McCrady’s Diss Hill Farm

[slideshow]When I was a kid, people visited each other in the community, and when you went to someone’s home, they showed you interesting things whether it be knitted crafts, a quilt that they had made during the winter months, new things they had purchased or changes to their homes. If it was a farm, you might see a new calf or foal and maybe some chicks. As a kid, it was an adventure when I visited along with my parents. Now, we see people’s updates, photos and news on Facebook, but what social media with all its interactivity will never achieve is to see something first hand, smell the air, hold an object in your hands, allow stories to unfold and have a conversation. So much of what we know about our neighbours is what we see as we race down the road past their houses.

Last evening, I visited Jessie and Peter McCrady at their farm. My goal was to take photos of their spectacular view looking toward Clyde River which you can’t see driving down the highway, but what I enjoyed was so much more.

Jessie and Peter have fenced-in fields for horses on the hill below their home. One of the three horses is their own, another is Emily MacPhee’s retired race horse that boards here and the third is a rescue horse in their foster care. Jessie is involved in an organization called Sadie’s place that provides foster homes for horses after they can no longer race or work. Link here to find out more about the organization.

Emily’s horse which is featured in the slide show is a very special horse and also a very lucky one. His name is Tougher than Tough (Toughie) and up until last year was a winning race horse until they found out that he had Cardiac Arrhythmia. Toughie is only five years old but has experienced a lot in his few years. Emily and her father Ricky bought the horse in Ontario. He was going to be euthanized because his first owner had trained the horse too hard and his front right knee was broken. Emily wanted to bring him back to PEI to give him the care and attention she thought he deserved. They gave him six months to rest and started training him again. Tougher than Tough went on to win many races. Here is one story  that features him. Now, at five years old, he has retired and Emily is in the process of training him for his next career as a riding horse, but they will have to be easy on him with his heart condition.

I could see there was something special about Toughie. As I was taking photos, he came up to me, sniffed my camera and posed. Emily said he was looking for a treat. When Jessie’s chocolate lab Sadie rolled around on his back on the ground, the horse copied her by rolling on his back as well. He may no longer be a racer, but he is still a performer.

Jessie, Sadie and I also took a walk on the trail through the woods on their property. Some photos feature the plants found within the forest like Lilly of the Valley. There are Lady Slipper plants but we were a little late to see them as they bloom earlier in June.

We captured some photos of Jessie’s grand daughter Ocean as she played on the slide and in the garden. She reminded me of the times when as a kid, I would go to the garden, pull a carrot out of the ground, dust it off and eat it. What a wonderful place for a little girl to explore and develop a keen imagination. Ocean was full of chatter and stories as we walked around her Nannie’s farm and among her vegetable and flower gardens.

Thank you Jessie and Peter for sharing your beautiful farm with us. Tourist accommodations are offered at Diss Hill Farm. For more information, visit their site.