Tag Archives: organic

Big Dog, Little Dog Farm Adventures

While Lola and I were cooling off (and scouting out some awesome garlic) in the curing barn, our newest tour guide was rounding the corner to show us a few more things.

Great Pyrenees running through green grass on a farm

 

Oh, HAI there, Logan!

 

Great Pyrenees happily coming up to say hi in the green grass

 

Lola isn’t always so great with bigger dogs, so we had a careful introduction…

Great Pyrenees and a small black pug sniff green leaves together

 

…but there were clearly too many more interesting things to do than be grumpy, so the new friends got down to important sniffing business…

Great Pyrenees and a small black pug sniff green leaves together

 

…and they actually seemed to hit it off quite well.

Great Pyrenees and a small black pug sniff green leaves together

 

The Pug and Logan had a good time exploring the greens and shrubbery, but before long, it was time to move on, so I scooped the little monkey up into my arms and we made our way into the gorgeous vegetable garden for a tour.

Vegetable garden on a farm in many different shades of lush green

 

We’ve got green beans and fresh peas (delicious when eaten right off the vine), and kale and more kale and…little fuzzy pods?

A woman's hands hold an immature, green chickpea, still in it's fuzzy pod

 

Seriously. I had NO IDEA that chickpeas grew like this. Where have I been living all these years?

Needless to say, Lola was getting REALLY bored with the vegetable tour, what with being unable to sniff anything or pee on anything, so we left the veggies in peace (with some in our bellies – the wonders of organic!), and walked past the fields of buckwheat to visit the largest resident ladies on the farm.

Closeup of two brown horses in an outside pen on a farm

 

I have always held a deep love for horses, but so much in life is a matter of perspective, and only now can I understand why Lola Pug might be less than impressed with them.

Close up of a brown horse from underneath

 

All teeth and nostrils does not exactly make for an immediate best friend, eh, pug?

Little black pug sitting on green grass looking confused and slightly derpy with her teeth sticking out

 

 

Right.

In search of more shade – and less horse – for The Pug, we happened upon a perfectly pug-sized picnic bench, where we cooled off (again) for a bit.

A happy, smiling little black pug sitting on a small picnic bench on a summer day on a farm

 

Logan had created an even better arrangement for himself, having dug out a Great Pyrenees-sized cooling cave to relax in.

 

A happy Great Pyrenees lies underneath a picnic table in the grass and dirt

 

Lola doesn’t do dirt, and she’s not one for nesting under tables, so a compromise was eventually reached, and the two new friends chilled out, and traded city/country stories, filled with raccoons and coyotes and chickens, no doubt.

A small black pug and a big Great Pyrenees relax on a lawn with big smiles on their faces

 

All in all, a rather glorious adventure that left us with sunkissed skin, baskets (and bellies) full of fantastic vegetables, and huge smiles on all of our faces.

And if you ever happen to find yourself in Ontario, and are lucky enough to be up in Muskoka on a Sunday in growing season, be sure to visit Jay’s Organic Vegetables at the Midland Farmer’s Market to check out his veggies – and the 16 (16!) types of organic garlic – that he grows.

Jay’s farm is Lola and Logan approved!

 

 

 

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Chickens and Garlic and Pugs, OH MY!

I realise that the title of this post sounds a bit like a recipe, but I assure you it most definitely is not. Quite to the contrary, this is the makings of a great adventure, my friends!

Lola’s Aunt Sarah knows some very special people who have a very special place in the country, and when we got an invitation to visit, we simply couldn’t resist. Because…well…

Happy free roaming chickens

 

…CHICKENS!

You might remember that Lola met her first chicken a few years ago (you can revisit that day here), and MUCH to her thrill and to my amusement, we discovered her deep passion for them.

Now I don’t eat chickens (chickens are friends, not food), but I can’t vouch for Lola Pug’s intentions, so this girl was right to be wary of us.

Suspicious, happy free range chicken in the grass

 

We quietly went inside the chicken barn (is that a thing?) to pay homage to the ladies who were laying their eggs.

Black and white free range chicken sitting on her eggs

 

I don’t know how Farmer Jay is brave enough to reach under those little beaked guardians to get to their eggs, but I bet he does it quickly and without fuss, because before long, the ladies became a little bit squawky, and it was clear that both pugs and humans weren’t so welcome anymore.

Two black and white free range chickens sit on their eggs in a rustic barn

 

So back outside we went, to look for some more adventures.

I think that Lola Pug has made peace with the chickens…she might even feel one with the chickens…but they’re not so sure about her yet.

After finding *just* the right spot for The Pug to pee on, we made our way over to another, larger barn that we were told held a wonderful treat, as well as a bit of shade (and quiet) for us. We were not disappointed.

I mean – LOOK AT THIS!

 

Garlic hanging in a curing barn

 

When you go to the grocery store to “pick up some garlic”, did you know that you have a better choice?  Did you know that there is spicy garlic, mild garlic, pungent garlic and purple striped garlic? And did you know that most garlic is grown in China?

Poppycock to that, I say!

Farmer Jay grows 16 different types of garlic right here in Ontario. Organic garlic, at that!

Organic Ontario farm garlic rest in dirt on a curing table

 

While I spent time learning all about garlic, Lola Pug took the opportunity to cool off a bit in the curing and prep barn.

Black pug sits by a garlic curing table in a rustic barn

 

But little pug, our adventure has only just begun.

Why don’t you cool off a bit while I pick out some garlic, and we will wait on the arrival of our next, slightly hairier, tour guide.

…to be continued… of course….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed under Adventures, Special Days, Traveling Pug

This Little Puggie Went to Market…

…even though this little puggie stayed home.

One of the highlights of our week here at Casa Lola is taking delivery of our organic farm box. Both The Pug and I jump up when we hear Mike drop off our box at the door, and from there on in, it’s like Christmas morning for the two of us.

 

As soon as I put the box down on the floor, Lola Pug is on it, eager for me to open it up and show her the goodies inside…

 

…my newest discovery and I-will-eat-these-on-anything obsession are these arugula greens, which rather intrigued Madame…

 

As expected from something that grew in the earth, the carrots provided a good source of sniffs…

 

…the potatoes, however, were slightly less interesting, which makes me think she’s trying to tell me something about my carb intake. (I trust the pug implicitly, you see)

 

We got back onto track with the gorgeous BC-grown apple, which was subjected to much sniffage and interest…

 

…and we ended up with a rather thorough inspection of the milk, which was, again, a bit of a surprise. Maybe she was dreaming of ice cream.

 

Now, The Pug doesn’t get any food other than her kibble, but this doesn’t stop her demands for more, and when dinnertime rolled around, there were expectations to meet.

 

And, as usual, I SO failed to meet her high standards.

But what she misses in taste exploration, she gets a thousand times over in love, travel, activity, medical care and mental stimulation, so there’s a pretty decent trade off. Or at least I think so.

Now. Eggs and arugula. Sounds like a match made in heaven. For me, Pug. For me.

 

 

 

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Filed under Special Days, The Daily Pug