DeVareharri Farm - The simple life?

Winter? Really?

2017-01-20T10:54:00.003-05:00

What an odd winter it's been around here ... nice in many ways - fairly mild - no deep snow to fight but it keeps feeling like spring then disappointing me ... ha!

We have 12 large bales left after putting 3 out today ... let's hope it lasts until we have grass

1 goes out to the core of Team Valiant (that is Aldwyn, Valiant and Em Cee) in the pond field. When horses are in they eat small bales in hay nets ... and cubes - lots of cubes!

2 went into the barn yard today - often one goes in the barn yard and one in the strip field - but it's so mild today and projected to stay that way I am trying to preserve the grass in the strip field by locking everybody down in the barn yard for a bit ...sucks but there you have reality of this winter in Prince Edward County .

here comes winter, here comes winter ....

2016-12-08T10:14:00.003-05:00

We dug potatoes this weekend - yield was way way down as we dealt with major drought this year .. but they are tasty! We are so very grateful that as much as we enjoy growing what we eat we don't have to depend on it to survive this winter. It would be a brutal winter without a grocery store. Sigh. Our usual hay yield is about 120 large square bales. This year we got 50 so another "fun" task for the summer was outsourcing hay. We got a hay elevator which made life much much easier!

We got water from the water station through the summer at least weekly and often daily. Our ponds were entirely dried up which reminded us of what a precious resource water is. Our house well ran dry a few times but we mostly put our bought water ($4 for 250 gallons) into the well and were able to keep on functioning much as normal (although long showers, laundry and dish washing were all curtailed).

The barn well stayed functional all summer. I was proud of it. How silly is that? But sometimes it;s the little things that make challenges bearable.

We have installed two water posts in the paddocks closest to the barn. So far we all love them - the trick will be if they will stay functional and unfrozen over the winter. Cross your fingers.

The horses ended up having two months of the lovely fall off. Sigh So here comes winter and here comes back to work. Not the best time of year but hopefully we'll sort it out.

Big T has finished the educational milestone that brought us down here. I have no intention of leaving though. Will be interesting to see what is around the next corner. To celebrate his accomplishments Mum got him an amazing wood splitter which has already saved us hours of man labour and muscle and I had a writers cabin (we call The Tardis) to encourage him to stay close to home!

Life is good

We are ever grateful.

Full Hearts Full Farm

2016-05-28T17:14:00.001-04:00

We've been set up and in residence here a little longer than 2 years now

Our hearts are full of gratitude and wonder and our farm is full too.

Cats

Chickens, Dogs, Rabbit, Parrots

and horses ...

no room left at the inn but Life is so good.

in the depths of winter here

2016-01-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

But it's really just started so o complaints from me yet!

What a summer and fall we had.

Routines are well in place and we both still love and appreciate our life here.

The dogs love it too.

The horses, chickens and bunny all seem happy too.

We had lots of guests. Lots of Love. Life is Lovely.

nearly three months have flown by ...

2015-06-27T10:36:00.004-04:00

and all the lovely promise of spring is turning into the delights of summer ...

happens every day but especially on a sunny warm day after a rain - you can see in the afternoon the actual real growth of the green.

the pond remediation went well last fall ...lots of fun for the dogs every day - and the frogs seem grateful too

we are nearly all here now - and it's lovely

long walks with the dogs, lots of lovely rides

this springs projects included barn water and electricity and some fencing - we are so very lucky to be able to do these things

next, and likely last for a long long time is a little all weather surface for light riding, the grass works well usually but in the real wet of spring and fall I don't want to tear up the hay fields or the agility field

busy is good
life is good

What a winter ...

2015-04-11T12:32:00.004-04:00

We pretty much hunkered down and "got her done". Mr Deere made life much more possible than it would otherwise have been.

No power or water in the barn meant lots of hot water bucket lugging. No heater that would work in the outdoor trough meant even more buckets of water. Got good and fit!

The winter was long and cold but way less miserable than last winter. If I had to pick I'd pick this one but I'd be happy to have a non winter too.

Hopefully this will be the only winter of buckets we endure!

