A fun New years project making beef jerky.

 This was my first time to make it not really hard but time consuming. I used a little chief smoker, strips of beef, marinated it over night in a brine

 Here is it all set ready to smoke

Apple chips for smoking

 Finished jerky

 A season of Christmas fun little twig Santa's. A hot chocolate with whipping cream and candy canes for fun.

 

 Red stars at the gate are festive a welcoming site on the cold winter days

Wow life has a crazy way of getting away.
 I have been super busy it seems I am hardly home so this poor blog has slowly been put aside.

Fire wood time

We have actually burned a lot of wood already

Our weather is as crazy as ever here cold one time warm and melting the next.

 

We enjoyed our fall

Sheep are moved, sheep feeder fixed, sheep waterier carried over. Goats removed, goats running loose, goats still keeping us on our toes. Last auction run of the year, chores cut down.  Thoughts of Miss Molly the milk cow to come home.
The gardens are tired, the ornaments are put away and the flowers and being cut down.
Winter is near it is so hard to believe how fast the year is going.
Sam is into hockey now his home tournament is done and we are moving along with every weekend games. His schooling is also moving along already approaching his first part of is Graduation transition  being due.

Miss Molly will be coming home soon.

 

This little guy was neutered yesterday. We were told he needs obedience school. They muzzled him, tranquilized  him as soon as we got him n the door. poor guy he was scared.

 Fall is the air it is chilly and hot all at the same time. Since the garden season has slowed down I am making great headway in my poor neglected house. Slowly getting it cleaned, swamped out, small little projects. We live hard in our house all summer as I spend 99% of the time outside farming and gardening.
 We have had a busy September/October birthday dinners, quick trips to visit our son, hockey, thanksgiving.
I have painted the kids bathroom I didn't pick the colour the girls did I said just get paint you both like. I just wanted to clean and make it simple.

 

Fall wonderful colours. So pretty we are getting some great rain and man oh man did we need it. So I hope it is filling the rivers, the well restoring all the water areas.

 

I am already thinking of Christmas it is such a happy, fun time of year. I have my fingers crossed all my children can come home I know it is harder and harder each year as they are all working and having there own lives.

I am off to be inspired yesterday and today I am tackling my closet this is not an undertaking for the light of heart. I always make a mess to make progress.

Then next up the two linen closets oh wish me luck we have to have so many extra blankets for winter as it is so cold in our house but we suffer all summer with no where to put them. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to these jobs being done.

October how did the time go so fast.

We are already a month into school so crazy, hockey has started woohoo last year of minor hockey!! Will I miss it not a chance.
It is time to get our fire wood we have brought three loads so far it is a good start but we need more. It is kind of fun getting the wood.
We have separated the lambs and they will be sold off in the next few weeks this will be our last auction for this year. We still have over two hundred bales of hay to bring in so we had better hurry it sure is dragging out this year.

In August I started working for the local gym here in town it is the first time I have a out of home working paying job. It took awhile to get the hang of it and I still feel like I am learning. I am home all day and work evenings it is nice to have extra money for bills. I however do not see Allan all week and it definitely cuts into my work, creative and gardening time here at home.

 The gardens are coming to an end it is time to put all ornaments away we have already rolled hoses. We can't winterize too much as we need everything all the time.

 This fall I am saving seeds so I can spread them all over the gardens it will look nice and save money by not having to buy too many new plants.

 

September

How the heck did we get to September?

 

Unreal September I guess we have been so busy living the year has flown by if I think too hard about it makes me sad.

This month is the start of our last child in school and our last child in minor hockey. I can honestly  say I am a little excited about that. We have had so many years of hockey juggling the time trying to figure out how to pay for it worrying about the gas every weekend.

Yup I am so over it.

 It has been great for the kids awesome memories, a love of a sport, made great friends, learned respect, team work, kept them on the right side, made them all good people. 

 

And, school

 

The driving to the bus twice a day, always watching the clock, home work, fitting in at school. The making sure we have enough lunch snacks for six kids and my husband every night. Feeling bad because we could not buy the lunch program all the time. The tracks meets making sure we have encouraged just enough and not push them and to have fun. Wondering how we will buy lunch at the track meet so the kids can have some treats.

The new school clothes usually the only time they got new clothes so it was exciting for them.

Running shoes ~ always had to have running shoes.

There is more so much more

 

We did it, they did it, my Mom and Dad did it, the kids had good school years.

They succeeded , made it through and achieved.

So the last one on his way to reach his goal of the dogwood diploma.

Here is to a good school year and a fun hockey season.

 



 New little friends on the farm two sweet little Pink pigs. They are adjusting well and seem quite happy

 A splash of yellow little baby ducklings. This is the first time we have ever had Muscovy ducklings. They really are cute

 So much fun to watch them swim they know how to do it dive bombing, dipping.

Our farm is busy, hot and tired. It has been a hot dry six months out here. The animals are fine doing well the new goats are finally putting on some weight. The goats still keep us on our toes and lily the ring leader is always one step away from trouble and she is a perfect role model in teaching the rest of the herd.

It is a wonderful day here on the farm my sister and her husband are up for a visit and our Grandson is visiting.
 And, we are heading into a long weekend may you all have fun and stay safe

The last several nights our dogs have been barking like crazy I was thinking it was bears. This morning early I could hear very close coyotes this seems to be between our neighbors and us ~ now I will have to go count lambs and kids. Hard to sleep when you worry all night.

