maintenance?
Despite this, he's right - it is the right attitude to have, because problem anticipation = paralysis = energy drain.
It's all relevant at the moment. Jane is currently working full-time for MTRI (www.merseytobeatic.ca) and I'm torn between building my web business back up, or concentrating on making the farm pay. Practically, I'm going to have to do both!
So, Farm Plan 2010:
- double (at least) the number of laying hens, need more mobile houses built
- cost out producing meat birds for other people, in addition to our own
- new greenhouse to go up, first concentrate on transplants for sale in spring
- garlic crop went in the ground last fall, research adding value
- ordered a dozen fruit trees to create a new orchard in fall 2010
- need at least one beef creetur for Cam's 4H project
- looking for a jersey / guernsey house cow for ourselves, but there is also an obvious market for smallholder cows - breeding stock?
- more pigs - loved the pigs last year - consider upping the numbers to 4? Breeding sow?
- veg sales - farmers market again, but also develop farm gate sales and CSA
- we have a lovely south facing slope, perfect for grapes or hops - need to research the market
- make the woodland work for us, mushrooms, ginseng, rustic furniture making? Plus our own firewood needs of course.
- acre of barley, for brewing, feed, and straw. Hope for a hay crop too.
- put a system of managed intensive grazing in place to improve pasture. Needs fencing!
That's not everything, but it's quite a lot to be getting on with! Must go and have a lie down...
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
Well, tis the time off year for reflection and contemplation, and so I feel moved to write a line or two about the year past. I haven't quite got round to thinking about the year ahead yet...
It was a busy one, so much so that the blog got neglected and much was missed. So I will tax my brain in order to select some of the highlights, for me anyway...
Triumphant moments for the kids includes Cam's nerve-wracking second gig at a local variety show (see"Cam rocks!" earlier blog entry), followed by several other events through the year. I am thrilled that he has a passion that he has such a talent for. He already has a fan club in the village!
Breagh made us all very proud by being awarded "student of the year" in her grade at school, a testament to her hard work. It's a joy to see her enjoy her school life and friends so much. Long may it last. Both kids did really well in their 4H projects, learning so many new skills and producing some fine pieces of work. Breagh did really well at Exhibition on Brook too, and came home laden with rosettes.
They have both learned to skate, ski, kayak and swim confidently, and ran a 5km race to raise money for the school sports dept early in the year.
On the animal front, there were several ups and one down (well twenty actually....).
Firstly, Whin having pups was most definitely an unforgettable experience for me,
both as birthing partner for her and as chief mopper-upper of puppy shite in weeks to come. Parting with eight of the nine was one of the hardest things this year, but we did keep one yellow bitch, Rosa, who has become the latest addition to the inner family circle, and is very cheeky but adorable and like her mother, pretty smart.
Our pigs, who remained nameless and are now in the freezer (and in me (baked ham for supper - delicious!)) were so much fun to have around. They were utterly content from beginning to end, and a characterful addition to the menagerie. Again, parting with them was hard, but part of the grand scheme, and watching their happy free-range lives made me feel good about eating pork again. They even used to play football which was fun to watch.
We also raised our own meat birds this year, and 3 dozen new layers. However, in late November,we had a less welcome guest - a mink. He/she came almost nightly, beheading a chicken or two per night, for nearly a month. Richard and I were frustrated an depressed by this beast who sidestepped a plethora of traps and seemed to be thumbing his/her nose at us. Just before Christmas we trapped and destroyed it, and it brought such a sense of relief - i hadn't realised just how much
it had been getting me down.
Mocha and Brook are still with us, and one very personal high for me this year was riding at Exhibition, a pleasure I was not lucky enough to have last year. Because it felt so good to be there at all, I really made the most of it, and the fact that over here, gymkhana type races are open to adults too, meant that I had more fun on horseback than I had had since i was a teenager! Both horses did me proud. Specail mention to Claire, who was here for Ex week and who was an invaluable help. I hope she enjoyed it too - I think she did!
Which brings me on to visitors. Judy, Sean and Innes came in July - very special as it was the first timewe had had the pleasure of meeting our new nephew in person. The combination of new puppies, 36 chicks and a two year old seemed daunting, but it was a joy. Innes is a gem, we loved having him around and I soo missed having that little helper at feeding/egg-collecting time.
Claire came in September and got the best of the weather, and Neal, Madeleine, Jess & Rob came again in October, for another fun two weeks. Always so good to see everyone, and sad to see them go, but thanks to Skype, so much easier to keep in touch.
