Wind Storm Day

I got woken up at about 1:30 am this morning, just as the power was going out. The wind was blowing so hard, I thought my little house was going to blow away to Oz!
By the time morning had arrived, the weather was gorgeous... still no power, but at least it wasn't cold out.
This morning was doomsday for the turkeys. I was so terrified to catch the damn things, I called a friend over to help. Amanda and Tyler came over late last nite... it was amazing to watch! Amanda has no fear at all, and just went and grabbed those turkeys by the neck, and picked them up around their bodies. It took her and Tyler all of 15 minutes to get them all... even when 2 of them flew over the fence and escaped. We just herded them back in, and poof! They were caught. I pick them up tomorrow morning. Wonder what's on the menu tomorrow night? Oh! It must be TURKEY! I can't wait to taste one of these things- see if they are worth all the pain and trouble they have caused!

I spent most of the day outside with the dogs, gardening. I weeded a bunch of beds... getting ready for planting season! and noticed that my garlic is coming up already. Is garlic coming up in January a record? Just shows how mild this winter has been so far. I also spent alot of time picking up blown down branches, and putting them in the compost.

Will let you know how dinner tastes tomorrow...!!!

CSA Hooray!

Well, I've been super busy this week! I put in ads all over for my CSA shares, not really expecting anything, but hoping for the best. I've had enough replies that I think I've sold all my shares for this year! I mailed off my contracts to all, and will know for sure when the deposit cheques come in. I am SOOOO SUPER STOKED! The deposits will pay for my humungous seed order (about $300) and then the rest is paid the end of May. My first shares are expected to be ready to go the first week in June. I've heard rumours of an early spring, so maybe everything will grow gangbusters, and I'll make all my CSA members so happy, that all will return next year and tell all their friends!
I've also had quite a few people express an interest in chickens for this year, as well. I plan on starting some poults in March/April. I am going to do my Dorkings, but I am also going to do some hybrid chickens, just for some faster return. I plan on sending out an email for preorders at that time, so I make sure I order enough poults for everyone, plus a few for myself. It's going to be a fun and challenging spring!
My hens are starting to lay quite well, and I've now sold my first couple dozen eggs from a cooler at the end of my driveway. I am putting that change in a little jar, which I will use to purchase their feed, so now they can start paying for themselves. Things are going great on the Crazy Dog Farm!!

Rain, Winter? and Garden Beds...

Another torrential rainy week! We had a brief break this morning, and I got busy outside. You have to get these things done when you get a break, or nothing would ever get done! I am really pleased with what I did this morning. I built 3 more garden beds, filled one with manure and soil, and rescued a stupid turkey again. The turkeys go in next week... if I can catch them....

I now have 30 garden beds done- but 27 ready to go for the spring. The only hold up is gathering enough manure and compost to fill them with. Regardless, I am super happy about my progress! I got everything I needed to get done by the time the rain started again, so it worked out perfect today. Just wish that horse would poo a little faster!

I made some new friends who brought me a bunch of cardboard to lay down under these beds. People are so awesome and helpful when you are farming! That's my other holdup- trying to get enough cardboard to lay under the beds to keep the weeds down. I go down about twice a week and rob all the local dumpsters of their cardboard... the only problem is that I can only reach down so far, so I find it hard to collect all I need.

Oh! The best thing is..... I sold another CSA share, and have a couple more people interested.  I made up my contracts the other day, and mailed them out. It is super exciting! I have actually been getting responses from ads on Craigslist and UsedNanaimo, etc. Very cool, and very promising for the spring!

Spring Days???

Ok, so it's January, and it's WARM out! It feels wonderful, I am truly enjoying having 8-10 degree C days. BUT, I also wonder if mother nature has a nasty surprise just waiting for us around the corner...

Regardless, I am making use of these nice days while we have them. I have been purchasing lumber for making more garden beds, and have spent the last couple of days putting them together. Nothing goes entirely smoothly, however, as my brand new wheelbarrow decided to get a flat tire, and no one was open on the weekend to fix it for me. So, I haven't been able to fill the beds yet... and really, that's what takes the longest time.

I am just waiting for a couple of boarding dogs to be dropped off, then I am running into town to get the tire fixed, so I can get moving. My goal is to have all 25 beds done, filled, and ready to go by March 15... time is passing quickly. Tomorrow is supposed to be a non-rainy day, so I can get moving on filling these things.

I have also been busy this morning putting in my first ads for my CSA memberships. I only have 3 memberships left for this year, but it will nice to see what kind of response I get... Otherwise, I'll just be selling produce at the farmers' markets.

