Moose in the neighbour's yard!

As we headed out on Sunday to the 4H public speaking competition, we saw quite a sight in Solar Neighbour's yard:
Quite something to see moose up close like that!






At the public spekaing competition, The Boy did an amazingly good job with his presentation on Alternative Energy. He had to write and present a speech that was 3-5 minutes in length, on any subject he chose. He talked about solar and wind power, including how we use solar power at our place and how we would like to add a wind generator to get power when there is no sun. He also had to do an impromptu speech where he gets a topic picked at random, he has one minute to prepare, and then has to speak for one full minute on the selected subject. In the end, he and another boy (a year older than he is) tied for second place and they had to do a *second* impromptu speech as a tiebreaker! The Boy came in third of seven competitors in his age group, but it was a very close call. He did an excellent job and was complimented by the judges for his delivery, research and the 'personal angle' he brought to the subject. It was a very exciting day, if a long one.

The baby bunnies

The baby bunnies are growing and doing very well ...

This is one of the black ones, sitting on the couch with us. They're quite friendly and inquisitive!

And for those of you waiting for updates ... nope, no lambs yet.

Let the trumpets sound!

When my sister and her husband departed for Lithuania, they left behind a few things that needed to find new homes. Among these were two trumpets.

I was surfing through Freecycle one night and saw a post from someone was hoping there might be an old trumpet sitting around that wasn't being used. It could be battered and worn, she knew someone who did repairs, but she couldn't afford one and really missed playing.

Of course, I emailed her. She emailed back, as happy as a kid who has just been told they're going on a trip to Disneyland.

We arranged a meeting at the mall. When she saw me coming with a trumpet case in my hand, she could hardly stand still! She oohed and aahed and hugged her new trumpet. Then she hugged me too!

It was fun to make someone so happy. If you have things you aren't using, I encourage you to share them: try Freecycle, or the bulletin board at the mailbox, or just ask your friends. It's a lot of fun making someone else happy like this!

More surprises

I did some work around the acreage on the weekend, piling hay up by the fence line feeder so that it's easier to do chores during the week (getting hay loose from the large round bales is quite a job), mucking out the chicken coop, and checking on the bunny's food stash.

When I went to refill Blizzard the bunny's dish, I noticed that the pile of fleece she'd made in her hutch was moving! I pulled some of the fleece aside ... and lo and behold, there were six baby rabbits in there!


This, of course, explained why Blizzard had been chasing the cats away from her house earlier in the day.

I called for The Boy and we relocated the new family indoors where the new bunnies are safe from curious cats and other dangers.

We belive they were born right around Christmas: I remember looking into the hutch on the 23rd and asking The Boy if he'd put the fleece in there for his rabbit's comfort, or if she'd done it herself. I should have realized that rabbits only do that sort of thing when they are nesting, but I just thought, "well, if I were a bunny and I saw sheep's wool lying around I'd take some and make a bed out of it for myself!"

The babies have their eyes open and are making efforts to hop around and chew on hay and even pelleted food. Judging by the pictures in The Boy's bunny book, they are between two and three weeks old. We have four solid black bunnies and two gray: they are so small it is hard to imagine that they were even tinier (and hairless, and unable to move or open their eyes) at birth.

Clearly, they are the offspring of the black rabbit we took in awhile back - he had been found abandoned in the city and we happily adopted him, but sadly, he managed to escape after being here only a few weeks. We have since tightened up security in the bunny pen, and it would appear that we will have some reminders of his short stay with us. :)

Some of these babies will no doubt be adopted out to new homes, and some will stay here to enliven our chicken/bunny pen. The Boy will be phoning the vet next week for more information on the costs associated with rabbit population control measures: it was part of the deal we made when we decided to try keeping more than one bunny.

Things are never boring around here, that's for sure, but I think that I'm okay with the sorts of surprises we've been getting lately!

A visit from the vet, and some good surprises!

This morning our new vet came for a visit to check on Jack: he's showing a head tremor, which is worrisome in a sheep as it can be a symptom of scrapie (an always fatal neurological disease). The vet believes, thankfully, that Jack's problems relate to his neck wounds received in the tussle with McKenzie - there may be an abscess in there still, or perhaps there's just been some nerve damage. He's on new antibiotics for a week now: if that doesn't clear things up we'll do some bloodwork and see what's going on, but all in all it's good news. We can deal with an abscess: it may be messy and a little painful, but it isn't likely to be fatal. Whew. I didn't want to lose him, he's such a sweetheart.

In other sheep related news, you may recall that in October I bought two purebred Icleandic ewes and two Suffolk/Icelandic cross lambs from a lady nearby. I got an amazing deal on the sheep: $50 each (CDN), so I couldn't turn them down! The ram lamb, Bruce, had been wethered ... or so I was told. (For you city slickers, this means he's been "fixed".) I assumed the task had been done with a Burdizzo when I noticed that he had a package - the boy's goods fall off when the task is done with an Elastrator, which is the more usual method in this neck of the woods. (Apologies to all male readers, who are now cringing at the very thought of the procedures involved, but this is relevant to our discussion!)

