Stuck in the Elevator

So, I've been starting to get my Saturdays off. I've hired a girl named Heather. More about her later!

Two Saturdays ago, I went over to the mainland, and went to my first flyball tournament in over a YEAR! It was super exciting. I got to race Kybosh on a team for the first time ever.

And to think, I almost didn't make it...

This isn't a farm story. But, I found it rather amusing, so I am blogging it anyway;-)

I got up super duper early (at 3:30 am, if you must know), peed and fed the dogs, and drove off to catch the 5:15 ferry. Got on the boat without a hitch, climbed out of the car. I was kind of groggy and dazed. Right outside my car door, was the elevator. Now, you must know that I NEVER, EVER take the elevator on the ferry. I always take the stairs. In my whole life, I haven't once taken the elevator. But, it was right THERE.... in front of me. Another guy had already done the hard part and pressed the button to open the door. All I had to do was walk in...

So, I took my lazy ass into the elevator. The guy that was in there said he couldn't see the buttons, so I did the difficult job of pressing level 5... main deck. Up, up we went. Then we rumbled a bit. Then whirred. Then something crackled. Then, dowwwnnnn we went. Back down to the lower car deck. Hmmmm.... Interesting! So, I pressed the button again. I heard a whirr, then nothing. So, I pressed another floor. Nothing. Then, I pressed the 'door open' button.
NOTHING!
It was at this point that a slight panic was building in my gut. I wasn't freaked out about being stuck in a tiny elevator with a strange man, I wasn't freaked out about being in a tiny space. What freaked me out the most was the fact that I might MISS FLYBALL! I madly pressed buttons. Nothing happened. I then thought of all the TV shows where people get stuck on the elevator, and they alway have to wait to get rescued.

Screw THAT!

So, I jammed my fingers into the door, and pulled with all my might. Did the man on the elevator try to help? NOPE! He had literally just stood there looking like a dumbass the entire time.

I pulled, and made a bit of a crack in the door. Then, I lost hold and the door closed. I tried the open door button again. Nothing. I have been called stubborn more than once in my lifetime. This is one of those times when being stubborn was going to pay off for me! I jammed my fingers in the door crack again, and pried with a new determination. The door opened.... we were FREE!!! I have never been so happy to see stairs in my life.

Lesson learned: never, ever take the elevator on the ferries again. Stairs are good for you, and definitely the safer way to travel!

I then went on to have one of the best flyball days ever. So worth all the panic!

22 Sleeps...

Only 22 more sleeps until the winter solstice! Then the days will start to get longer again. Not a moment too soon... this dark crap is getting to me. There are just not enough daylight hours to get everything done I want to!!

Life and Death of Peckerhead

I think I told you I got several heritage chicks in this year from my friend, Amanda. I got a couple of Light Sussex, and some Blue Orpingtons. They all grew up over the summer. The sussex were so friendly! One of them, every time I would walk into their enclosure would hop up on my shoulder for a ride. The first time he did it, it scared the living crap out of me. I squealed, of course!
After that, I got used to it. Mostly.
Everytime I would move in a way the bird didn't like, he'd peck me in the back of the head. OUCH! Little bugger!
So, of course I named him PeckerHead;-) You routinely peck me in the head, you don't deserve a pretty name!

As they all grew up, I realized that both Sussex, and and most of the Orps were roos. Of course! Wouldn't you know it!

So, I ate them.

I'm Back....!

Ok! Ok! I've been getting trouble from all over for not blogging lately. To that, I say SORRY! Personally, I can't believe so many people read this silly thing;-)

I have a LOT to catch up on, and will do so gradually over the next little while.
First, to let you know why I haven't blogged for a while!

