Country Communities Are Not All Peaches & Cream! So, What Happens When the Cream Sours! (Part Seven)

I would like to think that at this point in this ongoing saga if you will, that people, most people, would get the general idea of the mentality of these menaces amongst us.

The sad part is that I firmly believe that they are lashing out through ignorance, jealousy, fear and the ultimate destroyer of most any person’s integrity.

Gossip!

However! Maybe it is just the fear of the unknown naked people.

Ooooo! That is just too scary to understand, as you will soon see.

So, let me pause on the juvenile antics of a few  for a moment and look back to what we are all anxiously waiting upon!

That simple rezoning and our 120-day process.

Being that it’s 2019 at this point, one would perhaps agree it wasn’t so simple after all.

You can probably recall that all the documentation, fees etc. etc… were all submitted to the municipality on September 25^th, 2017, through my calculations that would garner a decision by January 22^nd, 2018.

Wonderful!

We should have it all cleared up in time for our upcoming season.

If in fact, the 120-day process was adhered to as was indicated.

NOT!!!!

One can only imagine that any  person would think everything is in place, lawyers and municipal employees have all had a great deal of time throughout 2017 to complete the required application and followed the proper process.

Lo and behold, December 19^th, 2017 we receive a phone call asking us to come in for a meeting to discuss the very application that has been prepared.

It is at this time, that we get blindsided by what was meant to be a simple process, is now turning into something on much larger scale. We are being asked to file in addition to this simple rezoning application an Official Plan Amendment for consideration, which would allow us to move forward.

Talk about being Gobsmacked, because you see that very question was posed to this municipality and by way of confirmation back in August of 2017 it was stated that this would NOT be required of us.

I really do not want to lose my readers at this point over technicalities and processes, but in all fairness, this ordeal needs to be told. To do this justice, I need to have you understand clearly what these past two years have been like for us.

Trust me when I say, not too many people would have endured what we have had to deal with.

You as nudists will become outraged as this unfolds.

Perhaps even those non-nudists will see the injustice of it all.

That I can assure you!

December 19^th, 2017, my mother’s birthday, where I probably should and would have been celebrating her special day. Instead here we are just a few days before Christmas Holidays start and we get this bomb dropped on us.

Being that this is the festive season for most we find ourselves with no one to turn too to discuss the current situation. Lawyers are on vacation, planners are making merry and the municipal staff and council are probably in full festive mode throughout this time.

Where does that leave us?

Hung out to dry!

Therefore, now that our Christmas has been thoroughly destroyed by this news, we endeavor to do our homework and get some answers.

I spent endless amounts of time researching for answers and possible solutions. What I discovered was back in the initial days of our opening existence, it became apparent that an Official Plan was not in place.

However, given that we had the encouragement of the top dog of the area, one would think that we should have been grandfathered past the creation of this plan, much like other campgrounds that existed at the time.

I found that kind of disturbing to say the least and I subsequently put that on my list of need to knows.

The other and more disturbing fact that I was able to obtain, was that this municipality was already in a process of updating their Official Plan, which was an obligation for this municipality to have done for them to be in conformity with its Upper Tier Government and that of our Provincial Policy Statement Standards.

What was also determined is what was now being asked of us was a further outlay of revenue and would be estimated at additional $16,000 to accommodate what?

Further delays?

Or perhaps maybe it would leave you with the impression that they were simply looking for us to contribute to there fees to get the official in place.

If this is not an issue to be believed and you find it doubtful! How about the fact that after all this time and given we are still in this horrendous process, that SURPRISE! Now they are implementing Agri Tourism and small campgrounds as an acceptable rezoning process.

So, I am sorry, but it leaves a bitter sweet taste of doubt in my mind and I am sure you can see why.

Christmas celebrations, come and go, New Years Celebrations, come and go.

Through due diligence and research, I now have a list of need to knows.

January resumes, business as usual for everyone, I fire off my discoveries looking for answers and solutions to get our business doors open for the enjoyment of our nudist community.

What I get back is responses that claim error, upon error, upon error.

