It is hard to believe that in this day and age, an educated person can still choose to be ignorant?

What about an uneducated person? Does that person also have the right to exercise choosing ignorance or perhaps the ignorance goes along with not being educated and possibly the intellect level? 

For example, some one with little education may or may not have little drive to learn the truth in the world and instead, tend to believe what the authorities tell them, in that authorities like the health care system, the political system, the educators and the legal experts. 

I don't believe any of them, at least not until I have done research for myself, found enough to support the idea that I am researching and then form an opinion. That opinion is then subject to change instantly with the presentation of new knowledge. 

Since I was 14, I have opted out of mainstream media. No news, no newspapers, no political publications and no desire to know what is presented to the world. Can some one live without knowing the news? Well, not entirely. If something major happens, it is on everyone's lips and on the internet. It is impossible to escape, but often things do not make much sense that we are told, at least not to me. So, I research and look, sometimes for a long time, until I form my own opinion based on what I have learned. Granted, the research is still opinion. It is just not the spoon fed mainstream media garbage that the authorities want us to believe. Who owns those media stations anyhow? Surprisingly, only one or two companies control everything we see and hear. Or maybe that is not so surprising. 

How does this relate to the farm? There is a new farm bill proposed. What is the purpose, the true purpose of this bill? Why has it come up now? What is it the authorities want to prevent or change? What is the underlying reason for the bill? Certainly it is not to protect farm kids from working on the farm!

I have not finished learning what I can about the bill, so my opinion of it is on hold. Too much is not being revealed and the time is too short before it is implements. My first thought is that it is a step towards Hunger Games, Control food, control people. If you have not seen the first Hunger Games movie, you should. I think it is another case of putting the way it is in front of our unseeing eyes. Is this bill a step towards that end? What do you think?

I guess this is one of those times when life gives me lemons. 

My dream was to build a new life, to design a permanent agriculture system, grow vegetables, harvest from the wild, raise animals for their gifts to us as humans, and return to the old ways, which were healthy and sacred. In order to manage all that, I needed a supplemental income. That is where the bed and breakfast came in - a business that was second nature to me, easy to run and manage and that would not only provide the income, but a system of meeting fascinating folks from around the globe, to serve and entertain them in my own home and to bid them adieu until the next time. 

The bed and breakfast was very slow to start, however; once it was established and the reviews started to come, it grew from there. I did not need to have full bookings in order to meet the income necessary, only half time really, and that was finally achieved in the second year. I met some wonderful people, judges, doctors, engineers, medical professionals and such, and we shared tidbits of our lives over a good home cooked meal with farm fresh ingredients and meats raised naturally right here, on the Fat Ewe Farm. All was well. 

The farm grew rapidly as well from nothing really, to a functioning, lovely little place where families often came to view the critters and speak to the farmer, aka, me! There were many unusual breeds of sheep to see, with tiny lambs and fuzzy wools, miniature goats, miniature cows, and a lot of birds, which is the strange part, because birds were never part of the original plan. I had a true traumatic experience as a very young child, which created a terrible bird phobia for the rest of my life. Upon starting the farm, I could not go near a bird, let alone handle even a baby chick all fuzzy and warm. It took some time, great determination and perseverance to overcome that phobia, which is now 99% cured, but I did it! So, then the birds came and they multiply faster than rabbits. Soon just a few chickens, ducks and geese gave me over a hundred birds. 

At first, I was able to sell lambs to the locals who wanted to start breeding and caring for their own small flocks. The miniature goats were also very good sellers, with their adorable cuteness factor in the overwhelming category. They are still the number one animal that I can sell, but with the price of feed (hay) up more than triple, I bet people will not be buying little critters this year as pets for their acreages. They did not buy them last year when the prices skyrocketed, either.

I took the majority of the birds to the abattoir and they are in freezer camp now, but I can not eat that many birds in a year. I will gift some of them for Christmas, for sure. The Babydoll sheep are not currently being bred. I am debating whether to just breed a few or not to breed them at all. There is no market for them with the prices the way they are. People have to rethink what they can and cannot do and luxury pets are out of the question for the most part. 

