December - 2017

                              CHRISTMAS IS ON IT'S WAY !

The first real snow fall of the season is upon us. Here in the Belleville area we have not fared to badly as other areas have received much more than us. I know the driving can be hazardous so folks be careful out there - but boy, it sure looks pretty. 

Here at the farm we always hope for a moderate amount of snow. Fields with a snow cover are more healthy than without. If left bare the ice can build up and smother out hay fields or fall wheat. 

On the recreational side of things the snow is great for winter fun! Horse drawn sleigh rides, tobogganing and sledding, snowshoeing and cross country skiing!  To the right is Kim giving a friend of ours a birthday cutter ride while I jumped off to take the photo. Molly mules Dolly and Loretta are pulling us and one of our pups followed along. It was a great outing! Below we have a sleigh FULL of folks with 4 Belgian geldings towing us along!

 We are expecting 2 baby Belgian foals in the New Year. One from 1st time Mom - "Reign" and one from "Olympia" who had the last 2 filly foals born on the farm. "Ruby" last year (pictured below with her mom) on a snowy late February 2016 day, and Gracie who was born in 2015 and is now living in Lakefield and will hopefully be in the folks 6 horse hitch in the future.
I will post an update on their arrival in January or February.

"Ruby" and Mom "Oympia"

This beautiful wreath is found at 

 "THE GARDEN NETWORK" 

in Stockdale @57 Maybee Rd.

Benita Glover (store owner) and assistant Judy have put together the most gorgeous Christmas/winter baskets and wreaths to adorn your house exterior, and the store itself has loads of ideas and things to purchase for outside and inside your home. Most with a nod to Nature!

See photo gallery below for some of the items she had on hand when we visited her shoppe a couple of weeks ago. You can also purchase spring/summer plants from their greenhouse when the season begins. I have never seen such HEALTHY plants as theirs where! 

You can find out more info at: www.gardennetwork.ca

                                                           

I have taken a couple of more art courses at Michaels's (see pictures below). I am a long way from being "great" but I impressed myself with my efforts and figured that's all that really mattered.

Coloured pencil sketch of a "Puffy Cardinal"

Acrylic painted "Snowman"

                          Hope folks have a fabulous Christmas 

                          and will write again in the New Year! 

                                                                           Until then, 

                                                                       Jeanne & Kim

                       To see Kim's current listings or to check out his Century 21 Blog see link below:                                                                     

                                                     www.century21.ca/kim.hadwen

November - 2017

Welcome November!  Cooler temperatures, cold rain, frosty mornings and only one small dusting of snow, so far! Hoped that the wind would blow all my leaves from lawn out into the pasture but alas, not so lucky this year. I had to get the rake out the other day and physically remove them. Oh well the exercise is good for the muscles.

Our team of Belgian geldings, Jag and Juno had a good workout the other day spreading manure. Kim and the team took out about 7 loads and the boys did a great job! See videos below.

   

Juno, Jag and Kim spreading manure

Most farmers are working away at the corn fields now and I think for the most part folks are happy with the yield. We ourselves got 4 Tonne an acre from our field which we use to put in our grain stove to heat the house, shop and garage. Economical and renewable!

Took another course in the field of art at Michaels the other day. See sketch below of a puffy Cardinal. Two more classes to go in December - will post pictures if they look like what they are suppose to!

With Christmas parades in the area and all the lights going up one starts to think of the up coming Christmas Holidays with a little more earnest. Will decorate in the next week or 2 (on a small scale).

Don't require as much Christmas baking as we use to because WE don't require it to eat - feel  much better on lighter fare!

A 27 year old "fake" tree still looks "good enough" to carry us through a few more Christmas's yet!

Not to many gifts to buy, more of a focus on the reason for the season and family.

Always hope for SNOW for the grandkids and sleigh rides, time will tell on that score.

Hope everyone enjoys the preparations as much as the day it's self.  Will hope to get December Blog up in the days leading to the 25th.

Until next time,

Jeanne & Kim                               Click here for fast access to Kim's Century 21 website

                                                              www.century21.ca/kim.hadwen

October 2017

BOO!

Happy Halloween!

Ghosts

Goblins

Jack O Lanterns

Tricks

Treats

Candy

Costumes

Fun



        Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Halloween!

