Little Iron Horse: Le Cheval Canadien {The Canadian Horse}

Canadian Horse at the Royal Winter Fair, Toronto 2006

Photo taken by hippo-po

The Canadian Horse, as it's name suggests is uniquely Canadian; and just like the 'average' Canadian person, this horse tends to be very hardy, level-headed, and of course, beautiful ;)

According to Cherry Creek Canadians (which by the way has gone through pain-staking action to record the history and lines of the breed, as well as preserving it), Canadian Horses are descendants from 'the best horses from King Louis IVX stables' and 'they were sent to Canada by the King to reward his best men who had gone to settle the "new world", between 1665 - 1670'.

At one time it was so numerous and popular, that in the 1800's there was more than 150,000 of them, and they were used to improve other breeds such as the Standardbred, Morgan, and Tennessee Walker. Unfortunately with the onslaught of industrialization, the breed numbers fell, and by the 1950's they were almost extinct.

The Canadian Horse Heritage and Preservation Society (CHHAPS) is an organization that is dedicated to raising awareness about the Canadian Horse. On their site they quote a study (DNA Detectives, 1998 Canadian Horse Annual) that states, 'the Canadian, bred in isolation for so long, does still appear to be genetically distinct from the popular racing and riding breeds, reinforcing the need to give high priority to its conservation'.

With the hard work of dedicated lovers of this breed, the numbers are once again climbing; there are now approximately 6,000 around the world, which is an increase from about 400 in the 1970's. And in 2002, the Canadian was made the national horse of Canada by the federal government.

I would just love to see this breed make a real comeback, not only because I adore horses, but because I think that they can be extremely beneficial. They are a multi-discipline breed that is smart, very strong (it is not called the Little Iron Horse for nothing!), with great temperaments. I can see them posing some real solutions when it comes to farming, transportation, as well as pleasure.

For more information on the breed, check out these webbys:

Canadian Horse Breeders Association

Canadian Horse Heritage and Preservation Society

The Canadian Horse

Association Quebecoise du Cheval Canadien (French site)

(Originally from Laurel's blog)

Near North Producers

This is a list of Near North Ontario Producers. Be sure to check back, as well will be constantly updating this list!{In alphabetical order}. If you know of any Near North Ontario producers, please let us know about them and we will add them to our list!

Algonquin Honey
(honey, preserves, condiments)
(705) 636 1883
34 Whispering Wind Lane
Emsdale, Ontario P0A 1J0

Algonquin Tea Company
(organically grown and ethically wildcrafted tea and workshops)
http://www.algonquintea.com/
spirit@algonquintea.com
(613) 628-6157
RR5 106 Augsburg Road
Eganville, Ontario, K0J 1T0

Alsace Gardens
(vegetables and plants)
(705) 724-3900
RR#2
Powassan, Ontario, P0H 1Z0

Artan Gardens
(organically grown vegetables and herbs)
seed@artangardens.com
North Bay, Ontario

Barb's Jams & Jellies
(preserves)
yellekbobbik@vianet.ca
(705) 472-1509
1933 RR#4, Hwy 17W
North Bay, Ontario, P1B 8G5

Becker's Berry Patch
(strawberries)
http://www.beckersberrypatch.com/
mailto:beckers@lincsat.com
(705) 724-2305
Nipissing, Ontario, P0H 1W0

Belle Valley Wool
(sheep's wool and related products)
http://www.bvwools.com/

Board's Honey Farm
(honey, honey related products, beekeeping items and workshops)
http://www.boardshoneyfarm.com/
shop@boardshoneyfarm.com
(705) 729-2939
6866 Hwy. 534, RR#1
Nipissing, Ontario, P0H 1WO

Commanda Country Gardens
(native plants, wild flowers, perennials, and herbs suitable to the Near North)
http://www.countryroadstour.com/commandacountry.html
(705) 729-5714
3507 Alsace Road
Commanda, Ontario

Creative Meats
(Milk, fish, meat)
705-967-2006
7437 Hwy 17
Warren, Ontario P0H 2N0

Creekbend Farm
(honey and related products)
(705) 594-1087
RR #1
Lavigne, Ontario

Dalew Farms
(CSA, pasturized livestock, beef, chicken, turkey, eggs and organically grown vegetables)
(705) 594-1823
10781 Hwy 64
Lavigne, Ontario

Ellery's
(plants, perennials, and herbs)
(705) 724-6192
1581 Maple Rd, RR#1
Powassan, Ontario P0H 1Z0

Golden Beef
(beef, sold at Callander Farmers Market on Sundays)
Shelly Rahme (regional rep)
(705) 663-1181
Redbridge, Ontario

Hidden Valley Farms
(frozen beef, eggs, in season vegetables)
(705) 776-9018
565 Development Rd
Bonfield, Ontario

