A Afternoon Devasation

Farming sure has its ups and downs. And farming with shep is no exception. 

Late Wednesday afternoon, before I headed in to put a start on supper I went to do a barn check on my sick patients and found poor little Lily dead. I felt terrible. I tryed so hard ans she was very slowly  making progress. Rest in peace my sweet Lily....

Merlot is still hanging on. His diarrhea has stopped as of yesterday and he can stand with help for longer periods of time. We will continue praying and trying our best to help him get better.

Hot and Humidity Is Not A Good Thing If Your A Sheep

Over the past few weeks we have had a lot of high temps well over 30 degrees without the humidity. For this part of the country that is very hot. We have seen a lot of 40 degrees day after day with the humidity.

Having getting up early and making sure everyone's water bowls are filled with cold fresh water, and keeping the horses in there paddock with the shelter rather then being out in the fields has helped them  cope. 

However this has not been the case for a couple of my sheep.

Lily the lamb that you might remember that was born on Easter Saturday.

We found Lily  a week ago lying flat out in the entry way of the side paddock. At first it appeared that she was dead. I ran to her and picked her up. She was still alive but seemed very week. After she got her bearings straight, she began to walk again.i brought her to the water bowl and cupped with my hand water and put it in her mouth. I yelled for the kids to bring my out a large syringe and the sugar and water mixture in the fridge. ( I keep this as hummingbird food) 

I gave her some and she seemed to be doing better. I have her later that evening another shot of the vitamin E, and another shot of dewormer just to be on the safe side. (Although I had just did shots to my livestock a month ago)

For the next few days we kept a close eye on Lilly, making sure she got plenty of water. It has been day by day, but she is still eating both hay, and grass.
2 days ago, I found my Ram Merlot slowing down, not eating and moving around much. I gave him a few shots, and hoped for the best like Lily. Sheep are very tricking to raise, especially lambs. ( I once heard a blogger say that lambs are born looking for a way to die) I so believe this. This morning I found a interesting article on the Internet of a farmer using cidar vinigar as a medicine for her sheep with the same as mine. I drenched my 2 sheep with a mixture of 1/1 of cider vinigar and water. I also gave them a little by mouth. I also added some to everyone's water bowl. This should help with selenium.

End Of Week

Thursday my Mom got out of the hospital once again. We hope this time it will be for awhile, and nothing goes wrong. She was only released after 4 which was kinda better for me as I still had my day to get some house work done here, and my Dad did not have to loose any time at work.
Thursday evening after Mom was settled in Hubby and I went out to supper with our friends to a local hotels resturant. We always enjoyed the food there, but this time I must say I was disappointed. The service was not the best and it was very slow. My friend and I wanted to order mussels ( as they always have the best mussels) but they had none. Then I ordered the fettuccini Alfredo seafood ( my favorite) but it was so small,and it did not taste the greatest. My friend ordered fried clams and they were not cooked. To bad as it really was a big disappointment. :(

Friday I was back to looking after my Mom again. So it was a back and forth day all day till 2. She sleeps in the afternoon till my Dad gets home. So the girls and I headed to the general store to do our grocery order, I also had special ordered a few baking ingredients that were in for pick up. It is hard to get bulk items where I live. The store owner is very good to me and can order items in for me. I got  2 huge 2 KG bags of chocolate chips for 7.99 a bag, and 4 large tubs of Chriso shortening for 5.40 each. I am starting my fall stocking a little early as it is a lot of money to pick up all at once.
We also picked up our regular items as well. We picked up a pizza and came home for the evening.

Saturday morning Hubby and I worked on cleaning out the fish pond I the front of the house. The geese and ducks have made such a mess, it was time to fix the problem. We drained the pond and cleaned it. Hubby made a nice little fence around and so far they have been turned away and head back to the other big pond instead.

My clematis is finally blomming for the first time. It is 2 years now. Please excuse my tyveck papered walls the cedar singles should be going on the new addition very soon....

Saturday after lunch Hubby headed to the field to cut hay, while we did a whole lot of yard work. We had BBQ hamburgers for supper and then I cut the lawns. Then we had a heavy shower that latest about 20 mins with high winds.

This morning I  slept in to 9, it felt great there was a nice breeze blowing in last night which made sleeping great.
We had cheese sausages on the grill and had breakfast outside. Hubby and I did more yard work and the kiddies went for a swim. I finished the lawns and did my wipersniping around the fence posts and rocks.
I think the yard is looking so much better now with every cut.

My flowers are coming but I don't find they are as full as they usually are in past years.

I weeded the kitchen garden, and Hubby moved a lot of his tools and benches to the other side of his garage. The kiddies swam again..
We had sweet potatoes fries with homemade sauce for supper.