The Farmers' Market kept us busy all summer long, and we managed to sell our veg at all but one of the markets. Hopefully it will continue into 2010 - the seed catelogues are being perused as I write.
Other community ventures must include the skating rink, inspired by Georgie Uhlman. It kept us busy (and fit!) for much of the winter, and was a great resource for all those who made use of it.
OK, enough of 2009 - on with the next!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
December 6
First proper snowfall of the year. The weather was mild and wet when I went to bed! I guess that it had to happen sooner or later - outdoor jobs list on hold then.
Monday, October 5, 2009
4H Pro Show
Last blog was in June, seems almost a summer away... lots of shrubbery under the sod since then.
It has been a very busy and somewhat up and downy sort of a season. The Farmers' Market has run every Saturday with the last scheduled this week. It started off well, transplants sold, lulled until until we had good supplies of produce and tailed off strongly after the cottagers went home. Support from the community is strong, but there are only a handful of regular customers who actually buy from us. We need to look at the viability of continuing next year, as weekly boxes are a more reliable, easier option for us.
Jane has taken a part-time job now that the veg season is coming to an end, the extra cash will be welcome. I'm terribly bored doing what I'm doing and am contemplating changes.
The farm hasn't changed much since June, the pigs have another 2/3 weeks to go before slaughter, the laying hens are up to ~50 and the new ones have come into lay so we are awash with eggs. The meat birds went into the freezer - we were slicker than last year. 4 horses in the field. Both Jane and Breagh rode well at Exhibition this year.
Talking of exhibitions... this weekend was the 4H Pro Show, standing for Provincial. Each county within NS has it's own agricultural exhibition at which the local 4H club members compete for places in their chosen projects, Cameron was doing Outdoorsman and Woodworking, Breagh doing Sewing, Photography and Light Horse. The winners at the local show can go on the Pro Show where they compete with winners from all over the province - so it's quite a big deal. The Pro Show itself moves around each year, and this year was in Bridgewater.
Both Breagh and Cameron had projects that went through to Pro Show so Friday night we went to put them in for judging, and Saturday we spent the day the exhibition grounds watching the show. Cam's whirligig didn't place which we were surprised about, Breagh's sewed skirt did well and she placed in photography competition and sewing judging - well done to them. Two things impressed me a lot about Saturday - one, it was really busy and probably 50% of those were teenagers or younger - 4H is vibrant and such a good institution, many of the kids, strangers, will engage you in conversation, and two, the standard of entries livestock and otherwise was incredible. The cattle classes in particular were amazing, Jersey calf seems a popular class, with some beautiful animals on show, but also Guernseys, Swiss, Belted Galloway, Ayrshire, Holstein, Hereford, Angus, Simmental, Limousin and more.
The weather was great and we had a good day all round. One of those days where you really appreciate living in Nova Scotia.
It has been a very busy and somewhat up and downy sort of a season. The Farmers' Market has run every Saturday with the last scheduled this week. It started off well, transplants sold, lulled until until we had good supplies of produce and tailed off strongly after the cottagers went home. Support from the community is strong, but there are only a handful of regular customers who actually buy from us. We need to look at the viability of continuing next year, as weekly boxes are a more reliable, easier option for us.
Jane has taken a part-time job now that the veg season is coming to an end, the extra cash will be welcome. I'm terribly bored doing what I'm doing and am contemplating changes.
The farm hasn't changed much since June, the pigs have another 2/3 weeks to go before slaughter, the laying hens are up to ~50 and the new ones have come into lay so we are awash with eggs. The meat birds went into the freezer - we were slicker than last year. 4 horses in the field. Both Jane and Breagh rode well at Exhibition this year.
Talking of exhibitions... this weekend was the 4H Pro Show, standing for Provincial. Each county within NS has it's own agricultural exhibition at which the local 4H club members compete for places in their chosen projects, Cameron was doing Outdoorsman and Woodworking, Breagh doing Sewing, Photography and Light Horse. The winners at the local show can go on the Pro Show where they compete with winners from all over the province - so it's quite a big deal. The Pro Show itself moves around each year, and this year was in Bridgewater.
