Hi from SE Vancouver Island

Submitted by Goat Lady on Mon, 06/28/2021 - 13:50
Forums: 
Introduce Yourself, New Green Wizard

Just joined. Read a few replies. Nice to see some other Canucks here. I'm just north of Victoria and boy, has it been hot. Never seen anything like it and I have lived here all my life. At the moment I have a floor fan "attached" to my person!

I have a small farm and a BIG veg garden with berries and tree fruits.
Yes, I have a few goats for milk and meat. Also have 7 retired Shetland ewes whose fleeces I sell. Used to do the Fleece & Fibre Fair here but with covid and less energy I doubt I will bother with selling my spinners' batts any more. I also sell eggs and do trades for veg/fruit and labour.

Good idea for other JMG fans to meet up here on the Island. I don't drive farther than 10 miles or so as my aging Toyota pickup is not sure it can handle longer distances. So driving the Malahat or up to Nanaimo is out!

Anyways, I look forward to discussing veg growing or goats or sheep or hens....I used to have Dexter cattle and Ossabaw pigs and Chinese geese. The good ol' days.

I also want to second whoever said here that they cook to eat...yup, if it isn't in the freezer, in a jar or on the hoof, we generally don't eat it. However, my husband does the grocery shopping so he does bring home the darndest things.

Lastly, a BIG thank you to David for keeping this forum going.

Kathy

Kay Robison

Mon, 06/28/2021 - 15:01

I saw your high temps yesterday on the local weather forecast. You are right very hot and apparently record breaking. Those temps would be hot even for Vegas or Phoenix. It started hot here too this summer and we have already broken records. I am in the Salt Lake City area and run a big garden too. We will see what such high temps do to the tomatoes this year.

Goat Lady

Fri, 07/02/2021 - 09:31

Good lord, does it actually get too hot for tomatoes?? You can imagine the temps in my greenhouse. No fans, just a couple of open doors and half of one side rolled up. The stuff in there (spuds, peas, toms, melons, herbs and peaches) seem OK but I fear some of the peaches may be sun scalded. Amazingly the peas and spuds are OK.

Is it my imagination, or is there some kind of "spell check" that changes the words in my comments?

Teresa from Hershey

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 12:14

Welcome to our group! Please feel free to comment and post. We've all got different insights and plenty to add.

It's so useful when someone else tests a method so I don't have to get clever and reinvent the wheel.

I live in Hershey, Pa, in the center of the state. Very different from British Columbia, I'm sure, other than the regular influx of tourists. We have two seasons here: When Hershey Park is open and when the Park is closed. Yes, the air really does smell like chocolate.

I write both fiction (as Odessa Moon) and nonfiction of a practical nature (as Teresa Peschel), garden, sew, and attend municipal meetings when I can or when the topic affects me and my household.

Goat Lady

Fri, 07/02/2021 - 09:36

Hi Theresa,

Yum, chocolate. We don't get a lot of tourists here in my small town but I used to make it a point not to shop in Victoria until January! Easier to find parking.....However, the Highway (there is just one main highway north south) gets really choked especially on Fridays. There are 3 ferry terminals from the mainland with lots of sailings so it is quite easy to get here. There is a housing boom with prices sky high so it looks as though a lot of tourists never leave!!

Teresa from Hershey

Fri, 07/02/2021 - 13:20

Yeah, prices in Hershey are through the roof. We bought our house in June of 2001. We could never afford Hershey today.

Do you get many short-term vacation rentals? They're more than Air B & B; they're furnished houses, usually with extra bunkbeds and plenty of parking. We've got two on our street now as we're zoned mixed use. They're busy almost all year-round, which I did not expect.

Once the park closes right after New Year's Day, we've got several months of quiet before Springtime in the Park brings the tourists back. Since both short-term vacation rentals stay occupied, the tourists must be finding something to do.

Hatchet-throwing, I suppose. We have one of those establishments now and yes, to the horror of the insurance lawyer on our Board of Supervisors, you can have a beer with your hatchet.

pygmycory

Fri, 09/17/2021 - 14:37

I really, really loathe and am scared by the rise in housing prices and rents. Comes of being a low-income renter...

Good to meet another Vancouver Islander! I'm in Victoria.