Eatdrink #68 November/December 2017 "The Holiday Issue"

The 57 | Holiday November/December Issue 2017
November/December 2017 | 57
compost production” by having pigs and
cows mingle together. He describes it as “a
natural cycle that would repeat itself again
and again. Moments like these come as close
to perfection as any that
can be found in a place as
chaotic as a farm. In this little
circle there is economy, not
much work, bacon, beef and
compost. There seems to be
something in it for everybody,
even the pigs, if I may
presume to speak for them.
They enjoy a lifestyle that is
not available to the average
bacon hog these days, and
they have only one bad day.”
Even on vacation, Needles
is the consummate farmer,
reaching a compromise with
his wife about holidays — she sunbathing on
Cuban beaches, he out with the locals in their
banana, yam, mango, and corn fields. Another
ongoing marital debate is whether to breed
chickens that produce white eggs or brown.
Needles spends plenty of time looking for the
right shade of white that will appease his wife.
Another disagreement that crops up with his
son is how Ontario is only like southern France
two weeks out of the year and not conducive
for growing grapes, but he eventually warms
to the idea of experimenting
Dan Needles
with wine production.
Amid his memories of the
simple life and working hard
on the farm are observations
about activities that keep
the rural community
bonded: livestock auctions,
rural schoolhouses, 4-H
club events, and church
Christmas concerts. What
Stuart McLean did fictionally
for small-town record stores
with the Vinyl Café, so has
Dan Needles done, in the
same hilarious and heartwarming
style, for Canadian agrarian life with
his real-life Larkspur Farms.
DARIN COOK is a freelance writer residing in Chatham-
Kent who keeps himself well-read and well-fed by visiting
the bookstores and restaurants of London.
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