You see I asked about the other campgrounds that were miraculously grandfathered and appeared on their plans in 2014, These additions were simple brushed off as errors and some claimed as to be well established businesses.

Well excuse me, so are we!

This error response was very much like the error in my overpayment for the rezoning in the first place.

But I will get to that later.

The big slap in face was a bylaw that was emailed to me.

This bylaw at first glance appeared to not allow any campgrounds in the area. I suppose after reading the first paragraph, I figured we were dead in the water.

However, in time I went back to this bylaw that was sent to me and what I had been given was an Interim bylaw that had been created in 2007.

Now for us average joes on the block, this bylaw on the surface would appear to be set in stone. The reality here is that this bylaw had an expiry date on it much like sour cream and was not permitted beyond two years of the passing of this piece of work.

So, my question is why was send it to us in the first place, it really wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.

That leads me to believe that it was meant as another deterrent and nothing more.

Something is smelling soured here!

Country Communities Are Not All Peaches & Cream! Let’s Add A Few Nuts To This Dish! (Part Six)

Nuts and perverts run amuck without any repercussions!

Throughout the course of the 2017 spring, summer and fall, if we had only had to deal with one responding Ontario Provincial Police detachment within our area, in all honesty I believe we would have been on a first name basis with our local law enforcement.

But sadly, and to our dismay, we have four different responding police detachments for the area that we live in. It was becoming extremely frustrating that we were starting to think that the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing. I will venture a quick guess here and say at a minimum there was at least 10 occurrences filed throughout the course of 2017 to the OPP all with regards to the ongoing harassment that a handful of individuals believed was their obligations to make our lives miserable. The question and reality of it all still to this day escapes us, why has no one or does anyone see that this whole mess is simply over a vendetta of livestock at large?

It reached a point, where the OPP suggested we purchase cameras and have them installed throughout the property. Once again, we followed through with these recommendations.

Now,  being that we are a nudist venue and take the privacy of our membership agreements serious, we had areas of the property where it became necessary to notify our membership of the locations of these cameras as we continually moved them throughout the land.

You see what non-nudists do not understand, we have a wide variety of participants enjoying the au natural lifestyle, people flock here from all walks of life, and because all the bling, glamour and clothing are non existent, no one in their right mind and or capacity would be able to identify perhaps a nurse, a doctor, a lawyer, a police officer, a sanitary engineer and the list goes on. You see when we all get naked and take away what the average everyday person has become accustomed to. It is these very covers of the books that define who we are sometimes.  Well in all reality, it is these very people that have had to endure the mindlessness of these aggressors and it is these same people that have witnessed all that has happened throughout a very uncomfortable and trying ordeal for all involved.

So, let me take you to another day in paradise at the ranch.

It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining and the happiness you feel when you hear laughter of people just relaxing and enjoying a wonderful hot summers day.

Awe, the memory of these days. Keeps our hopes and dreams alive!

I digress 😊

Well, his long weekend and in true form to most long weekends the misfits in the immediate area, decided that it was a great day to cause some trouble for the nudie people as they so affectionately call us.

Now being farmers ourselves, we completely understand and to date had never had any issue with any farmer going about his business of haying his fields, whether he owns the land or not, in all reality we know it must get done when the weather allows for it.

So, maybe we will just strike it all up to coincidence that all long weekends for the last 6 years to this point, seem to be the best time for working the fields.

However, on this long weekend while both my husband and I were elsewhere occupied on the property, the perverts and peepers were in full swing.

You see there was many people just relaxing, chilling and enjoying themselves peacefully on our deck. What broke this peaceful day up, was there were several men on the adjacent property, which I am sure were haying the next-door neighbours’ fields. Fortunately, it has been documented by witness accounts, that these men were peeping through the tree line and screaming out horrendous comments at the company minding the own business. Our people were being verbally assaulted by a few of these individuals and more in particular it was the ladies of the group that were being degraded. From the recount of the experience from many members, one of the husbands of the ladies, approached the fence line to address what their issues were and insisted that they be on their way. I believe it became very aggressive in nature and by the time we had been notified of the confrontation and intervened, it was apparent that these individuals were hostile in nature.

