31 It’s Farming. And It’s Better. Better Farming | May 2024 extended family. The pond is used for swimming, fishing, and skating. In the 10-acre woodlot, we make maple syrup, and together the family taps trees and collects sap. We also have nine raised beds for gardening. They make gardening fun. I also like planting trees. Crystal: In my time off, I like to go camping and cycling, and we spend a lot of time at the cabin by the pond. Brian: It’s the same for me. I like outdoor activities like camping, fishing, four-wheeling, and snowmobiling. When you have a number of farms in the same general area, you can do some of those activities without leaving the backyard. Joan: We do have a great time with the cabin and all of our family. It’s been there so long that the grandchildren don’t remember it not being there, and it’s great to see them there, having fun. How do you measure success? Nick: I measure success by what makes me happy. Having my family live where they live, and do what they do, makes me very, very happy. Crystal: Pretty much the same thing. Happiness is a good measure of success. Brian: I think my happiness is tied pretty closely to these folks’ happiness. What’s your favourite piece of equipment? Nick: In the good old days, I owned a 4490 four-wheel drive Case tractor with a front-mounted snowblower, and it kept an awful lot of roads open for a number of years. Crystal: The side-by-side that we use every day to do chores. It’s great to get back in the fields with. Brian: Mine might be a John Deere 4240 tractor. It was the first tractor I ever owned myself and it still starts up and runs just as well as when we first got it. And now it has 12,000 or 13,000 hours on it. I get a kick out of that. Joan: My favourite is the side-by-side too. BF UP CLOSE Murray with some broiler chicks. Crystal Whyte photo
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