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

[drumstick diva]

Ick, do you think there was really a worm in there???

 

[CanuckBock]

Ick, do you think there was really a worm in there???

Probably not...Emmy just decided to tease Lacy...I believe they are all perfectly good apples.

Makes for a good story tho, eh!

Tara

 

[drumstick diva]

I think Lacey is going to be your agility dog

 

[Amberjem]

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[CanuckBock]

Lots of lawn clippings to mix into the Ram Pasture he is tilling up.

​

Rick and I are enjoying playing dogs. Dogs are enjoying playing with us.

​

Rick is introducing the dogs to "hyper dog" which is a slingshot mechanism fer active yer active type dogs...

Men eh...always SO serious about the tools they use...this is some skookum!​

No shortage of interactive toys to be playing dog dogs with...

Tired ACD is good ACD​

Tongues hanging...lots of water slurpies and even belly baths too...warm enough to incite a few dog bog dippings in the splish splash tub.


Quote:
Originally Posted by drumstick diva

I think Lacey is going to be your agility dog

Lacy likes tunnels, she is the one to investigate the metal culvert, the nylon tunnel.

Emmy is the balancer, she is the one first on the balance beam, the teeter totter, the lifts of lumber piled up. She likes testing her balance.

Won't be doing agility in any sense of competition, just a way to expose the dogs to lots of interesting things to amuse themselves with.



Exciting and tres busy day yesterday...

Had to schedule the house power off so we could have a massive crane truck lift half Rick's Parking Building roof. Power got shut off, before it was, I got all the water I needed and then some extra containers full jest in case the power did not get turned back on...paranoid, sure, I've had supposed plans stalled for one reason or t'other. No sense allowing the animals and us to suffer jest because a planned power outage took longer to go back to norm.

Power went off and 15 min later, the crane truck and two men arrived so we got down to the real business of the day. Girl pups were up as usual and now tucked away inside, some of my chores completed (day off work) so I could help where needed. Was pretty kewl all and all.

​

Crane truck, she was a 45 tonner...massively over kill but she did what needed doing.

​

​

Not something you jest drove into the yard with--three spotters and driver got her where she needed to be...glad I had the fence rails down already for winter prep in the Pear-A-Dice area...we took down one more section so the truck could get in. Wiggle and waggle, back and forth, she maneuvered on in.

Slings rigged up for the half roof pick...roof section was 4,500 pounds--pretty light but was still a bulky pick - topple it and well, figured we'd have lotsa expensive kindling fer winter fires...agh!

UP up and on she went...smooth like silk



Rick and the tractor are quite capable of lining up the other section of trusses, but well, the crane was here, so why not use it, eh! Whee hee hee!!!

Another up and around and down - quick and slick


​

Cannot say how wonderful it is to see the half a roof on the place where the roof is meant to be.

​

Thar she be...half the roof section up and on, next set of trusses ready to be moved out and sectioned up by Rick. Laugh as we got told by one builder, this project was a three-man framing crew roof project...har har... One "Rick" and watch it get completed. One gooder man and it'll happen and happen up well and right.

​

The dogs and us went round the back for inspections...sure looks like it was meant to be. Adore that Rick repurposed some old sky lights that were bound for the landfill...big old bubbles to cast some extra light inside the building.

​

After the truck left at around 10 a.m., Rick got a bunch of materials moving to where he can use them. After I made a well earned lunch/brunch, Rick and I loaded up fifty-five 2x4's and piled them for strapping the second half of the roof. Rick gets to do this all over again now and once again, in a few weeks schedule another lifter day and that be that.

​

The metal he ordered to cover the back door is closer now, plus the roof metal and all the white trimmings to make it look purdy and clean like.

Majorly weird not to see roof trusses against my Veg Garden fence...did someone steal them eh??

​

Awesome way to see fall time swinging in. Amazing what happens in one good day...and good day indeed it sure was!

​

Getting some -4C nights, ice is getting thicker on the water pans in the yard. Tops of the Veg Garden corns are getting frosted. Oh my...can even see the half section of roof from this angle too...hee hee...pinch me, she's sorta half done like dinner (past the metal roof going on...I get that it is not really half completed but it is up!)!

​

Cherry tomatoes in the porch are still ripening.

​

Hanging baskets are still putting on nice display in the Man Porch.


But to kid yerself winter is not on its way is rather a tad bit silly.

Robins are gorging on rowanberries...getting topped up for migration. ​

Brought the water hyacinth from the water feature inside and some duck weed...see how they do indoors over the winter. No hope in heck they'd survive the forty belows here.

​

Water in fish pond and waterfall is very clear...the UV light helped but now it is more a matter of colder weather inhibits the green algae that clouds the water green.

​

​

Yesterday evening before cooking up some Chinese chicken wings for din dins that I had marinating inside...I chopped up one of the limerock pathways...the edges are getting encroached by the lawns, so today I can go shake the rock outta the clumps. Another wanna see done before the snow flies sorta thingmajig. We'll keep at this till it is white and too deep to trudge working about in. Jest like every day here...hee hee...