My husband was first on site, and he also had to endure a berating from the same individual whom had earlier that year came up our driveway with accusations of guns. I approached the fence line and instructed everyone of our people to leave and not engage in this any further. I had my camera and just took photos of them while they continued to yell and scream assaults at me. I knew that any form of verbal communication with this type of mindset was just a waste of my time.

The funny thing is that after I had all the photo evidence to be added to the already mounting heaps of reports, photos, statements and evidence. The mentality of these people was to call the police on us and claim we were harassing them for cutting hay and something about kicking up dust.

WOW!

Well, once again when the Police Officials did come by the very next day, we were all in a discussion as to whether we should ourselves report the incident that occurred the previous day. It was agreed by all that it  would be a  waste anyone’s valuable time and the reality for us was that nothing ever came out of any of the calls anyway. Imagine this, we were all starting to see how we were being ignored and treated by the very people sworn to serve and protect the citizens of this country.

Well as fate would have it, when they did approach us about the call they received, they were not even a bit interested in seeing photographs taken while they were peeping through the bushes, instead, we were cautioned and warned to keep the peace.

What the hell is that?

So, I determined from that day forward I would report everything that these people were up to.

Yes, I know the Police have better things that are more pressing and in honesty the last thing I wanted, was to ever have been placed in this predicament.

So, I guess they will just have to deal with it all moving forward.

MUST is a hard nut to crack, but in the end,  it has a sweet kernel!

Country Communities Are Not All Peaches & Cream! Let’s Add A Few Nuts To This Dish! (Part Five)

Well here we are, we have just put the special event weekend to bed in 2017.

Time to move on with our peaceful day to day activities!

Or do we?

Shortly after the event in question has concluded, we are contacted by the local municipality questioning our zoning for the camp ground that we have now been running successfully for the past five years.

This came as a complete surprise to us, given that we had had the top dog of the Township (the Reeve at the time of opening) present at our ranch many times throughout the course of our existence.

We were always delighted at the acceptance, respect and acknowledgement for what we bring to this small rural community.

You see when we endeavoured to open our little oasis here for the nudist community, we knew the importance of being transparent about our visions and goals here. So, having the community leader show interest and understanding to our business was especially important for us. We openly shared our plans and goals with the Reeve at that time and walked him through everything that we were working towards and took extra time to share the meanings of what a nudist lifestyle encompassed.

What we did not know, is that in December of 2012 after we had officially opened our doors for business, was that the (MMAH) The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing was amending an Ontario Regulation that mandated  that all municipalities and counties adopt want would become their Official Plans regulated under the Provincial Planning Act.

Therefore, in 2014 the first Official Plan was created for this township.

Now I am sure most have heard the terminology of “Grandfathering”, something that was already there prior to any new laws, bylaws and the such being put in place. Well, one would think that would have and should have been the case with our campground in the country.

You see, when this new Official Plan came into effect, there were three other campgrounds in the area that were granted that right and were automatically transferred onto the new maps as Commercial C3 zoning, the very thing that we were now being asked by this township to apply for.

So why now? Why us?

Giving that most average citizens of this country do not know the first thing about these things, we were not immune to a lack of knowledge in such matters either and therefore the fight for our survival starts.

We immediately meet with the township official to get a better understanding as to what we need to do and are instructed that a simple rezoning application along with the applicable fees needs to submitted for approval and processing.

Well, without hesitation we bring the process to a local attorney for assistance in getting the application completed properly.

The attorney in question had suggested that we complete as much of the tedious task as possible to keep the legal costs down and our thoughts are, how admirable that someone would suggest this cost saving measure to us. In all honesty we really thought and think to this day this attorney had our best interests at heart.

However, as time drew on and after questioning several times about bringing in a retainer, there just never seemed to be an interest in getting that established. Could there have been a conflict of interest that we were not aware of?

Anyway, we work to get everything prepared and on September 24^th, 2017 everything is submitted, at which point we are left with the impression that this now becomes a 120-day process from this point forward.

WRONG!!!!!!

