Losses...

This month has been a hard month for J. and his animals.

As you all know our favourite cuddle cat Tootsie is still MIA. It's been over 2 weeks now. We figure coyotes.

Then his goldfish is gone.

Yesterday Whisper and Esme were sold. Thank goodness they went to the same owner. We know he's a good goat person. They will have a good home there. But it's still hard.

Then Monday I noticed that my chicken watching days were over. They were going over to the neighbours property. I mean geezzzz! They have 4 acres of land and they have to go to the neighbours?

Not even an hour had gone by with my decision when I heard them making a racket worse than usual. A mink! He killed the mille fleur rooster. I was not impressed. I grabbed the first thing I could find. A baseball bat. The only thing was that he was gone under our winter tires. I was able to whack him in the ribs and butt. The only problem is that to a mink that's like patting them on the head. They are the toughest creatures you can imagine. He escaped to kill another day.

I thought that maybe I had done enough damage to him that he might not come back.

No such luck!

That night I made sure I locked up the chickens in their pens. It's mink proof. Cement floors and mink wire. (what keeps minks in...keeps them out!)

Yesterday Dave got home from work and was greeted with a bloody and feather carnage. The mink had somehow gotten in the chicken coop and killed 13 chickens!!!! Half of my flock is gone. Mostly layers and a few roosters, including the beautiful rooster we hatched out this year called Hawky. We were going to keep him. We also lost Grisette. She was hatched out this year also. She hadn't started laying yet. She was so pretty and our favourite new one.

Grisette

We borrowed two live mink traps from a mink rancher and set them at the chicken coop. That evening when I was getting J. ready for bed, the girls started freaking out again. I looked out the window and there was the mink going right for the pen. Ignoring the trap completely.

I yelled to Dave and he ran out with his shotgun.

Well needless to say a headless mink doesn't do much damage.

The chickens are now safe again and we've patched up the holes in the old wood. Some of it was rotten and he had dug a whole through.

But it's been a long week of sadness.

On the bright side, the mink only got a few of my new pullets, the rest were older ones. The rest are ok and Foghorn Leghorn is a hero. I think he fought the mink off. Because when mink get in a hen pen then don't stop killing until everyone is dead. Yet something stopped it. Foghorn is a bit worse for wear, but alive. I think he's going to be blind in one eye.

Mink are one of the only animals that kill just for sport. They rip the head off the victim and drink the blood, then leave the body there.

Ok, it wasn't a short post. Sorry. I should have also put a disclaimer at the beginning.

"This post will contain scenes of a bloody and graphic nature. Viewer discretion is advised."

Have a Blessed Day

Lisa

Vacations over...back to the ole grind.

Well my vacation week is over. Crud, crud, crud. I want another several weeks!! I think it should be law that everyone gets a weeks paid vacation every month. Who's with me!???

We went to Halifax for 2 days. The reason was because Dave had an appointment to a surgeon for his hand that he broke back in December and they still can't figure out why he's in constant pain. But a few days before we left, they called and cancelled!! He asked when he could expect to be rebooked and they said a year to a year and a half!! Excuse me???!!!

But we already had the hotel booked so we just decided to go anyway and do the touristy things. We got a great deal for the hotel. We got in a ritzy hotel for 60$ instead of their regular 200$! I love www.priceline.com.

We shopped for J.'s school clothes, went on the Harbour Hopper and it's not a tourist trip to Halifax without a ride on Fred the bus.

Fred is a free bus that picks up tourists at certain points in Halifax and gives you a little tour.

J. and I in Fred the bus.

I had never been on the Harbour Hopper. It's an amphibious machine that takes you on a tour of Halifax, then brings you on a tour of the harbour. It was so much fun.

In front of the Harbour Hopper.

In the Hopper on top of Citadel Hill.

Our hotel ritual of delivered pizza

Every time we stay in a hotel we have to have pizza delivered since it's not possible where we live. 40$ for a pizza, but it was good and fun. It only happens once every 2-3 years.

We left the next morning to go pick up Tundra. On the way back we stopped at a fellow goat person's house. I had never been but wanted to visit her and her goats. It also broke up the trip since it was a 6 hour drive!

Well she's got goats!! Not just one or two, but GOATS!!!! She said that last year she had up to 60 GOATS!!! I find that 4 is too many. But they were cute. Nubians are cute. Stubborn and not the best dairy goats, but cute. I know, I know. Don't blast me, but I've had experience in both Alpines and Nubians and that's my opinion. And several other goat people's opinions to.

My goat friend, Cathy and her goats.

The day after we got home. We had a big chicken BBQ to throw. Dave loves making chicken BBQ. We supplied the chicken and beverages and we asked everyone to bring a salad or dessert.

Dave's chicken!!Yum!!

