All dry!

I'm looking for name suggestions for this little girl,got one? drop a note in the comment section.

The baby was born..

Early this morning we welcomed a big long legged red HEIFER calf into the world!
Ginger had her calf all on her own no assistance.
here's a few pictures.

Some Christmas gift ideas

Christmas is getting closer so I thought I would put a list of a few of my favorite things together as a gift giving guide for that special farmer friend (or for just treating yourself!!)


Here is a brand of yarn I like to work with,Custom Woolen Mills.
They have 100% pure new wool and exotic fiber blends from Western Canada.
I like the texture, the color range and not to mention the price at $5.50 for a 4oz Lopi skein.



Now to work with that lovely yarn you need some good needles.
This is where River John Needle Company comes in.
I will not be satisfied until I use my wooden birch needles.
These needles are amazing. I use both the swing and straight although they also come in double pointed.
The swing needles have a removable stopper to allow for working with different colors.
At $10 a pair they are well worth it.




So here is a wonderful gift from a great little shop in Gaspereau,NS.
Gaspereau Valley Fibres has the most luxuriant soap.
It is made with essential oils and sheeps milk.
My favorite is the refreshing rosemary mint but you can also find lavender and oatmeal honey. At $5.50 a bar your senses will thank you.


Womens Carhartt Unlined Duck Bib Overalls are fantastic.
I love mine,they give you freedom to move and keep you nice and warm. They are around $95

Ok so these are on my want list,but I have to tell you Ariat boots are the only cowboy boot for me.
They last a long time and are stylish too.
I currently own quite a few pairs,I should tell you their riding sneakers are also fabulous,they make you feel like your walking on marshmallows!
Price can vary on where you buy them but usually $125+


Easy and fun to use Yogotherm is a yogurt maker that uses no energy to incubate your culture.
It can also be used to incubate other lactic products such as Fromage Blanc, Kefier, Buttermilk, Creme Fraiche etc.
$40 +



This book is amazing!
If you have a dairy cow,goat or sheep you need this book.
200 Recipes for yogurts, kefirs, butters and buttermilk, as well as recipes that feature the homemade cheeses along with recipes on dishes to use them in.
Go ahead try your hand at cheese making!
Around $30


Ok so this one you might have to search for probably in a second hand book store but when you find it you will love it!
Ruth Stout's No Work Garden is a pleasure to read. Learn how to garden with mulch.
You will save time from not having to weed and your soil will be moist and rich.



If you have no herd of Joel Salatin then I ask where have you been?
In Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley lies Polyface farm a non-industrial food production oasis.
This DVD is worth every penny.
110 minutes of true educatin from learning about "salad bar beef" to "pigarator pork"
$60.00


If you like poultry no other book can touch this one!
Filled with beautiful pictures and great descriptions this book is a great poultry guide to add to your library.
$35


With nearly 200 individual topics of country and self-sustained living including animals, cooking, crafts, gardening, health.
Great book.
Around $30

Waiting and waiting....

picture from June
I'm still waiting.
Not so patiently anymore.
Ginger has had me on my toes for days.
No calf yet,just a very large Jersey with a very large udder of milk.

Ginger

Just a quick update~~ Hoping by the end of the day to welcome a beautiful Jersey/Highland calf into the world.
I don't think Ginger will go much longer,teats are filled with milk and are at the point of not bending.
Could be a exciting day!!!
More later...

Rise and Shine

Angel Baby...

Last evening around 5pm,just getting dusk I asked my husband to run the sheep into the barn.
He came to the house and told me Olive my ewe lamb did not come in and he found her laying outside the fence.
I went out to see her,he had her laying in the middle of the barn floor. She did not look good.
I immediately thought bloat,she was on pasture with hay but their is a apple tree in the fence,surrounded with all the apple drops.
Sheep love apples but to many can cause bloat.
I gave her a bloat mixture of warm water,oil and baking soda and rubbed her belly.
She had some gas relived.
I felt in her mouth for objects,it was freezing cold,not a good sign.
Within ten minutes of treating her she passed away.
This was a hard loss,unexpected.
She was born with a halo on her head,she's my little angel baby.

On a good note...

The rain has slowed down.
It has not stopped but at least the road to the meadow has not flooded which means the cattle are still safe and not needing to be moved yet.
On another good note Ginger is getting closer to having her calf.
Tomorrow morning she will be moved to the cow barn and will have lots of room and comfort of dry bedding when the calf decides to join us in this wet world.
I'm really hoping for a heifer to see if we can get a cold hardy milk cow as she is crossed with Lucas our old Highland herd sire, we will have a Jersey~Land calf!

Rain,Rain - GO AWAY!

The weather in Nova Scotia for the past few days has been to say the least miserable.
It has been very windy with rain pounding us non stop.
The weather is forecasting more rain until Friday!!!
Record breaking amounts have fallen.
We are expecting another 60mm today.
Some parts of Nova Scotia have already had 172mm fall that's 6.77 inches!!!
We are flooded in the meadow and almost to the point of flowing over the road to the meadow.

Looks like moving cattle will take place tomorrow.
Getting them to a place where they wont get trapped is essential.
Hoping this rain stops sooner then later!!



You can see the difference in the before and after pictures.

Wile.E Coyote you hide no more!

Yesterday we did some more exploring of our 100 acre forest, look what we found..

yup that's a coyote den!
Here in Nova Scotia we have large coyotes known as the Eastern Coyote.
"The eastern coyote is basically a western coyote which has picked up significant wolf characteristics through interbreeding. This genetic make up gives the eastern coyote the potential for a much larger body size - twice the size of their close relative, the south-western coyote"



I'm glad to have found this den it gives me peace of mind knowing where they live since they have already found my home!


Photos of coyote from Hant's Journal

Quilting

Well it's that time of year to snuggle up on the couch with a ball of yarn or a beautiful piece of cotton and make something special.
This latest project is something special!
A group of farm women across Canada have all come together over their love of animals and quilting and a cross Canada quilt idea was born.
We will all be sewing a block or two for a quilt that will be quilted by a generous participant.
The idea "founder" mailed out fabric that is to be used in each block as a anchor so all the blocks tie together.
Blocks can be any color or pattern just all the same size.
I have choose the 'goose in the pond' quilt pattern.


I will be picking out more fabric tomorrow, more picture then.
Isn't it wonderful that a group of strangers with a common interest can work together to make something beautiful?