Electric Fencing is My Friend

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Fi-Shock. All opinions are 100% mine.
I don't know exactly how they first figure it out, but horses know when the fence is off! Within days of figuring out that something wasn't working quite right, the beasties were reaching through, under, and over the fence of their paddock. Wires snapped, insulators popped off posts, and I was getting seriously worried I was going to show up in the morning to find the whole herd gone! Work deadlines kept me from getting out there to do a bit of maintenance and wow, by the time Dad and I methodically made our way around the perimeter yesterday, it was astonishing what a good job they had done of weed-eating under the fence line!

Anyway, armed with our bucket of essential electric fencing supplies (new insulators, nails, hammer, fencing pliers, wire, zap-straps -- or whatever those handy-dandy plastic ties are called--, and a sharp pair of loppers) we followed the fence, searching for places where something might be shorting out, trimming back weeds and branches that might grow into the fence (as I say, the horses did a remarkable job of tidying up for us!)

Brio the cheeky kept sneaking up on us, stealing tools, ruffling hair, blowing down Dad's unsuspecting neck (THAT made him jump!). When, at last, we were done, we switched the fence back on and watched. Sure enough, Brio investigated with what seemed to be a hair's breadth between her whiskers and the wire, but did not touch the fence with her muzzle. She turned away but misjudged the distance and brushed the now-hot wire with her shoulder. Zap! She did a dazzling sideways leap and the other horses sort of looked at her as if to say, "Dummy. What do you think they were doing to the fence all afternoon?"

Nobody else has come close to getting in trouble - except poor little Pipsters who, sadly, had to learn one of those awful lessons of puppyhood - that wet noses and hot wire do not good friends make...

Given that Dad and I had never installed an electric fence before we built the horse paddock, we are pretty happy with the way things have turned out. Horses are notoriously hard on fences of any kind and the electric really helps keep them from chewing, rubbing on, sitting upon, or blowing through. If we'd known about this company (Fi-Shock) and website before we started, we probably would have done a better job planning and installing the system in the first place. As it is, when we finally get around to building the new paddocks above the manure pile (as in, farther up the hill... not on top of the heap), I'll be checking in to see what info I can use and, maybe, invest in a solar-powered fence charger (I've always wanted one of those...)

Pippi the Pippet Puppy

... with her freshly killed stick. It has been many years since I have enjoyed the pleasures of a new puppy. Pippi is just about the most entertaining dog with the happiest disposition that I've ever met (okay, I may be a bit biased, but still...) This photo was snapped during a marathon 'kill the stick!' game - pretty well all the other photos show a fuzzy black blur as Pippi whirled, pounced, spun, leapt, tossed, raced away with, tried to bury, and worried this stick she found while I was doing some grass-pulling along the orchard fence. It was very, very hard to keep my mind on my task and not just stop and play.

Ducklings on the Move

At ten days old, the ducklings can't wait to get out and play in the field in the morning.

The mama ducks are never far away, escorting them from place to place and then standing guard when the little ones get tired and need a nap.

Escape Artists!

Apparently, very young ducklings can squeeze through the 2" mesh of the duck nursery! What they don't seem to understand is that on the outside lurk eagles, raccoons, exuberant puppies, fanged and clawed cats, ravens, and who knows what other threats to duckling lives... The duck pen has been reinforced and, so far, the bill count remains at fifteen little peeplets.

Ducklings Aren't the Only Cute Creatures Around Here

I know I've been flooding the blog recently with photos of the ducklings, but in fact there is lots of competition around here for cute animal moments. Here's Iago at work charming our pony, Ringo. Ringo is the one who adopted the wild rabbit in his paddock and taught it the pleasures of massage by horse lips. Iago has trained Ringo to perform this service on command. She shows up whenever we tie the horses to the trailer to get them ready to go riding. When she is in position at Ringo's muzzle he goes into a trance state, his eyes soft, and lips ever-so-gently rubbing Iago all over. Iago, meanwhile, dissolves into some kind of cat ecstasy. She purrs and kneads and contorts herself so Ringo can massage her head, shoulder, back, and tummy... One wonders what went wrong with this predator-prey relationship! I guess Iago doesn't look too much like a sabre tooth tiger and Ringo must be a size or two too big for her to consider him as a menu item.

Bathtime!

Fear not - the duckling photos will stop soon... but oh my, they are keeping me entertained! We seem to have fifteen in all...

Cutest Puppy in the World!

Is it possible to overdose on cuteness? Because it's getting pretty close to overload on the OMG, how adorable front around here! Between Pippi, the ultra-lovely-best-puppy-in-the-world, and the ducklings... I am in perpetual danger of hyperventilating due to the regular sharp intakes of breath and way too much sighing!

Awwww!

Let's just all say it together, shall we? Awwww....

Duckling Alert!

Is this not the cutest little face ever? This was the first duckling spotted yesterday... There are at least four nestled under the three nesting mothers (who are sharing nest space in a very civilized manner...) There are still quite a few eggs under there, too - and the moms are not leaving the nests for anything, so more siblings may yet emerge over the next day or two...

