Friends celebrate the season

Christmas festivities

Ian Tamblyn (barely visible in the back corner...don't know what happened to the flash). An incredible evening after the screening of Griefwalker, our NFB premier film. Then a reception sponsored by Heritage Brewing and Black Prince Winery...then a 100 Mile Harvest Dinner and music with Ian.

This is what we cooked for the meal.

Roasted squash soup, caldo verde, pickled beets, applesauce, pate, sausage, baked beans, roast pork, roast chicken, German potato salad, braised red cabbage, saurkraut, coleslaw, colcannon, pork ragout, pureed root vegetables, irish soda bread, whole wheat bread, carmelized onion pizza, apple crisp and pear cider. All this and a film and music with Ian Tamblyn for 35.oo per person. A wonderful evening!!!

The screening of Backwoods Gourmet brought out the best and brightest social butterflies...all dressed for the Hallowe'en party at the Wilno Tavern. Film-makers Lee Lafont and Barry Goldie in the foreground.

We had a delicious dinner of home-grown foods at Pete and Ritsuko's house. Here's Dan and Pete surveying the spread.
Pete and Ritsuko with Molly the Mule. She's a sweet little creature, a bit amazed by the madness of life in Wilno.

while we dined we listened to the record player with some Texas swing. The next dinner we had here was a six course traditional Japanese meal accompanied by japanese music on this same record player.


Mike and Tom debate the merits of the potato tasting menu. These are fingerlings...very tasty.

100 Mile Harvest Dinner

The second two piggies went to slaughterhouse in mid October and our neighbour and excellent butcher Boniface cut and wrapped them for us. We have locally raised pork for sale!!! And of course, we have lots of it on the menu in the cafe.

Here I am experimenting with the creation of a gigantic sausage as per instruction from Micheal Stadtlander's butcher. Was unable to find the proper casing so improvised with a Irish linen table serviette from Tom's blessed mother (may she rest in peace). It worked quite well once I figured out how to lace it up, then put it inside two mesh onion bags and wrapped it securely with elastics. Then I simmered it for two and a half hours.

A close up of the sausage,

shepherds in Wilno

The Fifth Annual Film Festival Gala with everyone dressed for Hallowe'en was a huge success. Here's Paul and Fran after the Backwoods Gourmet screening . Lots of fun.

Thursday morning dawned bright and clear and the crew is rarin to go. Pete has found a genuine Donegal Tweed hat, Henning has a Viking horned helmet and a Eygptian wedding trumpet and Tommy Two-Tone has a hand-carved stick and a fedora. We have the stock trailer, Ritsuko baked muffins and we are off, in fine fettle to pick up the sheep.

The flock comes home

Our Norwegian neighbour "Flockmaster" Pete Langtvet supervises the sheep as they enter the barnyard in Donegal for the first time.

This is the farm I lived on before I came to Wilno and a series of serendiptious events led in the course of less than a week to my return along with a flock of 20 sheep...some of them related to my beloved woolly darlings, Carmelita and Agnes. All this because one fine day I said "I envision myself on a farm with a fine flock of sheep". And look what happens!!! When you are really sure what you want, the universe aligns.

Here are the girls, ravenous for fresh grass after the long ride from Halfway. Sad events brought them from their previous home...

Henning and Pete and Tommy and Tom supervise the unloading. What a glorious November morning!!! Sixteen degrees, brilliant sunshine, loading went effortlessly and here we are in Donegal.

Robin and Lucas wedding

A handfasting ceremony on a perfect September day in the field behind Robin's childhood home. We sat in a circle while Robin and Lucas had their wrists bound with silk cord.

We prepared a Harvest meal for the guests including roast pork and fresh corn and salads and perogies. Lots of tasty food and spectacular desserts by Robin's aunt Alexa. The tree-planters tent was decorated with cedar boughs and twinkle lights and garden flowers and there was a fireworks display in the hayfield and a pantomime which featured Spot (in the sunglasses) and lots of music and Krupnik (the dreaded Polish honey liqeur and also Slivovich brough from Czechoslovakia by the grooms father. A good time was had by all.

