Today

I needed some flowers in my life today and they have arrived via Floralora.  My lovely friend Sas delivered these gorgeous tulips and I paid her in eggs.  Our egg empire is flourishing.  I currently have one steady customer, and sometimes Sas needs eggs too.  In Milford, that amount of customers constitutes an empire.  My regular gal pays me in carrots and spinach which works just fine for me because they are the best damn carrots and spinach you can get this side of Ontario.  It also allows me a little visit with friends who are going to start being very busy, as the season is fast approaching.

In two weeks, we will have an additional 24 White Rock day old chicks to add to our empire.  They’ll be a mix, so we will keep the hens and eat the males.  We are all slightly hesitant about eating our own chickens but we will simply have to get over it.  We are meat eaters.  In theory, I would much rather eat animals I have raised and given a good life.  In practice, I hope we don’t all lose our appetites once the bird is on our table.  I’ll let you know how we all chow down in about 8 – 10 weeks.

Even though we woke up with snow on the ground today, spring is fighting to get back in our lives.  There are crocus’ and daffodils blooming, and it was warm enough for me to put my laundry on the line the other day.  We have drunk our first batch of homemade hard cider, and will soon be bottling the next round.

We are off to celebrate life and those not with us, tonight at the Milford Bistro. The Bistro has new management and we are very excited about trying their menu.  I must run, get out of my sweatpants, and find boots without chicken poo on them.  It’s Friday night in Milford!

Season 2

I just spent the last few hours cleaning and primping my rental units.  They look completely awesome.  We have our first customer of the season arriving  tomorrow and they are staying for two weeks.  We are so excited that our bed and breakfast, South in Milford, will be up and running for a full season in 2015.  We are much more confident this year.  We really had no idea what we were doing last year, but somehow we figured it out as we received some wonderful reviews from our renters.

In case you have forgotten what we offer, let me refresh your memory.  Classroom #1 is a large, open plan, fully furnished studio with two queen beds, a generous kitchenette with a bar fridge, microwave, kettle, coffee maker, toaster, and a full set of dishes.  It has a dining table, seating area (both indoors and out), and a private bath.  Classroom #2 has all the perks as it’s neighbour but has one king sized bed instead of the two queens.

This year, we are thrilled to offer The Library as our third rental.  We have converted the library, the secretary’s and principle’s office into a comfortable, family friendly two bedroom suite.  This unit has one queen sized bed in one bedroom and three single beds in the other bedroom.  I don’t have any photos as we are still in construction.  If all goes well, this suite will be available by mid May.

Now that we have our kitchen in the gym, we will be converting the staff room (our previous kitchen) to a fully functioning kitchen that will be available to our guests.  We understand that not everyone wants to eat out for every meal, and it’s not always ideal to dine with kids.  Even though it is lovely to have a  kitchenette, it does have it’s limitations and can cramp your culinary flair.  The guest kitchen will have a full set of pots, pans, and utensils, a stove and a full sized fridge for your use.

As you may know, we are located in beautiful Milford, Prince Edward County.  We are a 10 minute drive to world famous Sandbanks Provincial Park with it’s long, white sandy beach and sand dunes, the picturesque town of Picton, Vickis Veggies organic farm, the charming town of Bloomfield, and Little Bluff Conservation Area featuring a secluded rock beach.

Prince Edward County, Ontario is one of the premiere wine growing regions of Canada.  There are many outstanding vineyards right in our backyard.  Lighthall Vineyards, Long Dog Winery, Exultet Estates, and Half Moon Bay Winery are just a handful of neighbouring vineyards to visit while in Milford.

We are open May until October.  We have a two night minimum for the months of May, June, September and October.  We will be renting on a weekly basis for July and August.

We are kid friendly, dog friendly, and just plain friendly.  We have 9 acres for you to roam, chickens for you to feed, organic vegetables and fruit for you to eat from our garden, trees to relax under, country air for you to breathe, Mount Tabor, The Milford Bistro, and bragging rights that you stayed in a converted elementary school.

Let us not forget that we are also wheelchair accessible.

If you would like to be our guests at South in Milford, please book through AirBnB.  We would be happy to see you.

Please pass this on to all the fabulous people in your life.