Now what? I have tried to sell soap and home made lotions and creams for 2 years now with absolute zero success. On that, I give up. The craft fair I just participated in brought a whole 30 dollars in, enough to cover the table and gas. I have tons of beautiful soap to sell now. Online is the only possibility and I am terrible at the getting to the post office part and invoicing, so I have resisted online sales all together. I need a partner for that, some one who is very good at the business side of things. I am in one more fair on the 10,11th of December, but with the economy the way it is, I somehow feel that it will also be poor. 

Therefore, I have decisions to make, hard ones. I will have to move out at least 50% of the animals and birds still here, possibly concentrate on one breed of each only. No more hand made products either. The people in this area just do not value anything like that and they could care less about natural or organic, too. Wrong place for me, it is. The gardening and wild harvesting is still a possibility and something to spend more time on. I can harvest wild roses, but they too would have to be marketed online, again because people here do not value herbs or wild harvested plants. I can do a small market garden, though with just one person, that is tough. Slowly, over the next four years, liquidation will continue, and finally, I guess it will be time to say good bye to this dream and create a new one. Hope....there is always that. 

On November 28th, it is going to be a busy day. It is the first craft show of the season. I am only in 2 due to time constraints. This week, I have to work 4 days, which is good, but the timing is not great. That means chores are not finished until 7:30 or so, then there is supper to make and not much time left to do things that need doing. 

Basically, the labels are made. I just need to do about 9 more, but they are all soap and use the same template. Printing will be black and white, since that is the only option with the new mono printer. At least there will be labels. It is law that products sold are labeled, yet, LUSH cosmetics does not label their soap. It sits in big chunks and they hack off a piece if you ask them to. But wait, then it is weighed and labeled, so yeah, I guess they do. It is like the grocery sticker when you fill your own bags in the bulk section and then weigh them and a label pops out. I have not seen that system here in Alberta though. 

There is a decadent body butter, not my type, but hopefully the sort most will like. And there are many soaps, 99% organic and natural. Only 3 have some fragrance oil added and there are some organic ones that were from a commercial melt and pour soap base that has preservatives and binders in it, aka chemicals, but ones permitted by organic companies. There are also liquid soaps and some bath scents. I have been using the bath scents in the tub and the idea was a teaspoon would be enough, but either I am desensitized or they are not strong enough, so I will start them out on sale. 

There may not be much time to write in the next few days, but I am thinking of you. Wish me luck at the fair. 

I happened to be at the Hutterite colony, Pine Meadows, where I buy dog scraps, when they were butchering some hogs. They were young pigs and at their prime. I noticed the butcher was discarding the fat from the body cavity. This fat is the absolute best fat, leaf lard, from the interior of the pig, surrounding the kidneys for protection. It is lighter than the body fat and cleaner, since there are no meat or blood scraps in the fat. 

I asked if I might have some and they said certainly, if I stuck around a bit. I waited until three hogs were butchered, well, two and the third started and got 6 lovely strips of leaf fat. One had the kidney still attached, which the dog, Ofcharka, gladly wolfed down in about 2 seconds. Tonight it is very cold with a bit of a north wind and the dogs are working. They are keeping the predators at bay, particularly the coyotes, so they need energy. Ofcharka works the main farmyard with Jade and Jenna, but he will certainly jump the fence and go where he is needed. Tonight was his lucky night for the treats. 

The lard is in the oven, which is turned on to 170 degrees and it will stay there until morning. Then the fat should have melted out of the tissue without burning or scorching. If it smells fine, it can be frozen for later use, and if not, it can be washed. This is done by putting the hardened fat, now lard, in a pot of boiling salted water and allowing it to boil for 20 minutes or so. The impurities stay in the water and the fat will rise to the top and harden again. The washing can be done several times, if necessary, but this fat is very clean, so it may not have to be done at all. 

The fat is perfectly wonderful for human consumption, frying potatoes and such, but best for pastry. Chefs prize leaf lard for their exquisite pie crusts. It is a good thing I am not baking much now, or I might just make a saskatoon pie and eat the whole thing. The lard will be used in soap too and at one time, not that long ago, it was acceptable and even desirable to use it in face creams and such. Would you put lard cream on your face? 

