Haying is an experience that is always special and fun for us, even after 13 years of harvests. This year, haying has been hard. We’ve had lots of rainy days (and some torrential days most recently). More than enough to make the grass grow like crazy, but not enough time in between for our farmers to cut, dry and bale.
Our farmer cut our first field at the start of June. They finally pulled the last hay wagon away at the end of the month. In between we watched them battle equipment, race the rain, bring on more help, and work very, very hard.
Ellie and I have measured the grass, speculated when it might be cut and then when it might be baled, assessed whether the hay is dry, sympathized with and appreciated our farmers, climbed on hay bales and then jumped off, watched the tractors, balers and wagons, been grateful for this land, and soaked up the experience.
What harvests have you been watching where you live? Anyone else having a wet summer?
Today is Canada Day. Eleven years ago, I was so excited to be flying the Canadian flag at the farm on July 1. Over the years, my attitude has changed, and this year I feel even more conflicted.
The flag is about my identification as Canadian and my pride in my country. But this year, I feel less connected to Canada’s current direction and less pride.
Growing up, I was taught that Canada is a great place to live, a place of diversity and acceptance, a champion for human rights. Those things are true, but only to a certain extent.
Over the last several years, I have learned more about Canada’s struggles with inequality, intolerance and injustice. At our country’s worse, it devolves to discrimination and abuse.
The ongoing treatment of Indigenous peoples and the awful situations so many are living in do not reflect the Canada that I want to identify with. I recently read Garbs Chief Sheila North’s memoire. She wrote, “Our country and all Canadians have learned the same views from generation to generation, creating systemic and institutional racism everywhere.” Centuries of abuse have damaged generations of people, and the government shows little willingness to change its course.
The government’s response to Israel’s attacks on Palestinians does not demonstrate respect for human rights and equality. I identify as Canadian, yet I don’t recognize myself in my government’s stance. Palestinians and Jews deserve to live. They deserve to be safe in their homes.
I teach my child to respect others, be kind, not hurt people and not take what doesn’t belong to her. I also teach her that people are different, but that doesn’t change how we treat them.
Throughout the protests during Covid-19, I felt uncomfortable with the flag in front of our house. What if people thought we were one of “those” people? Those people who seemed so intolerant and who had co-opted the flag. I refused to take it down, but I let it get very tattered, perhaps a representation of my feelings at the time.
Paul Litt, a history professor at Carleton University, talked about some of my feelings. “Where there’s evidence that maybe Canada means something different than what you imagined it to be — an extension of yourself — that has great potential for dissonance.”
Canada is a place of goodness. But we have a long way ago to ensure that goodness is universal. It is up to each of us to be open, speak up, vote, learn, teach and listen.
North talked about the “Seven Teachings that many Indigenous people adhere to: Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility, Truth.” These are values that represent the Canada that I want to live in.
Summer is underway here, and it’s been so much fun already. Ellie is finished school. We’ve had ice cream, a heatwave, water fights and a campout. We’ve gone swimming, strawberry picking and to the zoo. We’ve also done some work on the coop, mowed the grass and tackled the usual household chores. In all, it’s been just what we like–a good mix.
I wrote an article for our community newsletter about my summer philosophy. I’m going to share part of it here in the hopes that it encourages you to “do” summer.
“A few years ago, I made the decision to “do” summer. That meant saying yes to opportunities that came along, soaking up the great weather, being a bit flexible on the schedule, and spending time outside. Nothing was overly complicated or expensive, yet we had the best time.
How to “do” summer
Summer should be relaxing and fun, and our activities should help to achieve that. Eat meals outside instead of in the house. If a friend invites you to go swimming, say yes. Notice the animals, insects, birds, flowers that share our environment. Maybe have a campout in the backyard or stay at the park a bit later. Enjoy some farm fresh or homegrown food. Find simple moments to experience the fun of the season.”
As we begin summer, here are some of the things that I have my eye on.
