Cleanup Fire

We had a cleanup fire the other day....all the scraps from the Gman's sawmilling...they were all piled up down by the barn....we have so much wood around here to use for firewood and kindling, we really didn't need this pile...so we Burnt It!














I Love a good fire...and after a couple hours of tossing wood, we were done...one more area cleaned up!















Under the stack of wood, there was quite a bit of ice...





and I found yet another job to add to the To Do List for this year....sand and paint the wheel wells on the sawmill trailer.

While I was there, I took a pic of the newest pig run, boy, those pigs sure are chewing up the new area pretty quick...

We're away again for the day today...yesterday we went to town and met friends for a nice lunch...and they gave us more buns...E makes the Best Buns....and J made us another bird feeder...we'll get that hung up in the next couple of days.... Sphere: Related Content

Started More Seeds

This morning, I managed to get back down to the seedling room and started some more seeds. I had to turn on two more lights as my other table is full up.....so here's what I started:

21 more Red Acre Cabbage (this is the THIRD time)
21 dill
45 marigolds
12 Jetsetter tomatoes (the rest of those seeds)
2 Siberian Tomatoes (hey, i had two free spots in the seed tray, lol)

You may be wondering just why it is that I plant 21 seeds of my different varieties...the only reason is because that's how many cups my large seed trays will hold....I have now run out of those (for the time being).

I always go grocery shopping during those Case Lot Sales...soup, some veggies, etc....I always save the bottom boxes, and if they have that plastic on them, so much the better. I can use them to put my seed cups into...they don't look that cool, but free is free, right?

I am planting a Lot of Marigolds again this year, as they are Really Beneficial in the veggie garden....I will plant a few at the ends of the rows, and also try to plant a few within the rows themselves...there are a Lot of bugs that don't like the aroma of marigolds...plus, it makes my garden look purtier! Sphere: Related Content

Seedling Update

OK, things are looking a bit better down in the seedling room....so far (and it's still a bit early for ALL the plants to be up) we have:

21 Sweet Baby Girl Cherry Tomatoes (100% germination) - this is pic on the left

6 Fantastic tomatoes (left over seed from last year)

9 Jetsetter tomatoes (will have to start more, if the rest don't come up)

13 Cauliflower

30 Sugar Beet (am Happy with that!) pic to the left

13 Broccoli (pic to the left)

yesterday was a write off for me...I've been trying to nip this cold in the bud...some days I feel pretty tired. This morning I feel better so far, so hopefully will get some stuff done today.

The G man worked on finishing enlarging the pig run and boy do we have 3 Happy Little Pigs! They've got fresh grass and soil to root around in!

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Taking Down Trees

We had a busy afternoon yesterday....spent it outside...The G man took down about 4 trees, then we lit a fire and cleaned things up....

Here's a before pic of our side yard, as you can see, lots of work to be done....Second tree on the left is a pine killed by the pine beetles...

Eventually I'd like to have a sitting area under the trees...

There's a fairly small window up here, as to when you can safely burn, and the time is NOW before it gets Too dry. Over the last couple of years, we have taken down all the pine trees killed by the pine beetle, except the big one we had in our side yard.

It had to come down...these trees are a HUGE fire hazard - people around here say "it's not IF we have a big forest fire, it's WHEN we have the fire"....these dead pine trees are everywhere, it seems. It has been really good to see how many people are falling the trees, and cleaning up the brush. Of course it makes excellent firewood, and the majority of homes up here have woodstoves, so yes, we can all make good use of this wood. There's also a market for the denim pine, but you would have to have a LOT of these trees to make it feasible to have someone fall them and sell them off....

Here's a closer look at the dead tree....

Here's a before pic of the yard closer to the barn...the deciduous trees are aspens (very similar to poplar), the coniferous trees are spruce....

The G man took down the 2 aspens on the far left.

Then we lit a fire and cleaned up all the limbs....my friend asked me to save some of the tips from the aspens....I did not know this, but goats Love them! And her fella told me, in tough times years ago, if there was no hay, farmers would fall aspens and feed the branches to their cattle! Apparently, there are lots of nutrients in the tips, bark and limb wood....

So, once we got Most of the work done, we figured, Hey it's Friday, hey it's 4pm....so we broke out the home made beer! Gotta love it!

Our plan for today is to have another fire on the other side of the barn. This is where the G man's sawmill has been set up since last spring, so there is a big pile of ends and trimmings we can burn...that'll clean it up really nice down there!

Enjoy your Saturday!

.

