I think Mark Twain said it best: “’It’s Spring Fever. That’s what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want – but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” It’s true, and April is upon us, and […]

It’s possible to love February. Often a cold month here in Canada, February can seem endless and uneventful. Valentine’s Day, however, pops up in the middle, and we Canadians seem to use it mercilessly to bring some excitement to the month. The question is: what’s the best way to generate some excitement? To me, nothing […]

Believe it or not, here we are nearing the end of 2020 and the Christmas Season is really, truly upon us.  2020 has been a year like no other in recent memory, but some things remain the same.   We are still grateful for the opportunity to celebrate, albeit somewhat differently than normal.  For regardless of […]

It seems that the Christmas season starts right after Halloween. All around this week we see Christmas decorations and trees going up.  Choirs are practicing carols (with singing masks firmly in place) and groups are rehearsing their Christmas programs in new and innovative ways.  Santa is showing up in strange and wonderful places, sometimes just […]

It’s supposed to be Autumn this month. This weekend, however, we’re having our first blast of Old Man Winter. We may be losing hope for more warm fall temperatures ahead, but not to worry.  With “Summer in a Bottle” in hand, you can take the summer with you into any season.   Our fall crops of […]

The signs of fall are somewhat different at a fruit winery. All around us, our grain-farming neighbours are bringing in the harvest in big ways, with big machines and lots of dust.  Canadian vineyards are picking and pressing fresh grapes.  Vegetable farmers are frantically digging root vegetables.  Berry harvest, however, is in wind-down mode. Saskatoon […]

The great thing about August is that the weather is usually wonderful. There may be only a month left in the official 2020 summer, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t lots of warm weather to yet be enjoyed!  So instead of bemoaning the date, perhaps we should be putting some effort into celebrating it.  It’s […]

Have you looked?  It’s already July! At the risk of dating myself, I’m remembering the 1969 TV Special, “It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown.” There’s a memorable scene where the boys are sitting around the campfire, bemoaning their sad summer.  It has not gone how they expected it to. Perhaps this is a good […]

As our forefathers used to say, “A calm June puts the farmer in tune.”  They may well have been referring to the weather, but if they were referring to activity, then my, how things have changed!  Here at our farm, June is anything but calm.  In fact, it’s closer to crazy.  But the craziness has […]

I have to admit that May is my favourite Newsletter.  Regardless of the weather, I always feel like the merry, merry month of May is the beginning of summer.  The beginning of the growing season.  The beginning of the summer farmers markets.  The beginning of the patio season.  These are normally exciting days for we winter-weary prairie people. Obviously, this […]