Both Breagh and Cameron had projects that went through to Pro Show so Friday night we went to put them in for judging, and Saturday we spent the day the exhibition grounds watching the show. Cam's whirligig didn't place which we were surprised about, Breagh's sewed skirt did well and she placed in photography competition and sewing judging - well done to them. Two things impressed me a lot about Saturday - one, it was really busy and probably 50% of those were teenagers or younger - 4H is vibrant and such a good institution, many of the kids, strangers, will engage you in conversation, and two, the standard of entries livestock and otherwise was incredible. The cattle classes in particular were amazing, Jersey calf seems a popular class, with some beautiful animals on show, but also Guernseys, Swiss, Belted Galloway, Ayrshire, Holstein, Hereford, Angus, Simmental, Limousin and more.
The weather was great and we had a good day all round. One of those days where you really appreciate living in Nova Scotia.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Flail Mowing
... just to remind myself really.
This week I got a flail mower for the BCS tractor and mowed the winter rye which had reached 5'+ but hopefully before the seed heads had matured - not that it matters too much on that area. Half of the plot was then churned over with the tiller and sweet clover sown. I haven't done the other half yet, but am thinking of maybe drilling kale or something that the pigs could eat off later in the year?
The small hay meadow was also flail mowed, there are a lot of weeds and herbs in it which would make poor hay yet, so better mulched back into the soil and I just sowed some Timothy #1 at 2.5lb/acre. No idea if it will germinate, but there is rain forecast so hopefully it will wash in. Again, if I caught it before the weed seeds were viable then next year maybe we'll have a useable hay crop.
Both areas really could have done with liming / wood ash, but I have no way of spreading it.
This week I got a flail mower for the BCS tractor and mowed the winter rye which had reached 5'+ but hopefully before the seed heads had matured - not that it matters too much on that area. Half of the plot was then churned over with the tiller and sweet clover sown. I haven't done the other half yet, but am thinking of maybe drilling kale or something that the pigs could eat off later in the year?
The small hay meadow was also flail mowed, there are a lot of weeds and herbs in it which would make poor hay yet, so better mulched back into the soil and I just sowed some Timothy #1 at 2.5lb/acre. No idea if it will germinate, but there is rain forecast so hopefully it will wash in. Again, if I caught it before the weed seeds were viable then next year maybe we'll have a useable hay crop.
Both areas really could have done with liming / wood ash, but I have no way of spreading it.
Friday, May 29, 2009
all fun and games (until someone loses a...)
... and it was all going so well :-)
No disasters yet (touching wood), but we woke yesterday to a sick dog, a sick pig, a sick chicken and now sick kids. Good grief.
Whin has mastitis, and warranted a trip to the vet. She looks very sorry for herself, but a bit brighter this morning, though obviously sore. The puppies, thankfully, got the hang of solid food immediately and are generally a pretty happy bunch (shouldn't speak too soon). We're keeping one, though opinion as to which one is a little divided! The breeder was due one as stud fee and came to have a look at them. He has offered to buy all of them, which saves us a lot of effort and trauma, he's a well kent breeder and hopefully has the measure of which homes are likely to be best.
The pigs were doing really well, but when I went out with breakfast yesterday, noticed one was just not quite his usual self, and he then spent most of the day in the pig house. He's back on his feet this morning and fed with a degree of gusto, so hopefully on the mend.
A hen has a prolapsed oviduct, which isn't particularly unusual, but has to be acted upon as the other chickens, in that empathetic way of theirs, peck at it - yowsa.
Cam has incipient man flu and needed to take the day off school. Breagh is streaming with something either cold or hay fever, but trotted off to school regardless. Us men, we are so hard, shrugging off most of life's trials and tribulations, but when we do get cut down, we come down hard like... like, er... something hard. You know what I'm saying.
No disasters yet (touching wood), but we woke yesterday to a sick dog, a sick pig, a sick chicken and now sick kids. Good grief.
Whin has mastitis, and warranted a trip to the vet. She looks very sorry for herself, but a bit brighter this morning, though obviously sore. The puppies, thankfully, got the hang of solid food immediately and are generally a pretty happy bunch (shouldn't speak too soon). We're keeping one, though opinion as to which one is a little divided! The breeder was due one as stud fee and came to have a look at them. He has offered to buy all of them, which saves us a lot of effort and trauma, he's a well kent breeder and hopefully has the measure of which homes are likely to be best.
The pigs were doing really well, but when I went out with breakfast yesterday, noticed one was just not quite his usual self, and he then spent most of the day in the pig house. He's back on his feet this morning and fed with a degree of gusto, so hopefully on the mend.
A hen has a prolapsed oviduct, which isn't particularly unusual, but has to be acted upon as the other chickens, in that empathetic way of theirs, peck at it - yowsa.
