Looking out the side door of the Extended Milkhouse, this is what I see. The mighty tiny tractors don’t seem too formidable under a little snow. A good old fashioned blizzard and they’d be…gone! A few years of crazy short winters, and it’s easy to forget how different the seasons used to be around here. Not that long ago, 15-20 years, winter meant a whole new ground level, with permanent snow at least two or three feet deep settled in for the duration wherever it wasn’t plowed. Now, it’s practically a novelty. I can hardly believe I’m not exaggerating… Well, there may not be as much snow, but winter’s still coming, and I’m still going to have to soon finish cleaning out the drive shed to put the machines away…
I’ve been following your site, de temp en temp, for a couple of months now, and I have to say that I take a lot of heart from it. It seems so wonderful and my first reaction is: wow, can I come visit? I’ll weed the pumpkin patch… ha. I guess it’s partly because I’m not too far from you, in Toronto, and I make a point of buying from one of the farmer’s markets during the Summer. It’s the one at Trinity Bellwoods, and I hardly missed a single one. I’m devestated that the market is gone for the season! Oh, what’s a girl to do? Loblaws? ah, sigh. Once you’ve had fresh, organic produce grown just a drive away, it’s hard to be satisfied with all that industrially grown stuff from far off places. Keep up the fabulous work, I’ll be watching you.
ps/where do you sell your wares during the Summer?
What an endearing shot, Mike! We only see snow on the mountains here in Vancouver. I just moved to the city last week cause I got the job with the David Suzuki Foundation – yeehaw! :) I’ll be in Toronto/Barrie for 6 days before Christmas… wish I had time for a wee jaunt to the farm for a blether about simple tings – farming – and complex tings – the veggie revolution.
Robyn Vickers: I’m happy you find TFB…encouraging! :) I’m at the Lindsay market. And you can drop by the farm any time. Especially to weed.
Andrea: Endearing, huh. It’s FREEZING. ;)
Andrea,
congratulations on your new job! and your move to Vancouver, I’m guessing!
As for the picture, I see “cold”! The fall lasted right up until the last couple of weeks of November, but now winter is here. I think we are almost certain to have a “white” xmas this year.
I hope my perennial plants and new trees survive the ice storm we had lastnight.
Sherry
hey mike…and everyone else who can see this and whom i miss dearly!
this shot makes me pine for the farm and dirt and conversation once again. transitioning from farm help to full on tooth scraper has been challenging to say the least. despite what you may think, i dream of farm days and dinners almost daily and have added your blog to my faves. i feel as though i left you hanging when my real job called, and for that I am sorry.
I wanted to let you know that i started reading eat pray love by elizabeth gilbert and it is fantastic, but she also wrote a book about eustace conway…that natural rebel you got so excited about this summer…it is called the last american man…might be an interesting read for your winter months when not going through seed catalogues with a fine tooth comb!
do you know what andrea’s blog site is called? i am trying to compile a list of souls who have inspired me.
miss you all!
xo
Hey Erin, The summer of People in the Field really worked out great. What a cool collection of people, all on their own paths, here from various places for various reasons, and blending together into the tiny farm just like that. Hope it wasn’t beginner’s luck for me for field crews… And imagine all the salad you bagged, the bunches of beets you bundled, the spinach painstakingly plucked leaf by leaf…the numbers are in the thousands…the mind boggles! You did great! Maybe you can think of tooth scraping as a…form of weeding! ;) I am indeed in the midst of Gilbert’s The Last American Man, been hovering around page 100 for a while. Conall lent it to me last summer. You can see Eustace Conway in action on YouTube, there are a couple of videos. In one he quotes/paraphrases Emerson (?), something like: “Your actions stand over you, shouting so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying.” I like that! Andrea’s blog is locavore.ca, but it seems she hasn’t really started it… Later on…!