Welcome to 2024 – Three Month Post

It took some time but we finally got a little snow in January and then we saw a bit more at the beginning of February and then we got a big storm dumping right at the beginning of March. We got enough to carry us through Spring and into Summer! We still continue to get some colder weather with a little snow here and there, but not enough to warrant plowing.

Some saw the post on Facebook about the Quad and making it more fun just took a snow blade! The first morning we had to remove the snow, the wind was extremely bitter making it a challenge so Ashley and Colin shared the snow removal time up and down the 150 yard main driveway. All went well and it was extremely fun! Hey, you have to have fun when you can.

The next snow removal was a big easier to manage weather wise, the bitter wind was absent. Colin may have found his calling, a real PRO job on that driveway and around our little compound, lol.

HOWEVER, the 3rd round of snow, our BIG storm dump, the plowing was just a bit much for the winch cable apparently. SNAPPED just before I was finished plowing so the majority of it was done.

Kim @ CanAm warrantied the winch so definitely not a plowing issue on our end. I mean really, we have only had to plow 3 times this winter so it didn’t work that hard. The big difference here in Eastern Alberta is that the snow is not heavy at all, not wet. It is very powder like, fluffy if you will. So moving snow is quite a bit easier on equipment. The only time it may get a little heavy is when it sits in drifts and freezes.

Ironically, Lloydminster doesn’t know this as they simply don’t believe in the process of plowing and clearing all the streets. The city is a bit of a nightmare when it snows so to avoid it is always good at all costs. The side streets through the winter were covered in a layer of ice so getting around Lloyd is user risk!

Vermilion River County (where we live) is really good at clearing the snow, they do an amazing job and keep our country roads and highways clear. It is pretty bad when my dirt driveway is 1000% more driveable than Hwy 16, the Yellowhead Highway, or Hwy 17, that goes right through the City of Lloydminster. It is just odd to see a city that doesn’t do snow removal in a snowy place.

The big bout of snow on March 2-3 was definitely welcomed and needed so we can do the planting we want. This includes planting a pumpkin patch this year. The snow raises and rejuvenates the water table as well as provides a wet soil in the spring so watering is minimal until summer. One of the projects Colin has in his back pocket is to set up a system before next winter to capture rain water and snow melt to use for our gardens. Still working on an actual plan but we will get there.

The big issue is we don’t see a lot of rain so the “rain” barrel amounts would be minimal. Capturing the snow would be fine, but, it takes a while to melt and you need a lot of it to make up the same amount of rain water from just a little rain storm. Almost need a big concrete reservoir for the snow to melt into and feed that water into barrels. Hmmm, I think I have an idea!

In January, we did have a dip in temps for about 7 days seeing -35 to -45, but, Mastercraft kept us rolling forward with the space heater we put in the wellhouse just to make sure everything stayed warm. We did have a valve crack but the thought is that it was from last years chaos. Before this past winter we had rebuilt the door frame, insulated and did full weather stripping. Our friends at Lunkers Plumbing were here the same day to take care of that valve for us. (Thanks Jesse and Fred)

In February, the temps were a little warmer for just about a week, but then it got cold again with the average being around -17 and then tack on the wind. It has been fairly cold for the past few weeks but looks like next week there seems to be a potential Spring turn perhaps.

The one constant has definitely been sunshine, tons of it! As this is written, the sky could simply not be any more blue and clear. It is a balmy -12 this morning, LOL!

Wildlife

Well, all the creatures have been a little messed up this year. Not sure if they are supposed to be hibernating or waking up. The temperature fluctuations from October through March have been ridiculous to say the least. The mice, moles and voles were definitely waking up in the pastures when we got the 2 weeks of warmer weather as they showed their ugly presence around the property.

One morning when up in the pasture, there were a ton of coyote tracks through the pasture snow which explains the 3am howling session the other night. We had not seen tracks in that amount here until now, but from what it looks like, they are hunting for those waking rodents. Don’t like either side of the equation so hopefully the coyotes and foxes can take care of the early risers before we need to. 

One morning when plowing, saw a short tailed weasel with a mouse in it’s teeth. SO cool! They are our friends in the fields. They hunt what we don’t like and they have an endless supply of food in this region for sure. The cool thing about weasels is that they are brown in the summer and change to white for the winter, total chameleon like.

What is up with Payton?

Well, actually she has been here more regularly lately on weekends and Grampy takes her out for Bubble Tea or hot chocolate and sometimes a few errands. Payton has been seen on the quad helping Grammy doing some farm chores and then having fun in the snow on the quad. She has had a blast for sure. Next step down the road, teaching how to plow the driveway, lol, well, maybe not. Grampy doesn’t mind doing it!