Highlander Brew Company
(microbrewery)
http://www.highlanderbrewco.com/index.htm
highlanderbrewco@hotmail.com
(705) 386-2337
South River, Ontario

Jackie's Harvest
(vegetables and preserves)
(705) 474-5352
1124 Premiere Rd
North Bay, Ontario, P1A 2J1

Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh & Muskoka Lakes Winery
(cranberries, wine and related products)
http://www.cranberry.ca/
(705) 762-2303
1074 Cranberry Rd
Bala, Ontario

L&D Greenhouse
(plants and vegetables)
kgauthier323@acpol.com
(705) 471-4484
560 Nipissing
Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, P2B 2L1

Leisure Farms
(berries and baked goods)
http://www.leisurefarms.ca/
(705) 753-1876
744 Quesnel Road
Sturgeon Falls, Ontario
P0H 2G0

Matthew's Maple Syrup
(maple syrup and related products)
http://www.matthewsmaple.com/
dave@matthewsmaple.com
(705) 724-3427
R.R. #2, 239 Ski Hill Rd.
Powassan, Ontario, P0H 1Z0

Mary Ann's Homemade Jams and Jellies
(preserves)
maryannecfullerton@yahoo.ca
(705) 472-2959
600 Booth Street, Unit # 2
North Bay, Ontario, P1A 4J7

Misty Haven Alpacas
(alpaca's wool and related products)
http://www.mistyhavenalpacas.com/
norma@mistyhavenalpacas.com
(705)752-4256
245 Derland Rd
Corbeil, Ontario

Muskoka Cottage Brewery
http://www.muskokabrewery.com/
(705)646-1266
13 Taylor Rd
Bracebridge Ontario L 1S6

Nature Balance
(organically grown produce, garlic, seasonal vegetables, herbs, and Christmas trees)
donnasoutar@vianet.ca
(705) 493-3679
900 Tower Dr
North Bay, Ontario

Olde World Bakery
(bread and baked goods)
northstargems@inbox.com
(705) 474-2617
542 Cartier St
North Bay, Ontario P1B 8N5

Phoenician Gourmet
(Middle Eastern delecacies and catering)
phoeniciangourmet@sympatico.ca
http://www.blogger.com/www.phoeniciangourmet.blogspot.com
(705) 497-5956
411 Wickstead Avenue
North Bay, Ontario, P1A 4A8

Schlosser Farm
(maple syrup, strawberries, corn, seasonal vegetables)
schlosserfarm@netspectrum.ca
(705)724-3144
RR#1 63 Schlosser Line
Trout Creek ON P0H 2L0

Silver Rapids Farm
(beef, lamb, potential CSA for 2010…call this year for next year’s beef and lamb, sold out for 2009)
david.dockendorff@gmail.com
(705) 724-9183
Powassan, Ontario

Terza Farms
(flour, grains and pork)
http://www.terzafarms.ca/
(705) 563-8021
RR # 1, Milberta Road
Thornloe, Ontario

The Swiss Pastry Chef
(bread and baked goods)
http://http//swisspastrychef.com/
uriesen@cogeco.ca
(705) 472-2253
126 Main Street East
North Bay, Ontario

Thibeault Marsh Farm
(CSA, fruits and vegetables)
http://www.thibeaultmarshfarm.com/
sylviothibeault@yahoo.ca
(705) 867-0482
225 Pothier Rd
St Charles, Ontario, P0M 2W0

Thornloe Cheese
(cheese)
http://www.thornloecheese.ca/
info@thornloecheese.ca
(705) 647-7441
999697 Hwy 11 N
Thornloe, Ontario, P0J 1S0

Vinegar on the Rocks
(Preserves and condiments)
(705)671-2899
595 Kathleen Street
Sudbury, Ontario P3C 2N4

Willow Farm Poultry
(Free range chicken and duck eggs)
ssmyth@onlink.net
(705)744-2230
Suzanne's Road R.R. # 2
Mattawa, ON P0H 1V0

Wyness Sprouts
(sprout kits, wheatgrass, sprouts, buckwheat)
tildenlake1@ontera.net
(705) 892-2364
7 Bells Road, Box 36
Tilden Lake, Ontario, P0H 2K0

Sam & Ester Yoder
(Hormone and medication free livestock lamb, chicken, turkey, eggs, organically grown vegetables)
(705)724-6771
Chisholm, Ontario

Laura& Sarah Ann Yoder
(Organically grown vegetables and baked goods)
(705)724-9546
Chisholm, Ontaro

Roasted Root Veggies & Maple Syrup

For the northern locavore, a whole winter of eating root veggies can get boring. The good news is that we are currently at the tail end of maple syrup season, and this was a fantastic year for it in this region.