Stay tuned!

Such a Handsome Boy!

King - one of the Kashmir goat twins... It's always so strange to see him in the spring with his two-toned look. The undercoat (so soft!) is light grey and after it sheds out he returns to his usual jet black self (and looks about 20 lbs lighter!)

Up a Tree!

The lateral arc of the summer sun has taken it far enough to the north that a whole strip of beds along the north side of the vegetable garden are now in full shade for most of the morning. The problem is the row of large trees along the north property line - their large branches stick out (pointing south) far enough to get in the way of that precious morning sun.

What do do? Why, scramble up into the trees and start sawing, of course!

I've always loved climbing trees...



...though you'd never know it from the next photo!

Things Seen at the Poker Ride

A couple of weeks ago we took Diego and Bonny to the Merle Rimmer Poker Ride at the Elk/Beaver Lake Park. The day was glorious, the turnout excellent, and the horses (mostly) well-behaved. After the ride we all had some lunch, which is where we saw our neighbour sharing her potato chips with her mustang-turned-dream-horse.

From the Dark Creek Archives.

Sometimes I forget just how much fun we have around here... I can't believe Dad is looking so relaxed - does he not realize what kind of lunatic is waving a sledge hammer up there?

Puppy Alert!

What is it about puppies? So, so, so [trying to avoid words like 'adorable' or 'cute' or 'irresistible'] adoristable? Meet Pippi [as in Longstocking] - a woodle (or pippet) depending on how you look at it... A whippet/standard poodle cross... So far she has been nuzzled by Ringo (who, though gentle, out-weighs Pippi by about eight hundred pounds), chewed on Iago's ear (the cat was less than impressed with this offer of friendship), and engaged in a standoff with Joe Louis, heavy-weight duck.

She survived all her adventures in good spirits, helped me get a load of hay, puked in the truck, then had a good nap.

Poppy the Goat

I'm writing this post from Winlaw, BC (in the Kootenays... dig out your maps!) where I'm staying for a couple of days after having spent a week working with students in New Denver and before heading back to the coast. I was fiddling around, downloading photos of the Slocan Valley, several fabulous local gardens, etc., when I discovered this photo on my laptop hard drive. This is Poppy, the visiting Saanen cross, responsible for goat milk, goat cheese, and goat zen. So generous is she, in fact, we have become milk-goat converts - stay tuned to hear about the newest resident at Dark Creek Farm!

If Only We'd Had Books Like These

... when I was a kid. I might have had better luck with my early gardening efforts!  In honour of Earth Day, Jo-Ann Roberts and I chatted on CBC's All Points West about some of the amazing gardening books that are available for children and teenagers. Do have any favourites to add to the list? Let me know and I'll post them here...

Getting Down and Dirty on Earth Day
(Gardening Books for Children and Teens)
Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy (Workman Publishing)













Good Growing: A Kid's Guide to Green Gardening (Klutz)













Plants (Starting With Science Series) by the Ontario Science Centre (Kids Can Press)

Ready, Set, Grow: A Kid's Guide to Gardening by Rebecca Spohn (Good Year Books)












Grow It, Cook It With Kids by Amanda Grant, photography by Tara Fisher (Ryland, Peters, and Small)












 Wildlife Gardening by Martyn Cox (DK)













Young Gardener by Stefan and Beverley Buczacki (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)












Kids' Container Gardening: Year-round Projects for Inside and Out, by Cindy Krezel (Ball Publishing)












One Magic Square: The Easy, Organic Way to Grow Your Own Food on a 3-Foot Square, by Lolo Houbein (The Experiment)

Milking a Goat at Night

Dani milking Poppy - who, I must say, has been very patient with all of us here on the farm as we've learned yet another handy skill...

Such Pure Colour!

When the sun hits the tulips - oh my - the colour is so intense it almost hurts the eyes!

Odd Goat Apparel

Lots of people ask about the plastic chains we have around our goats' necks. After our old goat Molly suffered a horrible neck injury when her flat dog collar got hung up on something, we switched to these rather unattractive, but very practical and much safer, breakaway collars. The chain links are tied in front with a bit of binder twine and the excess dangles free, providing a handy goat-catching 'leash'. They are strong enough to lead even recalcitrant goats but if the goat gets the collar hooked on something solid, the plastic links will snap.

Quick! Get the guest stall ready!

"Poppy, meet Casey... Casey, this is your new roomie, Poppy."

These are the conversations one has around here when introducing visiting livestock. Poppy (on the left) is a Saanen cross who needs to be milked three times a day. This is tricky to accomplish when her owners (the Hess family of North Saanich) are off tootling about, doing good deeds. So, we agreed to goat-sit for a couple of weeks, which will also give us a chance to see what goat-milking, goat milk-drinking, and goat cheese-making are like.

The goats took a couple of hours to decide who had the harder head butt and ever since have palled around like old chums. I'll provide an update on the inside-outs of goat milking in another post when I have a bit more time, but so far, we haven't spilled too much milk or blood (human or goat!)