Ann’s Weblog

Anyone who knows me has heard or observed how much the local Farmer’s Market is part of my life and how much it means to my heart. In the summer, I sell my home made jams and jellies, produce from the garden, and perennial plants. Also, I have enjoyed baking for the public, including my friends, tourists and newcomers to the Valley.

For about 6 years, I offered Spanakopita, which is a great thing to make with the abundant spinach, Swiss Chard and garlic at this time of year (it’s Greek Spinach Pie in phyllo). During the last several years I have also offered cheesecake by-the-slice, and that also was popular. Along with other vendors, of course, folks could get an entire lunch with coffee or drinks and dessert, and extra servings or baking to take home.

Last year we had a visit from a provincial health inspector at the Market. My first impression of him was that he needed to eat more cheesecake. I had heard that we would be “inspected” so I had left the spanakopita and the cheesecake OUT of the equation… I didn’t have any for sale that day. We were given guidelines and told that we were required to “register” as food vendors, to submit lists of foods we sell, methods and ingredients. I phoned that inspector at a later date and had a very civil discussion with him, and he seemed to think that baked cheesecake, handled responsibly and kept on an ice pack at Market, would be fine.

It was a “new” inspector who visited yesterday at Market. We all listened carefully to his introduction and short lecture, and I simply realized that cheesecake was NOT going to be allowed after all, being what the department deems “a hazardous food”. I had baked Baklava (a pastry) for this market as well, and it contains no dairy (except butter.. which seems to fly under the radar when in baked goods), so I simply kept the cheesecake in the cooler. The two cheesecakes will make their way to the Ice Cream Social tonight, and it would indeed be interesting if our new inspector shows up there. More on that later.

The inspector came over to interview me. I offered him my extra chair (so at least we were on the same level and not him towering over me), and I was so nervous that when I told him my name, I SAID my current married name, and then went to spell my LAST married name!! He must have thought it quite bizarre that “Schwartz” would start… “C-O-U-S …” before I stopped myself. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Our visit was bordering on satisfactory, considering that the whole inspection and regulation process is insulting and threatening. The inspector took one of my $4.50 jars of jam for analysis… he needed a sample of the batch that is lowest in sugar. He said that if it did not pass their criteria for preservative qualities, they would require a jar/sample of every single recipe/batch of jam, jelly or preserves that I make. I told him as politely as I could, that I would quit before I let them take 10 or 12 jars without any compensation to me, that I was twisted enough that they could take even ONE. Eventually, he said that regardless of the results of the testing, he hoped that I wouldn’t quit, that communities needed people like those who sell at the Farmer’s Markets.

Then I made an error… and the inspector might even be reading this blog. I gave him my business pen with my website addy “with lovely pictures of the Robson Valley”. Also on my website, of course, as most of you are aware, are pictures of dogs that I groom and board! He’ll know that a big part of my life is… animals. Ah well.. I have a clean, safe kitchen with no pets near the food preparation. I’ve served family and friends all my adult life without anyone falling ill, and though most of us benefit from a few guidelines and education regarding food handling, I feel like I’ve “had enough” of this whole intrusive inspection business. I’ve quit selling some food that people really seem to enjoy, and even my whole jam & jelly business is under scrutiny now… it’s just all too much bother and stress. Gary says that, because I love doing all this so much, it would be worth building and keeping a certified kitchen, but I think not. One of the requirements would be to have tested, potable and chlorinated water… and I’ve heard that the ministry doesn’t “allow” hauled water… because they don’t trust us to used ONLY the imported water in our food operations. We have a friend whose dream business was her hot dog stand in the Okanagan, and she was “shut down” because the Ministry didn’t allow her to use only bottled water in her operation, as her “home” water didn’t pass criteria.

I would find it interesting if the inspector attends one of the Valley’s biggest events of the year.. the Dunster Ice Cream Social. Last year the ministry shut down Ft. St. James’ ethnic potluck Canada Day event which had been an institution for 15 years (without anyone getting food poisoning). At our Ice Cream Social, local people bring cookies, pies, cake and other sweets to go with all-you-can-eat ice cream in an amazing array of flavours. The community consists of an equally interesting variety of residents: cool, groovy, artsy “hippies”, friendly rednecked farmers, devout Mennonites, retired academia and others. There are many great folks who are not easily pigeon-holed, I suppose like most communities… but all factions are represented each year at the Social! There have been close to 1000 people served, some years. Among these friendly folk, there are some truly gutsy, assertive members of the community, who will stand up strongly for their traditions… and that is all I should say about that, considering I have given the health inspector this weblog address! It’s not a threat; it’s just reality. He should just show up, blend in, and have some dessert with us!

