Yee Haa! It is actually thawing here On Tuesday the temperature went from -26 to +32 in  a few hours! That is the kind of temp change I like. Wednesday was a little colder but yesterday was in the 30’s & today we got into the 40’s. Of course that means that it is very slippery out there. Yesterday I had to go to town. Our road & driveway is a sheet of ice so needless to say I did some slipping. it was a good job no one was coming when I came to the end of the road to the STOP sign as there was no stopping, I just slid gently around the corner.
I fought Miss Tulip for an hour yesterday morning to get a gallon of milk. I was SO mad! I am not a swearing person which is just as well otherwise the air in the barn would have been blue! I have no idea what her problem is. I ended up tying her leg up to stop her kicking & stomping. So now you’re probably thinking is what I am doing dangerous? Yes & No. I cannot day dream whilst milking her - I have to constantly be on the alert to her every move. Although she kicks I stay far enough away that she cannot get me. We use a Kow Kant Kick device on her which goes over her back. This device is very humane - it sits just behind her hips & we pad it so the metal is not resting directly on her back. Without this I would not be able to milk her at all & I would be knocked out on the floor. It stops her raising her leg any higher than the bucket. Today she was a little better - I still had to tie her up but not her leg.

Poor Rosco somehow managed to get frostbite on the crease of one of his ears. Today it has started dropping off & it is not a pretty sight. In fact Richard had to go put some blood stop on it. Poor Rosco - he’s going to look kinda funny with half his ear missing.

Now you’re probably wondering what in the world the title of this blog post has to do with anything I have written so far! Absolutely nothing but I’m getting there I wanted to share a recipe with you tonight. Flapjacks are a great English “goodie” that you can buy in all the bakeries over there. We have recently gotten into them again & so I made some on Wednesday. They lasted 1 1/2 days & I made a double batch. They were SO good.

Please note that the following recipe calls for Golden Syrup (Tate & Lyle). You can NOT substitute Caro - they are nothing alike. Golden Syrup can be found online or in the large grocery stores/specialty food stores. it is in a green tin. It is yummy on toast but even better in these flapjacks. This treat is SO east to make so enjoy.

FLAPJACKS

1 stick of butter - 4 oz (no substitutions)

3oz (just under 1/2 cup) golden syrup

3oz (just under 1/2 cup) sugar

8 ozs (approx 2 2/3 cups) quick rolled oats

1. Put butter, syrup & sugar in large glass bowl & place in microwave. Heat until melted. If you don’t have a microwave then use a saucepan on the stove top.
2. Stir in oats & mix well
3. Spread in a 9″ x 12″ baking sheet & press down with the back of a cold metal spoon. I use stoneware so greasing is not needed. If you are using a coated pan then line with baking parchment.
4. Cook for 20-30 mins at 350F (180C)
5. Leave to cool for 5 mins & then cut into fingers.

Warning! If you leave this to cool too long before cutting you will have one hard sheet to get your teeth into. It needs to be cut whilst soft.

…. has been brutal again! For the last two mornings it has been -26F. (Actual temp, not with the windchill taken into account.) Not fun out there milking the cow. I’m just thankful I am not an animal - I would have given up a long time ago. Of course we are feeding them but I think the other big plus that keeps them going is that the days have been beautiful sunshine. Cold but cloudless skies. The wind has now picked up & the temps are rising - Yee Haa!

I was planning on reporting to you how good Tulip has been recently but I guess she read my mind & didn’t want to ruin her “bad girl” image! LOL! We figured out that she didn’t want to be shut in at night which is fine by me as there is less mess to scoop. Now at night we just shut Daffodil & Rose Lee in so I can still get milk of a morning. Since leaving Tulip out with the other cows she has been much better until today! Today she was not going to stand still so I had to tie her up.

Duke is now fully “normal” - eating & chasing around. So, so thankful.

Hope your week is going well. Gotta go feed the gang - Spaghetti today.
Liz

Looks like Duke is on the mend He was only sick once last night & when I gave him his medicine this morning he ran away after the 2nd dose! Yesterday Richard got some IV fluid & injected him subcutaneously several times. That was the vet’s instructions. I’m sure that helped him as his body was adsorbing that without it going near his upset stomach.

Earlier today I took him out to go to the toilet & he ran off & played with Maddie for a few minutes. He is still not eating so pretty weak. We always teased him about what a fat little puppy he was but that has been a blessing. It has really helped him in these last few days.

When Michelle came home from work he was SO excited to see her. He was trying to jump out of his box. Before he got sick he was such a cuddler & tonight he snuggled right into her neck. He sure knows his owner. She of course was very pleased to see him doing so well. He has just had a bath so now smells alot fresher.

