Friday 19 July 2013

Overwhelmed

I am sure, at this time of the year, a lot of people are saying that.  Especially those with large-ish gardens and more than your run of the mill 1 dog household.

New Salmon Faverolle and Mille Fleur D'uccle chicks!

We live in the beautiful, sunny, HOT Okanagan Valley, and as such, as a community, makes for a swell of visitors in the summertime.  Not just us -- "everybody" it seems is hosting friends or family (or both), and taking little stay-cations (as opposed to VaCations) of their own which makes for A Lot of traffic.

So with our large-ish garden, many (too many) animals, visitors and the heat, I'm feeling Totally Overwhelmed.  Thank goodness our visitors are the kind that pitch in and offer a helping hand, an ear,  or a hug (sometimes all 3) when needed.  Not to mention a story or a cuddle for the kids as well.

But really.  It's all coming down to the pigs.

Seriously.  I had no idea these two creatures would up the ante so much on our daily routines!  They are pretty much the opposite to all the other critters on our little homestead:
-The pigs are penned, and thus totally dependant on us for their food (since they completely leveled their yard in less than 2 weeks flat).  The other animals run about, taking over the entire place, hunting, pecking, scratching, foraging and basically taking care of themselves, other than food in the evening before bed, and water.
- They are NOT child-friendly.  One tasted my leg the other day!!  All other critters are friendly or they are given away or processed and put into the freezer.  The kids are not - under any circumstances - allowed in the pigs' pen.
- Although we are doing a VERY good job of collecting free food for the pigs (not putting a price on our time or the gas it takes to get from place to place), these animals need an amazing amount of food, grow amazingly fast, and need to be fed three times a day.

And?

They are starting to smell.

I don't know if they will see September as originally planned.

And I didn't even mention the raspberries, peas, turkey babies and more eggs, ducks, new chicks, all the chickens at various stages of growth....









Monday 15 July 2013

The Ultimate Babysitter

Waldo or "Wally" is the best turkey daddy ever.
He is protective without being overbearing, gentle without being a push-over.
He accepts everyone without question and patiently stands guard over everyone, alerting them to any potential danger, be it real or imagined.


We added a couple of Blue Slate cross poults to our turkey family a few weeks ago, with the idea of growing a hen or 2 into being breeder mamas for next year.  Their offspring, because they will be really mixed up crosses, will hopefully be larger than the Royal Palms, and will be market turkeys for Christmas 2014.


Wally watches over these three "adopted" babies as if they were his own.

What an awesome dad he is :)