Tlell Bay Farm

The plants are growing. After three weeks of tending to the garden in all sorts of weather, the days have become noticeably warmer and sunnier. The garden has certainly responded as expected and the greenery that we have in the ground is shooting up.

Today we finally have finished prepping the garden beds for the summer with a little help from the most dedicated worked I have ever met. His name is Sylvan and he is four-years-old. Sylvan recently arrived from Ontario with his mother, Leanne, and they are living on the property in between Ross' bus and Sabrina's cabin. Sylvan is probably my favourite four-year-old I have ever met. His energy is very relaxed, he is extremely social but not hyperactive, he always wants to work and he talks very matter-of-factly. For instance, while we were gardening, he asked me what I had in my ears. I explained that they were earphones and that I listen to music from them. He asked for a listen, so I gave him one of the ear-buds. At the time I was listening to Audioslave, which isn't exactly four-year-old music in my mind, but I asked him if he liked the music. He said, "Yes. I love it." He makes me very happy.

So throughout the day Sylvan was my sidekick. He turned the soil with tools that are far bigger than he, he pulled the weeds out and shook off the soil as directed, he filled our bucket with grasses and went to feed the chickens religiously, and he even came to visit the goats, though I think he was a little bit afraid since he asked to hold my hand.

In the kitchen later that day, Sylvan also asked me if he could help me cook dinner, which I thought was very kind of him. So I had him bring over a chair so he could reach the cooking pots and pans. He managed to cook our noodles, to bread my buttered casserole dish, and when I had ran out of jobs for him, he kindly crushed all the eggshells under the sink for the garden. And then while listening to Dolly Parton, we danced.


Sylvan is an absolute pleasure and I already know I am going to miss him when we leave in a few days. Bonnie thinks we have a funny relationship - she knows I like him because he is the a productive child with a positive attitude. Sylvan always wants to be involved, and I let him, so we get along very well.

The dynamic on the farm is fairly complex because there are so many people who live here and contribute to the running in different ways. First there is farmer Elizabeth. Elizabeth has lived on the island for something like 40 years. She has a deep love of horses and Africa, has had a very successful career in public education and has had some fantastic life experiences. When she was younger, for example, she was part owner of a gold mine in the Yukon and for two summers cleaned gold and cooked for the miners. Elizabeth is the centre of the activities on Tlell Bay Farm. She is knowledgeable and resourceful about the happenings and people on the island, and also very involved in the community. Unfortunately, her health prevents her from being able to do much of the manual components on the farm, which is where the support team come in including us WWOOFers. Nonetheless, she milks the goats twice daily with much skill, prepares the eggs for sale, keeps the endless supply of dishes clean and cooks some pretty good meals too! Her primary focus in the house though is her dog Kazy who never leaves Elizabeth's side.




Elizabeth's first helper is husband Bill. Bill is originally from the States, but has lived here for some time as well. Bill has a number of health problems (and still hasn't quit smoking), and has a unique diet consisting primarily of Corn Pops, white bread and coffee. I will always remember Bill for being wrapped around Sasha, Kiki and Didi's little paws - these are Bill's cats. Didi is the biggest princess I have ever met and never leaves Bill's side. She calls him for cookies, for milk, for food from the table and to be picked up. You will often hear Bill say, "Didi I'd like to help you out, I really would, but I just can't give you any milk right now." The cats are very affectionate to Bill in return for his devotion to them. As evidence I have discovered Didi licking Bill's arm as he reads his paper to show she cares.

Brian lives in the basement apartment of the house. He came to Haida Gwaii five years ago to WWOOF for Elizabeth and decided to stay. Brian is originally from Toronto, but the city life burned him out. Now he makes cheese for sale at the Crowsnest where he also works on weekend, bakes delicious sugar free goodies (because he is diabetic), and helps keep Elizabeth and Bill's de-cluttered and clean. Brian's apartment is extremely organized and tidy. Brian too has a couple of cats. Puddin' and Pie have as much character as any of the other animals on this farm. Puddin' is an old rescue cat with fairly advanced arthritis in her hips. The arthritis causes her to stomp around the house at a slow but deliberate way. She spends most of her days sleeping on the chair and seems particularly frail and delicate. However, she has the most gorgeous eyes with the most life I have ever witnessed in a cat. Pie on the other hand is a bully. He is cross-eyed and fat too. If there is activity going on anywhere on the farm, you can guarantee that Pie will be there without delay. Pie, however obnoxious though, is Bonnie's favourite cat.


Ross lives in a blue school bus. As I understand it, Ross was living on the street for a while when he was a teenager, but ended up being taken in by Elizabeth and Bill. Ross reminds me of Snoopy some days and the pied piper on others. Ross' character is certainly mysterious but a little bit silly at the same time. Whenever you see Ross he will be wearing a sweater and his distinctive red hat. Some days he will appear playing his flute. We are greeted by Ross every morning when he arrives at the house for his coffee where we often hear him talk about his failed marriage with his still wife who lives in Vancouver. Today, Ross has taken Bonnie to town to go for some Belgian waffles, and tomorrow he starts a new job. Ross is a plumber by trade.

Ross' bus, despite all expectation, is quite comfortable.

Behind the bus you will arrive at Sabrina's cabin. Sabrina is Elizabeth and Bill's daughter. An ex-boyfriend of hers is the one who bought the bus. When he left, Sabrina moved in for a two year period. Then, when her German shepherd puppy started to grow, it got a little bit cramped, so she bought five acres of her mother's land and moved into the house. While here, we have also helped Sabrina with a few projects including setting up a greenhouse and levelling and weeding her garden area. Sabrina and Jack show up twice a day to pick up Elizabeth and Kazy for a walk around the property. During the day time, Sabrina works as a massage therapist. She has turned one of the other cabin's on the property into her clinic so she doesn't have to travel very far for work.

Last we have Leanne. Sylvan's mother has recently returned to the Tlell Bay Farm. She originally came to the island when she was 25 and pregnant with Sylvan to find an accepting and nurturing community. After being convinced to return to Ontario by her parents - they drove out here to come get her - she realized how much she missed the energy of the island. She has returned, though is uncertain of her decision and still trying to figure out where home is going to be for her and her son. Her ambition is to record a number of albums she has within her and to share her passion for music with others.

To round out the day I spent the afternoon tilling and planting a potato field with Dave and Matthew, a couple of locals that Elizabeth has rented part of her land to for the summer. It was hard work, but I think we planted at least four or five sacs of potatoes by the end of the day. I learned that I had to pack down the soil over the potatoes when I covered them in order for the soil to maintain a proper moisture level. However, when I asked why it was I had to pack down the soil, the initial response I received alluded to the fact that it was purely for superstition's sake. It is curious that so many component tasks we must do to effectively grow crops become routine without really knowing the reason behind them. I was glad that I received an answer in the end.

We have four more days on Tlell Bay Farm. I believe I will need to start packing again very soon.