Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Origin Story
I was watching The Specials the other day and it got me thinking about my origin story. No I don't consider myself a super hero. I was just wondering at what point did this idea come to me, to become a homesteader/farmer whatever you want to call it.
I actually don't remember the exact moment. I know I've wanted a garden forever but up until Rose Cottage had only lived in apartments. I have a black thumb when it comes potted plants. I don't know if I picked something from the library or I stumbled across the country living forums on Mothering.com or what. It must have happened in the past five years.
When we bought Rose Cottage the plan was to make it our forever home and to make as much of the property into a food garden as possible. I wanted chickens but they aren't legal there and Limey wasn't willing to break the law. Besides he also wasn't at all interested in having animals. The garden we had just made me want to go bigger. I also started reading homesteading books, lots and lots of books. It soon became my dream to win the lottery and move to a farm. It wasn't possible without the winning ticket which made me really sad. It's depressing to have a dream you know will never come true. I talked about it a lot but Limey was absolutely not interested. He's a major extrovert and was very involved in the community. As much as he liked to garden, the thought of moving somewhere rural made him want to gouge his eyes out.
Early in 2010 there was a subtle change. We had watched a couple of documentaries on the future of farming and sustainability. Limey stopped eating chicken because of how they are farmed. He had always been a workaholic but the rat race was starting to lose it's appeal.
I remember the exact moment Limey got on board. We were driving home from the mall. It was cold and depressing, that moment when you decide winter has been around way too long. It was a conversation about the weather and how wouldn't it be nice to move somewhere warmer where winters weren't so shitty. We went home a had a never ending conversation about moving, homesteading and starting a farm business. We worked out a budget to see if we could afford to move if we sold the house for x amount of money. I of course had been looking at properties for months, properties that I never thought we would buy.
Nova Scotia was the only place that made sense. Southern Ontario is not for me and BC is crazy expensive. Property in NS was within our budget. The Valley is a microclimate and it's where all the farming takes place so that's where we centered our search. At some point Limey flew down to look at the area and to buy a house. This one was the first one on my list. Before he came down I had serious doubts about the trip. I was still not convinced that he would be okay living somewhere rural. When he came back he gushed about the area, the house and all the people he met.
The rest is history. We absolutely love it here. It took a long time to feel comfortable in the old house but I felt like I was home the moment I drove up the driveway here.
I'm sure the news that we were moving came as a bit of a shock to everyone that knows him. But now Limey feels uncomfortable wearing his business clothes and rushes home from work to relax and put on his farm gear. It's hilarious the change in him. We both fight over who gets to get up at seven and feed the animals, even when it's freezing and winds are 40km/hr. Stress has pretty much disappeared and we are happier than we've ever been.
That said, it's not all sunshine and roses. There's a long commute to work, the power goes out frequently, hydro is expensive, midwifery is non-existent, animals die, chickens stop laying, ideas don't work out as planned, we have a hard year ahead making this farm thing grow as a business and we desperately miss our friends. But when you are living your dream it's totally worth it.
I actually don't remember the exact moment. I know I've wanted a garden forever but up until Rose Cottage had only lived in apartments. I have a black thumb when it comes potted plants. I don't know if I picked something from the library or I stumbled across the country living forums on Mothering.com or what. It must have happened in the past five years.
When we bought Rose Cottage the plan was to make it our forever home and to make as much of the property into a food garden as possible. I wanted chickens but they aren't legal there and Limey wasn't willing to break the law. Besides he also wasn't at all interested in having animals. The garden we had just made me want to go bigger. I also started reading homesteading books, lots and lots of books. It soon became my dream to win the lottery and move to a farm. It wasn't possible without the winning ticket which made me really sad. It's depressing to have a dream you know will never come true. I talked about it a lot but Limey was absolutely not interested. He's a major extrovert and was very involved in the community. As much as he liked to garden, the thought of moving somewhere rural made him want to gouge his eyes out.
 |
| 2006 Three Sisters Planting |
 |
| 2009 Cottage Garden |
Early in 2010 there was a subtle change. We had watched a couple of documentaries on the future of farming and sustainability. Limey stopped eating chicken because of how they are farmed. He had always been a workaholic but the rat race was starting to lose it's appeal.
I remember the exact moment Limey got on board. We were driving home from the mall. It was cold and depressing, that moment when you decide winter has been around way too long. It was a conversation about the weather and how wouldn't it be nice to move somewhere warmer where winters weren't so shitty. We went home a had a never ending conversation about moving, homesteading and starting a farm business. We worked out a budget to see if we could afford to move if we sold the house for x amount of money. I of course had been looking at properties for months, properties that I never thought we would buy.