We moved the chickens and bunny into the barn. Smart smart move but i am looking forward to moving Mr Randy Roo back out. He's gotten a bit, um, cocky, in the small winter run. I end up spending lots of time with a rooster tucked under my arm as i do chores to avoid my boots being battered. He hates rubber boots but with the mud around here he's having to acclimate!

we're all just running feral here

2014-12-28T09:50:00.001-05:00

what glorious weather

dogs (including extra guest)

horses

people

many guests over the last week - loved having them but looking forward to a peaceful week too :D

chickens

are pretty confined which is a good thing as they'd have blown to Oz last week

bunny is also safely confined

in most exciting news ever the barn is DONE!

completed photos next time

Winterizing ...

2014-11-01T20:31:00.003-04:00

not nearly as much as we'd like - as we are still waiting for the garage to be finished and the barn to be started - but slowly bit by bit it will come together

need to dig up garlic and move it - need to winterize equipment

need to figure out winter water for the horses

have a source of round bales for hay which is great but have to get them inside if we can

the list is long but the gang is happy and we'll get it done

... won't we?

Summer Loving ...

2014-09-17T07:37:00.001-04:00

What a summer - it has flown by with a hundred things undone but what a lovely summer it has been

horses came home to the farm

hay happened - but it can have it's own usual post!

house is so close to done only we know it isn't quite

got to play some agility and some scent work - got to teach some of both too

dogs have decided this is indeed the good life

visitors came from around the world and around the corner - friends and family - canine and human so lovely to see them and share our corner of the world with them

we made it to Paradise and Sandbanks - more than once this summer!

work continues to be fun and fulfilling - in all it's variations

and I still have things to unpack and find homes for

Valiant

2014-05-12T09:14:00.004-04:00

What would you do if you were offered a horse before your farm was finished?
A horse you really didn't need or want but who really needed out of his situation?

I was asked how I could say no. I couldn't. I decided even if the answer was euthanasia it was a better answer than saying no.

And Sept 13th, 2013 Valiant arrived. I knew he was thin. I didn't know he was near death and starving.

Now on the anniversary of his 8th month here he is happy and filling out and muscling up. We've been able to have his teeth done and deworm him (many times).

He went onto a Cornell Study refeeding program - slowly slowly building him up to eating huge rations - for the first 72 hours he got less than 4 pounds of hay a day. Now he eats free choice hay 24/7 and gets 2 large meals too ...

Last night he wanted to canter while having his short ride - we did a half circle each way. What a good good boy.

Team Valiant deserves so much credit for making this possible. They fund raise for him so he can have the best of everything. He sees a chiro and vet monthly and has as good a life as we together can make for him.

we are here

2014-05-08T09:31:00.001-04:00

yup - many many years in the making but we are actually living full time at the farm ...
still lots to do cleaning and packing school house stuff and figuring out what the future should be for it ..

but WE ARE HERE! and IT'S WONDERFUL!

The dogs are loving it.

We planted 37 trees Mum got us in a little tree nursery and along the fence line of the house - so neat to be planning so actively for the future

There are signs spring might be coming. All is good.

Apologies!

2014-04-16T08:51:00.004-04:00

house is coming along fabulously ....

Arnold is growing up

dogs are enjoying the tease of spring

I got out in the garden twice before the snow and cold came back! Big T spent quite awhile rebuilding a fence last Sunday. SO much work to be done.

Raising an orphan pig

2014-03-19T09:45:00.002-04:00

If you get asked to raise a pig and go to your friend Google you will discover raising a baby pig is very difficult. Survivability is low. (Yah, I made up the word. But you get the point.)

It's a scary thought to put so much work into something with the expectation it won't work out.

But saying no to this little face proved impossible. Meet Arnold.

A month of hard work and I hope the highest risk is over. He's very cute, very funny and been quite the education.

I present for you some cuteness and a primer on raising an orphan piglet. (Based on one pig and many many other orphan species).

1. Warmth is your friend. If you don't have a warm orphan you must NOT feed your baby. Warm them up first. Keep them warm and out of drafts. Arnold lived in a diaper box lined with towels and a heating pad at one end set on medium or high depending on how cold it was. He could always get away from the heat and he could always get to a hot spot. He did both. He still is draft free and has a little warmth source in one spot ... we've gradually increased his living space and it's working well. When we travel he has a snuggle safe in with him - warmed int he microwave it holds heat for up to 8 hours.

