Our first Dexters

We bought a Dexter cow, calf, and yearling steer in January, but we couldn't pick them up until the snow melted, and the time finally came!

The cow's registered name is Pioneer Jewel which is a bit of a mouthful, so we call her Julie.

Buttons the steer, Julie the cow, and Tria the calf (her tag number was 3A).

The first meeting between the goats and the cattle:  Goats - curious, Cattle - indifferent.

After researching Dexter cattle for quite some time and calling many breeders and visiting a few farms, we bought a registered purebred cow with a purebred but unregistered calf, and a steer for the freezer.  We learned that they are a dual-purpose breed, meat and milk.  We hope to milk Julie after the calf is weaned, and fatten Buttons up to be butchered for the winter's meat supply.  We understand that Dexters finish very well on grass, with no grain required.  Grass fed beef is higher in Omega 3 fats, so combined with our home-grown veggies, fruit, chicken and honey, we will be eating well this winter!

Spring & snow

The dreaming phase of spring is nearly over as the temperatures creep higher and the snow recedes.  Garden, chickens, cows, renovations... all around the corner, just out of sight, although I'm catching a glimpse of the hope of them now and then!

Plans for the garden are moving from the 'thinking' phase to the 'ordering' phase, and I need to finalize what I'm planning to grow this year.  First on the list is scab-resistant potatoes and I'm considering Russets and Norland varieties.  I don't know what varieties we used last year, they were seed from my mom who has grown then for years and we've always just called them the 'red', 'white' or 'pink and white' potatoes!  I read an interesting blog at http://www.albertahomegardening.com/how-to-grow-amazing-scab-free-potatoes/ and am going to attempt to follow their watering ideas for reducing potato scab this year.  I've never watered potatoes in my life, but I think the soil and weather conditions here dictate that I'm going to have to start!

Second, I'm going to be brave and attempt to grow a few more time-consuming plants this year.  Cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli are on the list, and I suspect that there are a lot of pests around that will love to eat them as there is a lot of canola in the area, which are of the same family and like to share their pests around!  It's going to take some vigilance, but I think it's worth the try!

Carrots, beets, and a few turnips complete the root crop list thus far, and some powdery mildew resistant peas are a must.  I'm hoping to plant some corn beside the house in the microclimate created by the shelter of the porch, a few cobs of corn in August would be so sweet!  Beans I'm still not decided about, I'm thinking of a climbing variety that can grow in another microclimate near a building.

The greenhouse (hopefully we will have a greenhouse!) is reserved for frost susceptible long-season plants, tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, and maybe a few zucchini, although after I've had enough zucchini, I might move them outside and allow the frost to take them :) 

I've been reading about square foot gardening and must admit that I'm intrigued.  The option of controlling the soil fertility and moisture and stopping creeping weeds by using raised beds is appealing, as well as the fact that they are generally cleared of snow sooner and the soil warms sooner.  I currently have my strawberries in raised beds and really like the defined space for them, plus I don't have to bend down as far to pick the occasional weed and deal with the runners!  I was planning to do plots instead of rows in the main garden, I think I'll look this a bit more!

Even as the calendar heralds the start of spring, the weather forecast is for flurries and below zero temperatures all of this week.  It has begun already with a small accumulation dusting the outside step, another reminder that the change of seasons is not dictated by the calendar!

Happy dreaming...

Longing for Spring

I've had this happen to me on several occasions.  Store-bought tomatoes ripening in my fruit bowl that sprouted their seeds inside the tomato.  They look fine from the outside, finally looking ripe, but totally sprouted from the inside!  It leaves me wondering what has happened to this tomato to make it do this; I have never had this happen with any home-grown tomatoes!  This last episode has left me looking at my calendar and calculating how soon we could have ripe tomatoes from our own plants.  Of course they have to be seeded, a greenhouse built, and the snow needs to disappear before that can even start to happen, but the tendrils of spring fever are winding their way into my brain and resulting in extensive mental to-do lists and plans for massive outdoor heaters to reduce our snow pack.

A quick trip south this weekend has amplified this longing, a few days with no snow, some sprigs of green grass, a hint of crocus sprouts, and warm temperatures makes me wonder if the allure of the north is worth the length of the winters.  I think it's time for me to go take an extra dose of Vitamin D and shake these doldrums!

Morning delight

Yesterday's frost resulted in some amazing hoar frost today!!  I got a few photos before the sun came out and melted it away.  It's so awesome to see the ultimate Artist at work!

  Our yard fence

Icicle hanging outside the window

 Birch Tree

The Monolith

The recent warm weather is a welcome relief from winter.  Our winter has been consistently cold, with no warm spells to shrink down the snow, and there is a lot of snow!  Going into the barn these days is an adventure in dodging drips and moving things to a drier location as the snow on the roof melts and drips through.

This beautiful but neglected barn was likely moved onto it's concrete foundation about 50 years ago.  The walls are squared logs with perfect dovetail corners.  It has a wooden floor and stalls on the main floor and a huge hayloft above.  The hayloft had straw in it for many years and with a leaky roof above created a perfect environment for rotting the hayloft floor in numerous places.  The barn roof was already in need of replacement when we bought the place, and probably about 10 years before that!  We have the tin to cover it, but soon found out that it's not going to be a simple project.  Last summer we straightened some of the walls and tore off the flare-out from one side of the barn to see what the ends of the rafters looked like.  There is some rot right at the ends and the plate on top of the logs needs replacement.  Knowing that this was going to take longer than the available time we had last fall, we bought a tarp that we were hoping to secure over the whole roof, which meant that all the old wooden shingles and nails would have to be removed.  We got most of one side of the roof stripped, then the snow came and hasn't let up since!


We get asked and we occasionally ask ourselves if it's worth it to fix something up that needs so much work.  I don't think we'll be able to answer that until we're done, but we've got time and money invested now, so forward is the only route!  I envision the gleaming tin roof, solid walls, and a extended flare to make a lean-to outside... and more importantly our hay staying dry in the hayloft and no more water running down my neck while I'm milking!