Canadian Backwood’s Butchers

When I asked this burly, backwood’s family of butchers if they would like a cup of tea, I was greeted with a roar of laughter as they toasted me with their morning coffee laced with whiskey. Our poultry live happy, free-range lives until B Day This tale of the chickens’ demise started out innocently enough.……

From a Story Teller?: Another Wordless Wednesday!

Yes I am verbose, loquacious even. A born story-teller. So what am I doing posting yet another photo/art post? Well, I love art, images, beauty. So before I regale you with another story or long-winded opinionated article…. It’s time to share favorite photos – with or without words – at the friendliest party in town……

Exploding Cow Pies

We expect playful pranks from boys in their early teens because they delight in stretching the boundaries. Firecrackers offer many exciting possibilities to a creative thirteen year old. My son, Joseph, along with a neighbour wondered what would happen if they lit a couple of fire crackers and threw them into the family’s country-style mailbox.……

The Steer’s Pincushion Nose

The day when curiosity was the calf’s downfall. Cows look dumb and lumber slowly but believe it or not, they are extremely curious. One day as a child, my sister,cousin and I sat on the edge of a stream to eat a picnic, realizing to late that a herd of cattle surrounded us on three……

Menagerie: Surrounded

The Daily prompt today is Menagerie. Do you have animals in your life? If yes, what do they mean to you? Animals? You want to know what animals mean to us? Well that question is an understatement on our hobby farm because we are surrounded by pets, farm and wild animals as well as nine kids all the time. Just try……

Comedy of Errors: Locked in With the CHICKENS

Murphy’s Law says, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Write about a time everything did — fiction encouraged here, too If mothers are the heart of the family,  why was I not missed after spending four hours locked in the chicken coop? I have always heard that the mother is the heart of……

Cliché

Daily Prompt:  clichés Clichés become clichés for a reason. Tell us about the last time a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush for you. Anyone who raises birds, especially chickens can answer this question quite easily. The quick comeback would be  The last time this cliché was True? Why today and everyday I have anything……

A Plot of Earth: A Delight in Winter as Well as Summer

a pond calms the soul in any season You’re given a plot of land and have the financial resources to do what you please. What’s the plan? Well, we have  already run a hobby farm for 20 years, with chickens, pigs, a calf, two horses and  a garden with 75 ft. rows. We merely rented,……

None of Us Are ‘Normal”

Many of us think of our lives as boringly normal, while others live the high life. Take a step back, and take a look at your life as an outsider might. Now, tell us at least six unique, exciting, or just plain odd things about yourself. Most men think in straight logical lines. They shake……

Finding My Way Back to Writing

Outwardly, my life is diametrically opposed  to anything I could have imagined as a teenager. Yet this strange life I find myself living has brought me more fulfilment and joy than I ever could have imagined. At sixteen, I was still an avid reader, who loved school.   As  expected, I completed an Honours Degree in English Literature. By 23,……

The Foxy Fox and The Dumb Dog

Remember those fables and stories about the clever fox that were read to you as a child? Well they are all based on fact. A few years ago the male members of our family were out on the kitchen porch enjoying a cool twilight breeze after a hot summer day. Suddenly Anthony whispered, “Don’t move.……

Day 12: Calling BS on Over Protecting Children

Childhood should be a time to play in freedom and joy; When I was a child, we hopped on bikes without helmets, only wore sunscreen at the beach and ate peanut butter sandwiches. When my oldest children started school in the mid to late eighty’s, they played marbles, bounced tennis balls off the school wall……

Do you Believe that Children NEED to Bond with Animals?

  Mary is squeezing Hammy again! The Canadian scientist, David Suzuki , believes that all children need to bond with animals. While watching my own kids interact with our pets and farm animals, I realized that children have a deep-seated need to relate to animals. Since I grew up in the city, with ballet lessons,……

Ball and Chain in Place? Good. Now You Can Play.

Childhood should be a time to play in freedom and joy;   When I was a child, we hopped on bikes without helmets, only wore sunscreen at the beach and ate peanut butter sandwiches. When my oldest children started school in the mid to late eighty’s, they played marbles, bounced tennis balls off the school……

The Raccoons Blew The Transformer, The Dog Ate The Turkey ….

Do you have any idea the trouble that farm animals can get into? Every single time Michael, my husband, attends a conference or leaves for a long weekend, something goes wrong on our hobby farm. Just two months ago, my husband was gone for two weeks and a total of ten accidents and catastrophes occurred.……

The Most Loveable, Annoying Pet

Shadow was a slobbery, drooling dog, a big black lab mix with overgrown feet and an overgrown personality. An integral part of my children’s lives for 13 years. he was the most quirky, amusing and utterly annoying pet we have ever owned. I can only list of his odd and utterly hilarious behaviour because it would take a n……

Locked In The Chicken Coop

The mother is the heart of the family, especially a stay-at-home-mother with a crew of kids, who also helps with a hobby farm. So tell me, why was I not missed after spending three hours locked in the chicken coop? This is a funny story in hindsight. However,  I was slightly upset  because the experience battered ……

Photo Peek: Kids + Farm Animals = Comedy

                                                                                       Daisy our goat liked to follow the kids around. We raised one calf per year. I called our meat “happy meat” because they were free range animals the didn’t suffer the trauma of the slaughter house. Anthony loved trying new stunts on our very old, staid horse My  nieces and daughter Emily delighted in a……

My Husband’s GRANDMA Drank the Last and Best Bottle Of Our Home Made Wine??

    Michael and I like to experiment when we cook, bake bread or make pickles. Sometimes of our creative endeavours are successful such as our exotic herbs and vegetables, crocheted blankets,  jewelry and home tied flies for fishing My son cut down a huge black walnut tree, a friend brought over a portable saw mill and cut it into rough boards which my husband planed and sanded……

Pigs, Pigs, Those Intelligent Pigs

Everyone seems to like pigs a little bit more these days, especially tea-cup pigs but our family loves real farm pigs.   For twenty years we have raised meat birds, laying hens, four pigs a year, a calf and had an old horse and a beautiful warm-blooded horse. There are many hilariously episodes to tell of our adventures