Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Another Overdue Update

Boy, I've really been letting time get away from me here.  Two months with no post is much too much of a habit for me to be in. 

Its become a lovely spring, here in this part of Canada.  After a cool and very blowy start to spring, the last two weeks have been just marvelous.  A few warm, sunny days followed by 3 days of rain that totaled almost 2 inches of rain that was just the right amount at just about the right time.  Then back to sun and warmth so the grass has been jumping out of the ground.   The cows are happy to be out roaming the pastures and the pigs are being backed off grain and finished on more and more grass.  It would sure be nice to be able to turn them into pasture but as we are short on capital but fairly flush with labor, we bring the pasture to the pigs.

The lake is teeming with life, our part of the shore is literally crawling with Canada Goose goslings and soon the ducklings will appear.  I have seen at least two types of ducks that are new to the lake this year so hopefully they will nest successfully and the offspring return to breed in subsequent years.  Once again this spring, it batters me that this fantastic wetland is not protected.  As I mentioned, it has been a very windy spring and despite a much welcomed high fence that now covers half of the east edge of the landfill site to catch garbage...an absolutely horrible amount has blown out of the landfill and into the lake (and onto fence lines and probably 30 acres of hay field).  As always, it shatters me to see this happening and realize how few people really care.

But back to happier notes, rows of green are beginning to appear in the garden.  Onion sets, spinach and peas are particularly noticeable.  Thankfully not much was ruined by the drunken idiot that ended up ripping through our garden last Saturday night after crashing off the road at a sharp but well marked corner.  I really have to take some pictures of the hole those crazy bastards drove through in order to get into the garden.  It is a bit of a miracle that they weren't very badly hurt.  Also thankfully, I had not yet set out the transplants meant for that section of garden.   They even drove past the garden rake and hoe without smashing them.

The greenhouse has been crammed full of various sets that are now starting to get transplanted into the garden.  The 60-some tomato plants now set out in the garden are the most even started right on this farm before.  I also sold some Christmas Grape and Tiny Tim tomato starts today, and a few other things, which pays for somewhere around at least 1/4 of what has been or will be seeded in the garden this year.

Its getting pretty late so I think that will be all for now.  Hopefully I will get my ass back here soon for more updates and commentary on significant happenings in Canada and abroad.  Its definitely not been a slow year so far!

Peace and comfort, brothers and sisters.

4 comments:

MoonRaven said...

Good to hear from you again, Jerry. I'm sorry you've had to deal with garbage in your lake and drunk drivers in your garden, but I'm happy to hear that it's been a lovely spring there. It sounds like the land is teeming with life.

LindaM said...

Its always great to hear from you Jerry because we miss you out in blogland:) But I understand too. Thats a lot of tomatoes? For market?

Jerry said...

That it is, MoonRaven, that it is.

We'll see how they turn out, Linda. Its been so damn windy and if that keeps up, its hard to say just how they'll produce. I'm hoping to be able to do some experimenting with pastes and sauces and such. It would be nice to be able to sell some though, certainly. Mostly I was just seeing how well we could do with my own starts rather than buying so much.

Angie Sotiropoulos said...

Sorry to hear about the crazy drunk people. I would love it, if you had time, to post a few pics of your garden when it's all in and the awesomeness you have going on with the tomatoes. Got a book for my birthday that I really enjoyed and I think you would as well. It's called Foodshed by dee Hobsbawn-smith. It's about food producers in Alberta. A little heavy on southern Albertan producers, but it does cover the whole province. Worth a peek if you have a chance.