See Ramona's fleece. It is covered with tiny green bits of hay from the hay net. I tied the top of the hay net to the corral to keep it upright somewhat, though it does not really work because sheep will stand on the net and eat at the high place if they can, and they can. Goats do too. 

This was my last resort for keeping the fleeces vegetative matter free. For the past 4 years, I have tried umpteen dozens of different kinds of feeders, all to no avail. It does not help that here, we have to feed hay year round too and the sheep cannt be shorn in the fall when they are the cleanest, because with our winters, they would surely freeze. 

This is not the place to have a fibre farm. At least not the sort I imagined with samplers of many different breeds of sheep. Short of putting coats on the sheep, and changing them at least monthly so the wool does not matt underneath, there is not much to be done. 

Ramona has the type of wool that will keep debris deep inside it as well and that is a shame, because her wool, the wool from a Romney sheep, is sought after by hand spinner, IF it is clean. None want to sit for hours upon end trying to clean the bits of hay from a fleece. The neck has some of the softest wool, but the necks of my sheep are contaminated and the wool must be discarded for compost. That is a shame. 

So, what next? I did not set out to farm sheep for the meat. I am far more interested in the wool, even if I personally do not like to work with it until it is in batts. I don't think I will ever be a spinner or knitter, but I am going to learn to felt this winter. For felting, the wool does not have to be as pristine as for spinning. Maybe it would be salvageable for the felting crowd?

I am very disheartened. Things are not going the way I wished them to. Having to go back to work was not in the cards, yet I am back to work. Not having a sheep farm will now make me rethink the purpose to my farm. I cannot just keep all the animals as pets, though I would like to. They must earn their keep some how. Possibly by changing the breeds, the wool can be used. There is a farmer in Saskatchewan with Corriedale sheep and she does nothing special to feed them, yet because they are all the same size and have tight wool, the wool is useable. Thinking....

​What do you think? To sheep or not to sheep? That is the question. 

When a desired business in a small town is the one and only of its kind, the owner can take liberties. This is good and bad. Extended credit on a handshake is not uncommon, but bad business is also, unfortunately, not uncommon. 

The one and only seed cleaning plant used to be a place I frequented. I got to know the workers by name, knew the front desk girl and the owner of the business. I was often ignored when I went in, by the owner that is, but the front desk girl and at least two of the workers were quite friendly and helpful, no matter what. Granted, when I arrived here 4 years ago, I was very green. There was a lot to know and I did ask a lot of questions. Each year I got grain delivered to the farm via the big grain truck with an auger and the grain was kept in 1000 pound tote bags for winter usage. One year the driver was phenomenal. He knew exactly how to auger the grain into the tote without creating dust and without spilling it everywhere. 

Twice I had the same driver who would not listen to me, and did not even acknowledge me. Under his tutelage, the grain spilled, the bag ripped and it was a dusty disaster.

Last year, the grain was ordered and I waited and waited. 2 months went by and I completely ran out of grain and was forced to purchase it by the 25 pound sack, a very expensive and time consuming way to do it. I spoke to the owner many times about the order and he ignored me. Then he went on a hunting trip and the order remained unfulfilled. Thank goodness, Jules, one of the two employees who shows some brains and initiative, said he would bring it within the week and did so within two days. 

I also purchased dog food there. The price hike on the last marketing change raised the food to $1 per pound. The size of the bags went from 50 pounds to 40 pounds, too. It was expensive food, but the dogs did well on it and the amount I spent at the seed cleaning plant on dog food was about $250 per month, sometimes $300. 

The owner and I had a dispute over the grain spill, the torn bag and the fact that he shipped the wrong product entirely. What I received was  feed barley and was supposed to be barely screenings at a cost difference of double for the feed, which I got. The owner would not budge in his stalwart way. I have spoken to the two other seed cleaning plants in close proximity, and many, many locals now. He has a reputation of being difficult and unfair and no one was surprised at this treatment either. 

I got a phone call to pay the final invoice after the owner indicated he would credit one feed bag and some of the spilled grain. He would do nothing about the wrongful delivery. But, he charged interest on the late payment. How can he do that when the invoice was in dispute? I did not realize that the interest was tagged on. Tomorrow I will call and find out how it was calculated. I have a feeling it was calculated on the original amount of the invoice. Anyhow, it should not be there at all. Now it is paid and I am demanding a refund. The owner is lucky he got paid what he did. I told him that it was like me ordering a freezer from Sears, being shipped a fridge, and then told to deal with it. No refunds! 