Yesterday ended at midnight with a dog coming in whose owner had had a stroke. The household must have been in chaos, but the little guy was happy to come for a visit, and that is the LEAST we can do for this family who has been through so much.

I need to get on with my day, but thank you for visiting my blog. ~ Ann

Lilies are one of my favourite perennials. Before I started flower gardening “in earnest” a few years ago, I had considered lilies of all types too delicate for our harsh climate. At one point after I started selling perennials, an acquaintance phoned and offered me most of her lilies, which had almost been lost to weeds and sod and drought. All I needed to do was DIG them. Most were past blooming for that year, so I didn’t know what I was getting, but I did take this gal up on her offer, and blame her (thank her) NOW for my enthusiasm for beautiful, hardy lilies. I have collected many different varieties since that gift.

Pictured directly above are the five Oriental Lilies that I have… Stargazer, Tom Pouce, Red Hot, Casa Blanca (I think that’s an Orienpet), and Dizzy. I have African Queen Orienpet Lily, but I don’t have a picture of “her”. I don’t know all the names of the Asiatics I have, but some are Lollipop, Landini, Monte Negro, and Chianti.

I’m not trying to mislead you. The above photos are of lilies that grow in my garden, but they are not in bloom all at once. From early June to first frosts, I have some flowers, including lilies, to make bouquets out of. Most of these are actually photographed in my garden either this year or in recent years, and some are photos from various websites.

Thanks for appreciating lilies. ~ Ann

My day started with “suiting up” in order to water the trees, shrubs and perennials in the garden centre, at 7 am.. I had a notion, when I went to bed last night, of going out at 5 am. to beat the mosquitoes, and though I awoke at 5, I didn’t follow through. At any rate, it did get done; the nasty critters were already out in great numbers.

Groomed a little dog from Valemount again today, another dear little Shih Tzu cross. When I started my pet business 23 years ago, the breed most presented for grooming was Poodles, then there were the years of the cocker spaniel, and more recently, a HUGE percentage of my grooming shop clients are Shih Tzu or Shih crosses. Just as with humans, there are good and bad in every “race”, but I usually have little trouble with the behaviour of the pets.

This is the July long weekend/Canada Day. At first it looked like I’d have only two boarders, and suddenly there are eight reserved. We have plenty of space for that number, especially when some are from two-dog families and are kennelled together.

Have been getting ready for the Market: labelling jars and trying to assemble what I need to serve cheesecake. I made Baklava “Cigars” with the intention of taking THOSE to the Market, but I will want to take baking to the Dunster Ice Cream Social, so I might leave that baklava at home. Gary just sampled one and deemed them “wicked”!

The Dunster Ice Cream Social is held on the Saturday of the Canada Day (July1st) weekend. This is a picture from a previous year… you get the idea: all-you-can-eat ice cream and cookies, pies, and cake, etc.

I’m tired. Some treasured returning customers are coming by tomorrow morning before Market time to buy specific perennials and shrubs, some plants which I have YET to dig up. So I’ll try to get up earlier to beat the mosquitoes again.

Thank you for reading my blog. ~ Ann

Today I found the transformer for the Mosquito Magnet! The bizarre thing is that it was 12″ from where I walked every time I went into my grooming shop. I had looked “everywhere” (obviously NOT quite), but today while thinking about this, and grooming a dog, I wondered if the missing part had become nestled in with some plant pots, in one of many boxes. I went over to a corner and picked up a plastic bag that I thought contained spare parts for solar garden lights… but it was a bag with the transformer in it! Eureka!

When my grooming work was done today, I got my new propane tank filled, purchased the mosquito “attractant” for the machine, came home and got the thing running. Almost immediately I was swarmed by THOUSANDS of mosquitoes, mostly bypassing me and searching out the source of what MUST be a more powerful attractant than the human body. It seems hardly sporting, but we can’t even be outside comfortably, and now we know any mosquitoes that are sucked into that net are not going to BREED.

I wish that I had got the machine running earlier. Because of the flooding in the Robson Valley, we suspected there would be an awful outbreak of mosquitoes. This evening a friend asked me if I could possibly sell her a bouquet from my garden, and I had to tell her, “Sorry”, because I wasn’t willing to go out for that long. I asked her to consider buying lily bulbs in pots, which are almost blooming, or another perennial, or a shrub, as the gift that she needed. She came over and bought a lovely climbing rose, in bloom, and she realized what a time we are having with the nasty insects.

