To be continued,
Lori
Some posts are harder to write than others. But some stories need to be told and you’ve all been following along for long enough that you probably would want to know.
My parents sold the farm and moved! Dad, after farming here since 1974, has officially retired. My parents have been my closest neighbours for 9 years and now they live a whole 14kms away from us. But it’s all good. Sad, yes, a little but more good. Now, Hannah owns more animals than Dad! Crazy!
Photo credits to Wonkyeye Photography
Dad turned 70 this past summer and he’s had some serious health issues to deal with in the past { you can read about that HERE } and so he deserves some down time and the chance to relax and enjoy a different pace of life.
They moved here from Ontario to buy the dairy farm that was in operation on the property prior to their arrival. Farms were cheaper in Nova Scotia than in Ontario and so they packed up their family and moved here, far away from their parents and siblings. The farm was operated as a dairy farm until Dad semi-retired by switching to sheep. Granted, going from having to milk cows twice a day to looking after sheep was a big change and much easier. Besides, lambs are much cuter than cows 😉 { Mom found the ad while unpacking that lead them here!! }
As children, we worked on the farm, starting with simple chores when we were still pretty small. We would help Dad milk, we would shovel poop & hay, feed the calves & heifers and help with the haying during the summer. { This isn’t quite how we did it when I was a kid, but HERE is a glimpse of how we did it in the past few years } I remember many nights in the milking parlour with Dad, working on my times tables, or talking about whatever or nothing. I may have complained and tried my best to get out of milking, but those are days that I would love to re-live again. Eventually we worked our way up to being allowed to run the farm while Mom and Dad got a well-deserved vacation. But guaranteed something would have died while they were away….
We knew that the time for Dad to retire was coming and thankfully there was a couple not far from us that took over the farm and will continue to work the land and build up their own sheep farm. I’m excited to have them as neighbours, it’s good that the farm will continue on with young, fresh vision. And I’m thankful the process was as easy as it was and the transition went well – not having to list the farm and wait and wait has been a saving grace! It was obvious that God had a plan in place and knowing that helped with the acceptance of the change. I was also very thankful that this was their choice and that Dad’s health didn’t force their hand before they were both ready for it.
Mom and Dad didn’t move too far away, they are still on the girls bus route and only a hop, skip and a jump away. Their new house is a sweet one bedroom home, with a very welcoming feel to it. And I’m happy to report that the tea is still pretty tasty there, too. { I was worried, there’s no tea as good as tea at the farm! } They are getting settled in and unpacking all their boxes and Mom has been busy decorating for Christmas, too. Eventually we’ll paint, but for now, it’ll do. We also have some plans to add an island, actually I’m hoping to be able to share that project on the blog, but we have to pull all the right pieces together for that yet. That will give Mom some more storage in the kitchen and more eating area, too.
The farm has had such an impact and influence on me. We were taught a good work ethic, we were taught how to problem solve and how to work together, too. Out of my siblings, I’m the one who is the least amount of ‘farmer’, but it still helped make me who I am today. And for that I am thankful. My childhood on the farm is partly why I named my blog what I did. It’s a nod to my roots, to be sure.
I’m excited to watch Mom and Dad settle into this new lifestyle. I wonder how long before Dad has a four-legged critter to tend to and what hobbies he’ll fill his time with. I happened to be there as he flipped through the flyers for the first time I can ever remember and I can see that isn’t going to be good 😉 The house they bought has some land so I’m sure he has some plans for it, and the girls have already requested more paths through the field. They actually got cable for the first time, too, they always had rabbit ears and very limited channels….one, maybe two depending on the weather!
The other exciting part of this story is the fact that Hannah’s sheep will be moving to our place over the winter and will be lambing here!! We have to do some work to the barn and pasture to allow for them but I’m really looking forward to that! Right now they are still at ‘the farm’ to be bred. In fact, we had a conversation about what ram they should be bred to and my answer was ‘whatever ram will make for the cutest babies’!! Good answer, right?!??! The actual ‘farmers’ did confer on it, they are far more practical…
I’ve enjoyed helping Dad with lambing over the last few years and look forward to our own lambing season here on Clear Day Farm. You can read some posts about past lambing seasons HERE, HERE, and HERE. I can’t wait to show you guys new babies this Spring! Back in 2014 Christine followed Dad around the barn during a snowstorm and captured a Day in the Life which you can see HERE. I’m thankful that she was able to preserve those memories for us!
