Father's Day - Celebrate Family

Enjoy the best farms have to offer – good food, fresh air and time spent with family and friends.  Father’s Day is a great time to celebrate not only Dads but families.  Come walk our forest trail and be enchanted with our Fairy Tale Lane.  Our farm animals love visitors and are happy to show off their babies.

Our market will be open.  Fresh picked Ontario strawberries will be available along with home preserves, apple cider, honey, our own fresh eggs and more.  Our pies will be ready soon but sorry not this weekend,.  We're still working on our kitchen.

Family Day Admission $3.95 ages 2 years plus.  All parents have free admission when accompanied by their children.   Farm is open Sunday June 15th 9:30 till 5

Our pick your strawberry season will be starting soon.  Keep in touch for details.  Call 905-887-1087

Open House Victoria Day Monday and Auction Sale

The day is upon us and ready or not we will be open Victoria Day Monday 9 till 5.  Our auction sale begins at 10 am and has a mix of almost every category you can think of.  Combining 2 farms makes for a lot of extra stuff.

Time to Celebrate Spring and it looks like the weather is co-operating.  We'll have our farm animals to visit, wagon rides, crafts, cuddle corner and our market is open.  Sorry, no pies just yet as we have our kitchen still to work on.  We do have tarts and cookies. We haven't finished setting up all our fun stuff but it's coming.  Hot dogs and sausages will be available for lunch.

Interested in booking a school tour?  Myrna will be available to talk with you about our programs.

Check out the progress we've made and the beauty of the farm.  Our next big event will be Celebrating Family on Fathers Day.

Hope to see you Monday.

Our new spring lineup is complete!

They've all arrived; our farm babies are here.  School tours have started and the children are having a great time visiting the farm and animals.

The pigs arrived Wednesday and one has already acquired it's name, Scooter.  The last to get off the trailer, he just couldn't wait and he was off and running out the barn and around the fields.  Somewhat stressfull but funny to as we followed this wee little pig running around the fields. His foray into freedom ended succesfully for us anyway as we caught him.  He was glad to be reunited with his siblings.

So much for the pigs; in contrast, all the other animals seem sedate.  We have 2- week old Brown Swiss calves and bottle feeding will soon progress to bucket feeding as they learn to drink without the nipple.  The difference in size between them and the 3 calves, now steers as they are now a year old, is awesome.

Come on out for a visit to our open house and auction sale on Monday the 19th.  Check out what we've done and find out what is in the works.

Happy Easter

Easter is special to us, a time of faith, and hope.  We cherish our time with family in this season of renewal. May your Easter be blessed with family as well.

In the windows of opportunity that the weather is giving us we are slowly but surely getting everything moved up from Markham.  Our school tour instructors are in helping us to get ready for a new season.  School tours begin the first week in May.  Our forest trail is coming along nicely and will be a beautiful walk, a nice break from the hectic pace of everyday life.

We are also getting organized for our auction sale Monday May 19th, Victoria Day here at our home farm in Greenbank.  Blending the two farms has left us with excess equipment and supplies. This will be a good opportunity to see a farm auction as we are also having an open house.  Check out our progress.

We'll be working steady getting ready and will be officially open for the season with strawberries - pick your own and fresh picked.  You can find the boys at the farmers markets beginning in May.

We'll soon have our special events for the season posted on our website.  Sign up for our e newsletter so you can be notified of the details. In this year of transitioning our events will be the main times we are open although you are welcome to book school and camp tours and birthday parties.

Stay in touch.  We're just a little drive away for a whole lot of country!

 

Warmth and sunshine are the ingredients for a smile

It sure is easier to be happy when you have an amazing day like today.  The snowbanks are finally losing their battle and are succumbing to the inevitable spring melt.  We knew it would happen one day.
With the thaw we are able to bring up more of our outside buildings and equipment as they are released from the grip of winter.  The train, playhouse and puppet theatre have arrived home to Greenbank.  There is still more to do but these were definitely milestones and farmer Jim is starting to relax just a little bit.

Couscous, one of our goats you love is now a mom.  She had a bouncing baby boy Wednesday April 2nd and he is growing like a weed.  Oh the energy of youth.

We will have an auction sale here in Greenbank Victoria Day Monday May 19th.  Come and join us as we will also have an unofficial open house so you can see what we've been up to.  
          Our official opening for the season will be for strawberries approx mid June.

School tours begin the first week of May.  There are spaces still available.  This year we are beginning tours for the high school level.

We're organizing a calender of events for the season.  Stay tuned for complete details.  

                                        A little drive for a whole lot of country.

Spring - A time for optimism

The first full day of spring is living up to our expectations of warm, sunny weather with a fresh breeze blowing.  It is what keeps us optimistic that winter will eventually end.  It has been quite a roller coaster ride of temperatures this past winter and it doesn't look like that will stop with the predictions of snow for tonight.

Farmers are eternally optimistic.  They have to be as weather plays such a major role in their success. Signs of such optimism here on our farm include:

• On a cold day in February we ordered our seeds for the new season and we are adding some flowers to our mix of crops this year.  It's nice to have a small indulgence to pick up the spirits. 
• Dan has been organizing his CSA and is now open for member sign ups.  That to can be an exercise in optimism as you look out the window at the snow and ice.  What better way of saying yes to all this cold ending than to sign on for a summer full of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• The boys are registering for their farmers markets - they will start up in May
• We're booking tours for our school tour program which begins the first week of May.  We are consolidating our activities from the Markham farm into our Greenbank farm, enhancing what we have to offer here.  We've added a couple of nice warm rooms that will help us be more weather proof should the spring continue on the cold side.

Take a moment to listen for the birds singing, get out of the wind and feel the strengthening warmth of the sun on your face, look past all the dirty snow banks to see the grass beneath peeking through and enjoy the lengthening of the days.

Warm, sunny days will come again and winter will be left behind.  It happens every year.  After the winter we've had, spring and summer season will be that much more appreciated.

Cold Enough?

As with many of you we have felt the frost quakes, had difficulty starting cars and tractors and generally griped about the cold.  We've been working diligently in the market trying to keep the apples and the water pipes from freezing.
Our moving has been hampered with the cold weather as most things are frozen into the ground.  Let's hope for an extensive January thaw.

One benefit of this cold is the possible reduction in some of our non-native invasive insects.  Maybe this may be the temperature that will kill many overwintering in the soils and trees.

Thank you to everyone for your support, fond memories shared of time spent on the farm and your willingness to visit us in Greenbank.  I will soon be sending out our first e newsletter for all who have signed up.

You are welcome to drop into the market while we are packing up.  We will keep some apples including our honey crisp apples, on hand and our boxed cider along with our preserves and honey.  Please call ahead with any special orders for pies as we will only bake them upon request.  Variety is becoming limited as I am not renewing my inventory until after our move.  We will be answering the phone and checking messages, please call the market number at 905-887-1087.

We will also continue our school tour program in Greenbank.  To book a tour call 905-887-1086

Stay safe and warm.