The picture above is a first attempt by me to paint in many many many years. It's been cropped in size to fit in blog and I see now where I should have added a bit more brightness to areas of my pumpkin for depth but all in all it was a fun experience. They offer courses at your local Michael's Store on a variety of hobbies.  (That's where I did this painting. ) If you are at all crafty or "wanna be" it's worth checking out.

Soybeans are off in most areas with pretty good yields and corn will be next. The lovely weather of September and October ( the summer we didn't get prior ) was just what we needed to help fill out the cobs to maturity.

Grain stove is fired up and burning barley grain at present so house will be cozy when the thermometer dips which sounds like it will do in the first week of November.

Once again I've waited till almost the end of the month to catch up on Blog. Will have to add more info by mid November. Below are a couple of pictures of the horses on pasture this fall, a couple favorites of Calvin the Stallion in his paddock and a couple of the trees changing from the previous year. The wetter and warmer weather did not lean the trees towards a huge showing of colour but where pretty non the less.

       Enjoy the days of Fall as they slowly make their way towards colder temperatures.

        Until next time,

         Jeanne & Kim                       Click  here to link to Kim's Century 21 Website to
                                                       see current listings: www.century21.ca/kim.hadwen   

 

September 2017

    THE CRAZY WEATHER OF SEPTEMBER 2017


A late afternoon / early evening walk with canine friends on September the 30th saw a strong sun casting long shadows on its westerly decent. The ups and downs of the thermometer during the last week or 2 has been quite spectacular.

Summer finally arrived mid month with a vengeance! Sultry days and evenings were quite welcome by the farming community ( if no one else ) as all the heat helps finish late spring planted crops like corn - mature.

Our thoughts and prayers though are with those in the US and the Islands that have suffered from the effects of destructive Hurricanes.

Our only fall out was a few hours without power after a rather severe rain storm where we read by candle or " book light."

Plowing at the IPM with Dolly & Loretta

A great stint at the IPM ( International Plowing Match and Rural Expo )  saw a great time had by all. A bit of slipping and sliding in Tented City as the rain fell on the Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday. Plowing was postponed and fell short by a day but by Wednesday afternoon we were underway.

By weeks end this group had had a great showing of a 4th place over all by Kim with his new team of mules, Tammy & Patsy and a Reserve Champion for our grandson with the other team of mules, Dolly & Loretta.

A wonderful young man, Conor Green won Grand Champion in Kim's class and a great character, Dan Gorrell won Grand Champion in the 2nd class.


               WELL DONE EVERYONE !!!


Only a couple of County Matches left now for the 2017
season.

Watching Snow Birds from the Wolfe Island Fe

A great match to attend is the Wolfe Island Plowing Match.

This year we had the added bonus of a front row seat to watch the  Snow Birds perform over the Bay of Quinte from the Kingston Air Show while we crossed on the ferry.

While on the Island we had a great ice cream cone from this quaint cafe. Worth visiting if ever your over there.


Real Estate has stayed very strong going into the fall months. Current listings are available to view at http://www.century21.ca/kim.hadwen

Thanks Giving is approaching and seems rather early this year. Wishing everyone a great holiday weekend and much to be thankful for. Here at the farm one of the things we are thankful for is the daily interaction with cows and equine!

                                                               Until next time,

                                                              Jeanne and Kim

July & August 2017

           Horse tread mill demonstration being done by
             ole' Tom at O'hara Mill Heritage Day 2017

What a great day back at O'hara Mill Heritage Day on July 23rd. The weather was fine, cool and sunny for the most part. Lots of people came to enjoy the O'hara Homestead and to see the Mill in operation. Sir John A. McDonald and his wife made an appearance as well to wish one and all a Happy 150th to Canada!

O'Hara Mill is hosting a Draft Horse Day on August the 6th where there    will be demonstrations throughout the day of horse drawn farm equipment from the 1800's and up. Great place to spend the day! O'hara Mill is run by dedicated volunteers and they do a fabulous job of up keep and hosting special events throughout the year. Check out their website at: www.ohara-mill.org

Whether you are from the area or passing through, August the 23rd & 24th it's time again for the Hastings County Plowing Match and Farm Show. A great place to spend a day or maybe two to see it all. Something for everyone. Link to there website for more information www.hastingsfarmshow.ca

Ended up in the Village of Warkworth  a couple of weeks ago on a Tuesday afternoon and found a great group of stores to visit in the area. Stop by the Village Pantry or The General to find something for yourself or a special gift, or maybe the Cheeky Bee. Good places to eat, antique hunt or stop by Glovers Market. Had a Kawartha Dairy ice cream cone at the Bakery, YUM!





