COLD!

I promise I'm still here doing the farming thing. And a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. I am just having a case of the "cold farmhouse" and I can't seem to sit at the computer for more than 5 minutes before my appendages begin to go numb with cold.

But! All is not lost! We've acquired a small space heater which could totally save this blog. Ha! The space heater that saved farm blog.

Anyway...I have a lot to say about chicken manure, fence building, weeding in the snow, pruning, and seed packaging and it will all come in do time.

Till then, I'm gonna try to stay warm.

Odds and Ends

Today, I learned how to use a chainsaw! - How to start it, how to cut with it, how to sharpen it, how to be safe with it (that's for you mama.) I love the fact that I am getting to learn so many little things that I probably would never do otherwise. I also helped chop a good amount of wood...nice fresh alder, and learned the proper stacking technique.

I also began preparing a couple beds in greenhouses for early carrots. I forked the soil to loosen it, watered it, and will let it sit for a couple weeks to let any weeds present germinate. Once the weeds sprout up I'll either cut them with a collinear hoe (it has a sharp blade that you sharpen with a bastard file...yeah I know, cool name...I especially love the thought of carrying a bastard around in my back pocket when I use it) or maybe flame the bed with a torch to wilt the leaves (also very cool...but slightly tedious in a plastic greenhouse.)

So yeah! It was a full day and my body is feeling it. It was just wonderful to be outside in the sun, despite the freezing temperature. Yesterday was spent stuffing envelopes with our 2008 seed catalog. For those of you who may not know the farm also owns a seed company called Full Circle Seeds (www.fullcircleseeds.com)...you should check it out.

There is so much to say about seeds, but I'm too tired. I hope to write a post just on seed saving because it is pretty cool and an important part of farming. That will have to come later and maybe with some more slugs in the news (a reference for woonie mike)!

Spring is on it's way!

Slug Luv

Wow, 2008 has no idea how much I'm gonna rock it. Happy New Year everyone!

I'm back in BC...still a bit hung over from celebrations in Whistler, where I spent the past few days visiting my cousin and her family. I've only seen at most a couple inches of snow in my life...so seeing feet of snow was quite amazing. I learned how to cross country ski and tried my hand at skate skiing...downhill skiing will have to wait until after this poor farmer stage.

I believe in my last post I promised a tale about two slugs in love...so here it is.

Before I left for Atlanta I did one final night patrol in my greenhouse only to find some serious hanky panky going on. As I scanned the beds with my head lamp I noticed two slugs cuddled together. As I investigated closer I noticed that the slugs were head to tail with these huge white glistening proboscises sticking out of their necks. Further down the length of their bodies, each one had a hole in their side, which looked like they'd been punched in with a push pin. The slugs were slowly slowly stroking each other with these albino tongue looking things and occasionally sticking it in each other's holes. Eeeewwww! ...you may be thinking...but NO! It was quite beautiful...very compassionate and sensual at the same time. So I sat in the freezing cold and watched this late night show for a good long time. They were having a moment and I just couldn't bring myself to pluck them out of it. And now they've probably made babies who will soon be feasting on my lettuce as well. Sigh. The things you do for love.

I'm home!

I just arrived in Atlanta. I'm not going to write again until I'm back on the farm in January. But stay tuned for a tale about two slugs in love...true story.

Happy Holidays!

Dancing

The weekend before last I attended a house concert in the marvelous attic of an old home in the heart of Victoria. It is an interesting thing going to an event where you know pretty much no one. (I don't count meeting someone once as knowing them). Now, I'm definitely a social person and I love love love meeting new people and finding myself in weird situations. Which is I why I was absolutely thrilled when I sat next to Tittilating Todd (this is the adjective he chose when I asked him to describe himself with a word that started with T).

