Just another Day on the Farm

Over the past few days I arrive early and I don’t leave until after supper close to the end of visiting hours (not that I am coming in on time either) but this afternoon, Fate as they call it gave a kick.

I got this urge to head out, even though it was way to early, not because I was in fact that tired but just because I need to move, so off I headed, thinking a little of this and little of that and I will take the evening to myself as it looks like ma is coming home tomorrow and then I won’t be getting half day’s off.

My mind was aware in a general way of the world around me but I will own to the fact that I was not my typical on guard self, I was in that almost floating state of mind above, body working, and I saw with my eyes a big tall gent in black leather, colors, tat’s and shade coming towards me, I moved right, he moved right and just kept coming,  Move right again and so does he.. finally stop and “look” at the same moment he says my name with a “sis” behind it and I am taken into a huge hug..

Its “Bear” bro, my big brother I meet in collage, my friend for a good number of years that I had lost track of and had not seen in 15 years, he had grown up, where he was a little rough around the edges with a heart of gold in his twenties, now is a man with rings of steel around that same heart that is so big and so full of love for those he cares about that he darn near glows with it..

He looks like the years have made him a little mean, put grey into his hair and put another solid 40 of muscle on him, he is a daddy four times over and granddad 11 times and bursting with pride for his wife and little ones..

Got a quick visit in with a phone number and will be honored to meet the family some time this month at a later point.. I had forgot just how safe and cared for you feel when he wraps those arms around you, I have thought of him often over the years and wondered where he was, if he was happy, and I am so glad to see that he is!

It’s worse than feared for apple farmers in Ontario.

Ontario Apple Growers association chair Brian Gilroy says that it looks like Ontario apple farmers have lost about 88 per cent of their crop this year.

“It’s devastating,” said Gilroy. “The estimates that we gave of there being 20 per cent of the crop left is probably optimistic. We’re looking at probably 12 per cent.”

Warm weather in February and March led to early blossoms that were, in April, burned by frost. A killer blow.

The Ontario Apple Growers surveyed apple farmers in the province. Of more than 220 farmers, only 37 reported back, but the numbers don’t look good.

“On my farm, there’s hardly a McIntosh there,” said Gilroy. ”There’s a large Spy block. You’ll walk by four or five apple trees without seeing anything. The real conundrum is what to do with such a spotty crop as that.”

Gilroy estimated that on his farm, a tree that might normally produce 12 to 15 bushels will only produce one this season.

That also means fewer people needed to pick apples. Gilroy said the damage this season could mean 600 fewer jobs in the Georgian Bay area alone where he farms apples.

Brenda Fletcher of Fletcher Fruit Farm in Binbrook said of the 23 varieties she usually sells, only four or five will produce enough to make it to the market.

Once she gets to the market on Ottawa Street, she’s not sure how long she can stay.

“We may lose our market for the winter,” Fletcher said. “We’re hoping to let our customers know we will be back next year. It was just the weather.”

The news is not all bad. Northern Spy and Gala apples are in good supply across Ontario. Gilroy estimates a “reasonable volume” for both.

Gilroy hopes help from the government is on the way. They haven’t announced any plan for compensating farmers, but the government has been doing the background work necessary to put a plan in place, he said.

He is certain, however, about his message for people who love Ontario grown apples.

“We’ll be back stronger than ever in 2013,” he said. “We’re not going to be that dominant in the market this year but whenever possible ask for Ontario grown.”

I thawed out four spring lamb chops, boned them and then butterflied the meat, put it in a mix of olive oil and a herbed lemon mix for 6 hours, then gave a little mallet work to make them paper thin, these are going to stay tender but be the ultra quiet cooked lamb..

Peeled and sliced a large onion and one large apple and drizzled them with a mix of honey/oil to roast off in the oven with a touch of salt and cracked black pepper on them.

Took a big old bunch of horseradish greens, stemmed them out, and I will quick toss them in some butter and almond slivers with a touch of red wine vinager into the hot pan after I take our my lamb for stunningly awesome wilted green but you could use any greens you want to make this happen.

I had cold boiled potatos that I am going to slice and spice and then grill them with a touch of oil on a hot cast iron for the side..

For my drink, I am making a lovely fresh rhubarb mint tea, one full big rhubarb stick, trimmed and washed and cut into 3 inch peices, about 1/2 cup of fresh apple mint leaves, one half cup of sugar and it will make half gallon jar full of fresh tea.. Will heat an simmer till the rhubarb is soft, then strain, pour into the jar and fill with cold water and chill..