 

 

Easter Weekend

We are having a bustling Easter weekend.  It has involved egg decorating, sap collecting (we are getting up to 5 gallons a day from our two trees), the Milford Easter parade with lots of silly hats, a giant egg hunt involving thousands of chocolate eggs at Mount Tabor, Easter angels (older kids redistributing chocolate eggs for the hunt late comers), donkeys in hats, pigs in blankets, hot chocolate, fire tending for our sap, friends for dinner, friends for cheese and wine, sleeping in, a gourmet dinner by Jess, dog walking and chocolate eating.  There is still Easter dinner to come with Jess’ family and visits with friends in Toronto.  I hope the Easter bunny has been good to you and you are having a wonderful holiday weekend.

Repost – Lyme Disease

The sun is shining and spring is here.  This also means it is tick season.  I wanted to repost my post about Lyme disease because we all need to be well informed when it comes to these super bugs.  You need to know what to look for, and check yourselves and your kids regularly.  Don’t forget your parents if they live alone, as they may not be able to see one on their back. Ticks are rampant in rural areas but also in cities.  Please reread this post and tell all your friends and some of your enemies.  Remember only 80% of people bitten by a lyme tick get the bull’s eye rash, so get tested if you are bitten.  These little jerks are not going away anytime soon, so be informed as it is your best defense.  In case you are a new reader to my blog, thankfully my little Ruby Loo made a full recovery from her tick bite.

My lovely little Ruby got bit by a tick last week. Her sister was the first to notice it and brought it to my attention. I removed it successfully with my handy dandy tick remover that I purchased at the vet’s last summer. Removing ticks properly is essential. They dig their mouth into the host’s skin. If you simply pull a tick out, their body will dislocate from their head. The head will remain in the skin, and and release their bacteria into the host. The trick is to hook their neck with the remover, and twist as you pull to dislodge the head. If you don’t have a store bought tick remover, you can Macguyver a similar tool with a paperclip. Either visit your vet or have your office supplies well stocked.

As most of you know, ticks can carry Lyme disease. Infected ticks release Lyme disease causing bacteria when they bite their host. The first sign of Lyme disease is a bull eye rash that occurs at the bite site. This rash can appear 3-30 days after the initial bite but only to 70-80% of infected people. Early symptoms are fever, headache, joint pain, and fatigue. If left untreated, Lyme disease has a myriad of painful symptoms including arthritis, meningitis, and encephalitis.

After I removed Ruby’s tick, I swore I would keep a sharp eye on the wound. By the next morning, like most fantastic mothers, I had all but forgotten about the tick. It didn’t occur to me to check her bite until yesterday, a full seven days after tick contact. I was worried when I saw the rash. I promptly cancelled our bike ride, packed a lunch, and headed to the emergency ward. She is currently on antibiotics, and at home with a fever. We have been advised to meet with our family doctor before the end of Ruby’s two week round of antibiotics to decide whether she needs to have the full Lyme disease treatment.

Ticks are about the size of a poppy seed. They stand on the end of a blade of grass with their hands in the air to find a host. They are able to sense heat and a change in light as you or your dog passes them by. A common myth is that they are only found in long grass. Ticks do not differentiate based on grass height. They are prevalent during the spring and fall seasons. They do not like very hot or very cold conditions. They are a super bug that does not die but simply hibernates when the weather does not suit them. In the hot days of summer, it is still cool enough in wooded areas for ticks to be active all summer long.

Ticks were mostly thought to reside in only rural wooded areas. They are now finding ticks blossoming in urban areas. One theory is that they have been brought to the city on family dogs and cats returning from cottages and camping. In the past, ticks have fed mostly on deer and were prevalent only in areas with high deer populations. Researchers now know that ticks frequently feed on birds and rodents and will travel where their host takes them.

To protect my family, I was told to have my children wear long pants tucked into their socks during the spring and fall season. I almost choked on the word socks while I struggled to maintain my composure.  As soon as it hits 12 degrees Celcius, my kids are in their bathing suits spraying each other with the hose. My goodness, we are Canadian, gosh darn it! Who wears socks once the sun shines past 7pm?

So what to do? Until it gets really hot, I make my kids wear sneakers and socks, and I spray them with DEET from the knee down. I’m not a of fan of using DEET on my children, but I’m less of a fan of Lyme disease. We have also started daily tick checks. My kids are old enough to bath and dress themselves so I don’t see them naked as much as I use to when they were little. Now we check for ticks before they put their pajamas on.

I am worried about my little one whom I adore. After a long wait in the emergency ward, Ruby told me very matter of factly that she would like to change her name to Glitter Avery Vortex. If she beats this whole Lyme disease thing, I may have to reward her with a permanent name change.

Be strong my Glitter Girl!