I’ve been in the Valley for thirty years and I don’t remember a mosquito outbreak this bad; mind you, the year I bought the Mosquito Magnet was dreadful. And, perhaps there were other bad years, but I was able to hide indoors with my small children and let their father do all the outside work.

Gary applies repellent to the horses and has made a “smudge pot”; they are intelligent creatures, you know, and will stand in the smoke for the protection.

Tonight I made banana bread, a double batch, with about twelve of the dozens of bananas that are in the freezer. I should try to sell some banana bread at the Farmer’s Markets. I’m planning to make Baklava as well as cheesecake… that will be an “allowed” food according to the health department. I’m looking forward to the Markets, but it already makes life more hectic!

We got our iMac back from the computer shop! I was absolutely amazed when I looked at the invoice. I knew that the repair should be covered by Extended Warranty though I thought that the malfunction was minor (power supply problem). Only after we got the machine back did I realize they had also replaced the “Logic Board with optical”… value $735! I don’t pretend to know what that IS, but my brother-in-law, who is a computer technician by profession, says that we virtually have a “new computer” out of the deal. Bless Apple and their warrantees. The cost would have been close to a thousand dollars without it.

I’ve printed out the Farmer’s Market posters that I usually place around the town WEEKS before Market starts. I’m relieved. Also, I use the computer to make labels for my jams and jellies, so I can start on that right away.

I think I have to have a night’s sleep first though. I told Gary that if he hears the pump running very early tomorrow, it is ME trying to water everything in the garden centre before the mosquitoes are out in brutal force.

Take care, everyone. Thank you for putting up with my verbosity. ~ Ann

This is a long weekend for Canadians. HAPPY CANADA DAY, my friends!

I’ve been forgetting to tell you something awesome that happened last week!

When I purchased this acreage in 1993, there was already in place a waterline from a spring on adjacent land. I went to see a close relative of the elderly widow who owned the wilderness area from whence the water came, and he said, “Ann, you will never have a problem with getting water from there.” I took this as a “gentleman’s agreement” that I had access to the source of water, and indeed, he helped me repair the line a couple of times and coached me about cleaning out the reservoir on the mountainside. The system had already been there for at least 20 years, serving only this home.

Time passed, and the dear old lady died, and the lands became the property of a grandson. While the land was in probate, I was granted Water Rights on that spring (having had applied while the owner was living). Upon urging from the man who became the owner of the source of that water, I paid for “test holes” to be dug in order to find an alternate source of water for a well. He was telling me that I would have to buy access from him, IF he decided to let me keep the waterline and water. He was also furious that I had been granted Rights on the spring, and took the Water Management Branch (with me as a “third party”) to court, to try to get the Water Rights removed. My Water Rights were upheld, after a disconcerting hearing with the Environmental Board, which determined that I should be able to keep the use of the water and the system with it. This was a nerve-wracking experience but I believed that I had “won” the case.

That autumn, anxious to resolve the conflict, I had a well installed, and the water turned out to be unpotable, so rusty that you can’t even wash clothes in it. We still had water from the mountainside at this point. During the winter, I got a letter from the lawyer for the grandson, saying that I would have to remove my waterline from his property within 6 months. I phoned and I sent a letter, trying to appeal to his decency, saying that the well water was not turning out for me, my daughters and by this time, Gary. Gary suggested that I offer to meet with that guy and negotiate payment for access. My phonecall and letter were unanswered, again.

The spring came and early summer, and believe it or not, since the grandson was not living on the mountainside, we didn’t worry about the water source, thinking he wouldn’t “cut us off” while the waterline and reservoir were not in his way, nor needed BY him. However, while Gary and I were away from home that summer, this fellow SEVERED our waterline. He simply cut it and put a tap in it, so that nobody had access to the water. My daughters didn’t know what had become of the “good” water, while caring for animals and plants here.

I phoned the Water Management Branch, and they said that although I had valid Water Rights, as I did not have legal access, there was nothing I could do about what had happened. They counselled me that I could expropriate, but “off the record”, advised me against it because the grandson has a large and wealthy family in my area. I was reminded that relatives would help the guy appeal and appeal until we were broke and defeated.

SO, to my point. Water has been a continuing “issue” for us. In order to maintain enough water in our well for household use and garden and now garden centre, we have had to haul “town” water in a tank in the back of my truck, and add it to the well. We have had to do this from July to September, as a rule, since year 2000, almost daily in those summer months. We always have to worry about water. The quality is a huge problem, but the insufficient supply more miserable. I think of “the grandson” every time I scrub rust off the shower stall or toilet, haul drinking water, or fill the big tank in my truck. When Gary tells me that the well is “low”, I seethe.