And just after the long weekend in September we closed for a day to celebrate Tom's daughter Robin's wedding to Lucas. Our dearest friends made the journey from southern Ontario to join us and here we are having a roast chicken dinner with chicken from Maureen McMillan, green and yellow beans from Christine and potatoes from the Walsh's. The wine wasn't made here but everything else was. A fun evening.

Harvest time at Red Canoe Cafe

Here's Spot the wonder-pig who is being loaded onto our truck for his trip to the abattoir. Real local pork is very different from the stuff you buy in the supermarket...these piggies have been raised on cafe scraps (lots of organic left over lettuce and their favorites which are cheesecake and Wilno Heritage beer...and they also get grain and apples and all sorts of other goodies.
The wild plum tree down by the suites has a bumper crop this year. It's always a fine line between picking them a bit green or waiting until the birds, wasps, racoons or the bear gets them. This year I got a basket full and there's still lots left.
Josh grew these squash in his garden and donated them to the kitchen and then turned them into a delicious roasted squash soup with ginger. Terry Walsh grew the gigantic zuchini in the background.


The cafe entrance is really bright this year with the new posters we made from Linda's paintings. The geraniums have done well also and all the summer's rain has kept everything fresh and blooming.

heritage park wilno summer

Beautiful summer in Wilno as we celebrate our 150th anniversary of the Kashub settlement of the area. This is Heritage Park in full bloom before the festivities on the long weekend in August.

And then to see the sheep

The lambs are happy in their new pen with lots of fresh grass. I've been researching the Navajo-Churro breed on the Internet and discovering that they are an endangered breed and were the original sheep of the Navajo Indians in the American Southwest. They originate in Spain and were brought to the new world by the Spanish colonists. They are able to exist on the sparse dry desserts of New Mexico and their wool has less lanolin than many other breeds so it is ideal for a dry climate. (Wool with lots of lanolin needs a great deal of washing before it is fit to spin). I am hoping to breed these sheep and get into the specialized wool business in a small way. Would like to have some distinctive Wilno blankets or wall hangings...and we have a new weaver moving into town this week so who knows!!!
Tom and Agnes...she is much less timid now and is really an affectionate little creature. Carmelita (the grey one) is a bossy outfit and generally rules the roost. She's also friendly and has taken to being hand-fed. Our cats are somewhat mystified by these two new members of the household and aren't really sure if they like sheep. I hope the neighbours aren't overly bothered by the bleating!


Farmer Tom and Agnes.

A visit to the piggies

Sometimes when life down in Middle Wilno gets too hectic we take a short drive up the Wilno Road South to visit our neighbour Pete and his able assistant Tommy Two Tone. Here they admire their new handiwork which is the expanded pig pen. The spotted piggie in the foreground is "Spot". He has honored by being chosen as the wedding pig for Robin.
(I'm sure he could do without that honor).

It was a beautiful June evening, the sun was setting over the hills and Ritsuko was working feverishly to get all her plants into the soggy garden.




The garden tour tomorrow is going to be a wet affair as it has rained and rained and only the weeds are really growing. It's too wet to get into the garden and the seedlings are having a tough time with all the water.

Here is the whole crew...they are happy piggies and they dug up this whole new pen in about six hours. Better than a roto tiller!!!


This is an evening view looking out over the Wilno hills from Pete and Ritsuko's hilltop hobby farm.

The goddess lives also in Wilno in her many glorious forms...this is Our Lady in a classic Polish bathtub shrine.

Polish Cardinal departs Wilno by helicopter

sunday morning at 8;20...the sound of a helicopter over Wilno and we jumped in the truck and sure enough, the rumoured leave-taking was in full swing...the parishioners sang a farewell song as they gathered on the steps, Father Marek in his black soutane accompanied the Cardinal in red toward the helicopter. Polish flags flew proudly in the breeze. Another Wilno moment!

