Big & Curious
The rams appear to be dropping a new album.
They had a full month of grazing and relaxing.
The boys have trees to nap under and boulders to climb - lots of fighting and a little sex (or at least some mounting).
The island's lilacs are a whisper at a life well lived.
Lilacs take their time.
The buds look dead in April.
Have you ever felt like this?
Gnarled up, and woody.
It is good to be as the lilac.
Flowering.
The lilac will not bloom if she is cut back too heavily.
This is not a place for brutes.
Jennifer Ramiston 👱♀️
This retired ewe has Bottlejaw - a condition that is most often a sign of severe anemia. We treated her low iron and will observe over the next week for signs of improvement or decline.
The face I make when I hear the words "Breaking News". @aaronparnas.bsky.social
2 of the "Teaser" rams have an adorable moment. Boudicca the Guardian Dog sunbathes, Jake gets a snuggle. #CanadianMade #Farm
The Shoreline 100% Canadian wool blanket 🇨🇦 www.topsyfarms.com
Spruce is a heart throb.
He's so tall and imposing - blocking the sun and wind.
Protective and a little domineering.
An evergreen with a sticky trunk.
Smells good.
He's kind of a prick but that's just on the outside.
Past that rough exterior and spiny needles is soft wood.
Farm kid clears a path.
Stormy Days
Topsy has weathered some major storms over 53 years.
Amherst Island has come through this ice storm ok.
The road crew clearing trees from the road.
We received alerts before the storm with info about ferry service.
Chores will be a hassle.
And that is ok.
We will move with care
Hello friends.
Leah has decided that it is too treacherous out to have the shop open.
If you are needing yarn or other woolly goodies, please use the website, for it never sleeps or slips on icy sidewalks.
Bundle up and stay cozy.
Xo
Team Topsy
Puttering
Definition: the unhurried activity of working on one or more enjoyable projects.
Puttering is beautiful.
Yard puttering - planting & weeding, windows washed.
A person moves all day.
Cut grass & turned earth.
Dirty knees.
The cadence of puttering feels good because you set the pace.
Absolutely this ⬆️
Hippie Founded
In 1972 a boat load of back-to-the-landers came to Amherst Island
Escaping a society that was starting to smell 'off'
They started a commune
Searching for a life to share
Sharing resources
They were called hippies
Not caricatures
Not Shaggy from Scooby-Doo
We are grateful
Winter Makes Wool
The weather can be measured in the wool - just like with wine.
Our wool is of exceptional quality because it has to be.
Sheep want to be outside with the freedom to browse the hay and munch the junipers.
The sheepness of the sheep.
Sprout the ram enjoys face touch in March Sunshine
We're now into shoulder season
The time between
We start off the day in heavy jacket and coveralls, finish in a t-shirt
The morning starts with a fire in the wood stove
Fuel from wind-fallen trees
Thank you tree for the warmth you provide
People laughed when they found out we've kept a set of encyclopedias in a container in the shed...
They have been there for a decade.
Deleting history is the reason we wanted to preserve them.
In the moment of printing, these books held objective truth.
We have all felt creeping despair at some point in the last 5 years.
Whether the cause be interpersonal, financial, political, or some nameless, lurking shadow.
I.A.S.A.T
I am scared and tired.
There are antidotes:
The forest.
Name the shadow.
Avoid the toxic.
Find and hold gratitude.
Every year the lake takes more of the field
Bedrock falls to the water's inexorable pull
Stone that held the grass
The once solid base eroded
The shift
The slip
The fall
The splash
The water is an agent of chaos
A kitten on a high kitchen shelf:
Look at all these fun things to knock down.
Skipping Stone Secret
Calm water, clear evening.
The skipping stone is collected from a pile of 1000 candidates.
The stone is not thrown by arm.
The stone is launched from the head, the back, the guts, the hips, the knees and most of all:
The stone is skipped from the feet.
You sir, just described the mind of a sociopath
The Lake Effect
A farmer is humble beside a Great Lake
West wind powerful
Violence and serene calm on the same day
The wind throttles up and rumbles through
Buildings shake
The tops of rolling white-caps aerosolized
Blown far down the lake
A crashing, frightening, leapfrog
Volunteers Needed 🙏
We need a few volunteers to work with the lambs and to keep them fed and watered starting mid-May through June.
Stamina is needed, as well as a sincere interest in animals and people.
Email sally@topsyfarms.com explaining your interest and experience.
Thank you 🙏♥️
Topsy will be offering free composed sheep manure - details to come
We'll talk of seed selection and garden techniques
How to forage for free food at your feet
We are a country of growers not showers
Let us plant, tend, & defend
To make neighbours family
Elbows up, hands dirty.
Ferry Disruption March 12th
9:30am -1:30pm
Living on an island has many benefits.
One of the disadvantages is occasional service disruptions.
For those of you who had intended a farm visit during those hours, we apologize for the inconvenience.
Lasagna days are good too 🤗
Free Range
It is a joy listening to kids playing in the yard.
As the snow melts and the clocks change, we look forward to these days.
The sounds of exaltation as a toy tractor is discovered.
The songbirds laying on a melody.
The moments of quiet peace are incredible.
Exhaled steam of breath.
International Women's Day
Topsy has no tolerance for the intolerant.
Equity feels like oppression to the morally reprehensible.
Women's rights are under attack.
No room for meek politeness or acquaintances with these grunting Gilead-glamorizing grotesques.
Don't let the bastards get you down.
Sally's Garden organic fertilizer is a slow release pellet made from scrap wool.
9-0-2 NPK.
Pellets hold 20 times their weight in water - longer intervals between watering.
100% Canadian.
Indoor and outdoor.
The 1 kg bag is good for 66 square feet/ 26 gallons of soil
6.13 sq. meters / 98.4 lr.
The ashes of our loved are spread here.
This is what we are working so hard to preserve.
To keep the farmland as a farm.
Silver days; grey days.
Tonal variance.
On silver days the to-do list is plowed under.
The grey days are lasagna-heavy.
Go to the grey from a place of silver.
Shine.