Ok so now that we are on a 120-day hold here, let’s look at a few things that transpired over the course of the spring and summer up until our application goes in.

We have already established that we have a farming family that is completely unapproachable and, in all reality, not the kind of people you can easily deal with. So, you do your best to just keep your distance and ignore them as much as possible. Well sometimes that is easier said than done.

We vividly remember the day that the infamous red pickup truck that is spotted and found surrounding our property frequently, comes roaring up our driveway and stops sideways in the driveway so that people that were leaving , cannot now leave the property.

We come face to face with three undesirables in the neighbourhood whom belligerently and aggressively assaulted us verbally and accuse us of shooting guns at them. One got out of the truck and very quickly approach my husband, leaving everyone here feeling threatened and afraid that he was about to get physically assaulted. Thankfully, that did not happen, instead he was very verbal about being shot at and got right in my husband face screaming.  As for the other two occupants in the truck, the reek of alcohol that came off them as I stood beside the vehicle demanding that they leave was nauseating at best.

The verbal assault that I endured during that confrontation was deplorable, I was called a whore, a dirty skank, a slut and all this coming from a man whom I have pictures of enjoying himself dancing naked at one of our very own functions.

As for these allegations of shooting guns at people, anyone in their right minds that knows my husband and myself,  know full well including these monsters that were present at the time, that we are probably the only residents on the roadway that do not own, process or shoot guns.

Here we stand, late in the day in total disbelief, what is unfolding in front of us?

We had just spent a wonderful day helping some organizer of the previous event discussed, clear areas and helping to get them prepare for their festival.

Earlier, this day, I had followed this red pickup occupied by the very people now assailing me. I only followed them a part way down an unmaintained county road that runs along the north side of our property before I  turned off into our laneway that leads into our campground.

That being said, no one ever saw this vehicle come back up the roadway and throughout the day they were never spotted further back anywhere near our property, where everyone was working peacefully going about their business.

You see this road allowance goes all the way around another two properties and can easily be navigated to come out at one of these individual’s residence. So, for us it seemed they had done just that and gone home.

So, it became a known after the fact that at the end of the day when everyone was done what they had been doing that day. We all came back up to the front end of the property, unfortunately and unknown to us, an individual that was part of this special event organization had just purchased a new hunting rifle. This fellow was  licensed to carry this gun and without asking anyone’s permission, he had taken it upon himself to set up some cans  and target practice being that there was no one around.

OK, so now my question is, where were these people hiding and furthermore, what are they doing on our land without permission. Let’s face it if they had of indicated a reason to be there that would never have happened.

Now back to my driveway, after many requests of me asking for these people to leave, the driver shuts the truck off indicating it wont start again. This allows them the opportunity to further their verbal assaults towards us. It is not until I tell them I am calling the authorities that lo and behold the vehicle finally jumps to life and they do not drive down the driveway like normal individuals, they instead drive across our front lawn to the roadway.

This occurrence was subsequently reported in person by myself and my husband to the local detachment. Our members that were present also took the time when they got home to write us letters of concern for our well being and the fear that they felt that day.

How would feel?

Just a sprinkle of nuts for a topping today.

Country Communities Are Not All Peaches & Cream (Part Four)

This “Red Herring Event” is now days away!

We are contacted by the local municipality notifying us of the event permit process and between ourselves and the event organizers we submit all the proper documentations and fees requested. We are visited by all departments including but not limited to, the heads of the roads department, building inspectors, Fire Chief and both deputy clerk and clerk of the township. All was now in order and a permit was issued to continue with the event. I will say that this process was done very quickly and at that time we felt them very accommodating to the process. This would become the first and last time that this would happen.

What we were unaware of, was these so-called complaints that had gone into the Township by this time, as no one had shared this information with us.

So, I suppose that given that these complaining individuals did not get what they wanted, they took matters into there own hands.

The first night of the event and being that we were the closest house to the event taking place, you can only imagine our surprise upon waking and having numerous people approach us with concerns and experiences that they had encountered that evening.

You see we could not hear any music from within our home coming from the event and in all honesty,  we were pleasantly relieved that the neighbours would likely have not heard anything as well.