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Swapping Motors

I had mentioned the G man has been swapping the motors between the two Ford trucks....probably at some point, he will have time to put a post on this blog with pictures etc....to show what he has done.

In the meantime, if you want, head over here and see his pics. He has been corresponding with people over there to find out some answers etc....

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/735262-motor-trany-swap.html

the G man has really impressed me with this huge job! I have gone out to yak with him and looked in the trucks...what a tangle of wires, parts, pieces, it is unreal....since I have zero knowledge about it, I would just shake my head and walk away....

The other day I was in the front yard working, and I heard something I hadn't heard in many weeks...I heard our truck start! I looked over at him and he had a big smile on his face! A few days later, I heard the horn honk....later that day I heard the stereo playing. He's quite amazing, the G man is! Sphere: Related Content

Monsanto Article in Vanity Fair

There's a good article in this month's issue...but it's also available on line...click here to read it

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805?printable=true&currentPage=all

Here's the header, it's a pretty interesting read!

"Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination"

I find the idea of genetically modified seeds downright scary...think about it. Sphere: Related Content

Sam's Club, Costco limit rice purchases as prices rise

This is an article posted today on www.cnn.com I'm going to do a copy and paste over to here, as this is something that does concern me. Are you noticing at the grocery store how rice, flour and other staples are going up up up in price? Have you actually noticed the prices you are paying for your fruits and vegetables? There have been increases over the last few months....yet ANOTHER reason to grow a garden, no matter how small. It all helps....and I think food prices are going to increase more and more as the months go by.....here's the whole article:

"Sam's Club, Costco limit rice purchases as prices rise"

Last Updated: April 24, 2008: 11:41 AM EDT
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(AP) -- The two biggest U.S. warehouse retail chains are limiting how much rice customers can buy because of what Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., called on Wednesday "recent supply and demand trends."

The broader chain of Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) stores has no plans to limit food purchases, however.

The move comes as U.S. rice futures hit a record high amid global food inflation, although one rice expert said the warehouse chains may be reacting less to any shortages than to stockpiling by restaurants and small stores.

Sam's Club followed Seattle-based Costco (COST, Fortune 500) Wholesale Corp., which put limits in at least some stores on bulk rice purchases.
Sam's Club declined to say if this is first time it has restricted sales of bulk foods. The limits affect 20-pound bags, not retail-sized portions. Costco President and CEO Jim Sinegal declined to discuss the issue Wednesday with an AP reporter.
Sam's Club said it will limit customers to four bags at a time of imported jasmine, basmati and long grain white rice.

Higher prices ahead

The warehouse chain caters heavily to small businesses, including restaurants. Sam's Club spokeswoman Kristy Reed said she could not comment on whether the problem was caused by short supplies or by customers stocking up in anticipation of higher prices.

USA Rice Federation spokesman David Coia said there is no rice shortage in the United States.

"It's possible that small restaurants and bodega-type neighborhood stores may be purchasing rice in larger quantities than they do typically to avoid higher prices," Coia said about the warehouse chain restrictions.

A smaller chain, Natick, Mass.-based BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ, Fortune 500), said it is not imposing limits for now. "At the present time, BJ's Wholesale Club is not limiting the amount of rice purchases made by our members, but, due to the current market situation, that could change at any time," spokeswoman Sharyn Frankel said in a statement.

In New York's Chinatown, shop owners said that they haven't seen people stocking up amid fears of rice shortages.

iReport: What are you paying for food?

At Bangkok Center Grocery, one of the main suppliers of Thai food products in New York City, manager Tom Pongsopon said the price of a 25-pound bag of Jasmine rice at his Chinatown store has gone up from $15 to $20 in a matter of months.
"We have enough for now, but I'm not sure about the future," Pongsopon said.

The Sam's Club restriction is effective immediately at all locations where quantity restrictions are allowed by law. It does not apply to other staples such as flour or oil.
"We are working with our suppliers to address this matter to ensure we are in stock, and we are asking for our Members' cooperation and patience," Reed said in a statement.

Sam's Club has 593 stores compared with 2,523 Wal-Mart Supercenters that combine a full grocery section with general merchandise.

Costco has 534 warehouses worldwide, most of them in the United States.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said Wal-Mart stores have no plans for restrictions similar to those at Sam's Club.

"We are not seeing any signs of concern in the supply chain that would cause us to limit the sales of any items," Galberth said.

Investors react

U.S. rice futures soared to an all-time high Wednesday as investors bet that surging world demand will continue to pressure already dwindling stockpiles. Rice for the most actively traded July contract jumped 62 cents to $24.82 per 100 pounds on the Chicago Board of Trade, after earlier rising to a record $24.85.

