Sunday is a Day of Rest (Part I)

Last Sunday I had the day off from farming, so I decided to do a little exploring in the greater Duncan area. First stop? Saison Market Vineyard for coffee and snacks.

Here's the vineyard:



And here's something I never would have appreciated before working on a farm - a barn full of cool tractors.



After purchasing my coffee and snacks, I decided to drive aimlessly around some back roads. Soon enough, I stumbled across a little place called Maple Bay. I parked the car and wandered down some stairs....



....and found this beautiful business:





Things were so nice, in fact, that I decided to sit on a rock and enjoy my snacks and coffee at Maple Bay.



I also enjoyed watching people row. Rowing looks difficult.



Feeling well-caffeinated and full-in-the-belly, I decided to wander around on Maple Bay's multicoloured rocks.



I also found what I thought was purple mitten. I thought to myself, what's a purple mitten doing on the beach in the summer?



Word to the wise: if you're in Maple Bay any time soon, don't try on this mitten. It's not really a mitten.

Growing Up and Moving On

Remember when the asparagi was just a boot or so high? No more!







Time flies, eh? One minute they're wee little whipper snappers who need all your time and attention, the next they're stealing booze from your liquor cabinet and heading off to university....

Farmer-Apprentice Relationship

Here's a couple of photos of Apprentice Tim and Farmer Brock. Obviously they're discussing important farming issues and cultivating the mentor-mentee relationship.





And for shits and giggles, here's a picture of Tim enjoying the tractor and a t-shirt that references a little television program by the name of Northern Exposure:

Strawberries

Last year's strawberry plants are starting to produce some fruit! For the past few days, we've been busy weeding, mulching, and cleaning up last year's strawberry patch. Check it out:



And this is what it looked like not so long ago:







Who would have thought that there were strawberries underneath that dandelion patch?

Last of the Mohicans

For your viewing pleasure: an empty rabbit hut.



But wait! There's something scuffling around inside....



A chicken! Here she is in all her glory:



Unfortunately, she's the last of her kind on the farm. Minks, dogs, birds of prey, and other assorted predators got to the once thriving, free-range chicken population on Makaria Farm. This little lady, however, is a survivor! She likes to follow us around the farm and make sure we're not getting into any trouble. Lately, she's taken to hanging out around the RV and poking around for slugs. I like to think that she thinks of us as her flock.

Despite her friendliness, she never lets you get too close. Farmer Brock, however, insists that she can be petted. After a few soda pops (if you know what I mean) around a campfire the other night, he attempted to demonstrate this theory. Long story short, Farmer Brock wasn't successful and I really, really wish I had a photo to share of that special moment....

Hark!

What's that in the distance? Snow? Ice?



Let's take a closer look....







Yup. That's right. It's a weed! Thousands of tiny, vegetable choking weeds that, if left unattended, can grow up a few feet and drop hundreds of more weed seeds. That's crazy. This little fella is called pigweed, which I think is an appropriately obnoxious name for an obnoxious plant.

My crystal ball tells me I've got a lot of hoeing to do this summer.....

6 Farm Photos

1) I found a robin's nest in one of the sheds. Mama robin was not impressed with my rooting around for fertilizers in the shed. She's got babies to hatch.



2) I also noticed these colourful bowling pins in the same shed. Maybe there will be some summer time bowling in my future?



3) We're planting some sweet corn! Here are the seeds.



4) We've been doing a lot of transplanting these days, but before we separate soil blocks and head out to the fields, we have to check the bottom of our trays for slugs. Although slugs are slow movers, they're fast eaters. Kind of like Tim, Brock, and everyone else on the farm except for me.

5) For the first time, I also noticed these warnings on the bread trays we use for soil blocking. Apparently these warnings go unheeded.

6) Lettuce! This is the first crop I've actually been able to harvest and eat here on the farm. We've got a lot of lettuce out in the fields, but these guys have been growing quite successfully in one gallon pots in the greenhouse.