Yes, it is the only seed cleaning plant in close proximity. It is not the only place to get grain. The biggest problem for me is that now that I am substitute teaching, his kids are in one of the schools I go to. I don't know how much of his business he shares with his family, but I do not want those kids upset. So, this time, I will pay what I don't owe, not pay the interest I was charged and paid if I will get a refund, but I highly doubt that. Once a shyster, always a shyster.

This is a very bad part of living in a small town. Grrrr. I am right angry. Wouldn't you be? 

I don't mind the winter. The snow is pristine white and sparkles and glitters in the moonlight like a million crystals decorating everything that Frost has painted with her delicate hand. Moonlight, yes, because with the time change, I do not get home from school much before dark, so the chores are done at night. Don't get me started on the time change. I think that it may, at one time, when people worked 9 to 5 jobs and stayed home on Sundays, have been helpful in some economics of saving power. But today, the lights are on all the time, people are working any shifts in a 24 hour period and the time change no longer serves its original purpose. It frustrates me though, because I do not need an hour of light in the morning. I need it when I come home from work at 4 pm. 

It has been snowing from some time in the early morning off and on all day. This is very welcome. I had resorted to using the lawn mower tractor and the wagon to haul water, since normally the toboggan, which holds 4 five gallon buckets, is how I carry the water in the winter. Up until now, we have not had enough snow to use the toboggan. 

When I tried to start the tractor, it would not turn over. I guess the battery is dead and I do not know where to even to begin to look for the charger. I went to get the toboggan, which I had stashed right by the water tap outside the big house. Whoosh, the rope is broken. I tied it, but apparently not well enough, since when I started out, it let go and I had to retie it. The water buckets are all made from recycled rubber and can take a smashing with a 5 pound sledge hammer to bang the ice out of them so they can be refilled. I go to turn the water on and of course the frost free tap is frozen. I cannot get the bi valve from summer off either, because Travis screwed it on and when he tightens something, It is meant to stay. OK. You would think that normal people would have an outlet somewhere near the back stairs where the tap and gas meter are located or somewhere along there. NO WAY! Not these people. Another aggravation for me, grrrrrr! 

I go downstairs and turn the dryer on. Last year I had this problem figured out. The dryer vents next to the faucet and the warm air, if I trap it, quickly thaws the tap. Within about 5 minutes, the tap is functioning and I am good to go. There is only an inch of snow and still some bare spots. Pulling the toboggan with 200 pounds of water is not an easy task. The cows are waiting patiently for their drink. They do eat snow, as do the sheep, but the goats and ducks do not, nor the pigs. The pigs greeted me when I got home with many admonitions for leaving them thirsty all day. They were the first to get water and being already dark, they went off to bed for the night. Yesterday I moved Karin in with the pigs. She will have all the hay she wants and there is an unused shelter her size. She is still next to the sheep and hopefully will stay relatively bonded to them. 

Finally, after the tractor not starting, the toboggan finally functioning, the bucket ice hammered out and the buckets refilled, the sheep in quarters being hand fed and the bunnies tended to, everyone was happy. I let the ducks and geese drink all they wanted and then put them to bed and closed up the chickens for the night. There are 3 chickens and 2 guinea hens that are still roosting in the tree. Crazy birds. I caught one and stuffed him in the coop and left him overnight, but the next night he was back in the tree. Every year it seems there are some in the tree. This year, I cannot get them down by myself, so they will have to stay there. They have many better places to sleep should they wisen up. There are three that sleep in a corner of the barn as well. 

I brought three loads of wood in. The fire is out of course, with me not here to tend it. I needed to clean the ashes anyhow, so this will be a good opportunity for that. The furnace is set to only 14 degrees, so I have good motivation to keep the warm fires burning. Sofi wore her coat today because it was cold outside. I put a blanket over the outside of her kennel in the porch to keep her a little warmer. Last night the dogs slept inside, Robbie and Sofi, but I don't trust Sofi. She climbed up on the leather chair and slept near the fire. She has problems with incontinence these days and the last thing I want is her to sleep on the furniture or anywhere but in her kennel or bed. So she and Robbie are in the porch tonight. It is only -7 as opposed to minus 18 last night. They will be fine. 

