Chicken Challenge 2010 Ends

Okay, so it wasn't much of a 'challenge' per se. Dad pretty much took care of them, no contest was held. So much for that.

But now I can report that the chickens have fulfilled their destiny and were delivered to the butchers this past Sunday.

Of approximate 102 to start. 38 made it to Butcher Day. Puh-thetic. 60% attrition! Blight, escape, raccoons and coyotes had their way with the flock this year.

Had I been a diligent blogger you would have been captivated by reports of raccoon break-ins, mass murder, reinforcing the perimeter, breaking through the perimeter, checking in with CTU, Sam the dog corning raccoon in the old combine, Peter solving the problem with the 22, another raccoon moving in, more 'lead poisoning', etc. But I was a crap blogger (as has been established) and you missed all that.

Point being - REALLY crap year for chickens.

For all those making the trip this past weekend, the average weigh-in was somewhere between 3 and 4 pounds. Please inquire with Mom for exact measurements.

Quote of the Day

"Well, the chickens that've survived...look pretty good!", Dad.

Flood Dictator appointed

As mentioned in an early post, for years Dad was warning the local watershed committee to lower the water levels at Good Spirit lake, just a couple miles to the northwest of us. But NO, they wanted high water levels for boats.

Be careful what you wish for. While Yorkton is flash flooding to the south, the lake overfloweth on the other side of us.

An emergency meeting was held to discuss the imminent ruin of the surrounding area...and guess what?

Dad was appointed the Flood Dictator, should the lake bust around the control gates, Dad has carte blanche to do whatever he needs to minimize the damage. Like...he gets to call someone (?) and say "Bulldoze the road!" He'll be the one to issue evacuation orders to the honey farm down the road. "Get out of there!" Cool!

Turns out, he actually knows what he's talking about and knows the area the best. When the water comes, he knows where it will be heading.

Blub, blub.

The aftermath

Chris took the camera along to Yorkton after the flooding....

No one was seriously hurt, but the local Dairy Queen was destroyed. Now I have constant Blizzard cravings...

July 1 - Canada Day flash floods

Happy Belated Canada Day everyone! Clearly, I'm a very negligent blogger - a lot has been going on.

Our little family put headed out to the Western Development Museum in Yorkton for an afternoon of thrills and excitement with the cousins.

Thrills included being victimized by mosquitoes on the tractor/wagon ride through the trees (fun). Excitement was provided by Dexter ALMOST going in the bouncy castle with his older cousins (several times) and, more importantly, fudgecicles for everyone.

As the ice cream was being sucked back, the daily arrival of afternoon storm clouds was underway.

But, hang on....these looked pretty dramatic. That's it...party's over! Everyone packed up and headed out.

We had Dexter and the twins, Matthew and Nathan with us as we drove home to the farm. We could see the storm hit behind us and watched the light show in the rear view mirror...spectacular!

Brother-in-law Brent called to check in...said the roads were rivers in town. Between 4 to 6 inches of rain came down in less than an hour.

Somehow the farm seems to miss the major direct hits. We're always on the periphery.

An action-packed afternoon did end with a lovely rainbow...for us at least. :)

State of Emergency declared in the garden

Mom says there's never been a year like it. The garden is a write off.

- Record rain fall has turned half of it into a rice paddy...too bad we forgot to seed
- The brand new rototiller remains idol...would just get stuck
- Weeds are rubbing their pollen-laden leaves together in glee
- Potato bugs have infested the few brave potatoes that are struggling forth
- Peter powered the bugs last night
- It rained and washed the powder away
- New potatoes were planted today...trying again
- Bulls have trampled the carrot patch

The only hope remains with the cluster of raised beds across the road. It's looking promising and Chris and I did some seeding yesterday. A little sun would be appreciated.

Looks like we'll join the masses in the checkout line at Superstore this year...

Time to go fishing.

No bull

The beef supply was getting low, time to replenish.

Peter quickly ID'd the junior bull with an ornery look in his eye as the new hamburger source.

The deed was done yesterday morning.  Less than an hour from field to abbatoir...that's fresh. 

