A Field Trip to Sooke

Last weekend we decided to take a break from the farming life to explore our surroundings. Destination? Whiffen Spit at the far west side of Sooke. It was almost like a Sunday morning walk at Kits beach. Except that there were hardly any people. And the few that were there weren't drinking cups of Starbucks coffee. Nor were they draped head to toe in Lululemon. Or talking on cell phones. Or dodging packs of Sunday morning long runners. Okay, I guess it wasn't anything like a Sunday morning at Kits beach. But it was beautiful...

And then this, on the drive back home. We're definitely not in Kansas anymore. Buffy's must be the place to be.

Speaking of burning...

You recall that old green house and chicken coop and fencing that we had multi-talented Septic Steve have a go at with his excavator? And those five small pines and the unfortunately located birch tree that had to go? And all the overgrown shrubbery that we've slowly been hacking back? Have you wondered where it's all gone?

It's been accumulating in four large piles towards the back of our property. The "burn piles" we call them. In truth, they're a bit of an eye-sore, four large piles of broken two by fours, bits of plywood, dead limbs of trees, knots of roots. So, inspired by the recent public burning that we attended, we decided that it was time to get on with our own burning. 

But, before striking a match, it's time for a bylaw check: 

1. No burning on Sundays. Hmmm... will we burn somewhere else if we burn on Sunday? Better not risk it.

2. Maximum fire size is 6'x6'x6'. I can live with that. Quite frankly, I don't want to see a 6'x6'x6' fire anywhere near our house.

3. As a courtesy to the neighbours, check the ventilation index. It seems there is something new to learn every time we embark on a project here. Little did I know that there is such a thing as a ventilation index.

So, smallish fires, Monday to Saturday, but only on days with good ventilation. Yesterday and today were just such days. And so, the match was struck...

Where there is smoke, there will, hopefully, be fire.

Just a few more tree branches to really get this humming.

And we have fire! 

And watching over all of the madness, making sure that nothing (and  no one) got out of line, our very own fire marshall, at the ready with the hose. Thankfully, there were no wild flames needing attention, only the occasional hosing down of a parent.

I'm happy to report that at the end of two days of burning, during which I found many muscles that have lain dormant since my last step aerobics class in 1987, our inventory consists of one and half burn piles and one extremely large pile of ash.

Next project: find a use for ash but be sure to check bylaws for any restrictions on its use.

Progress Report

You may be wondering if we are spending all of our time here going to Hallowe'en events, meeting with Ladies Who Lunch and hanging out with Preschool families. Though those things are occupying some of our time, we are actually getting work done around here to turn this place into a farm (I prefer to call this place a micro-farm).

So, after having our big knock-down, drag-out event that cleared out the old (chicken coop, green house, fencing) we've made way for the new. 

Jim, the mechanic at the local volunteer fire hall, who plows fields in his spare time, brought around his tractor and had a go and our wee fields.

Once the plowing was done, the seeding of the winter cover crop could begin. We planted a combination of vetch, winter wheat and pea. The idea is to let this grow over the winter and then turn it into the soil in the spring before planting time. It will feed the soil and help build structure. That is if the family of quails leaves any seed behind. They come through everyday, darting out from the thicket of blackberry bushes at the side of the property, and have a peck at the ground. We'll have to watch for signs of sprouting. If nothing happens but the quails get fatter we'll know where the seed has gone.

And then, we planted garlic, about 100 cloves in all. Next year we'll either be eating a lot of garlic or learning about which animal has Mediterranean roots and likes to sneak through and chow down on our plantings. I don't think the quail are interested though. They seem to be sticking to the cover crop seed.

There's something to be said for a public burning. 

It draws people out of doors. They forget their political differences and gather together, mesmerized by the lick of flame, the brush of heat on the skin and the prospect of crisped up marshmallows.

We attended our first Metchosin Hallowe'en event on Friday evening. Trick or Treating is out of the question here - the houses are too far apart and it's so, so dark. There's no light pollution to speak of, just that "can't see your hand in front of your face" effect. And so, off to the Volunteer Fire Hall for the community event.

Though we're only an eight minute walk from the Fire Hall (which might be useful when it comes time for us to tackle our own burn piles out back - never hurts to have help close at hand) we decided to drive there. Fortunately, we planned to go for the start of the event. Had we left later, we might have been parking almost at our house, the cars were stacked up so far down the side of the road.

And what did we see? The biggest burn pile I've ever laid eyes on. It had to be 20 feet high before they tossed the match.

And I say "tossed the match" euphemistically. They used a "tiger torch" to light it up. What is a tiger torch you ask? Basically, a huge blow torch attached to a propane tank. You could do some good weed clearing with that thing! 

So, we stood in the glow of the flames, watching the volunteer fire fighters hose down the surrounding trees and the BMX bike park, and taking in the scent of smoke mixed with hotdogs. A reliable source (Jim, who by night rototills fields with his tractor - namely ours - and by day works as the mechanic at the firehall) reports that last year they went through 600 hotdogs. Rural legend or fact? You decide. But, as I say, the source is reliable.

We had to take our little dinosaurs home before the marshmallows came out for toasting and the fireworks started up. Bedtime took precedence. But I can see that this will be a good event for our little family in years to come.

This coming Friday we're going to a different sort of public burning: we're going to an all candidates meeting for the upcoming Metchosin elections. This is a hotbed of political opinions and conflicting ideas. Hopefully, the community will once again gather together amicably but this time, without the need of the fire fighters to put out the flames.