You never count your farm equipment while sitting at the table...

The other night I was invited to a poker game held by a friend of mine who lives locally. I'm not much of a drinker and have little patience for when people are overly drunk. In no way would I be classified as a prude or preacher, I drink from time to time. However my tolerance for idiocy is very minimal. That being said, if you choose to play a game for money and you also get loaded and lose your shirt to me, so be it. So just as the night is wrapping up, a couple of the guys were a little low on funds and the betting turned interesting. During a game of Hold em, I flopped a King high straight and totally played another guy into a classic limping trap. Once all was said and done, I cleaned him out and walked away with $$ and a new fertilizer spreader. Isn't it funny how life goes, I never thought I'd be happy to win farm equipment in a game of poker but there it is...

Been a year already??

D and I are leaving day after tomorrow for a 'honeymoon'/anniversary back to Jamaica. We were married there this time last year but with the 30+ guests and stress up the ying yang it wasn't much of  a relaxing time. With the new house, farm work, Cooper: the super pain in the a$$, and just all around bad things happening around here, it will be a very welcome break. Coop is still pretty young and we should be here for him but the trip was booked a while ago, and as mentioned before is very badly needed. A family friend is gong to stay here to watch the homestead and take are of our menagerie of animals.

I'm going to try and leave a few neighbours with jobs to do on the property while we are gone. Why? Because they're mostly retired and have offered, or they want some of our trees to trade so it may actually get done by the time we're back. Most likely we'll come back and nothing will have changed. If I don't get that back Montego plot prepped by winter it will be a tough season of growing next year. I'll let you know how it turns out.   

And although it is a day late, and no one really reads this blog, I want to say thank you to all those who have served our country locally and abroad to keep us safe. Remembrance Day is an important day in our family, both my grandfathers served in WWII and the Korean War. Years ago I was walking through a school yard and a home whose fence backed onto the school had an older man working on his garden. We struck up a conversation through the fence and after a few minutes he had briefly mentioned serving in WWII. I gave him a sincere thanks for his service and he started to tear up a little. It was a great moment I try to recreate any chance I get. So anyways... thanks.

Life Lesson #3: Being born in Canada is winning the human race lottery. Appreciate and take advantage of it...

Tomorrow is promised to no one...

In some ways I wonder if the idea of starting a 'homestead' blog was a little premature considering we are just entering into the throws of winter. What I mean is, there isn't really much to discuss in terms of self sufficient living when you haven't really planted anything and aren't going to for another few months. On a personal level there are things to share but how interesting is that to anyone who aren't family and friends, and they don't even read this blog. We can keep you up to date with renovation or dog training progress, maybe just a blog like variety show of what's happening on the farm. Read if you wish, comments are always welcome but the true farm angle of things will be in low key until spring.  

To make things worse in terms of content this week, we were basically kept indoors because of the

Cooper: Cutest dog ever...

remnants of Hurricane Sandy. It was a lot of wind and rain for us but nothing over the top damage wise. It set us back a bit with the puppy Cooper, he wasn't a fan of the rain and the house training has been hit or miss. Thankfully we are planning on changing the flooring soon so he can do his worst with his ninja like poop bombs. There are some nipping issues with D, and because of coyotes we are going to need to keep and eye on him until he's big enough. Locals keep telling me to get a donkey for the farm to keep the coyotes away from the chickens etc but not sure D would be on board for that. Plus a donkey breaks the farm rule of no animals so big we can't bury it or stuff in a neighbours mailbox if it dies...

So far no sprouts on the garlic patch yet, a minor disappointment. We have all the leaves piled up and ready to cover it after a couple good frosts. The next week is suppose to be decent weather so I'll keep an eye on it and hold off on the mulch cover as of yet. No progress on the Montego plot yet, the 5 days of rain have put everyone on hold. I'll be buggin' the neighbours for sure to get things moving before the winter sets in. The trampoline has been taken apart and moved to the shop for transformation, hopefully have that up for spring. And for whatever reason I ordered some seeds off Ebay as well. In the grand scheme of things not a lot, $40 worth of what would cost us $80 online at seed stores. Overall a good investment/source if they germinate, it's the tunnel vision thing at work again mostly...

All in all things are going well, we are still happy and progressing enough. We're leaving for our honeymoon next week and none of the locals have left a burning scarecrow on our lawn, so we are doing well so far. We've noticed a few things since living on the farm vs the city, some good some bad...

Wormzilla

1. Everyone seems to smile a little more. It sounds cliche but it's true.
2. The stars at night are mesmerizing and because we live on a slight hill, the sun rises are very intence.
3. Stringent deadlines seem like more of a suggestion to locals.
4. A lot of things are closed on Sundays, a fact I don't mind really. I appreciate the old days of everything being shut on the holy day.
5. Things which are gospel in the city, ie anti monsanto and non-GMO seem shrugged off to most here. One neighbour actually told me it was 'safe' to drink Monsanto's Roundup weed killer.
6. Worms grow very large. I thought someone lost a finger while digging the garlic patch. 
7. Morning tea tastes better. 
8. Raking the yard is an all day ordeal. May be time to cut down some trees.
9. It takes the same time to get to and from Tim Horton's here vs in the city.
10. Mouse bait seems to be a staple in decorating. 

Life Lesson #876: Better to have people think you're an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt...