Eggs and Ponies.. a WORDFUL Wednesday post

Hey there!  Its been a while!  :)

Thank you to my Nicole for allowing me to use her laptop as mine decided after six years it was finished with me.  THANKFULLY Hubby-D is a back up fanatic and we are all good on that end!

Sooooo... what has been happening around the acres??  Well...

Annie was getting a little wound up being the only equine friend in the family, so we opted to free lease (have them live with us for the winter) two ponies that belong to a friend who is away at college.  This was a great arrangement as "Cricket" is the mare that Nicole rode over the last year - remember that horsey-kissing post from the summer?  ;)

Her paddock mate is a gelding named Typhoon or "Tye" for short.  He's a sweetheart.  They both have settled in nicely and other than a few nips over the fence at Annie, and she back at them, they have decided they can be friends and barn mates.

We are down to our last eight roosters.  Three are beautiful (though still loud) and have been moved into the coop with the girls.  We will keep these boys and hopefully have baby chicks in the spring.  But to have baby chicks, you must first have eggs.. and I am so happy to announce that as of last Friday we do have eggs!  :)  Two of our hens have begun laying and in five days we have had seven eggs.  Go Girls!

It astonished me how happy finding these beauties in the nesting boxes made me.  I jumped up and down and squealed and texted just about everyone I knew!  Oh, and of course, posted to instagram.  lol  Proud Mama Me!

What a wonderful early Christmas present!  :)
Jeanette

{{WORDless Wednesday}} November 25, 2015 - Winter Wonderland

Hello again!

Really going to try and keep my words to a minimum and let my iPhone photos tell the story...  the snow has added a magical feeling around SchnickAcres...

 Snow on the last few reminders of autumn:

There were those around here that were not too impressed with their first glimpse of the cold white snow... Smores eventually got used to it:

And it took our "Canadian Heritage" birds TWO days before they would venture out of their cozy coop:

But my favourite part of the snowfall was the rosy cheeks and giggles as a snowman was made and the toboggan hill was tested!

Sadly, they are calling for rain by Friday.  :(

Happy Wednesday all!

Jeanette

I think its Winter..

Hello there!

We.  have. snow.  And everything looks as beautiful as I had hoped.  Now to find those still packed snow boots and miscellaneous scarves and mittens...

On Friday, I had a quiet morning around the house and noticed some limbs that needed trimming and some branches on the ground that needed tidying.

I set to work on cleaning up the front yard - and found myself inspired by the pine boughs and the white birch branches.

Now, I have absolutely NO knowledge of plant arranging - just a few pins on my pinterest boards.  This is what I came up with:  I cut the birch wood into some varying lengths, propped those in between some bricks and large rocks in bottom of  my planters and then added some pine branches in between and around the birch.

A little red ribbon and my little stab at holiday decor was complete!

By the next morning they were frosted in snowflakes from our first snow fall and by the time we returned from the Acton Santa Claus Parade that afternoon they were completely covered.  They still look nice to me.  :)

Both Sammy and Erin had parts in the parade with their Girl Guide group's "A Charlie Brownie Christmas"

Nicole's air cadet squadron marched as well..

And I found where Derek and Annie will be in next year's parade!  :)  I could totally picture Derek as the big man in red with his pretty pony pulling his sleigh.  haha

Until next time,
Jeanette

Duck Love {{WORDless Wednesday - November 18, 2015}}

Happy Wednesday!

Call me a pervert... call me a peeping tom, but when the ducks began their full on courting and mating around the ol' wading pool, I had to take out my camera and get a picture.   After a week of culling roosters from our flock, this was a welcome reminder of the happier times in the circle of life.

Can't really get more of a direct invitation than that, can you Mr.?

Now there's balance for you fellas!  And I just love the other duck to the left of the mating couple.. "oh never mind me dears, I just need a drink of water; go about your business".

I had really hoped that this might mean there are eggs coming... but unfortunately the mating behaviours can begin weeks before the first egg is seen.   :(  Ah well...

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Jeanette

Farming just got REAL!

It is Friday already and November is nearly half over!

This week decisions had to be made and actions had to be taken... it is time to cull the flock.

I am not sharing a "how to process a chicken" tutorial or a "you should totally eat your free range chicken" persuasion, simply our experiences here at SchnickAcres.

We bought our chicks unsexed knowing that we wanted to keep a flock of heritage Chantecler chickens  and thus would need a few roosters... it has come to our attention as they have matured that we have TWENTY TWO roosters.  That in my estimate is eighteen too many - our poor sixteen hens will have no rest!  Not to mention rest for my ears.  We have some very vocal boys that crow continually at each other across the property trying to outdo one another and be top cock.  Ladies, visualize the hot headed popular jerks in high school driving very loud Trans Ams or Camaros... try spending all day with that!

I really was coming to the end of my rope when not only were the males crowing constantly but some began showing aggression towards each other, the hens and then the poor ducks!  When Derek returned home one evening last week and saw my face his only words were "Shit just got real"!  I wasn't on a rampage but he could tell I was ready to make some decisions.

