Girls Night Out

My one friend with young children and I decided a few years back that we would start a hobby.  This hobby had to be something we could do together, have fun with, only need to commit to one night a week for a couple hours and NO kids were allowed. 

We started off in a ceramics class for awhile and we both really enjoyed it.  I loved that the kids got to spend one night a week with just their dad.  He would usually do something fun and then put them to bed.  Unfortunately ceramics got a little pricey so we had to quit for awhile and we were on the search for something else after almost a year of no hobby outing.

Then one day in our local paper I saw an article about a local artist that came to speak at the churches painting class.  That afternoon I phoned the man in charge of it and signed us up right away.  They were all so welcoming there and all different levels and different mediums were used. 

My friend hadn't painted a "painting" since grade 4 and I don't have much more experience than that!  But we got to go out and chat and have fun AND laugh alot at what we were doing!

Here is my first painting from 'girls night'.

Unfortunately the classes are over for the summer but will be starting again in September.  I think we may just keep on painting next year too.  I like to call this painting innocence.

Hard Work AND Fun!

Well it is getting SO busy here, as I am sure it is with every farmer out there, no matter where you are.
I was at the local Nursery today and bought $200 worth of seeds and a few plants for the garden, Yikes - Really!!!  I couldn't believe it.  I am now totally committed to having my vegetable stand this summer but first I have to plant those $200 worth of seeds, build a stand, make signs and get everything in order all within the next couple weeks, easy peasy, right?!

We have been planting a few things here, onions, peas, rhubarb, parsley and mint.  The kids help out lots but usually get distracted once they spot the first worm and then the worm hunt is on.

We take the occasional break to play on our uncles trampoline which is great fun now at their ages.

We play outside lots.

I had the opportunity to see Johnny Reid in concert again this past weekend and it was AMAZING!!!  He really puts on a great show and the entire band is extrememly talented.  He is a Canadian, Scottish born, country singer.

This is another wicked Canadian group, The Stellas, which are actually husband and wife.  They rocked 'In This House' which was a total surprise for everyone there because no one knew that they were performing.

So we have been having lots of fun mixed in with lots of work.  Life is good.

Grateful Sunday

A Sunday ritual where you post a picture with a brief description of something that you are grateful for. Then the next week add another picture and description. In a year you will have 52 fabulous things in your life that you are grateful for!
If you want to join in then leave a link with your grateful moment.


Week 4

This week I am thankful for all the mothers out there that are striving to do the best they can for all the children that are in their lives.  We received these board games and others from one of our 'grandmothers' today for our children to play with.  What great fun they are going to be!

Week 3

I just love hanging clothes out on the clothesline. There is something so simple and historic about a clothesline. I'm grateful for the opportunity to connect with my ancestors through a clothesline.

Week 2

This week I am grateful for all the beautiful eggs that my laying hens are providing for us. It is wonderful to have farm fresh eggs, plus it provides a tiny income for me while doing something I love.

Week 1

I am grateful this week for all the wonderful open space we have in the country. There is always places for the kids to explore and find all sorts of treasures.

Chickens Say Cluck...

Today I went to Sadie's class that had 15 other Senior Kindergarten/Grade 1 kids in it.  I brought along Seth and together we taught her class all about chickens. 

I told them all about feeding them, we talked about their eggs, and even looked closely at their feathers.  We put eggs in jars filled with vinegar to see what would happen after a week of sitting in the vinegar.  (it takes away the outer shell leaving the membrane intact so it bounces a little too, just in case you were wondering!)

We compared different feeds, different sizes of eggs and the difference between store bought eggs and farm fresh eggs.

We even brought a chicken to the classroom for everyone to see and everyone then got to toss some bread or lettuce at it.  They were very excited about that part.

One of the most exciting things for them was to see the chickens foot up close and discover that it was just like the dinosaurs!  But the most exciting thing these 5-6 year olds saw? You can probably guess but yes, it was watching the chicken poop!  They were thrilled when it pooped several times and then they could even smell it.  Yep that is what excited a 5 or 6 year old - chicken poop.

Obviously I couldn't take any pictures because of all the privacy issues with the school but it was a great way to spend the morning.

Kids Activities

I have been wondering what to 'get' my kids into a lot lately.  I have heard so many times, if you don't put your kids in something when they are young, then they will never stick with it.  So the question is, What do  you put them in?

Piano is ok, but doesn't everyone play the piano?  Sports are ok too but what sport is going to take them the furthest and that they will enjoy and that won't cost so much or take too much time?  Dance is another option but what dance?  Even though we live in the country we are close enough to places that participating in an activity seems to have endless possibilities.

Well I thought about it for awhile and decided that horse riding was what they would start off with.  They can then chose to do it recreationally or competitively once they are older, the choice will be theirs. 

We have a neighbour that teaches and so we went to her farm for a test run and the kids loved it!

This is Lily.  She is a dwarf miniature horse.

The kids learned a lot from her and she was so patient with them.

Seth enjoying his ride.

