TELUS Volunteer Event

Some comments from TELUS Volunteers:

We had a great day at the farm, Courtenay, and hope to do it again next year! - Leah

We had a wonderful time and glad to help out.  We have already been back to the farm because my son, Connor, loves the horses!  Now, he wants a horse!  All Connor talks about is Tom and Prince!  Thank you for adding to our memories of Maplewood Farm.  Our older sons, who are now 17 and 15, spent many days at the farm.  It was good to give back. -  Ron and Connor Buziol

We had a terrific day and our family certainly enjoyed giving back to Maplewood Farm where we spent countless hours with our boys when they were younger. Thanks so much for posting these pictures and also for the passes!! - Cheers, Craig, Lisa, Colin & Chris.

We all had too much fun and especially my little guy, Jaden; he can't stop painting away...hehe. Looking forward to beautify the farm again next year. We shall be there again this year, thanks to you, Courtenay for the complimentary passes. - Joanne & Jaden

That was a lot of fun, and thanks for the passes! We've always loved the farm and are looking forward to another visit soon! - Michael & Elizabeth

Did you know?

Our best and top selling gift items for little ones are:

 
Left to right- 
corn broom, push broom, leaf rake, spade, hoe ($7.99 each)
 
Metal pails available in red, blue, green ($6.99)
 
Assorted Watson gardening gloves for those little fingers ($5.99-$6.50)
 
Kid’s Hand tool set (trowel, rake, shovel) $7.49
 
Cowboy hats (one size) $4.48
 
 

  
Our fantastic fleet of pull back die-cast metal tractors ($8.89)

JRFM is broadcasting live from Maplewood Farm

News Flash! JRFM 93.7 will be broadcasting live from the Maplewood Farm Sheep Shearing event on Sunday May 27th, 2012. An event you don't want to miss!
http://www.jrfm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9&postid=534

Farm Scoop: Upcoming Sheep Shearing Festival, Farmers Market, Field Trip Reservations, New and Improved Farm and more...

Farm Scoop - May, 2012


Upcoming Event: 32nd Annual Sheep Shearing Festival, an event you won’t want to miss!

Visit Maplewood Farm at 11:00 am or 1:00 pm on Sunday May 27th 2012 to check out the shearing of Maplewood flock by Professional Shearer Lorea Tomsin of Sidney, BC.

Bill McCallion of Whonnock, BC will also be on-site with his talented Border Collie dogs and special ducks. Craft tables and weaving demonstrations will take place all day outside. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, the craft tables and weaving demonstrations will move inside the red livestock barn. Contact us at info@maplewoodfarm.bc.ca for more information.

New Event: Farmers Market:
Natural, Local, Fresh Food

Starting Saturday May 26th, 2012 on a weekly basis from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm visit the Farmers Market at Maplewood Farm. A farm visit is not required to access the market. The market will occupy the south end of the farm’s parking lot. Additional parking has been secured across the street at the school (32 additional stalls plus the gravel field).

Book Your Classroom/Daycamp Field Trip!

The farm is a fabulous outdoor classroom making school/daycamp field trips to Maplewood Farm an experience to remember while reinforcing classroom teaching. Teachers and Daycamp Leaders are welcome to download the Guide to Maplewood Farm (pdf) to help with their trip planning.

Reservations are required and we recommend you make arrangements at least two weeks prior to your visit. Contact us at info@maplewoodfarm.bc.ca or call 604-929-5610 to book your field trip today!

Check out the new and improved farm!

The farm is currently going through a major makeover in preparation for the 2012 season thanks to the District of North Vancouver. This includes refurbished benches, a new welcoming entry area, a new gathering, picnic and seating area, trail and picnic shelter improvements (including wheelchair accessible trails), new animal shelters, new events, plus more... View photos of some of the improvements completed here: http://maplewoodfarmnorthvancouver.blogspot.ca/2012/05/check-out-new-and-improved-farm.html

Check out the new and improved farm!

The farm is currently going through a major makeover in preparation for the 2012 season thanks to the District of North Vancouver.

All the little noises

Working on a farm you get used to all the obvious noises you hear every day. It's often very early in the morning  these noises occur. The crowing of the rooster starts at about 2 am, braying from our little donkey as we enter the farm , the screeching from the geese as we pass by the duck pond early in our feeding schedule, neighing from the horses when we open the barn doors and turn on the lights and mooing from the cows demanding they get their breakfast right this minute!
It's the out of the ordinary noises that perk up your attention.  The cries from newly born animals can wake up a farmer pretty quick and get you hopping tending to their needs.  Hungry babies sure do make quite a racket! 
Once a barn full of animals has had their breakfast it is truly amazing how quiet it can be.  All that is heard is the quiet munching and chewing sounds as the hay gets devoured. Babies are content and back to sleep after bottles are drank dry.
Sitting on a little stool beside a warm jersey cow with the sounds of the milk clinking into the bucket there is anouther sound I have been trying to figure out what it is and who it is coming from for a while.  Beside me is a large stall of pygmy goats eating their breakfast except for one soft groaning noise. This noise is familar as we had a nubian dairy goat that often made this noise at night resting after dinner.
Well, the problem is if I get up from the milking stool and try and see who it is that is making this noise they will of course stop, so I enlist the help of one of the farmers to sneak over to the stall and try to find this groaning goat.  Farmer Dominique is very quiet, stealthy and observant and finds our goat who is making these funny noises. Sweet little Molly the pygmy goat is happily groaning away as she's finished her breakfast and lying peacefully on a homemade block in the middle of the stall. Thanks Farmer Dominique!
It's the subtle noises that get you going, make you curious and catch your attention when there are so many little noises at a farm!

Join the fun here at the farm and see how many little noises you can hear!

Farmer Nadine

Happy Easter

It's been an Easter tradition here at Maplewood Farm to hatch our own eggs in an incubator.  This year we opted for a smaller hatch which ended up to be fourteen little chicks this year.  For those of you that don't know what an incubator is, it is a machine that provides heat, humidity and a turning apparatus to simulate what a setting or brooding hen would provide.  It takes 21 days to hatch chicken eggs.  They have just hatched so come on down and see them as they grow very fast.
Chickens are getting quite alot of publicity these days as many municpalities have new bylaws to allow them in backyards but what do you really know about them?  Well they are very entertaining little critters.. Ever see a chicken run?  It will deffinately make you laugh!  Need any pest removal or excavation? A chickens natural behaviour of scratching and digging for insects, grubs, and bugs churns and rotates the earth.  It is also interesting to watch chickens in a group interact.  It would seem the particular breeds stick together.  Silkies with silkies,  little bantam duck wings with each other and so forth.  Our Silkie rooster  is particularly gentlemanly to his hens when he finds a good collection of bugs he calls his cluster of hens over to endulge while he patiently stands guard!
If they're not eating , running or scratching around you will find them sunning themselves or having a dust bath in the nearest pile of dirt.
So enough about chickens!  There are many other critters to see and lots of fun to be had right now at Maplewood Farm!

Farmer Nadine