How's That For a Bombshell?!?!?! 💣

Life never fails to disappoint with surprises, does it?
You spend much time on this here planet and you'll get your share of
curveballs, ⚾️
bolts from the blue, ⚡️
jaw-droppers, 😲
and bombshells.  💣
Sometimes life just gets 'lifey' and what's there to do about it?
The best we can I guess...
Roll with the punches, 🥊
Take it all in stride, 🏃‍♀️
Look for the silver lining. ☁️
💣
 Well we're definitely trying, but we received a fairly major bombshell just this past week and though we're still reeling a bit from the shockwave, we thought we'd take a minute to let you know as well since this bombshell will affect you too.
Here goes ....
Our local abattoir is closing on April 12th and our butcher is semi-retiring.
Go ahead, read it again.  It might take you a minute to process like it did for me.
Here are the facts:
The abattoir is the facility where we harvest all of our animals.  
Our harvest dates are booked a full year in advance.
The next closest abattoirs and butchers are also booked a year in advance as are all of the abattoirs in the North.
And there you have it...
poof,
in the span of a single heartbeat our entire business plan and harvest & delivery schedule for the year went up in flames. 🔥

Rick and I feel a bit like we're buried under an avalanche of decisions to make for the year ahead without having any of the pertinent information necessary to make those decisions.
That puts us in limbo at the moment and quite honestly - 
limbo is a sucky place to live.
Please bear with us as we figure it out,
and
Thank you so much for your continuing support & encouragement 
as we work to bring you the best products and value possible!
It means the world to us to be your farmers!

In other great news ...

Check out this map put out by Agriculture Canada at the end of February ...

As you can see things are looking pretty bleak across the whole country.  71% of Canada is currently classified as "abnormally dry" which includes 85% of the country's agricultural landscape.

Gulp!  The issue of food security is real folks!

Looking at conditions specifically here in BC's Northwest, we have received less than 40% of our normal precipitation.  In addition to that, unseasonably warm temperatures have limited our snow pack throughout the region which is fuelling concerns for dry conditions and wild fires in the months ahead.  We are currently classified as being in "Extreme Drought".

😬

Life is never just one extreme or the other though is it?
There are so many beautiful things at work here at 6S right now that it's actually quite a chore to feel weighed down by the challenges ahead.
The farm is busy shaking loose of the grip of winter and so are we.
The Mountain Bluebirds have returned, along with the Canada Geese (aka Cobra Chickens 😆), Robins, and Swans.   I have yet to hear the whirring of the whooping cranes or the lonesome cry of the mourning doves but they are most certainly not far behind and their arrival heralds the advent of another season of warmth and sunshine.
The catkins are unfurling on the aspen & cottonwood trees in the forested paddocks, lending a softened, almost blurry appearance to the tree lines and before we know it all things dormant will come alive once more.
I certainly don't hate winter, but I can tell you that I'm never sad to see her leave.
She is a welcome guest when she first arrives, bringing with her a much needed change of tempo.  A gentler pace of life after the frenzied rush of the fall harvest season.   She certainly has her moments of jaw dropping beauty as well, when all the world lays still and the pine branches bend earthward beneath her voluminous, tranquil cloak of white.  She sings her siren's song and it lulls us into much needed slumber.  
But come the new year, there's always a shift.  It is as though she knows her hold is limited and her jekyl & hyde personality reveals itself.
She becomes a demanding and unrelenting guest.
Spiteful and possessive.  
Whipping the full force of her fury at man and beast.  
Weeks of 40 below deep freezes.  
Rain & snow & sleet until everything is an icy nightmare.  
Gray, gray and more gray until all the world feels dull and lifeless.
Her demands require all a farmer's time and attention and effort and by April this farmer is quite happy to show her the door.
 Welcome Spring!