Marking the onset of fall...with a sick day

I was home sick today. I slept in, under the spell of cold medication. I got up for work but by the time I dressed and brushed my teeth I was in a feverish sweat, my headache had returned and I could not breathe through my nose. So I returned to my pajamas and my bed.

After a pot of herbal tea and a nap, I awoke refreshed, but weak as a kitten. Here is what I accomplished, even in that condition: I baked two loaves of zucchini/chocolate chip bread; I picked a bushel of tomatoes off my withering vines (and threatened to fall in out of dizziness); I cleaned the cats’ communal litterbox; I battled with the failing washing machine and won; I emptied and refilled the dishwasher; I removed the summer’s nail polish from my toes; I read a chapter of my book; and I wrote a chapter of my book.

Oh yeah – and I wrote a column. All in all, it was a very productive sick day. It’s a good thing I was home, too, because I helped to avert disaster in the kitchen.

The Farmer was home, preparing a hunters’ lunch for opening day. He had thawed goose from last season and was making a bourguignon stew. Potatoes, beets and carrots from the garden were being steamed and he was roasting a huge chunk of venison. This is how the hunters clean up last year’s bounty before they head out to collect this season’s catch.

He was preparing to mash potatoes when he thought to call out to me, “Hey. Any idea what this stuff is that I found in the freezer?” He stood there with a melting, dripping container of calf colostrum. We freeze some of that first milk, also known as liquid gold, so that we can feed it to any newborn calves who are failing and weak. It perks them right up and gets them on their feet. And the Farmer was about to add it to his mashed potatoes. Mmmm. Creamy.

“No! That’s colostrum!” I yelled. He just gave me a look and shook his head  before firmly locking the lid back onto the container. I’m going to make sure that stuff gets labeled before it goes back in the freezer.

It’s time to change summer sheets for flannels and a quilt. I put the summer quilt in the baby’s playpen for extra padding at nap time when she comes to grandma’s house. I’m airing out the sheepskins to put on the living room floor where we sit and watch Netflix. The baby has decided she loves to roll around on the soft and fluffy sheepskins. They will make a cosy spot in front of the woodstove – which we will also have to fence off so baby doesn’t get burnt.

The Farmer has been busy cleaning up fallen trees so we have a stocked woodpile and we are ready for the ominous Farmers’ Almanac prediction of a nasty winter. We will get past Thanksgiving first, because we need our back porch to host forty people for lunch. Then we will board it up and stack the wood floor to ceiling within reach of the back door.

September flew by, and suddenly October is upon us. Time to put away the sundresses and sandals – but not too far away because I am optimistic that we will be heading south in the dead of winter – and dig out the boots and sweaters.

My garden hasn’t quite finished yet – the severe drought we endured all summer seemed to have no ill affect on the tomatoes, kale or zucchini. We have actually filled a deep freezer with one bag of tomatoes a day. Our resident sauce maker will be busy – especially if he wants to make room for turkeys next week. The potatoes aren’t much bigger than the seed potatoes I planted and the cucumbers are kind of boomerang-shaped from searching for water but other than that, it was a good harvest.

The Marketplates event at the Kemptville Farmers’ Market was a raucous success – it makes me proud to see so many people coming out to buy from local farmers. We still have a few farm-fresh turkeys left so if you would like to reserve one for Thanksgiving – just email me. A new shipment of The Accidental Farmwife books has come in, so I will stock the shelves at the B&H Community Grocer, Rooney Feeds and Grahame’s Bakery, where you can pick up a copy.

Fall is here – now if I can just make sure the Farmer doesn’t come down with a huge man-cold, we will be able to enjoy our favourite season.

Email: dianafisher1@gmail.com

www.theaccidentalfarmwife.blogspot.com

Introducing Autumn 2016 (published week of Sept. 22)

It is beginning to feel like Summer is leaving and quietly closing the door behind her. Like a brash and brassy blonde, all heat and fire and drought, she is gathering up her skirts and heading out toward the sunset. The nights are too cold for her. She will linger a bit longer in the daytime but at night she will be invisible. Hiding in the bushes. 

Summer’s cousin, Autumn, is on her way. She is scheduled to arrive Thursday, September 22^nd at 10:21am. She has more energy and spirit than the lazy, slow-moving Summer. Autumn has her paint palette ready to coat the leaves on the trees before they dry up and fall to the ground. She will use a bright crimson on the Virginia creeper that clings to the side of our farmhouse. A touch of burnished gold for the oak tree; lemon yellow for the apple and burgundy wine for the maple.

