SUNDAY OCTOBER 6, 2019
“FIND WOODY”
Woody decided to go for a walk today. I joined him.
Amazing what happens when the leaves begin to turn
and cool weather decends. As you search for Woody
there a few other things to see. And at the end there
is something unique and wonderful
This giant walnut tree was planted by me according to my grandmother
It stands where once the outhouse stood. And today we have
more than a dozen walnut trees on the farm…loved and hated.
There are no apples similar to these…NONE.
The wild grape vines have spread across the trees…loaded with tiny grapes. Historic for sure. It was Ontarion wild grape vines
that saved the French wine industry…vines like these. Maybe Marjorie can make some wild grape jelly. All the fancy
wine growers have totally neglected these grapes…business opportunity for someone
A few weeks ago we had lots of chestnuts peeling back their thorny skin. today there are none and the
chestnut leaves are curling’
That little wood barn was once on the farm where J.S. Wloodsworth was born in Etobicoke. We had
it moved up to our farm. (J.S. Woodsworth the founder of the C.C.F, which became the N.D.P.)
Not everyone knows that.
See those shaggy mane mushrooms. Caught at the right time … before they turn to ink …and fried
up with butter and salt and pepper…taste delicious…taste like pepper, salt and butter. Left to
themselves these beautiful mushrooms turn into a puddle of gross looking black muck…only
eat the new ones like the little fellow on the left.
We have a late crop of flax…best crop. Planted by our son Andy. A lot better than my flax field…embarrassing.
Flax is the only crop on our farm that ever makes money. How it does this is a trade secret.
The big pond is waiting for the ducks flying south…a flock of them arrive every fall and gabble away to
themselves. Our farm was rejected by real farmers. Who wants a farm dominated by a huge 7 acre pond
that takes 25% of the farm? Grandma and grandad did. They had no choice really. No money. They
came to love their patch of land as do we.
This forest trail was once the hill that led to the harvest floor of granddad’s barn.
The green ball is a walnut. Size of baseball….loved by little red squirrels. Pionneer farmers moving into Ontario looked for
walnut trees for the indicated good land. That couldn’t be true. Our land is worse than poor…fit only for wild things…plants and
animals. And Woody. Best crop is stones.
This yellowish orange looking mushroom seems to gather things on its sticky surface…bugs.
Must be carnivorous.
Look at those apples…think about them
The front pond is now full of a kind of green split weed…forgot the name. Under here lives
one of our big snapping turtles. I floated that old bedstead for him or her to get a little sun
before diving into the muddy bottom for the winter.
Wild asters pick a place to live. they have minds of their own…as does the milk weed. Two weeks ago a lone Monarch caterpillar was
feeding here. Now gone … not enough time to go through the life cycle. Thankfully there seem to be
more Monarchs heading south this year but not our little fellow. Our milk weed patch was once our best garden
but we surrendered it to the weed. Real farmers hate milkweed…taints the milk.
Yes,that is Woody. He is always near even when I can’t see him. And when I call and call and call I often
turn around to find him there. Do dogs laugh? You know, I think they do for every time I do this lost calling
routine he often shoves his wet nose into my hand.
OK.. here is the big surprise. Startled me really. I was moving fence rails from roadside to field when what should appear in front of
my nose but these two apple…red streaked. Delightful. I had no idea the scraggly old wile apple tree was capable of such
beauty. “Must be wormy.” I thought but only every tenth had worms. Did you know that there is no apple tree in the whole wide
world like these. Apple seeds never produce the same apples. Each seed produces a new apple variety. To get the same
apples grafting is necessary…cuttings are rooted. Orchards are built with cuttings. Our wild apple tree has no kindred.
It is alone,,,will never be replicated unless we decide to do so Most wild apple trees are not much use compared to the domestic
varieties. Hell, they do not even have a name for tis apple. THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. Let’s name the apple…male
or female names accepted. How about Freeman for we found it on the Freeman farm and wild apples are ‘’free, man!”
Tasteless joke. Names. Could call it the Alan apple tree … really vain to do that. Or the Morgan…or the Angus…or the
Woody. Now there is an idea. Not many apple varieties, probably none, have been named after a dog.
alan skeoch
Oct. 6, 219
P>S> See the pail of apples in this story…all from that special tree.
PPS We cannot call the apple ‘Red Streak’ because that apple variety if the founding apple
of the British Cider industry. If you like english cider…then you owe it to that single
apple variety that was grafted and grafted and grafted.