Despite the bitter cold and short days, Toban Dyck is dreaming of what he’ll do with his new farmyard when spring finally comes
I want to write about my backyard ice rink, but fear it may be too off topic for this column. The rink, for me, is pride and the fall happening at the same time. It’s proving a challenge to get that surface smooth. But, it’s one flood away from being a surface I would let […] Read moreA blueprint for spring
Germinating diversity
I’m trying to spend less of the winter indoors. My wife loves winter and being outside on days cold enough to freeze your tongue to a flagpole. She loves bundling up for walks in our backyard. She also loves bundling up for the 100-metre walk to the garage, a journey I tackle more as a […] Read more
Long winters, hashtags and avoiding the couch
Prairie winters: Nature’s mental endurance test. Writing this column, a task I usually have no shortage of ideas for, is forcing my mind to think faster and harder than the weather and daylight allows. The winter doldrums are tough for most. And, it seems, the memory of warmer, fun-filled days only lasts ’till, say, about […] Read more
A little knowledge goes a long way
Now that he’s moved from Toronto to his family farm in Manitoba, Toban Dyck is ready to check out his first major farm show
Farmers say winter is the time to reflect on the season past, plan for the season ahead and, for some, relax (though “relax” is not a word I hear too often in the farming community). The snow has now arrived and with it the desire to be cozy and hibernate. My wife, who loves winter, […] Read moreA double life and the business of fall
Full confession: I lead a double life, helping run the family farm and doing something completely different for the remainder of my time. Writing is my livestock, says my father, who, when he was taking over the farm, had cows and hogs to keep him busy and drawing an income over the winter months. The […] Read more
The honeymoon is over
Now that Toban Dyck and his wife have spent some time on the farm, he’s ready to get on with the real business of farming
The farm is now my home. My wife and I no longer spend time gasping at how our current situation differs from our last decade of life in the city. A month and a half into country life, we now exist in the brief limbo period between being an outsider and an engaged member of […] Read moreThe epiphany
City slicker Toban Dyck grew up in rural Manitoba, but it’s been a long time since he’s actually lived there. Now he and his wife are moving home to give farming a shot
Operating a riding mower, no matter how many horses under the hood, does not elevate me to alpha-male status, but on that sunny day, it came close. Sitting on the red mower, proud after having completed the task of cutting my parents’ relatively vast lawn, I texted my wife: “Let’s move to the farm.” “Hell no!” BBM was unexpectedly fast, in […] Read moreCyber-Savvy Farmer
