We took a few days off and drove up to Brockville. On the way, we stopped by the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers warehouse, where I got to wander through the building, see the bales and bins of fleece and picked out 2 to come home with me. Of course my camera was no where to be seen. More on those fleeces in a later post.
One day we took to revisit Upper Canada Village. I have to say it is an amazing place with a great many knowledgeable interpreters. However not all were into sharing information. A couple of the cooks were more interested in talking amongst themselves and the tin smith was down right curt, unfriendly and unapproachable, answering questions in half sentences at best if one or two words wouldn't suffice and not sharing any information beyond those questions.
There were baby animals though. This little calf was just a few days old. Because calves were removed from their mamas a day or two after birth, they do the same thing, rather than leave the calves to be raised by the cows, despite them not using the milk. I was told they do this not only because it was period practice but because it socializes the calves more easily, making them less skittish around the many, many people who will trapse by.
The buildings are really well appointed and as I said, most of the interpreters are amazing. The broom maker was one such interpreter who gave a stellar talk while making a sorghum broom.
They were out tilling the corn fields. Their gardens were growing nicely. Actually they had potatoes, tomatoes, beans, kale, lettuce and more which were much bigger than mine at home. It didn't help my garden that the chickens found there way in while we were gone, ate all the lettuce, pecked a bunch of early tomatoes to pieces and ate the strawberries.
But back to the village.... they had a set of working oxen! How cool is that? Apparently oxen over heat much more quickly that horses and in the very hot weather, like that particular day was, they require many more breaks. It has something to do with them having less sweat glands than horses.
In all, it was another lovely visit. I do wish I'd picked up one of their cobber brooms though, because I am noticing many cobwebs this spring.
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