Dear Canimites,
With nights no longer freezing and the spring winds picking up, the heavy snows of winter have yielded their precious moisture to the land, all but a few tenacious drifts hiding in sheltered places.
Summer's birds continue to appear. Wayne Traill logged 27 species on April 11, including Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks.
Maurice Clark says that when he sees the smaller birds freeze at the feeder, he knows that one of these raptors is scanning the scene. They'd like to treat it as "a bit of a diner," he adds. Maurice notes many of the Goldfinches have completed their moult to brilliant summer yellow.
Marga Hausmann expects to see hummingbirds any day, as the crocuses bloomed mid last week. Indeed, her Snow Crocuses have been in flower since the end of March.
Canim-raised meat
"Everything's a go. Alleluia," says Vicky Shirran.
The South Cariboo Meat Co-op's abattoir plan is moving ahead. This is great news for local producers and consumers.
Consumers will now be able to buy meat directly from a local producer, have it slaughtered and chilled in a government-inspected facility, then hung, cut and wrapped to their own specs by a local business.
We'll know who grew the animal, what it ate, and whether it received any injections of antibiotics or hormones. The co-op facility design also includes a forward-thinking handling system that reduces the stress on the animals.
The local producers I talked to spoke about their intent to raise animals in an entirely natural way, on sweet Canim grass, and their expectation to deliver a product competitive in price to agri-business meat.
Gerhard Loeffeler calls the abattoir a "no brainer."
Local producers say they currently must transport animals back and forth to Horsefly, Barriere or Kamloops for slaughter, or to pay commissions and feedlot charges, making local production on a small scale cost-prohibitive.
The o-op changes all that, pumping new hope and new life into the local industry. For some producers, it will be the difference between being in business or not.
Vicky reports the ground-breaking is planned for May, and the facility should be in operation this year. Local producer members of the Co-op include Vicky (beef), Gerhard (beef) and Michael and Martina Dopf (lamb).
You should contact them directly for information and to make arrangements. If there are other producers I have missed, please let me know.
Community club
The Ladies Luncheon is on May 3 at 1:00 p.m. at the Hungry Bear in Lac La Hache.
Phone Jean Reynolds for details at 250-397-2773.
Mark your calendar for the May 17 nursery tour and lunch at the Little Horse Lodge. I understand that last year it was a lot of fun and very interesting for the local gardeners.
The Plant and Bake Sale at the Canim Lake Store is scheduled for May 28. This annual event is a great time to meet people, enjoy the local cooking and baking, and pick up some "Canim-tested-and-proven" flowers and shrubs.
The smell of the fresh cinnamon buns can entice a crowd from as far away as Mahood Lake. Bob Hicks' beef-on-a-bun is worth driving the road from Mahood Lake.
The craft group's wind chimes, quilted shopping bags and painted rocks for the garden will also be on sale.
That’s all for now. Please do call me with your news. Until next time, here’s wishing you many blessings.