Two Girls And a Dream Farm- Our Third Visit

We (Shannon’s parents) are visiting for the third time, exactly at the same time of year as our first visit.
Since we only come every six months we can really appreciate the changes. Outside things have opened up as Shannon has continued to remove the underbrush. Much of it is a real challenge as it is wild roses with twisted grasping tentacles, some of them as thick as your arm.

We also have new family members- 30 chickens, many with distinct personalities. Four nights ago two chickens, Big Bird and Rosie, did not come into the coop at bedtime so they spent the night outside but showed up in the morning for food. “Typical teenagers” Shannon called these young chickens. The next night Big Bird showed up with the others at bedtime but no Rosie and the pattern has continued. I guess Rosie does not like the coop but we cannot find out where she is hiding. And we have looked and looked.

Dixie has grown. She is still young and mischievous and full of energy but loving and playful too. We had a lovely afternoon taking her to the beach for a game of retrieve the ball. The tide was too far out for her to swim so she had more of a mud bath than a swim.

Zoe is focused on getting her drivers license. She is doing in-class training and road training. She often drives us into town and is doing very well. Did I mention she bought her own car - “The Blueberry”? She really directed her summer earnings to this project.
Shannon is happy but is unbelievably busy. At the Y she works on front desk and as membership sales lead. She continues to reclaim her property, works on the vegetable garden, mows a nearby churchyard, lovingly cares for her chickens as well as all the other jobs a mom and house owner has.

Our jobs while we are here- 
Prep a room for the drywaller, which we did and he starts Monday. 
Harvest and preserve veggies -we harvested a tub full and froze cauliflower and broccoli, cured onions and garlic for wintering over, made cauliflower soup, roasted veggies and had many salads. We are going to experiment with green tomato recipes tomorrow.
Major undergrowth clean up and burning, some tree removal.
Added electricity to the barn and chicken coop, failed in another electrical challenge, repaired the dehumidifier, repaired a hole in a floor. Bought a generator in case there is another power failure.

We have had fun too- dinners out in seafood restaurants, a trip to Yarmouth, a drive to Bridgetown and  a day in Annapolis Royal, especially enjoying the Saturday morning market.
Our time is more than half over. I start missing my girls before we even leave. This year we will be back in December so that we can celebrate Christmas with Zoe and Shannon. Can’t wait.

Sandy





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Summer Visitors

When I was first moved here I put out word that if anyone is in the area to please stop in! Whether it be for a short pit stop, or a night or a week I would be thrilled to see friends and family at our doorstep anytime.

I am happy to say people have taken me up on that offer. (Brandon, Janet and Linda, Mom and Dad, Kate, Mom and Dad again, Kyla, Paul, Brandon again, Sandi...) The last visitors were Lise and her husband Barry. They gave me 10  minutes notice. The had just arrived in Digby off the ferry and had some time before they had to be in Halifax, so I get a phone call: "Shannon, I bet you will never guess who this is!?" Lise has been a long time friend of my mother's and was the secretary at Maple Grove School when I attended there. Which means I have known her for over forty years. It was wonderful to show off the house and property, garden, and chickens! Even though the visit was very short, I am so glad they chose to stop in on their way by! That initial offer is still open... our door is always open to anyone just passing through who needs a coffee and a bathroom, or to people who make us their destination and want to stay at The Two Girls Farm. (Just remember to bring your chainsaw with you, right Lise!!)

We have now embarked on the third work cation with my parents. Mom and Dad arrived off the St. John/Digby ferry on Friday and I have already had them tear down a wall, cut up a tree and paint some furniture. It has been fun introducing them to the chickens and feeding them food from the farm. So far we have eaten lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, onions, cauliflower, brocolli, blackberry jam, maple syrup and eggs.

We look forward to seeing "you" soon!

Happy Anniversary

Saturday September 7th was our one year anniversary. It was on this day in 2018 that we took possession of our new home and began our new life in Nova Scotia. It was on this one year anniversary that Hurricane Dorian blew though.

Let me start by saying we are fine. Our home, animals and friends were all very lucky and made it through the storm.

As a whole the province suffered uncountable trees down, roofs lifted, scattered debris and power outages.

It was not until four days later that I was finally able to return to work. Nova Scotia power and other power companies that came to help, have been working ceaselessly to get us all up and running. With the majority of the province back in power, the trucks are now making their rounds to remove all the limbs that are still tangled in lines, including at our house where we still have a limb precariously balanced on the power lines in our front yard.

People have been amazing. By 8:30 Sunday morning I had a friend stop by to look at the tree on the power lines and assess if we could remove it (we could not!). He then offered his help to remove the limb that had fallen across the driveway. (I said no thanks and sent him home to do his own clean up!). At 9:30 a co-worker and neighbour pulled in making sure we were okay and asking if we needed anything. At noon a fire truck pulled up out front and six men with chainsaws came to cut up the limb and move it off my driveway. While pride kept me from accepting the first offer of help from the friend at 8:30, I did not refuse the help this time. Within 15 minutes the firemen had the tree cut up into manageable pieces for me and moved off the driveway. I was then able to make quick work of cutting up the wood and cleaning it off the yard. I continued to hear stories of neighbours sharing their generators around so everyone could have some time to cool their freezers or run some water. It was very emotional when I got back to work. The YMCA opened their doors to  anyone in the community who was without power and needed to shower, or needed wifi, or needed to charge any devices. I heard of fire halls and churches also offering support and facilities that they had available. I am sure this is all nothing new but I, fortunately, have never been in the path of a natural disaster before and have never witnessed first hand how a community comes together and helps their neighbours. I am so proud to be a part of this          community!

As a final note: Zoe bought a car! She is so proud of herself (rightfully so) having worked all summer and saved her money to buy her little "Blueberry".

Two Girls and a Sidekick (Sandi Risi)

I have waited 356 days for Sandi Risi to come for a visit....

Words cannot describe how amazing this long weekend has been. I am so grateful for this opportunity to not only see my dear friend again, but to show her my new backyard.

We toured the Two Girls Farmstead, visited the historic town of Annapolis Royal, saw some Bear River art galleries. We went to Wharf Rat Rally in Digby, toured Digby Neck and took the ferry to Long Island. We hiked 3.2 kilometres including the 470 steps of death to reach The Balancing Rock (still recovering from that with the aid of wine and lots of pillows). We walked the beach, ate good food, and drank good drinks. We are now so tired that we will simply let the pictures talk for themselves. We bid you goodnight.