Now I have to just vent here for a little bit. We hand delivered the invitations about 3 weeks before the date. ON THE INVITATION it said to RSVP before July 17th. Half of the people didn't. So does that mean they're coming or not? In my book of etiquette you RSVP whether you're coming or not. To let the hostess know how much food to get. Many people said a few days before, "We're not sure yet." So I told them without trying to be mean or rude, "I'm going to have to take that as a no. Because we need to know how much chicken to buy and we don't want to get stuck with too much chicken." I don't know if I offended anyone, but come on people. Be a bit considerate of the hosts.

We are not millionaires here. Far, far from it. But we thought we'd do this for our friends.

THEN!!!THEN!!! Several couples didn't show up, even though they said they would. How about a phone call saying "Oh I'm sorry, I'm sick, something came up yada yada yada." Is this too much to ask?

Dunno, maybe I'm being too sensitive. Maybe it's because I knew we really couldn't afford it, but we did it anyway.

Oh well. The people that were there had fun. That's all that counts. The kids had a blast since we had J.'s water slide out. Of course, Red Green a.k.a Dave, rerouted the water through the solar panels so the kid's water wouldn't be too cold.

Water slide time!

My aunts and cousins came also and they had fun to. That was a big bonus.

My mother, aunts and cousin.

Well on the farm side of things.

We have Whisper and Esme sold. They are going to a good farmer. I'm so glad that they are going together and to him. They're leaving Thursday.

The ducks are going soon. The drake has gotten really nasty. He attacks you when you turn your back to him. Not good.

Charlotte is due in mid-August.

My chicken watching has come to an end. A mink attacked them and I can't catch him. He killed my mille-fleur rooster. This means war! I took a baseball bat to the mink but he escaped. Why couldn't he go after the ducks?

I put an ad on Kijiji for another one and someone answered me back, saying they have one and they only want 200$ for it? Excuse me? Oh Mylanta! Is it lined with gold? Or maybe it's from a golden egg.

We've lost Tootsie and Duke. They both disappeared a few weeks ago. Duke showed up a few days after he disappeared. Tootsie is still missing in action. We are all devastated. He was the best cat ever! He was the one that got hit by a car and crawled back home on his front legs.

We are having so many problems with coyotes here in Nova Scotia. It's not good. I figure that's what happened to him. This is also why we got the dog. At the moment she doesn't look or act too much like a guard dog. But it'll get better.......I hope.

Have a Blessed Day

Lisa

Tundra

Ok, I can't wait till Sunday.

This is our new surprise!!!

Tundra!

She's a Great Pyrenees.

She's also going to be our guard dog against coyotes.

Ok, well maybe when she grows up a bit.

I'm super pooped and Dave wants the computer so I'll tell all about our holiday adventures in a few days.

Oh and it's also Happy Birthday to me!!! I'm an old woman today! 43!

Have a Blessed Evening.

Lisa

I've got a secret!!!

We are getting a new member for the farm.

Can anybody guess?????

You'll all have to wait till Sunday!!!!!

MUAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Have a Blessed Day!

Lisa

Hummingbird moths!!!

For several weeks now I've been noticing flying objects in the honeysuckle vine at night. I thought they were hummingbirds. They were smaller than the hummingbirds but they sucked the nectar the same way and hovered like them also. But they had antennae.

Notice the tongue. It's so long!!

So I got up close and personal with them. Googled them. They were hummingbird hawk moths. Well that's what I think they are. They are soooo cool! They're just as good photo subjects as the chickens!! One night I thought, "I should try photographing them." So last night I did. I got a few good shots.

Some people drive me nuts!

We thought we had Whisper sold. The guy said he was coming back tonight and he was a no show. That just burns my butt! No phone call, no explanation, nothing! Nada! We called him and all we get is an answering machine.

Febe's milk production is going down. I'm not sure if it's the heat or what. She has a lump in one of her teats. It's not getting worse, but I'm wondering if it's not blocking a milk duct. I've tested her for mastitis and it's negative. She's got no fever, so it's not an infection.

Cindi Lou's poopies are back to normal. I dewormed everyone and it seemed to help. I'm telling you, these goats are going to be the death of me. My ulcer is coming back to haunt me and I'm wondering if it's not the goats.

J. stirring the cookies.

Goats milk and warm cookies!! Yummm!!

My mother visits a little old lady that lives by herself. She's blind in one eye and can hardly see out of the other one. All she eats are cheap TV dinners (she says that's all she can afford, not really.) So when my mother can, she brings her a few meals. J. goes with my mother when she goes. So he wanted to bake something for her. Last night we baked some chocolate chip cookies. Well....ummm...most made it to her.

Recipe for cookies

I thought I'd take a few pig photos. I seemed to have a very willing subject. After every shot, she'd change poses. It was so cute.

Have a blessed evening.

Lisa

Summertime fun!

Rock ledge at Mavilette beach.

