Tree Swallows on the Farm!

Springtime is here when we see tree swallows nesting in the birdhouses around the farm. We do see barn swallows but tree swallows are a very common bird on the farm this time of year.

Tree swallows are a common sight on farms in Nova Scotia in general, and they are much-loved for their beautiful iridescent blue-green feathers and their lively, energetic flights. These small, insect-eating birds are an important part of the ecosystem, and they are also beneficial to farmers because they help control insect populations.

Tree swallows are migratory birds that spend their winters in the southern United States, Central America, and northern South America. In the spring, they make their way north to breed and nest in Canada and the northern United States. They are a colonial nesting bird, which means that they nest in large groups, sometimes numbering in the hundreds or even thousands of pairs.

Tree swallows are cavity nesters, which means that they nest in holes in trees or other structures. They are particularly fond of nesting in birdhouses or nest boxes that are put up by farmers or other landowners. These nest boxes mimic the natural cavities that the birds would use in trees, and they provide a safe, secure place for the birds to raise their young.

The nesting habits of tree swallows are fascinating to observe. The male will scout out potential nesting sites and try to attract a mate by performing aerial acrobatics around the site. Once he has attracted a mate, the pair will work together to build a nest inside the cavity. The nest is made of grasses, feathers, and other soft materials, and the female will lay a clutch of four to seven eggs inside. Having nesting boxes around our farm makes it even easier for them to nest.

The male and female will take turns incubating the eggs, and after about two weeks, the eggs will hatch. Both parents will feed the chicks, bringing them a steady diet of insects. The chicks grow quickly, and within a few weeks, they will be ready to fledge, or leave the nest. After fledging, the young birds will stay close to the nest and continue to be fed by their parents for several weeks.

So why do tree swallows like farms? There are a few reasons. First, farms often have open fields and pastures that provide ample hunting grounds for the birds. The swallows are insectivores, and they feed on a wide variety of insects, including flies, mosquitoes, and beetles. Second, farms often have structures like barns or sheds that provide ideal nesting sites for the birds. By putting up nest boxes like we do on our farm, we can provide additional nesting opportunities for the swallows, which can help increase their populations.

Tree swallows are an important and beloved bird species in Nova Scotia. Their fascinating nesting habits and energetic flights make them a joy to observe, and their role in controlling insect populations makes them an important part of the ecosystem. By providing nest boxes and preserving open fields and pastures, farmers can help ensure that tree swallows continue to thrive in the province.

Getting The Farm Ready for Spring: A Beginner's Guide

Getting The Farm Ready for Spring: A Beginner's Guide

Getting our farm ready for spring can seem overwhelming, especially when you look at the to-do list we have drafted over the winter. We often get asked how we do it all on the farm but the fact is all farmers, including the 5 generations before us, had the same long list of spring tasks to do and had it harder with less mechanization in the process. 

After working on the farm over the years, watching how Dave's Dad did it and also watching other farms, we have come up with some tips and tricks we use to stay on track with the spring workload. 

• Start small: Don’t try to do everything at once. Start with a few small tasks and work your way up. Keeping a running to-do list and breaking it into a monthly calendar helps break the tasks up.

• Get organized: Keep your farm well-organized and clutter-free. A farm naturally has a lot of things to clean up from downed trees to overgrown bushes around roads as well as even just keeping machine implements out of the way. Keeping things organized and cleaned up will help reduce stress and increase productivity. 

• Learn from others: We are always looking for new ways to do our work around the farm and learn from others. We follow a lot of farm groups online specific to Nova Scotia, and we like to see the Q&A discussion that often takes place. This often is a good space for learning what other do to tackle spring work. 

• Take care of yourself: Maybe it's a sign of getting older but we try and build more time for self-care during these busy periods. In years past we would often work every waking minute to keep up on everything but over the years, we have cut back on the number of cattle on the farm and tasks that have low rates of return in revenue or benefit to the farm. This means when Christina wants to take a day to go thrifting or I want to go try a new place to eat, we build in the time to do it. 

• Be patient: One of the biggest lessons we've learned over the years is that we can't do everything at once and not only that, things can get delayed. We may have a machine breakdown, weather issues or an unexpected building repair to tackle. That means other things get delayed and we have built in a lot more patience over the years because of it. 

• Stay flexible: Similar to being patient, staying flexible is one of the biggest lessons we have learned about not only farming but being entrepreneurs. Sometimes our spring time to-do list needs to be changed to adapt to new situations and circumstances. We've learned that the only constant is change and we have to maintain a degree of flexibility in all our spring planning. 

