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

[subhanalah]

14F is a great temperature. Snow stays solid, it's very dry, you can do all kinds of winter activities, but it's not too cold to be outside.

it really is the wet feet that make winter miserable.

 

[tnspursfan09]

I spent too many years in Houston, I don't like the cold.

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Its so much better with your pics. Hopefully byc will get the bugs worked out soon. I have seen a few pics posted today on other threads so maybe they are making progress

I agree...hard to "talk" about a photo and then not be able to post it. Pictures ARE worth a 1,000 words! Bwa ha ha

Glad you enjoy the pics Bama.

XXX Photo of Gorgeous Delicious looking CAKE!! XXX <--even x-rated it because it looks too delish!

It uploaded!

The upload seemed to hang but then it picked up when I clicked on submit.

This is a Doberge cake.

What a beautiful cake and it has used eggs...what more could one ask.

Thank you Ron.

Thanks for that recipe Ron. I've never heard of it before. After looking at the recipe, does it have a good lemon flavor to it? I love lemon!

X2...yes, it is a new one for me also. Lemons...and limes...yes, yes...helps prevent scurvy up here in the Great White North <---hee hee hee...

Oh yay, the pictures are fixed!!! Speaking of, Fixins the FIERCE AND TERRIBLE,

ONE CANNOT NOT smile looking at that dog! And What a produce bounty, and what a great assortment of edible ornamentals you have chosen! Except lilacs of course, but they smell good, so that counts too. And the Caragana, that's the arborescens, right? Then I know you probably know the story of during the great depression poultry farmers used it to feed their flocks. (I'm sure everyone HERE knows it, but being the plant person that I am, I can't help but make a comment)

(my Caragans a. is not even big enough to scratch me yet, and I don't have my chickens yet anyway, lol)

Ok, to answer your question.....

The Red Gold Pheasant Male was a fully colored long tailed adult of unknown age when I got him (in about 1987?) from a collector who had ordered a mated pair of the birds some years before. He was sent three, two males and a female, which I understand is the normal arrangement (now, I didn't now nuthin then!) Not knowing different, he was afraid that the two males would fight and he kept them separate. As soon as he knew I had the space he asked if I would take the one. He had a nice big secure cage for him and for quite awhile he was fine. I so loved coming home and seeing him in all his feathered glory! Wow, what beautiful birds these are! Then he died. It broke my heart. I was living alone then and it felt like someone had taken my sunshine away.

I am sorry, I still get a little emotional about this, I was going through a rather rough patch during that time, and this has brought a bit of that back. BUT, I'mmmm feelliiinnnggg mmmuuutcchh better now, thank you very much!

Seeing these birds again has both given me tears and GREAT JOY! Especially tonight looking at the guy in the rafters

I'm just going to have to get some one of these days..... But for now I can so enjoy looking at yours, so if you want to keep slipping their pictures in now and then please do....

Thanks for the smiles (and the tears!)

Glad the Monster Fix delights you...now in her young years...meeting her in person would not have been delightful. She is very protective and would have put the run on you before asking any questions...give you a new orifice or three too. She is the main reason for these posted all along the perimeter of our property...

​

Before we got the triple perimeter fences in...she chased the one neighbour on his Harley...biting the bottom of his Daytons. She is not just a Red Dog...she is a "red" filed dog at the vets. She knows going to the vets means at the very least, poking and prodding...she don't like that one bit and makes it well known. One of the vet "visits" we had to take her to...after being pottied...she peed, crapped, dropped her anal glands and threw up in the exam room...such a NICE doggy to work on---NOT!

We followed the one vet who delivered her to a new clinic he works for some two hours away. He happens to like Australian Cattle Dogs and realizes...they think for themselves and you don't EVER tell them what to do...you convince them it is the best choice they have. LOL Knuckle heads.

About a week after Makins passed (her mother), Rick and I were trying our best to be brave about the loss but Fixins felt our anguish and misery...she was frustrated and chewed one of those supposedly UNchewable black dog toys. She swallowed several big chunks before I realized what she was doing...BLAST IT ALL! Instantly off to the vets for intestinal surgery---Rick and I thinking we were about to lose the daughter right after her mother. All went well and she was saved by the operation but the vet of ours thought he would keep her there for observation "until she ate something." Yeh sure. He should have listened to us...he is good as he does let me in the OR to hold her while they shave her and then sedate her...gets me to come in the recovery room as she is waking up...she is the Tasmania Devil to people. She would break bones to get to someone she figures "needs a good biting." Rick and I both told our vet she would not eat or drink, eliminate or recover without being in the company of her family. Vet would not listen to us so we strongly objected but let him do what he was hired to do...be a vet. Nothing...she ate nothing for the entire day...I think if my memory serves me right...he finally let Rick go pick her up (four hour round trip) on the afternoon of the second day...she was starting to go down hill and he finally realized she was not going to recover. We, of course knew this and were beside ourselves...we knew that wretched stubborn evil dog would never give in to the "enemy" (Yeh, the guy that delivers you is the enemy Fixins...sure!). She would have died she is such a stubborn "B" of a dog.