Heard that the Tall Ships were docked in Bath Ontario in honour of Canada's 150th a few weeks back. They have been making their rounds to different ports this summer so we took a drive down to have a look. Magnificent! One of the Grandkids and our Daughter went for a 2 hour cruise on the largest of the ships with replica crew and sailing songs to boot! They loved it.

The rainy weather continues as does the effort of trying to hay in such conditions. Not much the farmers can do about it - it's just the way it is. Hard to believe that August is here and a lot of folks still don't have hay off or if they do it isn't the quality they would have liked.  Doesn't seem to matter if you check TV, radio, computer or phones they all report something different than the other. Very hard to gauge if you should cut or not.

A pretty shot of the pasture field much greener than it was in the drought of last year.





                               

Ended June's blog with a "Tail End" shot of a group of beef cows - so figured the horses should have equal billing for the July/August Blog.

                                                                  Until next time,

                                                                   Jeanne & Kim

JUNE 2017

                 

           VERY HAPPY 
           CANADA DAY
        WISHES TO YOU,
    FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

     HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY CANADA!

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Not too much to report on for the month of June. Hoping that fathers and father figures all had a happy day back on the 18th of the month. 

Rain continues, and continues and continues, wrote about this on Kim's site, go to: www.century21.ca/kim.hadwen and click on blog.

Have only a few pictures to post this month. The first was from a trip to a local water way. I know it has rained and rained but I had never seen such a sight of mosquitoes as the one my friend and I found along 8 miles of shoreline. If they aren't showing up in photo it's worth enlarging to see!

These flying critters were everywhere and surrounding our car for quite a few miles. I prayed we didn't  have a breakdown as we would have been eaten alive! 

The next is a photo of the beautiful gardens of SUNNY SLOPE MARKET at 450 Foxboro Road, Foxboro. Pictured here is the floral part of the garden. They sell cut flowers by the bunch or already in vases ready to go - all at very reasonable prices!
They also had the most wonderful strawberries and they have a great choice of other in season vegetables as the season unfolds, GROWN ORGANICALLY. They have some fruit in season as well like peaches and apples.

Came out the back door the other night to be greated by this cheery rainbow. It was a double but alas I was too late to catch them both.

This photo shows just how high the pastures had grown with all the rain. Hay fields are even higher at this point and well past the time they should be cut but the ground is way to wet to lay it down and it will never dry until the sunshine returns. So we wait. 

The last picture struck me as too funny as to not whip out my phone and snap a shot! 

So as the picture indicates this is the END for the June blog.

Until next time, 

Jeanne & Kim

May 2017

                 Wishing Mothers  -  Grandmothers
                             and Mother figures
                    a Very Happy Day on May 14th!

And here we are in the Month of May. The first 1/2 has been extremely wet and rather on the cold side. The planting of crops has been set back measurably and when things turn around the farmers will be trying to make up for lost time. May everyone be careful when tractors and equipment get into full swing. 



Here at the farm we have 6 calves born from 5 cows - yes a set of twins! We have 2 mom's still to go and one that is open so no calf for her this year. Calves are all well and enjoying chasing each other around on the hill.





The pastures have been somewhat under water for the past week or so - so the days the horses can get out on the hill are joy filled days. To the left is a picture of the foal "Ruby" that was born back in January enjoying a sunny day and a photo of the "Raging Moira River" that was zipping by at the "Mother of all Craft Shows" at the Corby Distillery last weekend. I think it was a great turn out despite the weather! Join them next year on May 6th 2018.

I'm sure that most folks have heard about the "hot" real estate market that has hit the area.

 For whatever the reason there are more buyers than sellers at the moment for both rural and in town properties. It has kept us very busy and introduced us to some very nice folks. I think that has to be one of the greatest things about the work - the nice people we get to work with.

To view Kim's current listings click:
www.century21.ca/kim.hadwen

The bones of this wreath were made a few years ago by a lovely women that we met at the Horse Progress Days in the States. I add seasonal tid-bits as the months go by and as it says, may you have a "HAPPY SPRING."

May you enjoy Mothers Day and the Victoria long weekend when it gets here. 

May the winds be gentle and the sun shine to dry up the fields for crops. 

Until next time, 

Jeanne & Kim