Sadly Junior didn't even have a chance to sow his oats, but on the other hand, neither was he shunted into the icky feed lot system. 

His days ended chewing fresh grass on a green, dew-covered field.

Rough Day in the Coop

There was a wee Candillo family outing to do the Chick Check this evening.

We refilled the water and marveled at how fast the chicks are growing....the usual.

Just about ready to leave when I noticed one belly up in the back of the corral.  Yup, definitely dead.  That makes two.

Chris lifted it out with the pitchfork...a brief eulogy was completely disregarded as it landed in the burn barrel.

We're looking for patterns in deaths.  The only thing so far is that Dad was doing the Chick Checks prior to each discovery.  We're not pointing fingers...yet.

Forensics are inconclusive.

Cloud Bursts and Bug Guts

Just a little shout out to the short-lived, but fierce cloud burst I drove through this afternoon.  

The intense rain and wipers made short work of the bug guts encrusted on the windshield which was already impeding visibility.  Much easier than the squeegee.

Thanks!

You gotta be fast!

I was on Chick Check this morning.  It's the very arduous task of making sure they are

1. still there,
2. have food  and
3. top up the water.

Once the incubating phase is over, they will be split into two groups.  50 to Team Peter, 50 to us - Team Candillo.  Part of the summer fun is to see how many survive out of each group - farm excitement. But for now, it's one big (little?) chick herd.

I opened the coop door to a flurry of excited chirping. So far, so good.  One little guy was motionless in the straw, but upon nudging, turned out to be a sleeper-in-er.

Plenty of feed, so I took out the water - a big inverted jug with a basin screwed on the bottom - to refill it.

Upon my return, I was about to place it back in the corral only to notice a squished chick right in the middle of the circle marking the water jug's spot.  Poor little guy wasn't fast enough.  You gotta run!

Chick count...99

Must speak to Dad at lunch - He-Who-Installed-the-Chicks.  Which team's count does this one come out of?

PS.  I was very stoic and dealt with the remains all by myself - coop is right next to the burn barrel.

Signs of Spring...

...In no particular order

• Geranium Watch 2010 begins - recon to Walmart scouting out seedlings.
• Massive roof drainage highlighting misaligned gutter and gaping holes in said gutter.
• Pond on front porch of house
• The missing stench of diesel fumes on the morning chore clothes...the troughs are not freezing over
• Mud-encrusted cars
• 45 minute line ups at the car wash
• Fresh snow 2 days later...followed by newly mud-encrusted cars
• Success with Project Geranium!
• Scandal revealed with the outrageous almost DOUBLING of the price of Walmart geraniums from last year.  More acceptable price sourced at Peavy Mart.  Ruffled feathers are smoothed.
• Daycare yard turns into massive Lake Yorkton/Yorkton skating rink, depending on the weather
• The arrival of seed catalogues - debating the pros and cons of trying sweet potatoes this year
• Plastic encasing the windows is boldly sliced to allow feeble breeze to enter formerly hermetically sealed home
• First barbecue of the season. Ribs enjoyed by all
• Chris realizing that his -40C boots may be overdressing a bit
• Chris realizing that he needs new shoes
• Warm enough to have plumber do the gas fittings to install new gas cooktop.  "Ooh, ahh!  It's HOT!"
• Muddy boots banished to the garage landing.  Additional newpaper layed down in back entrance.
• Puddles populated by happy boys all over the yard.
• Spring party is held - balloons released on boys' heads in celebration
• Great delight taken in popping balloons.   Dad sitting on balloon results in REALLY LOUD pop!
• Dexter snarfing back large portion of spring party cake decorated with icing filled ice cream cones.  Head begins to spin.
• Light...in the morning...like before we get out of bed.
• Deer and cow body parts being revealed in the yard as snow receeds -way to dig Sam!
• Mulling over the purchase of blackout blinds for the bedrooms
• Retirement of the snowmobile - sniff
• Return of the quad for farm transportation
• Light...in the evening...like while we eat supper
• Growing anticipation of sister Karen's May wedding
• Windowsill flies hatching
• Hummingbird Watch 2010 begins...it's a competitive sport
• Pondering installation of fresh fly paper
• Dexter announcing that he hates flies
• Mom resumes daily walks
• Michele considers daily walks
• Chris mourns his daily snowmobile rides
• Mom announcing that a too-large garden spruce tree needs a new home this year and there is simply nowhere to put it in this 4-acre (really) yard. Taken under advisement
• The nightly arrival of prairie chicken on the deck feasting on the remaining cranberries.  Appearance is conveniently timed around dinner for our viewing enjoyment
• Hungry critters emerging from hiding...Sam chasing away three deer from the fence...coyotes trotting across fields as we drive home from daycare
• Cow Watch 2010 - the growing anticipation of baby cows.  Any day now...
• Successful growth of heliotrope seedlings in the basement nursery.  I managed to keep them alive when Mom went to Calgary
• Arrival of spring dresses in the stores
• Uncle Peter outfitted with suit for wedding
• Successful purchase of dress for wedding
• Disbelieving denial of a -18C  morning