Relentless demand from developing countries and poor crop yields have pushed rice prices up 70 percent so far this year, raising concerns of severe shortages of the staple food consumed by almost half the world's population.

The steep increases have followed similar jumps in the price of wheat, corn and soybeans that have added to Americans' growing grocery bill and led to violent food riots in poor countries including Haiti, Senegal and Pakistan.

Most of the rice eaten in the world is consumed within 60 miles of where it was grown, said Nathan Childs, an economist and rice expert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Traditionally very little of it was traded in the world market.

But as populations crossed borders, the taste for specialty rices such as the Indian basmati, or Thai jasmine rice, which grow only in their areas of origin, spread.

U.S. production of long grain and medium grain rice is strong, and the global crop is larger than ever, Childs said. But with some of the principal exporters of the higher-priced rices, such as India and Vietnam, shunning foreign sales to control prices at home and the cost of food generally going up, the price of rice has been climbing to new heights.

What adds to the price spike -- and the run on specialty products like basmati -- is that rice consumers tend to be very loyal. The market is highly segmented by type of rice and quality, and buyers will generally not take a substitute, Childs said.
"California's had a pretty good crop, but basmati and jasmine consumers have a history of not switching," he said. "They could always have bought cheaper Calrose. But they don't."

First Published: April 23, 2008: 9:52 PM EDT Sphere: Related Content

Walking with Goats and Sheep

My friend has goats and sheep - they shear the sheep in the Sring and she uses the wool for all kinds of knitting....almost every day she takes her animals out for a walk along the road. After awhile, they take a trail into the woods and walk for about an hour.

The animals love it and stop to graze...last summer friends from the Island was here for a few days. We all went for a walk and she took some awesome pictures.....

Look at this little guy, isn't he adorable? And really friendly too!

So this morning I got some more rudbeckia and coreopsis seeded, let's hope that the germination is better....the temperature in the seedling room is 74F, so that should be ok.

Also seeded 38 Sugar Beets...hopefully they will grow well and we can store them for animal feed for this coming winter. I haven't grown them before, and the package said they could be started indoors one month before last frost....so I figured I would give that a try!

My father-in-law scooped us about 5 or 6 dozen quart size canning jars (Thanks again!) so I've been scrubbing them out this morning. Halfway done, and now those ones can go downstairs into storage......we're headed into town for the afternoon. It's gorgeous out today, nice and sunny and warm....19 eggs from the hens, so all is good!

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New Raspberry Bed and Free Ranging Chickens

About three-quarters of the snow has melted off of the veggie garden....and the rye I planted in the fall is starting to grow...

A few posts ago, I showed some pics of what will be the new extension to the berry bed....I had put up fencing and then put a bunch of my hens in there to work around in the horse biscuits I put in there last fall.....here's a pic of how it looked today.

They've done a good job of breaking it all up...I'll add some soil, mix it up and it will be ready for the raspberries....

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Seedlings and Seeding

I spent a bit of time sowing some seeds late this afternoon....so here's what we got:

13 Jetsetter tomatoes

7 Fantastic tomatoes

21 Sweet Baby Girl cherry tomatoes

21 Broccoli

21 Cauliflower

So, we got the trays seeded, the lights and heat on, inspirational plaque in place....let's just hope for a better germination than the last seeds.....

Here are the ones that made it from the first round...sitting in the living room windows....













The Habaneros look pretty good, getting their first true leaves














Cabbages doing just fine....

I'm going to try to get some more stuff planted tomorrow...and move a long counter into the seed room. We're going to town at some point, and we'll pick up some more lights for down there. Once we get those hung up, I can carry on with the rest of the seeding...we've got a Lot of stuff to do in the next week or so! Sphere: Related Content

We're Tired, But We're Home

What a weekend! We had a great time at both the anniversary parties....and it was great to see all my aunts and uncles again, it has been awhile! The Bayside put on a really yummy spread for us all, and we had a lot of laughs together....after, we partied in a few hotel rooms and visited some more.

Plus we got to see all of the G man's family on Sunday night, and had a wonderful Chinese dinner at Mr. Ho's in Burnaby! (Great food and I don't really even like Chinese food!)

We got home early yesterday afternoon...ran around taking care of the animals, then went down to friends to look after their animals, as they went away yesterday morning (they had taken care of our chickens and pigs while we were away)....so after we fed their horses, dogs and chickens, we came home, had an easy early dinner, and went to bed soon after!