Rick arrived and she instantly brightened up...he said that lasted all of two seconds until she realized I was not there too (I had to go to work that day--I knew Dad would bring her home when I got off and we'd all celebrate with a fresh chicken in soup broth...). She drank, ate chicken, crapped, peed...she was home with her family in paradise where she knows she belongs. I am thinking the vet will not do that with her again...he & the vet staff had met their match in belligerence in a patient. Such a sweet sweet dog...monster willing to kill herself to prove her point...."I need to be with my family in my own home." Dogs aren't suppose to have a sense of self...should be obedient and obey their humans...HA on that. Something we very much admire about ACDogs...it is a partner that you have...one capable of fully thinking on their own, taking the human's advice (not commands) into consideration and getting jobs done perfectly well. I will not have any other breed because I just never know when they will test ME...keep me guessing, surprise me with their antics, intelligence, and physical capabilities. Fixins caught one of the neighbour's cats here and got a wicked ear puncture for being faster than a [email protected]. It abseced and I called the vet...he said is she well past that <Yup>, then leave it...it will burst on its own. Yeh...is sure did...just before I had to go to work...what a mess but what a please puppy she was...for sharing that with me.

Here is an article from the ACD Profiles which I wrote for the SPCA beginning back in ... 1998 I think it was? Ton of articles all meant to assist with placements of Australian Cattle Dogs...I figure this one article provides some decent advice which suits most of these knuckle heads to a "T." Not a casual dog breed meant to be left rotting in the backyard...

Australian Cattle Dog - Ideal Home
By Tara Lee Higgins

I am sure if dogs had it their way, all living rooms would have biscuit trees, T.V.'s that played only dog food commercials or animal videos, fake fur couches would be THE interior fashion statement and a trickling brook would run right through the middle of it all. Unfortunately, this doggie dream would be impractical to most human situations. The ideal ACD home would make ALLOWANCES for the dog(s).

Sleeping Quarters: Kennel or crate, dog or human bed. If you would feel comfortable in the area your ACD is sleeping in (draft free, dry, warm, quiet), then it should be fine for your dog. The ACD has powerful jaws and can shred most blankets. Consider using fake fur as ACD bedding to keep down on the wear and tear.

Grooming Facilities/Health Provisions: The bathtub is just fine, though a detachable shower head is kinder to the owner's back muscles. Lake, kiddie pool, hose, or sprinkler are good for summer clean up. Remember that the ACD is famous for its wash and wear fur coat but, it still means your ACD will need a regular brushing (use a tight metal "flea" comb for the downy undercoat and a rubber horse curry comb will loosen the long outercoat) and the occasional bath to remain sweet smelling and huggable. Teeth can be brushed daily or a vet may remove the tartar build up biannually. Inspecting your ACD's paws often is good to detect cuts and abrasions and dry, cracked pads can have human hand cream applied to alleviate the dryness. Most ACD's require regular nail clipping, especially their front dew claws which do not wear as constant as their other nails. Watch for changes in behaviour as well as physical ones. Condition score your ACD daily, watching for sudden weight gains or losses as an initial warning sign of health problems.

Exercise Area: This one is a MUST. Your ACD is a very, very active breed and needs daily exercise to coexist with humans. Woe to the owner who misses a day's exercise. You will pay by having to play extra hard the next day! The ACD does not fare well without an area for pedal to the metal all out running, or swimming, or Flyball, or sledding, or herding or whatever you two can dream up! Just make sure your ACD is physically and mentally tuckered out. Both of you will sleep better for it. And if you think that a walk around the block is going to suffice, think again. An ACD's daily exercise requirement schedule is going to require some effort. I recommend you have convenient access to safe, off leash areas for complete exercise freedom.

Safe Containment Area: In a perfect ACD world, the owner would never go anywhere without their faithful Blue or Red along. Unfortunately, this is not reality. Owners must be able to leave their ACD at home (or take them to a doggie day care) where they are safe from harming themselves and their surroundings. It can be an X-pen with a top and a rubber floor mat with non-tippable water and a crate to nap in. It can be a dog kennel & outdoor run or even a safe room (just dog proof it). Do not chain your ACD, many ACD's die from choking/strangulation, and you also expose your dog to all sorts of unsafe conditions (wandering animals, malicious people, severe weather, etc.). Containment is a major issue in acquiring your ACD and it is your responsibility to ensure your ACD's safety and those affected by your dog's actions. Never leave a collar or item on your ACD that might cause them to get caught on something and hurt. Have your ACD microchipped or tattooed if you are worried about lack of identification, but keep the collar off the dog when they are alone.

