Browsing Category

Country Life

In Clear Day Farm/ Country Life

Promises

It’s suppose to rain today, and I hope that it does, things are pretty dry here and there are currently 3 forest fires burning in Nova Scotia.  After the devastation of Fort McMurray, it just seems scarier to me.

But….this post is not about the need for rain, it’s just to share some pictures I had taken after a night of rain a week or so ago.  I wandered through the yard with my camera, capturing the promises that the blossoms and buds speak of.  Of future fruits and beauty.  Of growth and coming seasons.

I love that I left a trail through the yard of my meandering footsteps.  I came in with wet feet and hope.  I came in more in love with this property.  Every season has so much to offer here and I am so thankful I get the privilege of coming this place ‘Home’.

PromisesPromisesPromisesPromises

If the amount of blossoms in the blackberry patch are any indication of what this year’s crop might be like, it promises to be amazing!  I’m blown away with them!  It’s crazy – just a sea of white blossoms and the hum of busy bees!

PromisesPromises

And my hydrangeas! Covered in tight buds!  This bush under our living room window is so enjoyable!  There are actually three bushes but my guess is that the other two bushes are a different variety.  I may move them out of there as they get taken over by the one in the middle, you’d never even guess there were two other bushes along that wall.

PromisesI’m a sucker for poppies.  I love their wild form and flowing blossoms.  I have seeds from our babysitter’s poppy patch but I haven’t planted them yet.  I think I even spied some poppies in my flower bed in the middle of dad’s poor sheep pasture!  I do need to get those out of there!  I would have poppies every where of I had the space for them!  Imagine a big patch of billowy poppies blowing in the wind – divine!

As you can see, there’s exciting things showing themselves here around the yard.  I love it!  And now, the roses are starting the bloom!  So, back out I’ll go to capture their beauty, too!

To be continued,

Lori

In Clear Day Farm/ Country Life

Feathered Friends

Earlier this Spring, we noticed we had company in our front yard, a big fat robin!  He had made our crab apple tree his hangout spot.  You could find him eating the fallen apples daily, just getting fatter.  So, we thought we’d put out a bird feeder for him.

Michael got the feeder and found some bird seed and hung it on the apple tree beside the house.  And not once did we see that fat robin at the feeder.

feathered friendsfeathered friends

But let me tell you how much we enjoy watching our other feathered friends dinning at the feeder!  I thought the girls would be the ones who enjoyed seeing the birds up close, but actually, its Michael who enjoys it the most.  He can see the feeder from his spot at the table and will frequently give us updates during a meal as to who is visiting.

feathered friendsfeathered friendsfeathered friends

I love the bossy bluejays, they seem to think they run the diner.  And the chickadees are so friendly!  I’d love to get them eating out of my hand.  But I think my favourite would have to be the juncos.  With their grey bodies and white tummies, they look like little penguins who take flight.

feathered friends

I went to the library to borrow some bird watching books so we could figure out who was who.  I know the people who lived in this house years ago did a lot of bird watching around the house and in the woods and saw so many variety of birds.  It would be fun to start our own list to see who we might see.  Hawks, eagles, owls, pheasants, partridges and lots of little song birds. Some books are better than others, I like to old one for it’s sketches of the birds, although it listed very few varieties.  But now I know what book I would actually invest in buying.  Gotta love your local library!

IMG_4823

This is a purple finch, hiding in the bush under the window this morning.  Our feeder is very popular today, in the middle of this storm.  The birds are having a hard time fighting the wind.  One hop on a day like today will take them much further than a regular hop….maybe not in the direction they wanted to go…

feathered friends

All these pictures are taken through our living room window.  It’s nice to be able to see them close up without having to be super quiet or still.  This feeder has been a great addition to our yard!  I think our feathered friends think so, too!

To be continued,

Lori

In Country Life

Lambing Season

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you know lambing season is in full throttle around here.  I try to leave these weeks as open as I can so I can help Dad in the barn.  These weeks are intense, tiresome and sometimes frustrating weeks.  But, I also wouldn’t trade helping with lambing for anything.  Except maybe my warm bed…..

spring lambing

This year, due to various reasons, we have quite a few babies that we are bottle feeding.  One, Sunny, is a little orphan, her momma and two siblings didn’t make it through.  And then there’s Wake Up, who was a triplet from a momma who didn’t have enough milk for three babies.  Sunny and Wake Up live together in a lambing pen, so cute and so eager for their next feeding.  You can watch a cute video of Sunny and Wake Up with Hannah HERE.

 

Then there are the ones who are with their mommas, which works pretty well.  Sheep love to be with other sheep and the babies seem to thrive in amongst the other mommas and babies.  Saddle and Saddle Pad (blame the horse crazy 9 year old for those names) get some milk from their momma but not enough so they get fed, too.  Osmosis is with her momma, again a momma without quite enough milk.  And there’s two other little nameless babies who we feed, too….although we refer to their momma as Jones.

lambing season

Even though those bottle babies are with their moms, they quite eagerly greet us when we arrive with the bottles filled with milk, any time of day….or night!  All the babies will blat and carry on like they weren’t just fed 4 or 5 hours before, like they’ve never had a meal…ever!  And even with their round little bellies,  they will still try to convince you they haven’t been fed.  These little babies, as much as a nuisance they can be for a farmer, they hold such a draw.  They pack so much personality into those tiny little lambie bodies and I’ll admit, they certainly help when the alarm goes off at 1 or 2 am.

