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Muddy Valley Farm

~ Life on a tiny west coast hobby farm

Muddy Valley Farm

Monthly Archives: December 2018

Merry Muddy Christmas!

23 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by Jodi in Chance, Chickens, Farm Life, Seasons, Weather

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It took me two afternoons’ work, the last of my leaf hoard and a bale of shavings to get the upper hand over the barnyard mud, but it’s done. Victory is mine for now. My chickens will be cozy for Christmas. 

Is it silly to fuss about the barnyard creatures at this time of year, with everything else needing doing? Maybe, but a humble barnyard plays a pretty high profile role in the Christmas story, so it seems apt to me. 

So far, it’s been a warm fall / winter with zero snow, rain storm after rain storm and a huge windstorm the other day, “the worst in twenty years!” No trees down and no power outages here in our muddy valley, lucky us, although we lost internet for a couple days. And we’re experiencing peak mud; a treacherous thin coat of the slippery stuff engulfing every pathway, soggy corners in every coop and spongy, squishy fields. The creek is roaring with delight, but the disconsolate equines don’t even ask to go out on grass. They know that without a hard freeze, they are stuck in their hog fuel paddocks until things dry up.

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In our wet coast climate, keeping the critters somewhat mud-free will continue to pose challenges until springtime. Even after all this weekend’s work, I know that a few days after Christmas, I will be heaving sopping shovel-loads out of the most popular barnyard hang-outs and as a last resort, laying pallets across the worst bits to keep the birds up out of the mud. Once the pallets are down, they are there till spring, when I will pull them up, hose them off and stack them away for next year.

But we’re not there yet. In the dirt-floored Hen Hotel, my American gothic pitchfork does a wonderful job of lifting the top muddy, poopy inch to reveal dry soil below. The birds are thrilled at the dusty fresh dirt, and commence bathing instantly. Purpose-built peat moss and wood ash dust baths are within easy reach, but they much prefer the summer-dry soil, as long as it lasts anyway. I think they know it has an expiry date. The mud is coming.

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Old man winter likely has a few more surprises up his sleeve, but I have a few tricks up mine too. Keeping the barnyard functional is lots of physical labour, and just what I need to keep my body moving, so I don’t mind a bit. Getting exercise while accomplishing something ticks all my boxes and always has. And keeping the barnyard creatures comfortable is pretty darned satisfying too.

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As we all soldier on through this darkest time of year, stringing our thin lines of coloured lights against the darkness, shovelling away the mud that threatens to engulf us and seeking out warmth and good company, I wish a Merry Christmas to you and yours, and a happy 2019 to come. May you find what you seek, and take joy in the seeking.

Thanks for listening.

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Baby!

15 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by Jodi in Chance, Farm Life

≈ 1 Comment

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Chance cruises through most days on the edge of sleep, until something piques his interest. Nothing grabs his attention better than a baby. Any baby. We’re talking zero to a hundred in a nano-second.

It came as a surprise, Chance’s baby obsession. Because for the first couple years of life with Chance, there were no babies around. 

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Wow, he is sure a dog’s dog, we decided. Chance focuses intensely on other dogs, especially puppies. We had in the past always kept dogs two at a time, starting fresh after each pair crossed the rainbow bridge. But after Chance arrived we put off getting a second dog. If Chance got his own puppy, he might never speak to us again. Not intentionally, he simply wouldn’t see us.

And then a couple years ago, with our younger generation into their twenties, we started seeing the occasional baby over for a visit. It has been delightful to play with babies again, and no one has loved their visits more than Chance.

 

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Our dear K recently flew in for a visit with her…you guessed it…six month-old BABY! Oh boy Chance! A real BABY!

She didn’t just stay for an hour either, this baby stayed for days. Chance was in heaven. He constantly attended his baby F, observing diaper changes, supervising feeding sessions and willingly accepting (and licking industriously) grabby little hands.  He had to be checked again and again as his enthusiasm exceeded the situation and threatened to overwhelm our little bright eyed little girlie with his doggie love.

