We moved here to Oceanside Wild, Little Lorraine, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada on April 17, 2019. We migrated here from our farm property at Rolling Hills Organics in the Northumberland Hills of southern Ontario. We are now eight months into our new life adventures, and winter is here.... of sorts; with Christmas just a couple of days away, the sun is shining, early dustings of snow have disappeared, the temperature is hovering around zero Celsius, and the sea is eerily calm. Ontario has already experienced waves of snowfall, extreme cold, and thawing melts.
Prior to leaving the farm, we discarded unnecessary baggage accumulated over the years, a dumpster-load which included scads of maps and satellite images from my previous occupation of cartography and map publishing. Farm equipment including two greenhouses, a New Holland tractor, a BCS walking tractor tiller, sundry seeds, tools and farmers market material were passed down to Jason Conner of Windy Hollow Farm who will take up the reins of farming organically, just around the corner from Rolling Hills Organics. Our furniture and belongings were loaded onto a large transport truck and dispatched to their future home on the ocean on Cape Breton Island. We drove our 'Dolly' Ford cargo van, crammed full of immediatelty-useful gear, crossing eastern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, mainland Nova Scotia, reaching the Canso Causeway to cross onto the island of Cape Breton. Late winter flurries greeted our arrival in the cove settlement of Little Lorraine and gazed gleefully at the embracing headlands that frame our view of the north Atlantic Ocean.
In our first few delightful months of living here, we have:
taken many walks along this wild coastline; marvelled at the views and ever-changing weathers, seas, and skies; picked berries, harvested seaweeds, collected beach pebbles and rocks; explored our locality (having traded in our 'Dolly') in our Volkswagen Tiguan; entertained six sets of friends and family; got to know many lovely neighbours and locals who have welcomed us warmly; gone on a week's tour (off-island!) of mainland Nova Scotia; made many trips to Sydney for regular shopping and supplies. Sydney is for us here like Cobourg and Peterborough were for us in Northumberland - half an hour's drive away and offering banking, food, drink, and all the amenities and services we need, with the added bonus of an airport! We have registered 'Oceanside Wild' as an 'Ark', seeking to retain our land and surrounds in their wild, untamed state. After all, nature's ebullient canvas is perfect the way it is. Having dispensed with the farm business, we no longer have a tractor to fuel and no farmers markets to drive to, thereby cutting our fuel conumption for transport by more than half. In selling the farm and purchasing a house on an acre and a half on the East Coast for less than half the sales price, we have downsized to enable us to enjoy our years of semi-retirement, investing sensibly and all but removing debt from our lives. In heating the house with a much smaller footprint, we no longer burn wood, but heat by a combination of electric baseboards and gas propane. We have moved to a province that has no nuclear power, is weaning itself off coal while providing households with incentive to switch to solar power and conserve power through energy efficiency and heat pumps. We have signed up to install solar panels on our garage roof with the goal of reducing our power bills to zero in a few years. However, financial prudence - enforced by carefully evaluating our limited savings - is making us cautious about the viability of promised efficiencies. And we are wary of the frequent foggy days, especially in Winter and Spring. We both work from home. Gundi has been inspired to make new smaller sculptures using glass and Cape Breton beach rocks. I grow some greens, herbs, and vegetables in raised beds and plan on expanding these three-fold next year. I am setting up a new business, 'Oceanside Wild Fine Foods', drawing on my experience of organic food and farming gained over twenty hands-on years. On a very small scale, sea greens, sea salts, sea teas, salad greens, wild berries, herbs and spices will find their way to markets both local and Ontario!
In the meantime, I have been practicing by volunteering at the Cape Breton Food Hub, getting acquainted with local promoters, marketers, growers, harvesters, producers, supporters, eateries, and eaters. They are a wonderful bunch of individuals networking well, in tune with the seasons and foods. Through the Food Hub, I met Dave and Jennifer Kyte who moved to nearby Gabarus just after we got here. They moved from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia where chef Dave ran a food distribution business; Dave is returning to family roots here. In planning a new food business in Gabarus, they have already added a commercial kitchen to their home and are selling breads and dishes at the Saturday Cape Breton Farmers Market in Sydney. Through Dave, we have been introduced to new friends via a cheery bunch of Gabarusers from near and far. Becoming a member of the Foggy View Players, who perform at the Louisbourg Playhouse (modelled on Shakespeare's Globe), gave me the opportunity to help out backstage at their Christmas comedy production which was heartily received. So, bit by bit, we are getting to know our community and the people who make it work. It all takes time, and we miss our friends back in Ontario. But, we are contented in our fresh and wild new surrondings, sometimes giddily so, and are very happy to have made this move when we did.