Anyway, life is always changing and evolving, isn’t it? I’m finally able to share the news about Mom and Dad moving off the farm without feeling like I’m going to cry so I figured it might be time to share the news here, too. 😉
To be continued,
Lori
My baby turned 8 this week. I’m not quite sure how it happened, I mean, wasn’t she just 3?
Hannah is a happy little bundle of warmth, she wakes up smiling and pretty much continues all day long. If you’ve met her, you know this to be true. So, what do you do when all she wants for her 8th birthday is a new cat? You get her a cat.
We have two cats already. We adopted Buttercat, aka BB, from Harrier Hill and he loves it here. Although I think he’d rather be a studio cat. Hannah loves BB and would do anything for that cat, including still petting him after he got sprayed by a skunk!! That, people, is love.
Our other cat we acquired by, well, his choice. He goes by Cuddles or ‘Grey Fluffy Cat’. When we moved in, we would see this grey, fluffy cat wander through the yard but we could never get close and then weeks or months would pass before we saw him again. And then we saw him around more and more and we could get closer but still not pet him. And then one night he was going crazy trying to get into the house. I called his real owners, our neighbours, and they came to get him. And days passed and we thought nothing of it….until he kept showing up and sticking around more and more. They come to get him and take him home again and then he’d be back. So, come to find out, he hates their new dog. HATES. As in, he’d rather live outside at our house with BB, who he also hates, then be in that nice warm house where he was well cared for and loved { his ‘real mom’ is a vet, for crying out loud! } So we have an arrangement, he lives here with us, we love on him, they drop off cat food and can’t get within feet of him….seems to work alright!
But here’s the thing about Cuddles and BB, they are old. Like, somewhere in the range of 17 to 19ish? Old, right? We decided we wanted a new cat, a young cat. And Hannah begged for the new cat to be hers. How can you say no to that? Lena couldn’t care less for the cats but Hannah is all heart-eyes. So, we decided we would start to keep an ear out for a new cat. And I saw a few in my news feed on FB. But you know when something is right, when you sense it in your bones? Yep, THAT post came up and we met Casey the next day and took her home with us. She was in a loving home but due to allergies, she has to be re-homed. And we knew she was the right cat for us when we found out she’d be 1 in November. If you’ve been around enough, you know that November is birthday month for all of us girls. So, she’s the perfect fit 😉
Anyway, we took her home and settled her into the studio and we love her. So much!! She’s an expert level hider, it took me 10 minutes to find her one morning, she can curl herself up into the smallest little spot, in the darkest, most tucked away corner she can find. But now, she greets us at the door, purring and trying to get as close to us as she can. We’ve let her out in the yard a few times but she’s so shy, it makes me nervous that she’ll run away and we’ll never see her sweet face again.
So, even though Casey has lived with us for a bit before Hannah’s actual birthday, she is still considered one of the gifts. And of course, she set the theme for Hannah’s party. Crazy Cat Lady Party, because if the shoe fits…
I have stopped killing myself over parties for the girls. They don’t care if they are ‘pin-worthy’, all they want to do is play with their friends. Hannah’s only request for her party was that we had a kitty litter cake. Appealing, right? Not.At.All. But, when you’re turning 8, you get what you wish for. Ta-da!!!
Her friends showed up with kitties in tow, ridiculous giant cat masks and gifts for a sleepover. They blew up the air mattresses and crashed on the guest room floor. Well, when I say crashed, I mean at about 11 pm when I hollered at them to shut it down 😉 My friend/the girls’ babysitter, Alena, crocheted a bunch of sweet little kitties for the girls to take home instead of some treat bag filled with candy { who needs more candy the week after Halloween, right? } and dollar store junk. Pretty sure they had a good time… 😉
We jokingly call Hannah our Crazy Cat Lady, she says she isn’t going to get married but she is going to have 9 cats and live in the field across the road. And with owning 3 cats now, I’d say she’s well on her way!
Happiest of Birthdays, Sweet Hannah!
To be continued,
Lori
We have done swimming lessons, we tried soccer, art lessons were a hit but now we’ve zeroed in on what the girls really want to do and you guessed it, it involves horses! We started riding lessons this fall and we all couldn’t be happier with that decision.
