Wow!! So this blog; as you can tell, has been neglected over the past 8 MONTHS!! It hasn't been for lack of activity over at the farm, or lack of my visits. In all honestly, I've been busy, busy with life. Winter was long, sinking its claws in early November and not relenting until late April. Over these cold, snowy, dark months the farm changes pace. From the busy hustle and bustle of visitors, hay making, gardening, harvesting and preserving the fruits and vegetables; to a different busy, feeding the animals, carrying water, cleaning out shelters, training horses, snow removal and all those indoor jobs we save for these months. This year we tackled the kitchen in the farm house and the bathroom in the back cottage, along with admin work and website updates..
The end of January saw the first of the newest additions to the farm. Ally; our Charolais cow calved a steer in -24*C temperatures, followed a week later by Brownie our Swiss brown Cow who calved a heifer, we named Maple.
We eagerly anticipated winters end as lambing season loomed closer. Mid March saw the arrival of the first lamb, a product of the Ram who got in with the Ewes a little too soon one day. Luckily the weather was favorable, and winter slowly; excruciatingly slowly, departed. March 31st the farm welcomed 2 sets of twins, and so Sue's days and nights were spent checking on her Flock steadily until April 12th. Lambing season carries with it so much joy in not just the cute lambs, but a signal that spring is here, or in this years case; almost here...any day now.
By the end of April it was safe to say, SPRING WAS HERE!! Our Farm Stay guests returned to the farm and it was business as usual. Pony rides, morning and evening chores, egg collecting and the added bonus of staying in May; bottle feeding the pet lambs. The vegetable garden was tilled, fertilized with manure, weeded and slowly seeded, the fields chain harrowed, plowed and reseeded where needed and the fences checked and repaired. The sheep are out to pasture, and the horses have slowly been introduced to grass. Fruit baring trees have exploded into colour and the steady hum of bees among the blossoms fills the air. What a wondrous time of year.
Yorumlar