Transportation: Your ACD does not have to go with you EVERYWHERE but you will need to take them to the vet, out to dog events and just as your side kick. If your ACD is not strapped into a seat with a safety harness, then your ACD should be contained in a crate. This preserves both you and your dog's safety while driving.

Home Location: You will note that I will not tell you that a farm/ranch is THE place for an ACD. Not all ACD's need to be home on the range herding stock to be a complete canine. An ACD is just as much at home in the city as it is in the country. The key to your success is managing to keep your ACD both physically and mentally active each and every day. An urban apartment dweller may own a content ACD, but they will have to try harder than their rural counterparts. Sometimes an apartment dweller may have more time to devote to their dog than a rancher/farmer. The environment that an ACD needs is one full of stimuli, access to exercise and caring. Adaptability is just one of the many attributes your ACD is graced with but you must be able to provide the proper inputs to receive the correct outputs. Ranch/farm life is more ACD friendly, but every ACD owner must be obligated to spend time with their dog, no matter their geographical area.

I love the plants...the green all around us. And no I did not know that Caragana was used to feed poultry...kewl. Rick does recall the flowers have some nectar that as a kid they would eat. Siberian Peashrub...they sure do look like pea pods. I was never sure they were edible but I suppose they are.

The Caragana was also used by humans for food...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caragana_arborescens:

Fixins is adorable fighting that blanket, he seems like a similar lovable dummy that we've got a couple of at home. And the colors of those pheasants are amazing.

Yes, don't we all love those savage canine monsters we let live in our caves. They know a good thing they have going on...but never EVER want us to forget that we have invited an honest to goodness WOLF into the family...sleep with the one eye open!

Recall Far Side, Gary Larson's "he's been domesticated" cartoon?

Easy to keep those pheasants (heh heh heh...Karin will kill me for encouraging you!)...

Oh my goodness, beautiful post Tara, reminds me so much of other ones I have read, and I revisited the pictures too, some a view from the shoes, smiling. I am now exhausted, thank you, and have used up all my morning internet time, visiting with you as I read through your posts and others -- you tire me, as I can imagine the hours and hours I envision you putting into your posts, hours of picture making and the captions and all the speech that goes along with the pictures. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this most beautiful bunch of pictures and whatnot to just start me out on my day among my own critters and farm (I got way more veggies than you do, na na na na na) (and I love you). Never stop being that awesome person you are, the sharing that you do, of your life, your conquests with the Rocky Mountain life and oh....did I ever mention that I love that song by Burl Ives, the Big Rock Candy Mountain, and of course too -- 16 chickens and a tambourine.....have a beautiful day, CynthiaMQ

Ah Sweet Sunshine Woman...you are always most welcome in my world. I knew I could convince you to come "waste a morning" on moi!

Yes, the View from the Shoe was a fav of yours...not many here would know of that...

Here is a quick snippette from two years back...recall the six wee wings series...

"Do goslings taste like chicken?"​

The dog laughter... when I told her that goose was greasier than chicken...​

Those conversations with Fixins, her balancing her toy on my shoes...

​

Her leaping into the goosey pen to retrieve it...

GO Fixins...bounding away with her toy!​

Yeh good times, eh?

Now I have to continue with a series the "View from the Hood..." har har har...that is yet to follow....

​

You are on the West side of the Rocky Mountain Range...I be on the East side and yes...your veggies and flowers will always surpass mine with us living in the shadow of the mountains...the crisp mornings, the severe weather...never quite know how to dress for success here and not succumb to the wilds of the weather but it keeps us tough, eh?

'Nuther of yer and my favs...the shortened version tho...heh heh heh....

Tara, I was about to ask how Foamy got her name and then I noticed her full name

Styra Foam - does she love eating it like chickens do - chicken pop corn

Ah that would be Rick and his names.

Rick telling fibs to the dogs...Cowboy Poet my...​

What you don't SEE is he is holding a chunk of cheese in the off camera hand...and Makins KNOWS it...is about to blast him with the ACD commanding ear piercing BARK! "Give it up FAT BOY or the dogs will attack their Master!"

Makins is what a cowboy uses to make his smokes...

Makins, Fixins' Mom ​

She is all the colours of tobacco, ash and such. "Hand me my makins..." A pouch of tobacco, rolling papers, lighter...

I got told my posing Makins like this...she looks like a STUFFED dog...​

Stoggar was a word used by one of Rick's bosses...he was a character that one...Wilson...he'd tell the "boys" to go "stoggar" this and that away! He'd yell at the top of his lungs "Stoggar!" when he wanted the men...yeh, stoggar...some sorta "virtual useless slave" to be abused that was what STOGGAR meant.

Stoggar, Makins and HyBlade​

Because Stoggar the Dogger came to us such a basket case from mental and physical abuse...we never thought we would ever get any "work" outta her...even a working dog breed has its limitations. So Rick called her "Stoggar" as a useless hired hand...we never expected or wanted anything but for her to get better.