What we all found alarming was the antics that a few neighbours were up to during the evening hours and into the wee hours of the Saturday morning.

The people that were attending this event had travelled many miles from throughout Ontario and Quebec, had purchased tickets for this event only to have approximately 40 vehicles stopped and instructed that the event had been cancelled due to us not having had obtained the proper event approvals. Our own members here at the Ranch were even stopped.

Can you imagine!

We were also informed that one angry individual whom was a local resident was stopped at the gate and was not permitted access into the event because they had not purchased a ticket for the event itself. They had to deal with the fact he became verbally abusive and threatening towards the event organizers.

Subsequently, we found that morning that all the directional signs to the Event have been kicked over and or smashed.

Therefore, I spent the better part of Saturday conversing with our local Ontario Provincial Police. We were informed that a noise complaint had been filed by a neighbour, however, when the time came, I had filed official requests for this Occurrence and to our surprise this complaint came from a resident 5.5km away from our location.

Throughout the day and while the officer was still onsite a couple from the area came down the roadway that led into the event area. I had suggested to the officer that he ask them about the sound levels as they were probably one of the closer neighbours to us in distance. It became clear and was noted that they also could not hear the sound from within their home. But they claimed they could hear it from their front porch when they stepped outside. These same people later get involved and tell a whole different story in the months to follow.

We would have also suggested talking perhaps with another neighbour but due to fact he is away for most of the year and was not home this event weekend, that it would only have been a waste of this officer’s valuable time.

So, continuing onwards with our weekend.

The event itself out back and our nudist ranch guests  enjoying some sunshine in peace.

Sunday evening, we all find ourselves in the typical misty evening, which has always been known for on the ever-non-predictable May two-four long weekends.  There were certainly not any torrential downpours to deal with and nothing to hamper any festivities in anyway.

Therefore, on the Monday when all participants of this event were all packed up and leaving the premises a gushing rush of water came flooding across the exit road. As luck would have it and conveniently, I might add, a beaver dam broke on property that is adjacent to our land and flooded the roadway stranding some participants well into the afternoon.

Once again, no proof as to whether this beaver dam had been pulled intentionally or not, but the Police writing it off to the down pour the previous evening was not sitting well with us. The fact remains we have been dealing with enough of this harassment already to know differently.

And unbeknownst to us was about to get a whole lot worse!

“Isn’t that Just Peachy”

Country Communities Are Not All Peaches & Cream (Part Three)

In today’s day and age, one would think that due to the vast diversification throughout Canada, that people in this country would be more accepting of others. In all honesty I would hope that most would want to experience life to the fullest.

So, let us look at an event that created a great deal of hostility, misunderstandings and exposed a country community in Canada for its bias and bigotry towards the unknown and the misunderstood.

Here we have a nudist ranch, horses, farming and a small little camp ground with a membership of devout nudists in a community far away from any urban areas, that on the surface pretends to promote agri tourism.

Perhaps that is only on the surface do to the fact that it is a mandate of their County to do so.

Now let us keep in mind we are talking about 100 acres of land, where the campground and the all Adult Nudists Venue is located at the front end of the property. (Yes, I said that) and I will get back to that momentarily.

Our nudist friends, family and membership have all been able to enjoy an area of the land that has become a part of their lives for over five years. There is also several hay fields and a large forested area in the back of the property.

Well as fate would have it for us, we were approached by an organization that was looking for some land to rent for an annual event with the hopes of creating a home base location for them. Perhaps moving forward and on an annual basis that would award them the opportunity to express their artistic and creative abilities with this all-inclusive festival. (which included their families young and old).

We, therefore, in 2017 signed a land rental agreement with the organization to accommodate 350 people in the back area of the 100 acres.

Now for anyone who had taken the time to look at our website, it was made crystal clear as to the reasoning our beloved ranch had become an adult only venue. We had only had the safety of children in mind when that decision was made. You see horses can be very unpredictable and at no time did we wish to have a child’s life endangered by livestock. Over time, it became apparent that adults need there down time as well and welcomed a venue that accommodated just that, a space free from children.

