Beet Pickling Day!!

Beets just pulled from the garden soil....The chickens will enjoy the greens!

Washing the soil from the roots......

Beets are topped and ready to cook......

All bottled and waiting to be served.....

I tried yellow beets this year for the first time.  They look like canned peaches :)

I have planted a fall crop of Kale and Green Leaf Lettuce in the vacant areas that the beets occupied.  I have never eaten Kale so I will be waiting impatiently for it to mature so I can taste it!

I have tiny cucumbers starting so it looks like the next project will be a batch of bread and butter pickles in a few weeks time.  The plants are still quite small, set back from the bugs attacking them from the time they were tiny little transplants....

The blueberries are ripening but the birds are eating them before we get a chance. We have to purchase some bird netting before we lose our whole crop.  It's quite frustrating to be waiting on a nice ripe berry and poof, it's gone!

Well, it's a rainy, lazy day in here NS and I'm going to enjoy it!

'til next time!

Popeye The Sailor......Chickens?????

The title sounds very silly but you are about to understand why it is the best title for this post......

I pulled the rest of my "bolted" spinach from the garden for the meat chickens. I had just served the meat chickens their evening feeding of grower mash so I figured the spinach would be there as a treat for them later.  After putting the spinach bouquet in the coop I decided a photo of them nibbling at the leaves would be nice for my blog.  I headed to the house for the camera and when I got back this is what I found.........

Once they got a taste of the greens and realized it was fresh garden spinach they apparently went haywire, knocking over the bucket I had the stalks placed in and tearing at the leaves like an animal that hadn't been fed for weeks.......I was pleased to get this shot, this guy reached into the bucket to get one of the few remaining leaves.  Had it not been for that, the photos would have been pretty sad since they had torn almost all the leaves off the stalks while I was gone for a few minutes to get the camera......

Ha Ha, I just noticed the hen in the back, apparently she's more of a grains lady, she doesn't care there's fresh spinach in the run at all......

This stalk was full of leafy green spinach, only a few tiny leaves left....

It's funny because I had just said to my husband I feel like I'm feeding the dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park" when I go into their coop.  This is proof of what I'm talking about.  

I challenge you to show me a commercial raised chicken that has dined on fresh organic garden spinach!

'til next time!

Country Nights & Carnival Lights AND CIGARETTE SMOKE!

This is completely off topic of our little farm, however, I need to express my disgust for people's ignorance.....

Last night we attended The Big Ex.  We had a great time.  My son is now old enough to have an interest in what we see and what rides to go on.  Which brings me to the reason I am writing today........  

I can't remember, but I am sure when I was a child there were dozens of people smoking everywhere at the EX.  Smoking in public wasn't as unacceptable as it is today.  But it has always been something that has bugged me as an adult since I have always been a non smoker.  And, for some reason, I always manage to find a seat on the "grand stands" near someone who feels the need to "light up a smoke".  Now that I have a child I am extremely angry at these rude, insensitive, ignorant people who don't take into account the others who are around them, including young children.

Last night, as we stood in the line up for the CAROUSEL, clearly a ride for young children, I noticed the couple in front of us with a teeny tiny little baby in a snuggly trying to avoid cigarette smoke.  Some awesome individual (being sarcastic of course) decided to light up a cigarette in the line up for the carousel while he waited with his children who were probably around 5 to get on the ride.  How ignorant, stupid and inconsiderate are these people!  Well, it appeared to be a learned ignorance, since, even though we stepped back from him we were still in a cloud of cigarette smoke.  Oh, yes, of course, here comes Gramma with a nice long, freshly lit smoke. There's laws against smoking too close to buildings, smoking in the car with your children but you think it's okay to smoke in the line up for a carousel?!!  And they weren't the only idiots there, there were several.  Later my husband and son went on the Bumble Bee ride, I got to watch my son's excitement from the fence.  I was talking to a pregnant lady who was doing the same.  Another "awesome" MOM came over, dug her pack of cigarettes out of her child's "Car's" back pack and lit one up, right beside the pregnant Mom.  So, we had to find another place to stand, away from the poison she decided to share with us.  Sadly finding another place to stand where someone wasn't smoking was difficult as this ride was a bit closer to the adult rides and the games.  And, not to sound like a broken record, but when we went to the Carousel line up a second time, there was another MOM  smoking by the fence, sharing the poison with us.....and every time my son and I came around on the Carousel, there she was and there was her cigarette smoke wafting towards all the little ones going around on the ride!

