Why move to BC when you can live here?!

We didn't take much of a drive today, as the whole family was busy working on the homestead.  I had a chance to finish up my fencing project, whilst Laur did some brush-cutting for a path from the meadow (which is now officially a pasture) to the brook.  The Boy kept us both company, while we worked.  He first "drove" the tractor with me, then took a walk with Momma and learned about wild apples, haws and chokecherries.

I check my new fence whilst The Boy picks flowers and the dogs snuffle about.

Our very first chokecherries - they're everywhere!

Haws - these are the unripened fruit of the Hawthorn tree (Crataegus Succulenta - a member of the Rose family). When ripened, the fruit will turn a vibrant red.  It's a tree with an interesting history and usage - apparently it not only makes an excellent jelly containing natural pectins, but has been used in folk medicine as a heart tonic.  Modern testing and research has substantiated this use.  The spines of this tree can penetrate rubber boots, sneakers and many non-steel shank footwear (I know this from experience).  Some people are quite allergic to their spines and experience tremendous swelling and pain. 

It's almost the middle of August and the Valley produce is starting to roll in!  We had our very first corn last week and there's more on the grill tonight.   You should see some of the corn fields - I bet some of it is over seven feet high!

Mooshum brought home the season's first apple last night and the farmers are getting ready to start picking early varieties this week.  Grain is ripe and there's tons of combining going on as we speak.  A lot of farmers are also getting their second cut hay done with all of this fine weather.

Today, on our way to Fox Hill for some chocolate milk, we passed a farm selling something by the side of the road (actually, a lot of farms sell stuff by the side of the road, so this in itself was not so unusual).  But because Laur was traveling at her usual Speed-Of-Light pace, I didn't quite catch what was in the basket.

On our way back, we pulled off the road to see what was for sale.  Lo and behold, it was peaches!  Five dollars a box!

Peaches! Amazing!  Sweet, juicy, delicious peaches!  By the time I took this photo, we'd already eaten two of them, so the box looks a bit light!   Not only were the peaches amazing, but once again I was awed by Nova Scotians honesty - I put our $5 in the jar and there must have been another $15 waiting for the owner to collect. Gosh I like this place!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - I picked a tick off my hand today.  It seems a bit unusual to see them this late in the season and this guy could well have been the last tick in Nova Scotia. Sadly for him, however, he was deposited out the window of a vehicle moving at 110km/h and will likely never get the meal he so desired.

And thus another amazing (or "unbearably beautiful" as Laur described it) day has come to a close.