The Confederate Canuck: farm

Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts

Ruh-Roh

I was burning bits of an old chicken house the other day. In other news, we know that the volunteer fire department can make it to our place in about nine minutes.

The Frost

All of the trees are covered in little flecks of ice this morning. It's mornings like this that almost make the -25°C temperatures worth it. Almost.

The Farm

Playing with the camera on a beautiful summer day at the farm.

We recently noticed this Canadian icon setting up home in the creek just below the house. No, I'm not talking about Céline Dion -- it's a beaver. Although, now that you mention it, I can see the resemblance.

The Farm

A few shots I took out at the farm on a mysteriously sunny Monday.

The Sunny Day

After the swollen creek receded, we spent part of a sunny (and squishy) day outside. These are a few of the pictures I took during our brief encounter with summer-like weather.

The Flood

Wouldn't you know it. The very day that Julie and I put the last finishing touches on the freshly painted basement, our particular corner of rural Manitoba began to flood. I suppose it's all my fault -- if I hadn't had paint curing on the basement floor, this never would have happened.

Of course, some of us happily located a silver lining: PUDDLES.

The Basement

Those of you who were in Bobchi's basement (and I've just shrunk my audience to about three people) will recall the state it was in earlier this year. A little elbow grease and a fresh coat of paint changed all of that, and now it's a reasonably inviting space.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

We were startled around midnight last night to hear some very eerie screeches and cries coming from a thick knot of trees and branches out back of the garage. We later identified the sounds as the calls of a female fox. She was out hanging around by the barn this morning, too, and we're beginning to suspect that she might have kits in the area.

Of course, foxes aren't the only things running around at night. We recently found the steaming fresh calling card of a black bear by the garden, noticed a suspected beaver dam in the creek, discovered that the raccoons are apparently still inhabiting the chicken house attic, startled a falcon that was picking at something in the grass by the road, saw a flock of whooping cranes that have begun hanging out in a nearby cow pasture, and -- while the family was visiting -- spied a lone bald eagle sitting quietly in the middle of a field. Marty Stouffer hasn't shown up yet, but we're expecting him any day now. I guess I should get some fishing line ready, just in case.

The Swimmin' Hole

Naptime Alfresco

The Family Portrait

I crafted this image together from the best elements of a number of group shots that we took out at the farm this past Tuesday evening, and it ended up being a very nice picture.

The Grandparents

The Farm

Here are a few shots I took while out at the farm this week.

The barn serves as a communal dumping ground. Over the years, various members of the extended family have left odd collections of junk here before going off and forgetting about it. It also shelters mice and other small critters from time to time, and the occasional boy who wanders in in hopes catching a glimpse of the aforementioned wildlife.

In the hay loft. This was where the raccoon family was living until I evicted them and the haystack they were burrowing in. Now it is home only to a rather intimidating wasp nest.

The shop contains a couple of old broken down tractors, a camper shell, and, apparently, birds.

There is Nothing New Under the Sun

Julie and I and the kids have been staying out at Bobchi's for the last few days, which explains why I haven't posted anything of late. The weather's been reasonably warm and nice recently, and we've all been making the most of it and spending some time outdoors.

Shiloh and I went yesterday to a relative's farm to watch them feed the baby calves (they fed their turkey, cats, horses, and cows while we were there, too). Shiloh thought the turkey was neato, the calves were cool, and the horses were scary. But best of all were (yup, you guessed it) the cows. How amoosing.

I hope to have something interesting up by next week (or, in the very least, something). I wonder -- should I post a new picture of Ella? Hmm... Guess we'll see.

The Snowman

As warm weather has graced these lands the last couple of days (34°F! HEAT WAVE!!), our dry powdery white stuff turned quickly into wet sticky white stuff. Which, as we all know, is conducive to making snowmen!

Shiloh and I took advantage of the opportunity spent the afternoon outside, building my second and third Canadian snowmen (they were also my third and fourth ever; we Confederates don't get much snow).

Unfortunately, today was the one day that I elected to leave the camera at home. So for the time being, imagine a large, jovial-looking snowman with a goofy grin and a carrot nose standing in the yard by the shop. Nice, eh?

A View Askew

Do not attempt to adjust your screen. The Confederate Canuck isn't responsible for the waves of motion sickness you are experiencing; it's a dizzying montage of lopsided shots from the Sunday set. Swallow down your vertigo and behold the pristine and frozen majesty of a Manitoba winter -- Katie style.