Nova Scotia In January

We left home 3 and a half weeks ago for some time in Nova Scotia. We were hoping to oversee some developments on “our lot” - a piece of Shannon’s property where she has let us put a trailer. 

Since we arrived the weather has been inhospitable. There have been three serious winter storms, one of which left us without power for 48 hours. All of our outdoor plans went out the window as there was not even a melting break between snows. The final dig out was done by a neighbour the day after storm #3 because we had to get to the airport to pick up Zoe. 

Indoors we had some interesting situations. No power meant cooking on the wood burning stove for a couple of days. Shannon slept in the living room just to make sure the fire did not go out. Luckily she had a bottled water dispenser so drinking water was not a problem but we had to melt snow for watering the animals and flushing the toilets. 

We really felt like pioneers. 

We did feel a sense of accomplishment indoors. When we finally realized outdoor jobs would not get done we turned our attention onto the house. We put some finishing touches on the bathroom, did trim work and painting in Zoe’s bedroom, hired a man to rip down and replace the living room ceiling and ordered new living room windows. Some crack filling and painting may happen before we leave on Friday. So I guess the bad weather did motivate us in other areas.

However, in the future, I think January is off our list as a time for visiting.

Sandy

Scout and Tillie

Meet Scout and Tillie, the newest additions to the farm.

Scout is a Bernese Mountain Dog and I am hoping he will be my shadow working around the farm with me. He had a rough, sick start, but is fun, loving, gentle and everything I had hoped for in a beloved companion.

Tillie is a Maremma Livestock Guardian Dog. After losing so many chickens and ducks to foxes this year, I am training Tillie to protect our animals. So far the rabbits are terrified of her, the chickens tolerate her, the ducks are interested in her and she loves every single one of ….their poop🤢 She is curious, lovable and in her teething stage!

Now,  I present, "Puppies" slideshow ❤️ (this is my first slideshow so I hope it works...otherwise just imagine how adorable my new babies are😂).

Goal Setting

My first, and most important, goal for 2022 will be to have a better work / farm balance. I have made the first strides in that direction and have accepted a part time relief position at a small, local medical office which will help pay the bills and give me time to develop an income from the farm. Besides this job, I have two side gigs that also help provide extra cash for animal feed and bedding but leave me lots of time to be at home.

Creating a goals list this year is exciting for me. I was to overwhelmed last year to focus on completing tasks, so to even have the hope and desire to make a list is exciting!!

Let's begin. I want:

1. To finish the floor in the barn
2. To add goats to the farm and learn how to make cheese
3. To build a fence around the barn for the all the animals to have safe indoor/outdoor space    (monitored by Tillie the Livestock Guardian Dog)
4. To clean the pond of weeds and reeds and make it a clean space for the ducks.
5. To cut enough firewood for next winter and build a storage lean-to for it.
6. To prepare and plant a hay field
7. To transplant the wild blueberry’s to one garden
8. To build cold frames to extend the garden season
9. To research and put into action different ways for the farm to support itself (and ideally me too!)

That’s a pretty ambitious list so...decide what your strengths are, and I will put you to work when you visit😉

Gratitude in 2021

Last week I complained and explained all the crappy, overwhelming things that had me simply surviving instead of thriving last year.

This week, let’s recount the good that happened in 2021 that I am grateful for.

I loved the experience of hatching with the incubator. I hatched chickens 4 times and twice I hatched ducks. Hatch day is so exciting watching these little gaffers break out of their shell. If you have never cuddled a day old chick, it needs to go on your bucket list. The world rights itself in those moments. 

Willow had her second littler of bunnies and baby bunnies are sooo adorable! 

We got pigs❤️ be still my heart. I never thought I could love a pig, but now I have the joy of loving three. 

We hatched our first duck and she is the sweetest, loudest thing. She had no friends for the first few weeks of her life so we are her family. She will still come up into our arms and cuddle and hug and nuzzle our necks. Amazing love and trust.

We welcomed three new cats into our home and barn. Dexter and Nacho (who we since lost to the road) were adopted through the friends of feral society and were brought in as barn cats and Callie is our newest polydactyl kitten. She "loves me to death" as she sleeps every night wrapped so tight around my neck I can’t breathe at times! 

