George's River, Cape Breton
My wife and I and our daughters live on beautiful Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. We are just 7 minutes drive from North Sydney. Our 27 acre farm looks out over the Bras D'Or lakes,and on a clear day we can see the cars at the lookoff on Kelly's Mountain! For that reason we have named the farm, Highland View Sheep Farm, est. 1997.There is a family of Bald Eagles who like to roost on my tallest tree and enjoy the view. Luckily they have not developed a taste for lamb, but prefer fish instead!
In 2005 we built 3 tourist cottages at the back un-used part of my farm. We set this up as subsidiary business of the farm.
Starting in 2005 , I started having troubles with domestic dog attacks and coyote attacks on my flock. By 2006 I could not control the coyote attacks. A local trapper and I killed 11 animals that year. Due to the financial pressures of these losses , I ceased all livestock activity on my farm, (except bees) and sold all my livestock. To service the debt, I had to return to my old career as a Marine Engineer. I presently work at Marine Atlantic. I still keep my bees, the coyotes don't bother them, and I do occasional field work , growing hay, grain, sunflowers and garden vegetables. We have dropped the word "sheep" from the farm, and until I eventually retire it will probably be a long time before I have anything other than bees as livestock.
The coyotes also took two of my cats, including my old buddy Slash. Alexander and I actively hunt the coyotes now to try to control their population
Sheep
My flock used to
consist of Purebred Dorset, Dorset Horn, Suffolk, East Fresian
and their crosses. I also had a strain of black Suffolk that I
brought with me from Prince Edward Island. I was able to
duplicate a similar breed to Black Welsh Mountain sheep by
crossing the Dorset Horns with Black Suffolk and back-breeding.
Unfortunately nobody was interested in buying this stock, and so
when I got rid of my sheep, all of my Black Horned rams went to
the butcher. These were dark days for me (and my sheep).
Herbs
My interest in herbs grew as a natural digression from the poisonous plants that my animals might be exposed to, and the spices that I love to cook with. Older sheep are remarkably wise in staying away from some of the common plants like: Lambkill, St. John's Wort, Nightshade, Blue Flag and Tansy Ragwort. Baby lambs aren't always that lucky. Plants such as St. John's Wort and Lambkill have been traditionally used as medicines, but they also contain toxins; and Lambkill or Mountain Laurel is particularily poisonous. Knowledge and experience can be the defining line between medicinal or toxic I collect both the herbs that I can grow in my garden as well as those traditional Folk and Mi'kmaw herbs that I find growing wild on my property. I am presently interested in exploring the qualities of Bayberry, Golden Thread, and Sasparilla.