Last week Gary, armed with 1100 feet of plastic pipe, ran a waterline up to a small creek directly above us (owned by yet another party), with permission of course. This is all above ground, so obviously just a “summertime” line, but we have been able to add water to our well, use the mountain spring water for drinking, and I’ve been able to water the “garden centre” to my heart’s delight! There has been a bit of rain here, so we haven’t had to worry too much about the vegetable garden.

It’s not the END of the water saga, but somehow seems a “just” reprieve for the water woes we’ve had. It is cause for some jubilation. That’s the end of my story about it, for now. ~ Ann

It looks like this MIGHT not be such a hectic week, but one never knows.

Last Monday (I think it was) I started out in a jam! I’m getting ready for the Farmer’s Market which will start this Friday, so I harvested some rhubarb and checked the freezers for frozen fruit & berries.

We grow some very red rhubarb and of course I don’t add any colouring to the preserves. Here are the first batches of rhubarb jelly and jam. After that I made a large batch of strawberry-rhubarb jam sweetened with honey and set with citrus pectin from the health food store.

In one of the freezers I had several pounds of yellow plums which I had pitted and put away last summer. They looked lovely and bright (fresh looking) while frozen, but when I thawed them, they looked unappetizing and discoloured. I knew that they were still wonderful food, so I mixed them with 2 pounds of blueberries, for Plum Blueberry Jam, set with natural pectins and with reduced sugar. The jam tastes heavenly, and is an appealing rosy violet.

In a freezer I also rediscovered some hot peppers, red and yellow, and some jalapenos. I made pepper jellies out of those and white grape juice (with sugar and Certo); these are served with cream cheese and crackers as hors d’oeuvres or as a glaze on ham, for instance. These are quite popular at the Markets and among our friends.

Our beloved iMac computer is on its way back from Edmonton! I’m glad to have this Dell laptop, but feel constrained when it comes to handling pictures, or really doing anything very creative. I’m sure some of the other Farmer’s Market participants are wondering when I’ll finally get around to putting up little posters for this “institution”… I was about to make these when the iMac needed fixing. Heaven forbid I should have to create something by “hand”… my printing sucks and I’d have to paste some pictures the old fashioned way, and I’ve been putting that off. I also need the iMac to make little labels for my preserves, to adjust photos from the camera, and to make little picture cards for my garden business and the Market. I bought a laminator so that I can make posters and tags that will withstand the watering in the gardens and greenhouse.

In our area we have a huge outbreak of mosquitoes! It is miserable to work outside, and so I’m not getting the weeding done that I should be. There are swarms of the nasty things. I’ve been chastising myself because I stored the transformer for my “mosquito eater” somewhere safe and now can’t find it. I bought a new propane tank just to dedicate to that machine, and I keep hoping that the transformer will turn up, or that I will magically remember where I put the damned thing. I’m frustrated and hard on myself when I do this sort of thing.

I had lots of dogs to groom last week, and not too many on the appointment book for this week. That, of course, could change. On Saturday I had a little dog who is only groomed once per year, named “Buddy”. I had thought that Buddy was a boy dog, and of course it took just a few minutes to discover that this is a “she”. The owners had warned that I would need a muzzle; I gave the old girl the benefit of the doubt and didn’t put one on, and she didn’t even TRY to bite me. In the case of little Buddy, I tried to convince the owners to have her groomed more often (without pointing out that a dog dislikes being matted with urine and feces). Her owner replied, “Oh, she don’t (sic) come inside the house at all and we don’t want her to be cold later in the year.”. Poor wee thing.

This was the sky one evening, photo taken from our front door:

That’s all for now, gang. Take care everyone, and thank you for checking my weblog. ~ Ann

Pictured above on the left is our friend Nick’s team of 4 Clydes: Rainbow, Jim, Judas and Jesse. Nick and friends Kerry and Slim rode the wagon quite a few miles to our house from Nick’s farm. Then the horses rested in our pasture overnight, and, last Saturday, Nick took his “4-horse hitch” in the “Pioneer Days Parade” in McBride. Aren’t those big horses beautiful?

On the right is a picture of one of my lilacs, “Miss Kim”. The shrub is 8 years old, and has never bloomed quite so spectacularly; the scent is wonderful in the yard. This seems like a great year for lilacs and also peonies. It might be a good year for some later-blooming things, too; we can only wait and see.

Had a busy day in the dog grooming shop… actually it was “just about right”. I had one large dog to shear short, and two little dogs from Valemount. A couple of people came by to look at plants and trees, and a friend stopped to visit at JUST the right time (when I really needed a break).

