Tag: winter

0

Winter fun

Winter seems to be incredibly dividing. Some people hate it, others love it. Personally I have been on both sides of the fence on this one. When I was little I hated winter. I didn't ski, snowboard (it wasn't invented then) snowshoe, or much else. I like to hibernate, or come as close to it as possible, and wait for spring. I was like this until we moved into this house and got a dog. The first winter here Beauty needed at least two hours of walking per day. this generally meant I also got two 2 hour walks a day as well. I can't say I was thrilled at first, but over that first winter I learned to really love it. What I realized quickly that it enabled me to see what Beauty smells the rest of the year. If you look closely while out going for a walk you can "read" the outside world. Footprints in the snow let you see the critters that were there before you and discover their stories.

• where they went
• where they came from
• how fast they were going
• if they were alone or with others
• did they eat something
• what they ate

the information can be quite extensive if you know how to read it. In many ways it is like learning a different language. What I love about winter is I can now find these things out. Beauty can smell this all year, but the snow is the medium I need to help me. I am still learning the art and science. Luckily anything involving animals has been a main focus all of my life so I love to learn it. It really is the kind of thing that you have to actually do, reading isn't quite the same. Recently I went on a tracking workshop at RARE in Cambridge with Alexis Burnett. Alexis runs Earth Tracks, a wilderness school based in Grey County. He has been doing this type of work for many years and is very good at it. He has tracked many animals including cougars and bears in BC.

0

Feeding just got easier

Over the weekend we struck another pre-winter job off of the list. There is finally a hay rack in the barn. This doesn't mean that the woolies haven't been eating for the last year. No there has been a number of incarnations of feed methods. First was the hay net.This worked well but was fussy to constantly change especially when our wonderful neighbour was livestock sitting. It was fussy and awkward. Next was a strange wire, contraption that we thought would work. It was a wire sling between two pieces of wood fixed with some screws and a number of tie wraps. It worked for a while, but as the woolies pulled at it more the more it bent and just got weird. Then a hen started laying in it. This was no good for winter. So last weekend we managed to cobble together a hay rack. At first we have a really great plan. It looked great. I made the first box for it, took it into the barn and realized that I was on the completely wrong track. So I backed up and started again. Slowly the rack took form. I suppose it is based on a traditional design (is there any other) and one that already exists in the barn originally made for rabbits that is useless for sheep. The best way to show it of is to find a far nicer picture from somewhere else and let imaginations run wild. I just know that now ANYONE can take a coulkd of flakes of hay and easily feed our woolies. Next is the outside rack!

0

Actually added some pages!

Well, after many months we have actually managed to add some information to our site! There is now an explanation of our forest gardens and our animals. Slowly over the next little while I hope to add to the site. Now it has been started the momentum must be kept up. Winter is coming despite the warm weather today. All the garden are done, even the chard is looking a little owrse for wear now. Some small jars of pear sauce have been made but that is all that managed to get done this fall. Work and life beyond the "farm" took over and it has been difficult to get back. Winter renovations have also taken up much of the time. Hay for winter, insulating the chicken coop, the last run of fencing, and trying to get some hay racks build before the snow flies are all time consuming. Make hay while the sun shines and cut wood while the wind blows.