A corn field. Side Road 10, New Tecumseth

Fields of gold dot the landscape of Simcoe County; fields of green, yellow, blue, and, in the fall, fields of burnt orange. You can pick asparagus in the spring, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in the summer and apples and pumpkins in the fall. You’ll see sheep in a rocky and hilly field near a river; cows lazing in the middle of wide open spaces. Even llamas make an appearance on Simcoe County farms.

The total number of farms in Simcoe County in 2011 numbered 2 189. (Source)

Of those, 179 grow soy, the crop that turns a beautiful burnt orange in the late summer at harvest time. (Stats Can 2011)

A field of soy in the late summer. 8th Line, Beeton

Part of the Stewart’s farm. 9th Line, Beeton.

Earl Stewart and his son Adam are farmers in Beeton who grow soy in their fields, as well as wheat and corn.

Adam Stewart in front of the combine.

While farm operators are getting older (Stats Can 2011 census shows that, for the first time, age 55 and over is the largest group of operators), Adam is a young man in his early twenties who says that he will take over the farm. This farm is where his grandfather was born; it has been in the family for generations.

On a sunny day in late September, Adam is harvesting a 35 acre field of soy. On a good, day, he says, it will take him half a day to harvest a field this size. In all, they have about 800 acres of land.

The soy he is harvesting will go to the co-op in Tottenham where it will be sold to the crushers. He says it will all, most likely, be turned into oil.

Come next season, they will buy seed again. It’s more expensive to buy the “copyrighted” seed, the kind they can’t save, but he says conventional seed requires more expensive pesticide so it balances out.

Since 1941, the numbers of farms has be deceasing across Canada.  But, farms are growing in size. Between 2006 and 2011, the average Canadian farms increased 6.9% to 778 acres (Stats Can 2011).  Farms in Simcoe County are not so large.

In 2006, it was estimated that, by 2031, the average farm size in Simcoe will grow to reach 332 acres. (Source)
Simcoe County has unique soil make up that lends to specialty crops.

Simcoe County has a number of unique features that allow for the production of specialty crops. The northern half of New Tecumseth and Adjala-Tosorontio is known as a major potato growing area, due primarily to the sandy soils in this area. The organic soils of the Holland Marsh in Bradford West-Gwillimbury are well suited to vegetable production.(Source)

Indeed, Alliston has a Potato Festival every August to celebrate the main crop grown in the area.  Bradford has a Carrotfest every summer as well.

Late summer and fall brings some spectacular sunsets.

(This photo is straight from the camera with no adjustments.)

E.C. Drury, a resident of Simcoe County, became Premier of Ontario in 1919. He helped establish the Agreement Forest program which saw local governments purchase lands and give them to the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests for protection and forestry development. Simcoe County was the first to take advantage of this program.

Over the last 90 years, many forests have been regenerated and protected. Simcoe Country forests now cover over 31 000 acres “and counting”.

For more on the interesting history of our forests, CLICK HERE.

When exploring Simcoe County, watch along the side of the road for signs like this:

You can pull into a little parking area and take walk in a lovely forest.

…just a little taste of just one of the many Simcoe County forests.

(Shot May 2, 2012 with an iPhone 4S)

Darryl grew up in Innisfil and attended Innisdale Secondary School in Barrie.

He moved away to North Bay to attend Canadore College for radio broadcasting. Since he grew up listening to the local (and locally owned) Barrie rock station, ROCK 95, he came back to town to intern there. He was hired on staff and now works “The Drive” on the sister station 107.5 KOOL FM.

As a hockey fan, it wasn’t a hard decision to apply to be the announcer at the Barrie Colts home games at the Barrie Molson Centre. He’s been with the team for 6 seasons now. Next time you attend a game, you can now put a face to the voice!

Matthew's House in the winter.

The red bungalow on Highway 89 in Alliston, across from the Nottawasaga Inn and Resort, has a sign on the front lawn that lets passers-by know it is no ordinary house. While, to many, a “hospice” is a place where people go to die, Matthew’s House is a place where people come to learn how to live; live knowing they’re going to die, live while caring for someone who is dying and to learn how to live again after their loved one passes away.

The Matthew’s House, an offshoot of Hospice Simcoe, is a non-profit organization that provides services free of charge. The organization has 150 volunteers, many of whom provide in-home non-medical end of life support.

The house itself is a day facility. Caregivers, those facing a life threatening illness, and those grieving a loss come for programs focused on 3 main areas: Education, wellness and peer support.