I sat down in the empty seat next to him and without looking at me he said "I've seen you before." "Mmmmm...." I think I said (insert any intonation of voice here as they probably all fit the situation.) "At a concert at Alex Goolden Hall" he added, continuing to stare straight ahead. And without flinching, he slyly reached into his pocket and handed me a 2x2 inch square of paper. It was an invitation to a Disco, Funk, Soul dance party!!!! I am sure in that moment I totally ruined the covertness of the situation when I expressed my utter excitement of being invited to a dance party!!!!

So this past weekend it snowed! Yup. We got two inches of beautiful white snow on the farm. But there was no snow high enough to keep me from attending the mysterious dance party. Honestly, it was about time I moved my rockin moves outside of the trailer. So I braved the roads (sorry mama) and drove really really slowly until I got to the highway.

It was totally worth the slow drive because I went absolutely CRAZY!!!! Oh my goodness...I danced and danced for hours and hours...just thinking about it makes my face beam.

For me, dancing is like the ultimate moment of living a rich life. I've told many of you this before...I want to die dancing. That's right. If any of you happen to be around me when I'm dying, I need you to get me up dancing...so that I go mid twirl. Ha! Then one of you can write about it in Chicken Soup for the Dancing Soul.

Time to leave the library now and have my own dance party in the trailer.

Pigs

I think I may have mentioned that we got four baby pigs earlier this
month. Well, they aren't babies anymore...and they just keep getting
bigger and bigger. The weekend before last, Marika was out of town.
This meant I had to take over the pig and morning chickens duties.

Wow.

That's all I have to say. Feeding 52 hungry animals (48 of them with
sharp beaks) is a lot to handle at 7 o'clock in the morning. My first morning feeding the chickens did not go too smoothly. I just couldn't attach the feed tray to the thing it hangs from fast enough...so they were all over it and me. I was totally sweating by the time I left the coop.

Now compared to the chickens, the pigs are a piece of cake. The only discomfort with the pigs is that they bite a my gum boots. I'm worried about what they'll bite at when their bigger. My uncle reassures me that they only do this when they are young...it is
their natural reaction to get the milk to come. Sorry piggies! Ain't
gonna get no milk out of me! It's pretty funny to watch them eat
because they are so mean to each other! Pushing each other out of the way...and standing in the feed tray. Such pigs!

When I went out on Friday night it was very strange to have the thought "Well, I can't stay out too late cause I've got to feed the pigs and chickens in the morning." Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee a thought like this entering my mind in this lifetime. Ha!

I'm still having photos issues with the farm computer...but you can check out pictures of the pigs on my flikr account.

Slug Battle

The caterpillars and slugs are devouring my lettuce plants. Now, I have the utmost respect for my fellow vegetarians...but I have very low tolerance for those who invite themselves over for dinner and then defecate on the leftovers. How crass!

Several weeks ago I transplanted an entire bed of lettuce in my greenhouse...and when I went to check them out a couple days later there were entire sections totally missing! THEY ATE THEM ALL!
Those merciless little creatures. So with Mary's advice I constructed the ultimate gauntlet. I dug a trench in the entrance of the greenhouse and filled it with rocks, ashes, and broken egg shells. Nice caustic materials on tender flesh. I transplanted onions in the newly emptied pockets, and sprinkled ashes around all the beds.

One morning Mary handed me a "slug kit" she put together. The contents of the white bucket contained two grapefruit peels, two avocado peels, two cat food containers, and a half full can of beer. I was told to put the avocado and grapefruit peels face down on the soil because the slugs like to crawl in a hang out. The cat food cans I buried in the soil and filled them with beer. A nice alcoholic swimming pool for the critters to have an after dinner drink and die.

Last week I did my first "night patrol." This involves walking through the greenhouse with a headlamp scouting out slugs and cutworms. The first night I attempted this it was too early and I only found 18 slugs in motion (slow motion) not having quite reached their feasts. But I plucked them right out of their delightful pilgrimage to Mecca and put them in a jar to be saved for the chicken's breakfast. The following night it was far too cold and I only found 1 slug. But tonight, the conditions should be just right. There are enough clouds in the sky for it not to be too cold for slug flesh and I plan to make my prowl at just the right hour of the night.