The Vatican Visits Wilno

What you don't see in this picture (snapped in a big hurry as I abandoned my cafe to drive up to the church just for a quick photo) are the fifteen or so huge motor coaches parked off to the side. It was a colourful sight as the Knights of Columbus guard of honor in full regalia wait for the Cardinal to arrive. Rumour has it that he will touch down via helicoptor on the church lawn but that might be just another grand Wilno fiction...lots of people there anyway..

Wilno Heritage Beer Launch

Ottawa Valley legend Barney McCaffrey entertains a group of teachers during the official launch of the Wilno Heritage Beer at the Red Canoe on June 13. Lots of Wilno songs were sung including: The Wilno Hound, The Wilno Express Song, Hey Benny, Ho Benny, Wintertime in Wilno, The Sherwood Waltz and on and on...lots of fun.

wilno Station Lambs

Introducing Agnes and Carmelita (in the grey wool). They are Navaho-Jacob cross and are the sweetest little bleaters you've ever seen. It was our plan to have lambs for potential lamb-burgers but this has completely gone off the rails and we will keep these two little darlings as breeding stock and hopefully get into the wool business. I envision a line of distinctive Wilno blankets woven with the Kashub colours and designs...

Introducing Wilno Heritage Beer

This is the label for our new Wilno Heritage Beer which is available at the Red Canoe Cafe and the Wilno Tavern. We're having a kick-off party on June 13 with Barney McCaffrey and friends to celebrate.

And this is our new logo which we'll be using on our business card and all our publicity. It was designed by Kelly at Bayberry Lane in Barry's Bay.

Birthday party for Terry

It's been a busy spring with lots of inn guests including Paul and Maria and family who gathered to celebrate son Terry's fortieth birthday. Here Paul and Maria demonstrate their dancing expertise.

A lovely spring evening with the cherry tree in bloom and the leaves just emerging. Luckily no blackflies yet.

A historic moment in Wilno history as we taste various beers in preparation for our own custom Wilno brew. Our dedicated team of tasters included Pete and Mike and Corinne and Tom and we settled on a European style lager which will be called Wilno Heritage Beer....due to be launched on Father's Day weekend.

Another distinctive Wilno moment.

Robert Yeretch and Jon Whitehead

Our Mother's Day dinner was a wonderful success with Robert Yeretch performing....here his nephew Jon Whitehead joins in for a song. Mike and Diane Whitehead and Jon's girlfriend Mandy and her parents came down for the occassion. A good time was had by all!

Another pleasant evening with Ian Tamblyn on April 18.
We've had several evening of live music already since we opened in February....and we've been hosting Songwriter's Circle on Thursday nights and hope to make that a weekly event in the summer.

Ian played some great tunes from his Cd "Superior; spirit and light." Then we all sat up late with Pete!!

this little piggie....

Yes, we are raising these piggies for our kitchen! They are living happily at Pete's Pristinely Perfect Piggery and dining on Red Canoe Cafe scraps. One of them...the Princess Bride, we call her, is destined to be the centerpiece at Robin's September wedding.
Meet what you eat!

songwriter's Circle

Various musicians participated in the afternoon. Here's Rick Reimer doing some of his raggae-rap tunes from his album "Killaloe Rastaman".

What a great way to spend a holiday Monday afternoon.

Sunshine also after this long winter.

Songwriter's Circle

And a week later, on the Easter Monday afternoon we had our first "Songwriter's Circle" with a talented group of musicians, young and old(er).

Here Clark Guettel, a founding member of the Wilno Express talks about his early songwriting days...when those great Wilno Express classics like The Wilno Hound were written.

Clark's early hit "Let it Rot" a tribute to composting is now more timely than ever.

Our local historian and raconteur Barney McCaffrey regales the audience with songs and stories of the Kashubs and the Celts.

He also played a few old favorites from the Wilno Express days...songs that will go down in history as local classics...The Breeding of the Pig...The Wilno Hound...Mrs Recoskie's Waltz and others of such note.