FUN in the mud!!

L LOVES to be dirty. Water and clay means MUD and MUD is FUN!!! This is under the side roof which is why there is no snow. Just water from the melting snow above. This puddle is pretty much gone as I dug a trench and drained it... for putting trusses up. (pictures to follow)
Painting the 'new to us' car.

PORK.

We recently turned this

into......

THIS!!!

Looks great hey?? We made 8 different kinds of sausage alone with chops, bacon, ribs and roasts. This sausage is a theringer which we all really like.

Here are 5 of the 8 mixed sausage recipes we used. We mixed them all in bowls (only one was a premix) and then weighed the meat and mixed each one separately. We got most of the recipes off line and liked all of them. Some better then others. We had a premix bought from a local store for Pepperoni. The others were Theringer, another pepperoni, 3 kinds of hot dogs (one hot), summer sausage and a garlic sausage. Here is a picture of our new saw and the meat grinder that came with it. It works great and we love being able to completely (except bacon which we need a smoke house for) process our pigs. Start to finish.

We went to look at our newest pigs today. They are pure bred Berkshires and we are quite excited about them. We called the breeders about 2 months ago and ordered 6 wiener pigs for this spring and they called the other day and told us our pigs had been born. So we headed out to take a look this morning. They were born on the 25th of March and we won't bring them home until mid May. These are the only people in our area who breed Berkshires. They trade boars with another person who lives 3 hours away because there is no one closer.

Cute aren't they??

We plan on keeping 2 to breed next year. One of them has a stick person with out arms or legs in white on it's side. They all have white feet and are very active and healthy. Some of them are losing their tails but the breeders aren't sure why and several of their adult pigs did not have tails.

Here they are with their Momma. She came right up to the fence and let us pet her. That thing in the corner is her house. The black thing is the door. She pushes it in and walks inside. Keeps those babies nice and warm.

Climber Chick...

R has decided the view from the floor leaves A LOT wanting. So she's recently learned how to climb on to the couch and chair and L's dump truck... where she gets stuck and Momma takes pictures of her. Here she is 'chilling' Oh and did you know that you can see A LOT from the table in the living room?? I found her sitting on top of the table (couch to table) 3 times in the last week. Sitting quite happily under our new cream separator!! Pulling tissues from the box. Having a grand 'ol time. Stuck in the dump truck... just can't get out of this thing Mom!!!

Just yesterday she learned how to get off the couch as well. Handy thing that. She still can't get off the kid chairs and sits in them for HOURS quite contentedly. I guess the view makes up for the lack of movement????

More Eagle Pictures.

Here is the pair in the top of the neighbors spruce tree. This is the 1st time I have ever seen them in it together. Mating time I think. They are very lovey dovey. They sing a lot and don't seem to be far from each other for very long.

This next picture is really cool. The mating pair are the two with the white heads. The bottom bird is an immature eagle. Probably one of the mating pairs children. Eagles I'm told only get their white heads around 7 years of age. They are then old enough to mate. I at first thought it was a raven or crow but was shocked at it's size. They after I took the pictures I saw that it was an immature eagle. You can see the talons and beak and the shape of it's head better in the next picture. Another reason I wasn't sure what it was is that I have NEVER seen a eagle share a tree with another bird that's not an eagle. They just don't.

I scared him off. They were both on this tree when I went to get firewood and the other one flew away as soon as it saw me but I managed to get the camera and take a few shots before this one followed it's mate to another tree.

Perched to fly.

They watch me the whole time I'm out there. They never take their eyes off me. Kinda un-nerving when you see it in the pictures. When I'm out there all I can see is his head moving.

More Sheep.

Playing on Top of the Snow.

Here are the kids J, L and E playing with the lambs on top of the hard snow. Note the picnic table in the back ground (all you can see is the table as the seats are under the snow) and the level of snow on the fence. This was the 25th of March. The red fence in the front is the height of our cows nose.. or rather was.. last fall.

E Fell Asleep Sitting Up.

This was when we were sick with the stomach flu and when Papa went in to check the kids before bed he found her. When he went to lay her down he found she had thrown up on her pillow. So instead of calling us she just sat up and slept on!! She looks so uncomfortable I don't know how she could sleep.

