Happy Halloween!

We went to the glow bowling Halloween party in Greenwood on Saturday.  The kids had a blast.  Last night we watched Ghostbusters and dd1 made the most fantastic face in response the first ghost.  I wish I could have caught it on camera.

The kids are excited for trick or treating tonight.  The crazy wind we had all weekend is dying down so it shouldn't be too cold.  Hopefully.

Friday Bullets

• Canned 28 jars of beef stock this week.  14 more to go.
• Also made 2 jars of oven dried tomatoes in oil.  Yum.
• Pigs will be meeting the freezer starting in two weeks. 
• Halloween bowling party on Saturday night.
• I should probably plant the garlic soon eh?
• Buying clothes that are both nice to look at and suitable for mucking about in a pig pen is somewhat challenging.
• Wood heat is divine.  4 more cords to split.
• Limey is looking for some hunting equipment.  Check out his Kijiji ad.
• I need a New Zealand buck.  Ours is a dud.  If you have a proven buck for sale, please let me know a.s.a.p.
• Christmas is so close, I can smell it.  Shopping is almost done.  I'm counting down the days until I can decorate.

Wood Work

The weather hasn't been too bad this month. It's definitely cooler than it was last year but in comparison to Northern Ontario, it's been quite warm. The temps have fallen to zero only a handful of times. We have had a couple of fires just for fun not because of the temp in the house.

For the past couple of days we've been cutting, splitting and stacking wood. We have some maple from the trees out front and we've bought the rest from a friend. I know it's a little late to be cutting wet wood but better late than never, I guess.

One of many piles to be split.

Drying out in the barn.

Since Limey is working most of the time, he just brings me a load of wood and cuts it to size.  I do all the splitting and stacking.  So far I've cut my finger twice on the splitter,I have bruises all over my right knee and my sciatica pain is running on overtime.  But hey, at least we'll have cozy wood heat, right?

Sweet Harvest

Despite the late start we did manage to harvest a few cantaloupe. They were small, juicy and very sweet. I'll definitely be planting more melons next year.

Friday Bullets

• Spent the afternoon splitting and stacking wood.  There's no end in site.
• Smashed my finger on the wood splitter. Owie!
• Harvested two more buckets of green tomatoes. 
• Just received a front quarter of beef.
• Limey is all licensed up for hunting.  He just needs a gun.
• Our meat chickens are massive now that they've spent a couple of weeks in the barn.
• Reading The Kingkiller Chronicles.  
• Thanksgiving dinner was fabulous even though I only got to eat the leftovers.
• Part of the baby's Halloween costume in the picture below.  Who doesn't love Totoro?

Nature Study-Snake

A couple of weeks ago we were out in the garden digging potatoes. Dd1 asked if she could do nature study and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Limey had found a little snake for us to investigate.

I popped it into a jar long enough to get a photo and a sketch of it.  It was much smaller than the last one we found.

Trio of Beets

We planted three different beets this year, Golden, Detroit Red and Lutz.

I've been looking for a long season beet for a couple of years now and finally found the Lutz variety for sale on Ebay. You can let them grow really big and they won't get woody. As you can see from the photo, the Lutz grew the biggest. I'm going to pot up a couple of beets for replanting in the spring. Hopefully then I'll get a nice harvest of seeds from them. Lutz are the only beets I'll be growing from now on.

Still Here, Still Sick

I managed to drag myself outside long enough to take some photos for the blog.

Tomato Farming

I already knew about the chemicals involved but I was not aware of the slavery.  Great article, check it out.

Worst Timing Ever

I have but one wish on this sunny Thanksgiving Eve.  Yesterday I was struck down with influenza, which, for a glutton like me, is the worst thing that could happen on a holiday weekend.  I am currently hopped up on Benilyn Flu (miracle drug I swear) but unfortunately it is doing nothing for my lack of appetite. 

So if you really love me, could you take a moment to close yours eyes, hand on stomach and rub that belly while praying for the return of my appetite from the Big Bang (Theory)?

In the meantime, I'm going to drink 2L of strawberry-kiwi Kool-Aid (the only one I like) in the hopes that it'll shock my taste buds into action.

Friday Bullets

• I officially declare the 2004 Kia Sedona, a lemon.  The van ate another $700.
• Goats will be sold this weekend.
• Lost 20 meat chickens to the crappy hurricane weather, guess we won't be selling any...sigh.
• Harvested another 2 buckets of cukes.  They just won't stop.
• All that's left is chard, kale and some potatoes.  Can't wait to try again next year!
• Limey and I have a brief moment where we contemplated moving to a little apartment in downtown Ottawa.  Dd1 snapped us out of it by declaring "we can't move to the city, we're farmers!"  
• I still haven't decided on fabric for the cushions. I can make a big decision in seconds. We once went window shopping at the mall and came home with a new car.  The little ones however, take me forever to make.
• Which is better, pumpkin pie or sweet potato?

Turkey 4 Sale

Unexpectedly we have one turkey back up for sale.

It's a 9lb free-range turkey for $35

Give me a call if you want it.

665-2712

Busy and Lazy

I feel like such a slacker these days.  Instead of taking responsibility for my slackitude I'm going to blame allergens and my increasingly needy son.  He's climbing on me right now and slapping at the keyboard.

On Saturday I had a blissful 2.5 hours all alone in the house for the first time in over a year.  I downed a Benadryl and took advantage of the time to sleep.  It was nice to have the entire bed to myself.

Unfortunately I can't laze around forever.  It's time for me to get back into a working groove because it's harvest time.  We might actually get a frost this week so I spent yesterday pulling a bunch of root veg.  Some of them I could leave in through a frost but I find the longer they stay in the ground the more likely they'll have worm damage.  I got 5 buckets of carrots, 2 buckets of beets, a bucket of turnips and 2 of cucumbers.  There are quite a few cantaloupe out there but they aren't going to ripen in time.

The pigs and chickens should be ready to butcher in a month or so.  We still have lots of ducks and one of the girls is sitting on a clutch of eggs.  We're also getting a quarter beef for the freezer.  The freezer was upsized once this year and we're going to have to go bigger yet.  With the produce we're pulling in, it looks like we're going to be successful in making most of our diet local.

Thanksgiving is on Monday and I'm really excited about trying our free-range turkey.  If we're really motivated we might go to a U-Pick for some pears.

For the Canadians out there, what are your plans this year for Thanksgiving?  Anything new?