Octavia's cast should come off tomorrow and we'll see if she needs another. I hope not. Yesterday, Mr. Guinness pulled a fast one on me. He looked to be having a bout of colic. There was no way I was walking him all over as it is sheer ice under the snow: just like my driveway that I must cross a few times a day ever so surreptitiously in order to not end up with a sore butt or worse. What scared me the most was he threw himself down on the ground, head in the snow and his front leg straight up in the air and was no longer moving. Bear in mind, blowing snow and very cold temps. I yelled at him to get up and he just moved his head slightly and moaned.
I had to fill the trough of course and it was tricky due to everything freezing. Before I began that I texted the farm next door and asked if her hubby could possibly clear our driveway as the belt in our snow blower is broken and hubby is clearing the house next door and oh, could you please be on standby in case we need to winch a horse out of the pasture? Excellent neighbours I have indeed. Snow has been cleared and I can manage walking on some drifts without falling with water buckets in hand.
I gave Mr. Guinness some water from a sheep bucket but he decided to lay on it. I went into the house and prayed that I didn't need to call the vet today for an emergency. When I checked on him again, after I had regained feeling in my extremities, he was happily munching hay and wind sucking as usual. Although, he looked awful from rolling around in poop!
And now, plus temps announced for the weekend with rain to boot! This am I am very stuffed up and feeling very sluggish. It may be due to the fact that we ran out of fuel for the furnace and I had to wait for husband with truck to get diesel...it works instead of paying extra for an emergency delivery. Our propane provider(fireplace in living room) sent a letter asking us to reduce consumption if we are not heating out home with this gas. Apparently there is a shortage. Wow! As much as we would like to go back to the "simpler" times , there is no way. We are so reliant on electricity and fuel Progress has certainly come with a cost. I will be researching where I can put a woodstove in this house for next year as I am so tired of shelling out money for things like heating and electricity. We can't control the weather so we pay the price. As a small scale farmer. it is expensive as we need to provide water and shelter and sometimes heat or light for the animals- add that to the bill and then talk to me about quotas.
Here is a letter written by a fellow farmer :My letter to Kathleen Wynne:
It was with some interest that I watched your latest photo op on Sun News, down in Toronto handing out food baskets to people. Too bad that as the Agriculture Minister you don’t take more interest in farmers and how they are dealing with these harsh weather conditions. My husband and I live just outside of Kemptville, where we raise heritage pigs. Since before Christmas we have been dealing with frigid conditions, frozen water and trying to keep our animals warm. Farmers right across Ontario are dealing with the same thing but I haven’t heard anything from you on how you’re going to help us deal with this – how about a break on our hydro bills to offset the cost of running heat lamps and tank deicers? Or how about a gift card we can use at the feed store to help with the cost of having to feed our pigs extra to help them stay warm during this cold weather? Shame on you, Premier Wynne, for even daring to call yourself an Agriculture Minister when you have shown no interest whatsoever in the farmers of Ontario during this coldest of winters.
Food for thought!!
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