Call Before You Dig!

Lucy's vantage point for the whole event. Needless to say, she thoroughly enjoyed it.

This entry is mostly for the benefit of my family back in West Branch who are keeping close tabs on our basement-water situation over here. I mentioned that a guy was coming to put in some sort of ditch to help run the water from the backyard, away from the house and down to the road ditch. The day they came to have a look, Mark, being the prudent man that he is, began to dismantle and move the playset and sandbox that take up residence in direct line of the ditch. My garden was also in direct line of the ditch, but I, being the...er...more relaxed girl that I am, didn't worry about my perennial bed of asparagus (my three year investment from which I harvested maybe 12 spears this spring, for the first time!) and my large patch of gladiolus bulbs until one morning at 8 am, I answer the door in my housecoat, glasses still on, child in a diaper at my side, to a man driving a dozer through my hedge.

So, while he was backing up, ready to push again, I was running around like a little rat, trying to snag all the gladiolus plants that I could. You can see at the feet of my shadow in the picture above, that I managed to get most of them. (By this time I am dressed and decent by the way).
Below, is what is left of my hedge, although as Mark said, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. We actually still have quite a bit of it left.

This is the final product in the backyard and although it's a poor representation, there is quite a nice slope running from the house into the ditch now. And the ditch runs right down to the road, out in front of our front flower bed.
The asparagus and a few glad bulbs were not the only casualties however. I picked up the phone after the dozer left to discover that somehow, the line had been cut during the whole process. Right where the farthest chicken is, in the above shot, our phone line ran just under the surface of the ground and underwent a bit of a nip and tuck you might say. Thankfully Aliant came just a couple hours later and fixed it, but who would have thought our phone line would be in the BACK yard!? As far from the road as you can get really. Now we know I guess?

That's all for today. Just a yard work update for the Wilsons in West Branch. The next step is that they same guys are going to bring out a back-hoe to dig up the dry well and depending on what we find, we'll likely drop a large pipe down to it to be able to check the water level and potentially drop a pump down to get the water out of the hole and away from the yard. Here's hoping!!! Will let you know all the misadventures of that trial as well!

Hope this finds you well.

-Sally

Showing off the sign and the fam

Ever since we had Wilson, and then when we got the new sign, we've been saying we needed to get new pictures, since all of our old ones only have Lucy in them. So, finally, the other day on the spur of the moment, in the snow/rain and cold wind, we decided that since we had the skills of Bobby Jo Hickey of Old Mill Photography, we decided to update.

Here's just a couple of the results, along with our new profile picture to the left of this post.
Things are relatively quiet here. Had a nice day of warmth here (for a change), carved a couple pumpkins and laid around in the sun like old barn cats. It was nice. The long range for this week is looking nice, so Mark is hoping to get in to the soybeans, but no one is holding their breath.
On the home front, we had a company (and conveniently family friends) come to look at our back and front yard to tell us what we had to do to keep water away from our basement this spring and the first move is going to be them coming in with some sort of heavy machinery to dig a ditch from our backyard, down the side of our lawn, out to the road ditch. This is to help get rid of the snow that accumulates on the backyard with no where to go.
This doesn't solve the problem of what we think is the dry well filling up because there's not enough grade to the road and the water has nowhere to go. The house should have been built up farther off the ground to start with, but there's not much we can do about it now. And apparently, not much we can do at all in fact, except suffer. When the guy is here to dig the ditch, he's going to dig up the dry well, check it out and see if there's anything that can be done to improve the problem. I really don't care what it takes, because I am NOT sucking water out of my basement again. Last spring, I had a 16 month old, a big pregnant belly and spent three days in rubber boots, with a shop vac acting as an extra appendage. A great way to ring in the spring!

Anyway, gotta try and catch up on some sleep. Wilson is STILL getting up for a mid night snack every night, and no matter how quick it is, it breaks up a good night's sleep pretty nicely.
Hope all is well wherever you are!