Sadie enjoying her ride too.

It was so cold that day that it was great to have a short trip back to home and then each enjoy a nice cup of hot cocoa.

this moment:: Dressing themselves!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. One photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

 

Stop by Soulemama's blog to visit more moments.

DIY Kitchen Island

I salvaged a wonderful, old dresser from my mom!  It was in her bedroom, that then moved to her spare room, and was going to then go to the dump.  ~Wait~ THE DUMP!  oh please let me have it, I'm sure I can use it for something!

I was originally going to leave it alone and use it for, well, a dresser.  Then I thought we don't really have room upstairs or the need for one and we needed lots of room in our small kitchen.

I started by painting it white with just a touch of gray.  Then I spray painted the handles with a matte black.

I added some hooks onto the one side and a paper towel holder (that was a scarf display rack in the store!)  and that was it!

Now I have a great space in my kitchen for holding my cookie sheets, frying pans and many other things!  I am so excited over this DIY project.

Grateful Sunday

A Sunday ritual where you post a picture with a brief description of something that you are grateful for. Then the next week add another picture and description. In a year you will have 52 fabulous things in your life that you are grateful for!
If you want to join in then leave a link with your grateful moment.

Week 3

 

 

I just love hanging clothes out on the clothesline.  There is something so simple and historic about a clothesline.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to connect with my ancestors through a clothesline.

 

Week 2

This week I am grateful for all the beautiful eggs that my laying hens are providing for us. It is wonderful to have farm fresh eggs, plus it provides a tiny income for me while doing something I love.

Week 1

I am grateful this week for all the wonderful open space we have in the country. There is always places for the kids to explore and find all sorts of treasures.

Grateful Sunday

A Sunday ritual where you post a picture with a brief description of something that you are grateful for. Then the next week add another picture and description. In a year you will have 52 fabulous things in your life that you are grateful for!
If you want to join in then leave a link with your grateful moment.

Week 2

This week I am grateful for all the beautiful eggs that my laying hens are providing for us.  It is wonderful to have farm fresh eggs, plus it provides a tiny income for me while doing something I love. 

Week 1

I am grateful this week for all the wonderful open space we have in the country. There is always places for the kids to explore and find all sorts of treasures.

Sugar Season Ends

Well another year has come and gone for the Maple Syrup.  It was an unusual year for it here in Eastern Ontario with the weather being so unpredictable.  One day it would be hot enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt and the next you would be in your winter jacket. 
If it was that confusing for us, I'm sure it was just as confusing for the trees trying to figure out when to run their sap and when to stop.  I was really busy trying to boil the sap down to syrup but also it was right when we were (and still are) trying to build a chicken coop.  I did however remember to bring my camera on one of the last days.  Here are some pictures from the syrup season.

this moment:: Too Much Play

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. One photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

Stop by Soulemama's blog to visit more moments.

Weekend Work

I know it is Wednesday and I am just getting to what went on on the homestead this past weekend but at least it's not what we did at Christmas, right?!

We were BUSY this past weekend.  There was a princess birthday party to attend too, an auction sale to check out and of course lots of work.  The princess party was a success but the auction was  a big fail.  I was looking at a tiller for the back of the tractor but the opening bid was higher than my final price.  Needless to say there is still no tiller on the back of my tractor.

My partner has been busy in the bush this past winter cutting the fallen trees, either for firewood or logs.  This past weekend we spent all Sat and Sun helping out the neighbour that has a sawmill cut up our logs. 

The guy has a portable push mill which means he brings it too you but he has to hand-push the saw blade as it cuts through the log.  Sometimes it can be pretty slow moving.  Now we have a half wagon load of wood to use for our many projects, all of which came off our own property.

When Spring is here that also means calving season is here too.  On Sat night there was a cow that looked like it was going to calve so we decided to keep an eye on it and sure enough around 9pm her water broke.  We decided to check on her about an hour later.  We were in the barnyard trying to find her when we heard a mother's labour grunt coming from the other side of the barnyard.  We quickly went over to find the calf halfway out but with the mothers sack still over his head.  We quickly ripped it off just as the mother gave her last push.  If we hadn't of got there when we did the calf would have suffocated. 

Here he is a couple days later healthy and happy.  It amazes me every time I see an animal being born.  What a miracle.

Media Monday

Today I need to tell you about a musical group that I have been a fan of since last summer.  I got their CD for Christmas and still love it! 

The group is The Civil Wars and I can only describe their music as folk/country. I have a toss up between 2 songs for which would be my favourite. The song Poison and Wine IMHO is about a relationship that is bordering on breaking up or recommitting to each other. 

The song Barton Hallow is a little different feel to it.  It is a more get up off your feet and get dancing type of song.  The only problem is that it has a pretty grimm story behind the song but if you don't pay too much attention to the story behind it you will have a blast dancing to it.

 

The two members of the group were song writers before taking the plunge into singing and what a great decision.  The chemistry between these two is amazing and comes out in all of there songs.

