April 14/08 "In the beginning"

This blog is about Larry and Betty Pollard spending the summer away from their winter travels. Not long after they return from the south Larry exchanges his sockless sandals, t-shirts and Bermuda shorts for work socks, steel toed work boots and cover-alls in preparation for another season working on an organic farm that is partly owned and operated by Betty’s daughter and son-in-law, Shelly and Brent Harris. Brent is a fifth generation Delta farmer and along with his dad, brother and brother-in-law oversee the operations of more than 1000 acres of organic vegetables in Delta BC. They also harvest more than 100 acres of cranberries (non-organic).

A note from Betty:
Who would have known that in 1995 when Larry retired from the Air Traffic Control tower in Kamloops, BC that he would end up driving a tractor for six months in the summers? It all started in June 2001 when Shelly called me and asked if Larry would be interested in managing a special project involving the research study of using compost tea on some of the organic crops. I recall the conversation way back when: “And Mom, it is only for 12 weeks in the summer and only for two years”! Well, that is seven seasons ago. The part-time short-term job offer has evolved into the position of part-time manure spreader, part-time liquid copper oxide spreader, part-time cranberry frost protection monitor and part-time handyman. Larry forgot to look at the fine print on the contract that states: “Once you sign on the farm you are in for life”! Up until the summer of 2007, I remained at our home in Kamloops and Larry commuted between Kamloops and Delta. We have since rented out our home in Kamloops and now live in our 30-foot 5^th wheel full time and spend six months from early May to mid October parked at a slightly wooded spot at a far corner of the farm where we are surrounded by cranberry fields. We are entertained by the sounds and flights of the eagles nestled in the close by trees, the squirrels sneaking off with the left over seeds left behind by the many variety of small birds feeding off the several bird feeders. At the end of the season we pack up and head back to Kamloops to winterize our water garden before we head back to Mexico for the winter months. Although our little spot is isolated, I am using the time constructively. I am realizing a life-long project and working on a book relating to the ancestral history of my grandparents, Georges Lavoie and Marie-Anne Poirier.

Yes that’s how it all started.

It is now the middle of April 2008 and the fields are still too wet from the winter rains for our equipment to start work. Spring is in the air and the sun is warming the land, it won’t be long now.

Things will be happening soon, so take time out to follow the issues of “Pharmbouy on the Farm”.