Today I am supposed to sow a bunch of seeds, and clean out some flower pots, but I dunno if I will even get to it...I am dragging myself around, but I gotta find some energy somewhere to get a few things done! Sphere: Related Content

Heading Out

We're going on a road trip, down to the Coast. Three 50th wedding anniversary parties this weekend, so we will be very busy! My parents, Graham's parents and his aunt and uncle...each couple married 50 years!

So, we'll be gone until Monday....and probably be recuperating on Tuesday, lol! Sphere: Related Content

No, not Ozzie!!

Oy, what a Survivor tonite! My Ozzie is gone....he should have played the Idol he had...once the merge happened, he should have known what a big threat he was...so strong at the challenges.

Why is Cerie still there? And Ozzie is gone? argggggggg Sphere: Related Content

Dad and Mom's 50th Anniversary!

Today is a very Special day in my family! It is Dad and Mom's 50th Wedding Anniversary! 50 years of love and togetherness...what an accomplishment!


So, here's a few pics...a little trip down memory lane for my parents





Young and in love.....

and so, they got hitched

Check out that cake! My dad makes beautiful wedding cakes!

And so, they set off on their adventure together....

Not only had Dad snagged a Hot Mama, he also had a Hot Car!

He figured he had done very well...and so he slacked off a bit

They have snuggled in Banff....

and snuggled in Paris

Along the way, they owned a bakery...and baked a LOT of wonderful bread, pastries, cakes, etc....

Look at dem jelly rolls!














They had some kids....and a dog, Susie...they had to give her away tho, as some of the kids liked to pull her tail :(









A few years later...another bundle of joy came along....


There was a lot of joy...but many years later, as can happen in life, there was also heartbreak....

They have always enjoyed travelling, and took all their kids to Europe...we still have family in Holland.

They also loved sailing....

These days they spend about half the year travelling in their motorhome....the rest of the time is spent at their property on Vancouver Island....where they both enjoy working in the garden.

This weekend there is going to be a party for the whole family....there should be about 65 people there, it's gonna be fun!

So Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

With All of our love,

Annie and Graham

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It's Kinda Cold Again

It's been a strange weather day here today, we have had snow (which didn't amount to much, and is already gone) and now it's sunny....but it's cold again!

A couple weeks or so ago, G took down a tree that would be in the way of our meat bird run....and today we went out and he cut the rest of the limbs off, and cut the trunk into firewood. I tidied up all the limbs and made a pile so we can have a fire soon....not today tho, it's a bit too windy out there.

The hens are again spending the afternoon working over the stuff in my berry bed expansion, yeah....the fence is holding! (So far)....

I've boxed up a bunch of eggs and we have both started getting things ready to go to the Coast this weekend....lots to do and plan for!

Still have to go to my friends to get some fresh milk...finish laundry, etc, etc.... Sphere: Related Content

Our Girls Have a Job!!

Last fall, we knew we had to increase the size of the berry bed.....I have about 20 raspberries that, in spite of me, seem to be still alive. Also in this bed are a couple Highbush Cranberries, some Parsley and a few flowers, which will eventually probably be moved out....

Our friends have horses, so late last fall, I went down and picked up a trailer full of horse manure...came home, dropped the tailgate, and put it all in the new part of the berry bed.

I threw woodashes on there through the winter, whenever we needed to clean the woodstove. So now that the snow is off of it, and it seems to be thawing, I needed to get the manure broken up. Eventually I will move the raspberries over here and space them out better.

Instead of my turning over the manure and soil, I figured the girls should do it. I am all for supervising someone else doing the work....The G man was away for part of the morning, and while he was gone, I managed to improvise some fencing.

I had to...I needed to keep the chickens out of the "other half" of the bed, that is, the half where I have all my plants. I let them free range yesterday without fencing, and they were trying to get at my plants just newly coming out of the ground!

So here is fencing, the Annie Way.....and yes I already know I suck at fencing....

I pounded in a few T posts (that was really a Lot Easier than I thought it would be) put a couple nails in each post that was already there....AND I even remembered to run the T posts THRU the chicken wire BEFORE I pounded in the T posts!!

See....I am learning....

But, yes...ahem....that hammer in the picture IS holding down the fence at the ground level. And yes, that wooden thing (nesting boxes on its side) is ALSO holding the fence closed (at the top). And yes, that extra post laying on the ground IS holding fencing down at ground level there too....

It will work just fine....later today when I want the hens to go home to the barn, I'll just open it up...tomorrow, I'll call them up to that bed again by shaking their scratch can, and once I get a bunch in there, I'll just close up the wire again for the day.

