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In Adventures/ Our Family

Parts Unknown – Day 1

Cape Breton is beautiful and I do visit it quite regularly. Last month, we went together as a family and explored further than I have since I was a teen. And it didn’t disappoint! Man, I forgot how stunning it is when you really get up into the highlands.

Car loaded, phones and camera charged, we hit the road. We had nothing really set in stone other than where we were staying and that we were having a meal with Janice on Sunday. I wanted to go to Highland Village, Michael wanted to go to Meat Cove. The girls wanted to go home. { Insert parental eye roll here… }

Sometimes traveling without a real game plan can lead to the best adventures. Picking wild blueberries, eating famous fish and chips and catching stunning sunsets can be the reward for those unmade plans. We could’ve stopped a hundred times over to snap pictures of the incredible view. I do want to do it again when the trees are in full fall splendor, but that’s a whole other plan.

Our first real stop, not counting coffee and bathroom breaks, was Highland Village. We love to explore historic sites and this one perched over the Bras d’Or Lakes was amazing. It tells the story of the Scottish immigration to Canada and what life looked like for them. I’m always amazed at how primitive life was for those first settlers and how they survived the harsh and brutal living conditions.

I, of course, took tons of photos, but I’ll only share my favourites…ok, only my top 4 favs…..

On we cruised, up switch backs and down along the bays. Along the tops of mountains and into the valleys. We pulled into Cape Smokey and wandered down the twisting trails and picked berries warm off the bush. We posed for pictures, the background hazy with the smoke from the fires that spread across this fair country.

We needed to fuel up and along our drive we saw all these signs for a general store. And when you see a hand painted sandwich board on the side of the road, it’s intriguing, I’ll admit. So, we stopped for gas and because we were rather curious. And it didn’t disappoint, the staff was friendly, and the store was filled with everything from snacks to pyjamas to road signs and antlers. If you find yourself along the Cabot Trail in Wreck Cove, use any excuse you need to pop by!!

I’ve never been to Meat Cove and now I can say that I have been. It’s remote, rustic and well-worth the drive out to see the raw beauty of it. Photographs don’t capture it. We happened to be there as the sun was setting and as the western tip of Cape Breton, it appears to be a good spot to enjoy the sunset. I’d like to go back again, and do a little more exploring, maybe some hiking and even perhaps camp perched above the ocean.

We weaved our way onto our hotel. The landscape dipping and raising up to meet us. The hills stretching on before us and closing in behind us. The number of trails we passed by that beckoned me back to lace up my sneakers and explore….I still hear them calling my name. But dangling the added carrot of the fall splendor now….

Day 2 will be coming – stay tuned!!

To be continued,

Lori

October 1, 2018 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

Why We’re a 4H Family

It all started in a tiny community hall on the side of a rural road way back 30 or so years ago. There was this handsome boy across the hall, making eyes at me and I was ignoring him completely in my awkward 13 year-old way….

Fast forward to these days and we are a 4H family involved in that very same club – different community hall, same two lane road. Yes, it makes our lives busier, but our girls are learning life lessons here that they couldn’t learn anywhere else. And we wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Way back when I was a 4H kid, I took Dairy. And yes, I grew up on a dairy farm, so it might seem like a logical choice, but if you knew me then, I was not the farmer in my family…..by any stretch. But, what I was was too shy to go into a project that actually interested me so I tagged along with my siblings…as a little sister does! Ironically, had I taken something I was interested in like crafts or sewing, my mother-in-law would’ve been my leader 😉 That was not a stellar year by any means. I hated judging cows, showing cows and talking out loud to strangers. I’m not sure if I had to do speech or not, that has been erased from my memory completely. I do, however, remember getting run into the fence by my calf and Dad showing her in the confirmation class and handing me a red ribbon. There may have also been hiding in the cattle trailer and crying but who’s to say for sure 😉

So, if those are my 4H memories, why would we subject our kids to it? Well, the handsome Mr. Byrne rocked 4H and loved every minute of it. And now, as an adult, I see the value in the life lessons that 4H teaches. And so, we are just wrapping up our second year as a 4H family. And do you want to know how it went? Well, I’m going to tell you anyway!

