Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
A beautiful autumn day in Upper Canada, we find ourselves on the Gibson House Farm.
Here in Willowdale,
just north of Toronto, the trees have already burst into flower at least a
fortnight earlier than usual. The last two weeks of October are an anxious time for the Pom-Pom farmer.
There is always the chance of an early frost which, while not entirely ruining the crop, generally impairs the colour.
The past summer, one of the sunniest in living memory, has had its effect on the harvest season.
Most important of all, it's resulted in an exceptionally heavy Pom-Pom crop.
After picking, the pom-pom is washed to lock in the vibrant colours.
They are left to dry and naturally poof-out to their famous fuzzy girth thus producing the perfect Pom-Pom.
Pom-Pom cultivation here in Upper Canada is not,
of course, carried out like the tremendous scale of the Scottish Pom-Pom industry
what with their many pom-pom golf hats. For these Upper Canadians, however,
it tends to be more of a tradition than money maker.
Traditional gifts made from Pom-Poms include toques, commonly known as a winter hat.
The Pom-Pom is used ornately: the bigger the pom-pom the better the hat.
A prized gift for any new settler!