Got a bunch of things to get completed today and as of yet, no threat of whites jest yet to stop the fun stuffs.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Sorry, posted two photos the same of the crane truck moving the loose trusses. Whoopsie...

Counted the number of photos and missed my firewood one...here that one is now.

Because we had the one section of roof there, could not easily slip by it with loads of firewood, so I also took three loads to the Man Porch yesterday.

​

One more load to the porch today and the box is full. Yah!

New Orchard this morn​

Always amazed at how the light changes with the seasons...

Thee kings ​

Certainly autumn colour pallets now.

Excellent weather and temps to be doing work outside...

Had a short snack for lunch, so off the pups and I go. Whee...

​

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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

 

[hennible]

Holy crow! I missed a lot.
Looking good Tara!
Wow.

 

[CanuckBock]

Holy crow! I missed a lot.
Looking good Tara!
Wow.

I am sure you have been jest as busy.

That pond project was an "extra slice of pie" endeavour! My kinda incentive...working for booberry pie!

​

NOW that is a pathway as it should be...I had forgotten how nice a wide pathway is to be travelled upon...

I like fall time to do a review of the construction season (for us that is summer time) that has just passed...

The addition of the water feature in the pond along with the addition of water plants that did fabulous!!​

The leaves that change colour and fly off, that will let you focus on the projects you have completed as the green growth goes to reveal the hidden gems you have found time and energies to do.

Been a year of the ROOF...

​

Rick put metal on the Coop fer Sure roof run and there will be metal on the Parking Building roof soon enough also...roof roof rowf...do dogs count as part of the roof theme too?

​

The perimeter on the Taj Mahal is completed...the cute dragon Mom and Babe statue added that final (mesmorizing for me) touch to the silly entourage of items I look at that brings me joy around this building.

For me, fall time is the time to recount what you accomplished and where you want to proceed next. A review because now it is the very serious time to get ready for the season of white! To put by the provisions to get thru winter and for the entire year in some cases.

A happy time of year. I am never sad to see summer go...because for however long it is here, we give it our maximum and throttling it back a bit...ah that will be glorious too!

I get tired...so having summer come and go...is a good thing...go before I am totally worn out ... GO before I tire of summer...keep us wanting to see it again! Stay too long and we might not soon forget the negatives to all this daylight and warmth to be able to move and do things. LMBO

​

Time to feel blessed one has a stockpile put away of dry firewood so you can cuddle up by the woodstove, eat comfort foods that not only keep you generating heat but heat up the house when being made too. LOL

Not quite filled the wood box, but hey, that is an ongoing endeavour anyway...bring another load to have the wheelbarrow (the cart is my more normal vehicle of choice but too wide to get thru right now) and that is too much wood to top up the box without having it overflowing. Dogs had a great time inspecting all the birch bark piles where the walls of wood are stored. I moved the one bark pile back as the location of the roof now in the process of being done will end up with the bark buried in the roof snow when it slides off. Move it now or not see it till spring melt, eh!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Rick has put up the white metal drip edge on the half trussed roof section of the Parking Building...lookin' mighty fine!

​

He has carried many of the metal sheets out near where they are to be fastened (siding back door metal)...

​

Some sheets of roof metal where required also AND some sheets even went up and on roof too.

​

All done AFTER he comes home from his full time job.


Do I know the pups...well do I??

Sep 19, 2015 - Lacy playing IN the cooty holed culvert tunnel



Emmy doing exactly what she loves doing...balancing on wood ​

In twenty minutes I harvested this from the garden on Saturday...I had originally gone to get some green onion for dinner and well, bounty unfolded!

​

From top left to right and around...

Left at top -
Leaf lettuce
Romaine
Butterhead lettuce

Left middle -
Spinach
Zukes
Carrots of the baby size

Left again -
Red onions
White onions
Beans green & green purple flecked

Bottom middle -
Beets of baby size and tender
Sugar peas


I went and looked for some pics to give me an idea when I began to plant the veg...sometime after middle of June...time flies when yer having fun, eh.

June 11, 2015
​

Here about a month later, July 13, 2015...

​

Yesterday since we be getting lotsa -4C and lower nights, decided it was best to pluck apples off the one tree...not too shabby given the size of the young tree, eh!

​

I think I have a lil' RED hen puppy dog asking to share in the bounty...

​

Who let the dogs out??

​

Sep 19 2015​

Washed more dug potatoes...and had helpers...tater stealers...laughed when Rick saw them girls..."Who gave you the potatoes?"

Stealers...

Sep 21, 2015 - Can't say NO to such cuteness!​

Pups are getting tres comfy with the ruminants...stock dogs indeed!

Sep 19, 2015 - helped me herd the sheep in to trim around some of the vintage trucks in storage​

This morning...the girls are just lapping up this sheep, llama and goaty time...

Doesn't this look jest like they have been doing this work fer years now!

​

Ruminants are calmly going about snarking back forage...girls are going about inspecting the premises...perfection!

"We know perfectly well what we're doing!," says the Lace.​

Rick has jest called to say he has a half a day off, too wet...so more metal on the roof should get put ... YAH!

Got a pot of chook stock on the boil...hurry me up and make some soup and the dogs and us will have chicken soup for lunch. Yee haw.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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