My CSA shares finished in mid-October. I did 18 shares this year all told. Last year I did 5, and really didn't think 18 was all that much. For some reason, the workload from 5-18 shares didn't just triple... it seemed to rise exponentially. I felt like I was picking veggies for 50 shares. From about mid-August on, when the shares got bigger, it was taking me almost 2 days to pick, clean, package and bag everyones veggies. At the same time, the dog boarding biz was super busy, so all I did was work from dawn to dusk. I got tired, and cranky and just plum burned out. I would just finish one week, then I would have to start picking again for the next. Plus teaching dog training classes. I just didn't have the energy for anything extra, it seemed. It is mid November now, and I feel like I am just recovering now. Honestly, I don't really think that the shares alone were too much, it was the combination of everything, every day, all the time. If I was JUST doing farming for a living, I think I would have handled it just fine. But, the dog boarding is what pays the bills, so I must plug on for another year or two until I get the farm up to snuff. Next year, I am only going to do 10 shares or fewer. I think the other problem I had was delivering 10 of the shares to Nanaimo each week. That took a lot out of me, too. I would just go to one location, and everyone would pick their bag up from there, but I had to rearrange my doggy day care schedule, and then drive for 2 hours. So, the other decision I have made is to ONLY do local shares. Even if I only sell 2 of them, but they are local, it won't take so much out of me. Instead, I may try to go to a local farmers' market on Wednesday of next year. It will help to raise awareness and build some clientele for the farm.

Oh! But good news! I have decided to bite the bullet, and hire someone regularly for Saturdays from now on. Sooooo, starting next Sat, I will be having the day off!! I am so excited... it's been about 3 years since I've had a regular day off. I don't even know what to do with myself! I needed to do it whether I can afford it or not, just to keep what sanity I have left;-) It will all work out, right??!!!

Size Matters??!!

So, I just have to mention this. I find it really quite extraordinary. Goat balls are HUGE. I actually had to call the breeder to see if what was hanging underneath poor Trouble was normal or not! Seriously, goats must have the biggest ball to body ratio of any farm animal I've seen yet. I keep thinking he has an udder back there. Must be hard to move, with all that flopping about.

Just sayin'

I mean, seriously... LOOK at those things!

Crazy Weather

Oops... I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. Sorry, folks! August has been super, super busy. I know I sat down several times to write, but immediately got distracted with something, and never got anything typed.

The weather is crazy this year. Personally, I've liked it. We had a few odd days of rain, which helped immensely, but the nights never actually got warm. The days were perfect... not too hot, not too cold. Funny thing, though - as soon as Sept hit, we are suddenly having a heat wave! Nights are balmy and warm, days are hot enough that I have to turn the AC on for the dogs in the afternoon. Heat doesn't really bother me, but when the dogs are starting to pant indoors, I will turn it on for them!! This was when I expected it to 'cool down'. Mother Nature, keeping me on my toes!!

The farmgate stand is doing.... ok. It was never going to be my 'get rich quick' scheme, so I knew going in the sales wouldn't be phenomenal or anything. My goal is to sell $10 a day for each of the 4 days a week I am open. Two weekends ago, I made it! It was awesome. A few people came and emptied out the fridge. Then, last weekend, no one stopped by. I didn't even see anyone looking! Sigh. I know it will take time to work up to a point where it actually pays for itself. So, last weekend I went to the Crofton Farmers' Market. It was the first time I've gone to any market. The market itself is the suckiest one EVER, but it's local, and my goal was to try to raise awareness for my little stand. I made a whopping $54. Whoohoo. But, I got to tell quite a few people about the stand, so hopefully it will start to catch on. Then, this week, I went to the Chemainus Farmers' Market to check it out. It is much, much bigger, and it runs on a Wednesday, so easier for me to get to. I put in my application for next year, and my plan is to go there every week. Gotta plant lots of veggies!!!

I had a very pleasant surprise when I went out into the field today to feed the chickens and goats. I kept hearing a lot of cheep-cheeping from over the little stream. When I peeked over to investigate, there was one of my easter egger hens (a light sussex mix) with a big brood of chicks! There are at least 10 that I could see. So, if these babies can be raised without getting eaten by the frickin' ravens, I will have the start of a self-perpetuating flock of chickens! Which means I won't have to buy any more chicks again!!! Super exciting. It also explains a lot, though. My hens haven't been laying well at all lately. My egg collection has been very, very inconsistant. BUT, if some of the hens are brooding nests, it would go a long way to explaining where all my eggs have been going!

