EASTERN ONTARIO MEET - AUGUST 13TH, 2016 – LAROSE FOREST

Yes I too am very pleased to see the early responses. I would ask those who are planning on coming if they could include an estimate on the numbers in their party. I know it's early and practically impossible to know for sure, but even a rough estimate might help farmgal plan the amount of corn which needs to be planted for the event.

2 adults, 2 kids...

Just little ol' me!

I'll be alone. No way I'm bringing my crazy brood.

Little old me, as well 🙂

I might make the trek out, will check my schedule and see if I can make it.

It will be nice to meet you if you make it up

UPDATE:

As mentioned before this is the 5th year anniversary mark of the Eastern Ontario Meet and we are planning an extra special event this year. We have received confirmation from all the presenters and over the course of the next few months, Farmgal has promised to do up a short write up on some of the planned presentations. So be sure to stay tuned for these.

We will have a barter table so why not consider bringing a few items that you would like to swap with other members. I for one, have scored some pretty useful items at this table and am looking forward to see what treasures I find this year.

Each year we provide small gifts to everyone who participates for the full day and mostly this has been at our own expense. But this year is different. We have members already offering to bring gift donations. Now how cool is that. So if you are thinking of coming and would like to contribute a gift please contact Farmgal or myself via private message.

With spring here, many of us are turning our thoughts to the planting season. Farmgal will be providing this year’s meet with corn, so for this reason we are hoping to obtain as many confirmations and/or potential guests so we can be sure to have enough to feed everyone. We will plant more for unexpected guests but it would still be nice to get an idea of the numbers. If you haven’t already indicated your intention to come or do not feel comfortable posting it on the board you can always send us a private message.

In the past we have had folks from as far and 7 and 9 hours away which is proof of its popularity. We expect this year will be no different and are very much looking forward to a healthy participation rate. It's a free family friendly event in which you will no doubt get to meet new and old members and learn some valuable information at the same time.

We are fortunate enough to have a sheltered meeting area. So the daily activities will be a rain or shine event. As soon as the Paradis Campground opens we will try and obtain a group camp site so that those who wish can continue the conversations over a campfire and refreshments that evening. Weather permitting of course.

This year will be the 5th anniversary of the Eastern Ontario Meet and in recognition of this event Farmgal and I are planning a special day. Hence the early post to alert members well in advance so that members can mark their calendars, and if need be, make travel plans in order to attend what is shaping up to be an excellent day full of fun and learning.

This year’s event will be held on the Saturday allowing members coming from further away an extra day to travel back to work for the Monday. Those who wish can camp at the Paradis Camping Ground only minutes away from the event. Details on directions and cost to follow.

We will be following a similar agenda as in the past with a few exceptions. We are extending the event into the early evening and will be providing a corn roast – on us. Farmgal is already planning a corn plant specifically for this event. So yes, fresh corn directly from Farmgals’ own farm. Yum.

We will arrive at the location for about 8am and set up a coffee table so anyone wishing to drop by earlier is more than welcome to come sit and chat.

We will start the day off with a meet and greet from 9 to 10 where each member will have about 5 or 10 minutes (give or take) to speak about themselves, and what they have been up to. Then we want to move right into the presentations. We will do 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. While these are always subject to change, to date we have confirmation from 4 presenters. One on beekeeping, egg hatchery using incubators, wool spinning from raw wool and another on the secrets of pruning.

At noon we will break for a potluck lunch and a chat. Once we get a better idea on the attendance we will let everyone know so they can bring enough for everyone to try (or not). This is not a requirement. If you prefer you could just bring something for yourself to munch on. I will be bringing some bottled water, a few paper plates, napkins and plastic forks and knives.

After the presentations we will have another barter session. You can bring canning goods, plants or other treasures you think might be of interest to others. Remember we are not allowed to sell on the premises (only barter). If you do wish to sell your wares this must be done off-side.

