First Day of Spring... Geothermal Heat Pump

I must admit that I've been more than a little slack about getting some posts on here. So with the first day of spring here, I thought I had better mention our new geothermal  heat pump, that we are really happy with.

We put the loop in the week after Labour Day last September. 3000 feet of pipe, in 4 runs, so our trench was 750 feet long. Almost to the mailbox, and halfway back. They are filled with water and 25% methyl hydrate. When we tested it in January, the water coming in was 35 F., and going out was 29 F. so we were getting 6 F. out to heat the house. How you ask? Not sure, but it works. 40 cents per hour of run time, so like 4 bucks a day. Gotta love it.

Grass looks pretty green doesn't it? The heat pump sat on our back step for awhile, then in the basement for awhile, but we waited patiently, and we finally had it going on October 31. And we got the field all leveled out and ready for seeding with this years spring work. Which might be coming sooner than we think, with this warm weather.

Not so green today, huh?
The same day as we started the loop, we also joined the ranks of farmers that pay a lot of money for sawdust. After spending the summer running all over the country with our dump trailer behind the truck looking for sawdust, we paid $1500 for a tractor trailer load. And $1700 for one since then. For sawdust. Keep that in mind the next time you cut a board and sweep the sawdust into the garbage.

Leap Year Baby!! Grandchild # 10

I got a text at 3:56 this morning from Stacy, "On our way to the hospital".  Sarah and I were in Fredericton  at the NB Egg Producers Annual meetings, and due to an enjoyable open bar the evening before, I was only aroused to the text at 4:17. Too late... Her phone was off, and no news all morning; it wasn't until after 11:00 that we finally got word of the safe arrival of Silas Reid. 6 lbs. 15 oz., at 10:46. Thank you Tanya for passing the news on to us. We picked a different route home from Fredericton, and stopped to see Stacy and Silas at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

Happy Birthday Bradford!

Today grandson #1 turned 4. We went over tonight for cake, and it turned out to be quite the cake. Stacy is becoming an artist in the kitchen. Bradford was pretty excited, it was hard to get him to stay still for a picture, until the cake!

It was good to have so many of the family gather for his birthday celebration.

Merry Christmas!

It was good to have AJ come up on Friday, so that we had Saturday, Christmas Eve, to deliver all the presents. We got a good start and headed first to Victoria and Brad's house.

We dropped off gifts there, picked up some, visited with Vicky and Brad, Hailey and Chloe. Then off to Glassville.

This was our first time to see the house that Tanya and TJ had moved to. A lot more room here, so the girls had quite a time showing us around. Little Jack is not yet a month old, but AJ was happy to hold him. Dropped off some more gifts, and picked up some more, and off we went again. A quick stop at Vicky's again and then home. The plan was to help Jesse with chores, but a few eggnogs before church worked better. After church, I gathered eggs, and everyone else finished the gift deliveries over at Stacy and Gilbert's.

By this time, they were a pretty tired crew over there. Carrie got a picture of AJ reading to Kara, but we had to get the other kids pictures when they came over to visit after Christmas.

It was good to have Cecily, Bradford, an Kara over for a visit. And Stacy, 7 months pregnant. She is due March 9th, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she might go early. Hey! This is a leap year... Wouldn't it be cool if she had a baby on February 29th!

So I got to read "The Night Before Christmas" to Carrie. I see she is not paying any attention to me, but at least she is not on her phone. I see it in her lap, but it looks like she is snooping under the tree.

Carrie did a good job decorating the tree, she did that Christmas Eve while AJ and I were playing Santa. Our Christmas dinner table was small this year, only the 5 of us. Jesse, Carrie, AJ, Sarah and I. But still nice. Glad to have AJ make the trip, faithfully, year after year. Thanks AJ.

Happy Birthday Carrie!

Today our little girl turns 17. Seventeen. Wow. All growed up. Mature. Ready to move on in life. Glad to see she put a brave face on. Happy Birthday to our little Care Bear!

Frankline Dec. 2, 2011 - Dec. 15, 2011

It is with a heavy heart that today we announce the passing of a great little piggy, Frankline.

Frankline was born on Dec. 2, and came into our house on Dec. 3, after a horrific tradgedy ended the lives of her 12 siblings. Carrie was quick and eager to accept the role of mother sow, and patiently fed her every hour, day and night.

Frankline stayed in Carrie's room, and felt quite at home there. Not saying her room is a pigpen...

It is hard to express how much joy Frankline brought to our lives this past 2 weeks. We are also very proud of Carrie for the care and dedication she showed looking after Frankline.

Frankline was on her way to providing this family with an endless supply of bacon and pork chops. We are sad to see her pass. Tonight she is resting in the kitchen. Burial is set for tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Madilyn!

Guess who turned 6 today? Madilyn! Enjoy your birthday supper tonight, we all hope you had the bestest birthday!

Happy Birthday Victoria!

Today our little Vickster turned 23. And she had the pleasure (we hope) of waking up with her mother in her house. Some of us met for lunch in Fredericton yesterday, at Jack and Andy's, a bit of a celebration of Sarah's recent birthday. And Sarah stayed up with Victoria and her family. Our newly licenced driver, Carrie, is heading up to get her tomorrow. It was good to see Vic yesterday.

It was also good to see Hailey and Chloe...

We all hope you had a good day, Vicky, and enjoyed your Mother's company.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Happy Birthday Sarah. You are now a senior, and eligible for selected discounts. Congratulations! May I come shopping with you?

It was good to have Stacy over to help celebrate her birthday with us. Here is Nanny with Carrie, and grandchild #3, 4, and 7. Kara, Bradford, and Cecily.

Thanks for bringing the cake Stacy! We thought we had found the right combination for candles, but looking at this picture now, I think we might have been short one. Don't think Sarah noticed.

All Done for this Year

We should keep a diary of important events, but why, if we can just check the blog? And when your manure pit has not grown in pace with your herd size, some dates are important. So last year we had it empty on Nov. 20th. This year it was yesterday, Nov. 30th. Hopefully that will give us an extra 10 days next spring. But we had it empty on Nov. 23, and put 9 inches since then. So if I do the math, we have 112.5 days until the pit is full again. So check back here March 22 at  noon.  At least it will be spring! Here is a pic of our washed up spreader and pump. What a beautiful morning it was today.

Everything got greased, oiled, and put away today. Except for Billy and Bobby...

Jack, at 24 hours of age

Jack must be special because he already has two blog posts. And I had two drives to Florenceville. But I'm not that special that he would open his eyes while I was there. But he IS cute!

Tanya did well, looks well, and is happy. Looking at the before and after pictures, I guess it was no big deal for her.

Sarah is enjoying helping out, she can't wait to get the kids on the bus tomorrow morning.

And the proud parents. Does Tanya actually look like she needs to stay another night in the hospital?