Stoggars ears were tipped down when she arrived...one came up, then the to'ther


Aug 2012 - Took years but they came up...UP UP UP like the Flying Nun UP!
​

Inadequate diet...she ate good with us but a bad start is hard to recover from and takes lots of time and effort to correct!

Dogs under the flowering Dolgo - 2009​

HyBlade is what a lazy grader operator does...off duty fur sure!

Plate I had made up for Rick's Red Chev...when doing loser laps we are...​

Rick runs grader and you are "hyblading" if you are running the grader with the blade up high. Not working with the blade down and rolling rocks or plowing snows.

Junk yard dog...wanna steal these Maple Leaf rims, eh? Jest try it...​

So then there is the real question...FOAMY, Styra Foam...how and what is that on about...

Rick and I rescued her....last request when the Red Deer SPCA manager retired after nine years of bitter sweet service there...get the telephone call..."Hi, Tara...please come get a dog we cannot kill...please?"

Yeh yeh...sure, why not...why not have FIVE Cattle Dogs...five is just one more than two brace chains on leads can manage...that fifth one will put a wrench in that concept that you can manage four dawgs on two leads with brace chains... Besides, one over anxious Cattle Dog can drag a large capable human around...why not five...throw all cautions to the winds and physically FLY down the boulevards pottying dogs on some lame brain trip to heck and back... Yes, I needed FIVE DOGS...

Coats of Many Colours...plus one more was in store...​

Styra Foam​

So Foamo is hyper...has this habit of leaping up and up behind chain wire kennels...leap, leap/bouncey bounce! Insane because she has NO meat on those bones...hip bones up high (she's all a bit of a butterball now...yeh, eat eat eat here and run run runs at dogtime!) ... so we get her to quieten out and get use to a routine...we go about running off young ACD energy, to get her to think a bit and quit being so scatterbrained...well we could not run her at first with the other dogs at dogtime.

Snow nose​

She thought the aim of the game was to BITE the other Cattle Dogs...well that is just asking for a donnybrook and a big vet bill...no thanks. ACDs don't appreciate savage bites...bitey bites are OK but with restraint and not bite the dog instead of the toy...bite the toy idiot!

She has gotten the idea...don't BITE other dogs...kissing is OK...​

So the first while, she only got to run back and forth along the one side of the drive way between the fence and the lilac row. Even then she ran so hard and put so much of herself into the game...she would foam at the mouth. She looked rabid (not...fully vetted like all the dawgs here!) and Rick took one look a that psycho bean with white foam dripping off her stupid happy go lucky face and named her; Styra Foam.

Part of the Christmas Dogs of 2007 - everyone gets tinselly! Dee dee dee! ​

On its own...Styra was a perfect fitting name for her spazzy nature...but the Foam part fits too...so I call her either name, Styra or Foam...works...Foamy too... she had the brains of styra foam too...much more sensible now that she has been given time to recover and recoup.

Trailer Trash...each on has their own personality but make it part of the dog PACK​

She is perfectly suited now to join the dogs playing and she is part of the herd of muttleys...but at first, she had to learn some dog manners or feel the wrath of the pack...no ACDog in its right mind likes to be herded or bitten by another dog when chasing a toy.

May 2012​

Best girlfriends now which is amazing since Fixins hates people and dogs...pretty much equally!

HyBlade and Foamy - when biting in play is OK.​

My chicken sneaks into the house all covert ops stylee so she can steal some Styrofoam.

Well what a good suggestion for dieting...feel full and yet, no calorie in take...hee hee...

Hey Tara

I'm still here and still reading and loving all your posts. Figured rather than keep telling you how much I enjoy your posts, I will just let you know when I see something I do not like .. do not expect to hear from me any time soon

Something you do not like...makes it sound like my next set of photos should be on "processing" a happy meaty dinner, eh?

OK Boss woman...I'll try my best not to make you post...hee hee... so expect to never hear from you again...gulp!

Tara, I've been looking up some of the shrubs/trees/plants you mentioned.

On the caragana, it says that it is particularly delicious to a wide variety of insects and this result in early defoliation. Have you found this to be the case?

NO, not here...walls of greenery...walls of buzzy yeller fragrant flowers...delightful! Love that the bees love this plant...birds nest in it...the privacy, the huge green barricade it is in summer time. Even in winter when it drops the foilage...it is tall and thick enough now it is a hazy perimeter bush. Like a nice wind break to hold back the worst of the weather. Amazing stuff...we love it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caragana_arborescens:

Good morning Tara!
gee, I am thinking you must be a zone warmer than I am if you can grow pears! I so wish we could but we can barely grow apples and even those must be northern hardy. Planted some that were "supposed" to be for our zone and the poor things did survive a year or two, or three, then gone. Our best luck was actually rescuing some gone wild little apple trees we discovered growing amonst some Jack Pines on our property and moving them into the sunlight. They are doing well! Too bad their apples are small and grainy. They do make a decent canning sauce tho.