Signs of Spring.

I was outside wandering around while the kids were napping today looking for signs of spring. I saw 3 large puddles and several small ones on top of the snow :) I saw bare earth under a big spruce tree, and under a group of trees. Then I saw GRASS... Oh how cool!! So I went forward for a closer look and it was the spot where Papa and I cut the bottom branches off of our Christmas Tree. Not grass. Branches!!! Oh well. I guess we are melting. We have melted as far back as Christmas :) 2 more months to go!! This picture was taken a few days ago for the layers of snow on the top of our new International. This snow has since slid off but it was neat to see the layers and layers of snow.

Lambs

Note the fan and the bucket that are keeping the lambs in the entryway. They are living outside in a large dog crate and only came in to eat.

I've taken it in my head that last few weeks to listen to the local morning Buy and Sell radio show. Well. I'm looking for bunk beds... and I found some sheep!! LOL. Well Baby sheep. And it wasn't easy. First I called them at got some more information. Age? (10 days) Sex? (one of each, turned out to be 2 males) Breed? (mostly hair breeds) Where they lived? (about 20 minutes from us) Cost? ($30 each and they ringed them and did tails and gave me enough replacer to last a day or so and a baby bottle to feed them with.) Then I gathered a bit more information. How much does an adult sheep eat per winter? ( 600lbs of hay for a 5 month winter) How long do you have to bottle feed them? (2 months or so) Can I switch them from sheep milk replacer to cows milk? (yes if I do it carefully and make sure there is lots of cream) Will they electric fence train? (yes better then goats) And yes the kids will love it and it'll be great for them. Then I took my wild card and shoved it up my sleeve, and Papa and I talked it through. Papa had a few good arguments but so did I and in the end we compromised on both sides and I was allowed to get sheep. Papa wasn't so keen on it but he's come around. I'm sure it helps that he gets to get another $100.00 International. Really a cheap price for a couple of years worth of sheep!! We drove out to pick the lambs up this morning. We had a great drive out there. We saw swans and Canadian Geese on the river ( I didn't bring my new camera and I'm still kicking myself.) and the sun was beautiful. On the way home we saw a grouse on a side road and got to watch it cross the road. R fell asleep so she napped the whole time. They had them ready for us when we got there and as soon as the kids got out of the Travelall the woman called them over to the carport. 'Oh they have got to come see this. They will love what we have here' she bubbled happily. So over we went. The two lambs following us at our heels. In the carport door we all stopped and stared!! PUPPIES!!! 8 registrable Border Collie puppies. They were about 4 weeks old and cute as can be!! Both Dad dog and Momma Dog were there and beautiful. And I was warned that these were working pups of working parents and not the kind of dog we want at all. All of which I could tell at 1st glance but was grateful for the reaffirmation! ( A dog is another thing I'm working at Papa for. I think we should get one this spring and he thinks we need to wait a year or two!!) Lambs forgotten the kids pet and cuddled and tumbled with the pups!! Which was probably a good thing as they ringed the lambs, tails as well, and gave them a shot of something and gave me a ton of directions :) They also promised to call me if they had another bummer lamb that was a ewe as I really wanted a ewe to keep and breed. Well I called the kids away from the dogs and we grabbed the lambs and put them in the dog crate in the back of my Travelall. Buckled everyone in, honked twice as directed to keep the dogs off the road, and we took our lambs for their 1st car ride. They did well. A bit of baaaa-ing but they settled right in. When we hit town we stopped in at Grandma and Grandpa F's house to show off our new critters. Then we headed up to Papa's work so he could see the new lambs. When we got to his work I got the boys out, handed them each a lamb and told them to go show Papa. SMILES so big!!! They proudly hauled those lambs into the shop and when I got there a bit later with the girls Papa had the lambs on his lap and J and L were telling him what they'd named their new lambs!! The black one J named Forrest the Black Lamb. The white with brown spots L named Snowball!! (and J tacks on 'the white lamb") The black one is half again as big as the white one and mostly Texel and Dorper. It was a Singleton and it's mother refused it. The white one is Katahdin and St. Crois and it was a triplet who's mom couldn't care for it. The black one is sassy and insistent and the white more laid back and shy. The whole time we were at Papa's shop E is asking me "Where is my lamb Momma?" (It took me several times to figure out what she was saying) Not broken heartily or anything. Just wondering and insistent. I think she just realized that there were only 2. Before with all the puppies I think she thought there was more. So I explained that there was only 2 and said to go pet L's. Ok. No problems. She's fine with that. Thankfully. I'm really hoping there will be another one as part of the deal Papa and I had was that I got to breed the ewe once and lamb her out!! I'm hoping by then we know if we really like having Lamb in the freezer and if it's worth the work etc to get it there. Also if we just plain old enjoy sheep. I'm pretty sure I will, unless something odd comes up, but Papa's not at all sure. I think the kids are 100% sure. They love them to bits. Now to work on that puppy.... :)

