Spring melt???

Well. whats my excsue this time??? Seems so long since my last entry. Im  gonna blame it on the mild winter!! With so much time to enjoy the nice weather, I havent much thought about the computer, instead steadily working on small things around the farm. Theres always anilmals to feed...lol. With all this good weather, I have taken the time to bring my aunt home to the farm alot more this winter. She so misses the farm, the more I can bring her here the better. And the better I am for having her. So much I have learnt about my great aunt, I actually feel sorry for the rest of the family, that does not get to share that with me. She's an incredible lady with incredible stories. She is where I get my strenght, and my passion for the environment, from. I owe alot to that lady , for what she has taught me and for the opportunity to take over this land and make something amazing out of it. The begginning of "S.E.Lockhart Farms: Building A Sustainable Future" !!

time to take a breath....

Well the holiday season has come and gone and Im ready to get on with the next half of the winter. The last couple months were very hectic. Once the freezing weather came, I had to turn off the outside taps, so hauling water to all the animals was abit of a pain. To add to my busy schedule, I booked a flight  to Vancouver for the middle of December.  I was lucky enough to be able to go back and see some good friends but it felt like bad timing with all I had on my plate.  It was actually enforced by a friendship contract a friend had me sign when I left Vancouver. I was allowed to miss the first Christmas but had to be back for my second Christmas away and every second one after that....a friendship contract is held very highly in the court of law you know....lol.   I am very happy I ended up full filling the contract, it was a much needed visit. But leading up to it was alot of preparation, and a bit of anxiety.
 As you have read, the turkeys had to taken in the end of November and then the pigs the 5th of December. That was alot of work but it surprisingly went very well, considering it was the first time I had to do such a task, and also that I was slightly emotional...lol.    The funny thing is, when I decided to take on the 2 little pigs in the spring, I hadn't really planned on how I would transport those now 200 lb pigs to the, shall we say, market. I didnt have a trailer that would contain the pigs, it certainly would not have worked in the makeshift trailer in which we took the turkeys in. So, resorting back to word of mouth, I started asking some of the ole farmers in the local saloon I work at, who might have a trailer and, possibly a few tricks up their sleeve, in which to load up a couple of pigs. Turns out, it didnt take long. I talked to a couple of guys, a father and son, who have farmed in the area for quite awhile, who had a trailer and who just happened to be looking for some free range pork in exchange. So the arrangements were set and the next Sunday afternoon, a very comfortable horse trailer with a bedding of straw pulled in, ready to load. It took about 2 and 1/2 hrs, alot of coaxing with food and a wild chase, after one of them slipped past the loading chute, but we managed to pull it off. I was alot more emotional about the pigs leaving then the turkeys,  I guess because I interacted with them more, but like Iv said before, I don't have the full farmer mentality yet...lol. But as long as there are people out there, wanting to eat meat, me included, I would rather contribute by raising free range, stress free, organic meat. At times its going to be tough but I feel better about what Im eating, and not to sound heartless, but them turkeys were good!!!

some have to die, some live on...

Wow, thats pretty much all I can say about the last couple of days is ...Wow, what an experience!! My last entry, I was feeling the remorse, sending these animals to their death, feeding them their last meal, was quite saddening. One aspect of farming I have yet to grasp. But all of a sudden, not having to battle 35 crazed turkeys is agreeing with me!! Yet, it was certainly not an easy task!  The loading up was difficult, to say the very least. I was not without a few vicious flaps to the face. Those wings are strong...let me tell you!!! It was cold and we we not equipped but we managed in the very sense that farmers do, we made do with what we had, an old trailer, a tarp and 2 pieces of my garden gate that should have been replaced by solid plywood, of which I did not have at hand.  We were able to drive the turkeys in a somewhat makeshift trailer to the Hutterite Colony but didnt have the same vehicle available to pick them up. I was awoken this morning with the info we had a truck, but no hitch, and the fact the turkeys had to be picked up TODAY. After much persuasion, I was able to convince my very stubborn MALE driver, to pull into a very low key, probably not by the book, auto yard. After every other exhausted means, I was able to borrow, yes borrow, a trailer hitch for the day and we were on our way to pick up 35 frozen turkeys and our trailer we had left behind. Little did I know how big these friggin turkeys were going to be and after filling every inch of my freezer space availalble, ended up crawling back to previous mentioned MALE to ask for help in storing them....god I hate that!! But on the plus side, I was smart enough to ask for one free pie when I picked up the turkeys, which I presented upon return of the trailer hitch, so guess whos in with the local scrap yard guy!!! Its all about bartering, kids... say, anyone want to trade a turkey for gas money...lol

whats it been... a month???