-Sally

A Moose on the Loose- and I don't mean Mark

Photo by Alanna Jankov

It's been so long, which means that once again, I have lots to say! A lot has happened since my last post, although here at the farm, things are running at a pretty even keel while we wait for it to dry up a bit (along with every other farmer on PEI) so we can begin soybean harvest. It has been a good opportunity for Mark to spend some time getting things working A-1 before combining again and finishing up some of those little jobs that get put off.
We sent our last batch of chickens for this year and have just a few left in the freezer. It's been a really great year and we don't anticipate having too much difficulty selling what we have left. While they're not a huge hassle, it has been nice to not have to be out in the fields on these cold cold mornings filling water buckets and feeders. (Mark will probably snicker at that comment, as I very seldom found myself in that position this summer; it was mostly he and Wendell, but I can sympathize can't I!?) Looking forward to next year and having the first bundles of little yellow puff balls huddling under the heat lamps again.

Some big excitement around here has been the release of the annual Federation of Agriculture's "Faces of Farming" calendar which showcases farmers from the across the Island. The photographer was here in the spring while the lambs were still cute and took some pictures of Lucy and the sheep but we never heard anymore. So when the calendar came out we were delighted to see little Lucy Bernard on the front cover with this shot;Photo by Alanna Jankov

And then this was December's picture;Photo by Alanna Jankov

Although I love them all, obviously, my favorite of the ones they took is the one I put at the top of the post. I couldn't be prouder! Especially because it's not contrived at all, Lucy really is that comfortable around the sheep and loves being in with them that much, which is so great. Anyway, if you want a calendar and can't find one, or are "from away", let us know and we can make sure you get one.

In other news, Mark and I took some much-deserved time away from the farm and kids and went to a wedding of some fellow NSACers down in beautiful Sherbrook, NS. It was quite a drive, but my parents were kind enough to meet us in Aulac to take the kids which saved us a lot of time there, and then we were able to take our time, using some back roads to get us there. It was the most perfect weekend for it because despite of heavy rains on the way down, the drive back was sunny and perfect. The colours of the leaves were amazing and it's always nice to go somewhere you've never been before. The wedding was nice and it was good to have some laughs with old friends. On the way home we stopped at a favorite place of mine; the wentworth waterfall. I'm not sure the real name of the place, but it's obviously gaining recognition, since when we stopped in there was a steady stream of people, cameras in hand. Off one of the dirt lanes as you drive along the old Wentworth highway, up a little trail through the woods, is the most beautiful waterfall. It seems like too often, I just say, "Oh we don't have time today, we'll see it next time." But it's really worth taking the old way, when the water is running hard and fast like it was over the weekend.

Finally, after a great night away, we went to my home, West Branch, NB to see our kids and my family and have Thanksgiving dinner! West Branch always has some interesting story on the go and this time was no exception. There has been a moose taking up residence with Mom's sheep for a week or more now and I was glad that it was still around when I got home. You can easily spot it in the field along with Mom's llama and flock of sheep.

My brother was able to actually touch it and over the weekend, a couple of my nephews went down to see her and she let them get pretty close, as these pictures prove. If you can't tell by now, she's not exactly normal. Apparently she has some kind of brain disease, and she's not in very great body condition, but evidently she is still functioning in other ways because a bull moose has been around, sniffing and following pretty adamantly. My mom saw the two of them courting around the pasture until she noticed only one and found the female hiding up in the sheep feedlot area. Typical, my brother said. haha. Anyway, we'll see what happens with this story, as Mom says the sheep don't really mind her, and now she obviously knows her way around the place.

Well, that's enough excitement for now, from here. It's good to be back on red soil, even if the frost was the heaviest it's been last night, and the air has a very distinct, "goodbye autumn" feeling to it.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world!

-Sally
Moose photos by Daniel Shortall and Jake Wilson- thanks!