Payton is on her school’s basketball team and says she loves it which is awesome. (they got their first win the other day so she was definitely excited about that). She is definitely growing up fast. Her birthday is at the end of April so 11 is not far away.

Animals +

First off, our 3 awesome canine guardians are growing up fast. Solo is huge, Luke is big of course, and Leia is still growing but getting big herself. Well, she should have, she was pregnant! In case you didn’t know, Leia gave birth to 11 pups, 10 survived. So she is currently nursing 10 puppies, 7 girls, 3 boys! The pups are a little loud at times as they fight for space to feed.

Pictures of the pups can be found on the Hamlet Wilbur Farms facebook page.

Sam our house cat and also a huge Packers Fan, is still a troublemaker and kicking it at almost 17 with tons of energy when he isn’t sleeping. He isn’t pulling his weight though, he needs to kill more bugs!

Yes, believe it or not, it is a widespread common issue here in AB that many people still have flies from somewhere during the coldest days of winter. -38 outside in January and we were reaching for a fly swatter. LOL, messed up or what? Really messes with you when one lands on the tv when you are watching a hockey game…. Which one is the puck? Flies can be so inconsiderate!

Now for the pigs, they are all getting big! Hamlet and Wilbur are very big boys and still have the same personalities as they did when we first got them. Ashley has been introducing them to a new gated pasture, ironically the one that we thought would be the challenge is not. It is the easy going one. They are still pretty cool hogs! The boys are rooting in their big pen as the grass underneath has begun to appear on warmer days and they don’t mind the minimal snow at all.

Prudence and Petunia, well, they are about 2 inches off the floor and plump! They definitely are big and not sure what they weigh but they could take on pretty much anything and walk away unscathed. The girls look like walking ottomans. We have not bred them yet, it is coming.

Lisa, Ashley and Colin

Well Lisa has been looking for work recently, and nothing yet. She continues to do her crafts and they will slowly be making their way up onto the Hamlet & Wilbur Farms store website. We have Easter this weekend so Lisa will be preparing a wonderful Ham this Sunday, yum yum! Lisa spends a ton of time with the dogs and gets out there to feed and care for the pigs. Like the rest of us, waiting on Spring to actually arrive outside and not just in a calendar.

Lisa and Ashley pulled all nighters with Leia and the puppies, and actually spent a great deal of time with Leia the week prior to her giving birth. KUDOS to them both from the writer as Colin has had a ton of work still to do so they stepped up and did what they normally do.

Ashley is doing well. In addition to the role of helping Leia with the puppies and taking Leia out for private walks etc., she also takes care of the pigs. Mentioned earlier that she has been introducing the boys to a new pen area and all in all, it is going ok.

Ashley is expecting a child also. Yep, she is pregnant so a lot of new life will occur on the farm this year. Not sure if boy, girl, or beast….. but when we know, we will share the details with you all. We can say without a doubt she won’t be duplicating Leia’s litter of 10!

Lisa is excited about the pregnancy as is Ashley as they never had a chance to share Ashley’s previous pregnancies together. Mother Daughter stuff. Needless to say, the craft room here is filling up with baby supplies slowly but surely.

Colin keeps on keeping on with the web dev business. Recently however, Colin worked a deal with a client to obtain a 40% interest in their business. This deal comes with a ton of work and massive potential so there has been a lot more office time than usual as of late. When things are done, it will be revealed what he is/was working on.

Colin is looking forward to Spring and can say that this year, we were a lot better planned and managed for the temperature fluctuations through the winter and into Spring, as it slowly approaches. Roof raking, ice breaking, and more….we nailed it this year! Our sumps will be turned on next week to counteract the warmer temperatures and quick thaw. Our privacy trees and shrubs along with other plants will be here the first week of May for planting. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO looking forward to getting that started. Our quad will definitely come in handy with our yard trailer so we can get more work done efficiently. Colin will be building a 16’ long, 3+’ high raised veggie garden planter box but it can’t be done until after the thaw and drainage.

The magpie nest Colin watched be built last winter has been dismantled stick by stick this winter by the same magpies. They are building a new nest about 30ft away on the back side of our trees and shrubs behind the house. As quickly as they built the first nest, they are taking it apart to build the new one. Very cool, very smart birds.

That is about it for this blog post unfortunately, not much else to write.

Have a Happy Easter Everyone!