Now, a couple of weeks ago I felt I wanted to take some time to learn some new skills.  How to decide which roosters to propagate your flock and how to fill your freezer with the others wasn't on my radar but that is what I have been learning.  Deciding which boys remain in the coop is a big decision - gotta love the internet - youtube has a video made by a Poultry association judge outlining the traits of a perfect Chantecler.

The next step - how to choose how to process your birds.  I don't even have enough words or the correct words to explain how I considered the next step... Derek worked in a processing facility during his teenage years, those experiences brought forth valuable information.  I was up in the middle of the night when internet isn't a hot commodity and read some farm blogs - one that even outlined why you shouldn't keep chickens if you aren't prepared to process them yourself.  Though I didn't fully agree with all the points that author was trying to make, my reading took a turn to "what does it take to process your own chicken" and do people really still do so?

Much to my surprise, many family farms DO still process their own birds and it really isn't all that difficult (short of the emotional preparedness).  Long story short.  Sunday afternoon Derek and I processed one rooster together.  As in the past, what Derek does naturally or well, I tend to do the other part equally competently.  We made a good team.

Our rooster had a good life.  He ate bugs, fresh produce and had clean water.  He had days of lounging in the sunshine and warm safe nights in a coop.  Our coop has electricity!  80% of humans on earth can't say the same!

As in life, at the end our rooster was handled humanely.  He was thanked for his life and he was put to rest quickly and peacefully.  There was no panic or "chicken running around with its head cut off" type of situation.  The girls were not present for that first part but showed curiosity when it came to the anatomy of the chicken during processing.  Reminiscent of my "vet technology" days I identified the internal organs for the girls that were interested in looking (all but Erin, poor dear).

We were slow and methodical in our cutting.  We ensured we kept the bird and the work area clean.  We did not rush.

After air chilling for two days, I roasted our chicken for dinner on Tuesday.  As I prepared the stuffing I did feel a little weak in the knees once or twice - I'm not used to feeling a connection to my food.  And that got me thinking. Perhaps that is what is missing?  We eat without abandon, even things we know are not healthy for us because we don't see them for what they are.  Case in point?  I couldn't eat the skin.  I wasn't repulsed, I just didn't crave it as I did in the past when cooking a store bought turkey or chicken.

We enjoyed roast chicken on Tuesday night complete with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  The meat was tender and tasty.

On Wednesday, with me still fighting a chest cold we enjoyed homemade chicken noodle soup, which I finished up on Thursday for lunch.  The last of the bird is in chicken salad for tonight's dinner.

Our first taste of self sustainability.

Jeanette

Remember and Give thanks...

Hi, its Nicole here.

I joined air cadets in September because I want to learn how to fly.  I flew with my papa in his little plane in the summer and I really liked it.

Me and my Aunt Lynn 

When I joined the cadets I didn't think about soldiers or veterans too much.  But I do now.  I thank them for the Canada I live in.

On Saturday, we marched through downtown Acton to the Cenataph along with veterans, RCMP, other military groups as well as Guide and Scout members (so yeah, my sisters were there too,  :(  )

Because I am a new cadet, I was asked to carry our wreath.  I felt honoured ( and a little nervous).  There were veterans watching and I didn't want to let them down.

My aunt Lynn came to watch with my mom and dad.  My mom says that she likes that our small town will close the main road (highway 7) for times like this.  My aunt Lynn loves the bagpipes, though I don't think I will learn to play those.

Lest we forget,

Nicole.

Farm work is FUN work...

Happy Friday - already?!?

When you are in the midst of a project (or two) you often lose sight of how far you have come; how much progress has been made.  However, when a visiting friend asks "HOW" you have gotten things done - especially with four children in the mix you do step back and ask yourself the same question.

It took looking through photos on my phone with Krista one evening to see how we have accomplished this.  The trick was making the tasks inclusive and fun... while keeping everyone somewhat safe.  :)

Recent fencing in the back pasture has some great examples of how FARM work has been FUN work:

Holes needed to be dug and braces put in at corners and gates.  Give a kid a big hole in the ground and you've got hours of fun!

I even had them collecting earthworms to feed to our chickens.  :)

An area that Derek excels in is patience in teaching our girls new skills.  In no time, Nicole was digging trenches with the back hoe.  A skill that she might use more than algebra later in life.. just saying.

Kids make great weights to keep the posts from shifting while hammering.

And many hands make light work of refilling the holes!

If you follow us on instagram, you have probably seen this photo.  Little Krista was home with a snotty cold, so I enlisted her help in measuring and attaching the fence insulators to the posts.  :)

Playing race around the paddock while threading electric fence wire is a great way to keep fit.. or at least have fun.  The little two ladybugs had a blast pulling wire and cheering us on when rounding the last corner.

Now to find ways to make other jobs more fun and inclusive.. cleaning the oven or bathrooms?  Washing windows?  :)

Jeanette

Waiting for the fog to clear {{WORDless Wednesday, November 4, 2015}}

I'm making another coffee and waiting for the fog to lift so that I can get to work on prepping next year's garden.  Here's a peek at our foggy WEDNESDAY morning around SchnickAcres:

Walking through the grass I noticed what looked like tinsel..

It was dew on tiny spider webs.  :)

The girls were disappointed there were no school bus delays.  :)

Happy Wednesday!
Jeanette