Ross Farm, Nova Scotia

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/rfm/en/home/default.aspx

Ross Farm is a real working farm since 1816.  Everything they do on the farm serves a purpose for the rest of the farm or for the community.  Their work is not done in vain.  This day they were highlighting the apple industry, i.e. the making of barrels for apples to be shipped and stored in.

Taking a wagon ride

Oxen do all the heavy work, ploughing, haying, pulling carts, on the farm.

A woodworker starts with a piece of wood and ends up with a cooking spoon.  Then I bought the spoon, mainly because it has a notch on the end so it will hang on the side of a pot. 

Working with a handmade broom; they are made and sold on this farm out of reeds and rye grass.

In the sawmill, cutting staves for the cooper to use to make barrels with.

Cutting out the round pieces to use in the tops of the barrels.

Groups of staves ready for the cooper.

At the cooper shop.  After he's done, the oxen take these straight to the giftshop.  Guess who bought a bucket with a handle?

An intriguing visitor.

The school house.  These children are working on their lessons using real slates and slate pencils.

Jackson wrote his name.

 

New baby calf 3 days old.  The milk from the mamas is used to make butter.

The blacksmith is shoeing an ox today.

Each child got to help churn butter from the cows milked earlier.

After 15 minutes, the butter was churned, washed, and molded and ready to eat on biscuits.

We spent about 1/2 of a day on the farm which is only about 25 minutes from our house.  After lunch, the baby went down for a long-needed nap and the rest of us chilled out down on the beach, in the water, and on the dock for several hours.  The weather is about 30 degrees (celcius, that is!)