January 4, 2009
Posted in Chickens
at 11:28 am
by Ryan
We keep waiting for the egg train to come to a stop (or at least slow down to a crawl) but they keep coming. Our trusty laying hens won’t let the short days with very little sunlight, lack of green grass or even sub zero temperatures stop them. From our six plucky hens we are still getting four to six delicious eggs each and every day. This is with no artificial light at all as they get tucked into the coop at 4:30 or so each afternoon (sunset) and let out each morning around 8:00 am. Some days if it is storming or exceptionally cold I leave them in otherwise they tiptoe around the snow looking for something green to eat. Luckily our ladies love their nest boxes and will return mid day to lay an egg rather than making me search all over the yard. It’s funny I was told how we would need extra light for them in the winter and even then not to expect too many eggs over that time yet here we sit in January with no shortage of eggs. There have been a few that I have found frozen during exceptionally cold spells but I can count that number on one hand. We were having a few friends over the other day for some New Year type celebration when I told Corrie we need some sort of egg appetizer or else our friends were going to be going home with some lovely parting gifts (eggs). Personally I’m not a fan of the devilled egg but by the end of the day the plate was empty and the backlog of eggs in the fridge was greatly reduced. Mission Accomplished.
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January 2, 2009
Posted in Farm Life, Gardening
at 12:56 pm
by Ryan
I thought with the dawn of the new year and all the talk turning to resolutions and hopes for the coming twelve months I would turn my attentions to the garden. Although it is currently under a layer of mulch and then another layer of snow I guess it never is too early to think of seeds, seedlings and finally the fruits of our labour, the harvest. The upcoming growing season will be our first kick at the can right from the beginning. No hanging onto seedlings stuck in their little pots for too long in the hopes of having something to grow after we moved. I have high hopes after an encouraging (although abbreviated) season last year that we will do even better this year. Everything did well except tomatoes but I guess gardening like anything else has a bit of a learning curve to it. The seed catalogs are like Christmas for a kid with plants of all kinds, strange varieties and colours. The trick is reigning yourself in and not ordering one of everything and being buried knee deep in seed packets before the snow even melts. Already we know of many things like squash and potatoes that we didn’t get in last year but are at the top of our list now. In fact a quick look at the preliminary list it seems we’ll need to turn over some new ground if we are going to be able to get everything in that we want.
Heck that is just things that grow in the ground. What about livestock? Chickens, turkeys, ducks, sheep, goats, pheasants. The list goes on and on. We can’t do it all so how do we choose what to raise this year and what are the criteria for those choices. Spring may seem like a long way away but there are many choices to be made in the upcoming weeks and months.
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December 30, 2008
Posted in Holidays, Kids
at 12:32 pm
by Ryan
Done and not a minute too soon. That had to have been one of the longest holiday seasons ever. It just seemed to keep going and going with no end in sight (ind of like the seemingly endless drive to Ottawa) . Now don’t be fooled into thinking that I didn’t enjoy myself because I did. Of course the kids had a great time visiting and unwrapping and drawing pictures for friends and relatives. Like all kids though they had their cranky moments of too much chocolate and too many candy canes but that is to be expected. We are all looking forward to a full day of tobogganing with the new sleds that were under the tree but that of course hinges on more snowfall as the last few days have been filled with rain which has erased all of our snow accumulation. Corrie is happily plowing her way through some of the yarn she got as well. I’m looking forward to seeing the scarf she is working on get finished. It’s just a scarf but you have to start somewhere right?
There was bad news to go along with the good as well with both friends and family. Friends of ours lost a sister which is just tragic at this time of year. Not nearly as dire but my mom was pretty run down by the end of the season and the flu bug really knocked her for a loop. Our visit was cut short when she needed a trip to the emergency room to top up the fluids and a prescription for lots and lots of bed rest. There are plenty of exciting things on the horizon so now we look forward to the new year and the promise of change and perhaps some better luck than we had in 2008.
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December 26, 2008
Posted in Food, Recipes, Special Occasions
at 8:55 am
by Ryan
Another Christmas has come and gone and now we are just left with the aftermath. We were amazed this year at the lack of packaging we had after all the gifts were opened. We mostly used gift bags and a couple stores we go to use brown paper bags which I let the kids decorate before re-using them for the gifts. A visit with with Corrie’s step brothers later today and with my mom in a few days. All in all it was a very successful Christmas day which can be a little dicey with small kids sometimes. Presents were opened and played with and then played with some more. Then the big holiday feast featuring one of our own turkeys before a little down time. While visiting we thought the little ones were being a tad quiet and with a little searching we found them downstairs with Grandpa watching a movie. Well the kids were watching and Grandpa was sleeping off the turkey dinner.
Since I haven’t had a chance to take any pictures off the camera just yet you’ll have to go without any holiday pics. Of course when all else fails you can simply browse through the picture folders and find something to fill the void. I didn’t have to go too far back as a couple days ago my lovely wife wanted a little something sweet. Enter our favorite tried and true cinnamon buns. I highly recommend this recipe (from Canadian Living Magazine so it must be good- recipe here) as it is relatively easy and turns out perfect every single time. So print out the recipe, turn off your computer and get to baking. You’ll thank me later.
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December 23, 2008
Posted in Fun, Kids, Special Occasions
at 6:58 pm
by Ryan
It’s funny how things become traditions. Those special things you try and institute but for some reason never seem to stick. Then there are the ones that somehow become a special event that you wouldn’t miss for the world. One of those is now a couple years old and it is for girls only. Each Christmas Corrie and her mom take the little ones to Grandma’s school holiday party. The big man in the red suit comes and brings the little ones a new Christmas book and they get to play in the high school gym. Personally I think they just like a reason to get dressed up, dig out the fancy shoes and hit the town. Corrie and Grandma invited me to accompany them this year but I couldn’t invade their girls only time. We do plenty of things on our own that mom doesn’t participate in so I don’t mind missing what looks to be a very good time.
It is again the final hours before the big day and we are as ready as we’ll ever be. The presents are wrapped and under the tree, the turkey defrosting in the fridge and all the plans for visitors and visiting have been made. The snacks and adult beverages have been stocked and now there is nothing left to do but settle in and wait for it all to begin. With that I’ll leave you all to you own celebrations and traditions with our best wishes and we look forward to ringing in the new year.
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