Just about every plant we have that's thriving is a Canadian variety like our Jon Monk roses and the John Forsyth Lilac. Had a good chuckle at our government department of agriculture. They had decided a few years ago that our winters were actually getting warmer so they moved us into one zone warmer. Felt sorry for the folks that actually paid attention to that and planted according to "zones". Anyone that did lost a lot of money, especially this past winter. We lost every one of our well established cherry trees that were developed by the University of Minnesota for northern zones and our favorite commercial apple orchard, one zone to our south, took a horrible hit and lost over 25% of their beautiful heavy producers and the rest were either damaged or so stressed they are hardly producing.

Anyway, I do so envy your beautiful plants and trees. We believe in planting for the future as well, but over the past 20+ years, well, lets just say Mother Nature has her own idea what she wants growing on our little patch of Pear-A-Dice.

I have a question for you.
I have read that there is quite a personality difference between the white and brown etc. Chanteclares (spelling?). Is this true? I know they are (or were?) from two distinctly different original breeding programs. What I've read states that the whites are very flighty and unfriendly where the browns have a much more mellow Austalorp type personality. What is your experience/opinion?

We are zoned 1A here...there was a nursery up a bit north of us...actually more like 4 hours north but it was called Sprouts I think. She retired but had all these awesome fruit trees. On hardy root stocks from outta Ottawa. Pears, plums, apples, crabs, applecrabs...cherries...yeh. Now her climate was more predictable than ours. We get what are called Chinooks where it warms up in winter...NOT good because dormant plants wake up and then get trashed when the inevitable big freeze up returns a few days later...blah! Best they go to sleep and stay sleeping otherwise get winter killed.


There are pears grown in Calgary (for over 20 years) that the "Saskatoon Farm" sells ...

http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/:

Flowering this spring​

My excited discovery is Haskaps (Russian) this year. Also called Honeyberry and I had two plants and did not realize I needed more varieties...so now may have three kinds...not sure but next spring will be exciting...as for zone 3, not sure as they are suppose to have flowers that survive a dip to -7C and still good to go...we shall see...we shall see if we get some purple berries next year.

Looks tasty good, eh?​

Still catching up, but I have to say I love how one of our dogs has turned into my chore buddy. Originally I had pegged her as a "never chicken safe" kinda dog but I was wrong. It took some work and I doubt I'll ever trust her 100%, but wow am I ever impressed with how far she has come! She walks the yard with me as I do chores and when we get to the chickens she stands guard at the door to keep any from escaping. When we're done she practically prances back up to the house with me she's so pleased. Our other dog is just not interested but that's OK too.
I'm supposed to be doing inside the house chores like laundry, dishes and picking up.... Ick.... is it bad that I'd rather clean out the chicken coop?
I'm going to be naughty and keep reading!

Edited to fix silly auto spelling errors....

I love a good chore dog and yeh, giving them a job is totally in their natures...dogs love their work!

House work is rotational...you begin the cycle and it never ends. Sorta like pen cleaning but at least when winter hits and it freezes up...it is layer time. Har har...

The U of S (university of Saskatchewan) puts out some pretty hardy fruit trees, not sure if they have pears but you could google them and see

. I want to get some eventually

.

UofS has lots of great plants. Usually they have their interests in most of the awesome fruits and bushes that are hardy in our cold climates.

Northie, I have an explanation for why you may rather prefer to clean the coop... it stays done longer. Doing housework is a major pain in my back side as the very next day it looks like I haven't done anything at all! I'd rather clean the coop too! Welcome!

There is a standing thought that the time invested in a barn looks way more accomplished than time spent on "House & Gardens." One of my healthy quotes for work was "a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind..." the proper quote is ...

Northie, activating your dog by giving it a job like that will lessen the risk of attacks too. Dog problems often stem from the dog not having enough mentally or physically challenging work to do.

My sister was a exchange student at the U of S a few years back.

The mantra for us is a "tired ACDog is a GOOD ACD." Like children, a bit of physical running and playing tempers them down so they a joy to be around. All of us living things need the edge taken off us everyday. Tired in the mind but tired in the body is good for a complete soul.

U of S is beautiful and I hear very kewl to study at. Good ol' Uncle Roy (Dr. Roy Crawford - the editor of the chicken bible) taught there and we hauled all the dogs there in 2001 to have their hearing tested...including Makins' puppy litter. Very neat place and did I say beautiful...we went in August and it was magnificent all the trees and plants and we never even made it to the place where they experiment with the trees and shrubs.

Love all the new photos, especially of the pups and the baby chicks! And did I read correctly that your favorite temperature is 14F?!?! It got down to 17F this past winter during the horrible Alabama Ice Winter 2014, and I was MISERABLE in that temperature! But right now it's getting to almost 100F and I feel that might just boil you!

