Eatonia’s Anchor of Hope Ranch is a busy place!
By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
You probably heard an adage that says, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” meaning don’t put all your effort into doing one thing. At Anchor of Hope Ranch near Eatonia, Lynne Crossman gathers eggs in a basket and has a lot of other projects going on.
Lynne resides at Anchor of Hope Ranch, along with her twin sister Amy Crossman. They moved to their new home two years ago, where Lynne handles most of the work on the farm, while her sister helps when she isn’t at her place of employment. “Sometimes, my parents and little brother help out as well,” Lynne said. Their farm is located along the truck route off of Hwy. 44 near Jasmine Lumber.
Lynne’s eggs in a basket are the result of a batch of twenty brown egg-laying chickens she just purchased. She also has quail on the farm and will have quail eggs available in mid-June. “When we lived in Ontario, we sold all our quail eggs to people in the Filipino community,” Lynne said. She also noted that studies in Europe reveal there are health benefits to eating quail eggs.
Other animals on the farm include 36 grass-fed ewes and 55 lambs, and although they don’t have goats right now, they are trying to get some at a later date. But those aren’t the only animals living at Anchor of Hope Ranch; there are dogs too.
Lynne raises Shetland sheepdogs. “Normally, I have two breeding females, but this year I have four,” she said. The dogs have between three to six puppies per litter and make great family pets or therapy dogs. They’re registered pure breeds, which Lynne sells once they are weaned. The pups mostly go to homes in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and sometimes Ontario. “Last year, I flew one puppy to BC and one puppy to Nova Scotia. They’re also herding dogs; I use them to herd sheep, and they can also gather up chickens.”
Lynne is also In the process of putting a dog training course online. “Mostly obedience, some aggression; my dog really calms aggressive dogs, and he’s my assistant. I used to do a group class every Monday night, but I can’t do that right now. So I’m working to put it online so I can reach more people,” Lynne explained.
The farm also boasts a hardy tree nursery and no-till market garden, where they grow pesticide and herbicide-free veggies and flowers. “A lot of people come to buy shrubs and ask how they can do this,” Lynne said, so she is looking into starting an online gardening course. But Lynne has even more plans - plans to open a horticultural therapy garden sometime in June.
“My sister was injured about ten years ago. She noticed that being on the farm and around plants and animals helped her. So she started researching about horticultural therapy that is done with veterans or people with anxiety.” Lynne said. It will be a place where people can come and relax in an area that’s set up for sensory, touch and smell.
Another of Lynne’s pursuits is the making of bee hotels and butterfly houses. Bee hotels are made from old logs which have two-inch long holes drilled into them. These are places where bees nest in the fall and winter, hatch in the spring and help pollinate trees and fruit. Butterfly houses are made out of pallet boards with two-inch openings where butterflies can rest and hide from predators.
Even though Lynne has a lot going on at the ranch, she has managed to find time to write children’s books about her ranch animals. “I’ve written five books; I’m just waiting for the illustrations. They’ll be going on Amazon. And I did a jam and jelly cookbook; I have to do the final polishing before it is available on Amazon,” she said. The recipes are from the jams and jellies she makes at the ranch.
Once a month, Lynne co-hosts a market in Saskatoon with other vendors. “It’s held at a storage unit, so everybody has their own empty storage unit, which are spaced apart, and all the customers are outdoors,” Lynne explained.
On May 29th, Lynne hosted an outdoor spring “visit the farm” day. “We usually do two a year, one in spring and one in the fall, but last year we had to cancel. When restrictions are over, we will have other farmers and crafters at the spring and fall farm days,” she said.
On that day, crafts, veggies and flowers will be available for sale, along with baking. Yes, Lynne also does baking, and her mom and sister help make crafts. There are also outdoor activities and games for kids, as well as baby lambs to see. “We also sell locally at Oyen’s farmers market and at Burstall, Rosetown and Eston,” Lynne added.
When asked how she finds time to do everything, Lynne responded, “Not much sleep.”
Twin sisters, Lynne and Amy Crossman.