The turkeys are getting nice and fat. We don’t have to worry about them flying up and roosting on the fence so much anymore; most of them are too heavy to launch themselves. Our turkeys are getting loaded on the truck and heading on an endless vacation the week before Thanksgiving. They will be ready the Friday before your holiday dinner so if you are in need of a big bird for your family celebration, let me know.

This weekend the Kemptville Farmers’ Market is hosting their annual fall harvest MarketPlates event. This is a true celebration of local food where you get to meet the farmer and sample their wares. From their Facebook page: “MarketPlates pairs regional chefs with local producers to create delicious and unique dishes that are sure to satisfy the most discerning palate.” For $20 in advance or $25 at the door, you get 12 tastes. Big Sky Ranch is bringing their little beasties for a petting zoo, so the kids will be entertained as well. Live, local music will set the mood – including Carey Graham who always puts on such a great show.

The rest of us regular vendors will also be on hand this weekend, and I’m bringing some extra baking to raise money for a friend. My daughter’s boyfriend Yuki Yamanaka is heading to Italy this fall for the World Championships in Muay Thai kickboxing. He needs plane fare and a bit extra for his trip so some of my family members are pitching in to bake some goodies for a fundraiser. We’ll have squares and muffins, cookies and brownies and loaves. 

I’d like to thank everyone who stopped by to hear me speak at the 14^th Annual Literary Follies. It was a very special event as my future son-in-law (Carey Graham) did an awesome performance on Saturday, singing Tragically Hip songs and sharing some of his extensive knowledge about the writing process and meaning behind the songs. 

For someone who speaks on the radio for a living you would think I would be quite comfortable addressing a crowd. But a live audience always freaks me out a little bit. Last week I spoke to the seniors at the Russell Fair and at first I thought maybe they weren’t really interested and then I realized they probably couldn’t hear me very well, as we were in a hockey arena with terrible acoustics. I had trouble seeing to read my book as well, and thought it sure would have been nice if I had remembered to bring my glasses. When I sat down, I found the glasses on my head. How appropriate. I was having a seniors’ moment. In the end some people came over to chat with me and buy my book so I guess they were interested after all. I’m not very good at reading a crowd. 

When I was at the Literary Follies in Kemptville though, I looked out at the audience and recognized so many faces of people who have been following my column for the past nine years. People who encouraged me to publish my stories in book form and interested readers who are asking me to write another.

Maybe it was because I started the day at 4am by babysitting my granddaughter so her parents could go hunting. I might have been a bit overtired. In any case, I wasn’t nervous at all. I felt relaxed as I told my stories and read three chapters of my book aloud. 

More likely, it was the positive, encouraging energy of small-town cheerleaders, book lovers and friends that put me at ease.

Get out and enjoy some of what North Grenville has to offer, before winter comes along and sends us into hibernation.

www.theaccidentalfarmwife.blogspot.com

email: dianafisher1@gmail.com

This is why we can't have a goat.

There is a man on Beach Road selling his goats. I have been stopping at his corner to watch the baby goats playing in the yard, butting heads, climbing up onto their shelter and jumping off. They are so frisky and intelligent. I have always wanted a goat. He has a big “Goats for Sale” sign on his fence now. I pulled over yesterday to get a closer look and the goats stopped playing to stare at me. I baahed at them and they responded, then went back to their head-butting game.

Alas, I cannot have a goat. This is why. Back in the 1980s, a gang of very badly behaved goats ruined any chance of me any owning one of their kind. At the time, the Farmer (who wasn’t a farmer then) was travelling the prairies visiting farmers on behalf of a credit union. On one especially hot day, he was travelling a long, country road, enjoying the breeze through the windows of his K-car. He arrived at a goat farmer’s house and went in for a chat.

That particular farmer didn’t get visitors very often, and he loved to talk. So when my husband (who wasn’t my husband then) arrived, this gentleman put the kettle on and opened a new box of tea biscuits. My husband is never one to rush away from a conversation or a pot of tea. For the next two hours, the two men chatted about the weather, crop yields, finances, and women. In that order.

This is how the goats spent the same two hours. Noticing the shiny new vehicle in the driveway, they decided to amble over and take a closer look. Goats – even Manitoba farm goats – fancy themselves mountain climbers, and will climb onto anything that they encounter. The first goat reached the roof of the car and did a little tap dance to proclaim himself King.

The second goat assessed the situation. If he climbed up top and joined the larger goat on the roof of the car he would likely be shoved off. Then he noticed the open windows. The Farmer had conveniently parked the car next to a pile of old wooden pallets, so the goats could step up and hoist themselves in. Within about twenty minutes, the K-car, a company issue, was occupied by four rather curious and snacky goats.

Now, goats have iron stomachs and they have been known to eat leather shoes, hardcover books – even tin cans. They don’t have to be hungry. They just consider it their duty to taste everything.