Thanks for all your kind words. We are very thankful that Duke is now on his way to full health again. Have a wonderful weekend,

Liz

Yes Duke is very sick. Michelle took him to the vet yesterday & the vet thinks he has Parvo! Now before you all yell at me, Duke is up to date on his shots which includes Parvo.
He is here in his box in the kitchen, hasn’t eaten since Sunday & is feeling very sorry for himself. He is drinking but keeps throwing it up. Poor thing.

Hoping to get an IV in him later today as that might be the answer to letting his stomach rest but keeping him hydrated.

Enjoy your day,

Liz

It’s been quite a busy day here. I had to go get an eye exam first thing this morning so had to be up a few minutes earlier in order to get Tulip milked. My eyes are fine - stayed the same which is wonderful when your eyes are as bad as mine Then I headed to Havre to buy dog & cat food before visiting the chiropractor. Folks always stare when we buy the dog & cat food as the cart is full - need a lot to feed this hungry lot! LOL! My back was a little tight so the chiropractor couldn’t adjust it. Came home, ate lunch, made some TK stamps & then went back to the chiropractor where my back cooperated!

BUT the funny thing happened when I was making the TK stamps. Daniel comes running in shouting “pig, pig!” Guess who had walked in the front door?! Yes it was Rosco & he was helping himself to a sack of grain. You feel kinda stupid when you are telling a pig to “stop being such a great pig!”

This post was originally going to be entitled “Duke’s adventurous afternoon.” Last Friday the temps warmed up into the 40’s. I was determined to take a walk. Duke is now following the other dogs so he came with us. We got down into the field & followed some deer tracks along the edge of the trees which wasn’t very deep. Daniel was with me & here you can see him by some trees. It was a beautiful day.

From here we went to the river. The snow was DEEP. As we started walking along the river I noticed that Duke wasn’t with us. Nothing unusual for the dogs to run off exploring but with Duke being so small I was a little concerned. I yelled & yelled for him but to no avail. Back up the river bank, shouting his name all the time. We had thought previously that he might have some hearing loss but this day proved it. He was walking back & forth where I had taken the photo & obviously could not hear us. It wasn’t till we got close enough & saw us did he come.

By this time I had decided to walk along the river bank hoping the snow wouldn’t be so deep. Next adventure was awaiting me. Further along Bella decided she needed to be on the river so she ran down the bank & disappeared! I’m like “Bella? Bella?” She had fallen in a crevice that had formed out of the snow. She got out & guess who went in right after her? Duke! Complete silence. At this stage I had yet to venture down & see how deep the crevice was but with no signs of Duke I had to go down. Of course I didn’t want to fall down there myself. Daniel wanted to stick close to my side but I couldn’t allow him to follow me. He was not happy. I edged my way down the bank to then see Duke poking his head out. I kept encouraging him & he got up only for Duchess to put her big butt in! She could not get out so I had to pull & help her.

That was quite enough adventure for Daniel - he wanted to go home. We walked a little way further & then decided to go across the field to get home! OOPS! It was up to my knees in some places & hard going. We followed the dog tracks as much as we could & then once we got over to the other side we were able to walk on the edge of the irrigation ditch. Poor Daniel, all he wanted to do was “go inside!”

Here is Duke with large snowballs hanging off his rear end. That puppy fur just picks them all up. Bella gets the same problem even though she is no longer a puppy. Duke may have to go to the vets tomorrow. He has not eaten for 2 days so must have a bug. He is drinking though which is a good sign. We’ll see how he is in the morning.

Can you believe that the piglets are 3 weeks old tomorrow! They are so fat - their skins are stretched tight.

Hope you’re having a fantastic week!

Liz

Those of you who read our blog on a regular basis know that Sunday’s are our day off. We rarely go anywhere. It is our day to be together as family & just collapse & refresh for the new week ahead. This Sunday was a little different! Hah!

It started on Saturday when Charlie came down. Who’s Charlie you ask? Well, Charlie is Michelle’s new boyfriend. They have been friends since we moved here & in fact he is also one of Michael’s best friends. Anyway Charlie has had his eye on Michelle for quite sometime but made it all official over Christmas so they are officially courting. He took Michelle out to dinner on Saturday night & then we played Pinochle when they came home. It was midnight before Richard & I got to bed only to be awoken by Colin, another of Michael’s friends, at 12:45 needing a bed for the night! He had just returned from wrestling & his folks were out of town. Charlie was sleeping on the couch downstairs so Colin took the floor in Michael’s room.
Both Colin & Charlie were here all day on Sunday so late morning the cards came out. First we played Spoons. Daniel thought this was hilarious - obviously he is too young to play so just watched. At one point one of the spoons flew off the table & we all watched in amazement as Charlie literally leaped on the table & off the other side to get the spoon before Colin. Daniel talked about that all day, asking if Charlie was going to do it again Charlie & Richard won.

Then it was time for lunch. I had taken a big joint of beef out the night before so it was smelling GOOD in the oven.  The guys & Michelle helped cut up the chips (fries) etc so we had an enjoyable feast.

