Tag Archives: pigs

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Oh Hey There…

Been a while.
We’re just over here getting shit done.

Let’s see…

Duck house got it’s much needed refurbishment for winter housing.
We picked up and processed a 350lb pig.
I’ve been doing laundry outside with the wringer washer.
Loop has been feeding our animals like royalty.
I bought $40 worth of pumpkins just for me to have roasted seeds…animals get the rest. 😉
We have a new connection for bread for animal feed.
We were gifted a working fridge.

I still have carrots and beets to get out of the garden.
After I can up the last of the onions into French onion soup.

Okay, but this pig…
😂😂😂

I get a text 2 weeks ago saying our pig is ready.
We bought one last year from the same folks I got LemonChicken from as a chick…and who I bought straw for the horses from last year.
So this year, she asked if we wanted them to raise another pig for us…if so, she’d get an extra piglet when it was time.
I said “hell yeah!!” so that I didn’t have to do pigs this year.
We’re all still kinda shell shocked from the last year we raised them, so letting someone else do the day to day was just fine with us.

Then it rained 3 days straight and the Farm yard was slop.
So I asked if we could put off picking the pig up ’til this past weekend.
No problem. 🙂
So then I get this bright idea to name the pig, sight unseen, Sir Oinks A Lot.
Oh fuck.
I shouldn’t have done that.
😂😂😂

This pig…he screamed everytime he was asked to do something he didn’t want to do.
Now if you’ve ever heard a pig scream, you have an idea what I’m talking about…
The farm he was on is roughly 8 miles from us…I’m pretty sure we could have heard him screaming from home.
😂😂😂
Again, nothing bad happening to him, just asked him to do something he didn’t want to do.
Simply, he was being a pig.
Now pigs don’t have great eyesight, so convincing them to get into a trailer can be…arduous.
After 30 solid minutes of screaming, Hubby climbed in the front man door of the trailer with some feed, the husband of the family we were buying from lifted the pig’s front feet into the trailer, and Sir Oinks A Lot realized “hey! there’s food!!” and got on.
Fucking pig.
😂😂😂

After chatting with them for a bit (can you say connection to buy bottle lambs and bred ewes come spring time?? Squeeeeee!!!!) we headed off home to get Sir Oinks off the trailer and into the freezer.
Getting off wasn’t quite as arduous, though it was longer in time.
There was bread, and milk and lots of quiet talking…until Sit Oinks walked 1/4 of the way down the ramp and promptly met the Great Piggie in the Sky.
Whew.

I’ll spare you all the sordid details, but from pick up to final freezing, took 3 days, with Hubby doing the dirty work and me doing the fine cut work and the Kid running help all over the place.
To say I’m proud of our Kid would be a massive understatement, let me tell you!!
Today I’m roasting the hocks and making bone broth.
Tomorrow I’ll can the meat and broth from that.
And then we’re back to poultry to finish up the birds that need to go to Freezer Camp before for reals winter hits.

And then hay needs to be delivered.
And straw.
Then we fix my washing machine….suspension rods are shot and need replacing. That’s why I’m washing outside with the wringer washer…but outside is about to end so gotta get the indoor machine fixed.
Aaaaaaand….gotta fix the heater core on the truck.
Hubby cannot do another year of no heat through winter.
Fuck.

Remember I said we’d sleep in winter?
Yup.
It true.

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Canadian Thanksgiving

Well, that’s in the books for another year.
We don’t actually celebrate it, so for us it was just another weekend of trying to get things done before winter. More roosters need doing, but we were getting hammered by rain so that got put off.
We did get some yard clean up done between rains.
Plus we got the roosters separated so that we can just get up and go on the next not-rainy day.

That was supposed to be Saturday, because the next 3 days after today is rain, and today is a Loop pickup day so we need the 2nd fridge for some of that stuff…
Oh, but then this morning?
I get the text that our pig is ready to pick up.
Awesome, right?
Absolutely!
But now Saturday is pick up the pig and process it day…because we pick up the pig live, bring it home and do all the work here.
Saves us a couple hundred dollars doing it that way, and we are very happy with the family that raises the pig for us.
They have the same #HappyFoodTastesBetter values that we do.
And they have a better porcine set up.
So I am happy af to buy a finished pig to put down in the Fall while focusing on poultry on my Farm.

But the work…
O.M.G.
Like I said, I’ll sleep come winter.

