10 Reasons Series: #7 Follow your Roots

Jon's roots are on the East Coast.  My roots are in Manitoba. 
Wherever your roots are, you know what home feels like.  It's not easy to describe or explain, but it's the place where you just fit.  Things make sense and people get you and you know what's expected.

I loved Nova Scotia, but I didn't fit there.  My pace is different, my accent noticeable, my intuition off.  Moving to Manitoba was coming home for me, to the place where I belong and I fit and things make sense. 

Below my Gran's photo on the wall is a framed card from Christmas 2013: "Wherever you end up in your exciting life, you will always be welcomed here where you began".  I'm so proud to be back, carrying on the family farm tradition that her and Grandpa Tom instilled in me in my childhood.

The reason for following my roots and not Jon's?  I guess I won the arm wrestle!
But honestly - it's all about family.  His and mine.  Of course I have lots of relatives in Manitoba, but we are also closer to Jon's sisters (Seattle & Calgary) and our nieces and nephews.  As we considered starting a family, we realized what a better lifestyle we could have here, where we have family support and can achieve our business goals so much faster than starting out from nothing.

We were fortunate to have my Auntie Joan from the Netherlands stay with us for just over 2 weeks recently.  It was the first time a family member has stayed with me for an extended time, so it was really special.  We had a great time and she fit well into our household routine.  We also hosted a family get together, which was one of the better ones!  My Auntie Jayne who lives about 45 minutes away has also been a huge help, giving us furniture and plants and all kinds of random other things we need (the latest being a cultivator and two hens from her neighbour!), and helping tons with the business.  My Auntie Nancy has been battling cancer for a few years now and so I'm glad to get to spend time with her more often than when we lived away.  I've also connected with a childhood friend who lives closeby with his wife and kids. 

It's so special to me to have these relationships back in my life.  It has made me realize how much I missed them while we were in Nova Scotia.  There's no replacement for family, no matter how well you know someone.  Family sees you through thick and thin, good and bad, and they are there for you no matter what.  Jon's roots will always be in the East Coast, but when we weighed the options we decided this was a better one for us and I'm so glad to have been able to return to my roots, and share these connections with my wonderful, understanding, and selfless husband.

10 Reasons Series: #8 Networks

We had such amazing networks in Nova Scotia, it was the hardest part of leaving!  We had friends, colleagues, mentors, employers, CSA members, peers, and great organizations that we were a part of.  I started to make a list and immediately realized that there were too many to name!  Plus, the most important people know who they are because they're reading this, or they get occasional emails from me when I think about them.

Jon and I at SFM Conference, Jan 2016

While in NS I was on a number of committees for ACORN, Central Kings Community Health Board & Horticulture Nova Scotia, a board member at the Canning Food Bank & Hammonds Plains Farmers' Market, and a few other volunteer boards or committees.  I met such a range of people and learned so much about topics related to my field.
I also attended many, many farming and farm-related workshops, on topics like Financial Management for Farmers, Caterpillar Tunnels, Social Media, Farmers' Market Management, Greenhouses, Food Safety, Marketing etc, etc, etc.  There's a lot more farmers in Nova Scotia at our scale and therefore many more opportunities for learning than in MB.  We knew that going into the move and are so glad that we did spend three years on the East Coast, taking as many courses, looking at other farms, and learning as much as we could.

However, the move has proved less disappointing than I had expected.  The farm has joined Small Farms Manitoba, an organization run by Kalynn Spain which is doing great work in the province, connecting young/small farmers, providing resources, hosting an annual conference and planning awesome events all the time.  There's also the newly formed Direct Farm Marketing Association of Manitoba (DFMAM), and I'm lucky to already know the president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, the provincial policy organization.  Dan has been super helpful connecting me with others and steering me in the right direction when I have questions.

DFMC Keynote speaker Elspeth McLean-Wile from NS!

I attended the Small Farms Manitoba Conference this winter as well as the Direct Farm Marketing Conference.  Both events gave me a great opportunity to network with and learn from other farmers in MB. I have been conservative here with what boards I join (maybe overdid it in NS?!) and so currently I am working very hard for the Brandon Farmers' Market board in the role of marketing, rebuilding a once-vibrant market.  Our networks are growing and the more people I meet, the more people I find out that I need to meet!

At any rate, I'm really glad to have been pleasantly surprised by what is going on in the small farms industry in Manitoba.  We pictured moving here and feeling really isolated, but the more people we meet the better it gets!  We wish there were more growers in our area, so we hope that our success will lead others to settle and start their businesses around Brandon in the coming years!

10 Reasons Series: #9 Time: You're the Pilot

"The bad news is: Time flies.  The good news: You're the Pilot"

If you ask my Dad what the most important thing is, he'll say "Time".  I tend to agree.  Time is all we really have in this world, and so it's all about how you use that time and what you choose to do with it.

Since we moved, I have been able to devote my time to things that I am really passionate about, mainly towards the business which will one day be ours.  I tend to do things with my whole heart, and so in the past my jobs and volunteer commitments took most of my time.  The opportunity cost for me devoting so much of my time to outside things was that there was little left for me to work on my own projects and develop what is really important to me.

When we moved, I decided to make a change and work harder on keeping my personal life organized.  This was a notoriously neglected aspect of my life in the past, but as we put down roots here it's something that becomes increasingly important.  I started a filing system!  I got a doctor!  I got our paperwork in order!  I made sure our documents like health cards and passports were up to date!  Small achievements, things that I never put much pro-active time towards in the past and so they always became detested chores and wastes of time.  By taking a proactive approach and getting things done before they become a huge hassle, I can save time doing these things at inopportune times when I need to focus on other things.