Okay, the only excuse I can give is...too many damn animals to look after!! well that and the computer and I dont get along...lol. I seriously try sooooo hard to be consistant with my entries, but... well.. Im not...lol. Things might be easier soon, the turkeys are off to slaughterhouse tomorrow and the pigs next week!! Its been a tough winter so far, having to haul water and feed those buggers since the snowfall, and those turkeys are darn right crazy, so Im looking forward to being rid of that chore. But, non the less I was feel alittle sad, feeding the turkeys their last meal this morning. They have driven me crazy the past 2 months but now when Im about to kill them, all I can think about is when they were cute little yellow chicks and I raised them from babies. Its crazy!!! Tomorrow is going to be quite an experience, loading up 35 turkeys to head out to the Hutterite colony for buthchering. First time Iv ever said that....

back to business...

Well, I finally had the chance to leave the farm and go camping for 4 days!! I know it sounds weird to leave 20 acres of forest and a fire pit to drive several hours to a different forest, and a different firepit, but it was a much needed break, let me tell you. Sitting around my fire is always good, but I still have chores on my mind and cant fully relax. 3 days in wicked sand dunes, along the lake with 3 quads, feels like more of a holiday to me. Of course, I was a hurting unit when I came home, every muscle sore and a long list of chores in front of me wasent ideal, but definitely worth the adventure!! Sept. is one of my favorite months and now that I was able to blow off some steam, I am re-focused and motivated to buckle down and get ready for winter. The weather is amazing right now, so it is giving me lots of opportunity to work outside and prepare for the dreaded snowfall. Unfortunatley, a new animal manages to escape every day and that keeps me running, but I think Iv left enough time to get the wood stocked and mobile home sufficiently insulated for the winter. I paniced alittle, about a week ago, thinking I was running out of time. Untill I realized it was the end of August when I moved here last year and I managed to empty out this place, do some renos, furnish it AND get the place ready for winter so, really, Im doing good this year...lol. Im looking forward to a wonderfull fall:)

on with the timeline...

August 4th: Oh my goodness, I can barely keep up out here!!! I think I mite have taken on alittle too much...lol. Im not used to so many different types of animals. I have grown up on the farm and did alot of chores, but I was just following comads, now I have to make decisions about what to do with these animals....YIKES!! The pigs are now almost 14 weeks and the turkeys are almost 11 weeks and I cant believe how much these things eat...lol. The turkeys alone will eat 100 lbs of food, per turkey, in their 6 month lifespan. Thats insane!!!And expensive. And those friggin pigs are pretty aggressive when they are hungrey....lol. Iv realized the only way im going to make this profitable, next year, is to make my own feed. And thats alot to learn as it is. But, like I said, sooooo much to learn about these animals. I now know what to do when an animal falls with colic. Iv had two lamas suffer from it and although I was quite stressed about the fist one down, I had it pretty much figured out a couple days later when the next one went down. Turns out, all you need, is a little baking soda with water, a goood burp, and make them walk around...and of course a douse of Shelley"s healing powder...lol.

...is it mid august, ALREADY?!?

Well look at that, again its been way too long since my last post. So long in fact, I couldnt even remember my password and had to change it in order to log in...lol. I really do try to get on the computer more often but there is just soooo much other work to do, that I dont think I turn this thing on more then three times a week. Needless to say, alot has happened out here over the past month and I cant believe its already the 21st of August, YIKES!!! Im going to go back to just after my last post, and create alittle time line for you.

July 28th. Well, we are moving along quite well out here. The turkeys are growing like crazy, the size of an average chicken already, and starting to eat me out of house and home...lol. I am raising white turkeys, which are basically designed to grow big and fast, so its common that sometimes they end up with a deformed leg. Unfortunatly, I have two of them. I have them in a dog crate inside the turkey coup, so that they dont get trampled on and still get food and water. At first they werent too bad off, but now one cant even stand up. I feel so sorry for them, and just want to put them out of their misery. I was trying to holdout until they were alittle bigger so I didnt loose two full turkeys, but I dont think I can do it. My point when I came out here was to grow and produce ethnically and enviro-friendly food, and I feel bad about these two little turkeys. At the same time, I cant do the deed myself. Im okay being around the turkeys being slaughtered, Im just not ready to be the one dropping the axe quite yet. So Im looking for someone that has the time to come down here and help me out. In the mean time, Im trying to give them as good as a life as possible. And when I let the other turkeys out into the yard, I move these two little guys to an outside pen, and back and forth...lol. I really need to toughen up as a farmer, this process is taking up too much of my time. But I just cant help it....to be continued