 

The girls love coming to the barn to help feed babies and do the chores with Dad.  And they are so much older now and really make a big difference in how quickly chores get done.  They ask lots of questions about the sheep and the whole lambing process.  They have learned to look for clues as to who is lambing or if a ewe that had one baby might have more.  They can tell us if it’s a ram or ewe lamb.  They know we needle them with Selenium the day they arrive, and tag them just before they leave the lambing pens.  Hannah has learned to climb over the wobbly lambing pen and we quite often will find her snuggling with Sunny and Wake Up.

spring lambing

They think they are just doing chores but I know they are learning valuable life lessons out there in the barn.  They learn compassion and care for animals, they are learning the birds and bees, they are learning hard work and helping others.  They learn about life and death, about health and about the life of a farmer.  They see how hard their Opa works and cares for his flock.

spring lambing

Lambing is half over for this year.  More babies arrive every day.  The work isn’t over.  The cuteness will continue.  These babies will grow up, some will stay on the farm and have babies of their own next year, some will go to other farmers and some will go to market.  That is the reality of a sheep farm.  And I’m okay with that.

If you were around last year, you might remember Sweet Willow, who was a bottle baby from last year.  Sweet Willow was purchased by Hannah, but stays with Dad’s sheep on the farm.  We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Sweet Willow’s baby!  Hannah can hardly contain herself!  I’ll keep you posted…

lambing season

This year, I’ve been doing the middle of the night feedings and barn checks to help Dad out.  This means my alarm goes off between 1 and 3 am every night { morning? } and I pull on the smelly barn clothes and hop in my cold car and drive to the farm.  I walk into a quiet, peaceful barn filled with life.  As I flick on lights and make my way through the barn, I hear the soft noises the mommas and babies use to communicate with each other.  I hear the crunch of sheep chewing their cud.  When the bottle babies realize feeding time is here, they carry on like fools, trying their best to get as close as they can through gates and fences.  Sometimes, in a dark corner, I hear the soft bleating of a brand new baby or babies as they try to find their footing in this world, trying to find their way to the nourishing udder of their momma.  Sometimes I’m even greeted by the sound of a momma working hard to bring new life into the world, and that never gets old.  Yes, I’m tired.  Yes, there are times it is hard to leave my warm bed.  But I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.  I gladly offer this help to my father, who has for 40 years, offered his help to me in so many ways.  It’s my turn.

Of all the signs of Spring I look for, I enjoy the birth and renewed hope that lambing season on Dad’s farm brings.

To be continued,

Lori

PS I apologize for the sometimes out of focus pictures, the babies move fast and the barn is dim, so lighting is tricky!

 

In Clear Day Farm/ Country Life

Signs of Spring

Even though the calendar tells us when Spring actually starts, I love looking for signs of Spring.  This year Winter was very gentle on us, and quite frankly, I’m very thankful for that, I’m not sure I could’ve handled another one like last year and the endless snow that fell.

So, what do I look for when it’s time for Spring to start with its subtle hints?

  1. Weight restrictions on the roads.  That’s a sure fire way to know the weather is warming up and the frost is coming out of the ground.
  2. Robins – we’ve got a fat little fellow who lives in the crab apple tree in the front yard.  He’s plump and well-fed.daybreak
  3. The lambs to start arriving at Dad’s farm -and they are coming along now – be prepared for over-sharing of cuteness!
  4. Roll-Up-the-Rim at Tim Horton’s, although it seems to me that it started earlier this year?  But who cares, I won a few coffee and donuts….no Honda Civic, though 🙁
  5. The change in the sun and the added warmth in the car.  I love how it can be cold and your windows all frosty in the morning but later in the day, you’re driving with the windows down!
  6. The maple sap to start running.  We don’t tap any trees here but we’ve talked about it….I’d love to do it!  Usually this means a trip to Sugar Moon with the family, too, so that’s a win!  Best atmosphere, best breakfast, best maple syrup!Spring
  7. Things starting to show signs of life.  Whether its a plump bud on a branch or things starting to poke out of the ground, I want to see it!  I did see some pussy willows on one of my runs last week!

I love living where we have seasons and such distinct seasons, at that.  I waiver between Spring or Fall being my favourite.  When it is time for Spring to roll around, it’s the best season and when the summer heat gives way to the coolness and colours of Fall, well, then it is the best!

I love watching my world slowly come to life.  The drab colours of winter becoming bright, vibrant and promising.  The leaves unfurl, the buds turn to blossoms and tiny bursts of colour explode around me.  There is such hope in the breath of Spring blowing, that the dark is lifting, that the cold is shrinking and that yes, life bursts forth again.

So, with Spring slowly making its way home, I’m thankful to notice the subtle changes around me and to hold dear to the promise of better, brighter days ahead.

To be continued,

Lori

These are not new pictures, these are from last year’s Spring….right now we are still snow-covered and Wintery 🙁

 

In Clear Day Farm/ Country Life

The View from Here

Back when I blogged over on my blogspot page, I did a lot of posts called ‘The View From Here’ and for some reason, I have very rarely done one over here.  So, when the sliver of the moon caught my eye as it hung out over the big spruce tree, I knew it was time.  I threw on Mr. Byrne’s old plaid coat, grabbed my camera and slipped on the rubber boots to head outside on this very fresh morning….

view from here

 

Sometimes, simple is best.

To be continued,

Lori