This is what they ate: the upholstery of both front car seats and a good portion of the rear bench; the Farmer’s briefcase handles and most of the papers within (he had left that conveniently open as well); the Farmer’s ham-and-cheese sandwich, apple, cookies and potato chips; the map of Manitoba; the novel he was reading; and the left of his pair of hiking boots. The goat was working on the right boot when the Farmer emerged from the house. His host laughed and said, “I hope you have goat insurance!” The story grows longer every time my husband tells it, with embellishments and items added to the goat menu. The morale always remains the same: we will never own a goat.

About four years ago, we were visiting friends and they told us another goat story that only added to my husband’s (then he really was my husband) dislike of goats. They had visitors with a shiny sportscar. While on the back porch enjoying a barbecue, the resident goats noticed the flashy car, came closer and caught a glimpse of two other goats in the reflection. A fight ensued and after about half an hour of head-butting the stubborn car-goats, the sportscar was covered in dents. That story told, my Farmer gave me a look and said, “don’t ever ask me for a goat.” He knows me so well.

So, if any of you are up for the challenge, starting a hobby farm or a goat cheese business and you need a couple of goats, I know where you can get some. I have been told we are sticking to beef cattle and turkeys.

Note: Diana Fisher will be doing a reading at “The 14^th Annual Literary Follies” books and music event on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 12:30pm, Grenville Mutual Insurance Bldg., Colonnade Drive, Kemptville.

email: dianafisher1@gmail.com

www.dianafisherbooks.com

The family that you choose

Sometimes you get to choose your family members. That honorary aunt or uncle may not be related to you by blood but they are there for you when you need someone one-step-removed from family to confide in. They know you like family, but the other complications aren’t there. They aren’t as likely to flip out if you tell them something shocking – that distance allows them to just take it all in stride and give you wise, objective advice.

Colette was that person for me. She didn’t have children of her own and her beloved husband had passed away so she was always very interested in what was going on in our lives. Colette was my grandmother’s best friend over the last twenty years or so. Maybe thirty. She was part of all our family celebrations and gatherings, and we loved her like family.

Colette had been suffering with a bad back that wouldn’t heal, in recent months. She didn’t make it to our last few gatherings, and that wasn’t like her. She lost her footing a few days ago and fell. She never did wake up. The doctors discovered she was also full of cancer. It was in her bones.  That explains why she didn’t get better and the pain never went away. The pain is gone now.

For as long as I can remember, Colette has been the life of the party. She would laugh loudly and raucously, over Dad’s dirty jokes, especially if he mixed her a drink that was a bit too stiff. She was also very fond of my long-legged, handsome husband, because he reminded her of her man, whom she had lost when they were still very much in love.

She asked about and remembered every detail of my daughters’ lives, and was as thrilled about the new grandbaby as the rest of us. I like to imagine her somewhere now, resting painlessly, her best self, maybe dancing, with her beloved Garnet. Or maybe she is enjoying cocktail hour with my Dad. It is his 75^th birthday, after all.

When Dad was sick, in 2007, he told me he dreamed of a place where people were dancing. The men could dance as well as the women – they were doing the jive. There were lots of colourful, gleaming sportscars parked outside, and dozens of dogs running around. I told him it sounded like his perfect Heaven.

Colette and I never had a similar conversation but if I had to guess, her Heaven would be full of tall, handsome men (the ability to dance would be ideal), fine, beautiful things like gold jewellery, crystal and flowers, and maybe a horse or a dog or two. No cats. Colette was terrified of cats, which I discovered when she was at the farm one day and a bold barn cat chose to rub up against her leg. (Why do they always go for the people who don’t like them?)

We will miss Colette and her sage advice, her raunchy sense of humour and her zest for life.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we will likely fill the house again with about forty people but there is a trend happening. The elderly members of our tribe are leaving us slowly, and the younger ones are coming up to fill the places at the table with their chosen mates and friends. This year we have a new addition, as it is Leti’s first Thanksgiving. She will be ten months old and ready to try some of the traditional feast. Hopefully she will also have a tooth or two by then, to help her eat it.

Also at our table will be three or four people not related by blood, but part of the family just the same. They are part of our group because we love and care for them and we want to celebrate life with them at this traditional time of year.

And gathered around us, the silent guests at every family dinner. Because they haven’t really left us. They’ve just gone on ahead. We keep them with us through our stories and memories and toasts, delivered teary-eyed, with glasses held high.

On the subject of Thanksgiving, if you too are hosting a large group, consider serving them a farm-raised turkey. Ours start at about 25 lbs each. The Kemptville Farmer’s Market will be open until Thanksgiving as well, featuring the bounty of many local farms and gardens.