I can't believe how much testing costs for the birds to ship across the border! That's just crazy! I guess I will just have to satisfy myself with 'Merikan chooks..... ;-) is that an oxymoron?

Any day now I will have my first ever egg!

Yup, give me minus ten please. Wonderful working weather...ask them dogs...working dogs...no bugs, t-shirt weather...move that load, tote that bale, split that wood...worky work work...beauty!

Feb 2013 - Fix and Foamy on some of Dad's Birch yet to be split to firewood size...​

See the smirk on the Fix...this is her kinda element...wood, ice, snow, cold, toys...yeh, living the good life!

​

Oh we can stand the heat if we hafta...we moved from Kamloops at 104F...did I mention we MOVED FROM Kamloops...away away...Rick rented a truck just because it had air conditioning so we could have some relief as we ran away...away away from the hot stuff...

Temperature of 100 degrees...

July 7 2012 39C/102 F
​

I do not prefer these kind of temps and mostly that is the sun shining on the thermometer but is it over 100F or not...cause if I stood in the sunshine, would I not also heat up too...oh well, you can happily keep the heat...me no likey it.

I think the estimate we had on the go was $1500 would test the nine birds, have them shipped across the border to the States but then some sorta more testing was required but thankfully in the States at their rates. As I said...FREE trade...now sure how the term FREE got in there but oh well. It is what it is.

We can and have imported birds from the States for way cheaper than the other way round. It makes no sense.

Oh oh oh...first egger...wonderful! I hope that Cindi lets me post that piccy of her sis and an egg...it encompasses SO much of our emotions...of holding those eggs in the palm of our hands and how so important that is. Gifts from the birds of life and food and oh my...so much more. I will never EVER tire of collecting up eggs...that child like "there is nothing wrong in the entire universe" is what an egg translates into as far as feelings go. Hee hee...congratulations!

14F is a great temperature. Snow stays solid, it's very dry, you can do all kinds of winter activities, but it's not too cold to be outside.

People need to embrace all four seasons and while some years it feels like ten of the months are designated to winter...one had better enjoy the climate they choose to be in or expect to be miserable alot more than they should be.

We live where we love it and winter in its whiteness is just as inspiring as summer in its greenness. All about attitudes I suppose.

I don't like driving in what we call "Coast" snow which is heavy, melty, bogs you down, throws you around. When we get the usual Alberta snow, it is like driving in dry sands. Breeze and easy.

I hope to enjoy more dry cold again this winter and maybe, just a maybe a bit less snow this time round--icrumba!

When I lived on the Coast (Nor end of Van Isle for 25 years) the worst temps was -10C (the ocean bay froze and all the pipes were bursting...not nice!) but with all the humidity there, it may as well have been -50C here...the wet makes it chill you to the very bones. There is no popping outside to go to the garage to pack back a loaf of bread from the freezers like I do here...you poke a toe out in the humid Coast and it freezes instantly...black ice makes driving treacherous. You never quite knew when there might be hidden ice on the roads and if you touched your brakes...it was no whee more like "pee yourself scared!" kinda feeling...no control at all as you spun outta control some winters. You can most definately die on the Coast from exposure...it does not have to be savagely cold to be cold! So each place has its version of winter which to one that lives there is just plain cold. Depends what you are use to.

Now it would be a given if we went from room temperatures of 20C today right into -10C I would be all gibbled up and slowed way down...burr...but it happens over time and you acclimatize to the seasons as each one begins to happen. It is cold and it is hot in relative relations to what we adjust ourselves to. I can say I do get cravings for fatty foods in winter but I also work that off. I think some of us also have "brown" fat which we inherited from our parents and grandparents. My family stems from Northern Europe...my father from Latvia which I believe is rather close to where Vehve is now...we thrive quite well in winters and celebrate the seasons and expect the cold and I love the cold because it makes certain things we do in summer STOP. Full halt stop and we do different activities more to jive with the season that is upon us.

it really is the wet feet that make winter miserable.

Dress for success...here are my fireman boots.

​

Good for -100 C (the -40C Sorrels are kiddy style...too wimpy for me) and pliable flexible waterproof materials...steel toes (not required but has saved a few toes from breakage when I do firewood hauling I suppose). Not cheap either as I believe these pair of boots ran us $240 or so. Compared to my run runs...yeh, by the time winter is over...I am dancing about in the runners feeling alot less confined and not so trudge trudge but man alive, I could not do winter chores without dry toasty feets!

Insulated coveralls...called "tough ducks" made of canvas and that tan colour with red lining. Good wool lifetime socks we get outta Bass Pro (nfi)...and yeh, already returned several pairs for new ones because we wore them out. Inside clothes under the outdoor wear...I can tell you...the day I have to wear "Depends" (nfi) is a day to celebrate...I am just like the kid in the snow suit...all bundled up after an hour to struggle into them and then that one cup of coffee needs to go elsewhere and I near break into tears...nothing like being outside and having to go half way thru chores. I am not ready for a rest...don't like the fogged up/iced up glasses, the layers and the fight to disrobe...yes, yes...bring on the DEPENDS! What a luxurious invention...maybe I should be a test subject and start now...

