Welcome Spring!
Spring on the Farm -
or: How we lost our minds in the best possible way
Ah, spring!
That magical time of the year when the snow finally melts, the birds start singing, the sun comes out - and absolutely everything on the farm needs to be done at exactly the same time.
If you’ve ever wondered what life looks like at Black Bear Creek Farms between April & June, the honest answer is: controlled chaos, alot of coffee, and a running to do list that somehow gets longer every single day no matter how much we cross off.
But honestly? We wouldn’t trade it for anything. So grab a cup of tea, pull up a chair, and let us walk you through what spring actually looks like around here.
The Markets are Back - We are READY!
First things first - farmers market season is officially in full swing and we are absolutely buzzing.
After a long winter of planning, bottling, labelling, and dreaming about getting back out there, there is nothing quite like setting up that tent for the first time in spring and seeing familiar faces walk straight over with a big smile.
We’ve been loading up the bronco and hitting market across Peace Country and beyond - and if you haven’t made it out to see us yet this season, keep an eye on social media becasue we are NOT slowing down anytime soon. Come say hi!
Meanwhile, the Bees have their own plans……
While I am out charming market crowds, our bees are doing what bees do in the spring - waking up hungry, getting restless, and absolutely ready to get to work
Spring means its time to move the hives to their yards, and if you’ve never watched a grown adult try to loas up a stack of buzzing bees with a JohnDeere tractor at 5am in a beesuit while running entirely on coffee & determination - well, you are missing quite a picture. All of the hives are now settled into their home bee yards and have honey boxes on top, ready for the honey collection to start.
It is one of our favourite and most exhausting times of the year!
Back at the Farm - Everything needs attention, and all at Once!
Here’s the thing nobody tells you about spring on the farm - its not just the bees. Oh no, Spring is a full-farm event.
The greenhouse wakes up and suddenly needs daily attention. Seedlings to tend, temperatures to monitor and watering schedules to be kept. Its basically a needy houseplant multiplied by a hundred, and I love it!
Then there is the lawns - oh the lawns. Peace Country winters do not go easy on a yard, and spring cleanup means the mower comes out whether Im ready or not. Nothing quite says “spring has arrived” like that first long mow of the season while simultaneously planning your entire summer in your head.
So why do we love it?
Because underneath all the chaos and the early mornings and the very long to-do lists - spring on the farm is one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever seen.
Everything turning green again. The first blooms showing up for the bees. The greenhouse smelling like fresh earth and possibility. The hive humming with life after a long winter’s rest. Lola, Coco and Ned running around the yard like they have been waiting for this all winter long……trying to run faster than a bird can fly, jumping in the ponds and splashing around & of course, going back and forth so they always know where both Michael and I are at all times. And of course, any time they are allowed in the house, Lola always figures it must be nap time!
We are so grateful for this life. For these bees. For this land. and for every single one of you who supports our farm and makes this all possible.
Now if you’ll excuse us, we have seventeen things on our list and the mower isnt going to start itself.
Enjoy the little moments!
Hello October!
The days may be shorter, but the moments can be richer.
Here’s to warmth, gratitude, and finding magic in the little things.
Fall is a season of change! A season of saying goodbye to the sunny warm summer, the fresh veggies from the garden, the happy buzzing of the bees travelling for pollen & nectar and the long days of warm days on the farm.
While I absolutely LOVE summer, fall is a season to appreciate the beauty of change and lets face it fall is beautiful! The colorful scenery of the country side changes into an ocean of yellows, oranges and reds. Now in reality these colors dont last long in the Peace Country, our wind often comes in this time of year and blows all the leaves off the trees and it becomes brown but that just means we need to enjoy fall while we have it.
This season of change also brings on a different list of chores around the farm, that often seems endless but it all gets done one way or another;) The honey all gets extracted, the bees get fed and prepared for winter, the gardens and greenhouses get cleaned out, hoses put away and the list goes on and on!
On a more personal note, besides the fall farm work and preparing for winter, we try to take sometime to celebrate our anniversary. Some years that is a nice dinner out together and sometimes we get a chance to get away and relax. Yes we got married in October of 2001, so 24 years this year. We decided to take some extra time and run away to Radium Hot Springs for a long weekend this year, which was lovely! Back story, we actually went to Radium Hot Springs on our honeymoon 24 years ago, seems like a lifetime ago but also just yesterday, crazy how time flies! So nice to relax and come back rejuvenated and ready to hit the ground running and get everything done.
Well I better get my butt outside and check some chores off my list! Enjoy fall guys! Carve pumpkins, seat by the bonfire, enjoy the warmth of sweaters again and most importantly LIVE IN THE MOMENT!