It's our tradition to save a few short stories for you and pack them into one post. Here are the mini-stories from North Vancouver Island.
The Views Never Get Old
Everywhere we go we see hills, mountains, water and trees. It's really quite incredible - everything seems huge! We've mentioned the view from our trailer already. Just a we think we've seen it all - we find another angle and see a different perspective. This has been a very special part of this trip
Egg and Chip Sandwiches
So it all started when we left home. We were only home for 4 days and had tried to use up what was in the fridge. We decided to boil the last of the eggs and pack up the last of few slices of bread to take for lunch while travelling. During our stopover in Calgary we peeled the eggs and mashed them onto the bread. We, somehow, acquired a bag of chips and boom - Egg and Chip sandwiches - Goooourrmey! Since Connaty farm has 18 happy laying hens (See below), we have loads of eggs and we've learned that Egg and Chip sandwiches are even better with a few slices of tomato. OMG. We'll not publicly admit how many times we have made them.
Grocery Stores
Let's start by saying there is lots of food to eat here. Bryce and Myra are so generous! But we never fail to end up in a grocery store. And for those of you that know us well, we love looking for grocery store deals. It’s a little embarrassing. We are ecstatic to report the IGA in Port McNeill has a reduced shelf - that is where we scored up half price lunch danishes not once, but twice! And we are the proud new holders of the Save on Foods membership card in Port Hardy. I mean, the salty caramel ice cream was only $4.77 for card carrying members!
Bryce
Our host, Bryce, deserves his own story, that's for sure. A 55 year old father and husband who flies water bombers to fight fires is just the start! He is a history buff and remembers everything. He tells stories from 30 years ago with so many details, you'd think they'd happened yesterday. He makes learning his life and never sweats the small stuff. He loves to surf, fix things and think about trees! He didn't graduate from high school, never went to college and he hosts school groups on his farm to help young people learn about the natural world. If you ever get a chance to meet him, you should.
The Chickens
Every dawn begins with a synchronized, feathered stampede as our 18 hens greet us the moment our boots hit the descending stairs. They march in tight, noisy formation to the door, loudly demanding to know what’s for breakfast—completely oblivious to the fact that they’ve eaten the exact same scratch for the last three years.
They crowd us like a group of grade one students until we feed them. We have a few clear favorites, starting with our resident "Broody Hen", who requires us to skillfully and carefully remove her off her treasured eggs with the stealth of an Indiana Jones swap. Then there's "Brown Chest," our resident escape artist who gracefully maneuvers through the fence line to the sweet, grassy hillside freedom beyond. After topping off the water bucket, the dependable "Pail Drinker" jumps up for her morning slurp. Gathering the the morning's bounty is the best part. Because these eggs are as fresh as it gets, we’ve been eating them at an alarming rate. The reality? We still haven’t gotten any better at peeling them when boiled.
