Equinox

Farm dinner with beautiful dappled fall light

I felt so honoured when I discovered that the cardinal couple who had been flirting this spring brought their three youngsters or fledgelings to our front lawn. At first I couldn’t identify them. When the parents flew in and mom was putting seeds in their mouths, and the barely red streaks in their tails became apparent, I knew. It was a thrilling thing to see. I love the way the male red cardinal sings. He goes to the highest branch of the highest tree and just sings with gusto!

At the farm dinner, people brought their young, or the young brought their parents. What a fabulous gathering! Perfect weather, amazing food, kids free to run and explore new things, new friends. Thanks so much to everyone who made the hour-long trek out to our Hants County farm, and to Lori Maxwell of Bare Roots Catering for co-ordinating the food preparation. Lori worked together with Justin Affeld (on the farm crew) and his friend Olivia from culinary school and the rest of the farm team to prepare a delicious farm-based meal. Many other volunteers were gathered to help. They roasted the lamb and chicken (from Holdanca Farms), and grilled the veggies. We had music thanks to Chad McCoy and sweet cider making and naan cooked over coals. There was even an spontaneous egg collecting event when Marshall and Hillary (Fill Your Boots farm next door) brought empty egg cartons and invited the kids to go into the coops and collect their own dozen eggs. The kids (and even some adults who are kids at heart) loved it! Overall, the magic happened because Lori’s super-organized style meshed with David’s more spontaneous participatory style. Both have so much experience organizing events, that it just flowed. It felt so good to gather with some of our most devoted customers, new friends, and the farm crew to celebrate the harvest of a rather stormy season. We have faced many challenges this year and more are sure to come, but as we make our last plantings of greens and get ready for the end of another growing season, the overwhelming feeling we have is gratitude. So here’s a big thank you to everyone who has played a role in this adventure so far.

Cardinal family. Dad with 3 youngsters

Farm lunch with magic carrot salad. Grate carrots, apples, onion. Cook briefly, add home-made BBQ sauce. Recipe for sauce here. This salad was a hit at the farm dinner!