The Boy Is Back In Town

Tis the time of year when the air gets breezy and crisp, the leaves begin to turn, and hormones get all a flutter; in sheep at least. I had been negligent in finding an appropriate ram for my ladies and as usual left it to the last minute, but also as usual, things have worked out really well. In the past, I have always stayed with a purebred dorset ram to maintain my purebred lines since I figured it was a benefit to have the option of selling registered breeding stock as well. I'm yet to use that option and right now, my organic lamb is worth more in a freezer than in a show ring, so I decided to branch out and look for a ram who would bring some helpful/valuable characteristics to my lambs. I've been considering the North Country Cheviot breed for some time, but have been wary of thier tendency to be a bit...er...wild. My little dorsets are so calm and easy going that I have no trouble in handling them, but I've seen how jumpy and crazy cheviots can be. I've also seen the meatyness of them and figure that they may bring a faster growing lamb to the flock. They're also a maternal breed, are hardy and make good use of pasture so if I choose to keep some females they may be a good addition to my flock.
ANYway, enough justifying! My mom shopped for a ram for me at the annual sheep sale in Truro back at the beginning of September, but apparently Quebec buyers were there in numbers and the prices were going high. Good for the farmers, not so good for me. So I began a desperate search. I really wanted to rent a ram rather than buying one, primarily because I would have to house him all winter and due to the fact that Lucy enjoys getting right in amongst the flock and I don't have great trust with rams, I'd have to keep him separate. I also wanted to try breeding something other than a dorset, but didn't know if I wanted to do it more than once, so didn't want the committment of potentially having him for more than one season. Renting a ram however, has its own share of problems due to never really knowing enough about an animal and what sort of history it has, what kind of problems it might bring, etc. Particularly in an organic system where I don't have the chemical tools usually used to treat things like ticks for example.

Anyway, long story short, a girl who bought a bunch of spring lambs with the intention of breeding them, figured she wouldn't need her ram until much later this fall and I wanted an early lambing, so in exchange for trimming his feet (or rather, Mark trimming his feet), I've got a big beautiful, 3 year old, North Country Cheviot ram in my flock these days. I checked his tattoo as we unloaded him and according to the Canadian Livestock records he was originally owned by the late, great Allison Stewart, a locally reknowned North Country and Suffolk breeder who just recently passed away. The ram has perfect North Country character in his face and is truly the picture of fine breeding lines, or at least I think so. Judge for yourself.

Notice he's the king of the hay mountain there. We don't trust him, but so far he's been too interested in the ladies to even notice us.

The green on his chest is the breeding marker we rigged up. We didn't have a marking harness, which is the most common way to mark the ewes who have been bred, but wondered if a little vegetable shortening and tattoo ink would do the trick and as you can see from the green bums of some of the ewes, it's working! As of today I think there are 10 green hind ends, and he's been here for only a week so far. I'm a happy shepherdess these days and look forward to seeing what kind of floppy eared little lambs show up in February!

In other news, we attended Open Farm Day once again and once again we're glad we did. We only made it to one spot this year as accomodating naps, kids and thier accompanying accessories is no small task, but we made it a good stop none the less. It was a breezy day so fittingly we went to Kool Breeze Farms in Summerside, who always make it all about the kids and each year they get more and more creative. There is the annual scarecrow contest and then out in the field there are big hay creations.

Although its a bit blurry I love this giant hay spider. I used Mark as the size comparison. haha.

This is a picture of Lucy checking out the scarecrow of "Boomer", the Island weather man, a celebrity of sorts.

Finally, we attended the afore mentioned Organic Harvest Meal last night and I'm still recovering today. What a spread! It was the first time that they did a sit-down meal versus a buffet and it was sooo good! I can't decide what my favorite part was, but somewhere between the organic beer, the savoury soup served in a pumpkin, the apple deliciousness and the keynote from What-Would-Ralph-Do-Martin I'm pretty sure I got drunk on amazing food and some good laughs. Worth every penny for sure! I didn't bring my big 'ole camera, but I'll include a picture of Wilson who looks like he is having as much fun as I did last night.
Hope all is well in your corner of the world!