Both my MamaDucks are brooding nests right now. They are such good girls! They both laid their eggs in the shelter  I built for them... the one that the ravens so far haven't figured out how to get into. MamaDuck1 has only 3 eggs under her, but MamaDuck2 has at least 10 eggs. So, I should hopefully get one more batch of ducklings before winter sets in. I will have a great start to the breeding season next year, and will be able to sell lots of the drakes for meat. I actually have a waiting list for them! I really enjoy my Muscovys. There are easy and friendly, and quiet and they forage quite a bit on their own, so don't cost me a bundle in feed. My first batch of 5 muscovys have been loose in the field now for about a month, and doing awesome. The females (there are 2) are pretty much fully grown, and the males look super healthy and will be come dinner sometime before Christmas for me. The second batch of 10 are in an ex pen out in the field, and are growing like crazy. They are just starting to get their adult feathers, and as soon as they do, I will let them out to forage as well.

I have recently become foster mom to 3 Indian Runner ducks. They fell off someone's truck last week, and the SPCA didn't have any way to deal with them, so they are staying here for a while, until either someone claims them, or I find them a new home. Worst case scenario, I keep them, and sell their eggs. Although, I have no idea if I have males or females, or some of each. Apparently they are prolific egg layers.

Good Things and Mileposts

So, I feel like I've spent too much time whining lately. This is my "I'm grateful" post. My head is screwed back on straight, the future looks bright, and there are some really good things happening at the farm these days.

First of all, even though I'm watering like a demon right now, we've had some rain this summer (one day in June, and one day in July) but it was enough to make a HUGE difference in the well. It is still FULL!!!! It's really a joy to go peek in it, and there is water almost to the top, even though I've just been watering for two hours straight. Most people are complaining about our weather this summer.... I think it's been just perfect. Not too hot,and enough rain to keep the well full.

Second, and this is really cool... I keep all my grocery reciepts, and have since I moved to the farm. I like to know how my grocery bill is coming down, and by how much. In June, my bill was just over $22. Yep, you heard it right! $22!! Most of that was chocolate;-) July, it was closer to about $50, as I had to get some staples like olive oil and balsalmic vinegar. All I can say is WOW. What a great feeling! I am so much closer to becoming self sustaining.
My little ducks are doing well. The first 5 that were born are huge, and they will be big enough soon to let them out of the ex pen and into the field to forage without worry of ravens eating them. Of the second batch of 11, one of them was weak and died, but I still have 10 really healthy little ducklings in my bathroom.

I've been through 3 different incubators, had failure after failure with breeding chicks, and pretty much gave up. I put a bunch of eggs in my latest incubator a while ago. You are supposed to turn the eggs three times a day. I did it ONCE the whole time. I kept forgetting to unplug the incubator, assuming that this batch was doomed to be a failure, too. Much to my surprise, I had four little chicks born a couple of nights ago! I was astounded. Three of them are Dorking crosses, and one is a pure dorking. So, now I am stoked to try it again! I may try one more batch this fall, and even try to remember to turn them regularly, then I'll do more in the spring. I have also given some eggs to my friend Amanda to hatch out for me, thinking I was going to fail again... so hopefully I will have some more Dorkings come along. It would be nice to breed my own Dorkings instead of having to buy more chicks each year. Plus, I'm hoping to have enough that I can sell the babies, and make a bit of extra money to help pay for the feed.

Next, I am grateful for all the people who have come into my life to offer so much help and support. This week, my friends Dirk and Nicole deserve a mention. They are the farmers in nearby Lantzville, who the town wants to shut down... just because they are growing veggies instead of having an annoyingly perfect lawn. There are a lot of people out there that hate veggies! Anyway, Dirk and Nicole have helped me immensely. They are always there to answer the zillion questions I have, inspire me to work a bit better and harder, and sell me lots of seed garlic at a skookum deal to help me get my numbers up, so maybe I can make a profit next year. They also gave me a bunch of seed potatoes to plant now, so I will have a second fall crop.

That's the all the good stuff I have time for today... more coming!