This Changes Everything!

No, it's not some fancy new design for a watering wand or some earth-shattering invention of a new hose.  It's just the fact that we once again have outdoor running water that changes everything!

All winter, every winter, we have no outdoor running water.  We've looked into installing something from our well, which is located between the house and the barn.  Setting up for weather-proof running water in the barn has proved just too expensive for our modest budget.  So all winter we're hauling water from the house to the barn and the chicken coop.  There is only one power outlet in the barn itself and we're afraid to be running extension cords around so much straw, hay and wood so one goat stall has a heated bucket.  Every other stall has just a plain, old plastic bucket of water, which freezes.  The chicken coop has one waterer which doesn't freeze, but the chickens go through the supply almost every day.

So, winter is interesting here at Aagaard Farms.  And this was an especially looooong, very cold winter.  We have multiples of everything: two chicken waters, eight plastic buckets.  Buckets of water are thawing in our foyer all the winter.  Half thawed water is dumped in the kitchen sink, the bath tub or outside if we're ready to go out, making for interesting ice sculptures everywhere.  Buckets sitting in the pens always have frozen 'stuff' on the bottoms, which softens and falls off or melts into a puddle.  So winter is messy here at the wee farm.  Old newspapers holding dirty pails are always in the foyer or in front of the heater.

Getting water up is a relay event.  Four buckets go at a time, so it's carry two outside, carry two more outside, carry two up to the barn, return, carry two more up to the barn, all bundled up like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  At least once a day a chicken water has to go up for another trip.  We haul a frozen bucket out of a stall, replace with a new bucket.  Do the rounds, haul all the frozen buckets back to the house to thaw for the next time, make hot chocolate (very important!).  When it was very cold, the water would freeze in a few hours so we were doing this little chore three, sometimes four times a day.  Goats also have some natural talent for pooping into their water buckets so sometimes an extra bucket had to go.  Since our does were pregnant, we were keeping an eye on both water and hay regularly through the day, trying to get them through the cold weather.  At -30 C, with a wind chill the trip can seem like a hike to the Arctic Circle!

So, you can see why a simple garden hose makes such a difference!  First, water is no longer freezing.  And, if water is dirty, it's just a matter of dumping it out the door, fill and replace.  The chicken waterer, too, is just taken outside, emptied and re-filled.  It makes life so much simpler and lessens the time involved in the chore substantially.  And that's a good thing, 'cause we're getting a little busy with other stuff!

Worrisome!

I just wrote a little piece for Dig In Manitoba about what farmers are doing in February.  Some of us are already growing our seedlings.  Almost all of us, whether we grow veggies on twenty acres, raise dairy cows or beef, or sow miles and miles of grain - we're all planning....and worrying.  Worrying goes hand-in-hand with farming it seems.

The picture at right was taken today.  We should have at least a couple of feet of snow.  The ground should be white as far as the eye can see.  Now, this winter has been very mild and quite enjoyable.  It's soooo much nicer to have chickens and goats when there is little risk of them freezing to death over night!  We and the dogs have gotten more walks this winter, we've been able to re-stock our firewood quite easily and our electricity bills are quite reasonable without our baseboard heaters running full tilt!

However, all this nice, mild weather is a worry.  To the right of the picture, if the field of view was extended, is our dug-out (a deep pond, essentially).  We use the dug-out to water our vegetables all summer long.  The land is graded so that the spring run off goes directly to the pond.  No spring run off, no water in the dug-out!  We're also wondering about perennial vegetables like asparagus and fall-planted bulbs like garlic.  Snow is a great layer of insulation in really cold weather so some of those items may have suffered some damage during our cold snap.

Hard to believe that last year was 'the flood of the century' around here and this year forecasters are already taking drought!  What will happen?  Well, we could still get a big snowstorm or two - not that convenient.  We could be really rainy in April and May.  The soil moisture, after last years' super high level, may be enough.  Nobody knows for sure, but it's a little something to worry about in our spare time!

