It's Not Goodbye If You Don't Forget

I lost my biggest fan of this blog. Mom passed at the age of 86 after a monumental battle with cancer. She passed as she had lived; quietly with a grace and love I have never seen matched.

Mom loved my blog and if I hadn't posted for a while I'd get an email from her. Typically, she never told me to post something it was always how much she enjoyed it and were there any new posts on the way? Pushy, she wasn't. Supportive and positive was the way she liked doing things. When I told her I was taking a break from it, she just said could read the old posts over and over. She had three favorites: http://wwwmindwanderings.blogspot.ca/2010/09/pumpkins-on-gate.html
http://wwwmindwanderings.blogspot.ca/2008/07/my-moms-peonies.html

http://wwwmindwanderings.blogspot.ca/2009/01/to-special-lady.html

I must admit, the last one is my favorite, too.

I decided to stop posting for a year or so because I found myself repeating the same thing: Today I grew something, today I harvested something, today I butchered something... Same old, same old. Over a year has gone by so it's time to start again. At least it will be a record of my triumphs, failures and everything in between.I'm going to start again once things settle a little bit around here. But it won't be quite the same because Mom was my biggest fan and not only of the blog.

My Blog Will Start Up Again in the New Year, but Untill then...HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

This is from last year, we don't have snow yet.

As the year closes,
We sit back and reflect on the fleeting 12 months
That seem to pass so quickly.
Invariably our thoughts go to friends and family,
Both near and far
In not only distance but in time as well.
So to your family from The DaM Farm,
Merry Christmas!
May the glow of the fireplace stay in your hearts
And may the New Year
Bring your dearest hopes and dreams to reality.

Raw Dog food

Oooooh!!! Is that the food dish I hear rattling?!?!

I started making dog food about eight years ago. Dusk was my inspiration. We had him for about three months and by then I had done considerable research on his breed mix/type and the results were not good. Dogs of Dusk's origin, breeding and size don't live much past five years old and many do not get to three. I was feeding him a quality dog food that cost twice as much as the regular stuff but a serving was about a third of what I had to give compared to the grocery store brand so it wasn't as expensive as it looks at first glance. He got lots of socialization and excercise. So I was doing what I could and Dusk seemed happy and healthy.

At nine months Dusk started kind of favouring his hind quarters. He did a lot of 'bunny hopping' instead of running and sometimes had trouble getting up after a nap. Oh-oh. The vet said it looked like signs of hip displasia. Not good. She gave me some massage techniques to use with him and told me to limit the ball chasing/retrieval games since the stopping short wasn't good for H.D. My vet also suggested either home-cooking or raw food. She is a holistic vet, most vets are dead set against raw food for dogs. So I started looking into it. I did a lot of research but still it terrified me. I knew nothing about making a diet for my beloved pet that was going to be nutritious and healthy. A friend of mine and I were discussing this one day and I said I should really change Dusk to a homemade diet but I was pretty sure I'd end up killing him. She outright dismissed me, "You're not going to kill your dog". Here, go get this book, read and follow it and you'll be fine. And she was right. I was still halfway terrified and measured/weighed everything for well over two years. But after feeding this way for eight years and seeing Dusk approach his ninth birthday in good health, ( his back end gets a little stiff now and then) I'm glad I made the switch. I remember about a year after starting him on the diet watching all 130 pounds of him thunder across a field with a grace and strength he simply didn't have before. I couldn't help but marvel at the change in him.

Of course, food can only do so much. A really, really sick dog may not get better just because you change his food. But I do believe that a non-processed diet is just better for any living being. I suppose humans could live on nothing but cereal their entire lives, but who'd want to and how healthy would they ultimately be? Are there dangers to feeding raw food to dogs? Sure there are. I never leave the pets alone if they're having bones in case of choking. I use the same cleaning/preparation methods for their food as I do for cooking for the family. Other than green tripe, all the dogs food is human grade, so it's basically the same as ours (except it's the parts we don't eat). Green tripe is the stomach/intestines of cow, lamb or other herbivore. It's just gross, smells like a over-crowded barnyard that hasn't been cleaned in 50 years. I open the pack real fast and the dogs eat it outside. Horrid as it is, it's great for dogs and they absolutely go bonkers for it. So in short,I am aware there is risk but I believe the advantages outweigh it. Besides, the store bought dog food can be dangerous, too; remember all those recalls a couple of years ago?

A big bowl of veggie mush! I'll freeze this in little packages for the dogs' meals. A meal is mainly meat or meat and bones but a bit of veggies or fruit does seem to be required for my dogs. Dusk gets about 10% in his meal where Angel does well with 20 - 30%. I try to give the dogs as much variety as I can. Meats include chicken, rabbit, turkey necks, fish, beef, pork and on occasion goat and lamb and whatever else I can snag. Veggies are usually in a three or four combo mix and include dark, leafy vegetables and a little carrot or yam.

