Spring Update - Calves

Dorie calved - May 30, 2015.

It's a boy.  Tagged, but not yet castrated.

Nelly calved - June 3, 2015.

Another boy, not yet tagged or castrated.

Mindy calved - June 13, 2015.

Not even a picture.  Not sure if it's even been sexed...

Bugs - Not too bad this year.  Very light on the blackflies.  Mosquitoes heavy in the mornings and early evening.

Weather - Beautiful and warm.  Rain was excellent in early spring, a little scarce now.

Chicks - First hatch - end of May.
            - Second hatch - June 26, 2015

Chickens - all extra roosters butchered.  I bred the first two hatchlings with a roo with a smaller comb and fewer points.  The rooster I kept has the smallest comb, but more points.  I figure I'll have a bit more genetic diversity that way, while keeping in line with my overall goals.

Hens are all moved to the garden pen now, with extra space around the greenhouses.  I bought snow fence for the vines in greenhouse #3, and then decided to section off half the garden for the birds since the weeds were going crazy.

Egg production was amazing in early spring, but dwindling now.  I believe it's insufficient protein for most of the birds, and too hot in the chicken coop for the chanteclers.  Since they have free access to lots of greenery, I'm buying straight black oil sunflower seed for them now, to boost their protein.  Hopefully I'll start seeing the difference soon.

Greenhouses - Lost some brassica transplants, and the pumpkins haven't come up yet.  Otherwise progressing nicely.

Garden - started late and not doing well with lack of rain.  Peas are good, beans are just starting to come up.  Only half the garden has been tilled, so I didn't plant nearly as much as I had planned.  Weeds, of course, are doing fantastic.

Wild Edibles - Lamb's Quarters - Oh My...  Why haven't we been eating these all of our lives?  Delicious! They grow everywhere, so easy.  Tastes like spinach.  I pull them while I'm weeding, pluck off the upper leaves, rinse and cook.  And cooking- so easy.  I just toss them on top of whatever I'm making for supper for the last 5 minutes or so.

Cadets - #2 leaves for camp on Monday.  He'll be gone for 7 weeks as staff, have a blast, and come home with a tidy paycheque.  #3 will be going to the same camp, at Base Borden, for three weeks in July.  #4 will be going to Trenton for two weeks in July.  We have one more cadet night this week, and I have to finish next year's training plan and send it in by Tuesday, and then I am off for the summer.  May and June were much busier for me than I usually allow, which is partly why I'm so behind and disorganized now.

Quads - the other reason I'm so far behind.  Both Husband's and my Quad went in for repairs at the beginning of May.  Husband picked them up yesterday, not fixed, and took them to a different place.  Nothing against the first place, just personal circumstances and he doesn't have time to do the work.  But it's the end of June and I haven't really started on firewood or manure yet, so I really, really, need my baby back.

FTX - Field Training Exercise

I don't post much about the cadet program, due to my overprotective privacy issues, but as I post less and less through the winter, I thought I'd give you a glimpse into how I spent my weekend.

 Our Air Cadet Squadron, for which I am a Civilian Instructor, did a weekend field training exercise. We went to a summer camp, so there was real shelter, running water, working bathrooms, and a kitchen.  They are kids after all, so we don't throw them to the wolves.  Still, they learn how to set up arctic tents, which the seniors slept in on Saturday night, and how to build improvised shelters with logs, twigs, tarps, and string. 

 There were campfires in the snow, accompanied by songs, scary stories, and jokes.  The cadets learn how to use camp stoves and cook their own breakfast.  They go trekking through the woods on snowshoes, using compasses to guide their way.

 The sunset over the lake was beautiful.

 The cadets learned how to drill holes, built snow block walls for improvised shelter, tie lines, and ice fish.  That's #1 on his very last cadet trip.  He'll be 19 this Friday, and aged out of the program.

 

That's me under the tarp, doing a little fishing.  We never caught anything, but it was fun.

The cadets learned how to build a quinzee during our fall FTX, so were eager to grab shovels and get to work on the huge snow piles the ploughs had built for them through the winter.  That's #4 in the entrance way of one of the tunnels they dug.  This was his first cadet trip, having just turned 12 last week.

They had lessons on stargazing, and the opportunity to see Jupiter and several constellations in the night sky.

A busy, fun filled weekend for everyone.