Supper is slow cooking...goat stew. The fires will be warm in no time and the day is done, finally , and it is time to rest. I promised myself I would not do any hobbies until I finished housecleaning, and the floors and dusting, and dishes are left. I really want to make some bath salts and that is my motivation to do the dishes at least. 

We all have frustrating days that seem to be a pile up of everything going wrong. The thing is, persevere and be positive. If the tractor doesn't start, use the toboggan, and if the toboggan is broken, fix it. Sigh.Capice? 

These are the two little Blue Faced Leicester Lambs that were born this spring. The brown/grey one is a little boy. He has remarkable soft tightly curled fleece with a white spot on his left flank and two white "tears" under his eyes. He had a very good start to life, a simple and easy birth and all was well, that is until he got a sickness called coccidiosis. It is a common protozoa that gives animals diarrhea and can make them very weak. He was treated for that and then became anemic because of a heavy worm load. These two little lambs preferred not to go out to pasture with the other lambs and sheep, but to stay in the pen and eat the grass. The problem there is the grass is very soiled with droppings from the sheep and eating the grass perpetuates the worm cycle by ingesting worms in the grass. I would chase them out of the pen and out to pasture and the next thing I knew, they were right back. The little boy got bottle jaw, which is a condition  where anemia causes fluid to back up and collect under the chin. I treated him twice for worms, 10 days apart and in between that time, he began to lose his wool from stress. I did manage to collect it by rooing, or hand plucking his fleece, but he doesn't have a very warm coat for winter. He is no longer sick, but has a lot of catching up to do. 

The female, white ewe lamb, did not get coccidiosis and I kept a close eye on her, because the two of them hung around together. I have no idea how they know what breed they are, but they are the only two Blue Faced Leicester lambs born this year. It is rather strange that they stayed together. None of the other lambs did such a thing. Then the little girl developed bottle jaw rather suddenly, however; she responded quickly to the medicine. She is a bit ragged because it appeared she had a run in with a coyote or fox, but the dogs likely came to her rescue. If they stayed with the flock, I am sure that would not have happened, that is the attack on her. She has not lost her coat, thank goodness. 

The Blue Faced Leicester lambs were the only lambs to show any signs of illness or worm overload this year. I did not have to treat any of the other lambs and they are all healthy and robust. These babies were out of excellent stock, some of the finest Blue Faced Leicester sheep around. They ram was selected for his fleece, his genes for colour, though he is white and for his genetics. The two ewes were also selected for their superior fleece and they come from excellent genetics too. It was certainly strange that the two lambs did not fare well. 

At least, I can say that they are well now, but both have to do some catching up. I think I will put coats on them to help them retain some body heat. Then they don't have to fight with the available food just to grow. Keep going, little lambies! 

Things are not going too well for most of the world. Right here on my doorstep, people have lost jobs, many have had to leave everything and move, and there is frustration, anger and worse yet, hunger. Once people get hungry, they become dangerous.They steal, loot, pillage and take what is not theirs to have. This has started in earnest too, with people even stealing hay and cattle right out of the farm yard. 

What if the power grid went down? Oh my I would hate to think what would happen in the cities. City people do not have a lot of resources and rely greatly on others for everything in their lives. I know, I was a city person for a long, long time. I shudder when I think of my children, all of whom live in cities, suddenly not being able to buy food, or fuel. How could I help them to survive? One of them is across the globe in Australia for goodness sake. One is five hours away and the other about 16 hours, but that is only if there is enough gas, if the roads are passable and so on. 

So, I have decided to put some money towards solar and wind power. If I can pump the water from my well with wind power and if I have some solar energy to power a light bulb, run a few important electronic devices, though if the power grid goes down, the internet will as well. I want to be able to provide homes for my adult children and their families and food for all. We can grow large gardens and put food up for the winter. There are two houses and the farm store, which could easily be turned into a tiny house. If we built the quonset we could use that too. I need to learn how to convert the diesel car and skid steer to biodiesel and learn how to make biodiesel from the oil that I can produce from plant seeds on the farm. Hemp seed and sunflower seeds would be good oil producers that can grown here. 

