Strawberry Festivals & Rain!!l

Its been a while since we have posted to this blog and thats because we have been swamped!! In more ways than one. The weeds are trying to take over, the strawberries season kicked in and demanded picking, we became shorthanded for help, the rain kept coming and to top it all we had to prepare for the Strawberry festival! Today is another new day and the sun is out and things are looking brighter indeed! We have new help, the weeds are getting under control, its does'nt seem to be raining and the G8, G20 and the Berry Festival are behind us!! Saturday of the festival was rained out and we had to postpone the main event to Sunday. Lots of folks came out and picked all day. The festival was great...lots of pie, cream, hamburgers and fun. Now the Raspberries need picking!! The summer this year is moving very fast indeed!!

Saving turtle eggs, the zoo and a heap of knowledge!

So,we had the privilege of hosting the TO Zoo's "Adopt a Pond" team on the farm today. We all learnt a lot. Here are a few pictures that say it all! It started by a walk-a-bout with Ken to rece the farm for the actual workshop, looked at some turtle nesting sites and deciding that the Big Mama nest needed to be moved because it was in the driveway! Then Erin & Bob from the zoo made a terrific presentation in the barn about habitat, turtles, frogs and such, with visual and actual modles of these wonderful creatures. This was followed by the delicate task of relocating Big Mama's nest to a safer place. All in all an awesome day! Feel
really sorry for you folks that could'nt make it!!!

Painted Turtles, the Zoo and Strawberries

So we have been frantic and busy and trying to catch up to the way spring is progressing! Sooo fast!! All the summer flowers are almost out in bloom (I mean the ones that usually blossom in early July)and the turtles have come come and gone...meaning have crawled out of the swamp, dug their nests, laid their eggs and returned to where they came from....almost 3 weeks earlier than usual. Or so we thought! Tonight we spent time cleaning up around the farm, mowing the lawns etc, as tomorrow is our first big day of the season....the strawberry patch will be open to pick-your-owners and the most importantly the Toronto Zoo is coming to the farm!!! To educate us about wetlands, ponds and the creatures that live in them. So here I was motoring along on the lawn mower and there on the edge of the road in the short grass I spotted a painted turtle laying her eggs. The lawn mower disturbed her and I think she abandoned the nest..which by the way had eggs in it. So we put a bucket, a cage and a stone over it, to protect it from the skunks, coons and even our dogs overnight and hope the folks from the zoo will know what to do. Will keep you posted.

Rain and Turtles

So the rain dance worked!! It pouring this afternoon ...at least an inch of rain! All the little planties and most of all, the sweetcorn is safe for at least another couple of weeks. It was was sooo hot leading up to today!! Must have been 32C in the shade!! Yikes and this is only May! Yesterday out in the fields planting potatoes and harvesting rhubarb was bearable. There was a cool breeze...today was humid and hot. We logged off work after lunch and some went off to the lake for a dip, Ken fell asleep on the couch and I studied tomato trellises!
Another neat thing happened on the farm yesterday and today and probably for the next few days. The mummy snapping turtles decided that it was time to lay their eggs. We must have seen at least half a dozen beauties here and there..hard at work laying eggs. Emilie called the eggs "gobstoppers"!! I actually kept an eye on a a big Mama from about 5:30AM till she was done at about 9!! Check her out! Its the turn of the painted and spotted turtles next!

Rain Rain we want rain!

Things are growing like crazy! We have the heat and hopefully no more frost. Our transplants

have doubled in size and the asparagus is back on the menu! But...always a but... we have not had any rain for a while and if this goes on, parts of the farm...the fields further away...the ones that do not have access to irrigation....are in trouble! The pumps have been running regularly and most of the gardens are happy. So all you folks out there please do a rain dance for us!

Frost hits the farm!

We knew that the warm weather was not going to last. Yesterday, a cold wind came out of the north, bringing snow and over 12 hours of frost . By morning the gardens and fields were looking decidedly chilly! Some crops, like our rhubarb, will soon recover. Our peas, just emerging may re-emerge from nodes beneath the soil . The asparagus will be delayed, but new spears will persist. The raspberry flower buds have not yet extended , and will be somewhat protected. The trays of new seedling in the greenhouse were kept warm by the fire we kept buring during the night in the stove. But we are not able to protect the strawberries. Normally, frosts in May occur during clear, still clouldless nights. when heat from the plants on the ground is sucked up by the black sky above. Damage from such drosts - called radiation frosts - can be controlled by turning on the irrigation sprinklers, until the sun warms the plants in the morning. But last night , we experienced an advection frost (also know as a wind frost), when the high winds made irrigation frost control useless. The newly expanding flower buds have surely been damaged. There are a limited number of buds, not yet developed, which may replace the ones hit by frost. Frosts are predicted for the next two nights. The irrigation system is ready. If frost does come, we hope for a still calm nights so the we can irrigate to protect the remaining flower buds from damage.

Bugs!

The bugs are here.....a definite sign of summer. Blackflies and mosquitoes are out in droves. On Brooklands we are in bug paradise! So outside in Gods country you are never alone. When they first arrive (the bugs that is) they don't bite. They fly around you, get in your eyes, your nose and sometimes you even choke on them. Why aren't they biting you wonder...they are being nice this year! Then all of a sudden the honeymoon is over (literally) and they start biting. Its because the females are getting ready to lay their eggs and need blood to succeed! So here on the farm its bug season and everybody who the bugs find tasty (yes they leave some people alone) has to wear a bug jacket. They work well and also one gets away with not having to slather oneself with nasty bug repellent. Hear say has it that human body odor is the best repellent....none of us have tried that because we are a clean lot! But we are working on a natural concoction...if it works we will let you know. Essential oils that are natural repellents include oils of lemon grass, citronella, lavender, geranium & lemon eucalyptus. These oils also have a reputation to soothe and calm the nerves...so try them out and relax in bug heaven.