It is funny how it created a bond between us and the parents with the tiny little baby who were waiting for the carousel with us.  She figured they should have enough sense not to smoke around her little one.  I pointed out that they obviously don't care or they wouldn't smoke around their own little ones.  If they didn't care about their own flesh and blood they are not going to put out that smoke for someone else's child.  I don't know their names, they don't know ours but we chatted in every ride line up we were together in.  And we didn't chat about the smokers, they didn't have that much control over us. :)

As we left the EX, I was concerned for the elderly gentleman they had watching the gate all by himself.  It made me reflect on the evening and the choices I had made and why.......I dressed my son in a bright orange shirt so it would stand out if he got lost or someone grabbed him.  If we weren't constantly telling our son to hold our hands I was walking next to him with my arm out around him like a Momma Hen, keeping him close.  As if to say "he's mine, touch him, you get it".  I was a bit neurotic when we got off the rides, keeping him close to me and steering him towards the exit gate.  So, maybe to someone I looked like a bad Mom.  But the numerous times my son told me he loved me during the night told me I was doing okay.  We were having a great time.  He didn't notice the cigarette smoke, he wasn't aware that someone may scoop him up and try to take him away.  But these are the things I had to be aware of, all the time, while making sure he had a great time.  Mission accomplished!

'til next time, Thanks for Listening!!!!

Food, Food, Glorious Food!

This is a picture of my cucumber trellis.  One we purchased from a local feed store, the other my husband built himself.  I think it's a great idea for my butternut and acorn squash as well but we may not get one built for them this year as we are still working on the new barn.  We have to get the second room finished before our 40 new baby meat bird chicks arrive!

This is a picture of our Owl.  He spends his days watching over our blueberry plants.  His job is to scare away the birds so they don't eat our berries as soon as they ripen.  He also entertains our Beagle.  My husband moves him from one post to another so the birds think it's moving (haha) and certain "perches" catch her attention more than others.  I have yet to apologize to my neighbours, but I will.  I actually enjoy listening to her rabbit hound bark, some people might not share in that joy.  :)

Finally getting some peas!  The rain we are getting today will make them fill nicely.  Sugar peas are such a treat, I munch on them as I work in my garden.  Another nice thing about growing organic produce, you don't have to run to the house to wash it before you can eat it.  You pick it, you eat it!  One of my favourite summer time meals is fresh picked peas with roast chicken and new potatoes.  And when the roast chicken is one of our own it's even more delicious!

A yellow bean blossom, won't be long now!  Can't wait to set down to a nice plate of yellow beans with a bit of cream and butter.  My mouth is watering....

I was surprised to find tomatoes on my plants already.  Time is flying by so quickly, guess I lost track of it.  Now the waiting begins, watching for it to turn red!  We have some delicious home smoked bacon in our freezer just waiting for fresh garden tomatoes to make the perfect BLT sandwich.  The bacon is from a side of pork we purchased last fall, locally raised.  Next year we hope to raise our own pigs.

We went to a local farm market on the weekend.  We picked a few boxes of berries, it's a little late so the berries were few and far between.  I also found these fabulous sweet potatoes and field cucumbers.

We believe being part of growing and harvesting your own food is a great learning experience and makes you appreciate the food that is put on the table.  The cucumbers are going to be served beside roast pork and mashed potatoes for our supper tonight.  The sweet potatoes are waiting to accompany a yummy roast turkey later in the week.

I turned those berries into Jam yesterday.  It is super sweet, like candy, as the berries themselves were very sweet.  We had strawberry jam and toast for breakfast this morning of course!

