Ellen Hamilton's Blog

Everything that Happened over Summer
Back in March, I wrote that I was hoping to blog more frequently since I wasn't going to have school until September. It turns out that there are things beside school which can take over your free time... things like renovating your farmhouse and selling off livestock...and getting ready to attend university.
Renovation started in June, right after school closed for summer. We ripped up all the old carpeting and had new hardwood floors installed. We also remove...

Spring came early this year. That means we have already completed a lot of our annual farm-related chores by now. Usually, we're still waiting for winter to leave and can't really get anything done until the end of April or the beginning of May. There are a couple of things that we have to do every spring such as clean out all the manure from the barn, vaccinate the sheep before they start pasturing, rake up all the dead leaves from the yard, and make the vegetable beds ready. This spring...

Joey
Joey was our first dog. We got him during our first year as farmers, but we didn't exactly know what to do with him. Joey is quite large, weighs over a hundred pounds, and is a crossbreed. To our knowledge, he is a mix of Great Pyrenees, Labrador, and Hound. We see traits of all three breeds in him, but the hound in him is the strongest. Before we really understood him, we thought Joey could be our sheepdog; he ended up chasing the sheep until they collapsed out of exhaustion. We thought...

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." ~ Maya Angelou
It is never easy to share the downside of life on the Internet. More often than not, we tend to share only the funny, the happy, the exciting, and the beautiful parts of our lives, while keeping the sadness, the pain, the loss, and all the dark parts hidden away in corners and under rugs. This detracts from the realities of our lives, and unfortunately, I find myself guilty of doing this. The stories I am...

Two years ago, a little buckling was born in May. Two years ago, he tried a jumping stunt when he was only three days old and his little legs got stuck in the hay feeder. He went into hypoglycemic shock and his body temperature dropped, rendering him unable to nurse from either bottle or mother. To be fair, Pretty Heart was a very young goat, so she was not as patient as she might have been had she been a more experienced nanny. As soon as she realized that her kid was "different", she wouldn...

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Our farm is situated in the south-eastern part of Ontario. It is the first and only farm I've ever lived on, and believe it or not, I am, relatively, a novice farmer. (That's what makes almost everything so hilarious and heart-touching at the same time.) Our farm consists of rolling hills and patches of forest, and in front of the lovely and quaint farmhouse, across the road, are the barn and sheds. 
The gently sloping hills are a winter-time favourite with everyone as they are perfect fo...

Here I present the next part of Simba's story. The conversation between the felines is obviously made up; however, I feel that there is some truth in what I imagine must have transpired between Simba and Stripe during their first meeting and later during their time together. Enjoy!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I woke up, the afternoon sun was streaming in. The sound of bugs buzzing and birds singi...

Now that lambing season is over and I am sure that I will not have any more lambs to look after for at least six months, I can finally sit down and write about my winter babies, the latest lambs I've been looking after and caring for. Don't get me wrong, I love the sheep and I adore the little lambs with all my heart, but after having to personally care for a few of them through winter, I am always pleased when the tiring business is all over and I can thoroughly enjoy my rest.
Usually, when a ne...

Now that lambing season is over and I am sure that I will not have any more lambs to look after for at least six months, I can finally sit down and write about my winter babies, the latest lambs I've been looking after and caring for. Don't get me wrong, I love the sheep and I adore the little lambs with all my heart, but after having to personally care for a few of them through winter, I am always pleased when the tiring business is all over and I can thoroughly enjoy my rest.
Usually, when a ne...

Now that lambing season is over and I am sure that I will not have any more lambs to look after for at least six months, I can finally sit down and write about my winter babies, the latest lambs I've been looking after and caring for. Don't get me wrong, I love the sheep and I adore the little lambs with all my heart, but after having to personally care for a few of them through winter, I am always pleased when the tiring business is all over and I can thoroughly enjoy my rest.
Usually, when a ne...