The weather is still cold but the lambs are enjoying “playing with their food” by climbing up on the hay bale. There are now lots of lambs and they are growing fast.

A pretty cow in a skiffle of snow.

Marie with the load of straw coming in on the tractor driven by Randy

Randy wrestles a bale into position so they can open the gate and prepare the bed.

The bedding is all down and they completely spread that huge bale in just a few minutes.

Randy loads square bales for bedding in through the main door to the nursery barn.

Marie demonstrates how the lambs tails gradually wither and shrink. Eventually they fall off.

The lambs test their climbing skills on the straw bales.

A two year old heifer looks pretty smug as she is in the new digs and has a calf kicking her insides.

Marie spreads the straw into the holding barn for the new arrivals.

The feeder tray is now inside the barnyard so it is a popular spot for the pregnant cows.

Marie brings Maddie along to watch the big round up as the cows are moved from a winter feedlot to the nursery bars where they can have their calves safely.

They follow the feeder tray until they know they are on the way home, then take off on their own. This means a bit of a scramble to make sure they all go in the right entrance instead of wandering off somewhere.

Cows like the hay in the middle of the field. It is a round bale inside a feeding cage.

The cows are following the feeder tray out to the feeding location on the feedlot through the snow.

Late afternoon in the winter means using the lights on the tractor.

It’s late afternoon and the moon is just coming up over the horizon as the cows are fed in mid February

Lambs are now being born almost daily. As soon as they are born they are separated into pens with their mums for a short period while they strengthen up.

They are ear tagged and registered. The information is later entered into a database.

And sometimes Marie brings her baby, Maddie, with her into the barn and takes care of the lambs at the same time.

Marie is feeding the lambs whose mother is not quite able to feed them herself. It’s -20C outside, but the nursery barn is well above freezing.

The next day they are really good at making a mess, but they fill their little tummies right up. The bottles are old pop bottles that have been sterilized and fitted with extra large nipples.

Just completed the first attempt at a demo video to illustrate the basic idea of the documentary. A long way to go, but that should be the fun of it! Watch this space, we will update the blog and the page as we move forward.

We got all the equipment organized by late 2013 and some of the necessary paperwork established as well. The family is excited about the prospect of helping to prepare a documentary that portrays the family farm emerging from the old traditions into the new context of the digital age, warming temperatures, competitive industrial farming, as well as the satisfaction and work of trying to maintain a family farm. This farm is both typical of southern Ontario, and also not so typical because it is a real mix of row crops and animal husbandry.

We are looking forward to the new year and a more deliberate effort to document the work and life on a family farm.