Cam has incipient man flu and needed to take the day off school. Breagh is streaming with something either cold or hay fever, but trotted off to school regardless. Us men, we are so hard, shrugging off most of life's trials and tribulations, but when we do get cut down, we come down hard like... like, er... something hard. You know what I'm saying.
Monday, May 18, 2009
And then there were four; and then there were 10; and then there were sixty four...
Well spring is here again, with all the noises (see last years posts), the loons and peepers being joined this year by snipe drumming and owls hooting in the broad light of day. We also have a pair of Canada geese hanging around the field, making us feel like proper Canadians.
Now spring is a time of multiplying generally, and the farm is no exception. The field looked awfully big with just two iddy biddy horses in once the grass started to grow, so Mocha and Brook have been joined by Fred and Kamanchi, two more of Georgie's herd. Four looks so much nicer than two :-)
Big big news was that Whin, after a successful trip to a local Labrador breeder, gave birth to 9 (yes, nine!) beautiful puppies two weeks ago. Their eyes have just opened and they have just started tottering about. They are totally irresistable. Whin looks both very proud and generally exhausted, but other than that is doing really well.
Also in the nursery (the mudroom) we presently have thirty six chicks, our laying flock of the future, in a large box under a heat lamp, waiting to go out into the barn. Like I said, it's a noisy time around here...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sad Apple Tree
Georgie came round last weekend with his extendable Stihl pruning chainsaw and we did battle on the one and only apple tree on the farm. We won, I think.
It is a Yellow Transparent, known as the August Apple around here. An old variety not so often seen now. It's an early apple and does not store well - in fact, the apples go from superb to not so nice seemingly in a matter of a few days.
The tree probably hasn't been touched in 20 years, so was very overgrown and tangled. The apples it gave were plentiful, but small and many showed disease. There is a lot more work to be done over the next few years to bring it's shape back, but we couldn't do too much for fear of stressing it. What we did do looks brutal enough!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Signs of Spring?
Slowly but surely, Nova Scotia is turning towards Spring. We've had some lovely warm sunny weather, though if a breeze is present it chills down a lot. There are still patches of snow, but we probably have 90% clear ground.
We had a menagerie of visitors on Sunday, Georgie walking 'Girl', one of his foals, out for the first time and then Jonathan and Mark 'walking' their two bull calves out haltered. I'm not sure who was walking who, but the effort of handling these animals like this really seems to pay dividends down the road.
Yesterday, we put spiles in 4 sugar maples to collect sap for making maple syrup again. It made me look back at the blog entry from this time last year, and inevitably muse on all that has been and gone and dunnit in the interim.
We have loads of seedlings coming up both indoors under the light table and in the polytunnel. Off to a flying start compared with last year. It will be interesting to see how much earlier we start harvesting. The rhubarb has started peaking through, which is always a good sign of the season turning.
I've spent some time in the woods below the house this week, clearing hanging trees, spindly rubbish and dead trees - not that you'd notice! There may be a bit of usuable firewood, but we still need to gather ~6 cords for winter 2010, and get that split and stacked.
What else? We've all had minor illnesses, Breagh got a silver medal for her science project, both kids got great school reports before March break this week. We've all been out for gentle runs as we intend to do the Spartans 5k fun run on April 5. In fact, I may nip out for a 1 mile jog just now. Pathetic really, when you think the distances I was covering a few short years ago...
We had a menagerie of visitors on Sunday, Georgie walking 'Girl', one of his foals, out for the first time and then Jonathan and Mark 'walking' their two bull calves out haltered. I'm not sure who was walking who, but the effort of handling these animals like this really seems to pay dividends down the road.
Yesterday, we put spiles in 4 sugar maples to collect sap for making maple syrup again. It made me look back at the blog entry from this time last year, and inevitably muse on all that has been and gone and dunnit in the interim.
We have loads of seedlings coming up both indoors under the light table and in the polytunnel. Off to a flying start compared with last year. It will be interesting to see how much earlier we start harvesting. The rhubarb has started peaking through, which is always a good sign of the season turning.
I've spent some time in the woods below the house this week, clearing hanging trees, spindly rubbish and dead trees - not that you'd notice! There may be a bit of usuable firewood, but we still need to gather ~6 cords for winter 2010, and get that split and stacked.
What else? We've all had minor illnesses, Breagh got a silver medal for her science project, both kids got great school reports before March break this week. We've all been out for gentle runs as we intend to do the Spartans 5k fun run on April 5. In fact, I may nip out for a 1 mile jog just now. Pathetic really, when you think the distances I was covering a few short years ago...