Here is a recipe with ingredients that can be found here in this region at this time of year (including the maple syrup!).


Roasted Veggies & Maple Syrup

3 Russet Potatoes
2 Large Carrots
2 Large Parsnips
1/2 a Rutabaga
1 Yellow Onion
1 Tablespoon Butter
3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
Dried Mint (to taste)
Dried Sage (to taste)
Freshly-ground Pepper (to taste)

Roast in the oven at 350 for about one hour.

It's great with a couple of scrambled eggs and mint tea!

A take on a recipe from Laurel's blog.

Foodland Ontario's Availability Guide

Foodland Ontario has an excellent resource for those who want to know what type of Ontario-grown food is available, and when. You can see their list, as well as find recipes and nutritional information by clicking here.

Sharing Backyards

(The video might take a minute to load but it will play!)

This video was originally found on the City Farmer Blog.

Sharing Backyards is a fantastic website to connect those with backyards that they are not using with those who need a backyard to plant in. There are listings in cities from all over North America, even in Thunder Bay.

There are no listings in the Near North region from what I can see, so if you have a yard that you are not using, or are looking for a yard, sign up!

An Article About Our Community Garden Partnership

This is an article written last week in a local paper about our project partnership with Artan Gardens to start a non-profit community garden.

Locavores to grow produce for not-for-profit organization
From the North Bay Nugget

By Jenny Potter on April 15, 2009

Zel Artan has big plans for the 1.2-hectare patch of land her parents have been growing vegetables on for the past 20 years.

The Artans are turning some of the weeding and watering over to the public this summer, opening up 464 square metres of garden to members of the Near North Locavores, who plan to grow produce and donate it to a local not-for-profit organization.

For many years, Artan’s Turkish-Canadian parents have lived off the produce grown from their garden near the Laurier Woods.

Excess produce is sold to the community at the North Bay Downtown Farmers’ Market each Saturday in the summer or preserved for the winter.

But as time wears on, maintaining the large garden has become difficult for the couple.

Last summer, Artan, who splits her time between Toronto and North Bay, picked up the shovel and continued in her parents’ footsteps working the garden with the help of friends.

“I got involved with it last year and fell in love. It’s like a vegetable Sweetman’s Garden,” she said of the lot on McIntyre Street West that has offered a floral oasis for visitors for many years.

This summer, some members of the Near North Locavores plan to revitalize an overgrown part of the Artans’ garden, growing fresh organic produce that will be donated to a not-for-profit organization yet to be determined.

The area will also be used to demonstrate how people can grow some of their own food.

Next summer, the group hopes to establish community allotments, allowing people to grow their own vegetables.

Laurel Ronan, a core member of the Locavores, said they are excited to be able to use the land and expand an already beautiful garden.

Opening the garden to the public is just the starting point for Artan. She has many campaigns and challenges planned for the city.

The Seed to Feed Earth Week challenge kicks off Wednesday, with a goal of raising awareness of the importance of collecting and keeping seeds year after year.

“Planting vegetables is one thing,” she said. “It’s about making people aware of protecting the heirloom seed varieties.”

Along with the campaign, her personal goal is to educate herself and her family on being self-sufficient, starting with feeding her family at least one meal a day from food they produced.

She hopes other families in the city will take up the challenge as well.

“My kids understand that organic produce tastes better and is better for you,” she said.

She also hopes to pass on gardening skills to a younger generation through a children’s day camp this summer.

The long-term goal is to make the garden an educational facility, and Artan hopes government grants will allow them to add a horticultural ecology centre.

There is also a documentary planned on the garden, and she hopes the interest will garner them a television show.

In the meantime, volunteers will start turning the earth later this week, preparing the garden for planting and building a water-retention system to collect rain water for the garden.

“I think North Bay needs this,” Artan said.

jpotter@nugget.ca

A Little Bit About the Near North Locavores

Welcome to our blog!

The Near North Locavores is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization that was started up in Feburary 2008. Our main goal is to promote local food production and consumption of the Near North region of Ontario, Canada.

We are a diverse group comprised of current and aspiring producers, people in business and health care, environmentalists, gardeners, people concerned about food security, and consumers who want access to more locally produced food.

In our first year we had a table at the North Bay Downtown Farmers’ Market, where we helped to sell local producers’ food, and distributed information. We will be back at the Market for the 2009 season starting on May 16th and we will be there every Saturday until the closing of the Market on October 10th.

We are currently have many exciting projects underway, including a community garden (partnered with Amelia Rising Sexual Assault Centre, North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, and the Take Heart Program); a local producer database, and a partnership with Vested Interest to establish a central location to purchase local produce year round!

For more information, you can check out our Facebook group or email us at nearnorthlocavores(at)hotmail.com.