I know this sounds like doom and gloom. I am not crazy yet, and I am certainly hoping all this preparation will be for naught. Still, it does not hurt to be prepared for the worst. Are you doing anything for emergency preparedness, even short term? 

Since I started farming in 2011, I have had many, many breeds of sheep. What I was looking for was the ideal sheep breed - for me! That would be a hearty, unimproved breed, parasite resistant, docile and easy to manage, and friendly, plus have the finest, most luxurious wool. 

The Shetlands were first. They do have fine, luxurious wool and can be quite friendly, but are a hard sell. Their small size only commands about $125 per lamb here and because they are not big, they are last to go. Too bad, because their wool can be exquisite. The first Shetlands I had were not friendly in the least, but I tried again with two from a reputable breeder, and they are lovely. 

Then East Friesians came along. They are a dairy, wool, and meat breed, but have been improved by man in that they require grain inputs to produce milk and wool. They were also needy sheep at lambing time, and even though they produced at least two lambs and as many as four, they were not the best mothers. So off with the East Friesians. 

The Karakuls were here from the beginning and are all that I desired, but there are too few to have  a decent gene pool in Canada. I have two of the three original lambs I started with, one who never has lambed and I have not ever found a pure Karakul ram in Canada. I might keep them, but then, no, I should not. 

The Cotswolds came along after the Friesians. They arrived in March with full wool coats. They were grain fed and did not fare well in winter and could not convert to a grass based operation easily. The ram was sick and cost a total of $1200 by the time he passed away. The sheep take two full years and a bit to mature, which in this market is too long. They can be of good size and have wonderful curly locks, but the locks don't keep them warm enough in our very cold winters. I would like to keep two only of these. 

I acquired a Gotland cross last year and she is a keeper. She is friendly and lovely and has amazing fleece. 

The Blue Faced Leicester sheep are terrible for this area. They do not have the same type of fleece as most sheep, with an open small lofty wool that provides little warmth for them, so they must eat all the time to just stay warm, and they must be fed grain or they become too thin. They lack hardiness too. The lambs born this year were tough to keep alive, both of them. As much as I like the wool, this is not the place to attempt raising them. The crosses with other breeds are much hardier and are worth keeping. 

Tunis sheep are originally from Africa. They have floppy ears and a red face and legs. They are born red, but their fleece becomes cream coloured with maturity. It is medium quality, but the sheep are good keepers and friendly and have meaty carcasses. That is important when there are too many males born and some must go as meat lambs. The Tunis and Blue Faced Leicester cross sheep inherited finer wool from the BFL and still retained the strong constitution of the Tunis. I would have loved to see what  Tunis/Cotswold was like, but alas, poor Walter, has died. 

Then there are the Babydoll Southdowns. They are cute, friendly, parasite resistant, easy keepers and cost a lot to buy. The gene pool was poor, however; due to some recent imports, is improving greatly. Their wool is very fine but short and collects all the debris from the other sheep since they are short and it falls onto their backs. The Babydoll Jacob cross has better fleece than the Babydoll. I will see how the Babydoll Shetland works for wool and then Babydoll Romney. 

The Jacobs are lovely. They are everything I want in a sheep and are easy to sell since not many keep them. They are a small sheep though and as meat lambs, do not sell that well. 

The best so far is the Romney. They are sweet sheep, friendly, docile and quiet, and their wool is so so very soft and crimpy. They are perfect. If I had only one breed, it would be the Romneys. 

So, now I plan to sell many of the sheep including the foundation Babydolls, all but 2 Cotswolds and 2 Shetlands, and see if I can whittle the numbers down to a manageable amount for one person. I have been trying to sell some sheep, but with the hay shortage, it has not been a good year for that. Hoping that the spring will be better, I will persevere. 

Working with sheep has been great for me. I love the animals. I love almost everything about them and hope always to have at least a few until I can no longer care for myself or them properly. Hopefully that will be a long long time from now. Sigh.