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

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

The Girl's dog room is now completed.

Commercial grade lino on the walls, new horse stall mats for the floor.

Dog kennels were built downstairs in the shop.

And voila, add dogs!

Emmy and then...

Lacy.

Both Girls love their new digs (as do we!). :-D

 

[CanuckBock]

Stairs got another coat of paint

And I got a nice surprise...the vintage advertisements for our trucks got framed (just one more frame to get when they restock) and hung up on the stairway.

Second hand rail got made and painted...just waiting on a drill bit and permanent install can happen.

Doing alot more spinning than I usually do. Near got the Lendrum maple castle super jumbo plying bobbin filled. :-D

Nice sock yarn, hand knitting kind.

Almost used up all of Nicto's 2004 fleece too. Almost 18 year old wool--so much for the theory a fleece needs to get used up within a year or two! Ha.

 

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Less than a week to go and Emmy will have her pup. Because the ultrasound showed only one pup, she's not going to be getting all that big.

Three chicks natural hatched by a partridge bantam Chantecler!

Pied patterned Seb gosling is getting big.

Completely dotted on by all.

Hail storms all around us...one report of a hailstone 4" by 4", but thankfully, only peasized hail so far...

Lots of rain and two days in a row, rainbows!

Rick brought in the 1989 one ton, did a bit of work on it and took it for a spin. Nice to see him enjoying all his trucks.

Pretty much what summer is all about here in Pear-A-Dice...

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel Low:

Gone to BC and brought back four ewe lambs and one ram lamb from the O'Keefe Historic Ranch in Vernon; end of September.

It was our practise run to the States...gone under twenty four hours, so still just a day trip away but what a day, eh! The handforged horseshoe in the bottom of the photo below, was from the ranch. I used it for a sign for the ram's quarters.

Gone to Washington (Dec 3/4; up at 3 a.m. Sunday, back home at 8 p.m. Monday) and brought back three rams (2 lambs, 1 yearling) from Hall Creek Jacobs...mega (MEGA!!) paperwork started in the spring of 2023 and musta done it all quite well as we got the sheep up here; over the border and home.

Here's the signs made.

Shamrock green too. LOL

Likely paint the barn the usual colour scheme here, Navajo red with white trim, has the green metal roof.

Asked Rick this spring...so we have all these buildings, the facilities and know how on how to keep birds (have hens 9 years old that are producing younguns) so with all the empty buildings, told Rick, "Yer turn to choose...what kinda poultry you want?"

Rick wanted the BIG BIRDS...the standard large fowl Brahmas. So I got on that and we now have forty standard Brahmas on the grow....so much promise in them. It takes about three years for a Brahma to be full sized.

The hip roof barn contains the Blue Partridge Brahmas and the one end pen the red Chantecler Bantams (for now, likely put either the Lemons or the Buff Brahmas in there in the spring for breeding).

Lemon, Splash, Blue Partridge, Partridge, Buff and Buff Blue Columbian.

Above is a Murray Mitchell's line of Buff standard. A cockerel we call "43" and below are him and two Blue Buff Columbian pullets; they'll make a great trio for breeding in 2025.

Lemon Brahma pullets...

Interesting recipe for them.

Splash standard Brahmas.

I wanted Sweetgrass turkeys again, so I picked up eight hatching eggs and because our granddaughter was coming to visit for the 1st time, made another trip to get four poults as the eggs would not hatch in time for her to see turkey poults.

So for the very 1st time...this is the year we will have hatching eggs for sale. We will be offering Sweetgrass turkeys & every Muscovy colour pattern here in Canada.

Should be fun. Next year, the Brahmas will be of the right ages and we can then offer eggs & chicks from them.

Granddaughter training Brahmas to "jump for a straw!"

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
--
____(\ Tara Lee Higgins /)____
(_____~> Rat Ranch - An ACD is for LIFE <~_____)
( `` `` ranchrat at telusplanet.net `` `` )
\ Alberta Canada /
) http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ranchrat/index.html (

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

About now one gets the urge to garden...a ridiculous thought because it is down right WHITE season...but none the less...

If I started seeds now, be too far along to plant for beginning of June so taken to starting bulbs.

These are from last year, March 2nd.

This year, grabbed a few different coloured hyacinth bulbs.

Began setting them out with a few weeks between so we can expect a nice lengthy flowering period. See how that works out.

Last year was pretty kewl...doesn't even look real.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
--
____(\ Tara Lee Higgins /)____
(_____~> Rat Ranch - An ACD is for LIFE <~_____)
( `` `` ranchrat at telusplanet.net `` `` )
\ Alberta Canada /
) http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ranchrat/index.html (

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Entered the 2024 Valentine's photo contest with four entries. :-D


Higgins Rat Ranch Standard Partridge Chantecler.

Higgins Rat Ranch Standard Blue Lace Red Wyandottes.

Higgins Rat Ranch Standard Partridge Brahma pair; eating apple slices in the Great White North.

Higgins Rat Ranch Standard Brahmas; Left is Partridge & Right is Blue Partridge.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
--
____(\ Tara Lee Higgins /)____
(_____~> Rat Ranch - An ACD is for LIFE <~_____)
( `` `` ranchrat at telusplanet.net `` `` )
\ Alberta Canada /
) http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ranchrat/index.html (

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Entered the Winter Contest Series—Winter on the Farm Photo Contest. :-D

Higgins Rat Ranch Standard Splash Brahmas.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
--
____(\ Tara Lee Higgins /)____
(_____~> Rat Ranch - An ACD is for LIFE <~_____)
( `` `` ranchrat at telusplanet.net `` `` )
\ Alberta Canada /
) http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ranchrat/index.html (