First let me wish a Happy Birthday to my second daughter Therese. She stays 30 years behind me in the years “race”. Who’s racing, eh, Therese?
It was a beautiful day here in Nova Scotia with a mild temp at 73F, a light NE breeze and mostly sunny all day. Can’t beat that. We also visited the Ocean, had clam chowder, and bought homemade Gouda cheese from a ‘Netherlander’.
Quite a day. In between those stops we saw a huge pumpkin patch that was in full bloom, observed wild blueberries being harvested mechanically, and watched a black swan cavorting in the pond at the Dutchman’s farm. There were Helmeted Guinea Fowl on the road going into the farm. Does that count for a wild bird on our list? I think not!
One grower’s BLUEBERRY story.
“Since 1971 my family has grown wild blueberries in Northern Nova Scotia. My grandfather lost his sawmill in a fire that year, and rather than risk losing his hardworking crew, he kept them busy by sending them out to clear the fields.
In those days the equipment was basic, and he is family-famous for saying that if the blueberry business didn’t work out, he’d just stow his axe and scythe and find something else to do.
For as many years as I can remember, the month of August has been dedicated to the wild blueberry harvest: to blue teeth and crickets chirping and plastic pop bottles filled with water and frozen overnight. Sometimes we would be fortunate enough to see a bear in the field, bellying up to the buffet, or a snake sunning itself by the old stone rows running along the perimeter of the fields.
Like many growers, we made the transition from having a crew of rakers combing the berries off the vines to adding machinery to ensure we could get the crop off before the frost that would come with the ‘harvest moon’
Over the past 45 years my father has grown the operation to have more then 200 acres in production, though wild blueberries are picked every second year, so we alternate where we pick, with one year being the ‘town year’ with fields in the communities of Earltown, Corktown and Kemptown while the other is known as the ‘Swallow Road year’ with fields named after their previous owners, like “Alec Bonnyman” or “Waas Betts”.
 |
| Pumpkins by the acreage on these roads |
 |
| A Helmeted Guinea Hen and her brood (there were two) |
 |
| The Dutchman's Farm layout. It is aNature Park for families |
The drive along the Minas Basin (that is an arm of the Bay of Fundy,) can be seen from the many hills surrounding it. IT was at a “filling” tide this afternoon. These are where many farms are located in Nova Scotia. Some wheat has been harvested, hay is in its second cutting, and very few stock is out in the pasture as many are fed indoors daily from what we could see. We did see sheep, cattle, and pigs indoors. Some Holstein cows were out in the pasture.
 |
| View of the Shubenacadie River as it enters the Basin |
 |
| Same river at mid tide. |
https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7267
Story of the “DUTCHMAN’S CHEESE FARM”
“Willem is the cheese maker and not just the supervising one either. And no, he does not stem from a long line of cheese makers, neither does Maja. Actually, we stem from a long line of small town people. But as “back to the landers” we thought we could live the “simple good life on the land,” by milking a few cows and making cheese. After all Willem had his Agricultural schooling and Maja had lots of determination. So, we went back to the Netherlands where spinson casino we came from. There we followed cheese-making courses and worked on a farm, with a cheese-making lady who did stem from a long line of cheese makers.
Well, its almost thirty years later now and life on the land definitely is not that simple! But we like what we are doing and make a decent living in a place we like. We ended up selling the cows and started buying milk from a neighbouring farm. Milking is a full-time job and so is the cheese making. We have been producing our “Farmstead Gouda” since 1980”
Locally in the campground I saw significant two events today . Campgrounds are usually quite “hum drum”. One, was a very sad event as we had heard an ambulance coming down Hwy #2 in the distance, and when it got in front of the Campground it stopped and entered. It drove to a trailer that was behind us in the park , which meant that someone was having a medical issue. It left the campground as I said my usual prayer for active ambulances and the people being treated.
Two, was a group of seasonal campers across the mall from me. They all rushed to one of the trailers about 2:30 and quickly were on top of it with their equipment. There was problem with what I believe was a heater or hot water system. The one man soon had a cap off and a huge amount of steam (or smoke) went into the air for a few minutes. Later one of them was using a welders torch to repair something up there. But the cooperation in a few minutes was what neighbors should be all about. This seasonal crew does meet almost nightly around a campfire and often shares meals together in their trailers and on their porches. I think they are well prepared to help each other.
So it was unexciting day. Tomorrow will be a “necessity “day with the usual grocery shopping, haircuts, laundry, and maybe stop at a trailer dealer for some items.
No comments:
Post a Comment