Monday, March 2, 2009
webaria.com
On a techy note... I do actually have to work to pay for all this agrarian nonsense!
Since moving to Nova Scotia I have been working as a freelancer for the business that I sold in Scotland, lanetech. David Powell, the new owner, has had a steady stream of new site builds to do and ongoing tech support of existing sites, which has kept me in gainful employ ever since.
However, there are sites to be built over here too, and I needed a business persona. After much debate I settled on Webaria, which had the advantage of having webaria.com, .ca, .co.uk and .net domain names available.
I have squeezed in the build of a website at www.webaria.com and if you would like to visit and leave comments (nice ones) it would be appreciated. I wanted to test out the integration of another blogging system, Wordpress, into the site, and it has worked out pretty well.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Propagation light table
Well, she asked for it, and I did need a practice project to try out my new Kreg jig (www.kregtools.com)! And so here, as requested, and indeed, as modelled by my glamorous assistant, the lovely Jane, is my version of a propagation table.
Each tier is lit by 4 x 4' daylight T8 fluorescent bulbs and gives 8 square feet of room to start seeds off. We will probably need to add heat either with a heating pad, or a wall heater behind the unit. Whether 24sq.ft. will be enough room is yet to be seen.
We are hoping to have not only our own plants started off, but also enough young transplants to be able to make our fortune at the first Farmers' Market of the year on Saturday May 9.
I can always make a mk.II version, missing out all the mistakes I made with this one. It didn't cost a huge amount, the lumber was $75, the light fittings $160 and the bulbs $45. Twice the size and half the price than the one sold by Veseys. And when the seeds are done with, we can use it to sleep visitors on in the spare room - I should have made it a bit longer :-)
I wonder how long it will be until the polis are around asking what we're cultivating!!
Each tier is lit by 4 x 4' daylight T8 fluorescent bulbs and gives 8 square feet of room to start seeds off. We will probably need to add heat either with a heating pad, or a wall heater behind the unit. Whether 24sq.ft. will be enough room is yet to be seen.
We are hoping to have not only our own plants started off, but also enough young transplants to be able to make our fortune at the first Farmers' Market of the year on Saturday May 9.
I can always make a mk.II version, missing out all the mistakes I made with this one. It didn't cost a huge amount, the lumber was $75, the light fittings $160 and the bulbs $45. Twice the size and half the price than the one sold by Veseys. And when the seeds are done with, we can use it to sleep visitors on in the spare room - I should have made it a bit longer :-)
I wonder how long it will be until the polis are around asking what we're cultivating!!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Snow,ice,ice,snow.
Yep, that seems to be the pattern at the moment. Snow and ice dominate pretty much all of our outdoor tasks. Whether it's opening the barn doors, watering the animals, walking to the garage, or driving down the drive, conditions underfoot (or sometimes overfoot and over the knee too!) are a time-consuming and challenging occupation. It took three tries to get up the hill yesterday, because I was silly enough to stop at the bottom to pick up Cam from the school bus. Smashing ice in buckets and chicken drinkers is part of the daily routine. Skidding up and down the drive with buckets of gravel can be fun. And, hey, taking the occasional kettle of boiling water out to defrost a stuck door isn't such a big deal! The cold fresh air still makes me feel alive, and the animals hardly seem to notice.
Still, despite all the above, I must confess I do find my thoughts turn to spring occasionally. And I find myself fantasizing about wearing fewer clothes, eating fresh tomatoes from the garden and not tip-toeing gingerly about like a granny. Even the horrors of the blackfly seem to blur when I think of walking bearfoot over the grass....
But hey, our wonderful community rink will be gone in the summer, and sledging down the hill will not be an option. And there's something about those mornings when the snow glitters like, well, like glitter, and the ice makes beautiful big leafy patterns on the porch windows.
Maybe my biggest revelation about our move to Canada has been just how much I love the seasons...
When does spring start?
Still, despite all the above, I must confess I do find my thoughts turn to spring occasionally. And I find myself fantasizing about wearing fewer clothes, eating fresh tomatoes from the garden and not tip-toeing gingerly about like a granny. Even the horrors of the blackfly seem to blur when I think of walking bearfoot over the grass....
But hey, our wonderful community rink will be gone in the summer, and sledging down the hill will not be an option. And there's something about those mornings when the snow glitters like, well, like glitter, and the ice makes beautiful big leafy patterns on the porch windows.
Maybe my biggest revelation about our move to Canada has been just how much I love the seasons...
When does spring start?
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