Nova Scotia was the only place that made sense. Southern Ontario is not for me and BC is crazy expensive. Property in NS was within our budget. The Valley is a microclimate and it's where all the farming takes place so that's where we centered our search. At some point Limey flew down to look at the area and to buy a house. This one was the first one on my list. Before he came down I had serious doubts about the trip. I was still not convinced that he would be okay living somewhere rural. When he came back he gushed about the area, the house and all the people he met.
The rest is history. We absolutely love it here. It took a long time to feel comfortable in the old house but I felt like I was home the moment I drove up the driveway here.
I'm sure the news that we were moving came as a bit of a shock to everyone that knows him. But now Limey feels uncomfortable wearing his business clothes and rushes home from work to relax and put on his farm gear. It's hilarious the change in him. We both fight over who gets to get up at seven and feed the animals, even when it's freezing and winds are 40km/hr. Stress has pretty much disappeared and we are happier than we've ever been.
 |
| Before: Onstage at the Paramount Theatre. |
 |
| After: ready to butcher a chicken or assist in an animal birth at any moment. |
That said, it's not all sunshine and roses. There's a long commute to work, the power goes out frequently, hydro is expensive, midwifery is non-existent, animals die, chickens stop laying, ideas don't work out as planned, we have a hard year ahead making this farm thing grow as a business and we desperately miss our friends. But when you are living your dream it's totally worth it.
***********
If you are interested in the same kind of life change I'll be posting a list of my favourite resources this week. Books, documentaries and web sites that inspired me to this dream. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Cock a Doodle Roo!
Just before Christmas Limey brought home a beautiful blue Australorp rooster. We're going to breed him to our black Australorps and to future generations in order to eventually get blue and splash Australorps.
I've been hesitant about getting a roo but I don't know why I waited. I love his voice. He's a lot less noisy than everyone else out there. The hens make more noise when they lay an egg!
 |
| Look at those gorgeous feathers. |
 |
| I know I'm beautiful. |
 |
| Cock a doodle doo! |
I've been hesitant about getting a roo but I don't know why I waited. I love his voice. He's a lot less noisy than everyone else out there. The hens make more noise when they lay an egg!
These Are a Few of My Favourite Things
We are generally pretty frugal, but at Christmas we like to splurge a little.
Here are my three favourite Christmas gifts this year.
An incubator! I almost bought Limey the same thing. I'm collecting fertile eggs now so I'll get to use this soon.
I guess that's really four gifts. I've been drooling over the aprons on Etsy for awhile now and Limey outdid himself this year by making these two aprons for me! It was his first go at sewing and he did pretty well don't you think?
What did you get for Christmas that you absolutely love?
Here are my three favourite Christmas gifts this year.
A how-to jewelry book with a little info on steampunk culture thrown in. Now I just need some jewelry making supplies!
I guess that's really four gifts. I've been drooling over the aprons on Etsy for awhile now and Limey outdid himself this year by making these two aprons for me! It was his first go at sewing and he did pretty well don't you think?
What did you get for Christmas that you absolutely love?
Saturday, December 25, 2010
The Dollhouse
As I stated in a previous post, I asked Limey to make a dollhouse for the kids for Christmas.
The actual dollhouse cost $20 to make. Limey ran out of time towards the end so we bought some furniture sets to finish it up with. The grand total was around $120 which is a lot better than $250 for the furnished Plan Toys dollhouse.
The actual dollhouse cost $20 to make. Limey ran out of time towards the end so we bought some furniture sets to finish it up with. The grand total was around $120 which is a lot better than $250 for the furnished Plan Toys dollhouse.
 |
| Poor Mom, her baby is in the toilet and she stepped in a pile of dog poo. |
 |
| Dad! There's a giant outside. Grab your baby and run! |
Friday, December 24, 2010
Wind Damage
I generally don't like writing (or reading) long blog posts but we've had a wordy week so here I go...
You may have heard that the Maritimes have been having it rough in the storm department lately. Hurricane Earl was minor in comparison to the wind we've had in the past two weeks. We haven't suffered any real damage to the property but the wind has caused us some trouble.
Things started badly on Sunday. Limey brought home a rooster and two hens. As soon as I opened the lid off the bin to let them out, the Penedesenca hen flew straight over my head and into the bush. Every day Limey would go out and try to catch her but she evaded him every time. The strong winds didn't help. As of Thursday she was no longer in her hidey hole and we haven't been able to find her anywhere else.
Early Wednesday morning the phone rang waking us up. It was our neighbours across the street calling to say that our pig was in their yard! The wind had blown the gate down. Limey was out of the house before I could blink. I have been dreading the possibility of Checkers escaping because of all the stories I've read about such an occurrence. Pigs are heavy and strong, not the easiest animal to move where you want it to go. Fortunately our pig loves us. As soon as she saw Limey, Checkers came running up to him and he walked her across the road and up our driveway. She padded along like a faithful dog wagging her tail. No damage done. Phew!