Mmmmm, garlic, ginger and parsley! When the dogs have veggies, I add this mix. Again, I make a load of it and then freeze it in single servings (I'm all about the easy and the convenient). I find it helps with digestion and my dogs breath/smell is not offensive at all. They do get other supplements, too; organic apple cider vinegar with their meat and bones meals, kelp/alfalfa with their meat meals, some oils like like wild salmon fish oil and early evening primrose oil though mind you, since now most of their meat is pasture fed, not grain fed they don't need as much. Dusk gets Vit. C to help when his hip displasia makes him stiff. They get raw organic ground pumpkin seed in the summer months to help prevent worms and fleas. I've never had an issue with either, yet.

Another important part of the meal is offal, the organs of whatever animal I happen to have, usually it's beef. This mix is heart, kidney, liver and tongue. They don't need much of it, but they do need it. We buy half a side of local, grass feed beef. I always ask for the organs and the trim that is usually thrown out and use it for the dogs. Of course, they have rabbit and chicken organs as well.

A nice, nutritious training/snack treat, dehydrated beef heart! The butcher usually throws in a couple of beef hearts along with the one that comes with my cow so I slice them thinly and dry them out in the oven. That plate is a whole beef heart dehydrated.

OK, it's not part of the diet Per Se but my dogs love their liver brownie treats! They also get eggs and yogurt and assorted other foods may not be 'classified' as raw but it works for for them.

Obviously, research and learning is tantamount in the success of a non-processed diet. Here is the book and the email group that helped me the most.

Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats The Ultimate Diet

by Kymythy R. Schultze.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Nutrition/

Smart Move, Cat

I've got to admit, when my cat dreams, she dreams BIG. That blob to the right of the picture is Whisk. Crouching under the trees that hold my bird feeders is a favorite hang out for her. She hasn't quite figured out if she stays there the birds will not come. But no matter, she lies there, patiently in wait of some unsuspecting little birdie that never shows up. I think now she just goes there out of force of habit more than anything else.

So there she was, reposing under the tree, half asleep wondering where all the birds were when the two wild geese returned! They wandered unconcerned around the bird feeders, gobbling up any errant seed left behind by the squabbling birds. Well, as far as Whisk was concerned, this was a gift from the gods! So she stalked and crouched and whipped her tail back an forth as she waited for the perfect opportunity to spring on her unsuspecting prey. She waited for close to an hour. Then she changed her mind and walked away, offhandedly as if it really didn't matter. She must of thought better of trying to pouncing on something that was at least twice as big as her. Though I'm pretty sure she'd never admit it.

View from the Porch, 7:20 A.M.

Almost 7:30 in the morning and sunrise isn't even thinking of breaking. Not so long ago the sun was greeting me at 5...A.M....in the morning.

But today is the Winter Solstice, shortest day of the year. I know a lot of people think this is wonderful because the days will start getting longer and the worst is over. But I know the coldest weather is yet to come and I won't notice the lengthening days for another month or so, I'm sure. It's like the Summer Solstice, the days start getting shorter but no-one notices and the sun is really just starting to warm up.

But never mind. Winter Solstice has a charm and a comfort all its own. It is a holiday of little fanfare and even smaller commercialism, and that's the way I like 'em!

Christmas Goats

She sat on Santa's lap and mugged for the camera as prodded by her mama. After the picture was taken Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas.

"A goat," she said as her blue eyes sparkled in the reflection of the tinsel. "A little grey goat with white, floppy ears." A little goat who is so happy he's gotta bounce. "

After the little girl left with a shy smile and a wave. Santa mused to himself. "A goat. What an unusual request."

Not really, Santa; not at all. Click here

Turkey Behavior or How I'm Loosing Faith in Books

Turkeys are seasonal layers. That means they lay in the Spring/Summer. I know this because the books and goodness knows how many websites tells me so. So how does the books explain this picture? In short, they don't. The four top eggs in the basket are turkey eggs. The other three are various chicken eggs. I put them in so the difference in turkey eggs is more obvious. Turkey eggs are off-white and speckled. They're also much pointier on one end.

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I really don't know why my turkeys are laying now. I phoned a turkey lady I know and she is clueless as well. But she did say she was impressed that I was getting eggs from my turkeys. I don't know if I'm all that impressed, I think I'm more worried. Is it good for turkeys to lay off-season? Does it hurt them? Does it make them weaker? Will they lay in season? The turkey lady hazard a guess that they may be laying because I have lights in the coop. But other than that, she had no other information.

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Poking around the Internet did get me some interesting heritage turkey facts. Did you know heritage turkeys lack the broad-breast gene that all commercial turkeys have? And that has something to do with why heritage turkeys can breed naturally while commercial turkeys can't. I'm not quite sure, though, how those two things get connected.

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I am going to keep looking and see what I can find out. For the time being, I'm hoping the turkeys are ok and are not hurting themselves laying. May-be they're just confused...like me.