Quality recovery time

Hi all,

It's been sunny and hot here at Fort Fraser. The day time highs have been 28 to 30 C every day and the nights cool down significantly. Today it is overcast and drizzling. I have good news, I am feeling much better these days and the only complaint is the continuing soreness in my throat. Every day I seem to be getting to feel like my old self and yesterday I went for a ride on my bike. Zounds, that doesn't sound like much but, to me a was a huge break through. I rode about six Km's in total over the fields and then down the mile long driveway and back. It was exhilarating.

This is canning season and Grandmother Martha Brown, age 91, has been busy making jams, jellies and fruit juices. I being the anxious helper have been watching closely and have learned a great deal hanging around the kitchen with her. She is a marvellous woman and we enjoy each others company.

The garden has been really slow in coming this year but, the broccoli and Cauliflower are ripe and she has frozen quite a bit of both. The peas are coming and Dolores and I will be picking them on the weekend. The berries, raspberry, Tay berries, yellow raspberries, white and black currents have been bountiful this year. If you know anyone who wants to come and pick for free, call me at 250-567-9516 but, you better hurry. The Saskatoon berries are a dismal failure this year. High winds in the spring blew most of the blossoms off the bushes. The potatoes and the carrots look to be coming along well, the turnips are another disappointment. There are ample salad greens and the greenhouse tomatoes and peppers are just now ripening.

Dolores' son David has finished the haying with a bumper crop, approximately 775 to 800 bales most of which weigh 1400 lbs with some at 1200lbs. The new baler is able to squeeze out 1400 lb bales while the old baler produces 1200 lb. bales. There is ample feed for the up coming winter. David is now in the process of transporting the hay to hay yard, a monumental task since the bale wagons can only carry 13 bales per trip. You do the math, its a lot of trips and this is a big farm with lots of hills and valleys

I plan to stay at the farm for the foreseeable future. Dolores and I would like to make a life for ourselves together. We have to sit down and do the economics and decide what to do with my home on Pilot Street. I think renting it out makes lots of sense. We'll see and those plans will be the subject of a future Blog entry.

Stay with me folks, I plan to post here for some time to come. Bye for now,

Recovering Rick