First week on the Farm

After a few weeks of leisurely enjoying Alberta, we decided it was time to get back to the real world. We packed up our belongings (somehow a lot more than what we arrived with), said good bye to our fantastic Canadian parents Janice and Jim and made the long trip, ok the super short hour long trip, down the road to Mesabi Ranches.
Mesabi Ranches/Feedlot is owned by Mike & Jo Sears and managed by their son Tyrell, who lives at the feedlot with his wife Danielle. We were shown our new home for the next few months, a nice old house on the feedlot which we share with 3 others, Bryher, a kiwi girl from the South Island who has been living here for a few years and is going for her Canadian residency, Adam (or otherwise known as Pecker, Piglet or Straya), an Aussie builder from Aubury/Wodonga and Chris, otherwise known as Jonesy, a kiwi bloke from the South Island. Also I should mention the 30 odd resident barn cats that live in the barn next door, Spike the Border Collie and Duke the huge Pyrenees cross Border Collie who keeps the coyotes at bay at night by howling his lungs out!
We settled in and were put to work the next day and so started my farming career! Here are some pics of our first week of work, I'll try and get organised and take some more pictures of our house and the farm over the coming weeks...enjoy!

James fixing up some fencing

Mike & Jonesy fencing on the Ranch

The house at the Ranch where Mike & Jo live

Jonesy & Ty moving some cattle on the Ranch

James and I cutting some tyres for the silage pit

 

 

Last winter strong winds blew woodchips all through the tyre pile so James got the tractor out to shake out a few of tyres that were completed covered at the bottom of the pile. Turns out a skunk family had decided to make the tyre pile their home and when James lifted up a load of tyres a skunk got his tail stuck between two tyres and was scrambling to get free. Bryher and I jumped up and down to get James attention so he wouldn't dump them right by where we were cutting, I've been told the smell is not a pleasant one! Luckily this time the skunk was a baby one and must have been so scared it took off, next time we might not be so lucky!

James putting his newly acquired welding skills to work

The Feedlot

Spike on the lookout for Mice