This update is brought to you by the letter “C”………

COWS..

If you haven’t officially herd (….yes, that was intended…) THE COWS HAVE COME HOME TO GRAZE!! …this is a monumental moment for us on so many levels….it indicates independence….it closes the circle….it completes the official beginning….it really is an accomplishment considering where we've come in just over a year of owning  the land. Farmer Luke pretty much sums it up below.....



that would be one happy farmer!! ....with WWOOFer Martin

OK….I do have to preface this point with the fact that we’ve yet to chorale the last three ladies…yes, Farmer Luke…the cow whisperer……is being tested. Three cows have alluded entrapment and therefore transfer to the farm. Apparently one had a bad experience before we knew her and she’s influencing the other two…they’ve formed a gang of sorts and at the moment it’s

 

FARMER 0 / COW GANG 4

 

….of course, the inevitable is inevitable and the farmer will win…..but what is amazing is watching Farmer Luke’s patience with the process. I mean these ladies have alluded him for over a week now!! Other farmers wouldn’t have the patience or take the time to wait it out in order to gain trust and respect. He keeps saying….”they’ll come, don’t worry, it’s just a matter of time”…..well that time came….um, ahem....and went…… so the story goes.... Apparently Farmer Luke and WWOOFer Martin were baiting them in with yummy food and one morning ~ say attempt #2… or maybe it was #3… ~ nonetheless... much to their astonishment they managed to get the cows in the barn! As Farmer Luke put it:

We were like OK AWESOME! WOW WE DID IT!!! ~ um… OK so I’m telling Martin to quickly run around one side and I ran around the other and by the time we got there the cows were like ‘hey, what’s up?’ they were just standing there smugly just outside the gate and of course the moment I moved they were off down the field! damn!! (LAUGHING) they know what they are doing I’ll give them that!

So begins….Farmer Luke has since tried denying them yummy good quality silage in hopes that when he baits them back they would come….ya…NOPE. Currently they have rigged up the barn with all the feeders and water containers then the idea is they would just shut the gate once the ladies go in for a feed….this theory is still pending…..

So ya….the fun continues but the learning curve is tremendous and for a farmer like Luke this is candy to the brain…..I marvel at the mind of a farmer….I really do….so ya the cow whisperer is having a little challenge but that hasn’t stopped him from whispering to the cows….it’s just taking a little longer…or perhaps they can't understand his accent......

 

QUIET PLEASE! in negotiations

CRITTERS...

So far we’ve been visited by Racoons, Rats and Squirrels…. otherwise known as ‘PREDATOR IDENTIFICATION 101’ ~ not sure when we signed up for this course but we seem to be passing with about a B+ average…..ANYWAY...it seems the racoons have been and gone (but not without making their mark of course and I have to say they are a lot less wasteful than chicken leg eating rats….which interestingly is a fact I couldn’t have told you a year ago) …. we also had a squirrel attacking the food bins in the field but we managed to deter it without any damage...it might have had a few heart palpitations but nothing serious.... SO now we sit... silently resisting the false sense of security creeping into the atmosphere as the apparent threat seems to have subsided for the past couple of weeks.…. in fact.... we’ve had a few chicken escapees that have survived two nights out of the tractors without any casualties... IMPRESSIVE IN MY BOOKS! ….the first time this happened I expressed my deep concern for the chicken's safety....I explained that it would just be a sitting duck and that wasn't fair.... I pleaded that we should be doing more to get the poor little chicken back into the tractor (insert dramatic flare)... WWOOFer Martin quickly agreed…. and there we stood united as advocates of the feathered and the winged.....  

 

Farmer Luke began to smirk…

 

....he just stared at us with a look of amusement that only a farmer can muster when others offer their opinion without any foundation earned by experience…..

 

his eyes sparkled with delight and pleasure as he finally said:

Firstly, if you wanna go catch a chicken that now has free run of a large pasture and more importantly a large treed area then go ahead be my guest and I sure would appreciate the help….but good luck with that!

Secondly, it’s not bothering this chicken....obviously it’s happy out there….it would clearly rather stay out there right now and who am I to deny it that?….or better yet waste the time and energy making it happen?

Thirdly, it’ll come when it’s hungry or thirsty. It’ll likely just come and sit down and wait then happily run into the cage….you watch.

So if you can’t live with that then by all means go chase the chicken!

Ahem… Point. Taken…. in lawyer speak, I conceded and we moved on…..and low and behold on the third day the chicken happily ran back into the cage…. Huh. Right?! … I kid you not! ….we’ve dealt with 2 or 3 escapees in the last two weeks and each time the same result…. so there you are; a farmer knows what they know so that's the way to go!

contrary to popular belief....a chicken or two has been caught over the season...YES Farmer Luke!.. they were little and the grass was long.....Point. Taken. .....

CONSERVATION...

This is just kinda cool….when we officially bought the land on May 24, 2013 we agreed that we would not clear the full 100 acres but would leave 60 acres to conservation and 40 acres to the farm and pastures….to our delight we discovered that the land runs parallel with 3300 feet of the Kemptville Creek….in fact at one point we own from shore to shore….

 

 

it was this relationship with the water that birthed our friendship with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority…. Farmer Luke knew that farming along a creek the size of this one came with environmental constraints and considerations... undeterred he went to the bylaw office and happily volunteered our stewardship of the land….. and from one impassioned conversation with RVCA our world opened up like we had never anticipated! RVCA embraced our vision and gave us their backing 100%....what does this mean? It means grants. As we have land adjacent to (and encompassing) the Municipal waterway we are required to keep the animals away from the water…. which of course means fencing. To most this would be an obstacle involving a sub-contractor…..but no…..to Farmer Luke this was a dream come true! He loved the idea of getting to fence his own land….what better way of making your mark and learning your land at the same time ~ it didn’t hurt that he had always had a vision about the layout he would have and the type of fencing he would install...so in the end, Farmer Luke was able to negotiate a grant which would off-set the cost of his fencing, the solar water pump and the well.

 

CRAZY RIGHT!

....serendipity likely…..

opportunity undeniable!

 

…..it’s been a bit of a challenge but we’re getting there….. also, just the other day we heard that Ducks Unlimited have contacted us through RVCA concerning the possibility of installing duck boxes…. I have to say, this Granola Girl is absolutely in love with the conservation aspect of this farm.....swoon!!

 

love me some treehugging!!! ~ New Zealand circa 2012

  

So there you have it ~ cows….critters…..conservation....OH and we’re almost complete! Stay-tuned….