Halloween

It is Halloween! On the night before Halloween we had an event here on the farm...we made a big fire and cooked cinnamon doughnuts dutch oven style. It was a big hit!

After eating doughnuts, we all moved into the candle lit living room, to hear "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," read by Colin, our resident lore master.

 HALLOWEEN!! Our first one ever! Riley, my beautiful and talented gypsy friend, was kind enough to make me a ninja headdress to wear for this special occasion of "Trick or Treat"-ing.

A Ninja duo in action

 Trick or Treat! Here follows some photos to describe the mood of the evening. Riley and Henry; thank you so very much for letting us join you! You guys are awesome.

Some people really put effort into it!

Some witchiness...

Jerry the farmer...

Wherefore cannot there be just a little bit of art?

It’s been a long, hard week. The weather has changed from about 25 degrees during the day to between 5 and 10, so autumn is now truly upon us.

We had another event today, for the local birthing centre. There were lots of kids and activity and food, people dressed up as various things; my favourite was a baby in a peanut suit, who was clearly not impressed at being a peanut and thus cried a lot.

But anyway, the reason I’m doing this post is that we now have a new camera (two if truth be told), courtesy of Mari (vreeslik dankie Mari!!). Another reason is that the seasons are changing, but the biggest reason is something about the farm itself and the land surrounding it. Every so often after a long day, or week, the land gifts you a moment or two, allowing you to lift your head to admire the beauty all around you. For me this often happens after work, when the sun begins to set and plays with shapes on the wall of our bedroom. This evening I happened to have a camera handy and the following photo set I dedicate to Mari, thank you again!!

 

A wine bottle

I had to sneak a pic of the panels in here. We're almost done with the installation.

See the moon?

Of horses and mules

The round bail of hay in the Dexter cow pasture

 Russell and I have been cleaning and spraying the horses hooves with bleach water every day for the past four weeks as they had developed an infection. The infection seems to have cleared up beautifully! We put them in the back pasture with the Dexter cows and they seem to really enjoy the new roaming grounds!

Nifty; the 25 year old working horse

Buddy; he is Nifty's brother and is 24 years old

May; the most curious mule I have ever met. She is really like a big dog. Highly intelligent with a compulsion to investigate EVERYTHING!

We dewormed the horses today

 

Like I said...a compulsive need to investigate everything!!

Buddy absolutely loves Russell...

Dexter bulls are apparently renowned for their lovely temperament. This magnificent bull has the hairstyle of a surfer and is a very gentle giant. We still remain constantly vigilant and aware of him when in this pasture however, as a bull will always be a bull!

Dexters are very hardy cattle and very gentle natured

I periodically have my pockets scrutinized for possible treats...

Autumn is upon us...

Allan stoking the wood fire that keeps the house warm

Russell made this simple hook rack for the bathroom towels. The hooks were made in the blacksmithing workshop here on the farm.