2. Find buddies. Even fake ones. He has 2 towel wrapped water bottle buddies that he can snuggle with. They stay quite warm up against a heat source. Arnold has some dog friends and a cat friend and gets lots of human contact too. Contact with living breathing interactive things is really important to proper growth. Singleton orphans need particular attention in this regard.

3. Feed the right stuff. Sometimes this is easy. Kitten formula for kittens, whole cow milk for cows but sometimes it is much harder. Pig milk replacer is on back order in our part of the world. It's been a month and it still hasn't come in. So off to my friend google and our farm vet I went and settled on kitten milk replacer fed at whatever amount Arnold wanted - mixed just a little stronger than the directions called for. Kitten milk does not have quite the same fat level as pig apparently. I thought about various ways to up the fat level and have been watching carefully to see if I should do anything but Arnold has thrived on kitten milk replacer. Thrived all the way up to consuming a tin a day.

4. Weaning is hard. Getting your orphan eating is tricky, messy and sometimes frustrating. Know it's coming and you will get through it. Start a little earlier than you might think. Just one or two meals in a dish the rest by bottle. Then one day the ratio will switch - one bottle at bed is a nice tradition to keep awhile but usually in my experience the animal eventually chews the nipple top off and weaning from a bottle is done. Keep a mash sloppy and wet for a long time to ensure the baby is getting enough water intake. I put a dish of water down at this point but it seems to take awhile til water is consumed.

5. Introduce your piglet to new foods in tiny amounts. Arnold is now eating a mix of oatmeal cereal (to ensure he gets lots of iron) kitten milk replacer and pig pellets - all soaked in hot water and allowed to sit - then just before feeding I add more water to make it more sloppy again.

6 Enjoy and love your baby. You are doing a great thing even trying to save the baby. Thank you!

So close we can smell it

2014-02-21T21:51:00.000-05:00

The farmhouse is nearly ready - and, to be totally honest, it's glorious.

the dogwash/boot wash is nearly done

the tree door is just as beautiful as I thought it would be

the kitchen will truly be the heart of this house

loving our big fireplace

the stunning swan faucet

the main floor shower ...

The thing about a new build

2014-02-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

is you have to decide absolutely everything!

Our farmhouse is being built in the middle of a big field so the first decision was where in the field would it go - we thought we knew - then we second guessed ourselves a bit - then got input from builder. It's very close to the original plan.

Then every little detail - siding, flooring, window, colours I expected - but trim for doors and windows? handles on doors? types of doors? baseboard look? stairs? railings? Wow. What an education.

The house is starting to look complete - just a few more choices for it and we'll be starting to move in ... so on to outside choices

Getting dog yard fenced - where? With what?
Garden? (any regular reader of this blog will know food garden will be first priority)
Where will the rabbits go? The Chickens?

Barn? Garage? What do we need today, tomorrow, in 10 years?

so much thinking - so much joy

water ... never a drop to drink

2014-01-31T11:32:00.000-05:00

our water supply has gotten quirky ... iffy ... and we aren't quite sure why

occasionally it starts to freeze when the wind is a certain way and the temps are arctic - but we now have a good handle on stopping a full freeze ... but the pump is feeling gitchy too - occasionally with no warning at all it just stops. Give it 24 hours or so and it comes back - but highly annoying - always seems to happen when I was about to do dishes or laundry or both. Once poor Big T was in the shower - whoops!

oh rural living - sure helps you appreciate the hard work of our rural forefathers!

These things we wish for you ...

2013-12-31T11:20:00.005-05:00

2013 has likely been a life changing year around here. Most years are when you think about it I suppose but this year has opened unexpected doors and may lead us unknown places. On New Year's Eve it seems only fitting to toast you -and hope your journey's are as rich and full as ours!

May you find patience to appreciate what frustrates you and peace with the things in life that aren't perfect. Think of people with love and understand it really isn't personal. Be open to change, no matter what else we have we will always have change, moving with it is much easier than resisting.

Be well, be safe, have fun! Go explore that path!

a little hint of house ....

2013-12-26T11:23:00.004-05:00

on the way up the very long driveway
where is the house?

oh there it is!

First full view

The new floor is down - above is the guest room/library

the view from the kitchen into the living room

Big T thinking about what his loft will look like

looking from the loft down (and yes - there will be a rail)

the upstairs bathroom

Master bedroom from the sitting area looking up to where the bed will be

looking up the stairs

pretty furnace

looks so boring but so exciting - our hot water on demand system

our front yard

east yard

front/west yard

SO MUCH FUN!

