Jest Another Day in Pear-A-Dice - Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Alberta

My grandmother had quite a few of the Solomon's Seal at her place. I never knew they were such a great plant to have. Thanks for the info. Not sure dangle flowers will grow well here in Florida, but I really like those too, and am looking for plants that bees like. I'd like to start a beehive maybe next year, but have to have enough plants, and trees to feed them, so they'll stay.

getaclue said:

My grandmother had quite a few of the Solomon's Seal at her place. I never knew they were such a great plant to have. Thanks for the info. Not sure dangle flowers will grow well here in Florida, but I really like those too, and am looking for plants that bees like. I'd like to start a beehive maybe next year, but have to have enough plants, and trees to feed them, so they'll stay.

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Yeh, in another lifetime, I too would love to have honey bees...but settle that we planted shelterbelts and plants to feed the wild ones...them and the bumblebees.

Does not take long I hear to keep bees...little jobs that need doing but not horrendous amount of time...but time and energy is at a premium so I will be good and live through others keeping hives. Please advise us here if'n you do take up bees...

My father would play with bees and never get stung...some persons have the gift and I wonder if I do also...


I am in for an early lunch of chicken noodle soup (had a sore throat for a few mornings...bus germs that I will not be missing exposure too...count down is on, two more full days and, AND there will be nothing to stop my day, eh. No calling it quits because I have an afternoon run to do. Hee hee...begging for it to stop...and again, maybe not!

Time is flying by, so having WAY too much fun. Summer fun, drink deeply and enjoy, the white will be upon us soon and I will enjoy the different type of work, but fondly think back to the green times.


I think of the summer's gone past...the year of the swan...imported two females (pens) up from the Southern States...that was in 2013...Pearl and Ember filled my days that season.


In 2014, I focussed on gardening and man alive...what a fun time that was!


Did I enjoy that part of my get dirty genetics. Loved it.


And of course, the little red hen scenario was in play...


Fixins helped, kept me company and entertained...so she got PEAS...


September seems to always warn us...with a whiteness at least once curing the month...to end the season of green or at least, threaten it well.


Gardening...such fun and risky biz...how long before it ends??



And of course, there was the summer of the pups...


Emmy and Lacy came August 2015 and that year, was a year to get ready, revamp my puppy playground and then, suck it all in.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

Shalom Tara
Are you familiar with this?
I think you will like it

Heel low:

And last summer...ah yes, the summer of the Dorpers...Rick bought me my new breed of sheep and they too have swept me off my feet...

So this summer...summer of the lambs.

Celebrate the green and watch them bounce and grow...grow like BAAAd weeds.

Èdy has doubled in size now plus half a pound...only a baker's dozen days old and she is a whomping 18.5 pounds...not so much a fat gal as a full filled out bruiser! Hairy girl and all...she is one to be excited about. I look forward to matching her up with the ram from the Australian genetics--Ferdinand...good things in the works.

The twins, Èva is 14 pounds and Èd is 17 pounds...31 pounds of lamb weight gained from Peanut, so minus birth weight of 16 pounds (both 8 pounds), that means the twins have continued to gain a pound a day...pretty decent...and compared to Èdy, she has gained 0.7 pounds a day by Snickers.

They are seriously nibbling green grass, so on the grow and becoming sheeps.


Dad spoiling the travelling girls...
This is what came to me yesterday...what the ???

I guess the saying, "every dog has her day" applies...Emmy dusted yesterday, Lacy dusted today, eh?


Doing the plant thingy...tis the right time of year...summer!


Plant wise...we have been working on water plants...this is the first pond, fish pond before...and then last evening in the shade...man it was hot yesterday...


Ten clicks...post this post, eh...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

Shalom Benny:

Akrnaf2 said:

Shalom Tara
Are you familiar with this?
I think you will like it

Click to expand...

Thank you...

Yes, I have seen this, but honestly, not paid alot of attention to it.

The impression to me, is that it is not alot of work to keep bees, even the more traditional methods and I have driven past hives here and thought..."perhaps maybe one day."

I have a very thick book on bee keeping too...when I buy the "how to book" on a topic, it is a serious interest...but I have only so much time and energy. Spread only so thin (like honey...num...on toast...in the coffee...oh my!).

Right now I look at the sheep and think, I need to shear and clip them...Boss Man needs his toes trimmed (I can get seriously hurt by an intact ram...I plan every detail and carefully ensure, I am at my VERY best before tackling him) and, and, and...AND...I need to begin halter training the triad of lambs and I have their registration papers all filled out and it would only take a half hour to see any one of these "need to do's" done.

Thankfully, only five more bus drives...and the ele netting can be strung out in the cool of the morn and the ewe flock with babes can go out to mow the perimeter ditches...because I do not have to pack them away, do not have to leave during the upcoming weeks on the week days...I can decide to clip/shear the sheep and if my back hurts after the first or second,,,I can quit and not find I have run out of time because it is time to go drive bus. I can push myself and quit...because I want to quit, not because I have a job to go do and I ran out of time. I can run out of energy...that's always a given.

I think we can grow old gracefully or make a nasty mess of it too. There is no fool like an old one. I have interests but now wisdom of age... I can admire and show interest and learn, but stop it there and then. I don't have to DO everything.

Because there is a million things on my to do list... that tells me that I must stay away from other interests because to not take that spare half hour and remove the coating on one of the sheep, or take up some halter training, registered the Dorpers, etc....how can you justify a hive or bees or any of the millions of interests I know so many of us here have.

I will live thru others doing things that I find fascinating...like them and their bees...for now at least...

And I like room temperature...so like 20C....

But I will do what needs doing...had the five raised tubs ready...composted bedding, all tossed up and waiting...waiting for strawberry plants! I tried last year ordering ones that were suppose to be hardy for our area...NOT !!!

Bought these strawberries locally (and three goji or Lycium barbarum/chinense berry plants!). They may or may not make it through winter here but I am going to try one more time...before I give completely up on strawberries.

There are flowers on these transplants and some even have berries...we shall see. Berries would be nice but over the winter, now that to me is the test I am waiting for them to pass. Time will tell.


Have the Moms and Babes mowing the swan, goose and shelduck areas.

The meter to our gas main is located in this area...


Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

And again, ran outta allowable photos fur a post...

Here are a few more from this morn...

Let's go with the theme of GREETINGS!

Peace, harmony and that be that

Tara
I think that you are ...mmm. ..... suffering from an ultra perfectionism syndrome.

I will get to work on photographing my new lamb Tara- love reading your posts and smiling all the way through them.

Akrnaf2 said:

42.8 C°?!?
YOU LIVE IN THE SHARA?

Click to expand...

X2!!

I could never live there. 30° is about my limit.