In a few days, these girls will do a Fine Job of scratching everything up, turning it into a wonderful, loose and friable base that I can transplant my raspberries into!

And by then, I will have thought of another job my girls can do! And hopefully, the next mobile fencing I put up will be a Better Job! But you have to start somewhere!

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Pig Run Progress!

Well, the 3 Little Pigs have taken to their big new run quite well!! We weren't going to open it all the way up, in order to make sure they did a good rooting job over the Whole Area....but by the time the G man went to set up the middle boards, they had already been rooting like crazy!





So, he thought the heck with it, just let them in the whole area....and take a look what they have done in 2 days!

We just had a cup of tea on the porch and could see the pig run from there....we watched as all 3 of them raced from one end of the run to the other....guess they are liking their new yard!!








I can't remember if it was John Seymour who said "a pig with dirt on his nose is happy...a pig with dirt up to his eyes is in ecstasy."


And yup, that's a chicken in the run with the pigs...so far they seem to be getting along ok, lol!
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I Got My Eye on You!

I get a kick out of this picture!

Enjoy your Sunday...we are off to have coffee at the neighbours, then probably put in a good day's work here on the farm....

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Pigs and Chickens, Oh My!!

We spent the whole afternoon down at the barn yesterday....and what a great day it was! Sun was shining, the geese were flying overhead....anyday now we should begin to see and hear the Sandhill Cranes. They spend the summers up here, and like to hang out in our Valley, they are quite incredible....

It is time for us to start enlarging the pig run....so that is what we spend most of the afternoon on....since we were going to be down there and the dog would be with us, we thought....well, what could it hurt if we let the chickens free range for awhile?

So we did....keeping a close eye on our dog (half wolf, half Malamute)....would he eat them? Would he bite them?

No, he didn't....actually he seemed to be guarding them! First he cried, and we kinda thought he was worried that they were out....then he walked around and continously checked on them.

When he thought a few were getting "too far way" we watched him herd them back closer to the barn....

The chickens had a great ole time, scratching up the ground and finding things to eat....what a treat for them! And we'll do it again, providing we are down there, so we can keep an eye on the dog. He's such a good boy...I guess all those times we have told him to "watch the house and watch the girls" has sunk in! He sure seemed to know what his job was!

We got all the boards up for the pig run....today we will have to run the electric fencing....then we can open it up and allow the pigs into the new area.

Here's a pic where you can see how big their run will be....at first we will just let them into half of the new area. Since we WANT the 3 Little Pigs to root this whole area up, (it will later become another veggie garden), we don't want them to have too large of an area at a time. Works best when they have a smaller area, then they are more thorough in their rooting...who knows, we may not even need to rototill the area at all (at least, that's our hope!) Our pigs are supposed to be THE rototiller, lol!

Beyond the pig run are our "hayfields". At least they used to be used as hayfields....over the years, the canary grass has gotten out of hand, due to no one cutting the hay, or keeping the willows out of the field. It's one of our goals, to get the hayfields back into production. But that will have to wait for now....we have enuf on our plates, and rejuvenating the fields will be a big job in itself!

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Sunset

We sure get some gorgeous sunsets here....this is from day before yesterday.... Sphere: Related Content

Spring Has Sprung!!

I think it's here....spring that is....we've had nice warm temperatures, most of the snow is melting...it's quite wonderful! I walked around yesterday and checked some plants for signs of life.

Over at the main veggie garden, enuf snow has melted to show me that the fall rye is growing! I seed the garden early every fall with fall rye. It will help improve the garden soil. I broadcast it on the whole garden. In spring, it will hopefully grow enough so that we can make one cutting to use for feed for the chickens...then the G man will till the rest under, right back into the garden.

After that we wait maybe 3 weeks at most, then start planting the veggies. The soil here is heavy clay, and it takes time to improve the soil. Although seeding the rye does shorten our growing season by a bit (in that we can't plant a fall garden at this point) I think it's better for us to generally improve the soil of the garden.

Over time, we will likely be able to discontinue the rye and then we can extend our growing season by a month or so....

Then I walked over to the "berry bed" and saw the Chives are coming up! Amazing to me that plants actually are growing under all that snow...

And here are some irises coming back up! Happy days! I'll get in there over the next week and start cleaning up the beds, removing the dead growth and leaves, etc....

And here's the rhubarb just poking thru! And we should be able to harvest some this year....we just planted two rhubarb last year (got the roots from a friend), looks like they are off to a good start!

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