As nudists, we also appreciate that many families have raised their children within the nudist culture and have had them become more confident, accepting and well rounded through this life experience.

Unfortunately for nudists, not everyone understands this, nor do they take the time to understand.

Given that this organization was welcoming of all participants, you can appreciate that there was a degree of reluctance for us as it was going against our Adult Only Policies. Therefore, it was agreed that the organization could utilize a portion of the properties hay fields that were set very far back in the property and away from our nudist clientele and business.

What we were unaware of was that a Special Event permit was required of us for holding any event over 250 individuals.

So, if you recall in Part One and Two of this series, we had issues with livestock at large throughout the years and this event was to have no exception to the rule. During preparations the organizers experienced many cattle roaming our back fields from several farms away. I am sure you can appreciate that setting up tents and art exhibits in a field of cow patties would not be very welcoming to the participants of this event.

Once again, we found ourselves trying to deal with a farming family that was not interested in dealing with the issue at hand and caring properly for their livestock. This led to the subsequent fines and harassment that has been persistent from that day forward.

I do wish to take this time, to apologize up front for any anger that you may be reading in my writings, but in all honesty as this nightmare unfolds you will understand the frustration and yes anger that has been created and why?

Some days we feel like we are living and breathing episode after episode of something like the mini series of “Into the Badlands” or perhaps “How My Stomach Turns”.

Anyway, just before the event was to unfold a few neighbours heard or read about the event and started on a mission of nothing more than a vindictive assault on our very beings here. Hence the look and feel of a lynch mob to us, one that has assailed us continually from that day forward as you will come to see.

Complaints into the municipal office such as:

Delegations to local county council regarding land use compliance surrounding our proposed event.

Letters to Council and our event organizers calling us arrogant and claiming we were pulling a stunt/ money grab from the organizers themselves.

Complaining that we had put 2000.00 worth of gravel on an unmaintained road that these people did nothing more than to tear it up every time we endeavoured to fix it up and make it an enjoyable passage for all.

Complained about permits and anything else they could imagine and of course at the root of it all, our family values and nudity became the “Pit of their Peach”.

Country Communities Are Not All Peaches & Cream (Part Two)

As this is an ongoing affair, so should this blog!

We find ourselves living amongst generations of families that have lived and farmed the area and I suppose though their very own stories shared with us, it became apparent that this use to be an old mining area of sorts.

It was made crystal clear to us that we now had the privilege of owning the original homestead in this part of the township and hence the name of the road we live on, came to be.

So, let us look at the behaviour of a few country neighbours:

The first year we were here, we met most property owners that lived along the road that we now reside on. In every circumstance, the people we met were welcoming and appeared to be extremely supportive of us. The fact that as we explained our plans and dreams for our little nudist retreat, these neighbours of ours claimed and chimed in the same response time and time again.

“What you do on your own land is your business and not ours”.

So, what Happened?

Let’s look at some history here first!

One farming family was helped when a cow was found dead and needed a hand with our tractor to pull it out. This same farming family was assisted by us to help vaccinate, tag and neuter the cattle.

Another farming couple, new to the area after our existence was well known, was assisted for weeks with a lame horse that required attention. Every morning we were there to offer our assistance in cleaning and bandaging the wound. This same farming couple asked for us to pick this very animal up by utilizing our horse trailer and vehicle. In the spirit of being neighbourly we assisted without any hesitation.  We drove miles out of our way to help a fellow neighbour.

Yet another neighbour when he was experiencing a plumbing emergency came calling and asking for help, who was there to help? My husband! Was it done for money? No! he did it just because that was the neighbourly thing to do.

And how about the lady with all the ponies, goats and horses that could never seem to get the fencing under control and her animals were a constant on our land. We offered to help on many occasions to fix the problem with her, but she chooses not to have us assist her.

What about the time we were approached by a resident’s family member and was in destress about losing their home back to the bank because their house was in arrears of mortgage payments? Out of the kindness of our naked hearts we loaned them $3000,00 to stop that from happening.