• Have fun: Recently I (Dave) read an Instagram post about a farming couple in the US where they felt they were losing some of the fun of farming due to the volume of products they produced and the stresses that come from issues out of their control. One thing we don't want to lose, specifically going into spring, is the sense of fun and excitement we get from all the farm work we currently enjoy.  

• Keep records: This is something we are always trying to improve. Currently, we record things like calves being born, garden plans and even event details from previous years. They are super helpful when we do go into spring to track what we do but see what we did last year but we could always improve on this. Since it resembles a lot of our non-farm work in our office jobs, we tend to push ourselves on this more. 

• Stay organized: This is almost a year-long activity but in spring it seems to be a focal point for the year. We try an organize our planning and thoughts for the coming year during the spring. Christina specifically tries to organize our farm paperwork for income taxes while I work on planning for the cattle to go out to pasture in May. We also find staying organized means keeping up on digital work like our website, social media and blog posts as well as finances for things like income tax. 

Spring is an exciting time of year but it is a culmination of the other seasons as we try to set a good foundation for the rest of the year while reviewing our activities from the previous year. The excitement that comes every spring is something we never tire of, even if the to-do list on the farm is now larger. 

Saving Onion Seeds

 Saving Onion Seeds

It’s March, and that means it’s seed starting season here on the farm. Our shallot, onion and leek seeds have all germinated. They’re some of the earliest seeds that we start each year.

Although it takes more effort to grow onions from seed (instead of the sets of little bulbs), it’s well worth it in my opinion. There are so many varieties of shallots, onions and leeks available if you choose to grow them from seed. Onion seeds are relatively expensive as there are typically not very many in a standard seed packet. Once I started saving my own onion and shallot seeds, I quickly understood why this is the case. Onions are a biennial seed crop which means they don’t flower and produce seed until their second year.

My first attempt was saving “French Shallot” seeds. In 2020, I grew shallots in my garden from seeds that I purchased from a local, small seed farm. I harvested those shallots in the fall of 2020, saved them over winter in our cellar and then planted the nicest 16 shallots in the garden in the spring of 2021. They produced beautiful tall, white flower heads that matured and produced seed. I pick the dried flower stems and let them dry a little more before cleaning the small black seeds from the other dried flower parts. I was able to save a jam jar full of seeds from those flower heads. In the spring of 2022, I planted the seeds that I saved and in the fall of 2022, I harvested a nice crop of shallots from those seed that I saved back in 2021. The various stages of growth (from mature shallot, to seed to seedlings) are shown in the photos below.

Since different onion crops can cross pollinate, I have only saved one variety each year. In 2022, I saved seed from “Rossa Di Milano” onions that I grew in 2021, saved over winter, and planted out in spring 2022.

Onion seeds have a relatively short shelf life and I find that germination decreases quite significantly compered to some other types of seed. In March of 2023, I have started French Shallot that I saved in 2021 and Rossa Di Milano seeds that I saved in 2022. This year, I’m going to try saving Dakota Tears onion seeds that I grew in 2022 and have stored in the cellar this winter.

Did you know that we offer seed-saving workshops here on the farm? It’s an affordable, 2 hour long, hands-on workshop for seed saving beginners that includes a tour of our gardens. Participants get to take home a selection of seeds grown and saved here at Bar M Ranch.

Bar M Ranch Farm Stay Plan 2023!

It's been an exciting time on the farm the last few months as we get the new farmhouse ready for guests in 2023! So far, most of the work has been giving the inside a fresh coat of paint and getting an empty house filled with all the things that make a house a home. We have spent most of the winter painting and shopping around to fill bedrooms, the dining room, the living room, and the kitchen with supplies to have it ready for people to rent as a farm stay this year!

We have been getting questions about the farm stay and we thought we would share some common questions with answers:

Question: Can I rent the farm stay in 2023?

Answer: Yes! For this year as we are new to short-term rentals, and have projects to complete like exterior painting and replacing wood shingles, we are only renting via our website (www.barmranch.ca) or you can reach out to us directly to ask for specific dates. You can email bar_m_ranch@hotmail.com or call/text 902-277-1780 (Dave's cell) and ask for specific dates. The minimum rental is for 2 nights and for March/April (while we work on the finishing touches inside between guests) it will be $100/night plus tax . From May onward it will be $200/night plus tax. The house is set up with 4 beds and 2 bathrooms and the whole house is included when renting.