Garden is still producing.
With the rains over the next few days, we shouldn’t frost, though we’re hovering awful close to it.
I am hoping that it holds off a wee bit longer, since my peppers are not ripe yet.
I really, really don’t want to buy poblano or paprika seeds next year, so I need those dang peppers to ripen!
The beans are being left now to grow seed for next year.
What ever is out there will get harvested after the frost and further dried to seed for the yellow, Painted pony and Royal Burgandy varieties. The pintos will just be left and tarped over. I have a *lot* of pinto seeds. lol

And carrots and beets can be left for a couple weeks yet, since they’re underground.
Thank goodness, since I am not ready to pull them yet.
So as soon as I see a frost warning, I’ll pick the peppers, tomatoes and ground cherrys, then let the plants die off. Once the bean seeds are harvested and the beets/carrots too, we can tarp the entire space and let her go to sleep for winter.
It’s coming fast.

In the meantime, we’re just going along, trying to get as much done as possible.
Butchering, building, and trying to stay sane.
😂😂😂
That last one in the toughest one.

Here’s Homer J…who, it has been determined, is a hen.
YAY!!
So next year we’ll have Homer J bebes.
I’m very happy she’s a hen. She’s growing into a beauty of a duck (not that you can tell with all the mud on her), and she’s my pal. 😉
Today we’re working on the winter duck coop so Homer J and everyone else can have a nice warm space to snuggle on those
c-c-c-old winter nights.
🙂

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November 1st

Welcome to the Dark Half of the Year.
Yeehaw mutherfuckers, let’s do this.

*sigh*
So, the last few weeks have been busy, busy, busy.
Ok, so when aren’t things busy here?
😂😂😂

We bought a live pig, brought him home and processed him.
We’re still working on the yard for the turkeys…we ran out of stucco wire for fencing, but found a decent deal on rolls from the local home improvement store. So, that’s today and tomorrow’s plan.
That way I can clean out the turkey coop and them giant effing birds can get some time outside before real winter hits.
Last week they turned 3 months old.
I’ve got to take some new picture for y’all, because they are incredible looking!!
Whew.
I’m super happy with them.
And I’m so looking forward to them laying eggs…
I’ve been looking up videos of turkey mating so I know exactly what to expect come spring.
😂😂😂

Last night was a crazy windy, chilly night.
Being out in the country, we don’t get trick or treaters, sadly.
But it was a wild and crazy night for us to drive out on our big field and (inserting some witchcraft here so skip to the next paragraph if that sorta thing bothers you ❤ ) renew the wards on the Farm.
Normally I walk the corners, and salt the posts/perimeter with prayers for protection, but this year, I had Hubby home, it was a full moon, time change, windy like crazy and the energy was **electric**!
So I got him to drive me out to do the corners after dark.
It.
Was.
Awesome.
And I figured 2020 was NOT the year to play fast and loose with spiritual protections.
So we got that done and we’re good now, starting the Dark Half of the Year.

(Safe to come back to reading now, the witchery talk is done ❤ )

Hopefully hay makes it here today.
I’ve been texting back and forth with our Hay Guy…he hasn’t forgotten us, just been busy, but I’m low and The Merry Mares are on hay full time now.
So the plan is for today.
Fingers crossed.

And now, I’m trying to decide on our next Farm purchase.
Every year, we get a rebate on a portion of our school taxes (which are included in our property taxes) because we are zoned agricultural farm land.
That money is always invested back into the Farm.
This year I’m torn between a still…because as things get more and more ridiculous out there in the world (our provincial govt is in the process of taking us back to full lockdown…because y’know they “opened up too fast” in the spring and that why in the Fall cases are rising…yeah, okay. whatever. Not like locking down will push the next round of cases out to the next time we reopen or anything…just remember, if you don’t wear a mask, it’s *your* fault we don’t get Christmas…hint…I never wear a mask, and am quite well versed in what the exemptions are under the health orders continually imposed on us…so that bit about masks is pure sarcasm, in case anyone missed it…)
Anyways…the still…one thing Hubby needs is distilled water for his cpap machine. So a still would be a valuable tool to have…we will *not* talk about distilling spirits like whiskey, rum, vodka dn gin.
Oh no, we won’t discuss that at all.
😉 😉 😉

Buuuut…I’m also looking at another, bigger incubator.
Listen, poultry is something I can grow a lot of.
I have the space, the skills, the poultry.
Now the ducks have been making babies, so they can do what they’re gonna do.
But I have turkeys who will be sexually mature come spring, plus a whole lotta chickens, including our Chonky:

Chonky the Cornish meat hen

Chonky is laying eggs and has a boyfriend in one of the big roos…so we really want to separate her and him for some eggs to hatch.
I want to be able to keep those chicks separate from other chicks so that’s gonna take a dedicated incubator.
See where I’m going?
The 2 I have just aren’t quite enough for all that I want to hatch.
Plus, if I have a bigger one that I can hatch more out earlier, I have less smaller chickens at this time of year to process.
It makes sense.

