4h Halloween

I'm so happy and proud to say that both my kids share my love of animals, and have an interest in farming. To my absolute joy, they both wanted to join 4h this year. One will be taking horse and pony, the other poultry. In this small town, where everyone knows each other, participating in that kind of community based organization will be great for them for so many reasons. Yesterday evening. our 4h group hosted a Halloween party for its members. It was the first event of the season, and the first ever for my little monkeys. They had a blast. They were so happy to see all the other kids, who live near by and share interests with them. Since they go to French school, they don't know that many neighbourhood kids yet. I'm so excited for them to get to know more local kids, while exploring the possibilities of farming. Here are some pictures of them on the way into the party.

Leaves and apples

I'm sorry its been so long since I last posted. This Fall has been hecticly busy, and I've been having a hard time keeping up with everything I need to get done. At the forefront of my crazy tasks is still apples. I want to use as many as I can, I hate to waist them. So, I've been trying to make at least one batch of apple preserves a day, may it be apple sauce, apple butter, or some savoy relish or pickle I've come up with. My pantry is filling up nicely. Friends of ours have just offered us use of their cider press too, so I think we'll be experimenting with pressing, and making hard cider next, but that’s a post for another day. I also finished cleaning out the vegetable garden. The pigs are now busy tilling it for me. When they've finished, I'll add a thick layer of compost to leach into it, and brake down over the winter. Then when spring comes, I'll have the pigs turn it once more, and it should be perfect for planting. The leaves are in there prime, I love the look and feel of fall in the forest. The count down to Halloween has also begun. I can't wait. Halloween is my most favourite holiday. The kids have their costumes picked and ready. The pumpkin to carve has been chosen and sits patiently awaiting its scary face. 10 days to go!! Here are a few pictures of life lately, I will post again soon.

and then there were two...

Fall hustle and bustle

Its the busiest time of year around here. The crops are ready and need to be put up for winter, Firewood needs to be split and ready, animal feed needs to be stored. It seems there's just not enough hours in the day. So, here's a quick summary of the goings on. My veggies are ready, and harvest is in full swing. A fun fall weekend trip to the mainland Our new horse Rowan, is settling in nicely. (we're also getting an other horse on Sunday. Pictures to come) The pigs are growing fast, and have learned to climb over their fence (pigs can climb, who knew?)They've become fast friends with Malice, and have taken to waiting for the kids to get home from school by the end of the driveway, and walking them to the front door. Sorry for the shortness of this post, but now I have to run. Lots more needs to be done before the frosts come, and snow blankets the ground and we get to rest.