From Lattes to Lettuce: My Farm Life Journey so far.
Between ‘The Homestead’ for 3 weeks & ‘Alabaster Acres’ for 10 weeks.
Picture 1: A very curious “beef” cow at The Homestead. Picture 2: Little baby Kiwi at Alabaster Acres.
I still remember feeling both anxious & excited when I hopped on that dodgy little bus in Edmonton, on a 5 hour journey to Grande Prairie. I had just finished an amazing road trip through the Rockies with my bestie Lola, so it definitely felt strange being alone again. But this was specifically what I wanted. Solo travel & learning as much as I could about farming. And so began the next chapter of my Canadian adventure, trading morning lattes for freshly grown lettuce.
I was on my way to my first wwoof, at a farm called The Homestead for 3 weeks. If you don’t know what wwoof is, you can read all about it here. I wasn’t sure what I was going into, part of me was worried the work would be genuinely challenging, or that I wouldn't get along with my host or other people there. But the other part of me knew this was going to be an adventure regardless. I had a really good feeling about this.
The Homestead was everything I was hoping for and so much more. 3 weeks was not enough. They raise beef, pork, chickens and grow lots of vegetables. Even though I was there at a less busy time of the year, there was still so much I did, so much I learned and most of all, I was really surprised by the social aspect of it. Immediately I was welcomed by the community, we did so many activities outside of the farm such as going to see a Theatrical play (paid by our Hosts!!) and being taken to do Cross Country Skiing at their neighbour's yard - who welcomed us so warmly they even invited us to stay for a glass of wine afterwards. But one of the more peculiar experiences was definitely being asked to join my host to attend an intimate concert for the line up release of The Bear Creek Folk Festival. There was a special pre-concert dinner event specifically for the festival’s sponsors & volunteers (The Homestead happened to be a Sponsor) with complimentary food & drinks. Yup, an open bar. It was such a lovely evening witnessing how a community wanted to come together to create something special. Understanding how I was suddenly part of something big and that I wasn’t just volunteering on some random farm.
Seeing the northern lights for the first time ever was so surreal!
Which brings me to the farm work. Daily chores started at 8:30am on the dot. Full days Monday - Fridays, Saturdays we finished at lunch time and Sundays were completely off. Feeding chickens, cleaning the coops, collecting eggs, feeding breakfast to their dairy cow. Afterwards each day it would be something a little different, such as tending to the delicious shoots, planting seeds, checking up on the ‘beef’ cows, cleaning & more. Some days were more physically challenging, such as Fridays where we needed to load up the van with meat & produce for the farmer’s market. Lunch break was usually an hour long, and served by the host. The working day technically finished at 5:30pm, however everyone helped with making dinner & washing up. Dinners were shared like we were part of the family, some nights we even played card games afterwards. I was often waiting until 10pm to finally have my shower and get my zzz’s.
Picture 1: sleepy chickie. Picture 2: We always had amazing, nourishing food… and the occasional beer never hurt anyone.
As far as learning things, I was really pleased to know how to care for chickens (since I want some one day) from feed to eggs & even helping with injuries. I was also happy to learn about growing shoots since they are such an easy, nutrient dense food. But the best was knowing this was a kind of life I could flourish in. I enjoyed doing the chores everyday, whether I had the help from another wwoofer or not, it was just always a good day. The satisfaction of knowing almost all the food we ate came from the farm was just incredible. Then seeing how the kids were always happy was so nice. They had a parent with them the whole time, from such a young age they were learning about the land, what is considered good food and socialising properly. No screens. They were always building things, enjoying all sorts of weather and participated in everything we did.
By the end of my short 3 weeks, I was sad to leave. I really felt like part of their family. But alas it was now time to take a little break and explore some more of Canada, now with the loml. It was so good finally seeing Georis again, I hadn’t seen him in 7 weeks! So after an amazing 11 days on the road and rail crossing this huge country, travelling from Goodfare, Alberta to Caledon Village, Ontario, Georis and I arrived at our next destination, Alabaster Acres.
Homesteading, maple syrup production, all things Glamping and creative freedom in the kitchen for anyone to cook & bake to their heart's content. This place is something else. It feels strange to write about this place, because since our arrival the host has decided to close her doors and pack up the entire property. I’m one of the last few people who will be able to experience the magic at Alabaster Acres.
Picture 1: Our room for 10 weeks. Picture 2: Mushroom risotto with the rabbits we ‘processed’ earlier that day. DELISH!
The work schedule here was very different to my last wwoof. Here we technically worked everyday, with our official starting time of 9:30am and we didn’t exactly have a finish time. Since this was a hobby farm, we were all house mates looking after the farm, the house & ourselves. This included feeding and cleaning after the goats, rabbits & chickens in the morning, cleaning the glamping tents, yard maintenance, preparing dinner (dinners are always shared) and general cleaning. However most days we have plenty of time to relax, make calls back home or chill outside. When we wanted a day off, we just advised her and she never had a problem with it. With that said, in the 10 weeks we have been here, Georis and I have only taken 2 days off. It just wasn’t really needed. By dinner time we were completely off the hook, most of us would have a couple drinks, we even did a few cocktail nights where I got to practice some bartending skills. We also had access to her stash of grass… which made game nights really fun. Her only rule when it came to “recreational activities” was that we did it AFTER our working day.
Now the list of things I have been able to learn and witness here have been absolutely incredible. I’m not talking about “I learnt how to feed goats”. No, I’m talking about how to fix appliances, getting more comfortable around tools, processing rabbits (yes, killing & skinning) being both a housekeeper and a host for Glamping, how to start a woodstove, making maple syrup from scratch, cooking, making cocktails, rolling joints and so. Much. More. On top of that I got to meet some amazing people (and pets) and this particular adventure led me to my next. Georis and I secured a 5 month contract at one of the most beautiful resorts in Ontario.
But the absolute best part of this place? The goats.
Picture 1: Holding 3 sisters (my actual babies) Kiwi, Raspberry & Peaches. Picture 2: Raspberry taking a lil snooze on my chest.
I always enjoyed the idea of having goats one day, but I did not expect to fall in love with them like this. Not only do I want pet goats, but I want a whole herd! Learning how to care for them, becoming friends with them, bottle-raising babies and changing nappies. It felt… right? I was happy being around them, I wanted to learn more about them and I just felt like my best self doing so. I’m not saying I was born to be a goat farmer… but I ain’t saying the opposite either. On sunny days I really felt at peace and that I want my life in Australia to feel like this one day. There’s still so much I want to learn about them and general animal husbandry, but I really have enjoyed every aspect of it so far.
At the time of writing this, I still have a couple weeks left at this place. But I already know I’ll be sad leaving. I learnt so much about myself, about Georis and how we work together as a couple and I just cannot wait to have my own little baby goats.
And with all of the above said, wwoofing on farms has been one of the biggest highlights of my life so far. I could not recommend it enough to anyone. If you have any further questions about my experience, I would be more than happy to share!
Happy travels!
Bron.