A Interesting Day.

It was a day of firsts for me. First of all it's interesting to note that this month is the 1st month in the last 6 years that I have not been pregnant or nursing!! :) I weaned R the day before her 1st birthday. She has had no problems with that at all and hasn't even asked to nurse since then. So today I had a appointment in 'the city' and instead of having it on Papa's day off and us all going which is what we normally do I dropped the kids off with Grandma and Grandpa F switched the Travelall for the Honda at Papa's work place and headed out alone. Grandma and Grandpa have been asking to have the kids for several weeks and so with breakup here it worked out great. Everyone who knows me a bit knows that I'm not a driver. I dislike driving. Papa once thought it'd be great to go over the road team trucking. There is NO WAY. I just don't like it. At all. I enjoy watching the scenery, talking to passengers, dozing and doing what ever else I can to keep from being bored while in the car. But driving isn't one. So because of this I don't drive much. Papa drives. Papa enjoys it. But today was a new day!! LOL. I still don't enjoy driving but I sure enjoyed today!! I've never really city driven before and so am always very nervous when I have too. But today I did. I drove through the city to my appointment and then afterwards I drove all around for a bit then up to Walmart and the craft store then to BP where I met a friend A for supper. It was great!! I found I can drive in a city!! I found I could even drive in the city with it raining!! It was awesome. Now don't go getting any idea's about me becoming a city slicker... It wont happen. But I sure did enjoy my 1st day out all alone for most of the day in about 6 years... Actually while I typed that I realized that I don't believe I have EVER done this before. Not in our almost 10 years of marriage.. or anytime before that. I've gone for a day of fun with a friend or two but never by my self!!

On the way home I was driving along minding my manners and I saw a strange thing. The first time it happened I wasn't sure what it was. But as it kept on happening I realized I was seeing the 1st thunder storm of the year!! BEAUTIFUL pink and purple lightning with several having a whole fan of strikes at the same time!! Lighting up the whole sky. I drove right though the storm on my way home thinking how strange it was to have a thunder storm with 2 feet of snow on the ground and almost no ground showing at all... even on the south sides of the roads.

When I was growing up a favorite game of my fathers was to watch out for wildlife and see who could spot things first. I've always been pretty good at it and now as an adult I find I do it automatically. Papa and I often compete a bit with this and I'm 80% of the time the winner!! Today on the way home I spotted a cow moose in up to her belly in snow eating some small bushes in a draw on the side of the road. She was safe enough there, and so was I, but it got me to thinking about how hard it must be out there in the bush for the moose and deer this year. The snow level has been amazing and how hard it must be for them walking through all that snow (she was in right to her belly. I could see no gap at all.) to get feed. The moose normally stay away from the roads as much as possible but this year there have been several sighted in the 'city' and our friends A&M had a cow and her calf on their front lawn awhile ago.. in the middle of a subdivision!! A said she could have reached out of her car and touched the cows rear end!! That's how close it was to them. A said it ate part of their bush!! And my sister, who also lives in the city, and her family have had SEVERAL moose in their backyard. A cow and a calf, a young bull. Moose eat young bushes and generally trim rather like a goat. And with the snows this year they are coming to the road sides to eat as it is easy food. The roadsides here are mowed every few years of everything. Looks nasty when they do it but the mowed areas are used to help the animals know where the roads are and help us people see them before they get too close. They are also using the roadways as fire breaks as a lot of the wood that surrounds our communities is dead wood. So far they have only made the roadways larger in case of a forrest fire and haven't actually used them.