Well, I've decided that every Monday for this summer (since I'm off on Mondays) J. and I are going to visit a different beach in the area. That's the great thing about Nova Scotia, you're never far from a beach. I love the ocean.

J. playing in a small tidal pool.

This past Monday we visited Mavilette beach. We got there at 11 am and left at 2pm. It was a beautiful day. Mavilette beach is actually a provincial park. So there's miles of sand and water. It was almost low tide when we got there, so in this neck of the woods that means a long trek to get to the water. If you've never experienced the world's highest tides, it's hard to explain. You have to see it to believe it. Hmmm....I might just have to blog that one day. I'll take a picture at low tide and one at high tide. Photos still don't do God's amazing creations justice.

I'm too sexy....

We discovered a few little treasures also. People usually only go there to swim, surf or tan. Well after we had done that for awhile, we went for a walk to the rocky area of the beach. Mind you it wasn't a little walk either. It took us a good 10 minutes to get there.

See the rocks ledges waaaaaaayyyy on the right hand side of the photo? Well that's where we walked to. We discovered a little rockpool in the rocks. It was so cool.

Sitting by the rockpool.

Rockpool

On Saturday J., mother and I went to the Annapolis Farmer's market. I love this farmer's market. I hardly ever go since it is an hour's drive from our house. But after that blog I posted a few weeks ago, I've decided that the housework can wait, the farm chores can wait and most other things can wait! As long as we have clean clothes and everyone and everything is fed I'm going to make sure our family has fun this summer!!!! I don't want J. remembering his childhood as "mommy is always stressed and working!" We are going to have fun this summer, whether we want to or not!!!

But anyway, I digress.... It was packed! The first booth I hit was the german bakery. Man oh man, they make the bestest (yes, that's a word in this case) onion and garlic baguettes in this world!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly they make the best everything.

Again it was a hot day. It's been a dry spring and it's starting to be a dry summer. Not good.

Me and J. in Annapolis.

After we came home we went to my favourite beach glass hunting beach. And found some good beach glass (or as some people call it, mermaid tears). We even found the elusive blue glass. These are usually old Noxema bottles. This place is good for beach glass because it used to be a garbage dump many, many moons ago. Now, needless to say, you're not permitted to dump garbage beside a beach. But in those days it didn't matter. So now, all the garbage is buried and gone, but when the tide comes up it unearths treasures. The best to find is red glass. It's very hard to find. You throw a party and open bottles of champagne when you find one of those!

Beach glass and a few dead crabs. Boys will be boys!

This week was also, snuffthemeatkings week. We had 17 done. We started with 20 but 3 didn't make it. They all died a week before the "slaughter". Some say that they grow so fast that they suffer from heart failure. I have a tendency to believe them. I mean, these chickens grow from day old chick to 6lb dressed bird in 7 weeks! Imagine what that would do to your heart if you'd gain wait on a human scale that fast!

Dave has a friend, Paul, that's a retired meat cutter. He comes and cuts them up for us. He cuts them faster than we can bag them!

Dave and Paul, cutting and bagging chicken.

Have a blessed day.

Lisa

Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!

Our store had a float in the parade and this year I had my own little paint float. We borrowed magnetic paint splotches from another Home Hardware store, put them on the truck and then I took white coveralls and spray painted them. I also splashed paint. I knew those mistints would come in handy some day. I had empty paint cans full of candy for the kids. So we were slightly popular! Ha ha.

Rachel, Irwin and I.

Dave and J. had the firetruck in the parade. That was one excited little boy!!

It was a beautiful warm day. I was dying of heat in those coveralls. Whew!

Dave and J. in the fire truck.

Well my chicken watching habit is still going strong. They love going in the manure/hay pile. On hot days they'll go under the bushes and snooze. We don't have to whipper snip there anymore since they squish the grass under and eat most of it also. So far the only thing we have to do is put a barricade at the barn door since they love going in there and pooping on everything in sight!

Happy chickens!

We brought the meatkings to get snuffed tonight. They were overdue to go. We usually only let them go to 3-4 pounds and this year it looks like they'll be 5-6 pounds.

Cindi Lou has the poopies. I don't know what she got into. Nobody else has them. I left her in the barn with lots of baking soda and hay today. I'll leave her again tomorrow.

Febe's milk output has gone down. She only gives 4 litres a day now. She was giving 6 litres a day, but it usually goes down after 3 months into the lactation. I mean, honestly I don't need all that milk anyway. My freezer is now full!

We still haven't been able to sell Esme and Whisper. What's the scoop?!!

Happy father and son!

I thought I'd add a photo of J. and Dave on a new tractor. No, it's not ours. We had dealers bring in tractors on Father's day at the church this year and one of them gave Dave the keys for a test drive. Hmmmm..... I wonder if he was going to say no??

Have a Blessed Day!

Lisa