The transformation of Bluestone Cottage has been incredible to watch. Daniel’s style is one of a kind.
I had a terrible crick in my neck last week. I’m hoping this pillow will help.
I love a furniture makeover. Repurposing a hutch into a gardening station is something I never considered, but I love the idea. And my Mom has the perfect hutch in her basement…
“To save wild places and wildlife in Canada’s North, we must also save them in Canada’s south… Natural areas on our doorsteps remind us of our connection to those vast, untrodden wild places that lie beyond the horizon.”
We’re ending the month with our first summer getaway this week. I’m also anticipating at least two ice cream cones. I hope that you will consider “doing” summer, whatever that means for your family. Have fun and embrace the season.
Firewood is Matt’s Dad’s thing. He heats their house with wood and has a huge, carefully constructed, diligently managed, well-sheltered woodpile. He also has all of the saws, axes, sledgehammers, wedges, and a wood splitter to prepare that firewood–and the experience to use them.
When we ran out of firewood this spring, he immediately committed to restocking us. (He might have been a bit horrified.)
All of the firewood we have ever had at the farm has come from Matt’s Dad’s efforts (and ours). In fact, on our second day of owning the farm he cut his first tree here and one month into the farm we had our first woodpile. There have been lots and lots of trees and cutting and splitting and piling since then.
A few weeks ago, Matt’s Dad and I had a big firewood restocking day. I have always been the gopher when it comes to cutting wood. He saws. I carry, hold, split and stack. He’s offered at various points to teach me to chainsaw, but I haven’t taken him up on it. I finally did.
At first I was uncomfortable. I am very conscious of how dangerous chainsaws are. The saw was also super heavy and felt awkward for me. (Side note: He is much stronger than I realized.) But Matt’s Dad was patient and thorough, and he set me up and gave me the confidence to stick with it.
We started with three smaller trees that had died or blown down. Then he spotted a huge dead ash tree. As I kept cutting the smaller trees, stopping now and then to load the trailer, he went for the big one.
It ended up being a full day of cutting–for both of us. Three trailer loads and some very, very big pieces of wood. It was one of the best days I’ve ever had with Matt’s Dad.
Last weekend, he came back and finished the job, splitting all of the big pieces while I stacked the logs in the woodpile. We are now fully restocked with enough firewood to last for probably two years.
For Father’s Day, I want to celebrate Matt’s Dad. He does so much for us. Just like Dad’s are supposed to. He watches out for us, considers us, helps us, makes sure we have what we need, teaches us and spends time with us. I am very grateful to have him in our lives.
I feel like I’ve been going full speed ahead this month. My main focus has been the barn cleanout I mentioned last month (hence my office, above). It’s not been the most fun project. It’s a bunch of stuff Matt had that he enjoyed, but it’s not something I’m interested in.
There’s baggage because it’s Matt’s and he should still be enjoying this. There’s also baggage because it’s a tonne of stuff (and some it is a pretty big mess).
But one of Matt’s friends whom I’ve not heard from since Matt died and that I had no idea how to contact reached out to me just as I started to sort through things. He immediately offered to help, so while I’m counting and organizing, he’s cold calling and trying to find people who might be interested in this stuff.
I feel like Matt had some influence on his friend, so it’s nice to know he’s with me, doing as much as he can for us.
The cleanout has felt all consuming, but I am making progress. I’ve also had some time to get lumber for the coop, work with Matt’s Dad to continue to rebuild our firewood, celebrate Matt’s Dad’s birthday, chip up a whole tonne of brush, plant some trees with Ellie, join a community clean-up to pick litter out of ditches, do a bit of gardening, have a few work meetings, and do a bunch of other things. I won’t say there’s balance this month, but there’s productivity.
Here’s some other things I’ve been up to.
We had our best asparagus harvest yet! This tart and this pizza were excellent ways to enjoy it (Smitten Kitchen never lets me down).
