Life on the Funny Farm has been its usual mix of busy days, unexpected moments, and the early signs of winter settling in. The past couple of weeks have been full of chores, repairs, animal updates, and a few small adventures—some good, some not so good, all very “homestead life.”
The season is shifting hard toward winter now. Most mornings are frosty, sometimes lightly snowy, and the wind has been constant. I’ve never been a fan of windstorms, and this year reminded me why. Back when we first moved here, in those chaotic early months, we bought a Shelter Logic tarp garage from Canadian Tire. They’re known to last about two years, and wouldn’t you know it, ours hit that timeline right on schedule. After a long Saturday of shopping, we came home to find the tarp ripped right down the center like it had been peeled open.
We store a lot of weather-sensitive things in there, so Addy ordered an insulated tarp to throw over the frame. It’s about six feet too small on one side, but it’s keeping everything dry for now—and at least we’ve got a plan.
With the cold settling in, the hose is officially put away for the season, which always makes me a bit sad. Back to water hauling we go. For now, we’re using smaller buckets to carry water from the outside faucet until that freezes too. After that, it’s the classic winter routine of hauling water from the kitchen sink. We grabbed extra rubber livestock buckets for the dogs and goats to make dealing with ice easier, and the ducks have their smaller bowls and a shallow winter dish perfect for their “ducky waters.”
One fun perk lately is that Addy has been bringing home leftover goodies from Earth to Belly, the organic farm he works at. Recently, they had a bunch of leftover turmeric, so he brought it home and sliced it all up to dehydrate for later. If you’ve never smelled fresh turmeric, it smells just like a carrot! Of course, halfway through slicing he remembered he wasn’t wearing gloves… and his fingers were bright yellow for days. Lesson learned. Hopefully.
It’s also officially goat breeding season, and we’re aiming for April and May kids next year. This time around, we split the girls into groups with their assigned boyfriends: the seniors are with Braun in the main run, and the juniors are with Draco in the buck pen. I’m really hoping things happen naturally this year and that I don’t have to sprint outside every time a doe yells that she’s in heat… though I’ve still been doing that just in case the job needs checking on.
Missy and Tessy are already bred and due April 6th and 8th. Ally isn’t bred yet, and as for the juniors, we’re hoping Draco will be tall enough come December. If not, we’ll build him a platform. Whatever works!
Not all the updates are happy ones. Poor Bucky had an accident. He’s usually outside with us off-leash while we do chores, and I can usually hear his collar jingling as he putters around. But while we were working on the new tarp setup, I realized I hadn’t heard him in a while. When I went looking, I found him curled up and shivering in the sunroom with one eye swollen shut. We still have no idea what happened.
There’s a shortage of Polysporin eye drops from the manufacturer right now, so after rinsing his eye and trying human sty drops, we took him to the vet Monday morning. After two appointments, medicated eye drops, and anti-inflammatory meds, his eye finally started improving. He’s been stuck in a cone for about 25 days now and absolutely hates it. I’ve been calling him “Lamp,” because he looks like a little inverted lampshade. And yes, I keep saying, “I love Lamp.”
He has one more follow-up appointment in December, and we’re hopeful everything keeps healing well.
Ronin and Shogun, our livestock guardian dogs, are absolutely thriving in the colder weather. They do so much better in the cold than in the heat—it’s like watching two giant fluffy polar bears come alive. We’ve learned a lot about LGDs this past year, and we know there’s more to learn. They adore each other most of the time, playing and even getting affectionate. And then, with no warning or reason I can see, they’ll suddenly get snappy with each other, barking and sometimes biting. Thankfully, they’re never aggressive toward us. Shogun had a couple of moments early on when Addy grabbed his collar, but after a few firm corrections, that behavior disappeared.
They’re still young, still maturing, and still figuring out their jobs. One thing is certain: they are incredibly beautiful—big, white, fluffy guardians patrolling the Funny Farm like majestic, ridiculous snow bears.
As always, life out here is full of surprises—good, stressful, funny, chaotic, and everything in between. Winter is settling in, the animals are keeping us extra busy, and there’s never a dull moment. Thanks for following along with our little corner of the world. See you in the next update, and stay warm out there!