Honking for Geese

Can't you just hear it? That loud and annoying honk of geese. I can remember going to the park to feed the ducks and having the geese coming around with their loud honking.

They would also chase you boldly trying to get the bread when all you wanted was to feed the cute ducks.

So...would you want them on your farm?... 

Continued at... http://www.homesteadingalberta.com/#!honking-geese/c1o2j

No-Dig Gardening - sounds like a dream!!

Join our conversation on Facebook about No-Dig Gardening.  Started early this afternoon with this link:

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/creating-productive-no-dig-garden-under-year

It's a very interesting topic.  Obviously where you live, your climate and your soil has a lot to do with whether this would work for you or not.  Tell us what you think on our Facebook page so everyone can see your comments/opinion:  www.facebook.com/homesteadingalberta

~Sue

Melting snow... blowing wind

Not a lot is new here.  We have been having some very mild weather and a lot of our snow is melting.  It's nice to see the ground for a change.

It has also been very windy here.  Since we have been here less than 6 months we are not sure if this is normal but we have started researching wind power because of all the wind we've been getting.
One thing we've looked in to is recording the wind.  Have you done that?

There are systems you can get that record wind gusts, speed, duration etc.  I find this fascinating. It would be a great bonus to be able to harvest the wind for some power.  As we live in Canada our sunlight during the winter is less than ideal for solar so having wind to back it up would be ideal.

We would love to hear from anyone, especially someone in our neck of the woods, that use wind power.  We have a lot of questions...of course lol.  Practical experience is always the best.

Off to anchor down some tarps before they blow away.  Have a great Tuesday!

~Sue

Rabbits

Anyone raise rabbit for meat? Have you had rabbit meat?

We would like to try some meat but it's seeming very difficult to find any locally. 

Why is that? Rabbit meat is high in protein and they are easy to raise. They do not take up a lot of room either. We are seriously looking in to raising rabbits for meat.

Join our discussion on rabbits on Facebook...it got very interesting... and we'd love to hear what you think about rabbits for meat as well. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=763777426967335&set=a.670042773007468.1073741828.670019503009795&type=1&relevant_count=1

~Sue

Shopping...yuck!

Fridays are my usual town day.  When I go in to get supplies needed, groceries, banking etc.  If I can get away with going I will.  I don't like shopping.  I included a pic of my favorite kind of shopping list below...maybe you'll get a chuckle from it.....or inspiration!

So how about you?  Do you love or hate shopping? Our goal is to be almost completely self-sufficient some day so that going to town for anything will only be needed on a very minimal basis, like maybe every two months or less.

Have you reached that point yet? What do you go to town for?

Short post because I have to get to town and back but I look forward to your replies.  You can also answer us on Facebook at our page at www.facebook.com/homesteadingalberta.

~Sue

Happy Monday!

I don't hate winter. In fact I actually like snow and the way everything looks covered in white and the cool crisp air. I like cozying up to the fireplace and wearing big warm sweaters.

But because this will be our first Spring on the farm I am anxiously waiting for it to get here! 30 days till the first official day of Spring!

Our list is very long for everything we want to do once the snow is gone and it gets longer every day. We are constantly talking about all there will be to do. How about you? Do you have any big Spring plans?

Our first priority so that we are ahead for next winter is to bring in some of the wood that is piled around our property and build a wood shed. It will be a big first project.

We keep categorizing everything has low or high priority and that changes daily. After all plans are made to be changed!!

Today I'm working on our web-site which I hope to have finished very soon. And tomorrow we will have some news!

Hope you have a great Monday!

~Sue

Weasels Stink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Weasels STINK!!!!!!!!!!!

How do I know this? Well, I was laying down trying to get rid of a headache (works best for me) and the dog was with me for a bit but then jumped off the bed and all of a sudden went bat sh*t crazy down the hall and chased something in to the spare bedroom.

I didn't see it but when I went to go in the bedroom the stink was sooo bad I though it was a skunk. I called the dog out and shut the door quick!

I was freaked out! I am home alone so I called Alberta Fish & Wildlife. Nice lady on the phone calmed me down and discussed the situation. Determined that because of previous occurrences and the smell I described it was probably our weasel again!! 

Didn't know weasel's can stink that bad but apparently when they're irritated they can get nasty! Smells almost as bad as a skunk. 

She convinced me to put the dog outside and go in to the room and see if I could figure out what was in there. That was fun.... I figured it must be in the closet from the noises I was hearing. So I proceeded to pull a few things out and all of a sudden this little white head (why do they have to be cute?!) picked out from under the shelving. When I realized it was the weasel again I was sooo relieved!!

Chased him out and down the hall where he escaped under the door to our water softener/laundry area and out of the house.

Now the room is being aired out, smell is almost gone!

Thank goodness for weasels, even though I now know they stink, I'll take them over a skunk in the house any day!!!

Vixen is not so happy though, it's been hours and she is still hunting the house for the weasel that got away!

~Sue