-Sally

Lots of links and thinks today!

The Organic Harvest Meal is coming up and I must say that as I grow in what I like to think is my 'foodie' side, it is one of my favorite events of the year that Mark and I attend. The event is organized by the Certified Organic Producers Co-op here on PEI and since Mark is the current president we usually get to sit at a pretty good table, so that's one plus right off the bat. That meant that last year I got to sit right beside Chef Michael Smith who is a real celebrity these days (and a small secret crush of mine). He lives here on PEI and is a huge promoter of local and organic food and this year has a hand in the creation of the menu and the food for the event. I cannot wait. Another plus of Mark being president is that he is in touch with the organizer, Roy Vandermaar, so I had some early inside information about what the menu was looking like and mmmm...hot damn it's gonna be a dandy!

Reception with Chef Michael Smith and Speerville Flour Mill
serving Wood Fired, Apple and Smoked Organic PEI Cheddar Flatbread
sampling "Picaroons Traditional Ales" Certified Organic Beer
Roasted Squash and Cauliflower Soup with Sage Pumpkin Seed Pesto and Chicken Dumpling
Heirloom Tomatoes with Warm Goat Cheese and Local Greens Beef Roulade with Roasted Garlic & Parsnip Potato Mash, Shiitake Mushroom Gravy
Farmers Market Vegetables Apple Gallette with PEI Organic Cheddar, Oatmeal Crumble and Maple Anglaise
Also, Speerville Flour Mill Wood Fired Artisan Breads with Whipped Herb Butter

There is something about that Speerville Wood Fired Bread that makes me melt. It's my favorite part every year.

There's been some confusion about the cost this year because the Fall Flavours (a big week-long culinary event held to showcase PEI food) website (which I linked to at the top of the post) is quoting $69 plus taxes, but it's actually $69 taxes in. Taking into consideration that this is a special, four course meal which uses only PEI certified organic products, cooked by top-notch professional chefs that is a pretty reasonable price. COPC members get a cheaper rate, which is helpful, but as someone who skimps and saves everywhere she can, I don't mind spending where it matters.
I've been talking to Mark about organizing an event specifically for PEI's organic farmers however, since the OHM is more of an event for the general public who are concerned about thier food and want to support organics and less for the farmers who produce it. I think it would be interesting to host something where everyone brought a dish made with some of the food they produce (or if you're a grain farmer, made with some local organic ingredients). I think it's safe to say that many of the new, young farmers in the region are involved in or are interested in the organic industry and although there exists groups like PEI Young Farmers, there still remains a stigma about 'hippie organic farmers' and it would be nice/encouraging to have a time for us to get together, just to chat, talk about the challenges, successes of being organic farmers, young and old. Even having time to chat about non-farm related stuff would be great as we have a lot of the same concerns about our food and our environment.
I went to a talk a few months ago, put on by Jen Campbell and Becky Townshend about thier respective CSA's and although it was really informative and exactly what I went for, it was the chatting afterwards that was so nice. It was great to be able to talk to people going through the same things, experiencing the same challenges, etc. Farming is an all-consuming career/lifestyle that is lacking the 'office Christmas party' of other businesses and I think that networking and having time to sit-back and relate is really important for the growth of the organic community here. And then there is the ACORN organic conference that happens in the spring, which is a huge, growing event, but I think something Island specific would be so good.

Whew, the soapbox is wearing thin today, especially with no pictures to share! We're having some of that precious warm September weather these days so I won't waste another minute of it in here on the computer. I know I'm only procrastinating on beginning to clean up the garden for another year.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world!