Our meat chickens are doing great.  We have cut back their store bought food and are feeding them more greens from the garden and, of course, they are eating the vegetation growing in their run.  Last night I pulled out all my spinach which had bolted and gone to seed, put it in a bucket and placed it in the run for them to munch on.  Some of them are soon ready to take to the butcher.  Some of them have another month or so to grow.  This is what is great about growing your own food, you choose how it is grown.  We choose not to force feed them and allow them time to graze.  This means they grow slower but their diet consists of more than just grain feed from the store.  As I mentioned above we are also getting 40 more meat chicks next month.  At that time I am hoping we have ample garden veggies that we can share with them.  Though, as we all know, anything can happen between now and then.  I am told we have some deer hanging around, that means they are probably watching my garden, waiting for a romantic moonlight dinner of beans, peas and tomato plants......And, I also realize that some day I am going to have to plant a garden just to feed all our farm animals!

'till next time!

They're off and Running!

The chicken run is complete!  As you can see, the birds were very excited.  My son keeps asking if they are in a race because we call it a "run" haha!

The baby chicks are growing nicely as well.  Very happy, scratching away....

Momma is still watching over them....

We haven't had any other eggs hatch.  I think it's too hot and they are spoiling.  Two hens on one nest is probably throwing off the balance of heat.  So, as of right now we still have our 14 babies, healthy and happy with their momma hen :)

And that's my little update.  I just had to share the news of the run being complete. I am so happy and so are the birds.  :)

Until next time....

A little less intense....

My last post was a little emotional.  Hearing of a 6 year old having a heart attack hit me hard since I have a small child of my own.  This post is a little less intense......

Our first ripened blueberry!  I was so excited I snapped this picture, then decided I wouldn't eat it until my husband saw it......when I went to the garden this morning it was gone, eaten by some lucky bird.  All that remains are green ones......time for bird netting!

The garden is coming along nicely.  Lots of fresh greens......I'm loving it!

Hoping to have a picture of our finished chicken run tomorrow.  We worked hard to finish it today but it wasn't possible.  We need more materials.  So, if everything goes as planned, tomorrow the meat chickens will be enjoying fresh air and sunshine once again.  And won't they be happy!  Right now they have become little escape artists, when the door opens they are quick to run out!  We would let them free range but we're afraid the layer flock may pick on them and also they may not be able to find their way back inside.  Plus they are very close to being freezer ready so it would be a shame to have a hawk take them away......

Thanks for visiting...

Food For Thought.....or thinking about food....

So, I thought the clover in the run would last a lot longer than a few days....apparently not!  They have eaten every green leaf in the area....

This is another of our momma hens, setting on a clutch of 12 eggs, she's doing a great job since you can't see an egg in sight.....

Our Meat Chickens are finally in their room in the new barn.  This is just a few, the others were in transport from the run at this point.....

The barn is far from finished.  We have another room to build and prepare for our 40, yes FORTY, meat chicks that arrive in August.  I am determined NOT to run out of home grown chicken this winter.

I attended a First Aid course today and she discussed articles and studies about how unhealthy Nova Scotians are.  This was to make us aware of what we may come upon as far as emergencies go - heart disease and diabetes being top on the list.  Our children are maturing earlier than "normal".  Our CHILDREN are having heart attacks.  What is causing this? Is it the air we breathe?  Or the food we eat?  Is it the type of food we are eating, ie fried foods, or is it also what is in our food we are eating?.....  That is the million dollar question.....  Many people don't understand how I can "raise a chicken and then eat it".  I tell them "I can eat it because I know how it was raised.  It was raised happy, relaxing in the sunshine and fresh air, eating green grass and foraging for bugs.  It was raised for the purpose of nourishing my family but at the same time had a happy life until it met its fate".  And, I might add, the taste of a home grown chicken is absolutely amazing!  When you raise your food yourself you know what it has been fed and how it has been treated.  Or whether it has pesticides or not.  Sadly we can't have our own fresh garden produce all year long in NS but we can for at least 1/2 the year and that's 1/2 the year you can eat true organic produce from your own garden.  We have become too trusting, thinking the government actually takes care of us and makes sure what we eat is safe (pink slime comes to mind right now).  To some point we don't have a choice but on the other hand the time may have come that we have to take our nourishment into our own hands and raise everything we possibly can in our own backyard.  Whether it be as extreme as meat chickens or as simple as a window box garden of fresh greens.......  This is just an opinion of a Wife and Mother hoping to put the healthiest food possible on the table to nourish her family.......And determined that most of that food be grown in our own back yard.  Free from hormones, pesticides, herbicides and any other chemicals......It takes a lot of hard work and is sometimes extremely frustrating when the bugs seem to be eating more of your greens than you are.  However, it is also very rewarding.  When you put a salad on the table you know it hasn't been sprayed with pesticides, your tomatoes have ripened on the vine by the sun, not sprayed with some sort of ripening agent, your cucumbers are natural green, not died emerald green and coated in wax..... Supporting your Local Farmers Market is also a great way to find natural grown food.

