The End of an Era

Some posts are harder to write than others.  But some stories need to be told and you’ve all been following along for long enough that you probably would want to know.

My parents sold the farm and moved!  Dad, after farming here since 1974, has officially retired.  My parents have been my closest neighbours for 9 years and now they live a whole 14kms away from us.  But it’s all good.  Sad, yes, a little but more good. Now, Hannah owns more animals than Dad!  Crazy!

Dad turned 70 this past summer and he’s had some serious health issues to deal with in the past { you can read about that HERE } and so he deserves some down time and the chance to relax and enjoy a different pace of life.

They moved here from Ontario to buy the dairy farm that was in operation on the property prior to their arrival.  Farms were cheaper in Nova Scotia than in Ontario and so they packed up their family and moved here, far away from their parents and siblings.  The farm was operated as a dairy farm until Dad semi-retired by switching to sheep.  Granted, going from having to milk cows twice a day to looking after sheep was a big change and much easier.  Besides, lambs are much cuter than cows 😉 { Mom found the ad while unpacking that lead them here!! }

As children, we worked on the farm, starting with simple chores when we were still pretty small.  We would help Dad milk, we would shovel poop & hay, feed the calves & heifers and help with the haying during the summer. { This isn’t quite how we did it when I was a kid, but HERE is a glimpse of how we did it in the past few years } I remember many nights in the milking parlour with Dad, working on my times tables, or talking about whatever or nothing. I may have complained and tried my best to get out of milking, but those are days that I would love to re-live again.  Eventually we worked our way up to being allowed to run the farm while Mom and Dad got a well-deserved vacation.  But guaranteed something would have died while they were away….

We knew that the time for Dad to retire was coming and thankfully there was a couple not far from us that took over the farm and will continue to work the land and build up their own sheep farm.  I’m excited to have them as neighbours, it’s good that the farm will continue on with young, fresh vision.  And I’m thankful the process was as easy as it was and the transition went well – not having to list the farm and wait and wait has been a saving grace!  It was obvious that God had a plan in place and knowing that helped with the acceptance of the change.  I was also very thankful that this was their choice and that Dad’s health didn’t force their hand before they were both ready for it.

Mom and Dad didn’t move too far away, they are still on the girls bus route and only a hop, skip and a jump away.  Their new house is a sweet one bedroom home, with a very welcoming feel to it.  And I’m happy to report that the tea is still pretty tasty there, too. { I was worried, there’s no tea as good as tea at the farm! }  They are getting settled in and unpacking all their boxes and Mom has been busy decorating for Christmas, too.  Eventually we’ll paint, but for now, it’ll do.  We also have some plans to add an island, actually I’m hoping to be able to share that project on the blog, but we have to pull all the right pieces together for that yet. That will give Mom some more storage in the kitchen and more eating area, too.

The farm has had such an impact and influence on me.  We were taught a good work ethic, we were taught how to problem solve and how to work together, too.  Out of my siblings, I’m the one who is the least amount of ‘farmer’, but it still helped make me who I am today.  And for that I am thankful.  My childhood on the farm is partly why I named my blog what I did.  It’s a nod to my roots, to be sure.

I’m excited to watch Mom and Dad settle into this new lifestyle.  I wonder how long before Dad has a four-legged critter to tend to and what hobbies he’ll fill his time with.  I happened to be there as he flipped through the flyers for the first time I can ever remember and I can see that isn’t going to be good 😉  The house they bought has some land so I’m sure he has some plans for it, and the girls have already requested more paths through the field.  They actually got cable for the first time, too, they always had rabbit ears and very limited channels….one, maybe two depending on the weather!

The other exciting part of this story is the fact that Hannah’s sheep will be moving to our place over the winter and will be lambing here!!  We have to do some work to the barn and pasture to allow for them but I’m really looking forward to that!  Right now they are still at ‘the farm’ to be bred. In fact, we had a conversation about what ram they should be bred to and my answer was ‘whatever ram will make for the cutest babies’!!  Good answer, right?!??!  The actual ‘farmers’ did confer on it, they are far more practical…

I’ve enjoyed helping Dad with lambing over the last few years and look forward to our own lambing season here on Clear Day Farm.  You can read some posts about past lambing seasons HERE, HERE, and HERE.  I can’t wait to show you guys new babies this Spring!  Back in 2014 Christine followed Dad around the barn during a snowstorm and captured a Day in the Life which you can see HERE.  I’m thankful that she was able to preserve those memories for us!

Anyway, life is always changing and evolving, isn’t it?  I’m finally able to share the news about Mom and Dad moving off the farm without feeling like I’m going to cry so I figured it might be time to share the news here, too.  😉

To be continued,

Lori