Frikin' Turkeys

Well, Christmas day has come and gone. My plan for the morning was to sleep in a tiny bit, exercise dogs, and then just laze around and do not much of anything on Christmas. Thanks to the frikin' turkeys, I barely got even that done. When I got up and let the first group of dogs out, they all ran to the neighbours fence and started barking and obsessing on something... it was one of my damn turkeys! It had flown all the way over the trees and the fence, and was squallering in my neighbours yard. Upset that he was separated from the rest of the flock. So, back inside with all the dogs, who needed a big run BAD. I got some food to entice turkey lurkey to the fence. That part worked. He came closer. I knew from experience that he wouldn't be smart enough just to fly back over the fence- for some reason, they always have to go under... I found a stick and propped up a bit of the fence, and put some feed in front of it, then stood back to give the turkey some room. Well, that dork walked up and down the fence for over an hour, squeaking and calling to his turkey brothers, almost going under the fence a thousand times. I was seriously ready to just go get one of my dogs to jump the turkey and put ME out of my misery! It was exhausting, trying to entice him back under that fence!
Meanwhile, the poor doggies are all locked inside, dying to get out for a pee and poo and a good run!

Finally, he scoots under the fence. I couldn't believe it after all that time! I was astounded that he figured it out! Then, of course, he flies into the nearest tree. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this... I was soooo close to just giving up! I decided to hide myself, so the turkey would feel more free to come near the coop. That worked quite well, and he leaped out of the tree and waddled to the coop, where I then came out of hiding and opened the door and herded the damn thing back in. All told... over 2 hours. No rest time for me that day! I finally got to let the poor dogs out, where they went nuts, venting all their energy. I have pretty much made the decision to get rid of these turkeys, ready or not. They are just too much trouble! I am going to call the processing place right after new years, and get them booked into the first appointment I can. I refuse to be herding escapees all winter long!

The next day, I lost one of my new laying hens. She escaped the coop (which is easy for them to do, they just usually don't, because of the dogs) and a dog got her. She was pretty mangled, but died very, very quickly. No pain for her! I unthinkingly buried her, but now that I think back, maybe I should have put her in the freezer... I am not used to this farming thing, and really, what a waste of a perfectly good chicken! Hopefully, I'll know better next time.

Chickens and Eggs

I have been procrastinating catching all my new hens and moving them up to the egg laying coop. I was freaked out from trying to catch the males last week, and I no longer have a houseguest, so had to do it all on my own. The younger hens have been starting to give me a few tiny little eggs of late, and are ready to start laying regularly, and I knew I wouldn't be able to procrastinate much longer. So, last night I grabbed the biggest dog crate I had, and went out with much trepidation to move the chickens. My heart was beating a million miles a minute, I was so nervous about doing this!

As it turns out, female chickens are WAY easier to deal with than the males. They just sat there while I gently picked them up and put them in the crate. I didn't even have to close the door behind each one- they just sat there while I gathered up all the hens! No flapping, no screeching, no scarieness at all! I crammed them all into the crate, then dragged them bit by bit up to the permanent coop. I put them in with the older layers from last year, but left them in the crate overnight. Early this morning, I let them all out together. I was expecting alot of fighting and screeching with the two groups, but they seem to be getting along quite well! I have noticed the odd little arguement, but nothing major. What a relief.

Three more days, and winter solstice is here. As the days start to get longer, my hens should start laying more often. I now have 24 layers, so as time goes on, I should get between 1 1/2  and 2 dozen eggs each day. More than enough more myself, and I will be able to start selling them again, and make enough money to pay for their feed. Yay! Something worked out! Can't wait to start collecting my eggs every day!

Damn Turkeys

I was getting ready to let all the dogs out for a really good run this morning, peeked out the door, and what's just outside?? Seven damn turkeys! Somehow, they had burst open the door to their coop, and were happily foraging on my lawn. Looked cool, but somehow I didn't think it would last with 6 or so dogs coming out to play...

Of late, I have become an expert at herding turkeys. If you take it slow and steady, and don't rush them or freak them out, they will walk in the general direction you want them to. It took me about 15 very patient minutes, and amazingly, they all went back into their coop. I am seriously considering not doing turkeys next year. Who know a stupid bird could be such a pain in the ass??? Or, alternatively, I may try some non-heritage variety. I don't like the idea as much, but with my lack of building-a-decent-coop-skills, it may be the way I have to go for now. I spend ALOT of my time rescuing or herding escaped turkeys. Even when I think I have the coop all perfect, they seem to find a way out....