Saturday at the farm

I dunno, this spring has been so-so. A bit too cold and windy for my liking. I remember a couple of  years back, the farmers were putting in seeds in March. Not this year! Anyway, when the sun was out today and the wind died down, it wasn't too bad at all. Gordon and I went for a nice walk back to our woodlot. And on the way back, I had a visit with the pigs...

...while wearing my Quirky Carrot sweatshirt. The Quirky Carrot is a fantastic little restaurant in our nearby small town of Alexandria. It's open for breakfast and lunch, and also offers cooking courses and other wonderful things. All the food is healthy, delicious and homemade and the menu changes every day. I'm so glad we have this place to go to! Great baristas, too.

I think Ophelia was trying to tell me something! All the pigs are on the chunky side (oops! too much lazing about in the hay this winter) so we are cutting back their rations a bit. They are also getting outside and exercising more now that the snow is gone.

Look at this beauty...

I'm in love with Annuk. She's a darling cat!

She checked out the tractor today.

Buttercup is very pleased it's spring!

EMerson climbed up my back to get a better view of the pigs!

Can you spot the little Greek kitty in this photo? Annuk!

And here's our lovely Mootie again...

She's such a beauty. She gets brushed pretty much every day.

Daisy is just thrilled winter has ended.

She came from Syros, Greece last November with her sisters Buttercup and Honey. I kept telling them that winter wouldn't last forever, but I don't think she believed me.

Annuk just arrived this month, so she doesn't know's in store for her later this year. She was hanging around with Daisy today. They were both left at the same dump in Syros as kittens, at different times. I wonder if they are related?

Mootie spied a squirrel up one of the black walnut trees!

And Missy was out and about too!

Missy and I have a cuddle session after day. When I clean the box stalls every morning, she sits on the railing and meows at me until I stop what I'm doing and give her some love. It's really cute. And how could I say "no" to such an adorable calico?

Annuk an Daisy explored the woodpile too!

Then Mootie and Annuk had a sniff around the tiller on the tractor.

Annuk checking out her surroundings!

Bootylicious pigs snacking!

Annuk and Daisy.

It turned out to be a very lovely spring day. Have a great weekend! Thank you for all the nice comments you leave on my blog. They always make me smile.

Extra protein in the eggs this week...

Okay, so this morning  caught one of my Finnish girls (missing a few feathers, oops! A lot of birds are moulting or bedraggled right now after the long winter) running around with a dead rat  in her beak...

Well, not an entire dead rat...

...more like the pelt, tail and back legs of a dead rat. I suspect it was killed by a barn cat. The birds are more than happy to take care of corpses! :P

Everybody was fighting over the (barf) prize! Debbie snatched it away from her Finnish friend...

...then somehow George ended up with it, although it was passed around amongst the ducks after this was taken. Usually I take things like this away from the birds but you know, this morning I just did not have the stomach for disposing of a deflated half-rat. Sigh.

Meanwhile, the cats all wanted cuddles so it took me extra time to get my chores done!

Isn't Archie a gorgeous boy?

And his Greek cousin Buttercup insisted on napping in my lap.

Yesterday Honey feel asleep on my shoulder while I was sitting at my desk.

Cats, gotta love 'em. Rats, not so much.

Love these girls!

I love all of our cats! But Missy is very dear to me...

She has a routine now. Every day when I clean out the box stalls, she hangs around and meows plaintively until I stop and cuddle her. And if I don't cuddle her for what she deems an inadequate amount of time, she starts meowing at me again.

But it's no hardship cuddling this little calico darling! She is an extremely sweet cat.

As is...

...Mootie! I have a real soft spot for Mootie, who had a tough time sitting at the shelter for ages, labelled unadoptable.

In fact she's a darling and a real lap cat.

I suspect she'll eventually transition to house cat!

I brush her pretty much every day and she's a real beauty.

Love this girl. It has taken her some time to trust me, but I think we're there now.

Of tools and Greek kitties and ponies...

Gordon plopped this on the bed yesterday morning...

I was briefly startled, but then thrilled! After years of me complaining about never being able to find a tool when I need it (because Gordon loses them all), I now have my very own FANTASTIC SET OF NEW TOOLS!!!!!!!!

You have no idea how happy this makes me. Even I didn't know quite how happy it would make me. I marched off to my beehives yesterday and used the smallest squarehead screwdriver to remove some screws I hadn't been able to take out for want of the proper tool.

Speaking of proper tools, if my darling husband lays a hand on any of these, I'll be using that substantial hammer.

THANK YOU GORDON!!!!

Meanwhile, my darling Archie and Annuk await their forever homes...

Of course they will always have a home here, but they are such lovely cats, it would be great to see them go somewhere special. Archie is adorable, playful and affectionate with a sense of humour. He gets along great with other cats. 

Annuk is a real beauty and also very affectionate. She has the cutest quacky little meow! She is Archie's sister and they are both eight months old. She too gets along great with other cats. 

She has a lot to say...

A very chatty little girl!!

Meanwhile, Finney and Esme were enjoying the sunshine and wind yesterday...

My handsome boy!

Love those velvety noses!

She's still shedding her winter coat. 

They both love to pick through the manure pile. And roll in mud!

Hope you all have a great Sunday!

Another day, another porker...

So, we had our friend Luc put up a dog run around the little outdoor pig house this week...

...and today...

...a pig magically appeared in it!

Okay, not that magically...

Meet the pig formerly known as Rosie. I picked Rosie up from the OSPCA today. Why "formerly"? 

Well, because when I got "Rosie" home, I realized Rosie had... man-bits.

SO did Dahlia, seen here setting up camp outside "Rosie's" enclosure!

Good thing I noticed that Rosie wasn't a girl! We are going to have him neutered before letting him frolic with the others. The last thing I need is seven pregnant pigs.

Jersey (left) and Dahlia (right) were both quite taken with the sexy new youngster!

Buttercup sauntered by too!

And Honey!

I first heard about Rosie in February. The manager of our shelter told me that a local police officer had found Rosie in a ditch (in February!!!), put "her" in his squad car, and called the shelter. He said he was brining in a pig, but the pig looked hungry, so he was stopping at Tim Hortons and getting it a cheese bagel first.

Is that not incredibly sweet?!

I told the manager that if she hadn't found Rosie a home by spring, we'd take her in.

So today we did! I picked her up at the shelter this morning. The minute I put the crate in the car, "she" promptly had the longest pee imagineable, followed by a large poop. As I was driving home with the windows rolled down, I turned a corner (carefully, I might add!) and the crate rolled over, pig and all.

Luckily, Rosie was fine and the towel I'd put in the crate had absorbed all the pee, so I don't need to get my car detailed tomorrow.

We'll see how soon we can get Rosie neutered. I'm getting the vet in to trim all the pigs hooves (they are atrociously long) and to vaccinate and deworm them all.

Everybody is pretty darn chunky after a winter spent lounging in the straw, eating and sleeping!

Ophelia enjoyed a nice scratch with a stick.

And a belly rub! Rosie is getting a new name. I will keep you posted.

Meanwhile, I think Redford is a little put out by all the new cats. He hopped my lap while I was sitting in the RTV, so we had a nice cuddle...

Such a handsome boy! I have to get him and bunch of other cats to the vet for exams and vaccines!

Buttercup is thrilled that winter is finally over.

But Redford won't let her drive the Kubota!