Question: Where is the farmhouse in relation to the farm?

Answer: Since both our main house (Meister homestead) and the farmhouse were originally built by brothers, they are both on the same main farm property. The two houses are on either side of the barn, and all on the same side of the road. The farmhouse is a small fenced lot which is surrounded by pasture as you can see in the picture below. It has close access to a nature trail, our event building, and other highlights on the farm

Question: What's the layout of the farmhouse?

Answer: The house is a 2 story single family home with a kitchen, pantry, bathroom (with shower), dining room, living room and kitchen downstairs. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms (4 beds), a bathroom and an office space.

Question: Is it on Airbnb/Is it an Airbnb?

Answer: Although it is a short-term rental, it's not listed on Airbnb or equivalent online platform. We plan to eventually list it on that type of site but for right now, we'd like to take our time to complete the exterior work, and understand how to make a great short-term rental/farm stay and get great photos. That means for right now, bookings are done through our website and/or through contacting us directly.

Question: Can I tour the farm? Can I see the animals?

Answer: To get a farm tour of the animals, tractors and other farm sights, check with one of us before hand to coordinate a time. We will only offer guided tours because we are a working farm, and need to ensure a safe experience around equipment and animals. We will have a self guided nature trail through the farm and woodlot, and it will be marked with signage to go at your own pace and enjoy nature.

Question: Are pets allowed and why not?

Answer: We get this question a lot! Although we have dogs and are dog-lovers we don't allow pets at the farmhouse for a few reasons. With dogs of our own we know they sometimes have accidents, make messes, and can scratch the floor (most of our wood floors are original to the house and some are painted). The cattle can get spooked by dogs and with some dogs seeing our free range chickens as a lunch snack, we have decided to limit pets coming to the farm both for our events and for the farm stay.

Question: Do you have a hot tub/Do you plan to have a hot tub?

Answer: Although hot tubs are popular for many short-term rentals, we do not offer one or plan to offer one. Since the house is a historical farm home, we feel a hot tub wouldn't fit the rustic charm and character of the space. It may also not be practical or feasible based on the layout of the property. 

Winter Farmhouse Rental for Friends and Family

 As some of you will have already heard, in 2023, we be offering a short-term rental option at the new Farmhouse which is located next door to us on our farm. We will have more details (and dates) to come as we work to finish getting it ready for visitors!

After we finish painting and furnishing the house this winter, and before we pick an online platform to officially launch it, we will be offering a discounted rental rate to friends and family. Our intent with this is to make use of the winter months with people we know and work out a smooth system (for check in, cleaning, instructions/description) and make sure we have it outfitted with everything people need and expect. As fiends and family, we will ask you to provide us with feedback, suggestions or ideas so we can make any adjustments before launching through an online platform and hosting people that we’ve never met before. This offer will be for a couple months only this winter and will require a 2-night minimum at $100 a night (plus tax). The bookings for this special offer will be directly through our website.

These are some current pictures of the house with more features and furniture to be added in the coming weeks. We both have a week of vacation booked from work in mid January and plan to work on the house that whole week. We hope to have the house “ready” by the beginning of February.

If you are interested in a winter stay, think about dates in the winter and early spring that would be of interest to you and watch for more posts on when we’re ready to launch this offer.

2022 Farm Wrap Up

I am writing this blog post, almost like how I used to write our Christmas letter in years past. It's been so busy around the farm the last few years, I never seem to have time, but this year I really wanted to take time to reflect on 2022. 

Christina and I have Christmas break off from our office jobs and with the weather being damp and cold, we have used the last few days to catch up on rest and start planning for 2023. 

2022 was one of the biggest years on the farm since we transitioned over from Dad running it. We started off with a short but rough winter, losing power every few weeks and a bad ice storm. Although we enjoy the winter time to slow down and rest, losing power makes it really tough to keep the barn from freezing up and generally makes operations harder. 

We were able to use the winter time to really build a great list of events for the entire year that included seed saving, bouquet making, Forest Bathing, and a herb planting workshop to name a few. Christina really did most of the work on developing the curriculum and supplies for them, where I helped get them up on the website and helped set up the event building. These workshops really brought our vision for the event building to life since we had planned for these in the business plan for the building but COVID really got in the way of that the last few years. 

