What a wonderful spring it has been thus far….The blossoms and bees are out, a testament to delightful things to come on the farm. Our modest team has been hard at work getting the farm ready for the upcoming busy season, pruning, prepping and chipping. Indeed it is a labour of love, the hard work leading towards the excitement of another harvest of organic fruit from our 2 acre paradise. In addition, we have a wealth of public winery events and private bookings we are really looking forward to sharing with our dedicated fellow food lovers. Most anticipated is the arrival of our very own flock of heritage chickens, the chicks are due to arrive in the next couple of days, and I must say we are incredibly excited to welcome and raise these heritage birds on the farm. They too, will be hard at work in the orchard, enjoying foraging under the trees for bugs and helping with natural fertilizing. They will be a daily presence in their moveable “pen”, and sent to bed in the chicken coop recently finished, just starting a self watering system to keep things fresh and plentiful during our hot summer season. I will post photos shortly following their arrival….
As spring gives way to the beginning of another beautiful culinary and wine tourism season, a few publications have helped showcase our Backyard Farm dream. One of which, I received in the mail today, from Orchard and Vine Magazine. The spring issue includes an article written by Dona Sturmanis, a well known, respected and talented writer for many local publications. Her passion paired with talent and ability are very well known, and I have had the pleasure to work with her on a few articles during my South Okanagan Culinary Experience over the last 9 years since my relocation from Boston. Sadly, she lost her battle with Cancer, and the recent article in Orchard and Vine was one of the last she has written. With the utmost respect, and my sincere condolences to her family, friends and colleagues, I am honoured that she chose to write until the end, helping to tell the story of our little farm in wine country. Mikkel, Ainsley, Kyle and I are very grateful for her efforts, and this article captures the essence of why we chose to carve our own path in the culinary industry in our region. I wish I had the opportunity to thank her in person, but she chose to not let her illness define her-and I respect that wish beyond any words.
Thank you so much Dona, for putting our vision into words so eloquently, and inspiring so many in both our wine and culinary industries. Your article brought a tear to my eye , and that’s a hard thing to do.
Please enjoy this article, published in Orchard and Vine, written by Dona Sturmanis.
http://www.orchardandvine.net/features/chef-hobby-farm-culinary-magic/