Summer time is a busy time

 This little guy was in soccer and this was his last day.

 Trying to fit little projects into the farm workload. This was turned into a pillow for my daughter for her birthday

 Our youngest daughter and I moving hay. It was hot but with the help of my youngest son and everyone's truck we moved it pretty fast

Good Projects here on the farm in the evening when all the days work is done I do a little crocheting it really is addicting to see the colours work, to see the end result.

The kids all had projects here they are getting the tires ready to paint. This is our youngest son's truck he just got his license a few weeks ago. In the picture you can see our fire fighter returned from Alberta so many forest fires already this season.

Here is a cute boy he is growing up so much. He is showing me the lovely flowers in his back yard. Yesterday I spent the day with him at the farm he is so happy and a little tractor crazy.

 

On a farm note Miss Molly the cow is milking great she has learned to go into her stall and she is crazy for her grain. She is still really not  relaxed she eats at a fast pace, walks at fast pace and even licks her calf at a fast pace.

A golden sky last night due to the smoke of a forest fire. It can be devastation in one area that makes beauty in another area. All afternoon the sky casted a golden finish to everything. This morning the it was raining quite heavy which we needed after all the intense heat we had.

 Her is Miss Molly loving her baby little nelly she is such a sweet little girl but has a spunky attitude. Molly seems to have settled down and is much more enjoyable to have around.

Our farm is in full throttle busy we have young chickens growing out, we have nine baby ducklings, we have baby bunnies, the young goats are growing nicely. We dewormed the goat herd two weeks ago so I hope that will help them perk up I had bought a herd of goats this winter and they were not the healthiest bunch and I am trying like crazy to get them to fatten up. They have green grass, browsing to do, hay in the feeder, minerals, salt and fresh water but now it is up to them.

Milking Miss Molly freshened May 28 2015 we are not both quite good at milking it took a bit for her to settle down and for me to get brave to sit under her but we did it. She is calm as long as no one goes near her calf. In the picture above is the butter I made. I named her calf Nelly I could not find a name that fit her but this seems to.

 

This afternoon a forest fire broke out near Lytton so it is quite smoky and everything has a golden glow it is kind of hard on the eyes.

 This little guy is Wookie he is quite the character and is totally lonesome for Hyacinth. Hyacinth started a new job this week and this poor puppy is quite lost without her.

 

We are still waiting on lambs still none. It has been a messed up year for lambing and kidding a dragged out season. I hope next year will be better.

Something new happening in my Creative time a new blanket it will be full of wonderful colours.  The colours of a garden Spring and Summer Inspiration. The green of the leaves  from light fern, mild middle green to the dark rich green of leaves. The purple and pinks of my lilacs that was the actual start of the Inspiration. The pinks of peonies, the soft and delicate colours of roses. The brown of the tree barks and the browns of the soil. Then with little pops of bright sunny sunshine yellow. All bordered with the bright white.

 Everything is growing so big this year all the trees seem to trying to reach the sky. Everything in the gardens seems a smidgen early and sadly the late frost did most of the blossoms on the fruit trees in. So we don't get to retire being orchard growers as I can only see under twenty Apples. 

 Miss Hyacinth started her first day at her job. This is a very big step we are so proud of her. Here I made her stand in the sun so bright she could hardly see. Then off she went.

The farm is having a heat wave it has hit 48 degrees in the hot afternoon funny how all of a sudden it just jumps to hot. This is August weather for us. Thank goodness we had that rain last week.
We have been super busy our middle daughter graduated on Saturday with a BBA (HONS) so that was super exciting.

I have been milking Miss Molly she is getting better and I am getting better. Last night was the first time I have kept the milk so this morning I used it in my coffee and had cereal. I am saving the cream to make butter.

 

The lavender in the gardens is coming along nicely which is good as our first wedding is in July. Today I was weeding but it is super hot for that.

This is a bit early for us

Here on the farm it has been crazy busy. Everyday is non stop. We have finished kidding, we finally had Miss Molly the milk cow calve she never got bred until into her third heat so it was a waiting game of being tied to the farm. She had a lovely little heifer calf, the calf is so full of spunk she is running, kicking her feet up and chasing the poor chickens. Molly was completely riled up she is settling now. I have managed to milk her but we have not used the milk yet. I think I will keep it next week. I really want to make butter.

We are now onto lambing so we shall see how long drawn out this season becomes. The gardens are coming along nicely we have had some great rain. As soon as it dries up the weeding will begin.

With our children it has been super busy we have had a kid finish school graduate with a BBA HON. The ceremony is this weekend and she is now looking for a job. We have had a kid practicing, practicing and more practicing for a drivers test which he passed and is now driving on his own now. We have had a kid been away two major forest fires. We have a kid nearly finished his Finning's heavy duty mechanic course and he will also be looking for a job. We have a kid who bought a house and has started her business. We have had a kid who just went for an interview and starts her new job on Monday and throw in (she had to do a drug test) so crazy. So our life is as crazy as usual and does not look like it is going to slow down.

Colour: bright bold and happy

 

A little quiet time fun. I taught myself the traditional granny square it is fun and perfect for when you only have a moment while waiting. 

 

Pink, orange, yellow and purple. A happy blanket it will be