Early August at the Farm

Hello dear friends we are nearing the end of another vacation week and have had a pretty busy week here at the farm.  It has been a very hot and dry week with high humidex values so we were not able to accomplish quite as much as we had hoped.  Much of our hard work revolved around trying to stay hydrated! 

The small pasture in front of the house is a cloud of white flowers with Queen Anne's Lace in full bloom.

Our round bales of hay are now back at the farm.  Eventually they will be moved to the barn.

The ash trees lining the farm lane are still green but many of our other trees are showing signs of the hot dry summer.

This year we are putting most of the hay into square bales.

One of my favourite views of one of the sideroads on the way from our farm to the paved road.

Horatio enjoying the hay.

The sheep are waiting to come home.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend.

~Thank you for visiting~

Putting Up Hay

Hello dear friends, I am taking a few moments to share some quick photos with you.  We have been struggling with drought conditions in our part of Ontario and it has been very difficult for farmers with crops in the ground.  On our farm it means that our pastures are in poor condition and that when we should normally be able to take a second cut of hay we havent yet managed to pull in the first cut. For farms with livestock the quantity and quality of hay is critical as it is the main food source for our animals over the winter.  This year we are fortunate to have access to some hay fields on neighbouring properties and over the next week or so we will be cutting and baling those fields to use for our sheep.

It would seem that no farm task can be completed without Horatio's involvement.  Once our hay wagons arrived he took the opportunity to climb to the top to investigate.  There are no doubt crickets, mice and voles hiding in some of these bales.

 Holly cant take a chance that someone wants to steal our hay wagons!  She is on guard.

We store the hay in our old bank barn.  I love the way the sunlight streams through the boards onto the hay.

The barn is starting to fill up!  So far we have only done square bales, this week some of the hay will be baled into big round bales.  The squares are easier for me to handle and are easier to use in the feeders in the barn and generally have less waste.  The large round bales are more convenient and a much faster way to feed the sheep if we want to use the tractor-we can place a large round bale outside and let the sheep pick their way through it.  On our farm we like to use a combination of both. 

Wishing everyone in Ontario a safe long weekend!  We will be enjoying another vacation week here at the farm and will share updates on some of our other projects later!

~Thank you for visiting~

Sunday Evening Stroll

Hello everyone, another vacation week has flown past so I thought I would take a few minutes this evening to share some photos.

We were very excited earlier this week to learn of much need rain in the forecast.  Unfortunately we only received a scant 6 mm, not enough to bring any relief to our dry gardens, lawns and pastures.  

Here is the view that our sheep enjoy during the day.  We are surrounded by rolling hills and the view in the distance is on the other side of the river.  This pasture actually belongs to our neighbour but our sheep graze it daily.

One of our hay fields.  This field was seeded last fall so this is our first cut.  Our fields are surrounded by hedgerows and forests providing cover for all kinds of wildlife.  

The hay looks great.  Some bales are already in the barn and this cut will be baled this week.

Another view across the road.

This maple tree has suffered a mysterious crack and will need to be cut down.  We are not sure what happened to it, I wondered if it has been the sustained winds that we have had lately?  We only just noticed it this week.

A view down our road.

And turning around here is a view of our house.

We found this little welcome ornament on a trip to the Home Depot and my husband thought it would be fun to have on our gate to greet visitors.  And to our friends that know ....no we still only have 4 dogs, not 5!

Our little garden privvy is still on the list of things to finish.

On the other hand the gazebo is finally stained.  I noticed that it is framing a view of one of our farm tractors...this is after all a working farm!

I have started painting the trim on the little garden shed.  I have decided I quite like the red against the green.

Finishing the area around our decks is quite a job.  This area next to the house had to be regraded and when finished will form a small enclosed courtyard with a fence and arbour.  It will be a lovely cool spot to enjoy a cup of tea or glass of wine during the summer heat!

~Thank you for visiting and have a great week!~