I'd hoped that was the end to our troubles but things got worse from there. Friday evening when I went out to feed the animals I noticed that Zoe the Muscovey was missing. It had been really windy all day. It was hard to walk around outside without getting blown around so I assume she had tried flying in to or out of one of the paddocks and got blown away. While Limey went out to look for her, I got a phone call from our neighbour again. She had seen Zoe walking along the street in the morning but saw her go up our driveway so she didn't worry about her. Limey went across the street and found her in a field foraging. When she saw him she came running up but as she got closer she flew up back to the house. As soon as she got near the roof a huge gust of wind came up and blew her across the three acre plot next door and all the way to the highway. Limey ran all the way there but he was too late, she had been hit by a car. Zoe was one of our breeding ducks so we are really sad to see her go but there is no point in wasting the meat. There is a freshly butchered duck in my fridge and we'll be having a bittersweet Christmas meal.
While Limey was butchering the duck I went out to lock up the chicken coop and lock the remaining ducks in the chicken paddock. I spotted something white sitting in the duck house but the two ducks were following behind me. I shone my flashlight into the duck house to find a muddy Meringue (chicken) pacing around. I couldn't figure out why she was in there and not in her own coop. When I pulled her out I got my answer. Her wing was broken and hanging limply at her side. Damn wind.
Chickens can survive a broken wing as long as it doesn't get infected. I didn't have any bandages in the house so I donated the foot from a pair of hose to patch her up with. It slipped over her wing tightly enough to hold it into place against her body. Her wing won't be of any use to her now but at least she's alive. She'll be in the house until she's healed up a bit.
The wind is finally dieing out and we're expecting snow tonight. Hopefully it'll be a relaxing white Christmas from here on out.
Life on the farm, it's definitely not boring.
Merry Christmas!
You may have heard that the Maritimes have been having it rough in the storm department lately. Hurricane Earl was minor in comparison to the wind we've had in the past two weeks. We haven't suffered any real damage to the property but the wind has caused us some trouble.
Things started badly on Sunday. Limey brought home a rooster and two hens. As soon as I opened the lid off the bin to let them out, the Penedesenca hen flew straight over my head and into the bush. Every day Limey would go out and try to catch her but she evaded him every time. The strong winds didn't help. As of Thursday she was no longer in her hidey hole and we haven't been able to find her anywhere else.
Early Wednesday morning the phone rang waking us up. It was our neighbours across the street calling to say that our pig was in their yard! The wind had blown the gate down. Limey was out of the house before I could blink. I have been dreading the possibility of Checkers escaping because of all the stories I've read about such an occurrence. Pigs are heavy and strong, not the easiest animal to move where you want it to go. Fortunately our pig loves us. As soon as she saw Limey, Checkers came running up to him and he walked her across the road and up our driveway. She padded along like a faithful dog wagging her tail. No damage done. Phew!
I'd hoped that was the end to our troubles but things got worse from there. Friday evening when I went out to feed the animals I noticed that Zoe the Muscovey was missing. It had been really windy all day. It was hard to walk around outside without getting blown around so I assume she had tried flying in to or out of one of the paddocks and got blown away. While Limey went out to look for her, I got a phone call from our neighbour again. She had seen Zoe walking along the street in the morning but saw her go up our driveway so she didn't worry about her. Limey went across the street and found her in a field foraging. When she saw him she came running up but as she got closer she flew up back to the house. As soon as she got near the roof a huge gust of wind came up and blew her across the three acre plot next door and all the way to the highway. Limey ran all the way there but he was too late, she had been hit by a car. Zoe was one of our breeding ducks so we are really sad to see her go but there is no point in wasting the meat. There is a freshly butchered duck in my fridge and we'll be having a bittersweet Christmas meal.
While Limey was butchering the duck I went out to lock up the chicken coop and lock the remaining ducks in the chicken paddock. I spotted something white sitting in the duck house but the two ducks were following behind me. I shone my flashlight into the duck house to find a muddy Meringue (chicken) pacing around. I couldn't figure out why she was in there and not in her own coop. When I pulled her out I got my answer. Her wing was broken and hanging limply at her side. Damn wind.
Chickens can survive a broken wing as long as it doesn't get infected. I didn't have any bandages in the house so I donated the foot from a pair of hose to patch her up with. It slipped over her wing tightly enough to hold it into place against her body. Her wing won't be of any use to her now but at least she's alive. She'll be in the house until she's healed up a bit.
The wind is finally dieing out and we're expecting snow tonight. Hopefully it'll be a relaxing white Christmas from here on out.
Life on the farm, it's definitely not boring.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Pics to Ponder Explanation.
I know you've all been waiting with baited breath for the response to this post so here it is.
