SEPTEMBER 2018• COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
Here’s to the ordinary
As I write this, it’s mid-
August and I’m sitting at my desk taking in the long- distance beauty of Vancouver Island, Texada Island and Harwood Island. The ocean is
Wannabe Farmer
by LINDA WEGNER
calm, the smoky haze has nearly gone and it’s hard to realize that we are under a provincial state of emergency. To put things in perspective, though, it’s the first time this week that the smoke has cleared enough to enjoy that view. Today, our provincial leaders declared a province- wide state of emergency. Amy Judd, reporting for Global News reported: “It applies to the whole province and ensures provincial, federal and local resources can be delivered in a co-ordinated response to protect the residents of British Columbia.” Sounds so efficient and concise but knowing that the order is in effect for at least the next two weeks, or approximately the same amount of time until this issue of Country Life in BC will arrive in mailboxes, is nothing less than frightening. Hopefully, by the time you
read my column, enough rain to quell the fires may have fallen, the temperatures will have cooled considerably, and life can transition back to ordinary and even mundane. Some weeks ago, I’d chosen those two words as the theme for this piece but I could not have imagined how welcome “boring” would become. Take the vegetable garden,
for instance: now, even watering the beds is an exercise in both conservation and appreciation for the hose and the water flowing through it. Ripening tomatoes take on a newer, even more delightful ruby-red appearance when realizing how fortunate we are to be able to grow and harvest them.
Although I’d love for each of these monthly offerings to be earth-shaking, since life is made up of the ordinary, so are they. I have discovered that there is a wealth of living to be found in the ordinary, though: the reliability of trusted friends and family members; the security of having and knowing
neighbours who can be called upon in an emergency; the blessings of our Canadian
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health care system (flawed as it may be, we have it pretty good up here!) and, of course, the dedication of local and provincial producers of our food. In my eyes, there is no such thing as an “ordinary” farmer or rancher. Narrowing my thoughts down and changing direction, ordinary can also be discouraging. Who of
us hasn’t struggled with disappointment and even despair when our circumstances don’t change or improve? How many times do we inwardly or outwardly rebel against the “same old- same old” routine of our daily lives? I have and at times, I still do.
Again, my thoughts turn specifically to the growers and processors of food and the raisers of meat. Browse the aisles of any grocery store and it’s easy to think only of the end results; go behind the scenes, though, and the day- to-day chores of cultivating, haying, spraying, and repairing equipment, to mention just a few, seems never-ending. Reaping the crop may be a time of celebration but getting the raw seeds from the ground to the combine involves time and patience that can only be called hum-drum, sometimes boring. It’s definitely ordinary and routine stuff. So, what am I trying to say out of all this? To put it as simply as possible, no matter what our position or role in life, not matter what stage
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Despite wildfire smoke hanging in the air and a storm that blew down a couple of tents the night before, about 500 people attended the tenth annual FarmFolk/CityFolk’s Okanagan Feast of Fields at the Father Pandosy Mission historic site on August 12. This year’s version featured 19 food and a host of local beverage presenters who volunteered to share their craft and raise funds for the organization. The event helps showcase local farmers and food producers, cultivating a local sustainable food system and building a larger local food market. MYRNA STARK LEADER PHOTO
we’re at in the process of living, I encourage each of us to choose well, establish solidly and remember that this too shall pass.
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