Wildlife

Tough (and Valuable) Lessons from the Homestead

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The world didn’t end on December 21, 2012.  At least for most of us. One of our little roosters wasn’t so lucky. He was a beautiful boy – half Buff Orpington and half ISA Brown (which I guess means half Buff and ¼ Rhode Island Red/¼ Rhode Island White).  Lovely red feathers and a shiny [...]

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The Fear Factor: Modern Homesteading Style

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The fear started before we even moved in. Staying in our old cabin alone had been on my bucket list for years. Along with sleeping in a tent alone (which, I have to admit, I still haven’t done). The cabin we now live in had been in our family for about a decade before we [...]

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Challenges & Benefits of Country Living – Part 1: The Cons/Challenges

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If you can count on me for anything, it’s to give you the straight goods on country living.   No fluff. You’re not going to find me waxing poetic about how la-de-da wonderful everything is every moment of every day – especially when it comes to the real benefits and challenges of living in the country. [...]

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Have You Heard? Country Living Ain’t So Quiet After All

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Ah, life in the country.  It’s the stuff of countless novels and songs, waxing poetic about the graces that come from living out amongst the birds and the trees.  Yours truly has even been guilty of making it sound all fluffy and romantic on occasion (amongst all the talk of mice and predatory cats, but [...]

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Be Bear Aware: 10 Tips for Black Bear Safety on Your Rural Property

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I’d say I’m pretty bear aware.  Black bears were a pretty everyday sight growing up on the West Coast of British Columbia. In fact, as kids, we used to go watch them at the dump as an after dinner adventure (back when we had open garbage dumps). Not too smart, but hey, it was the [...]

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How to Avoid Deer Car Collisions on Rural Roads

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Colliding with a deer in your car is not an experience I recommend. But in most cases, it’s entirely avoidable if you keep in mind 5 simple tips. Except in my case. Here’s that story. In November of 2009 I was driving my son to his carpool on a cold, rainy, rather dark morning in [...]

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Country Living – Alarm Clock Not Required

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I’ve always been a light sleeper. It’s one of the reasons living in the city drove me nuts. Sirens and loud neighbours and traffic at all hours.  I never really needed an alarm clock, as I could never sleep past 5 anyway.  So when we decided to try country living, I was all blissed out [...]

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Wildlife Conflicts – How to Keep Wildlife (and Your Family) Safe on Your Rural Property

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Bears, cougars and other large mammals are a fact of life on most rural properties in North America. In fact, just after Christmas, we found evidence of a cougar (mountain lion) attack on a deer not 200 feet from our back porch.  And we’ve got a big, fat male black bear living not too far [...]

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Mice: 5 Ways to Reduce Your Kitchen’s Attraction Factor

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Seems mice have been the topic of conversation of late. Last week it was all about how they added to the Hallowe’en ambiance.  This week?  How they’ll eat you out of house and home, or at the very least leave their little offerings of poop so that you can’t eat your food anyway. I have [...]

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Things That Go Bump, er, Splash in the Night…

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There’s a funny thing about living in the country.  You really don’t need Hallowe’en decorations. Between the cobwebs that reappear five minutes after you’ve vacuumed (sadly, I’m not kidding), the ravens and vultures that live somewhere nearby and cluck and circle over us daily, and the palm-sized, hairy hunting spiders that freak us out when [...]

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