Tomorrow I will tackle perennial beds again. Someone stopped yesterday, and said that she didn’t feel that HER weeding was so overwhelming now that she has seen MY beds! She wasn’t being hurtful, but it wasn’t what I want to hear. If I can get even “almost” caught up, I’ll invite her back for tea in the garden.

The iMac is still in the shop, and I’m supposed to make posters for the Community (Farmer’s) Market which starts next week. I guess, if it comes to that, I can make something “by hand”… BOO HOO. I don’t know how to do anything creative on this Dell Laptop.

I definitely AM looking forward to Markets: they are a big part of my summers. I did harvest some rhubarb yesterday to make some Rhubarb Jelly and perhaps jam, and I have some kinds of fruit in the freezer. I’ll take a cheesecake and some perennial plants, and any shrubs or trees that are allowed at the Market (they have to be grown or otherwise potted or nurtured by me, not just resold from the big nurseries).

Well, I’m fading, gang. Thanks so much for checking my blog. ~ Ann

Our beloved iMac computer is in the shop… one day it simply wouldn’t turn on! It’s still under the extended warrantee, so off it went to WestWorld in Edmonton for its hardware analysis. I miss it so much, but this little laptop will suffice in the meantime.

Things continue to be busy, but only in the best ways. I’ve been trying to “pace” myself by only scheduling a couple of dogs per day to groom, while trying not to get “backlogged”. I don’t want to lose business if people really don’t want to wait a day or two. The dog groomer in a nearby town has closed her doors, evidently… I’m very happy to adopt the new customers (or welcome back old ones). I do have to allow myself enough time… the pet owners simply have to find something to do for a couple of hours. In the past, I felt guilty because some customers complained that there was nothing to do in my small town: now I make suggestions politely, stick to my “schedule” and try not to let it be MY problem. I hate getting pressured and stressed.

This morning I groomed a delightful black schnauzer… oh wait! every schnauzer I’ve groomed has been great. It’s a lovely breed, comical but quite sensible, and most are accustomed to the grooming process anyway.

I’ve been weeding in my own perennial beds, and that is daunting. There are thistles 2 feet high in places and dandelions that look like they’ve been there for YEARS. I had these flower beds cleaned out last year, just sticking with it until they were done, and now they look like they’ve been neglected a LONG time. I just adore my perennial plants, and the payoff is that some of the most exotic things are growing well, increasing in size and numbers. I just have to keep my nose to the grindstone here. Soon I’ll have the beautiful lilies to make bouquets out of, and dozens of other flowers. Now in SOME sections, you can even SEE the flowers, now that the weeds are out. I’ve tried mulching with newspaper, bark, and straw, and have tried edging with plastic and other materials; I guess it’s just a (lifelong) work in progress.

I think it’s lunchtime around here… I’ll get back later if I can! ~ Ann

Here’s where we can sit in the “park-like” setting among the trees which are for sale. Since this picture was taken, I received a load of “bare-root” trees… several dozen lilacs, fruit trees, and flowering shrubs. I have finally finished getting those into pots; they are shipped without soil and just out of cold storage, so for a few days/weeks they don’t look too inspiring. Eventually they leaf out and look beautiful, and can be offered for sale at a lower cost than the potted nursery stock with the associated high freight. I can’t remember if I told you about this already in my blog and am too tired to look.

While Gary was away last weekend, I put the new dog kennel together. I was pretty proud of myself and thought I was saving him some work, but he offered to “level” the run, and ended up doing a great deal of work. It was more difficult than if I’d waited and we had done more “preparation” in the first place. It ended up looking quite tidy and professional, didn’t it? Of course we finished adding mulch after I took this picture. I can hardly wait to add some Virginia Creeper around the perimeter to make shade for the doggy guests.

We had 14 boarding dogs last weekend (I was by myself, but things were under control!), and I’ve had some dogs to groom every day since. This weekend it is more quiet… just six dogs boarding, with two going home tomorrow and two coming in on Sunday. I didn’t schedule any grooming this weekend; I still love the work and all of the pets, but am feeling a bit worn out.

You might have heard about a lot of flooding along points of the Fraser River and streams that feed into it. Our acreage is only a couple hundred feet from the Fraser, but we are “high and dry” and we haven’t heard of anyone locally who needs our help. We have dog runs for canines, and spare bedrooms for the humans, if others are evacuated, though we think the worst has passed. I might try to get away for a little tour of the country, and take some pictures, tomorrow.

Can’t keep my eyes open any longer. Hope you are all well, my friends.  ~ Ann