Water Is Not Really Our Friend This Year!

Manitoba has experienced an over-abundance of water this year - the 'Flood of the Century' and such has been an interesting experience.  Things are slowly returning to normal in Brandon, some dikes have come down, levels are receding.  Farmer Man has, just in the last two weeks, finally managed to plow most of the land we've been unable to use this year.  We went, rather quickly, from cool, rainy and waterlogged to record setting heat and humidity the past week.  In the 'Careful What You Wish For' category, we were saying a nice little storm would be good: cool things down, settle the dust, give the gardens a little drink.  So, what did we get this morning?  A rumbly thunderstorm that dropped about four inches of water in an hour!  The pathway from the barn to the house partially washed out, a field of beans just recently planted partially washed out, young plants battered to the ground including all the corn and leaking in the sun room!  Just talked to some friends in town who said Brandon's 10th street was a lake, water was up over the grass in front of the store front and water was coming over the door sill in the back of their shop!  Well, everything did get a drink, though.....

Come Swimming in Our Local Park?

Manitoba's Spring Flood Watch continues.  We are completely safe here at Aagaard Farms; it doesn't look like an unusual Spring at all around the Farm.  Thanks for the emails and calls (Hi, Verlene!)  Some of our neighbours are not quite so lucky.  Pictured is our local park 'Cornwallis Park', in the RM of Cornwallis, along Veteran's Way, just outside of Brandon.  It is a lovely little park, usually along the riverbank.  At this time, it is one big lake, almost up to the highway.  Grand Valley Strawberries, the upick strawberry farm, is in the trees to the left of the picture and is sandbagged and seeping!  Around Westman, I am of the understanding that officials believe we have crested and the water will not get any higher, barring big rains.  Other areas of Manitoba are still waiting for the crest.  Thing about flooding of this magnitude is that the repercussions will be felt for years.  Farmers will not be able to get on their land to plant, the crop may never be finished this year, the farmers will have no money to shop for anything so businesses in the area will see a drop in business and may have to lay off employees.  Effects are far reaching, because we're all inter-connected!  Let's hope it dries up quickly!

Uh, Oh....

Our snow is almost completely melted:  little pockets still hide on the north side of trees and buildings.  Yesterday we had some nice steady rain, which will certainly help green things up!  However, the dugout is just barely half full, which is not a good thing.  The dugout is our summer 'insurance policy' if Mother Nature decides to be stingey with rain in the summer.  At this time of year, after the snow melt, it should be full to the brim and even over-flowing.  In the picture, water shold be covering the patch of snow on the left.  Now, this is Manitoba, and we could still get a foot of snow - but even that won't fill the dugout.  We had much less snow than normal this year, apparently statistically, we've had low percipitation every month since the Fall!  It's not a great way to start the growing season!

Seedlings Get Set Out!

The greenhouse is getting empty. Farmer Boy has been busy, and he's got the sunburn to prove it! Over three hundred pepper plants - all planted out! It's very hard work, all done by hand, either bending over or on the knees. This year we've got bell peppers, jalapeno, Bulgarian carrot, hot Thai, habanero and banana. They are in plots, in little hedges for easy picking. Now there's just all one hundred and fifty tomato plants, a few more cabbage, herbs and some tomatillos to go!

Lovely Prairie thunderstorm last night. Not a lot of lightening, but some fabulous clouds and some good rumbling. Not a lot of rain, but probably enough to keep all the transplanted seedlings happy. We'll have to keep a good eye on them - they'll need consistent water for the next few weeks.

It Helps a Farmer Sleep Nights

The dug-out is full this year, and it is a beautiful sight. Last year, due to weather conditions, it was only half full to start the season. That's a scary thing for a farmer! Here on the Prairies we can be very hot and in a drought situation from mid-July to end of August. That's just when so many things need a good drink to fill out - especially squash, pumpkins and melons. We do all our irrigating from the dug-out, so having it full now just gives us a little extra peace of mind. And all farmers can do with a little extra peace of mind!!