September, September, September...

I blinked and missed it completely. I think it may have been swallowed into the time warp here at Marvellous Edibles Farm. Being as slack as I am at updating this blog lately here's one big post to summarise the whole month. 

Between dealing with a cold (yes, when I get a cold it's like a man cold) then some kind of stomach bug (non-alcohol induced - I swear) I managed to get back to work after my 'Summer Holiday'. The mornings started getting colder and the sun rising later giving me plenty of opportunity to catch some amazing sunrises.

We took a trip to the Orangeville Rodeo - cowboy hats, bull riding and steer wrestling - the usual fair, yeeha!!

I started helping at the Bloor/Borden farmers markets in Toronto on Wednesdays. 

I gained a new obsession - bread making. Maybe one of these days I'll post the recipe for the best bread EVER - stay tuned...

I ate an extraordinary amount of food at the Harvest Party. A party using mainly food grown on the farm to celebrate the years harvest - delicious! Luckily for me and my waist, the treadmill has now been installed in the Automobile Palace and I can go for a run whenever I like.

And finally, to top it all off, I got a cat. Well, I didn't exactly but he lives in the Automobile Palace and I look after him. His name is Slasher and he is totally cute (when he isn't waking me up early by purring into my ear).

So that pretty much sums up my September. Hopefully my next post won't be too far away.

Summer Lovin'... Had Me a Blast...

Well, Summer is officially over and I was fortunate to be graced with the presence of my beautiful girlfriend, Soraya, all the way from Australia to see it out in style.

We kicked off our trip in Toronto, catching up with our amazing, talented friends Celeste and Matty, who both had to work but still managed to spend a lot of time wining and dining with us.
First stop after Toronto was a day and night in Ottawa, where Soraya and I mastered the art of the Bixi Bike (that's right - $5 for the entire day - oh yeah) and took in the sites and some of its impressive architecture.

Then it was onto Montreal where we were joined by Celeste for what can only be described as a girls weekend away. Shop, eat, drink, shop some more, eat some more, drink some more and get into a whole lot of mischief - oui! oui!

Escargots on the right - tasted like chicken - haha, not really!

After the city hopping we decided to get some fresh air and go camping at the Bruce Peninsula. On the way there we stopped in at Lifespring Farm to visit Ken and Anastasia and see how their adorable animals were getting along.

Then we stopped for a night at Marvellous Edibles Farm where they kindly loaded us up with some extra camping gear, some super tasty tomatoes and of course, my favourite pesto. Thank you Ayse and Jens (and Cengiz for making me feel guilty about not being there to help you pick tomatoes :)
Thank you Soraya for these photos of Marvellous Edibles Farm - they are awesome as always.

So then it was off to set up camp in the midst of a tornado warning. We were a bit worried at first but when we got there we thought we'll just set up the tent, open a bottle of wine and hope for the best. Turns out we had nothing to worry about.

The Bruce Peninsula was absolutely gorgeous. I don't think I've ever swum in such crystal clear fresh water in my life and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It is definitely going down as one of my all time favourite camping trips.

As we still had the hire car for one more day we headed down to Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake to sample some of the local wines and of course, the ice wine, which is especially good as a slushie.

Back in Toronto, Soraya and I spent the last few days of summer hanging out, eating, drinking, relaxing and even getting some more ink (well, Soraya did anyway).

It does look kind of gross but blue cheese on a burger is the only way to go...

Thank you Soraya for such a memorable holiday - I'm going to miss you heaps!!! Thank you too Celeste and Matty who always make me feel right at home whenever I stay in Toronto. I'm so lucky to have such amazing friends in my life - love you guys!!!

Friends and ice cream...

and I think the same can be said about friends...

Things that lurk in the greenhouse...

other than food for my lunch. I came across these little guys nestled amongst the tomato plants.

All Photos Above © Noeleen Warman

New York - Round II

I made it back to New York City. After being there in March earlier this year I always knew I would be back, though I didn't think it would be this soon. Basically I had about a week and a half to kill before I head to my new farm so what better antidote to rural life than spending six days in the city that never sleeps.

This time around the weather was better - definitely less cold. There were more markets, more people, more sunshine, more leaves on the trees and I definitely ate more food.

The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park - we waited in line for nearly an hour 

for a Shack Stack burger and a Peanut Butter shake - now that's dedication!

A Lemon cupcake from Sprinkles Cupcakes and a view from the High Line walk

Fresh produce from the Union Square markets.

Chilling out in Central Park

A busker in Washington Square Park

Street Art in the Meat Packing District

Me and My Mate Yani...

I mentioned in a previous blog about the first calf of the season, Yani. Well, he is finally in good enough health to be back in the field with the big girls (and the three other new calves). He is a friendly little guy and comes to say hello every time I'm in the field. He has also taken a liking to my hair - it must taste nice (or like grass)...

Tomorrow is my last day here though I have promised Anastasia I will come back, exactly when - I'm not sure - but it would be great to see these little guys all grown up. 

All Photos Above © Noeleen Warman

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O...

and on that farm he had some cats...

Jimmy and Snuffles

Willow

Mozart

All Photos Above © Noeleen Warman