As for the weather we are still in need of some rain, we have not had very much and we are expecting the hot humidity weather to stick around for another week.

Strawberry Picking Time

Yesterday  while Hunby was baling round bales in the field, the girls and I decided to go berry picking. There is a field next to where we bale that once apron was a cultivated berry patch upick. It has grown in a bit but the berries are still a nice size, so we filled our pails. There was a nice breeze so it kept the flies down. We got back home around 9 and were all pretty tired.
This morning I am going to make up some jam.
It is a nice cool morning this morning so I put bread on go rise, and I hope to get some cooking done today as it has been way to warm in the house to cook.
We are expecting a few days of rain to move in over the weekend so the gardens will get a little break as well.
Mom seems to be doing a bit better. Thank you for all your prayers it means so much to me. The girls and I popped in yesterday for a visit with her at the hospital.

Justin went to work today for the first time this week, as it was to hot for roofing. He might not get to much work for the rest of the week if the rin moves in as well. Poor guy, not making much money this way.

I think it will be a weekend home if its raining, not much use to go to the trailer in the rain.

Well I here some strawberry jam calling my name..... Take care and enjoy your day.

Catch up

Our weather here has been unbelilievable. We have had hot humidity weather for over a week now. We never had a nice Summer like this is a long time. We do however need rain. My gardens are all coming nice. The Kitchen garden is growing beautiful as well as the potatoe fields.  The corn and beets gardens are coming a little behind but are making their way.

Last Sunday we had to call for a ambulance for Mom as she was not doing well. She became dehydrated and she ended up with a infection in her bowl. She is having a hard go. I had to meet with the Dr. On Thursday night at his office at 6, as he had sent her for another CT scan. We went over a lot as he is heading out on vacation for 2 weeks and wanted to make sure everything was in order before leaving.
We continue to pray for Mom.

Tuesday was my 36 th Birthday. The girls made me cards and picked me Malva. I spent most of my day at the hospital as mom was not doing well that day, Hubby worked late, and Justn worked as well.

Wednesday was our wedding anniversary.

The kiddies lived in the pool all week, Hubby made a homemade pool heater from a wood stove and some copper pipe. It seems to work but it does make smoke.

After finding out that Mom's condition was stable for the meantime and she was feeling a little bit better, and that Hubby was able to get Friday off we decided to go the trailer for the weekend. Justin was going to get a drive up after work with other friends that we knew were coming up for the weekend as well. But Friday morning at 6 when he called to see if there was any work for the day, the boss told him nope, so he was able to come along as well.
We had friends that went there on Wednesday with their trailer but due to the situation with Mom we did not think we were going to be able to join them. We arrived Friday afternoon, and enjoyed a lovely night, good food, and lots of laughs around the campfire.

We came home early yesterday so the kiddies could enjoy the pool, it was just way to hot. We were all in a few times throughout the day. Hubby has began hay making and was very hot when he got back last night, so he enjoyed it as well.

Today is yet another hot one temps reaching 40 degrees with the humidity. I know where the kiddies will be. Justin tried to call work but could not reach anyone. So he too will be in the pool today.

A Warm Weekend

The weather here has been crazy warm. Friday with the humidity the temp reached a high of 39 degrees.
Today it was the same.....
This is the third day of it and we are expecting the same again tomorrow before the temps calm down.
The kiddies have been living in the pool. The animals are sure feeling the heat. We are keeping them cooled with plenty of cold water.

Tomorrow moring I am going to try to get up early before the heat hits and sheer my sheep. ( yes I'm late) but... Never late then never....

The Working Man

.... This post is from Thursday morning..... I have not got around to post it..... I apologize as there has been a lot of goings on this week here....

But I besides to go ahead a post it anyways.....

:)

We are finally getting some nice summer weather. It has been a beautiful week so far. The heat really does feel good, and I can see the difference in my garden already.
We just have to add the chorinine today to the pool a d turn on the pump, after spending a week draining it, cleaning it,and refilling it from our own well a little at a time.
The girls have been living in there as it fills. Burrrrrr......

This morning is Justin's first day of work at his new summer job. We starting to get a little worried as he turned down a few jobs and waited for this one. It is about 2 weeks behind in getting his call. But he has had other work as a hired hand for the farmer over the road in the meantime. the guy that has the roofing company is suppose to pick him up in a half hour and it is kinda sad for me to see my little man growing up.

I was up early with Hubby and made both of them a good old hearty breakfast of bacon,eggs,and toast. Packed 2 lunch boxes, filled the ice water jugs, and made sure their cloths were ready. Sob...sob.....:(

Ok I'm alright now.....