Guest speakers come to Matthew’s House to give practical advice from Power of Attorney information to nutrition to planning a funeral.

Personal therapies like massage and reiki, therapeutic touch, reflexology, and holistic Chinese medicine are offered by volunteers who are trained in their fields. There are also group therapies like tai chi, drumming and yoga. When the snow is melted and the ground is thawed, Matthew’s House boasts a beautiful garden and forest area for clients to enjoy and work in.

Wendy Graham and Robert Oakes in the kitchen at Matthew's House

Wendy Graham, Coordinator of Client Program and Services, says Matthew House Hospice is a place for support from diagnosis onward, not just for the last days of someone’s life.

Robert Oakes, a board member at Matthew’s House Hospice, was once a client himself. His wife passed away from a terminal illness.  He says he and his wife received tremendous support from the volunteers at Matthew’s House.

After his wife’s death, Oakes found that he had a lot of sadness to deal with and asking for help was hard. Graham explains that asking for help to deal with grief is hard because people don’t see sadness as an illness which needs care. As such, they don’t give grief its due.

Grief is a journey. It is what has happened and what is happening to someone. The process of dealing with grief can take anywhere from 18 months to 2 ½ year.  Graham says “85% of people can move through grief healthily if given the chance.”

Robert and Wendy looking at some of the resources available in the library.

At Matthew’s House Hospice, the support groups help people make sense of their grief, learn from it and then help others with what they’ve learned.

Matthew’s House Hospice receives 17% funding yearly from the government. The rest of the funds to run the hospice is raised through donations and fundraising efforts.

For information, visit their website www.matthewshousehopsice.ca.

Le Petit Chapeau can be found on Lakeshore Mews just off of Mulcaster between Dunlop Street and Simcoe Street, across from Heritage Park Gardens.

Beyond the pink door, you’ll find hats for all occasions plus fascinators of all shapes and sizes.  “Lovely” is a good word to describe what you will find.

Proprietor Meaghan Armstrong has a bachelor degree in fine art but she is self-taught when it comes to making hats.  She started making hats as a teenager, having learned to sew from her mother and grandmother. You may arrive to find her behind one of two sewing machines near the back of the small shop, working on her latest creation; behind the second machine, her apprentice Sara Czech.

Above: Sara Czech.

For brides and bridal parties, this is a great place to find unique fascinators and hair pieces for the big day.

If you watch the 20 tonne sculpture closely, you’ll see the giant quills and antennae move slowly in the wind.

The Sugar Plum Fair in Alliston has been running at the Nottawasaga Inn Resort for 28 years. This year (2011) there were 107 vendors and over 6000 visitors to the craft show.

Craft shows are a great way to “shop local”. While not every vendor is from Simcoe County, craft shows are a treasure trove of “hand-made”.

Above are some small Christmas ornaments made from gourds. Northern Dipper Gourds in Cookstown sells not only these cute guys but other, larger, home decor items  water drums and more, all made from dried gourds.

Sarah from The Knotty Knitters in Barrie.

Cosmo’s Smoked Meats and Cheeses started in a shop in Alliston in 1978. Now, instead of selling from a storefront, they sell their all natural meats and cheeses at farmers markets and events like The Sugar Plum Fair.

Delicious Christmas stollen, hand-made by Chris in Elmvale at the Elmvale Bakery.

One special local treat which is only available around this time of year is the famous, Buttercrunch from Penharget Pantry on the Murphy Farmstead in Alliston.
Once fresh produce season is over, the family turns to making this delicious, addictive candy. It’s toffee that crunches softly and doesn’t stick in your teeth; covered with milk or semi-sweet chocolate and almond or pecans.

The Murphy family has been making Buttercrunch since the 1980s on a farmstead that had been in the family since 1913.

Now, that’s what you call local!

]]> http://oursimcoe.com/2011/11/15/christmas-craft-shows/feed/ 0 oursimcoe Gourds KnottyKnitters Cosmo Stollen Penharget2 http://oursimcoe.com/2011/09/29/hello-world/ http://oursimcoe.com/2011/09/29/hello-world/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 01:38:11 +0000 oursimcoe http://oursimcoe.wordpress.com/?p=1 Continue reading →]]> We are still arranging photo-shoots of the people and places of Simcoe County. If you know of a person or community group doing wonderful things in Simcoe County, please let us know! Or tell us about your favourite spot in Simcoe County be it a restaurant, a view or a landmark.