Please take a moment and listen to their songs and see if you love them as much as I do.

Grateful Sunday

A Sunday ritual where you post a picture with a brief description of something that you are grateful for.  Then the next week add another picture and description.  In a year you will have 52 fabulous things in your life that you are grateful for!
If you want to join in then leave a link with your grateful moment.

Week 1

I am grateful this week for all the wonderful open space we have in the country.  There is always places for the kids to explore and find all sorts of treasures.

this moment:: NEW BOOTS!!!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

 

 

Stop by Soulemama's blog to visit more moments!

Recording Eggs

I am torn with this part of my job as a chicken farmer.  In order to record who was laying eggs still I had to place each chicken in their own cage.  I really hate having them in cages and not letting them outside.  To me it seems cruel only leaving them in a small cage.  I can't imagine what it is like in one of those larger chicken barns where there are hundreds of chickens, all in rows, lined up on top of the other, never seeing outside the barn. 

On the other hand I love going in and 'finding' the eggs in certain cages.  I like keeping track of what chicken has laid eggs and how many. 

I feed and water them in margarine containers a couple times each day.  They are eating more in the cages then what they were free range, which tells me they were eating a lot of what our land has to offer. 

I started off with them on the straw on the floor but found that they were standing/sitting in a poopy mess on the bottom of their cage.  So I raised their cages on cement blocks and now their poop falls through. 

I also was feeding them on the top of the margarine container but with chickens being scratchers they kept scratching the tops to the back of the cage and then pooping on it. 

So far, 12 of the 24 are still laying eggs.  We will be moving those chickens into the new coop with our 50 new birds we will be getting on Wednesday.  Yes, THIS Wednesday!!!!  Can't wait.

::this moment:: I See You!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

Stop by Soulemama's blog to visit more moments!

Dreaming

The exceptionally warm weather a couple weeks ago has put summer thoughts in everyone's mind.  When it was 28 degrees Celsius and the seasonal temperatures are usually around 5 degrees you can't help but start looking to summer. 

When I look to summer, this is what I dream about.  Flowers, vegetables and EVERYTHING that goes with it.  I get excited by it all.  And FREE SHIPPING with my order - yes please!

I have to remind myself that I am one person and still have the kids that I must feed, chickens that need looking after, a job to keep etc, etc.

I still will sit here and dream of all the beautiful flower beds I can build or all the vegetables that will grow in my garden.  I will most likely look through these magazines over and over again imagining, dreaming and maybe placing a *sensible order.

I Wonder....

It always amazes me when you turn off the T.V., computer, video games, and even put the books away what the children will come up with.  I am a big believer in sending children outside to play and pass time, especially when the phrase, "I"m bored" comes out. 

Going outside is not a problem for my children though, they love it outside and usually can't wait to get out.  So while we were working on the chicken coop, the children were working on a project all their own.

They took a lot of time to make this animal shelter.  I had to make a sign so the animals knew that they were welcome anytime.  The creativity and imagination that is always working in the minds of young children always amazes me.  When I look at empty margarine containers I see recycling, the children see doors and tables.  When I see torn off kite tails I see garbage but they see flags.  Old sticks?  Throw them in the furnace to clean things up but they see bridges, roads, walls and more. 

They are so proud of their little animal house and can't wait to find out what animal is going to choose to live in it!

Chicken Coop Part Deux

Well with the count down on for when we get our new chickens, it has been a busy couple of days her on the homestead.  We put two calves from last summer in the barn to sell at the auction barn today and I, with the help of the little ones, put all our laying hens in the cages in the coop to see what ones are laying and what ones aren't. 

But we are still busy trying to get our chicken coop done for our new arrivals.  This means laying blocks for a foundation, taking out old feed troughs, taking down walls and putting in new walls, windows and doors.

Laying down the foundation inside the barn.

Seth has to keep the year old bulls back from pushing on the blocks.  You can just see the bulls ear but he is there!

Taking down one of the walls in the barn.

Oh to be a boy and able to drop your pants and pee whenever you feel the need!  I guess I should be happy he is peeing in the barnyard and not my chicken coop!

Chicken Coop Begins!

The new chicken coop begins.  I found some old windows on my parents farm that weren't being used (most likely never) and thought they would look perfect for my new chicken coop.   Some of the glass panes were missing and they needed to be repainted and re-cocked.  Luckily my helper Orangy was always close by to keep me company. 

The chickens are coming on the 3rd or 4th of April so I will have more pictures posted from building the coop.  That's only a little over a week!  Yikes!!

Free Range Chickens

My chickens have been enjoying this warm weather SO much.  They can't wait for me to get to the coop and open the door.  They literally fly at me as they try to get outside. 

I had to shoo them away from the road too because they like it in the ditches where the puddles are, which also means lots of worms.  YUM!!!

I just feel bad for them because once we get the new coop made and them moved in they will only have a 'yard' of their own to be in.  They will still get to go outside but it will have to be limited.  

Enjoy this time my friends!