 

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Luckily baby has three doggos of her own at home. She handled the canine onslaught beautifully. So did her momma, correcting Chance calmly, appropriately and patiently.

When baby cried, as all babies do from time to time, Chance would become frantic. His relief was likewise greater than any of the rest of ours, each time baby settled down. When baby went into her bedroom and the door shut, Chance stayed on guard until she came out again. Every morning as soon as he got up, he ran down the hall to station himself outside her door.

 

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When her visit ended and baby F left for home, Chance slept for two days straight.

Babies are tiring eh Chance! You just wait a couple years till she is running around the house after you to dress you up for an afternoon tea party.

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Sunday Sewing

02 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by Jodi in Farm Improvements, Farm Life

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I love my two “lumberjack shirts”. Lightweight and warm, they have lots of pockets and take a beating out in the barnyard.

I have found that if I ignore the rips I inevitably get, they inevitably grow. Luckily recycled blue jean patches and a zigzag stitch fix things up quite satisfactorily and cost nothing but time.

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Today my new black plaid shirt got its first battle dressings, and once that was taken care of I examined my old red one with a critical eye. Hmmmmmm. Patches on patches, and now it needed more. A hand-me-down from DH some ten years ago, it’s getting pretty threadbare. Is it worth it to repair again? When am I going to stop (AKA “let go”)?

When the zipper gives up, I decided, then I will too, and I picked up my scissors to cut another, rather big, patch.

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Hello Darkness My Old Friend

01 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by Jodi in Chickens, Farm Life, Seasons, Weather

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In yesterday’s growing dusk, as I pushed another loaded wheelbarrow of soppy chickeny mud through Babe’s field to the manure pile behind the barn, I bid a fond farewell to dear November, one of my favourite months.

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Most of the leaves are off the trees now, and I have piles tucked away to be portioned out over the next few weeks, spread across muddy pens and sprinkled in coops to amuse my feathery tenants. Every couple of days, I give the slow-drying hoard a good toss with an American Gothic long-handled pitchfork, my hands-down favourite hand tool, happily discovered (for six bucks!) at our local “Re-store” used building supply.

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They say it’s going to be a warm winter this year on the wet coast; we may not see any snow at all. Don’t tell anyone, but I’m kind of relieved. I do love the snow, my family rolls their eyes each year at my jubilance when the first flakes fall, but honestly, after the past couple years of climate change drama; the unusually long cold stretches, a foot of snow at a time and worst of all, frozen water lines, I’m ready for a milder time of it this winter. Will I escape this year? Avoid hauling buckets and buckets of water out to the barnyard, defrosting waterers and slipping around solid sheets of ice as I tend my flock? It seems promising. 

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We had decided, due to recent weather patterns, to insulate the water lines this past summer, but it didn’t happen. There are only so many hours in a day, and they got spent on higher priorities. Such is life. Perhaps though, the weather gods are smiling on us, granting a reprieve from the chill and thus another chance to deal with those lines. I resolve we won’t be like the old man with the leaky roof, who complains when the rain drips onto his bed, but sees no reason at all to climb up and fix his roof in the sunshine because the problem has vanished! Surely we will find the time over the next 365 days to get those water lines taken care of. I have high hopes.

For now, my priority is mud control, and each evening has me outside, in my new boots and trusty headlamp, filling a barrow or two, scraping down a roof here and a perch there, clearing out a drainage ditch here and a gutter there.  Respecting the rain, giving it somewhere to go. Accomplishing a little each day, with the goal of keeping my birds comfortable.

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And, of course, as I toil I’m thinking about the season ahead. Today marks the start of my annual tumble down December’s steep, steep hill. The month that starts out with my birthday and then, after that minor shock (I’m HOW OLD!?!),  accelerates the closer I get to the bottom. Wish me luck as I work hard to stay upright and in control, my feet well under me and motoring along, getting it all done on the hectic lead-up to our annual celebration of light, and warmth, and family.

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