...but it's almost here!  Right?!?

The old red cow, she ain't what she used to be

Another moment please for an elderly red cow, who yesterday lied down and passed on today.  She served us well, was bountiful, lead a relaxed, grass-fed life.

Sam-the-dog is again rejoicing.  The arthritic cow was nearly gone...

Fuelling the dog - cow down, cow down

Let us all take a moment to remember the unnamed, aged, very arthritic heifer who had a long, very fruitful life, bringing forth many lovely organic calves over many seasons.

She passed away peacefully earlier this week from 'lead poisoning' while enjoying her morning hay.

Sam the Dog is enjoying his newly found bounty.

Burning down the house

Shortly after our arrival, I did a post with random shots of the farm, cleverly entitled Farm Shots.  In that gripping pictoral essay, there was a picture of the "broken house" (really, really old shed) that Dexter loved to visit for a big outing across the road.

Over the holidays, the shed was deemed a hazard and it was declared time to get rid of it.  I suspect decrepitude had little to do with this decision and a lot with getting 16 family members the hell out of the house and air everyone out for an hour, but nonetheless, it was the big excursion to go across the road to witness the conflagration.

Armed with diesel, matches and sleds full of whiny kids, we managed to stagger over and line up for the big event.

We had heard for years about how the shed had been built by our forefathers with only wooden pegs - no nails at all.  Pretty darned impressive it had lasted 80 odd years.  Also, a bit of a disappointment that upon inspection, massive spike-like nails were discovered on the corners. We'll attribute those as a later addition as it was, after all, relocated during the years and of course would have to be buttressed for that.

All that to say...boy was that sucker sturdy!!  Never mind that gallons of diesel wouldn't ignite it...it seemed at one point all the adults were pushing on the thing trying to push it down and it wasn't budging.

After about half an hour and everyone's whining reaching a fevered pitch, we headed in, except a few diehards who persevered to see to the demolition.

It was only after warming up and hangin out in the kitchen that we noticed it was the three oh-my-god-we-married-into-the-family spouses who had not returned home, choosing instead to play with flammable fuel in -20 weather.  Coincidence...?

Carnage on the prairies

Sister-out-law Alex is joining us for the first time for a Wiwchar family Christmas.

She and Nicole have inadvertently set a new goal for this festive season - experience carnage on a daily basis.

Day 1:  Mowed down prairie chicken on the way into town.  Feathers everywhere.
Day 2: Witnessed a mighty battle between Sam the dog and a three-legged coyote.  Apparently very noisy and dramatic.  Sam gained the upper hand on the already injured beast with a missing paw.  Uncle Peter ended things with the 22.
Day 3: Apparently there is a bounty for coyotes (who knew?). Nicole and Alex's outing was to go chop the legs off the deceased.  Gross.

Chris wondered how it was that Alex is repelled by rare steak, yet has no problems with liberating limbs from carcasses.  "It's completely different" apparently.

I reiterate....ewww.

Day 4 - stay tuned...