We have already accomplished a lot. We have had some wonderful meals, finished our Christmas shopping and started cleaning out a tree line.
I am enjoying showing off our animals and I think our animals are enjoying showing off.
I have a list a mile long that I started to write the day they left last year. Although I go back to work tomorrow, I am looking forward to working side by side mom and dad again. They have given me 6ish weeks to convince them to stay🤞
The upstairs bathroom renovation has begun!
I am so excited to be working on this room. It was basically only good for a toilet over the past two years. The tub was tiny, the floor had been carpeted and had been torn up the very first week after we moved in leaving us with a plywood floor. Overall it was yucky and I hated using it.
This past weekend I started the demolition and thanks to some help from mom and dad, we have a carpenter in this week putting it back together.
Here are the ugly pictures, pretty pictures will follow in a few weeks!
It has been 10 months since I have seen my parents. It has been 6 months since they had planned to return. It has been three months of planning and waiting and changing plans and finally...they are in Nova Scotia🥳
Just as we were finalizing plans, the Nova Scotian government decided to change our COVID protocols and, where one week ago they could isolate in our house with us, they now have to isolate in a space where no one else comes or goes. So they do have a lovely, comfortable cottage right in the beach to enjoy some relaxing time before they come here in 14 days and I put them to work.
Sorry there are no pictures this week...but just sheer contentment at knowing my mom and dad are so close by!!
This week has been all about the animals.
We have been having some Dixie behavioural issues. So we finally got back to basics and started training again. She is so smart and I have quite enjoyed not feeling like my shoulder will be dislocated during our walks. This week has been exceptionally hard for our high energy girl since I won’t let her run off leash. It is hunting season and Dixie loves to chase deer. I know there are hunters that set up behind our property and I’m not willing to take that risk with her...so five walks a day is our goal and she is very quickly learning to walk calmly and not chase everything.
I was very sad to find a dead bunny in Willows hutch. We knew she was pregnant and we were watching every morning for babies so it was heart breaking when we found only one baby that I believe was born dead. Not a great start to our bunny business.
And finally to the chickens: it has been a tough few months for them. I have 18 hens and two roosters. I got 7 eggs today which is a high as lately I have been only getting 2-5 a day. In June they had mites that I treated, then I introduced the babies in August and had to change their food, then they started moulting, now I have changed their food again to their higher protein winter food. I have heard it’s been a tough egg production fall for a lot of farmers, but I am sure I have contributed some stress to the coop with all these changes that also affected their laying. And now Rachel is not looking good. She was missing too many feathers along her back. I put her in isolation so she didn’t get picked on but that seems to have made things worse. Whether she has plucked them herself or has lost feathers from stress she looks half naked today.
Our farm has grown by another 4 paws.
Welcome Phoenix. Phoenix is a gorgeous, sweet, cuddly, killer.
We have a large rodent problem. It is apparently not just us but much of Nova Scotia has been over populated with mice and their larger counterparts whose name I do not even like to whisper.
Therefore we welcome our barn cat. Phoenix is very young so I am not comfortable with her sleeping outside yet, but she does spend time every day in the barn and she loves it! I am very hopeful that she will earn her keep.
She loves Dixie and thinks the bunnies are her best friends. Charlie however, does not like a new cat in the house and the chickens think she is food. So we have a bit of work in those areas!