A huge impact of moving closer to family is that there are other people to help us make the most of

our time.  My parents have been a huge help in this regard.  My Mom and I will get groceries for each other when necessary, she has made appointments for me and sorted out phone bills and made supper for us too many times to count.  My Dad has put in many long hours cleaning up our farm, getting water and other systems up and running, moving equipment and cutting down trees, knocking down buildings, talking to lawyers, setting up purchases: the list could go on and on!  By combining our efforts we can squeeze every little bit of this precious resource and make the best of it.

This time is the greatest gift my parents have been able to give us, and we do whatever we can to reciprocate, but it is definitely not an equal relationship.  While Jon and I are busy getting established, we need all the help we can get and have less time to help others.  For now, my parents have sacrificed their own time and busy lives to make space for us, and it's the biggest help that we have.  We're fortunate to have some great co-pilots in our lives!

10 Reasons I'm Glad Series: #10 - "If you're not from the Prairies, you've never seen cold"

First day on the road leaving Nova Scotia, April 28 2015 - Snow!!

I was thinking yesterday that we're about 10 days away from the 1 year anniversary of when we arrived in Manitoba.  I get asked a lot if we're happy we moved back, and I struggle with that question.  It's not our dream to live on the prairies: Jon's roots are in PEI and I never planned on coming back, and always wanted to live somewhere that was a beautiful destination.  We made a compromise in our lives to come here, and it's definitely never been an easy choice, nor have we always felt like we made the right decision. 

However, when I got to thinking about some of the things we DO have in our lives now, I wanted to share just how fortunate we are.  I started making a list in my head and came up with so many things!  So, for the next 10 days I am going to go through my top 10 Reasons I'm Glad, starting with #10:

Reason I'm Glad #10: "If you're not from the Prairies, you've never seen cold"

 

Jon noticed something last fall.  Every time he introduced himself or met someone new, they'd find out he wasn't from Manitoba and then say with a knowing and ominous tone "So... You've never experienced a Manitoba winter yet??  You just wait...!".  Unfortunately all those amateur meteorologists picked the wrong year and we had one of the mildest winters I've ever experienced, anywhere.  So, the doom and gloom didn't come true, but it doesn't change the endearing part of the story.  Jon pointed out, "Manitobans talk about winter like it's an achievement"!!

But it is!  Getting through weeks of -55*C, IS an achievement.  At the very least, it sets the stage for a communal shared experience, complaining about your eyelashes freezing together and your car battery icing over and having to melt snow because the well froze over.  We make it through every year and we're proud of it, because we're from fucking Manitoba, where winters are brutal and unforgiving and we still have to get primal and fight a little to stay alive each year.  I think this helps bring us all together, and it was funny to hear people continually express their Manitoba pride last year through ominous weather forecasting.

The other physical characteristic that I love about Manitoba is the big sky.  I could never live in the mountains, it feels too claustrophobic to a Prairie girl like me!  You can see the sun as soon as it pokes over the horizon, and until the very last second when it dips below on the other side.  My Dad's joke is "you can watch your dog run away for 3 days!".  It's unremarkable in a photo, but when you see it in person you can't help but find it breathtaking.  All that flat space, and so much sky.  You can see entire storm systems moving across the miles and miles of open space.

Manitobans are proud of their beautiful prairie landscape, even when it's inhumanely cold outside.  There's camaraderie to be found, even in the less desirable aspects of prairie life, and that's something I'm glad about!

 

Death match

I've started looking after the Brandon Farmer's Market facebook page in addition to Jon & Teri's Farming Journey (personal) and Brown Sugar Produce.  BFM and BSP have nearly the same number of likes, so it's been fun to see them battle!  I know I'm competing against myself here, but it's still motivating!  The BSP page has highly engaged followers, and I'm on rebuild mode with the BFM- lots of followers but haven't been engaged.  It's been interesting to see them waking up as more content hits the page!

I am inexplicably nerdy about this kind of stuff-- constantly checking our stats and insights and who's been visiting our website from where.  It serves us well, as I can see A LOT of information from the back end of things-- like the search terms you used to find our website, to how many times you opened an email I sent you and what link where is bringing people to our site. 

Long story, but after a rather traumatic experience in Elementary school, I kinda swore I'd never do a job that involved a computer.  I managed to get away with minimal technology until I got my first work cell phone in 2011, and it's been downhill since then.  What I'm doing now is definitely an improvement over entire days in front of the computer (2013 & 2014), and I'm strategic about it, following theories like Inbox Zero for emails and always researching a new shortcut (Canned responses in Gmail?!  Heck yes!!).  So, it's a love-hate relationship.  I use it a lot and I'm happiest when I'm not.

Cats!

 I don't even care... This is shamelessly a bunch of photos of our cats.  I love them and this is my blog!

 Samson has a social issue and doesn't get along with other cats.  I think he is too attached to us (my fault!!) and being overprotective.  He can tolerate little Blondie, so we've slowly been making progress.  Will sit beside Gremlin now without attacking her, too.

 Dark versus Light!

 Two ginger dudes!

I love when he rolls himself up into a little SamSam ball!

Finished upstais renos

 The renovations are complete on our guest bedroom, now open for tourist season 2016!  I'm actually way behind on posting photos and our first guest has already arrived: Joan from the Netherlands!  She is in the middle of a 2-1/2 week stay and loves the new room!

 What a difference fresh white paint makes!  I'm happy with the shade of green, too.  Picking our tinted paint is terrifying for a person like me who struggles to make a decision!  Thank goodness a friend and one of our Veggie Lovers works at a paint store.  I invested in high quality paint and think it was totally worth it!  One coat and you're done.  Thanks Andrea!

 Snowstorm moving in Sunday afternoon

Home sweet home!