I’m considering buying a ceiling fan for our front hall to help regulate the temperature between upstairs and down, but I’m not sure how much of a difference it will make. Any advice?
I’m finishing off the month with… you guessed it… more time in the barn. I’m hoping to make some really good progress this week. I also have a special project for one of my clients, lunch with one of Matt’s Mom’s friends and Cigo’s annual vet check-up. I also really need to mow the grass. It’s getting hard to distinguish between our lawns and the hayfields.
Who else is going full speed ahead? Has anyone achieved “balance” this month? Any other asparagus fans out there? What was the highlight of May for you?
At the end of April, our solar panels turned 10. We celebrated the occasion with a sunny day and the inverters humming along (they actually hum as they convert the power). We also celebrated because over the course of the last year, the solar panels finally earned as much money as it cost to install them.
Here is my annual review of how much we’ve earned and how it compares to previous years.
If you need to get caught up, here are all of the previous updates and other details:
Let’s start with the big number. Ten years ago, we paid $40,727.46 to install our 40 panels. Since then, the government has paid us a grand total of $44,515.57 for the electricity the panels have produced (our rate with the province is $0.396 per kWh). So we are now $3,788.11 ahead. It took us 9 years and 2 months to fully “pay off” the panels, a bit longer than my original estimate of 8 1/2 years.
This past year the panels generated $4,311.71. This is a slight increase over last year, but I made an accounting change this year to reinstate HST on our payments, so the total reflects that more than any change in electricity generation. We’re just under our annual average of $4,451.56.
As usual, we made more than we consumed. We spent $2,661.31 on electricity over the same time period, giving us a profit of $1,650.40. (It always feels good to cover our hydro bills.)
Ten years also marks the halfway point of our 20 year contract.
For now, I’m content to let the panels hum along and see how this all plays out. Hopefully someday we can upgrade the panels, generate our own power and disconnect from the grid.
Regardless, I am proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and the choice that we made to go solar.
As I look back over April, I feel like it was a full, good month for us. Seeing the eclipse at the farm was a super cool experience. We also had our first patio dinner of the year, five family birthdays, some progress in the gardens, some progress on the coop, a little project in the house, an Earth Day double tree planting, and watched (virtually) my sister run the Boston Marathon.
Oh, and I also wrapped up my first year teaching. Teaching has been a great experience, and I’m looking forward to going back in the fall. But for now, I’m savouring a bit of time off before Ellie finishes school and we’re fully into summer.
As long time readers know, I often gauge the progress of spring by when (and whether) our forsythia blooms. This year, the forsythia was loaded with blooms by mid-April. This is in line with last year, but still later than our first year at the farm when it bloomed by April 2. I’m attributing the blossoms to the mild winter, as I assume temperatures weren’t cold enough to kill the flowers. The timing I’ll attribute to spring, which has been a bit cool so far. The handsomes I’ll attribute to Cigo.
I managed to sew this sweater while it’s still cold enough to wear it (I had hoped it would be ready for Christmas… then Valentine’s Day. It turned out spring was the deadline.)
I’m finishing off the month by reconnecting with a long-time friend and some more progress on the coop. I’m also going to kick off a big barn cleanout project that I am not excited about. Though it will be nice when it’s done.
What was the highlight of April for you? Did you watch the eclipse? Or the Boston Marathon? What projects are you working on at your house? What signs of spring do you watch for?
I’ve been trying to think of something philosophical and profound to say about Earth Day, but this year the words aren’t coming (so forgive what may be a disjointed post). This year, my world feels small. I don’t know how to save the world, so I focus on my own family and my own home. I want to say I’m doing what I can or doing my best, but I don’t feel like I am.
Living on a farm brings me closer to the environment and I’m learning more about how much potential this land has to help. We have our wetlands, grasslands and forests, but what should we be doing with them to make them healthier?
