Yes, you read correctly. In the very heart of Victoria, in a neighborly hood idyllically named Fernwood, a lovely couple have converted their entire backyard into a market garden. Only one house lies between Backyard Farm and our house. We can hear the hens “bock bock b-gooooock-ing” every morning from our milk-box-like bathroom window. This makes me smile.

Today as Niall and I passed by Jenny’s small house I heard her call my name under the Garry Oak canopy. “Andrea! I was wondering if you’d stop by this evening… I have a dozen eggs for you.” Have sweeter words ever been spoken to a hungry girl strolling down her own street?

The eggs from the 12 hens I visited on Saturday were cracked into a pan to sizzle with butter, spring onions, garlic, tomato, and fresh basil – also from Jenny’s. Niall tells me that the deep orange yolks signify quality organic eggs. Well, our scramble tasted too delicious to capture on camera before settling in our bellies. I don’t think eggs for dinner have ever tasted this good.

I love it when we have visitors! Niall has been visiting from Scotland for the past 3 weeks and he brings our place to life with colorful, detailed stories. His mind holds the Scottish archives and still has room to remember little, seemingly insignificant details. Like the fact that I’m allergic to red wine. And the fact that Roddy and I have developed a obsession over Grey Monk white wines.

Niall’s journey through the Okanagan in a rental car included hunting down our favourite winery, touring it’s vineyard, sampling the goods and returning to Victoria with three bottles – you beauty! We made light work of the Riesling last night, whilst cracking up over one of our household’s most prized album covers, Slim Whitman’s ‘Songs I Like To Sing’.

I’ve got some ‘splaining to do. Locavore posts have gone by the wayside, not just because it’s summer and the sun shines everyday here in Victoria but because Roddy and I have been in the midst of some pretty major future planning.

It all started with MLS – the all-consuming database of property for sale in Canada. Hours upon hours have been spent by the pair of us on this website searching vacant land everywhere from secluded Gulf Islands to the Atlantic coast. The land acquisition plan was integral to our goal of living off the land – Roddy’s burning desire to be self-sufficient mingled with my yearning to grow veggies. It didn’t take long for Roddy to discover the wonderously affordable options for acreage in Nova Scotia. But, having done my time in the east during my undergrad, the last thing I wanted to do was hit the rewind button… it just felt, well, like backtracking.

In the spring, I was tipped off to a promising option for aspiring farmers. Farm Folk City Folk, a fabulous Vancouver non-profit, has teamed up with The Land Conservancy to establish the Community Farm Program, which pairs keen young farmers with land held in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) or leased land from older farmers. New farmers procure long-term (40+ year) leases to work the land and create their own business plans. The best part: a group of people work the land together so that leisure time is valued as much as bread labour. Roddy and I are on the database of people looking to be matched up with a farm on Vancouver Island. But we’re also impatient.

So, after much arm twisting, last month I found myself suggesting that we fly out to Nova Scotia to see what we find and how we FEEL out there. The Annapolis Valley was the first stop. It’s supposed to be the agricultural zone in NS. We thought it was beautiful, open, and welcoming. But then we moved on to Cape Breton and the Valley was suddenly eclipsed. Cape Breton (above) is wild, dynamic, fresh and breathtaking. And we found a place… stay tuned!