Actually, I have no explanation for the egg. I Googled "wonky egg" and surprisingly not much came up. There was some mention of trauma deforming an egg during laying but as far as I could see none of the chickens were traumatized at the time.
The chicken in the pan. I was getting her ready for the oven obviously.
I'm kidding. Jalapeno is one of 4 chickens we bought. When we added her to the hen paddock everything was peachy. We were happy to see that there was very little picking on the newcomers and all seemed well. Then for some reason our muscovey trio decided to hang out with the chickens. First off the females started harassing one of the newbies. The new chickens were a tight knit group and came to their friend's rescue. The girl ducks were not used to insubordination so they flew back to the goat paddock in a huff. We weren't witness to what happened next and there are two different versions of the story.
According to Jalapeno here, she was minding her own business when a crazed testosterone-fueled Jayne (our male muscovey) jumped on her and pinned her to the ground.
According to Jayne, he was minding his own business, eating the chicken feed when all of a sudden this crazy biotch comes flying at him trying to peck his eye out. Of course he had to defend himself.
Regardless of how it went we ended up with a bloody chicken. Jayne had ripped Jalapeno's comb which required us to bring her in the house to keep her from being pecked to death by a blood thirsty mob of laying hens. For some reason Limey thought that my roast pan would make a good bed for her while she stayed the night.
So there you go. If you think that was interesting (or totally bland) then wait until you read what happened at the farm this week. If any more crazy happens I'm going to lubricate my brain with vodka and sleep until spring.
Actually, I have no explanation for the egg. I Googled "wonky egg" and surprisingly not much came up. There was some mention of trauma deforming an egg during laying but as far as I could see none of the chickens were traumatized at the time.
The chicken in the pan. I was getting her ready for the oven obviously.
I'm kidding. Jalapeno is one of 4 chickens we bought. When we added her to the hen paddock everything was peachy. We were happy to see that there was very little picking on the newcomers and all seemed well. Then for some reason our muscovey trio decided to hang out with the chickens. First off the females started harassing one of the newbies. The new chickens were a tight knit group and came to their friend's rescue. The girl ducks were not used to insubordination so they flew back to the goat paddock in a huff. We weren't witness to what happened next and there are two different versions of the story.
According to Jalapeno here, she was minding her own business when a crazed testosterone-fueled Jayne (our male muscovey) jumped on her and pinned her to the ground.
According to Jayne, he was minding his own business, eating the chicken feed when all of a sudden this crazy biotch comes flying at him trying to peck his eye out. Of course he had to defend himself.
Regardless of how it went we ended up with a bloody chicken. Jayne had ripped Jalapeno's comb which required us to bring her in the house to keep her from being pecked to death by a blood thirsty mob of laying hens. For some reason Limey thought that my roast pan would make a good bed for her while she stayed the night.
So there you go. If you think that was interesting (or totally bland) then wait until you read what happened at the farm this week. If any more crazy happens I'm going to lubricate my brain with vodka and sleep until spring.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
My Baby Turns 5
My oldest turned 5 today. She requested a Mario themed party along with a trip to the bowling centre and Roo's. Here are some pictures of the day.
After cake the plan was to load up the Wii points and get some old SNES games for the kids to play. I ended up only downloading Super Mario 3 because we don't have the right controllers to play the rest of the games available. Of course as soon as we sat down to play the power went out.
All in all it was a fun day. I admit that I'm happy it's over so I can relax for the rest of the week. Christmas here we come!
P.S I will get back to the weird egg and roast pan chicken explanation...eventually. I'll also have a missing hen story to tell if we ever get her back.
 |
| Limey takes all the credit for cake decorating this year. |
 |
| Goomba! |
 |
| Boo Balloons |
 |
| Chomp Pinata |
 |
| We did a little bowling. |
 |
| And a little rock climbing. |
 |
| Roo's has tons of toys for all ages. |
 |
| Back home to bash the pinata. |
 |
| DD1's WTF face. |
 |
 |
| You're going to poke your eye out! |
All in all it was a fun day. I admit that I'm happy it's over so I can relax for the rest of the week. Christmas here we come!
P.S I will get back to the weird egg and roast pan chicken explanation...eventually. I'll also have a missing hen story to tell if we ever get her back.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
A Mixed Bag
Just unloading some photos from the camera.
 |
| Just the other day... |
 |
| It looked like this outside (-5C). |
 |
| The next morning it looked like this (15C). |
 |
| Chicken door to the goat paddock. |
 |
| Chickens in the goat house. |
 |
| 4 day old bunny. |
 |
| Messing around in the hay. |
 |
| Trying to get me to play with him. |
 |
| Isn't he cute? |
 |
| I thought this was winter? |
 |
| Those shoes were green. |
 |
| Look out behind you! |
 |
| Pig plowing out next year's mangel garden. |
 |
| Getting ready to peck my eye out. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)