My heart has burst wide open again as two new puppies call our farm home. I am hoping to train them to be working dogs. We got a maremma sheepdog, Tillie, who will be trained to be a livestock guardian dog and protect all my babies from those nasty foxes, raccoons and other predators. And Scout the Bernese who I am hoping will be my shadow and work with me around the property possibly even pulling a cart if I am able to train him. 

I have wonderful friends who take time out of their busy schedules to eat, drink, tour and talk with me. I have explored more restaurants and local events and have gotten to know the community better this year.

And of course COVID restrictions relaxed enough in the fall for visits💕 Cheryl kicked it off by stopping in for tea one evening as she was passing through. Next came Brandon. I had not been able to see my son in person for 22 months when he came for a week. It was so wonderful! We cooked and talked and went to some local sights including Brier Island which I had never done before and loved it! I have since been able to see Brandon in Ontario twice, once briefly in October and once over Christmas. I have been a very happy mommy to be able to spend this time with him. Then came my brother, sister in law, niece and their king shepherd Argo whose visit coincided with my parents September arrival. 

Some people may disagree with this, but also in the joyful column this year I am putting "turning 50". What a milestone to have reached and (much to my 10 year old selfs surprise) realize I still have so much more to live and learn. 

When I look at this list I see, that although I did emotionally struggle in 2021, there were some absolutely wonderful moments and additions as well. 

Next week: the plans…..

Putting 2021 Behind Me

Happy New Year! I am one of the people who is welcoming in 2022 with hope for a better year ahead. But before we go ahead, I left you rather suddenly in June and have some explaining to do.

When I first moved and started the blog, my intention had been to share my joy and love for Nova Scotia and a simpler, happier farming life. I know that sounds crazy, farming is never simple! But I still feel this life is simpler and makes me happier than anything I could be doing in Ontario (with the exception of spending time with my son and family).

That being said, last year was miserable. I felt like I just kept taking hit after hit and rather than feel joy, I was in survival mode. Why?

Death is part of farming but geez…

We lost 5 baby bunnies, one who was stillborn after hours and hours of trying to help mom deliver.

We lost 2 ducks to Dixie, 1 to a natural death, 2 to a fox and 2 to a raccoon.

Using my exciting new incubator, I hatched 26 chicks to add to my flock of 20. Today I have 25 chickens in the coop. Do the math, that means I lost 21 chickens between natural causes, rats and fox attacks. 

With the increase in foxes and rodents, we increased our barn presence with more cats. We adopted two feral barn cats. One decided he liked the church next door better (although he does still come frequent our barn) and one was killed by a car. 

We also lost our beloved Dixie when she too was hit by a car. This destroyed me. I cannot express how devastated we were by her loss. So joyful and energetic one second then lifeless, gone the next second. 

I spend months figuring out how to create a pig enclosure only to have the fence charger not be strong enough and they break out and churn up the back yard. I upgrade the charger which works well until the battery dies. Turns out I was sold the wrong type of battery. Replace the battery but the pigs now know it only hurts for a sec to cross the wire so they break out, churn up more of the back yard and cross the brook at low tide ensuring they could not return again that day as the tide rose. Another month later, and another fence concept. I have spent 9 months (so far) attempting to keep my pigs safe and secure.

I got pasturella multocida from my “vicious” cat and was out of commission for a week. 

Outside the farm, my job was so insecure and ambiguous for months that the low underlying level of stress became unbearable. The YMCA closed due to COVID in April, then we lost our building, we attempted to limp along (short staffed which often required working long days) until we could find new direction. But in the end, on December 10th, I lost my job as the Y closed its fitness doors and reduced to one senior staff trying to build a presence in childcare.

I spent 6 months in the small claims court system having been sued by a previous friend. 

My oil tank was sabotaged, oil stolen and replaced with water. 

Then there are all the day to day small stresses involved when you have children and vehicles and friends and a house.

The list goes on. I was tired. I was not joyous. 