After lunch we did church. Charlie plays the guitar so with Michael playing as well it sounded really good. Of course we have to turn a deaf ear to Daniel who only has 4 strings on his toy guitar but he can keep up with the rhythm. It’s so sweet to watch him copying the older boys. Good to have the extra voices too. Later we played two hands of Crush - I think I won them both. Then it was time for more food - fresh bread, chocolate pudding & fresh oranges - Yum! YUm! Overall a great day.

Hope your week is going well. It did warm up here at the weekend into the 30’s but then dropped on Monday, back up yesterday & down again today with light snow.

Liz

Yes after several weeks away the neighbor brought Cinco home.

He is very happy to back with his girls, especially Lilly. We are going to watch very carefully though as he cannot be allowed to breed the calves! Normally we keep them separated but with this weather they have to stay together so we can feed them.

We still have a lot of snow. We got blasted again last weekend & the temps dipped again into the minus 30’s. That is the second time so far this winter we have dipped this low. Normally we only go there once. The cows ended up in the top barn with Rosco as the snow was blowing & coming down so fast that I did not want to fight to get them back to their barn as they were already up here looking for shelter. Take a look at these spider webs taken on Sunday morning. Aren’t they incredible?

*

Even though the cows & sheep had been in all night you can see how cold it was as they are still covered in ice & snow. Of course they have thick coats so don’t feel it like we do:

I took this photo during the storm as I went out to get the cows into the barn. As you can see Sir Loin is standing beside a big drift. He had got separated from Hazel so wasn’t too happy.

Richard & I went & dug out the cow barn on Saturday. As you can see the cow’s hay feeders were a little buried. It was bitterly cold even though the sun was shining.

Temps did warm up a little this week, not above freezing but it still felt like spring. Then another storm came in Thursday night - the wind was incredible. I really wanted to take a walk yesterday afternoon so Daniel & I set out with good intentions! Hah! We got to the bottom corral, not even to the field gate. The snow was up to my knees & that was just as far as I was sinking - it was deeper. Needless to say I gave that idea up. I went to feed the turkeys instead. There I saw a chicken that was “stuck” on the other side of the fence looking very sorry for itself. I threw all the food out & then trudged through a very deep snow drift to go rescue it. When I got there, it had vanished! Where was the stupid thing? It had walked through a tiny hole in the fence back to its home! I trudged back through the deep snow.

The piglets are now over one week old & doing really well. Of course they are still stuck in the barn but Penny is now able to get out & walk around the barn. We had her shut in a small area for the first week as we didn’t want the piglets to wander & get lost.

Michael left for North Dakota on New Year’s Eve. He was supposed to be home on Monday but the train kept getting delayed that he decided to wait until Tuesday. On Tuesday he managed to miss the train as it went through 5 minutes earlier than they had told him! He finally caught it on Wednesday. The day he had left he had reversed his truck & the tire had come off! So he had taken our van. Wednesday night I get a call from him to bring the truck as a mile from the house he had managed to put the van in a ditch! Richard tried to pull i out but to no avail so the next day they had to hire someone to dig it out. Thankfully no damage was done.

Yesterday Richard took a friend to the ER as he wasn’t doing too good. He left the engine running on the truck so as to keep the friend warm but as he got him out of the truck he must have pushed down the lock button so when Richard came back out to come home the keys were locked inside the running truck! LOL! He had to pay a company to come “undo” the door.

Yes it’s been quite a week here but today the sun is shining & we are up to 30! Yee Haa! Daniel is outside playing. Hannah went out for a few minutes but she will not keep her hat & gloves ons so it wasn’t very long before she was coered in snow & screaming.

Have a great weekend,

Liz
truk

Guess what? It is snowing like mad here again today. This is the most snow we have seen since we moved here 5 years ago. It is quite incredible. The weather said 2-5 inches but I’m pretty sure we’ve already got that & its still going. All the animals are huddled inside again.
As for Penny, 5 piglets is the total. I went to bed at 9:30 New Year’s Eve & got up at 3:30 to let Richard get some sleep. He had taken his laptop out there so spent the time watching movies. By 6:30am, I was so cold despite a space heater being out there that I decided to come in. It had been 12 hours since the last birth so figured there would be no more. Here are the piglets all snuggled up to mum.

They are doing really well. Not squealing as much now. Peny is an excellent mother & of course there is plenty of milk for them all.

I had my camera in my pocket this morning when I went down to milk the cow. Remember the 7 chicks that a hen just showed up with one morning? And then remember how she got killed by a raccoon along with 4 babies. There were three orphans that we didn’t know whether they would survive. Well here they are - beautiful Brahma females.

Here are the bantams that also reside in the barn. Can you see the two hiding under the hay on the first roost? The big bird to the left is a mystery chicken that came FREE with some of the bantams. No idea what breed it is but I am pretty sure that it is a rooster with a tail like that!

Hope your New Year is a good one.

Liz