This is as good as a hot tea as it is as a cold one.. its so yummy!

Had a girlfriend pick me up today for a lovely lunch and visit and on the drop off, ended up having a little walk about, and I looked at my farm with fresh eyes.. it kinda startled me, but then it tends to do that..

Its messy, and there are compost piles here and there, there are pens that need to be cleaned, they only have a few days to a weeks worth of chicken, duck poo in the outdoor one’s and normally I would not even notice it, I would just huh, its rained (poured really) and its all wet and I will wait for it to dry and because typically I let all the birds out to free-range, I don’t worry about it to much, the ducks will all bath in the pond and the chickens will dirt bath.. Turkey’s so tame that they will sit to be petted, but lots of molting going on at the moment and a few ragged looking hens that are sitting..

Then the sheep, would they come when called, of course not, they were to busy hanging in the barn or grazing to care that I called them, so instead of a flock of healthy sheep with lambs, friend only gets to see the one sickly sheep up by the house, tied out.. home in a little pen, tried to put a tarp over top, dang wind kept ripping it off, so in the middle of a storm, we hauled out and put in a huge sheet of plywood, works like a charm, but wow looking at it with fresh eyes and I have a pen with a sick sheep with healthy lamb at the side with what looks like a makeshit (or was that make SH$#^ roof in there for them)

Of course the truth is, she gets extra grain twice a day with no issues from the other sheep that don’t need it, and she gets pick of the yard moved twice daily which means that she gets the best choose fresh feed on the farm.

Gave her a super cute well handled 3 coming 4 week old bunny, clean, heathy and bright eyed but as I did it realize, we still have not fixed that lid (needs a new hing) we have been holding it down with a big old rock,, talk about makeshifting as you go..

Then hit my garden, I am well aware that my garden does not look like anything you will see in a book, there are patches of nettles, there are all kinds of things that look wild and overgrown and everywhere you look its ground cover or green cover, there is hardly a spot in the whole garden that shows bare earth.. it looks like a jungle, and it is.. a huge messy jungle that will grow and produce amazing amounts of food..

Head out into the front yard, have a peek at some of the different wild fruits, planted fruit tree’s etc but again seeing it with new eyes, it also looks like a overgrown mess, but I see horestail, and wild strawberry, wild galic, wild violets, ditch lilies, different kinds of soft fruits rhubarb, and milkweed just to name a few, all things I pick, collect and use but to the naked eye.. wow, mow and then mow some more.

But the one that made me finally just let go and start laughing at myself and my farm was the shit covered pants by my front door.. what can I say, he was cleaning barn stalls, stunk like what he was cleaning and I refused to have them enter my house, never giving it a thought when I left, just I will get a “work/farm” load together soon enough, until I looked at them with fresh eyes.. only on a farm where the work is done by hand and not in a tractor would this be a true issue and then it jumped me right back to my childhood and the amount of times, my mother said.. Cloths off, and rince off in the horse trough or use the garden hose before setting foot in the house..

Cuz to be honest, I like my farm, my peace, my quiet and if I had to choose between a tidy front step with those pants in my house or a messy front step until I am ready to give them a wash, I know which one I will choose every time..

O good heavens old fashion by hand farming is a messy business, but the rewards are so sweet!

http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/ditchproject/?History:Ditch_Design_and_Construction:Early_Ditch-Digging_Technology

http://homestead.org/GinGetz/HorsePower/Horsepwr2htm

Well, I could not find any photo or write ups with a ox or oxen using the slip but I did find this great site that had a horse photo or to, I will put up photo of learning the ropes with Girl in the future, I am pretty sure that I will need to replace the arms on my slip fairly quickly, as I don’t believe that a) they are as long as they should be and b) they can hold up to heavy steady work.. but for now, here is a good example of them in use, I can’t help but wonder if a small rigged harness on my big ram could be put to use working in the tigher spaces in the barn or maybe Marty..lots of thinking to do on that one..

What I have been able to learn is this.. Leave it flat, load it with whatever you want, push back on the handles just a touch to lift the lip and move heavy loads across the farm.. Leave it level and use it as a scoop to clean out stalls in the barn, level it level and can be used to level ground in garden, or yard etc.. Tip the handles down and it will cut into compost piles or dirt or sod etc to move them from place to place, that same move will work for snow to clear a path etc.