Animal Farm

Here are some of our Highland cattle, with some dark and stormy clouds in the sky. We have about 20 cows now. The thing about cows is they are a pain. Lots of grass in the fields for them to eat, but at a point, they need to break a fence and go through it. And they are too hairy for the electric fences to stop or even bother them. So there is a lot of fence mending that goes on around here.



The calves are pretty lovely looking. Not always easy to deliver though, we had to take a crash course in this via a veterinary website power point. We sat in Kaffe 1870 and went through the whole thing over a couple of pints. Key pointers: never use a tractor, ever.  Always make sure that the calf first has both front feet out, ready to dive out of the mother -- then pull, using human arm strength only.  We have lost at least 2 mothers during the birthing process. 

The chickens are pretty easy; the laying hens are surprisingly bright, and they are great garburators- old bread, cereal, semi rotten tomatoes. In fact one of my favorite things is rolling the fallen tomatoes to them, they pick them up with their beaks and run around. Their eggs taste pretty great too. They lay a dozen a day.

And then their chicks- adorable. It is very important not to mistake a chick egg for an eating egg, cracking an egg with a chick embryo into a frying pan is vile beyond description. 

Sheep- they're not bad. No fence breaking. We had a ram one year brought in for breeding. Normally the farm buys the ram, and then breeds him and then sells him back to the livestock dealer when the ram has serviced all of the sheep. So we got Rambo, and all the sheep seemed to fancy him, but then the next morning he was found four legs up, dead in the pen. No idea what happened. Probably took a heart attack.

And then there's our pig, Chocho. She's fattened up quite a bit since this photo was taken a few months ago. She eats everything. Last weekend I boiled up the stalks  from 3 heads of broccoli in a big pot, and then threw in an old banana, some stale Twizzelers (strawberry), and some leftover cream of wheat. We looked at the pot and declared that in the history of food, these flavors had never before been combined. Chocho ate all of it. In the evening I had two old bottles of salad dressing, which I poured that over her kibble. She ate that also.  

This is our dog Chloe. Here she is watching TV. Her idea of TV anyway, she's watching the roosters before we take them to auction.She is a great dog, so bright. Once, we were walking up on a hill, and far below us, spotted a lamb that got out. I asked Chloe to go and put her back in the pen, and she understood, ran down the hill, and nudged the lamb back in. She is an obedient, kind and good beast. Waits at the door with her two front paws on the threshold until she's invited into the house. 

And here she is as her charming dog self. I love this dog. I cook for this dog- she gets the cracked eggs fried sunny side up. Unfortunately, this gave her a taste for eggs, which she has gone on to steal from our ducks and geese. We noticed 2 things: that Chloe was getting thick through the middle, and that the geese were not breeding. 

Here's one of the geese, taking five in the barn near the tractor. No eggs around her, they were probably already eaten by Chloe.

And almost finally, here is a photo of the Donkey Cat Dog trio, part of the Bremen Town Musicians.

That is our guard donkey, named Donkey, Stoney, one of our cats, and Sadie, my little CKC spaniel. Stoney is always trying to seduce Sadie.

One year we lost 9 sheep to the coyotes, and then our neighbour told us to get a donkey. Since Donkey came into our lives, no sheep loss. Donkey brays and runs around, rounds them up and protects them. He is also so gentle, lets little kids sit on him, and  lets our neighbor file down his hooves with no fuss. 

This is Kidney, he is a great cat and an excellent mouser. He is MIA, I think he has defected to another farm, as was once found him many many miles from us, in the next town actually. Our farm manager found him, and had to drive him home. And now he's gone again.  I don't believe that Kidney was eaten by a coyote, but admit that it is a possibility in our parts. I think one day he will return to us. 

Chloe and Kidney

Kidney

"I gotta get outta here."

And, the horses, Montana and Jake. We can't ride Jake since he has a bum knee, but Monty is alright. Threw me once though- went galloping down that field and then came to a screeching halt, ducked and I went flying over her head. Jake is lying down in this shot. But he's alive, I assure you.

Fall

Winter