One person's trash...

From the city...

Can you believe someone didn't want this incredible vintage toaster??

I found it in the lobby of our apartment building free for the taking and the taking I did.

Shesh, the things people get rid of!

Sun Bleached

From the country...

Just add sun and the poop stains on the nappies just disappear... it's like magic!

The Duck's New Digs.

From the country...

Here is the new digs the ducks call home. We had to come up with something quick because ducks grow so fast and they are so messy, they needed to hit the road and get out of the barn. We were gifted this old dog house last fall and our dogs took 2 looks at it and asked;

"are you kidding me... you want us to sleep in here and not the house? Good luck with that!"

So, instant duck house.

Ram some boards together, build some ramps and a door (thanks Dad!), and the old bathroom window will act as the perfect gate- presto! something outta nothing.

The ducks on the other hand are lukewarm about their living arrangements..... and don't quite get the whole ramp idea.

Phantom of the Barn

From the country...

Ode to a Crabapple Tree

From the country...

This tree.

This tree has been around for many years.

This tree has seen change, quietly watching children grow and families evolve.

This tree intoxicates the bees each spring with it's delicate scent.

This tree makes a deliciously tart jelly.

This tree has been food to many a hungry bird in the grim days of winter.

This tree resides beside it's trusty companion, the old brick farmhouse.

Off to market we go..

From the City...

Theo and made the trip to visit Laura at the Evergreen Brickworks Farmers Market here in Toronto. It was my thirdtime being there and I again, was completely blown away by how fun of a spot it is. Us Torontonians are sure lucky to have it.

Laura, of course, had this incredible table of sprouts and micro greens, eggs, parsnips and carrots. Itwas a beautiful sight. Fresh, good green stuff growing right here in ontario. It's about friggin time! Man it was a long winter.

laura and i were like the poster mamas for attachment parenting with our babies slung up on us, it would have been a good pic had i taken one. Butlet me tell you, people love a baby. M&T were just eating up the attention.

Heres a link to the website so you can check out for yourself all of the pretty incredible stuff that goes down at Evergreen Brickworks.

Good day.

Me and the new little ones....

From the country...

Myself, Little Miss Millie Mae and Mr.Theo Tree respectively.

Two peas wrapped up in a Momma/Auntie pod.

Green Things

From the country...

butterhead lettuce to die for...

pretty little lettuce seedling...



bean plant from a package of beans I smuggled from Italy...


greenhouse a pumpin'

tah tsai


another butterhead shot...

and the best looking bok choi this side of Woodville...

Fertile Myrtle

From the country....

Sheesh, so much has gone down here on the farm these past few weeks!

Aside from starting a new market in Toronto, I have been planting planter gardens with the local Elementary school, the boys have started soccer (I am literally a soccer Mom- van and everything!), and the farm has kind of exploded in the fertility department. I have chicks expected to hatch in the next few days from our incubator and I have just finished packaging up the other 130 turkey eggs I have been collecting which I am sending to a commercial hatchery to hatch for me. The new green house has the best batch of bok choi and butterhead lettuce I have ever seen. Everywhere I turn I see new life, or the making of new life (way to go Turkey Tom!) and everything is so green and fresh. This could be my year! I mean "our" year, the year the farm makes its mark in the soil, the year this family turns the corner from floundering farmers to just plain farmers.

We have been up to our eyeballs in wild edibles- over 100 pounds of fiddleheads, and the odd pound of stinging nettle. The greenhouse greens are pumping and we have had salad for 3 squares for some time now. At the market our table is brimming with spring and people are eating it up- literally!

I am sure there will be downfalls- but for right now I am on cloud nine!

The Prettiest Little Girl with a Flower in Her Hair

From the City...

Here's some pics of our pretty little Millie wearing a flower headband that I bought from an uber talented mama-preneur on facebook. Here's a link to her Sweet Pie business page so you can support her by buying some of her adorable creations. I've got my eye on her handmade owl hat for Theo for next winter. Uh-oh, I foresee an expensive hobby in the works.

Aside from that, is this not the prettiest little girl you've ever seen? I just love her to bits.

Dirt Pile

From the country...

Boys will be boys.

Just add a big ol' pile of dirt and some sticks.

Burst of Spring

From the city...

These pics are old but I just love them so much. On this rainy gray day here in Toronto, they remind me that the green of spring will soon start to burst.

Saying Thank You and Goodbye

From the City...

Goodbye's suck. I'm really no good at them. I try to avoid them as much as possible. But sadly, sometimes you gotta suck it up and do it. Last week was my six week discharge from my midwives and I'm not gonna lie, I've been dreading it since the day T was born.

I have loved being in the care of the kensington midwives here in Toronto. They were patient and caring. They listened to all of my fears, they educated Simon about the misconceptions regarding home births and they reassured us as new first time parents that we were doing a good job, which as I'm quickly learning, being a mom, carries with it more guilt than I could have ever imagined. As I struggled with breastfeeding for three weeks and called them choking back tears, they supported me and gave me the constant reassurance that I needed to persevere (happily we're breastfeeding pros around here these days).

So how do you say thank you and goodbye to some incredibly important women??? Cookies, that's how.

Here are two great cookie recipes that I made for all of the midwives and staff at Kensington Midwives. You should make them next time you're forced to say good-bye or thank you to some incredibly important people.

Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies

(famous recipe that I had no part in creating but thought everyone should have)

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large egg
• 1 (12 ounce) package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts

1. PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F.
2. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Spring Pie

From the country...

I made this pie for Easter and it was delish, the pastry in particular (I am a sucker for buttery pastry....). It is a savory pie with spinach, ricotta cheese and prosciutto.

For the recipe click here.

New Boots?

From the country...

Oh and by the way, that is NOT chicken poop on the right boot, just some dried up porridge I had haphazardly sloshed out for the chickens. The poop is firmly packed into the treads on the underside...

From the country...

I was invited into Nate's classroom to instruct a little planting projects with his class. After some really fun research I came up with bean planting and sprouted egg heads. I wanted to teach the kindergarten children about growing but in a fun and creative way.

We started out with talking about black turtle beans. While the children were shucking their dried beans from the pod, I talked a little bit about the culinary use of the bean. Then we took the beans, wrapped them up in moist paper towel and placed them in a plastic bag. This was so that the children could see the bean in all the stages of germination and it would mirror what was happening in the soil. Next we planted the beans in soil. By this time all the children were excited to play in the dirt and to poke their beans into the soil. Nate's teacher also had a vermicomposter so the class used their worm castings to mix with soil.
Once the beans were planted we move on to the egg heads. We took hollowed out eggs (which the children drew faces on) filled them with soil and sprinkled them with broccoli raab seeds. I had brought in an example of an egghead and each child sampled some of the sprouted greens. The classroom was electric. Each child was so proud of their little pots and egg heads. It made my heart swell to see Nate in his element sharing his passion with his peers.
My next project with the school is a bit of a school garden. I am excited to continue to work with the kids.. and getting my hands dirty at the same time.