'Everyday you learn something': Farm wife busy during harvest
Before moving to a farm near Abernethy, Zucel Osiowy was a ‘city girl’ in Regina.
Osiowy was originally a physics teacher from Cuba, so learning the agriculture industry was a bit of a curve ball.
“It’s a learning process, everyday you learn something,” Osiowy said.
Osiowy has been on the farm for 14 years. She has relied on other farm wives to adjust to the new life.
“I have a friend, she told me, ‘don’t learn everything on the farm,’” Osiowy explained.
“I say ‘why’, she says, ‘because then you have to do everything’,” she added.
Osiowy did learn how to harrow and combine. She sat in the buddy seat and watched her husband, until one day, she took the wheel.
“If you know farmers, they just want you to go, go, go,” she explained.
“I just take it easy, and I try do my best, just to help him to get the crop off.”
When she isn’t on a combine, she’s busy cooking meals for the family. The Osiowy family is excited to get the crops off. They farm canola, wheat and flax on 2.5 quarters of land.
When the crops are harvested, the Osiowys will burn the straw left from the flax, so it doesn’t get tangled in equipment during seeding in the next season.
“Even in the summer, I’m thinking about the flax, when it has to be burned,” Osiowy said, “That is one thing, that is very, very scary about the farm, when there’s a fire,” she added.
Safety is a priority on the Osiowy farm. Her husband Bruce Osiowy has learned a few lessons over the years.
“Communicate with each other, so you know where everyone is on a regular basis,” Bruce said.
“Make sure everything is well lit, because you know it gets dark early these days.”
Bruce said the crops look good this season, “We sure had good weather up until now. It’s been really hot and dry, and it’s been wonderful,” he said.
Harvest is often a battle with the weather, and a race against the clock. It’s a busy time and farm wives have to be adaptable, according to Osiowy.
She’s had to face many fears during her time as a farm wife, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We are fearless,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.