But again, the problem is, not enough money to do both a still and an incubator.
I have a bit of time to decide, but weighing the pros and cons have been…difficult…to say the least.
😂😂😂

But on that note, I oughta get my butt moving.
Still have to finish putting the garden to bed, break up some pumpkins for seeds and feed, and help out getting my turkey birds yard done.

Have a great day folks, and here’s hoping level 11 of Jumanji goes easy on us all.
😘😘😘

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Blessed Lammas

Mid summer already.
Holy smokes, this year…after the slowest passing winter, this summer seems to be flying by us.

Things are kicking into high gear here.
Meat chickens are graduating to freezer camp…the first 10 went last weekend.
The rest go this weekend.
The freezers are being cleaned out of last year’s meats and turned into sausages.
Yeah, I’m really on this kick of making sausages.
The roosters from last year were so flavorful, but not good eating on the bbq. They were just too tough.
We bbq a lot.
But cooked low and slow, they were amazing!
So I figure I’ll take what’s left, grind with some bacon and seasonings and make sausage.
I also have some of last year’s pork left that I’ll do the same with.

We found some bags of chopped green tomatoes in there too.
So the next round of green tomato wine starts this weekend.
As well as a grapefruit one…we got a fantastic deal on MinuteMaid frozen concentrates. I wanna say it was 3 for $1.
Since my lime wine turned out pretty decent (still have to bottle that one) I figured I’d try grapefruit.
And then, I have my dandelion petals ready to start a small batch of Odhinn’s Mead.

I’m still fighting weeds in the garden.
I think I will forever and ever.
That’s just the nature of gardening.
But, my beans are in full flower, the tomatoes are too, and I don’t have any clue what’s in there for carrots.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weeds sheltered the teeny seeds enough to let them get a good hold on growing, but I’m not really expecting anything.

Ducks have resumed laying eggs.


Which is good because the last nest the one hen sat on was all rotten eggs.
We’ve seen the drake doing his job, so I’m collecting a dozen eggs and firing up the incubator.
I didn’t want to run it again ’til spring, but this is an opportunity I can’t pass up.
I’ll be watching out for a sale on 2nd one too…that way in spring, once the ducks pick up laying after their winter break, I can run batches of chickens and ducks at the same time.

Haying is moving right along.
I’m putting up as much as I can, while I can.
I had the opportunity to purchase a 2nd scythe. One with a longer blade. Oh how nice it glides through the grasses!!
It’s given me the chance to cut an extra area that I couldn’t do with the shorter ditch blade…so I’m a happy girl!

Plus, the longer blade makes 2nd cut here go so much more smooth!
The short blade isn’t meant for those later in the season softer grasses, so it tends to rip instead of cut. No matter how sharp it is.
I do have to fix the tip of the new-to-me one, but aside from that, I’m even making the snath (which is just a hair too short for me) work with a change of posture.

So that’s where we’re at here.
Working, working working.
Prepping for winter.
Thinking about plans for next year already.
I feel like this is all stuff I’ve shared before, but really, day to day right now is a lot of “more of the same” with only small changes.
Feel free to ask anything though, if there’s something y’all are curious about.

Ruby enjoying a nap in the sunshine…

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Around the Farm

We’ve had sunshine.
We’ve had heat.
We’ve had rain.

Weeds in the garden are fighting me…hard.
But in some places I’m winning.
🙂

I have a whole bunch of grass down for hay.
Actually, should be baling it today.
Then I have more to cut along our property.
This year…whew, every little bit is going to count this year.
So even though I’m tired af, I’m still going out and cutting, raking, turning, drying, baling…
Oy, and the horsefly bites!!
Yikes!
Bruises upon bruises from the rotten little s.o.b’s.

But, there’s some good stuff too…

There’s beets in them thar weeds!!
😂😂😂

beans are turning into flowering bushy masses…

look at all the apples!
*swoons*
So. Happy.

It’s supposed to be one of those Russian Giant sunflowers.
Not very tall, but I’m hopeful for a large head of seeds.

Flowers on the strawberries…

And there’s the pigs…

naptime

Oh George…

George has happily chewed the side out of the shelter so that, on super hot days, he can stay inside in the shade and still munch away on the thistles and other garden weeds I toss to the pigs.
Whatever works for him, so long as he’s growing.
😉

alfalfa blossoms

dragonfly

There are so many dragonflies here this year!
I love seeing them flitting around.
And they make the poor chickens lose their minds, as the birds try to chase them to catch and eat.
Every now and then you’ll see a bird run by with one in her beak, but the dragonflies tend to be too fast for them.

the thistles are blooming…

Thinking I’m going to dry some for tea this year (thistle is good for liver health and is supposed to ease asthma attacks/symptoms)…but right now I’m mostly cutting them for the pigs and the poultry.
They all love thistles to eat.

And finally, because I haven’t shared a picture of her in quite some time…

Daphne