Our Baby Chicks Have Hatched....

Well it was an exciting time using our incubator for the first time.  We managed to successfully hatch around 50 baby chicks without any incident.  They were so cute to watch busting out of their shells.  First they poke a hole just for oxygen...then they take a rest...next they peck some more....then they take a rest....and so on until they finally make it out!  Matteo at 7 months old was facinated with the whole ordeal.  There are a few eggs that did not hatch but overall we had a pretty good hatching rate.  We have most of this batch sold but if you are looking for baby chicks please don't hesitate to contact us as we are already putting together another flock to hatch.  

On another note, we found a pregnant cat on our property last night, she just wandered into Riccardo's work shop.  She is all grey and very friendly.  We are pretty sure that someone probably did not want the responsibility of dealing with the kittens so they just dropped her off knowing that we do all we can for animals.  We made her a bed in our workshop complete with blankets, food & water.  She was still there this morning so I figure she does not have a home in the area to go to or she would have left.  I guess we will add her to our flock of cats which makes 6 now and a litter of kittens on the way.  If anyone would like a free kitten please contact us.  If someone really did just drop her off fully pregnant I really hope that person gets a little taste of their own medicine someday, that is just plain wrong.  

The Eggs

Today was a fun day filled with new contacts & sunshine.  Our chickens are laying at least 4 -5 dozen eggs a day & they are really starting to pile up, so I decided to get out there in our little town of Oliver & sell them!  I love the reaction people have when I open up the carton of eggs to show them all the different colors & sizes - As we all know when you buy them anywhere else the eggs are all the exact color, shape & size - very unrealistic if you ask me!

 Anyways I started a Wednesday egg route here in Oliver.  I started accounts with many businesses & people here on Main street, and every Wednesday I am delivering the eggs to them.  I had so much fun just getting out there today & making new contacts, and it's great to see the response.  So many people are realizing that where our food comes from is so important.  I am excited to be able to offer a real product that is local, fresh & healthy.  And a point to remember...there is "good" cholesteral and "bad" cholesterol...eggs are the good guys!  We eat them everyday. Mmmmmm

 To everyone in Oliver - It was really nice to meet you today, it's nice to live in such a friendly town!

Drama

Well this week a lot of unexpected events are occurring, we are doing the best we can to keep our spirits up.  In December we decided to let a friend of ours move onto our property.  He lives in a 5th wheel.  When we moved here to Oliver and obtained this property there was already a 5th wheel present on the property with a tenant for years and to my knowledge he was never bothered.  Anyways, a long story short we allowed our friend to move here and he has been nothing but a great help to us here on the farm.  With the new baby and the realization that farming cannot be done alone, help is something that we cannot pass up and it's hard to come by.  We are doing the best we can here to make our farm a home, a place for the public and friends to visit and to create good food and a place for all types of animals to live.  Suddenly we are being harassed by an anonymous person.  This person has called heath canada and told them that our septic is illegal.  We do not mind, our septic is properly in place and we have been compliant with health canada and everything was going fine in that department.  Health Canada did not think anything was wrong with having a 5th wheel on the property.   But now this anonymous person has contacted the by law office of Oliver & has written numerous letters of complaint that it is illegal to live in a 5th wheel trailer in Oliver and we are violating the law.  If you live in Oliver than you know probably every second property has a trailer on it.  So now our friend has been given 15 days to leave the property.  This is his home.  Our property is zoned for a second dwelling, and he is a guest on our property, he is our farm help.  It would be nice if this anonymous person could approach us and talk to us.  It would be nice if this anonymous person could mind his own business.  We are trying to make our farm & the land around us a better place for the animals, the people, our new baby and the environment.  We do admit that our farm does not have the perfect look yet...but it takes a lot of time and work to transform 8 acres of land into a sustainable farm, an organic farm which works in a symbiotic way so that the animals, the people, the crops and the land are all happy and healthy.  That is our goal and now to have an anonymous person spreading  bad energy upon our farm and it is really taking a toll.  I write this not to complain but to hopefully open eyes if you happen to be reading this.  Like my husband said, we are all human beings trying to survive on this earth and the way to fight this battle is not to resort to hatred like this anonymous person.  Were not sure what is up next but we are going to do all we can to have the right to do what we feel is right on our property.  This is our place, our home and I feel that if we want to allow a friend to stay here and help us out that should be our right.  Our little town of Oliver needs local small farms to succeed and prosper and that will not happen if every move you make on your own land is regulated.  We are all about following the rules, but from what we understand bylaws are put in place to protect the people and the land and that is exactly what we are trying to do through good food and taking care of the land.  

Planting Time & More

Planting time is just around the corner.  We are taking time right now to prepare the greenhouse - which is full of chickens & turkeys at the moment for planting our cool season crops.  I can't wait to eat a salad again!  We have been living off our preserves from last year and we haven't had to go to the grocery store in a long time which means no salad or anything out of season.  We just bought 6 pigs at the auction in Langley to help till our field and help prepare it for planting season as well.  Were really excited about our seed supply as well and we have plenty of new seeds to add to the website, it's just a matter of finding the time to do so - so if you have any seeds in mind that you do not see on our website feel free to contact us and ask before assuming that we do not have them.  Egg sales have picked up and were really excited to use our incubator soon.  We will be selling baby chicks as well as feed to go along with them!  Right now our flock is producing about 4 dozen eggs a day & we plan to double it by spring!  The grass is finally growing & the chickens are getting plenty of worms & bugs to eat which are making the omega 3 content of the eggs higher & brighter orange.  What we love about farming is that there is always something to do and no matter what it is it is always a benefit to an animal, the earth or to ourselves, family and friends.  Take care everyone and remember if you are looking for seeds, eggs, starter plants, or more, come on down to Sesen Farms!

Here come the Holidays!

I can't believe it is December already!  We had some really cold day's recently the coldest I have ever felt.  It got to minus 28F...brrrrrr.  I just posted an ad on Craigslist & a few other sites to let everyone know that we now have Eggs, Seeds, live Roosters & Chickens & Turkeys, and custom starter plants for sale as well.  Just let us know how many plants and of what type you would like & we will start them in our greenhouse for you to grab when the planting season begins!  The farm is pretty quiet these days, we are just waiting for our Llama to give birth so we can get her set up in the barn with the new baby of the farm!  Please call or email us if you have any questions about anything & enjoy the month of December!