I have complained, and explained, and now it’s time to move forward. See you next week with gratitude and the following week with plans❤️

It’s Been Way Too Long

Hi everyone! I have missed you!

Life here is crazy.

First is work: 

While the YMCA was closed down for the third Covid wave, the building we are housed in announced they were closing their doors and the YMCA, along with the other tenants, were given notice to vacate. We (by which I mean Richard and Aimee) worked horribly long hours, ended up covered in bruises and exhausted, but managed to arrange the moving of an entire health, fitness and aquatics centre over the span of 5 days. Although it was hard work, long hours, and very sad, it was incredible to be a part of this team who never wavered in their love of the Y, and their understanding that although the building closed, this would not be the end of the Fundy YMCA. We now have the opportunity to redesign our programs, to reach out in new directions, to redefine ourselves. So underneath the stress and exhaustion, I feel a level of excitement.

The Farm:

The animals have also held a level of stress. The fox came back a second time and took two more chickens, so they have all been inside but given free range of the barn for three weeks now. While they are all still alive, this is not the life I wanted for my chickens. So we have decided to start to let them outside again but in smaller groups for shorter times under supervision until we can determine if the threat still exists. We are hoping that we were caught in  kit training season and that, a month later, it is over and they have all moved on to there new homes. Very hopeful and probably naive, but I am hoping nonetheless.

One of our first time momma rabbits had us learning midwifery skills when she needed help delivering a breach baby. While we were unable to save the baby, the mom is alive and doing well.

We have added to our duck flock and now have 10 of the most lovely call ducks ❤️ they have a pool room since I am not comfortable yet releasing them to the pond until I feel the fox is gone. But that will be such a fun day when they finally get to go in it! We have made our first endeavour into meat chickens. I think next year I will look into a different breed of meat chickens-sassos- which take a bit longer to get to butcher weight, but have a more natural bird life. 

The pigs are my peace and joy! I love seeing them frolick and play and run excitedly towards us, just as happy to hang out with us as we are to hang out with them. They have a lovely large area to call home as I am asking them to dig up a hay field.

The garden is growing well. There are a few things that need to be replanted after being nibbled away by birds or rodents. and none of the herbs I planted took?? So I am trying to get them started inside and, if all goes well, I will be able to transplant seedlings in a month. Other than the basil, much of what I want are perennial herbs so this season won’t be productive but should be established for next year. 

Finally our more domestic animals….Dixie is lovely and becoming a fantastic farm/herding/protecting dog who is doing a wonderful job of keeping the chickens close on their supervised outdoor times. Charlie the cat is finally losing weight, getting stronger, going outside more and keeping the basement and garage rodent population under control. Phoenix the cat injured his paw 10 days ago but after a few days of forced bed rest he is back outside and back to climbing the trees.  And as of tonight we also have a rescue barn cat. We have read that a barn cat presence will help to deter predators like foxes, and of course we are hoping they will also keep the rat population in the barn down. So we are very excited to meet him and have our fingers crossed that he protects and doesn’t eat our ducks and chickens!

So let me introduce our newest family member: Dexter.

Is It Over Yet??

This past week has been tough. I would say it has been the worst week of the past three years. 

As I mentioned last week, I had pasteurella multocida from a cat bite. In the grand scheme of things, I made out very well. I have heard many stories about hospitalizations, IV drips, nurse home visits, cellulitis. I had only 4 days of keeping my hand immobile and 2 days of limited movement. I am now, almost back to normal. I feel my arthritis is worse in that hand but otherwise I can move and have strength back.

We had an illness in our household which made COVID very real for 24 hours until we got the negative test results back. 

We had a fox attack our chickens…in broad daylight…while I was on the other side of the barn mowing the lawn😥

It killed three of our laying hens and three of our babies before I saw it and was able able to move everyone into the barn. 

And to top off the first three days of the week…our pigs have decided an electric fence is not scary enough to keep them in!

By Wednesday night I wanted to pull up the covers, go to sleep, and not wake up until Monday.

But then Friday…we had 8 of our 9 chicks hatch in the incubator and I have hope again.