Our first year at Mucky Boots Farm

First there was snow – lots and lots of snow! We moved in during the snowiest winter in decades, which caused all sorts of problems with renovations and moving.

It was a challenge keeping the drive to the house clear. We spent lots of time shovelling…

…until we made friends with Bruce the Backhoe guy from down the road.

It was a stressful time for us, but Frankie loved it.

We got to meet some of the neighbours, including Snout the donkey who “loves people and gets around.”

On the inside, work proceeded on the installation of the reclaimed wood floors. The final coat of finish was installed 2 days before we moved in – nothing like cutting it close!

Spring finally came, and with it came the first of many surprises in the garden. Every few days something new appeared.

William made the farm his own…

…while Frankie and Petunia preferred snuggling by the fire.

Ducks came to visit, and one breeding pair made our pond their home.

There were eggs, then ducklings, and then Mama and babies disappeared. We feared the worst: that Petunia was responsible.

With spring came mud, which Frankie became intimately acquainted with….

…some days more than others.

In March, Ruby Agnes joined the family…

…and the first seedlings flourished.

We had our first session with the Log Boss, a hydraulic log splitter, in order to split some of the wood from trees we had taken down.

We filled the woodshed, and more besides: about 6 or 7 cords in all.

We ate our first salad from the garden: arugula, mizuna and spinach.

Petunia enjoyed the view from the window, but wasn’t yet ready to venture outside.

We learned how skunk cabbage got its name, as its aroma filled the air near the pond.

In the garden the peas were up and the garlic was doing well.

We built new beds for beans and potatoes.

Mir learned to never, ever go into the garden in clothes she wanted to keep clean…

…and she remained loyal to her favourite hat even though Kim said it looked like a hat that Hoss from Bonanza would wear.

The perennial gardens blossomed.

Rhubarb and hostas were joined by tulips.

The magnolia tree came in first for sheer floral exhuberance…

…while the Asian pear blossoms took the prize in the fruit category.

Every week a new variety of tulip bloomed.

Poppies bloomed everywhere, including in the vegetable garden…

…where the first strawberries were forming.

In the orchard Kim pruned the old apple trees…

…and we planted new fruit trees, like this pear.

We ate the first radishes (Altaglobe and French Breakfast varieties).

We couldn’t believe how much space was taken up by artichokes, and how much work it takes to eat one.

In June we picked the first strawberries. By the end of the month we were filling a bucket every second day.

We learned that for hardneck garlic, when the scapes form a complete circle the garlic is ready to harvest.

Mir harvested armloads of basil from the greenhouse, and bushels of kale from the garden.

By the end of June we were eating beets and squash from the garden.

With the end of June came the end of our teaching careers. Our beautiful cedar porch swing was a parting gift from our colleagues.

In the garden the blueberries ripened, and Green Zebra tomatoes and a few varieties of winter squash began to develop…

…and in the kitchen Mir baked her first loaf of bread.

In the heat of August, Frankie showed his farm dog credentials by sleeping in the shade under the truck.

We ate the first tomatoes from the garden…

…and admired the artichokes we didn’t get around to eating.

Mir’s favourite perennial, the sea holly, bloomed.

We rebuilt the compost pile, relocating it from the back of the property to a more manageable distance from the gardens.

In the kitchen Mir canned her first pickled beans and beets.

This slug set a Mucky Boots record.

We harvested the best onions we’ve ever tasted…

…our first bushel of Pink Lady apples…

…and a really tasty pear from our baby tree.

Sister Kim came for a visit in late August, which was the best part of the entire summer.

William continued to live mostly outdoors…

…now joined frequently by Petunia.

The first banjo joined Kim’s string collection.

In September and early October we split and stacked more wood…

…tore the roof off the woodshed and installed a new one…

…and escorted Petunia on her first venture outdoors after her mauling by a dog.

Our winter crops of chard, carrots, beets, rutabagas and salad greens flourished.

As fall weather set in the Japanese maples looked gorgeous…

We said farewell to our ugly wood stove (replaced by a more efficient and aesthetically pleasing new one)…

…a set of lockers and a homemade wood stove from the workshop, and an old bathtub from the bushes.

…cleaned gunk from the skylights…

…installed a slate hearth for the new wood stove…

…installed a new floor in the family room…

…and started a bathroom renovation.

In rained so much there were floods…

It stayed below freezing for more than a week…

…and it snowed again, but not so much.

And that was our first year at Mucky Boots!

Our first year at Mucky Boots Farm

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Our first year at Mucky Boots Farm