Cow Dwarfed by Chickens!

Posted on January 9, 2014 | 6 comments
DCF Aggie with Black Orpington Hen

Aggie the flat cow was impressed with the size of the Black Orpington hens…

Aggie had a rough first day on the farm. I slipped her into my purse and promptly forgot both purse and Aggie in the cab of the truck. There she stayed all alone in the cold and dark until I retrieved her this morning in time for the early morning feed rounds.

She perked up pretty quickly, helping to sort through veggies destined for hogs, chickens, turkeys, and ducks…

DCF Aggie and Veggies

Her favourite part of the day was testing the hay. She had a good snack and approved the bale…

DCF Aggie Testing HayAggie had a couple of scary moments – when one of the dogs stole her… when a pig stood on her and when the turkeys knocked her over and pinned her down in their mad fight for pumpkin innards… I am trying to convince her that posting photos of her less glorious moments is ok, that people are interested in some of the minor disasters that happen on the farm, but so far, she has refused to give me permission to post those photos.

Stay tuned… Maybe by tomorrow she will lighten up and change her mind.

Curious about what else Aggie gets up to? Visit her facebook page…

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A Cow Arrived in the Mail Today

Posted on January 8, 2014 | 5 comments

Well, this should be a fun week!

Aggie the CowAggie the [flat] cow usually hangs out in Tulare, California at the International Agri-Center, a non-profit corporation that promotes California’s agriculture industry and hosts World Ag Expo [wait a second, what is a non-profit corporation? Shouldn’t that be a non-profit organization? Or a corporation? I though non-profit corporation was an oxymoron?]. Anyway, this organization also has an educational component and an AgVentures! Learning Center and this year they are sending [flat] Aggie the Cows out into the world to visit various farms, dairies, and agriculturalists.

Aggie’s visit here at Dark Creek Farm will last a week. I’ll photograph her meeting the animals and helping with the chores and then write up her ag-ventures in a journal, which gets sent back to the International Agri-Center. There, it will join various other journals and photos featuring Aggie on location in other places around the world.

What fun!

Best of the Season to Aggie

Aggie arrived as we were getting ready to put away the Christmas decorations. She told me she would much rather be outside with the rest of the farm animals but I told her she needed a good night’s sleep before she could start exploring the farm. She has travelled a long way to get here and looks quite worn out!

 

 

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Hogs and Horses

Posted on January 7, 2014 | 6 comments

DCF Horses and Hogs

I’ve been backing up photos through google+ (an option now available if you happen to use Picasa) and it struck me how many of the farm photos show groups of animals hanging out and getting along. Ducks and chickens, turkeys and Bantams, ducks and sheep, turkeys and hogs… The cat, Iago, and anybody who will stand still long enough for her to snuggle.

I’ve had horses for many years and one of the things I heard people say with an air of total authority was that horses and pigs do not get along.

DCF Ringo and PhilipI beg to differ! Ringo in particular is happy to befriend creatures of all stripes – he loves the cat, follows chickens around, and chats through the fence with the hogs (this is our old boar, Philip). When a particularly adventurous group of piglets got out, where did they head? Straight for Ringo! They tugged on his tail and chased each other through and around his feet and he just stood there, head down, curious and gentle.

The oddest bond he has ever formed was with a wild rabbit. The rabbit regularly sought him out and would sprawl in a sunny spot in the horse paddock. Ringo would amble over and proceed to give the rabbit a massage, which the rabbit appeared to thoroughly enjoy. How on earth this peculiar relationship ever began is beyond me. Why would a wild rabbit sit still long enough to allow a HUGE animal like a horse to walk over and give it a back rub that first time? Mysterious, but kind of cool.

Unfortunately, hawk, owl, or eagle likely got the rabbit because after several months of the rabbit hanging out with Ringo it suddenly disappeared.

Perhaps in the course of the Great Photo Sort Project I’ll come across a photo of the bunny and post it…

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Posted in Blog, Horses, Pigs, Uncategorized

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Best Use of Old Soup Cans!

Posted on January 5, 2014 | 16 comments

I love the ingenuity and creativity shown by my farming neighbours down at the end of the road. Check out what they are busy doing with old soup cans!

Recycling at its best!

Recycling at its best!

Functional shingles that look great, too! What’s your favourite repurposing of something that’s usually tossed away? My favourite raw materials are pallets and binder twine, which can be rearranged into rudimentary animal shelters, sorting chutes and pens, gates, compost bins, ramps, and more. Actually, if I’m right, I believe this shed uses pallets for framing… I’ll have to go back down and have another look. 

 

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Two Suns in the Hog Pen

Posted on January 4, 2014 | 5 comments

Most days, the lower hog pen is a pretty ordinary place. But yesterday, the sun was at a very particular angle and the place was transformed.

DCF Hogs at DaybreakAt one point, a strange illusion made it seem as if there were two suns and the world was ablaze.

DCF Hog Pen Two Suns on FireBy the time I returned a short time later after feeding the chickens and sheep, everything had returned to boring normal. Nothing to see here, folks – move along.

Which brought to mind the question, “If a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody to hear, does it make a sound?” How many extraordinary moments do we miss because we hurry on by, arrive a few minutes late, or take off before the best part of the show?

Which seemed like a bit of a sad question to end with… until I considered that every moment contains the potential to be extraordinary if we slow down enough to see what’s in front of our noses, even down in the most boring corner of the hog pen.

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