Throughout the event, we will have games and be awarding small prizes to both adults and kids alike. We have been very lucky this year and we have prize donations coming in from a number of former attendees. Anyone wishing to contribute a prize can contact me via private message.

This is a family affair so if you wish to bring your kids – please do so. We also understand that not everyone can spend the whole day with us, so if you wish, just drop in for an hour of two.

There is a fairly large covered area which means this is a rain or shine event. Bugs can be a problem in the woods so you may wish to bring an insect repellent. There is no electricity or running water at the location, but there is an outhouse across the road.

If you think you can come, you can either respond on the forum or pm me directly.

Farmgal and I are very excited about this years event and are really looking forward to meeting new and old members in big numbers. Stayed tuned for further updates throughout the coming months.

we will try our best to be there keep us informed thanks

UPDATE:

Things are moving along nicely with the plans for the August 13th meet. In fact, we have added an extra little treat for those coming to the early morning coffee chit chat.

Coffee is one of those things that we cannot grow here in Canada. The winters are too cold and we don’t get enough sun during the summer to make it a viable crop. I did hear of a couple in Northern Ontario that managed to grow a tree indoors and 3 years later harvested a grand total of 18 beans. Way to go. I don’t know about you but just 18 beans won’t cut for me. I need my morning coffee and when my supply runs out I will be looking for substitutes.

As a follow-up on this theme, Grouchy has graciously offered to provide a short presentation on a coffee substitute using something many of us already have in our pantry. He will brew and provide taste testers. How cool is that. Thanks Grouchy.

But of course we couldn’t just leave it at that - so we are throwing out a challenge to others. Do you have a coffee substitute and if so why not share it with the group? We are not just looking for ideas but rather the challenge will be in being able to brew it on-site without electricity or running water and provide taste testers to the group. Are you up for the challenge? If so, please pm me or Farmgal to let us know of your interest in participating.

By the way, everyone is more than welcome just to come, listen and chat to what I believe could be an interesting morning.

P.s. Stay tuned each month as we will be providing a more detailed overview of the planned speakers and the presentations they will be doing.

I am not volunteering, as I don't grow this, but I just came back from New Orleans, where they started adding chicory (endive root) to coffee to extend their stocks. They still use it in their coffee and I quite like it. Not sure how good it would be on it's own, without any coffee, although I think in a Margaret Atwood post-apocalyptic book they did.. 🙂

Chicory root is an old 'coffee' substitute. It grows like a week along roadsides, in ditches and fields around Eastern Ontario

hotel room booked...you are all in trouble now 😆

Any barter items that people are looking for?

edit - I still have a large amount of cleaned gourds to trade if anyone is interested.

Wonderful news indeed.. Not sure on the barter but will keep it in mind

UPDATE ON CAMPING ARRANGEMENTS

As many of you know after the event on Saturday folks are invited to extend their visit and stay the night at a camping site near Larose Forest. We originally were looking at using Paradis camping but unfortunately they were not able to offer group camping (only individual sites). Therefore we have opted to go with Whispering Pines Campgrounds which is a more secluded and private location only 20 minutes from Larose Forest. They offer not only group camping but their rates are far more reasonable. The rates are $10 per person, per night (payable on arrival) as opposed to $35 to $45 a night at the other place (payable immediately). I believe 2 children accompanied by 2 adults under the age of 14 are free (but you may wish to confirm this with them). And folks can check in on the Friday or Saturday morning at 9am and check out is at 9pm on Sunday. It does however, have fewer conveniences like running water at the campsite itself, (drinking water is available at a centralized location) and there is no hydro hook-ups on the site. But as preppers this should not pose a problem. It could actually be fun.

I have already received confirmation from a few folks that they will participate at the camping event. I already booked the place but I would very much like to know if we have others that might be interested in joining us for the evening. Pm me or Farmgal if you think this interests you.

Here is the link.
http://whispering-pines1.tripod.com/index.html