Man it's ICE OUT

2013-12-25T21:14:00.001-05:00

no typo ...

we spent 50 hours without power this week thanks to a beautifully treacherous ice storm.

Luckily the wood stove did a great job keeping the core of the schoolhouse at 60 or above. She also gave us a way to heat water - and on our final no power morning Big T scrambled eggs with her help.

We did well. We hunkered down and concentrated on survival.

The animals all did fine too. (Phew!)

the ice is stunning, terrifying, impressive, humbling

quite incredible

And then there were none

2013-11-24T09:50:00.000-05:00

The fisher came back.

No chickens this winter.

So sad -I truly love our girls and am devastated by the loss.

Trying very hard to figure out how to keep them both entirely safe and happy in a new set up next spring.

Trying to also figure out winterizing the rabbits. Winter here already with a vengeance - a full month earlier than in recent years. Not sure I'mever actually ready for winter tho!

Everything is a circle

2013-10-13T08:11:00.001-04:00

Circles are way harder than they look

so much work every time I start riding Harri - this is early in our session and they just get better and better as the ride continues

so much work
so much fun

and then there were three

2013-09-21T21:51:00.002-04:00

Massacre in the hen houses two nights ago.
It happens to other people but we have never experienced it before and it's awful.

Three survivors - one silkie hen and the 2 barred rocks.

5 Silkie babies and 3 silkie hens vanished with just the odd puff of feathers.

the 2 Ameracunas and Silkie rooster bodies were left - 1 in each coop and one behind a coop - the heaviest birds

Vasco, Marco, Roo, Rav, Veronica and Momma and babies- you will be deeply, sorely missed.

I feel like I failed them in some way but I have no idea what we could have done differently. 4 years of chicken keeping and I spent most of the first two years worrying about this. Then I relaxed.

Hope whatever it was (most likely suspect is a fisher) doesn't come back ever let alone any time soon
.

DeVareHarri Truck has no hair in it at all

2013-09-08T08:21:00.001-04:00

Blue, gorgeous, exciting the farm truck is also spotless, unscratched and AWESOME!

It drives like a car - way too easy to speed in and has a huge gas tank (over 100 liters) the only two tiny issues with it.

It is so like the Ranger and so opposite too - it has bells and whistles I've never even imagined (pedals move towards your feet if you want, remote car start (yah I've dreamed of that actually), adjustable mirrors on both sides from drivers side, electric brake, tow package, and a system that lets the car sync to my phone.

Yet again, full of gratitude and love.

how does your garden grow?

2013-08-28T10:45:00.001-04:00

We've had another long dry spell and it's impacted the garden this year. The lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, peas radishes and beans all have managed with a little help from us. The garlic crop is great. The carrots are small - but the rabbits enjoyed the thinnings and I know the horses will enjoy whatever we don't eat.

Cucumbers, corn, spaghetti squash and zucchini?
Failures. Monumental failures in fact.

Not sure about potatoes yet - I'd guess so so but have been pleasantly surprised before.

We also have broccoli growing for the first time- I have nothing to compare it too - but if there were no bugs I think it would be doing what it should. Beets are small but tasty. Pumpkins are finally giving Big T a beautiful sprawled out patch. YAY!

and that's the way the garden grows

Interestingly the apples look like they will be great - guess we had water when needed for them!

here a peep there a peep everywhere a cheep cheep

2013-08-14T11:07:00.001-04:00

We live with 4 Silkies - 3 hens, 1 rooster -it's our first time living with a rooster and Roo is a great bird - watchful, protective but accepting of all the rest of his family ...

We raised chicks for a friend this spring and were given 2 Ameracuna and 2 barred rock hens out of the chicks. They are beautiful and social birds.

About 3 weeks ago 2 of our Silkies very happily incubated a set of eggs and we now have 8 little chicks beeping and peeping and being adorable.

We have raised quite a few chicks to date - and we are finding it quite nerve wracking - so much is out of our control this way - and the chicks are quite skittish. That said it is amazing to watch a mother hen at work. the 2 girls co-parenting is pretty neat too. One chick is particularly bonded to one hen - the others are more attached to the other but both hens share duties quite evenly.

We do love out chickens!