MY 2 WEEKS IN KENABEEK CANADA

Chops visited me in Slovenia in 2018 and now it’s my turn to visit them in the Great White North, Kenebeek, Ontario, Canada. I wanted to come in July, but he said the swarms of mosquitoes form clouds at that time of year. He suggested September, no bugs and nice weather, he knows. It’s beautiful here, I joked about asking where the real estate office was. Then they said it can be 40 below (at -40 Fahrenheit or -40 Celsius is the same). I immediately skipped the real estate idea.

Chops and I are both very climate aware. That is their incentive for moving here, they’re real climate migrants. They moved here 5 years ago and have transformed the property into a potential self-sustaining homestead. Gardens, Greenhouse, Solar and selling at the local Farmers Market. We stood outside and admired all his hard work. I told him how proud I was of him pursuing his dreams and succeeding. I got to experience country living & working: chopping firewood, trail building, picking wild blueberries, using the weed eater, and watching him work on his truck. They have a website about their projects @ PURPLE RAVEN FARM.

FOR A HOUSE WARMING GIFT I BOUGHT SOME FRUIT TREES, 5 YEARS LATER, THIS IS HOW BIG (small) THEY’VE GOTTEN.

The big event here is Art Farm. Most time was spent preparing for Art Farm: hands on Art Projects, Fire sculpture & food.

ART FIRE STRUCTURE, CASSANDRA & MOM PAINTING BLUEBERRY MARKERS & MOM PREPPING BRANCHES FOR BRANCHING METAL SCULPTURE

BIG DAY AT PURPLE RAVEN FARM “ART FARM”

DAYS AFTER

Recovery is easy when the event is drug and alcohol free (I snuck a couple beers) I had an extra handmade backgammon board from my move. I brought it to Kenbeek, and we played every day. We hiked the many trails they’ve cleared, the bears like them, too. I brought all the ingredients for making Mexican Tamales. They’re a big hit! We had a corn on the cob roast, the dogs liked the cobs.

I’ve been in touch with Chops and Cassandra for nearly 5 years since they’ve been in Canada. I wanted to see it for myself, and I did. I always thought I would do what they’re doing. Having lived it for 16 days, it’s A LOT of hard work. I’m almost 70 now and I don’t have the energy to do what they’ve done, are doing, and have planned. I live the lifestyle vicariously through them, it’s a lot easier! The word sustainable came up frequently. Their solution for heating is a wood stove that works for them. A planet of 8.1 billion people can’t all heat with wood, that’s unsustainable. When we visited some of their friends, I noticed all the gas-powered equipment: snowmobile, tractor, 2 vehicles, snow removal machine & some things I didn’t even know what they were. There’s no recycling here. I was shocked at all the stuff that was being thrown away. A truly sustainable lifestyle includes reusing precious resources. Chops actually brings stuff home from the landfill; he’s doing what he can.
I’ll probably never go back to the “Great White North.” But it was definitely worth the time & energy to go there.

ONE FINAL BACKGAMMON GAME AT THE LOCAL BOOKSHOP

Thanks for reading,
Jeff

NEXT: 10 DAY BIKE TOUR (diss-aster) AROUND SLOVENIA