Heh heh heh...well there goes 3/4 of the Pear-A-Dice audience now..."She freely admits that she wants to pee IN her pants...ack!"

No toques (I hear Americans don't have the word toque and it makes me laugh!) or Balaklavas for me--get too hot...so it is a roast or freezy toast situation because you boil with one on...constricted on how you can breath and just blah! No brim on a toque and even though it is winter...we get bright sunshine...lots and lots of cheery sunshine here. Makes winter like those postcard photos.

Some of MY winter hats but in the middle thar...the BUS DRIVING MOOSE is LOOSE twinkly plaid pukey Fudd Hat!

Yeh, my son wants to disown me (Rick too) but I wear Fudd hats...yeh, woollen baseball caps with furry ear flaps and a brim to keep the blowing snows off my glasses and outta my face. I love them and have several colour coordinated hats to go with my outfits. Yes, very stylish wear! How to be vahboobah wearing the plaid I say!

In my entire winter garb...I am something ELSE to behold but yah know...that great big grin, that furnace chugging away within...I am as pretty looking as the great big smile plastered on my face out doing my winter chores because I am WARM and HAPPY! I ooze happy doing what needs doing because I am warm and comfy doing it!

Rick keeps me in proper clothes so I can do what needs doing and he is sure glad HE is not the one out and about some days in the gear!

Coldest it got here last year...and YES there is a minus in front of the 36.5C...
​

Coldest ever here was -53C...not sure how accurate because mercury acts funny at low temps...and now some revamp is made over the wind chill values...whatever...cold is cold is cold...burh eh?

Layers works...sheep skin lined mitts (gloves suck, not enough heat generated in a glove compared to a mitt) for when it gets past forty below. I usually am bare handed though...I seem to generate enough heat to keep the fingees functioning. You adapt I guess....adapt or die. At least if you freeze...you fall asleep...I figure way better way to go than heat stroke where I hear you suffer immensely...I'll just tuck up in a snow bank and do some zzzz's...LOL

I spent too many years in Houston, I don't like the cold.

It is all relative to what you are use to. I have the genetics in me for cold living. I look forward to winter when the "two" months of feverish summer time things can stop (make it stop, eh). Winter is a busy time too but a different sort of busy. Now if you plunked me back on the Coast and told me I had to endure the 90 days straight of grey rainy days again...nope, not going back to that. I have seen the light...literally. Rick and I wore sunglasses the first two years we moved here to Central Alberta..."that orb in the sky...what is that?"

<blink blink - like moles emerging from their burrows>​

Most beautiful place on Earth is the Coast with a sunny day to show off the tropical green of the growth...but so many days were grey and dreary and way too wet, moldy and depressing. I am happy here and love the dry cold. Each to their own and we should all be so lucky to live where we thrive.

Supertramp - It's Raining Again:
Oh, it's raining again
Oh no, my love's at an end.
Oh no, it's raining again
And you know it's hard to pretend.
Oh no, it's raining again
Too bad I'm losing a friend.
Oh no, it's raining again
Oh, will my heart never mend.

May everyone live where they love it...it makes for so much happier people and happy people are in short supply for sure! Never enough happiness.

Thought for today from Albert Einstein...

​

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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

 

[bamadude]

I see u got your keyboard fixed

 

[Lacy Blues]

Hi Tara. Great post, as usual. Took me a long time to read it but worth it!

 

[CanuckBock]

I see u got your keyboard fixed

You sound depressed Mun!

Page 14, 5 days ago...post 141...:

Hi Tara. Great post, as usual. Took me a long time to read it but worth it!

Thanks Woman...for your entertainment pleasures...

BTW, you CAN do installments over time too...hee hee...coupla coffee breaks worth?

Tara

 

[vehve]

Tara, I'm way up north from Latvia, closer to the heights you're living at, but the Gulf stream keeps our weather slightly warmer. Minus 20 C for weeks is pretty normal here though. Doesn't get much colder than that here down south. Now up north, that's a whole other story.

 

[CanuckBock]

Tara, I'm way up north from Latvia, closer to the heights you're living at, but the Gulf stream keeps our weather slightly warmer. Minus 20 C for weeks is pretty normal here though. Doesn't get much colder than that here down south. Now up north, that's a whole other story.

Geography was never my strong point...I do know that Latvia is one of three "Baltic States" with Estoina and Lithuania...independent finally from Russia in WW1. Is this all considered "Northern Europe" or? I believe some of the Northern European countries like the UK don't get the low temps like -50C...something about the Coast can I use "jet streams" over there to describe how the Oceans more or less dictate temps. I think some places look to be cold by location but with lovely winds off of the Ocean, gathering up warmth...it is much much milder. I would love the coldest temps to be just -20C...we all could tolerate that much better. Once it gets to about -25C and the snow begins to squeak under your steps...pretty serious cold that robs life of warmth pretty darn quickly.