The need is urgent. Our potential to help, given this property, is larger than many people. I want to regenerate our land, diversify our grasses, rebuild our soil, dig out invasive species, plant native species, grow our own food. Though I think about tackling one field or one stand of trees or one section of phragmites along the creek or the pond, I don’t.
Not doing enough.
So I think even smaller. I should be eating locally grown produce, free range eggs, pasture-raised chickens, grass fed meat. The farmers are all around us, and they need support. We should be zero waste, palm oil free, off-grid. But we’re not.
Not doing enough.
Yes, we recycle, compost, reuse, try not to buy too many things, thrift when we need things, have geothermal and solar panels, vote for (hopefully) progressive politicians. But none of it feels like enough given the scale of the disaster we are in.
But I keep trying.
Sometimes, my not enough looks like picking up a battery charger someone dumped at the side of the hiking trail and carry it out of the woods.
Our fieldstone fireplace is a huge feature in our home. Often through the winter, I would set up in the living room for the day and work in front of the fire. Ellie has come to love the fire as much as me. If it wasn’t going when she came home from school, she would usually want to start one (and she’s become very good at lighting it herself–with supervision).
(Flashback to fluffy baby hair. She still loves to line her toys up on the hearth.)
Our fireplace is just for atmosphere. It puts out a bit of warmth, but our geothermal heats the house. We usually only have fires in the winter. Fire season for me is November to Easter.
This year we didn’t quite make it to Easter because we ran out of wood. I didn’t think this would ever happen. Before we redid the fireplace we had a huge stockpile of firewood (starting just one month into owning the farm and added to again and again).
Moving the wood pile so we could build the garage took two days. Restacking it was also a big job. I think that made me cautious about adding to the woodpile, so I haven’t for the last few years. Matt’s Dad would come out, cut trees, ask if I wanted any wood, and I always said we had enough.
Well, we could have used one extra trailer load this spring.
As of a few weeks ago, we had a small pile of apple wood too fresh to burn and a bunch of punky logs. So this year’s fire season ended for us.
Now we are onto rebuild-the-woodpile season. Matt’s Dad came out last weekend to start spring clean up–trees always come down over the winter, and I want to clear them out of the fields before the grass starts to grow. The first trailer load stayed at the farm. The second went to his house.
When Matt’s Dad came for Easter lunch, he brought his splitter with him and he chopped all of our new firewood with an assist from my nephew. Isn’t he a great person to have around?
(In my journey through the archives as I was writing this post it appears that previous Easters have also been about firewood.)
We’ll need to do this a few more times–I estimate we’ll need three or four more trailer loads to get to my ideal state of three rows–but tree maintenance on the farm is ongoing. We’re on our way to a new fire season later this fall.
How did you spend your Easter? Anyone else maintain a woodpile? Have you started spring clean up yet? Who loves a wood burning fire? Who are your helpful family members?
Anyone know where March went? I don’t know whether it was March Break, the time change, spring coming (and then going), being in a fog because I had a cold most of the month, looking ahead to Easter, or what happened, but this month seemed to disappear.
March Break was a lot of fun. We did small little things around home. Went out for a few meals. Saw some family. Our usual lowkey, fun time together.
Being sick is obviously not as much. But it’s been an opportunity for me to practice rest and go to bed early.
In the blur that was March, here are a few things that caught my attention…
Ellie is deep into Greek myths (this book is still a favourite, so much so that I bought Ellie her own copy for her birthday so the library could have theirs back). This podcast retells kid friendly versions of many classic stories including numerous myths, which has been a huge hit.
We’re also deep into BBC nature documentaries. This one was our gateway and this one has been the best so far. We’re working through the first Planet Earth series currently.
This week I have a field trip with my students, a trade show with one of my clients and then Easter. Easter is my favourite holiday, so we will be rounding out the month with egg hunts, dinners, lunches and family.
How was March for you? Anyone else feel time flying by? How are you celebrating Easter?
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