About Us
Our journey to the country and new possibilities… began when a small farm property for sale about 1.5 hrs east of Toronto caught Ray’s eye, and he wondered what I thought. The idea of having a farm came somewhat out of the blue, but my response was, “Wow, looks nice - interesting!”, and we decided that we should try and see it. And so, on a sunny Saturday in May, 2020, in the midst of Covid lockdowns, we began what would be an almost year-long search. This video shows that very first property, but we would see many more before finding the one we’ve come to call SevenMaples.
VW Camper Van road trip to Saskatchewan - 2019
The seeds for such an adventure … were inspired by repeated viewings of “The Biggest Little Farm”, a history of farming in Ray’s family in Saskatchewan, a shared appreciation of gardening, and the idea that maybe we could develop a sense of community by inviting people to share in our journey as we learn about small-scale farming using traditional practices around soil building and regeneration, with the goal of creating something that is both sustainable and beautiful to experience.
We focused our search … in the spectacular rolling hills of Northumberland County to the north of Highway 401, south down to Lake Ontario from Grafton to Brighton through the lush apple belt area, and as far east as Prince Edward County. The process of going out to look at properties on an almost weekly basis with our awesome real estate agent Michelle Shearon-Milligan, reinforced for us how beautiful the region was, as well as it’s easy proximity to Toronto. However, by January 2021, after losing out on a couple of serious offers, and feeling like the pickings were getting pretty slim, we were getting discouraged.
And then, by chance, an interesting property popped up … as Ray scoured the real estate listings late one Saturday night. By Monday we were on our way to see the property, an 1880 farmhouse set on just under 14 acres. The home itself was in excellent condition, lovingly cared for by the owners of the past 50 years, Mr. and Mrs. Fair, and large enough to have lots of friends and family come to visit. It pretty much felt like home right away, and we had the feeling we could be happy there.
But the farmhouse was almost a bonus to the land itself, which rolls gently upward to a northern wooded ridge, with amazing southern views of Lake Ontario, Presqu’ile Provincial Park and High Bluff Island, and three distinct areas of arable land to the west, center, and east.
Suddenly, we’d found a place where we could envision the ideas we’d been thinking about taking shape. Although there was competition on the property, we were fortunate to meet the Fairs and had a chance to share some of our ideas for the property and how much it would mean to us, and by Friday they’d decided that they’d like us to have their beloved homestead.
We took possession May 31, 2021, a year after we started our journey to the country.
Meet The 7Maples Team
SevenMaples - What's in a name?
Seven majestic Sugar Maple Trees stand watch at the front of the farmhouse. Based on their diameter we estimate them to have been planted around the same time the house was built, circa 1860. We considered several different names for the farm, but as we sat out front one summer evening in June the idea struck that these seven towering guardians of the property deserved to be honoured in this way. We hope they stay with us for a very long time, but the name SevenMaples ensures they will not be forgotten.
