VEGETABLES

Written by Ronald Mizon
Published on January 2018

As time drifted by Harry recovered well from his accident.  He was a tough old bird and before long he was taking part in running the farm.

They grew a lot of vegetables, potatoes, and all kinds of greens.  When it was potato planting time I was able to help by leading the gelding along whilst Harry and Allister planted the seed in.  The mare was okay for this job but the colt was all over the field jumping around like a spring lamb around its mother.  So, the lot fell to the gelding and I.

Later in the year, June/July, the potatoes were growing well and had to be heaped up in the shape of a triangle.  After this exercise, Harry took me down to the field with his shotgun.  I was puzzled why, but all was revealed later.  We stood together surveying his crop in silence then all of a sudden he stooped down and dug his remaining fingers in the side of a mound and extracted two or three potatoes.  They were a good size but he thought that they would grow a little more yet.  Then out came words of experience.  “See how easy it is to get them out.”  he remarked and then popped them back into place and patted the soil again.  I nodded.  “Well, now unscrupulous persons are prone to doing that and I can lose a lot of my crop like that.”  Now the shotgun came into play.  “Now”, he said “if I see miscreants in my field I give them a blast in the air and they soon run off. 

Another shot in the air for good luck.  That’s enough to put the wind up them and they soon vamoose.  So, if you see anyone in the field you come and tell me or Allister.”

I duly noted this but I was puzzled as to how they got by the house without being seen.  I put this to Harry and he laughed.

He said, “They come by the back door, that is to say, up from the beach.  My land goes right down to the creek, so the shot gun was always on stand-by when the crops were coming to fruition.”  I did spot strangers from time to time and Harry or Allister gave them an “in-the-air” blast.

There were some Natives living in the vicinity, just where I never knew.  They apparently frequented the Catholic Church.  I did see some once at a wooden table.  They appeared to be receiving money from two men in suits accompanied by an RCMP constable.  Harry did intimate to me that they received a bounty from the government yearly, to males only.   

Funny thing happened to me one day.  I still had my Boy Scout hat which I had in Milford Station and it was a perfect replica of an RCMP Constable’s hat.  I had it on one day as I walked through the field to the beach and all of a sudden a figure was seen to jump out from among the vegetables and run away.  I told Harry what had happened and he laughed so much I thought he was going to have a fit.  “He thought you were the local Mountie, I expect.  Better keep it handy when you go out again.”