Yesterday I took the girls into town in the afternoon to go to the library. Last week we stopped by and signed up for the summer reading program, and got Julys calendar of activities and seen there was a craft of making a disco ball and it was the girls age group. So they got to go. I got to sit in the big comfy chairs for a hour and read gardening magazines. Very relaxing.....
After they were done we all went and found some books to check out.
I got these 2 and have had my nose in them ever since.

Rhurbarb Strawberry Jam

Yesterday between looking after my Mom, looking after my own children, doing laundry and hanging it on the line, cooking supper, and running my dishwasher I was able to get through half of the rhurbarb that my i laws brought me.

I made another roll, and 4 more containers of stewed rhurbarb, and a delisish batch of Rhurbarb Strawberry Jam made with strawberry jello.  I got this recipe from Donna over at merry heart crafts blog. (She always has the best tasting recipes)

They turned out really well, and I had no problem finding a volunteer to lick out the pot and spoon.

Our Long Holiday Weekend

This past weekend was a long weekend, but it sure went by fast.

Last Thursday we were finally able to get into town and get some groceries. It was 5 when we left and the general store is open to 8 on Thursday night.(thankfully) we got our pantry, fridge,and freezer.stocked up again. For another month.
Friday it continued to rain and the temps stayed cold, making everything so damp. I had to run my Dad into town to do his erens and it ended up being another late evening on the road for me.

Saturday the kids and I took a road trip. Hubby had a big last minute sawmill job for a company in town who wanted some planks and were sending a worker over to give him a hand. So no Hubby on this trip. :(
But the kids and I left around 830 and stopped at a subway for breakfast and drove 3 hours into Quebec to a small farming town that has a big co op store. We got a few things. The girls got new horse tack, Justin got a new axe, and I got 4 perennial plants at 50% off, lamb nipples that screw on to pop bottles, and a new chicken waterer.
I wanted to find out the feed prices but it is a french community and nobody could understand us.

We drove about another 1/2 hour and stopped at a very nice park. We had a picnic lunch I had packed of triple decker subs, chocolate chip cookies, lemonade, chips, and chocolate peanut butter squares.

The kids climbed the lookout tour that over looks the lake.

They jumped aboard the floating dock, and seen a crane,and a Mamma duck with all her ducklings.


We headed back to Amqui where the co op is and found a hart store.( it is a department store) the girls bought themselves a monster animal that talks and I bought new burner covers for my stove.

The rain had tapered off and it made it to 17 degrees, we headed home and had a good drive. We stopped at the mall outside our town and the girls did a bit more shopping. I went to the dollar store there and got myself my load of cheese cloth to last me out the next few months again. I also picked up a few other little kitchen goodies. Gotta love the Dollar store. :)

We took the old road home and made one stop by a old friends home by the bay. There was no one home but the cars were. There boat was gone so they were parobly out over on the island. I left a little note between the door and they called Sunday morning. They were gone on there boat and were so sad that they missed us. :(

Sunday morning I tried to sleep in. But no luck. The weather had changed. The sun was shinning and the air felt warm. We had brunch in the back porch, and we cleaned the house. I put laundry out of the line for the first time in weeks. I washed my floors for the first time in weeks. (The wet weather made it impossible to wash floors)
We worked outdoors in the garden. It was beautiful. Hubby had to work for a livestock buyer  little ways away to do some micanical work. Then when he got back someone else showed up to get something fixed. He finally met me on the front porch with a glass of lime juice. We sat and enjoyed it and decided to go to the trailer as the weather was perfect and they were having Canada Day Activities for the children on Monday. It did not take us long to pack the cooler, the tub of cloths, and load the truck. We stopped at the take out canteen and picked up something for supper to eat o. The way.
We had a great night. Justin went fishing, and the girls and Jerry took the boat out.

I went for a walk with Frannie.

We had a camp fire with marshmellows, and chips, and went to bed around 11.

Monday the girls went and did a cute little craft, for the Canada Day activities. They made finger puppet rings.

They all went back out in the boat again, and Frannie and I went for a long walk around the park and then sat Blythe lake and enjoyed the sweet nothing's........ It felt great.

After lunch we packed up and headed back home around 2 . We got home and Hubby worked on the pool deck while I planted annuals that my Mother in law dropped off that afternoon. She cleaned out her green house and brought me all she had left. She also picked the rest of her rhurbarb patch and brought me that too. A big box full.

We worked outdoors till 8 and had sausages,hotdogs,and fries when we came in. We all went to bed around 10 and the weather forecast is looking up for the week. High 20's to mid 30's with no rain in the forecasts. I hope you all have a great week.

BTW I have posted my flower picture again, as it did not work on my last post. Thanks Vicki for letting me know.