Don't count your chicks before they're hatched....

but so far we have 10 healthy little fuzz balls and more eggs pipped and chirping inside their shell.  We did lose a few, they didn't quite make it out of the shell.  We have been experiencing very high temps these past few days and I'm wondering if that would have something to do with it.  Like having a man made incubator too hot, they can start to hatch before they are ready.  But, on the brighter side of life, here's an updated picture of Momma and Babies.  Super Cute with the little one on Momma's Back :)

I did invest in some tomato towers for my garden this year.  I sure hope they work!   They certainly look great.

And here's another picture of our meat chicks enjoying the clover.  I can't wait to get the barn finished so we don't have to keep moving them in and out.  I worry about handling them so much and hurting them as they get a bit upset sometimes, especially today when we had to take them in when it was still sunny.  The sounds of Thunder in the distance told us it was time to get them to safety before the storm hit.....

And speaking of the new barn, we completed most of our Canada Day "to do" list. Here is a picture of the window being installed.  The walls are almost all boarded in on the inside.  We did  not get the door hinged....

This is a picture of the window from the inside.  These walls are all completely boarded in now.  The window is vented so there will be some nice air movement going through the coop.

As I write, with the Thunder Storm above head, I'm watching a little male hummingbird enjoying a snack at our window feeder.  No pictures of him, I reached for the camera and scared him away.  They do love the rain.

HA! I GOT A PICTURE!!  I HAD TO BE VERY VERY FAST!

And that's my update on what's happening on the farm.  I hope you all had an enjoyable Canada Day, doing whatever it is you love to do.  We did.  :)

Happy Canada Day!!

We're celebrating with the hatching of baby chicks!  So far this morning we have 7 little fuzz balls.  We had one hatch yesterday so we moved that momma hen and the chick to the safety of a holding pen.  Thank goodness she's accepting the chicks from all the other Momma hens too, makes it easier for us to the get them to safety in a hurry without disturbing the other hens and eggs.  This hen actually raised our Wild Turkey chicks last year so I think she's a pretty easy going Momma Hen :)

I am impressed by how well our roosters get along.  We have had more than one rooster in the past and it didn't go so well.....

We have been putting our meat chicks outside in the layer hen run.  We still haven't repaired the wire roof from damage caused by storms last year but as long as we're close by they are safe.  And you can't get any closer than right next door working on the barn.  They are so happy to be outside, able to stretch their legs and flap their wings.  We put lawn clippings in the run last summer when our turkeys were using it.  This year we have a beautiful growth of clover.  The meat chicks are certainly enjoying it!......

I was up at 6:30 am weeding my garden and harvesting greens.  My husband got a somewhat rude awakening when I sprayed water at our bedroom window to wake him up so he could get my garden tilled before the outside temperature goes up to 25 deg this afternoon.

We have almost completed one room in our barn.  Our goal today is to hinge the entrance door and put in the vented window and finish boarding in the inside walls. 

So, we're celebrating Canada Day by working on our Farm.  Celebrating the bounty which surrounds us.  Happy Birthday Canada!