The horse crazy has been going on for a while here. And we talked on and off about getting them into lessons. Their friends take lessons, talk about horses and play horse games on the playground at school. They watch horse shows and movies and play horse in yard. And then there’s the fact we have our sweet & sassy little Ebony. So they are in state of constant ‘horse’. Lessons seemed like the logical next step, right?
When we met Lisa, the girls liked her right away and I was impressed with her knowledge and passion for horses. Heidi and Michaela’s recommendation and affection for Lisa helped, too. So we chatted and now we see Lisa weekly at the stable in River John. Guys, it’s awesome.
I love seeing them ride. And they love it, too. They’re learning to control the horse, communicate with the horse via body language and cues. But they are learning so much more. They are learning to care for the horses through grooming, feeding and yes, even shovelling poop. They tack their horses up { with a little help, those saddles are heavy and the horses are tall!! } after a good grooming. Lena has managed to mount on her own. It’s so much more than just how to ride a horse.
My favourite part is the hoof picking. There is so much trust happening in that task. The girls trust Lisa that they can do it. The horses trust the girls that they won’t hurt them. And the girls are trusting those horses that they will just stand there and offer their hooves. It’s hard work, those legs are heavy and the girls are little. But they just go at it, week after week, and each week, they find the task a little easier.
Over the course of the last month, we have seen the girls graduate from just walking the horses around, to trotting. They couldn’t have been happier! They love the speed and motion of a trot. It’s the cutest thing ever. When Lisa told them they could trot, you’d think she offered them the moon.
When we go, I enjoy watching the girls. But I’m not alone when I’m watching. I usually have some four-legged company, whether it’s a cat or dog. Luke, Flash, Petri or Midget might be by my side or on my lap. There’s a couple other barn cats that tend to be a little more shy, so they won’t make an appearance here quite yet.
I’m quite content to spend some time each week watching the girls circle around the ring. If it makes them happy, then it makes me happy, too. I know this is a slippery slope, its starts off innocently enough and before you know we’ll have a couple of horses in the pasture and we’ll be looking at trailers, trucks and a show schedule. But if this is their thing, that’s fine. And if this horse craziness is just a fad, so be it…but for now, I’ll feed the crazy!
To be continued,
Lori
Today marks the start of another school year in our household. I sent the kids off on the bus and sat down with a cup of coffee and a quiet house.
Another school year dawned, wet and humid. The girls were pretty leggy today, we stayed out at the Pictou Ex too late but whatever. We might even do it again, tonight, too. But they got up, and ready and eagerly got their pictures taken. They know full-well that momma is probably going to blog about it! { You can read some of our other first day posts HERE, HERE and HERE!! }
Now here’s a funny story. I stayed up even later, getting my awesome Letterboard all set for the pictures this morning. I excitedly told the girls about it this morning when they came down for breakfast but they would hear nothing of it! They wanted the chalk board that we have used for years!! So, I can’t argue with tradition, so we wiped it clean and looked up some fun fonts on Pinterest and then did our own thing anyway.
Because it was pretty wet out, we opted to do the pictures in the barn, in hindsight, maybe not the best idea! The lighting was crap but….here we are!
Our Lena is heading off to Grade 5, this will be her last year at our awesome little school! I’m hoping she’ll have loads of fun over the course of the year, and knowing her teacher, pretty sure she will!
Hannah is off to Grade 2 and has one of Lena’s favourite teachers this year. I hope the two of them get on as well as they did! Hannah really wanted her picture done with Cuddles, the cat, but trying to get Hannah and Cuddles to be still enough in the barn didn’t work well – sorry, Hannah!
I love that Hannah is sporting the exact hairdo that Lena had going into Grade 2, long bangs that needs to be pulled up, out of the way! What is it about this age that they know exactly what they want?
Speaking of which, the girls had one special request with the chalk board and it was this:
Again, barn lighting did us no favours this morning, Ebony is blurry but the bus was coming so I did the best I could 😉 Apparently Ebony is in High School, we think her favourite subject might be lunch….what do you think?
I managed to get my Letterboard in some pictures, anyway! When there’s a will, there’s a way! The back and forth of a blogging mom, right?
I know there were some moms out there kicking up their heels and probably some crying in their coffee. It is both pleasure and pain watching our babies grow up and move on, but that is exactly what parenthood is, right?
To be continued,
Lori