Sally

Well, the market goers didn't lie; they really did want fresh chickens over frozen. I'm still convinced that many of them took the birds home and promptly plunked them in the freezer, but that's just me being cynical (and probably shooting myself in the foot as well since many of them probably read this!) Anyway, our sales were up about 500% from the week before which is pretty fantastic. I also did what I swore I'd never do and took some fresh lamb cuts to see how they would sell. For the first time and for not really knowing how people would want the cuts I'd say it went pretty well. I should have gotten the racks cut up into chops instead of leaving them whole because they're nearly a four pound product left whole and that's generally far too much for most people especially when the comment I heard the most was, "Oh, that's way too big, since I'm the only one who eats at our house." Seems like there's a lot of homes with a single lamb-eater. Too bad. Although I can't say it's any different at this house. hahaha.

Anyway, overall, a much bigger success. I really enjoyed my market experience. It was nice to be busy, be outside in the sun, talking with people, meeting customers, selling things I believed in. I always say there are other things I'd rather do with my Saturday mornings, but in retrospect after having done it for a couple weeks, if it wasn't such a hassle for Mark to keep the kids I'd seriously consider doing it more often, on a more regular basis. That would mean we'd have to have fresh chicken and lamb on a more regular basis as well however, which isn't as easy as it sounds. Oh well. We've got to figure something out for Thanksgiving weekend however, since we've taken orders for fresh chickens that weekend and also have a wedding in somewhereville NS (Sherbrooke) which we need to get to that Saturday afternoon. (Just looked it up on MapQuest and it tells me that we're a 4 hour and 3 minute drive- not including the kid-drop off at my parent's place... oh my....). Perhaps we'll do a chicken drop-off that Friday evening. It's unfortunate to have to miss out on all those Thanksgiving customers that Saturday though! We'll have a freezer full of PERFECT, fresh chickens ready for the oven and no one to sell them. Hmmm..any suggestions out there? Anyone want to sell birds for us? We'll give you one in return!? Bahahaha!
Moving on! We had a lovely anniversary. The pictures for this post were taken on the day, Sept. 9th and what a day it was (I highly recommend September weddings- the weather is heavenly). You can see the reflection of the mirror in the combine shot that Mark has a beer in hand. This is not a frequent occurance, just a brief celebration with me in the midst of harvesting wheat. He's finished the grains now and is just waiting for the soybeans to be ready (likely late October at this point). That is not to say that 'just waiting' means I see him any more than when he was combining. (Ahem.) He's been seeding out oats as a winter cover crop and moving the grains among the bins that we've got available, dealing with some roasting orders and working out contracts. Bizzy bizzy bizzy.

My double tooth extraction went swimmingly despite the fact that when I sat down, the dentist mumbles to me in a thick french accent that he's only 68, too young to have 'da cataract'. Um? Sorry? Oh, no big deal, he had one operated on last year and is going for 'de udder one dis fall'. Oh, well then, what a relief!? He grabbed the right teeth, so that's all that matters I guess...

Mark and Lucy stretching for a quick kiss during a visit to the field in the middle of harvest.

The kids are well and although the weather has cooled down considerably, life is still running pretty smoothly here. My peppers and tomatoes are having a hard time ripening, but I managed to make one batch of salsa yesterday. We're yet to try it, but it looks good in the bottles so fingers crossed. Am about to tackle pickling hot peppers for the first time as soon as I finish this post.
As a side project this year, I've taken on the role of music director for the Sunday School at our church (Summerside Presbyterian) which begins this Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it as the Sunday School hasn't really had a music component before and I still remember really loving that part of Sunday School when I went as a little kid. So I've been practising and remembering all the old favorites this week, along with Lucy's help. There's one that goes, "Hallelu-hallelu-hallelu-hallelujah! Praise ye the Lord!" and I usually do the 'Hallelu' parts and Lucy does the 'Praise Ye the Lord' part except she says, "CRAZY Lord!" instead. Pretty cute stuff if I do say so myself.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world!

Sally

Quick Note

More to come later, but wanted everyone to know that I will be having fresh lamb for sale at the market tomorrow. Come early to get your favorite cuts! This is a very limited time offer. So much so that it won't be happening again. Unless through some miracle it turns out to be the most lucrative thing since roasted soybeans.

Highly unlikely I think.

See you at the Summerside Farmers Market!!!

Sally