Author: Ruth Rowe

When John and I married, the dog on the farm was named Sharp. Sharp would do things to make farming easier for us, like fetching the cows and herding the pigs. He was a good watchdog and would sound the alarm when necessary. One day when … Read more

I have a screen saver on my computer that shows a lake with wildflowers and trees. This setting was the lake behind our house for fifteen years. It was wonderful to hear the loons calling every day through six summers. I used to watch the … Read more

When I was young, our family lived next door to brothers who had a gorgeous apple tree in their yard. The apples looked so good and juicy, and we all wished that we could have one. There were five sisters in my family at this time. A … Read more

As a child in Sunday school, I learned this song: Only a boy named David, only a little sling, Only a boy named David, but he could pray and sing. Only a boy named David, only a rippling … Read more

When John and I were farming, we had a flock of a hundred sheep. The sheep taught us so many lessons, much like the ones found in Scripture. March and April were the months when the new lambs were to be born, so I would spend hours at … Read more

During all the years when John and I farmed, I made bread. When I first started making bread, I stuck to the recipe, but as time went on, my confidence grew in my own ability to know the amounts of the different ingredients needed to make … Read more

On Manitoulin Island, John and I had cattle and sheep on a farm for years. We were very aware of foxes searching for food. They are very cunning animals. They can smell a mouse beneath the snow and catch partridge that burrow under the … Read more

During the 1960s and 1970s while John and I farmed, we also had a heating business servicing all of Manitoulin Island. We were located in the centre of the island, so the distance was pretty well the same for service calls going east or … Read more

I grew up in a family that had the funds for necessities, but nothing for extras. For our birthdays, we never received a gift; we had only a cake. Mother wrapped coins and placed them in between layers of the cake. Each of us always hoped … Read more

At the side of our farm house, there were two majestic silver maple trees that were as high as the peak of the roof. Their shade covered the veranda through the hot days of summer. Each summer, we had many different songbirds that helped … Read more