Anyway, I noticed Bruce paying a lot of attention to the girls earlier this week. Hmm, could the wethering have been incomplete? With a Burdizzo, it can happen. Well, since the vet was coming out anyway, I asked her to have a feel. Sure enough, this 'wether' has his full package and is likely to be fully functional! We have a ram! I'm quite pleased about this, actually, as Bruce has a fabulous white fleece that feels like silk, and it'd be great to have fleece like that passed on to some lambs.

Now, Bruce being intact would explain one other mystery that surfaced this week. Natalie, one of the Icelandic ewes, is looking VERY large in the middle. I had noticed Natalie's belly getting kind of big, but the Icelandics have so much wool I didn't think much of it. Then I noticed her belly seemed to have 'dropped' the other day ... ummm ... that's what they say happens before lambing! Here's the mystery: even if she'd been tupped (shepherd's term for 'knocked up') she couldn't possibly be showing yet, as she was only exposed to a ram after they were introduced to Jack in October. Sheep are pregnant for about five months, so that'd mean no lambs until March or so - it's way too early to be noticing anything. The mystery is solved, though: she'd been running in the pasture all summer with a sneaky ram lamb who was masquerading as a wether ... and Bruce apparently got some work done early!

The vet confirmed my suspicions when she was here this morning, she says it does look like Natalie is quite pregnant - so we're keeping an eye out for lambs now! I hadn't expected any early lambs but I'll be more than happy to have them ... The Boy needs early lambs for his 4H project: we were going to have to find some to purhcase, but if we can provide our own, so much the better. :)

Now to see if we can help our sheep through this adventure ... wish us luck on our very first, earlier than anticipated, lambing season!

Thrummed mittens

I've finally decided to try knitting thrummed mitts, and I'm enjoying the experience!

(If you live somewhere warm and have no idea what I'm talking about, look here.)

I like knitting regular mittens, because you get done so quickly - you can see your progress and have something finished in a week of 'spare moments'. Plus, it's very portable: I've been known to knit my way through many a 4H meeting!

Anyway, I have fleece kicking around (I only have a drop spindle as of yet and much going on in my life, so I don't get much chance to spin) and thought this would be a good use for some fleece that's looking for a purpose. Besides, winter is cold and I have no good mittens.

The first attempt turned out way too puffy, I'd pulled off far too much fleece for each of the little bits that is stuffed in the stitches and ended up with a hand sized pillow rather than a mitten. So, that mitten got pulled back and I've started over ... with a bit more restraint on the fleece it is looking pretty good so far.

Sheep are great.

Christmas at Apple Jack Creek

We have had a lovely Christmas season.

McKenzie is getting bigger by the day: he's starting to resemble a small polar bear.

On Christmas Eve, Union Guy and I were out in the pasture and saw Bob take off down the length of the field barking like crazy. He wiggled under the fence and kept on going, with McKenzie right behind him. I looked up to see what this was all about, and there in the road was a coyote! Right there, in the middle of the day, trotting down the road, bold as you please. Well, with all the barking and the dogs on his heels that coyote did a double take and bolted, with Bob in full pursuit, legs stretched out like a greyhound on the track. McKenzie, being a puppy still despite his size, flopped along as best he could barking something that sounded like "wait for me! I'll get him! I'll get him!" The coyote disappeared down the road, and eventually the dogs came back and lay in the hay to recover from their sprint.

The dogs got canned dog food for a Christmas treat. One should always thank those who provide good service! :)

The Boy and his Gram made a gingerbread house, complete with guest house. The Boy tells me Gram and Grandpa live in the big house, and he lives in the little guest house. There's even a stack of firewood out front, by the ice cream cone trees.

Apparently I still live in my own house. :)




The Boy had his school Christmas concert, and they did an awesome job. This is a public school that makes sure they describe and joyously celebrate all the different festivals held at this time of year. This year The Boy's class was singing a Kwanzaa song, and dancing with rhythm sticks (one set of which flew out of the dancer's hands and nearly smacked a spectator in the front row, but there were no injuries reported!). The stars of the show, in my mind, were the kindergarten students dressed as angels and shepherds, doing the actions to Away in a Manger. :)

Our Christmas Day saw this little house quite full: we had The Boy and myself, Gram and Grandpa, and Union Guy and his kids (Dinosaur Boy, 4, and Princess Girl, 2). We had presents and food and the kids got to see the sheep and the dogs and the chickens and the bunny ... it was all too much fun. Dinosaur Boy thinks feeding the chickens is a huge treat ... I told him he's welcome to do it any time! Grandpa played the piano (which was finally delivered here from storage, and is far less out of tune than any of us expected given that it has lived in unheated storage for more than a year). We sang some carols (and Old MacDonald, a request from Princess Girl), played Chopsticks on the piano, played with our new toys, and munched on Poppycock when the little ones weren't looking.

We heard from my sister and her husband, The Lithuanians (www.twoherringfishtales.com), and even had presents that they had left in a "do not open until Christmas" box, plus a few that were mailed directly from Lithuania! Our parcel to them hasn't arrived yet, but when they get it, I'm sure it'll feel like Christmas. There's some cool stuff in there!

The Boy and I are enjoying some much anticipated peace and quiet. I've been playing in the kitchen with my new pressure cooker and my butter bell, and I think I may go lie on the couch and read a book for awhile. Dinosaur Boy and I went out and fed the sheep earlier today, so chores are done and I have earned a rest. :)