Summer has arrived, longer days, warmer nights, beach days, camping days, time to BBQ on the deck or picnic in the park. I have heard the expression, “The lazy days of summer,” and as kid I could agree. As a farmer’s wife, those days rarely exist. It’s ok, the benefits far outweigh the challenges. I love to be busy and I love winter which is typically our quieter time of the year. I loved raising our family on the farm and now seeing my grandkids here too. It teaches them so many practical skills in life – how to work hard, an appreciation for food, how to communicate with people, the behind-the-scenes challenges and rewards of owning a business.
We learn the things we have control over and work hard to manage them. But the hardest lesson is learning to let go of the things that are out of our control. The weather is a biggie! We were reminded of this in June when our orchard in Armstrong was hit with hail. A devastating hail that affected 50% of our apple crop there. It could have been much worse had we not completed our hail-net project over 10 acres of apples. Many of the Honeycrisp and Ambrosia apples were protected – thank the Lord, Tom’s foresight, the hard work of Kevin and the special team we hired to install the netting and the research grant we received to undertake this experimental project.
The weather in the last few weeks has been very unsettled with many days of wind and dark luminous clouds around the valley. I can see and feel the worry on Tom’s face as he thinks about the potential of more hail, and like I mentioned, it’s a hard lesson in not worrying about the things we have no control over. It’s not just a lesson for us farmers, it’s a lesson and reminder for all of us as we live life. So many circumstances come our way and I ask myself constantly, “Is this in my control or out of my control?”. Sometimes it’s just a discipline of focusing the mind on things that are true and positive, often that comes with a need to change my attitude! But there is always a choice in how we approach it. Regarding the hail...we were fortunate to have the hail-net up over 10 acres, we have a great use for the hail-scarred apples (making it into our delicious juice) and we understand the weather is simply out of our control.
“It’s out of our control, but everything is under God’s control. We need to manage what we can and trust Him with everything."
…the hard part is putting trust into practice!
With the arrival of summer comes great home-grown produce. We have cherries, blueberries, apricots, zucchini, sugar peas and very soon… beans, cucumbers and sweet, juicy PEACHES! They are definitely a favourite of mine. Come on sunshine and come on summer!
Thanks for allowing us to share our farming journey with you!
Tamra Davison
For the Family
Try Tamra's Cream of Zucchini Soup, while fresh zucchini are available in our market.
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Save the Date! Friday, August 16th, 5:00 pm - 7:00pm Pick Your Own Salsa
Take a tractor train ride into the fields and learn about selecting the best produce to make your very own, farm fresh Okanagan salsa. Our food expert will provide instruction on how to pick the best tomatoes, peppers, and corn, and how to slice and dice the produce and can your own salsa from scratch. Enjoy a tasting of a variety of salsas with a beverage of choice to end the evening. This is a great way to spend time with friends and provide you with the know-how to continue making your own salsa.
The weather in the last few weeks has been very unsettled with many days of wind and dark luminous clouds around the valley. I can see and feel the worry on Tom’s face as he thinks about the potential of more hail, and like I mentioned, it’s a hard lesson in not worrying about the things we have no control over. It’s not just a lesson for us farmers, it’s a lesson and reminder for all of us as we live life. So many circumstances come our way and I ask myself constantly, “Is this in my control or out of my control?”. Sometimes it’s just a discipline of focusing the mind on things that are true and positive, often that comes with a need to change my attitude! But there is always a choice in how we approach it. Regarding the hail...we were fortunate to have the hail-net up over 10 acres, we have a great use for the hail-scarred apples (making it into our delicious juice) and we understand the weather is simply out of our control. 