Lena did Exploring 4H last year and this year moved on to taking 3 projects. She is involved in Light Horse, Crafts and Foods. And Hannah is a Cloverbud this year, her first year in it. I volunteered to be the Crafts leader, along with Heidi as my second in command and I’m her second in command in Foods. { We like to hang out together so this works well for us }

Part of our club’s requirements are speeches or demos, which can be super stressful for the kids { and momma hearts, too } and it isn’t uncommon for adults to struggle with this! Last year Lena’s speech prep was tough, I’m not going to lie. There were tears, fights, and threats of quitting but she persevered and accomplished her speech and was so proud of herself. And this past year she decided to do a Team Demo with her friend Abbie and they rocked it! They ended up as one of the top 5 Junior Team Demo pairs in the province. It was amazing to watch them practice, pour their hearts into it and to see them excel. They learned so much about being a team player, about winning and losing with grace and the ins and outs of doing demonstrations.

Hannah owned her speech. She didn’t want help writing it, she practiced it over and over and did a great job, considering the rocky start she had once she realized a line or two in that her cards were out of order! She asked for help, and got back up there and started like she hadn’t had an issue. Let me tell you, I am one proud momma!

Over the course of the summer, we did the various aspects of Achievement Day. And for those who aren’t familiar with 4H, this is when the different projects are judged, not against each other, but against the standards for the age bracket and club requirements for each project. The judges also comment on each project, making recommendations for improvements and/or noting aspects that were well done. The girls both did well on their projects but have ideas of how to improve their projects for Exhibition.

At the Exhibition level, they will be judged against the other members’ work. And based on how well they do at the Exhibition level, they may be eligible to move on to the Provincial Show where they would be up against the best of the best throughout the entire province. Taking your projects onto Exhibition is entirely up to the member, Achievement Day is all that is required to complete the project for the year. It’s amazing to see the level of skill these kids have, if you have the chance to check out your local exhibition, you need to check out the 4H projects.

The 4H Motto is ‘Learn to Do by Doing’ and it is fun watching the kids look to the leaders to learn from them and then take it and run with it and make it their own. It’s hands-on, it can be dirty, loud, messy but fun as we build up future leaders, farmers, craftspeople – you name it, it can all start here!

I also want to take a minute to dispel the myth that 4H is only for farm kids. It isn’t. It is for kids who want to try their hand at wood working or welding, fine-tune skills in photography, sewing, cooking, or yes, those that want to show a rabbit, cow, sheep or even a draft horse. The leaders will work with anyone who is willing to put forth the effort, who show up to the meetings, who takes part in the community events and who are all in.

We’re heading into our local exhibition soon. Lena will be showing for Lighthorse 4H on Labour Day Monday and then both girls will be showing in various classes throughout the week. I can’t wait to watch them. And probably take a million pictures because that’s what I do, right? There is something magical about watching your children in their happy place, to see the love and affection between a giant animal and a little girl in braided hair. To see them excel or flounder but preserve through it all. That is why we are involved in 4H.

To be continued,

Lori

August 28, 2018 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

4 In Our Family

How Old is Old Enough?

As parents, we are faced with all sorts of decisions to make in regards to our children. It is never-ending….what shows can they watch, what time is bedtime, are sleepovers ok…the list goes on and on. The question we find ourselves facing with our kids now is in regards to phones and social media.

I’ll start by stating that I am probably over-protective of my kids. Not full-on helicopter mom mode, but still… I was pretty sheltered growing up and I think I’m better off for it. So that is probably influencing my parenting style. There were shows we weren’t allowed to watch – Saturday Night Live, Three’s Company are a couple that come to mind right away. And I think that taught me to have some discretion about what I am entertaining myself with. The old Sunday School song, ‘Oh, Be careful little eyes’ comes to mind. So, that is the standard that I’m trying to raise my kids by. Am I perfect? No, my eldest sings way too many country songs that make me cringe by times. Do they watch a few shows with ‘bad words’ in them? Yes. And you should see them whip their heads over to me whenever they hear one in a show they love….probably for fear that I’ll shut them down.