As summer rolled around, we had an abundance of activity on the farm with haying and firewood season, as well as getting the cattle out to pasture and in July, Christina's dahlia's coming into bloom. The dahlia's were a new addition to the farm and will only expand in 2023, as they were beautiful and very popular! We also had an increase in monarch butterflies on the farm due to the milkweed plant Christina planted around the event building! We can wait to see more next year :)

Haying season, I can safely say now, was the best haying season since we moved back to the farm. I was able to get all the manure on last year, I had it all chain harrowed twice and all the equipment worked (after getting all new gear the last 3 years). We made over 3600 square bales over the home lots and a neighbor's field and over 500 bales of second-cut hay. Having this much hay the last two years, with a smaller herd of 9-10 cattle takes the pressure out of feeding them. It only takes 1500-1700 bales to feed our cattle all year and we make almost 4000 bales, which means, not only do we have lots of hay, but we can sell some as well. 

In August we also had a big surprise! One of our heifers, which we didn't think was pregnant, had a calf in the field, in the middle of a big storm. To say we were shocked, was an understatement and little "Stormy" was a lot of work initially to get connected to its mother (a first-time mother) but after working to keep them together, she finally took the new calf under her wing. This made up for a hard loss we had in April when "Molly" lost her little heifer calf, so we were very thankful.

In October we wrapped up something we had been working on since May, which was purchasing a second property for a future Farm Stay/Airbnb on the farm. This house is right in the middle of the farm and had been owned by the neighbors for 25 years. It was originally a Meister home that was built at the same time as our farm home but was sold off by my grandfather years ago. This will be a huge part of 2023 as we get it ready and list it as a farm stay option on the farm, which we are super excited about! Stay tuned for more details in the new year but below is a picture of where it's located on the farm.

Later in the fall we had a big loss in the family with the passing of my Dad. He was a huge mentor for Christina and me over the last 11 years living here and to say we are able to keep the farm going here because of him is an understatement. Growing up with Dad he taught me everything about working in the woods and on the farm, and it was amplified over the last 11 years when we worked together every day until he couldn't get up to the barn as much and we talked a lot on the phone or in person. In my last conversation with him, the night he passed, he asked about the cattle, Christmas Trees and Christina's wreath workshops. Although I am at peace with his passing as it was in his sleep and painless, he loved the farm and was a sounding board for so much of what we are trying to do now since taking over operations. As he passed close to our u-pick and Christmas tree season in New Ross, he was a presence in all we did during that time and so many people shared stories of him cutting their tree, like my brother or I did this year for them. 

2022 was a year of highs and lows but one of constant reflection. The joy of living on the farm was one I shared with Dad during my visits during the last months of his life, and being able to share all we were doing, with his approval, will forever be in my mind as we move forward into 2023. We are excited for more on-farm events, haying and growing seasons and the upcoming farm stay but all in the shadow of the last 5 generations of Meister's before us. 

Christmas Wreath Sizes – Explained

 Every year, people ask for an explanation of Christmas wreath sizes to help decide what size they’d like to purchase. It’s no wonder we get this question because the sizes are confusing! Typically, the size of a wreath advertised actually corresponds to the diameter of the wire ring base that it’s constructed on. Except for special orders, we make and sell 12”, 14” and 16” wreaths. Here are photos of the rings used to create those 3 sizes of wreath.

The size of the finished wreath varies depending on the length of the brush used to construct it. Some wreaths are neat, tidy and compact while some are more full or intentionally shaggy. Again, unless we have a special order, we produce three sizes and styles of wreaths. Here’s how ours generally appear when constructed. The 12” wreath is roughly 19 inches across, the 14” wreath is roughly 22 inches across and the 16” wreath is roughly 24 inches across.

wreath price considerations

Wreath prices fluctuate wildly. The larger the wreath, the more expensive it is because the more supplies it takes to make it. But, price not only relates to the size, but also the materials used, if it’s decorated or not, and if it’s double sided or single sided. Some ribbons, greenery (like magnolia leaves and eucalyptus) are very expensive so a fancy ribbon bow or some added greenery could make a small wreath more expensive than a large plain one. Our default is double-sided wreaths which means the back appears the same as the front, but this is not always the case. A double-sided wreath is nice when you’re putting it on a door with a window where you can see the wreath from the inside. We find a double-sided wreath also provides a little more weight so it sways less in the wind than a single-sided wreath. Wreaths can be made using a machine (sort of like an industrial sewing machine) or handmade where each little bundle of brush is attached by wrapping a continuous length of wire by hand. All of our wreaths are made by hand. When considering all of these factors in addition to the advertised size, you can see there are many factors to consider when purchasing a wreath.