Lilies, Bono and a little chocolate dog

Thanks to the hot sun - heavy rain cycle that we are enduring, we are all in a bloom down at Oliver Farm. Ever since the Asiatic Lilies went pop and the drum stick alliums followed, it seems that we might be taken seriously as a flower farm after all. Harvesting has got a little crazy and if it wasn't for the weeds and the over grown grass (still no mower), the beautiful splashes of colour dotted up and down the field would be a true Eden. It's incredibly satisfying actually having a product to sell and myself and Jamie are still a little stunned as to how any flowers really managed to grow and turn out as beautifully as they have. So as the flowers bloom and we harvest twice a day, we are now able to put them into the newly operational cool room. Hurrah! If it wasn't for the fact that it's leaking somehow, we would almost feel like we had earnt the privilege to cross that project off the list.
All of this excitement makes for a lot of fun and much floral disorganisation and means there are never enough hours in the day, so we are feeling a bit pooped.
We didn't really help ourselves or rather we couldn't help ourselves at the weekend when we decided to pretend we were normal people who didn't farm 24/7 and fled the farm seeking refuge at the U2 Concert in Moncton, New Brunswick (many thanks to Kendra for manning the market stall and working like a trooper all week!). This incredible show turned out to be the last gig in their almost 3 year tour so was full of surprises. However what surprised us most was the fact that we got in so close to the stage. I think at one point if Jamie had had the energy to lift me up I could have touched Bono or strummed on Edge's guitar. We were in the inner circle and rocked our best.
The show was awesome and being so close meant we got to see every detail, we had a ball. Also playing were the absolutely bonkersly brilliant Arcade Fire and Carney. Somehow managed to get my photo taken with Reeve Carney, would imagine that is floating around on facebook somewhere, much to his embarrassment.
To cap our hedonistic (sleep deprived) weekend we swam in the sea and then....scooped up our new puppy. We are currently revelling in her cuteness, need I say more?

Ducklings!

It's hard not to feel good about life when you have a barn full of fluffy, yellow ducklings all quacking and woddling around their proud mother AND you've been swimming in the sea 3 times in one week!!
The ducks are the cutest things. We even have one who, thanks to Jamie and his heart of gold, has taken up residence (illegally) on the kitchen counter.
Sunshine is here and despite weeds of mamoth proportions, we are harvesting peas, beets, chard and.... flowers. We are even remembering to enjoy the summer and make it to the beach. Hurray! We might even allow ourselves to feel a little bit like a flower farm now, albeit in minature. Due to less than perfect weather conditions, stem lengths on many blooms leave a lot to be desired. We are wondering if there is a market for tiny posies or home decor for doll's houses! Asiatics suddenly exploded at the weekend and thanks to our fab local florist we have moved them all to the cooler there until we can get them to market or until we finish our cool room which hasn't had a look in since Dad left in May! From everything being purple for a while, now it's pink. So many pink snapdragons we don't know what to do with them, and thanks to the wind power of Nova Scotia, the stems are knarly and bent, let's hope that we can start a trend for that!
However, the most exciting thing is that we could resist no longer and Sunday was the momentous "unwrapping of the jamon". What joy! It's a blessing that it miraculously escaped all the flies and appears intact. It tastes a little salty but we are not complaining since that just means we have to drink more when eating it which makes it all the more delicious! Though we have refrained from sherry (for the mo). So Jamie gets top marks for his first ever Jamon, he has also been fishing (while I skive off to the boat) but hasn't yet bought home anything tastey. He expertly captured a curious young ground hog in one of our traps that he hadn't even got around to setting. While it was interesting to see one up close, we felt relieved after we had set it free a few miles away across several rivers so that the darn animal wouldn't be making it's way back to create havoc. I am still beavering away producing pickles and jellies for the market, rose petal jelly all sold out so lavendar and lemon is the latest addition. It's just me, Jamie, Eddie and the ducks for now since we don't have any volunteers this week. Lovely to have the space to ourselves once again - plus it means we get to shower outside in peace! (well until the neighbours pop by...)

Illegal duckling in kitchen!

Jamie and Jamon and amazing hawaian shirt

Fire Flies and Garlic Scapes

Without wishing to jinx the weather and shorten this year's growing season any further, I would dare to dream that this week's balmy days, bbqs and sun means that summer may be upon us. Farmers are haying and dropping by at odd hours to borrow pieces of rusty machinery that we never knew existed and I think our flowers may be growing. The garlic is doing well and since the scapes are beginning to curl into that lovely green pig's tail, we have been cutting them and selling a few along with our fresh herbs for folks to add to their barbie.
Rather annoyingly our beautiful field of squash and pumpkin has been hit by the beastly cucumber beetle which is chewing its way through the leaves and blossoms. Being organic, picking them off and squashing them is really the only method. It is as monotonous, back breaking (and murderous) as it sounds. The ageratum and oh so gorgeous veridiums are in bloom and are truly delightful, not long now for the asiatic lilies, eryingium and snap dragons to follow which will hopefully kick off our season. So in the meantime we are chugging away, braving the bugs, battling the weeds and when the daylight fades and we are drawn inside, we are able to look out into the pitch black night at tiny sparks of magic. Fire flies are here, flickering in the darkness, bring on the summer!