But as they age and grow up, quickly before my eyes, I might add, the social media/phone thing has come up. A few years back, I think they were the only ones in their classes without iPods. And that was fine by me. Then Michael and I both upgraded our phones and everything changed when there were extra phones in the house. It started off that they’d play games on them, games about horses or spacial relations like ‘Draw the Line’ or something like that. Then we set Lena up to text, but with very clear rules and the right to read every last word. And I do read through them….but wow, what a lot of pointless messages flying around out there 😉

At some point we created a Pinterest account for Lena and she loves to pin horse pictures and craft projects. I realize that she could find tons of trouble on there, if she went looking….but I believe that she doesn’t and is pretty innocent in what she’s looking out. Again, I have the right to look at her account, searches, etc.

But now the begging for Instagram has started. And I’m probably to blame. I rave about how much I love Instagram. And a few of her friends are on it, some of them follow me and I follow them, mostly to keep tabs on what ‘kids’ are posting these days. Sometimes I let her go on my account and look at her friends’ accounts or other accounts she’d be interested in, like Amber Marshall or the like. I get why she wants to join Instagram but we honestly aren’t ready to take the leap into the realm of social media with our little pre-teen.

I’m sure I’m like most of you and have heard horror stories about the bullying and inappropriate things that happen on these platforms in the school age circles. Friends who aren’t nice, people who act friendly but have ulterior motives, etc. etc…. And those are the reasons that make me hesitate.

This conversation comes up from time to time within my ‘mom’ friends as we navigate growing children and the things they ask for. Some times it’s easy to say yes – you want to take riding lessons, ok, let’s make that happen { read that story HERE } You want to bake cookies, sure thing. You want to have a friend over, ok, let’s ask their mom. But I come to a grinding halt when they ask for Instagram. I check in with the handsome Mr. Byrne and we’re on the same page, too young, not yet. They’ll grow up fast enough, let’s not hurry it along.

I know that eventually we will say yes. My hope is that we have taught and modelled in a way that if the occasion arises that they find themselves in a difficult situation on social media, they’ll talk to us about it right away or have the compassion/knowledge/ability to deal with it in a responsible way. We are raising these kids to send off into a scary world and I know that it has to start somewhere, the letting go and trust, but now? No, not yet. Not on social media.

And I realize this may be strange, coming from me, the one with a blog and social media accounts on several platforms. I realize I share parts of our lives here. But, I also recognize that as the girls grow, they have a say in what I put out there. I almost always check in with them before I post a picture or tell a story about them. I respect their privacy. If I happen to snap a picture, they’ll ask if it’s for the blog or sometimes they say, you can post that wherever you want or they tell me not to share it. And I have to go with what they say.

So, all this begs the question – how old is old enough? How old should they be before they are allowed to wade into the waters of social media? And what platforms should they be allowed on? What platforms do you let your children on and how old were they? Any insight is appreciated!

To be continued,

Lori

February 6, 2018 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

In Clear Day Farm/ Country Life/ Our Family

‘Til the Sheep Come Home

Things just got more farm-like at Clear Day Farm – Hannah’s sheep have arrived! And hopefully they’ll be having babies in the Spring!

When Mom and Dad sold the farm { which you can read about HERE } it meant we had to decide what was going to happen to Hannah’s little flock of sheep. Three years ago she bought a little bottle baby lamb from her Opa and named her Sweet Willow. Sweet Willow had Hot Chocolate the first lambing season, who went to market like the majority of ram lambs do. Then last lambing season, Sweet Willow had twin ewe lambs, Lily and Sweetie { you can see pictures of them as lambs HERE }

Of course, we couldn’t make her sell her sheep, she loves them so much. So that meant we needed to make room and take them to our place. Okay, one decision down, now, we needed them bred. Thankfully the couple who bought the farm were willing to keep them around for a bit so they could be bred and we could get a pen built. We talked about what ram they should be bred to and we are hoping for little Scottish Black Face lambs in the Spring!

