just some pretty scenery I get to see when I go out to do chores/eat breakfast

Second C.R.A.F.T. Day Theme: Soil

We went to another farm yesterday. It was really interesting as this farmer is quite inventive and handy. He showed us some of his inventions - including a transplanter with a watering device attached, as well as a tractor that pulled a water barrel so you could water only the plants and not the middle row and thus not the weeds. He's slowly working to be off grid from the looks of it. He's experimenting with windmills and has one that will pump water from the pond into a water trough for the cows. He did this to keep the pond water clean and stop the banks from being ruined by constant trodding by the cows. We saw how he managed the land on a rotation scheme so his cows moved from pasture to pasture, his crops rotated and the land was allowed to "rest" every...5 years for the pasture and a little longer for the crop fields. He plants clover on the fields that are resting. Red clover is said to be the best but he's been planting yellow and white clover because his bees really like them. The clover, I think he said, brings nitrogen back into the soil. We got to see how to turn manure with a big rotating machine and heard from a neighbour farmer how well clover works and the bad things about GMO plants. We then helped to split some wood using a wood splitter he made himself. 

Overall it was a good experience and interesting. He has a lot of ideas and most of them he gained and learned through mistakes. I'm looking forward to the next one! Ours is coming up too. I'll have pictures up soon, I just need my camera cord.

two new cows

So we received two cows - steers to be more exact - on Friday. I'm proud to say I successfully managed to guide the deliverer to the barn and picked out a stall to put them in without Farmer J and M. That is besides the point though. When cows arrive to a new place they're a bit unsettled and it takes a while for them to start eating and drinking on a regular basis. So I've been trying to encourage these two steers to eat. I put down a bale of hay for them to eat when we first put them in, but it wasn't in a proper feed trough because I had them in a smaller makeshift pen with a good view of our own regular cows. Now they don't really eat out of the trough at all, they continue to eat on that side. They'll eat the grain out of the trough though. They also don't know how to use the water spout. There's a little brass button that they have to press with their nose and water will rush out. Yesterday they didn't get a lot of water and I stood there for ages pressing that button for them. One of the cows I think was beginning to get it and began to press the button, but then the other cow pushed it out of the way. I began to realize at this point that I was putting a lot of effort into these steers and I wasn't really getting all that attached to them. I was merely doing it so they would keep their weight up since they're going to the abattoir. I'm trying to decide if this is cruel or not... Ultimately the heavier they are, the more meat we'll get, the more money we'll earn and with that money we can fix the tractors and equipment, afford groceries, buy more food for the chicks, pay the bills, have satisfied customers. So really it's a good thing and a fact of life that animals die everyday for the sake of food - both by humans and other animals.

rent land? cohousing?

Farmer J was talking to us the other day about the benefits of renting land. When he first mentioned it I wasn't sure I agreed. In my experience when you rent something you often pay more than you would have initially if you had bought it. However, he was explaining that many farmers who don't have heirs want their land to continue to be worked and sometimes give young people deals - they'll offer the land to rent for a little cheaper than normal type of thing. In which case by the time you've spent 500,000$ on rent you may be pretty close to the end of your life! Not really, but something along those lines. So maybe I'll rent land?

I was also looking into cohousning recently. It's about living in a smaller community that is actually community based and the neighbours actually know each other. Everyone has and owns their individual houses but in the center of the community is usually a common house type of thing. An area everyone has access to that usually includes an open area and a kitchen, a library amongst other things. It's also more focused on eco-friendly habits and buildings and is pedestrian based. They sound idyllic. I'm not sure if I want to raise my kids (if I have any) in the country because I wouldn't want to have to drive them everywhere and I think they may get bored (most country kids I've met have claimed boredom and prefer the city). However, if I have a small farmish thing there would be chores to do and animals to play with. I have no idea! I kinda wish life was simpler sometimes.

the sound of a chicken

If you asked me what a chicken sounds like I'd have to tell you something between a seagull and a tusken raider from Star Wars. They make some really weird noises....

cow adventures!

So I was asked to feed the cows some rounds of hay yesterday. So I got on the tractor with one of the other interns and with his help managed to easily and successfully stab the first round. We made our way back around the barn to the cow's feeder and the other intern (S) jumped off to open the gate and but the twine once I had dropped the round. So I go in, drop the round and S comes back to me because there's something wrong with the knife. I managed to fix it just as one of the cows starts walking in. S asked me if it was the bull and I told him no, but I see another cow coming and I wait a moment to confirm it, and it's the bull. I tell S and he gets a little nervous now and comes back to the tractor, but sums up the courage to go back to the round. Now J (the farmer) wouldn't have asked us to do this if he didn't think it was safe. Jethro, the bull, was a fairly good guy but you should always keep an eye on the bull. So, the cows (and bull) have come into the courtyard area to start eating the bale (even though they have about 25 acres of fresh pasture to eat) and S is cutting away. I figure the situation is under control and that he's nearly done so I back up the tractor. Jethro then gets a little feisty and starts pushing some of the other cows aside and comes around to where the tractor was just occupying and where S had just fled from. So we decide to leave since he wasn't very inclined to get back amongst the large beef cattle. We discuss that maybe we should get J because we're too chicken to go back in with the bull and we can't let them eat the twine.

I silently decided against it because J was out cutting more hay and I didn't want to distract him from his job. So I parked the tractor, took the knife from S and walked towards the small pasture where I can hop over another fence that is much closer to the feed bin. So I sat on the fence while all the cows stared at me. Jethro was still too close and no amount of telling him to go away or stop looking at me worked. S has the idea that maybe Lily will chase them away. So we let her out and she sorta helped to shoo them away (not to mention it was kind of amusing to see a spunky little dog take on these hundreds of pounds of cows). After about 5-10 minutes I finally sum up the courage to hop in there and walk up to the round (Jethro stayed on the other side) all the while I talked and told them to keep their distance and that we were merely trying to save their lives.

After a long minute of cutting and pulling on twine we saved the herd of cows from an agonizing death!

Camera!

I bought a new camera and am now wondering if I might have spent a bit too much. I bought it at a smaller store and I do believe it is Canadian - so I was supporting a national store! I think.. I asked for advice about how and where to fix my old camera. They told me not to send it to Sony's because they'll charge you minimum 300$ or something. They also recommended a local who could fix it or at last give me a price for fixing it. They also warned that since it was a five or six year old camera that I could pay to fix it and then suddenly something else goes wrong and by the end of two repairs I could have bought myself a new camera with no issues, and twice as good. It was a really good camera while it lasted, I took good care of it and after five or six years it has finally gone kaput. I'm pleased with the new camera though. It has 16.2 megapixels, so the quality of the picture should be at least two times better than my last one. It has HD video...(HD things are a bit of a gimic if you ask me) and I can take panoramic pictures!!! Which really excites me! I had a friend who would take panoramic pictures and they looked amazing! So next time I get an afternoon off I'm going for a walk and I'll show you the view from the kitchen window and of the farm! oh it's exciting! hehe

and here's some photos!

This is Elvis, the new head rooster - we think. He's short and  fat compared to Ricky

This is Spot - so named for the spot on his side. He was adopted last week or the week before.

The last of the calico's she was adopted by the lady who adopted the other calico

Howie!! All dozy after having some milk

This is Howie, black and white kitten (I called him Boots but he was otherwise unnamed) and their supposed mum, Amber. Howie is already looking mischievous though she looked dozy a moment before 

Boots again, he was a big boy. A teacher adopted him