Battling the battle to keep the garden going...my bugging BamaDude is me ramSACKING my own veg garden...

August 23, 2014​

Frost the last three nights in a row and why I covered it up. Sheets and poly feed bags, some bags cut in half to spread them out wider.

Aug 24, 2014 - covered

Hilarious...takes a few cold days to wipe it out and then inevitably...three weeks of dog days of summer approaching fall...nice weather and the garden could have grown. So each night I cover it up and hope...hope the Village Idiot's garden makes it thru another frosty night night!

Been eating good off of it. Rick really notices how FRESH and tasty everything is. You won't be able to compete on food prices but you sure can compete on quality of the taste. It makes it worth it in our eyes at least. At least to try I suppose.

​

Aug 23, harvested some creamer potatoes (tops of plants had yellowed and died on some), pulled a few carrots spaced too close together, some onions in multiplers and a few red ones, and a handful of beans in case my battle against the elements was lost...we at least could say we TASTED the beans...

Supper the night of 23rd; carrots and beans, yellow and red potatoes boiled--produce from the garden.




Evening of 24th, I harvested three beets...for the tops and the roots...​

​

Had that for supper boiled in two pots...one for the tops, one for the sliced roots. Was kinda a precursor to the BQ supper...an appetizer perhaps?

​

Supper the 24th was grilled beef rib steaks on the Man Porch BQ with homemade BQ sauce...took some of the larger creamer potatoes, sliced in half, dredged in oil and baked on BQ in tinfoil (here comes the Alzheimer’s!)...with corn baked in the husk on the BQ too. Num nummers.

Harvested (leaving the root behind to grow mini romaines if it was allowed to) a few heads of romaine on Aug 23rd in case my cover the garden up plan failed miserably.

​

Made a salad on the 25th (last night) with pullet eggs hard boiled, our own onions and one of the heads of Romaine from the 23rd...our own carrots from thinnings I again collected last evening. Was delicious.

Today...well today Fixins got peas...

​

I had a pod too...if that is all the garden belches forward on peas...the one taste was delish! So sweet...so heavenly sweetness!

​

Not sure how much longer we have but isn't it always that way...just as it begins to really start to produce (even on the Coast, green pumpkins, green tomatoes...all ripening inside the house!)...something trashes it from continuing...like the winter frost weather. No matter. Each morsel is one more moment to enjoy that we can relish upon. I have a bucket of spinach and chard that has gone to seed...those will go to the baby birds to teach them to adore greens..."Now eat yer greens, bird birds!"


Some of the hatchings from the 21st...moved them all over to the Duece Coop in one group in a green bin brooder--cold that day and rainy...so on mass they were touted the little distance from Hatching House to Duece Coop...turkeys and ducks...chooks too.

​

Here are the turkeys then segregated in their own bin brooder in the Duece Coop...

​

Few more bantam Wyandottes...sweet cuties! Rick's pick was the White Wyandottes and they are very pretty right from the start.

​

Rick has been busy working all week...he comes home and does a bit more here too...

​

Fixins waits on Dad...she loves the routine...he feeds the fish in the pond and I sit and wait in a lawn chair to see how his work day was.

On Friday (think it was Fri...time flies!), he made a trip to get some planks...3x12's and 6x6's for the parking building back wall...

​

He placed some of the planks/timbers along where the back wall will be.

​

Rest of the wood got stored for now where he can get them when he needs them later...

​

Had him bring me a round bale yesterday evening...

Helper dogs​

and we all got to check out how that grass seed I cast about some time ago is doing.

​

There is a green tinge to that dirt...from sod or seed, don't really care as long as the end result is greeny grasses for the ruminants!

Went up to the Veg Garden coop this afternoon to check on the chookers and collected some standard Chant eggs...

66.8 grams - extra large​

Said I still get a charge about our own eggs in the palm of your hand...and indeed, I do!

​

Made a trip to Calgary to pick up some recycled cupboards with shelves for one of Rick's C-cans on Saturday...took some interesting pics from the "Hood" but will post those at another time...that is a post unto itself, eh!

For now...off to go see how the birds are enjoying the great outdoors, give those garden greens to the baby birds, top water back up and wait for Rick to return home so we can have a lovely evening together as the Fam.

Night night Fixins...

Sunset on Aug 24th
​

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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

 

[Northie]

Those were birch logs!!!!

I too make quite a fuss about keeping my feet dry in the winter. Don't put my good socks on until I'm putting my boots on. Having the right gear makes all the difference too, -30c can be comfortable if you're dressed for it

 

[vehve]

I usually use really thin shoes until it goes under -20C, a thin pair of woolen socks in barefoot boots is good, it's cold if you're standing, but moving around your feet stay nice and warm.