Fast forward until this week, when Michael and the girls got a fabulous pen built-in the corner of the barn. With the way the pen was set up, they will also have access to the paddock where we strung more stands of electric fence to keep them in { chasing sheep is similar to herding cats…. } They will share some space with Ebony, too, so we’ll see how that goes!

Dad came up with his truck and trailer and we piled in and drove the familiar drive to the farm. It seems weird and the same, all at once. Tashia greeted us and Hannah’s flock was already separated out which meant we only had to load up the trailer! Dad and Michael had that job done in minutes while we patted the barn cat, Buddy, and chatted. We didn’t stick around too long, it is so bitter cold in these parts again!

The sheep unloading went well on our end, they went right in their pen and Hannah closed the door and they were home! Ebony was not thrilled, there will be some adjustment time but I have no doubt everyone will settle into life here at Clear Day Farm in no time!

Because Sweet Willow was a bottle baby, that meant she was used to human touch and attention. She’ll come to the fence for a scratch or if you’re lucky, a quick peck on her muzzle. And because she’s ok with us, her girls seem to be as well, they aren’t quite as friendly as their momma but I can see that now they’re here they’ll come around even more. Hmmmm, I wonder what sheep like as treats….we might need to bribe them a little! Dad always knew Sweet Willow was around at feeding time because she’d try to take him out at the knees with her head butts in her eagerness for grain!

Funny how all along we had animals here – bunnies, chickens, then a pony and cats, a stray dog but now with the sheep here, it seems way more official – Clear Day Farm!! Chores will take a little longer, there are more pens to muck out and more mouths to feed but it feels just right now. I just have to wait for the babies to arrive now…..how long until Spring?

To be continued,

Lori

January 7, 2018 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

3 In Clear Day Farm/ Country Life/ Our Family

Christmas Memories

The wind is howling tonight and it reminds me of a night not that long ago. We have a massive winter storm breathing down our necks and we’re expecting the power to go out. Just like on Christmas night….

We arrived home on Christmas night in the midst of the wild wind and strange circumstances…a stray dog running around, a panel blown off the side of the barn and a pony busted through her fence but thankfully not too far away. The girls were slightly sketched out to say the least. And then the power started to flicker.

We live in rural Nova Scotia and it isn’t that uncommon for us to lose power in a storm. We had flashlights out, candles lit and some of our battery operated Christmas decorations glowed warmly. We were ready. The generator was on stand by.

Of course the power went out. At bedtime. { Every mother groans…} So, we grabbed a new Christmas gift, the latest book by Sheree Fitch called ‘Polly MacCauley’s Finest Divinest Woolliest Gift of All’ and headed up to Lena’s bedroom. The air mattress was on the floor from Hannah’s sleepover on Christmas Eve in her sister’s room and Hannah had asked to sleep there again Christmas night. We sat together on Lena’s bed, flashlight in hand, and started in.

It is a wonderful tale of a special little lamb and a sweet lady with a special project. It was a tale of community coming together and a story of redemption. It was a tale that spoke of familiar landmarks. It was a tale of sadness and of joy, all wrapped up in one. It read like Dr. Seuss in spots and in others I wanted to take notes.

We so enjoyed the book. All of us, even the handsome Mr. Byrne joined us for it. The line that really seems to have struck a chord here is this, the line spoken from a ram to sweet Star, “I woolly woolly love you, Star.” I’m finding this line written in the hand of a certain left-handed 8-year-old on little scraps of paper and dry erase boards. It’s repeated with puckered lips awaiting a kiss, it’s spoken with a smirk and a snuggle.

That night, snuggled in close with my family, reading the book penned by a friend, by the light of a purple flashlight, no less, was the highlight of my Christmas.

Tell me, what was the highlight of your Christmas?

To be continued,

Lori

January 4, 2018 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

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