I could go on, but the point I suppose I am trying to make here is that you cannot met two more giving people, but there does come a time when people need to understand that our privacy needs to be respected as well.

So again, what happened?

All that we can assume at this time is that perhaps a few individuals couldn’t handle the fact that when they were coming up our driveway unannounced it was not appreciated and for good reasons. They were subsequently asked not to do so, as them sitting there and staring at our guests and company was unnerving and inappropriate, not to mention some of the inappropriate comments that were being made to our guests as well.

So, out of respect for our company, friends and family, it became necessary to instruct them that this was not acceptable and instructed them that if they wished to be a part of our nudist community then nudity was a requirement and welcomed.

Naturally that is a choice for everyone.

Or perhaps, all the times that they had been welcomed in the past to join in the odd event or special occasion, such as our Elvis Impersonation evening or our neighbour pot luck appreciation night was no longer an option for them.

Again, this is a nudist retreat and unless that was something, they wished to participate in then we would request that they do not attend.

So instead, they have for the duration, sat in shadows of our property and to date continually try and intimidate and unnerve our members.

Or could it just be jealousy?

We clearly recall several of them saying we wouldn’t last a year here.

They figured the horse flies being the size they are, could carry us out of here and being nudists, we were prime pickings for a food source.

The very thought that “hey they are doing very well, and we don’t like it”  comes to mind with the behaviour that has followed in the past two years.

Now after me sharing a few of these circumstances as to our good nature and helpful hands, you can imagine the horror and outrage when we reached out to a local MP at the behest of our MPP in our area.

We receive a letter that berated us about complaints that he has had numerous of, but let us be clear, although we asked for these complaints in order to address these concerns, not one was forthcoming in response.  Instead this Country MP went on an attack about how we should be more neighbourly. This of course coming from an elected official whom we have never met or talked to.

Instead, he further goes onto to make inappropriate comments on Facebook about our beloved ranch. All the while knowing nothing about us.

One just cannot imagine, what goes through the mind of people when it comes to nudity?

This is a choice for some, not all, but the very imaginations and the thought process that comes along with it, is challenging at best.

So how would you like that cream for your peaches?

Country Communities Are Not All Peaches & Cream (Part One)

Can you imagine wanting so desperately to live your dream by moving out to the country where you can be free of the turmoil of everyday living within urban areas, only to find you have moved to a biased and bigoted community?

Now let me add, your born and raised within the country of Canada, where the perception of the world is “my those Canadians are so polite and pleasant people”.

How about the fact that you have no obvious religious beliefs, no appearance of a certain ethnicity, unless off course a tan counts and someone thinks differently.

The only reason you are different is because you have a passion and belief system that surrounds social nudity and being a nudist. Now I know my European friends out there will say, well no big deal, we have them everywhere over here and it is completely acceptable. We raise our families this way and have been enjoying the sunshine au natural for many years. So what is the issue? What is the problem?

Well it is apparent that within Canada we have come to find out that small rural communities within some parts will go to no lengths to harass and publicly try to humiliate people because of their way of life.

I personally thought the days of lynch mobs were behind us.

I also thought the very meaning of being Canadian was how diverse our cultures and beliefs were. I pride myself on acceptance of a person’s choice and beliefs. Here I thought we lived in a country of live and let live. Apparently not as we are finding out.

You see our dream was to create a sanctuary within the country for our fellow nudist community. Having been a nudist myself for well over 25 years now and also having our beloved resort turn textile through an acquisition approximately 10 years ago and lastly given that we had a passion for our horses that we boarded at the time. It was an obvious next step for us to purchase a hobby farm, well away from any urban center and create a wonderful rustic retreat so to speak, for friends, family and our fellow nudist community.

Well in 2011 our dream started to transpire into a reality. We purchased a 100 acres in Eastern Ontario. For many years now we have invested a large amount of money, time and effort in to our small argi-tourism business with a five-year plan in mind.

Things certainly appeared to be heading in the right direction, we had our clients coming now on a regular basis, We had had visits from local township officials on start-up and there was never an issue except the a very large problem with some local farmers not being able to maintain and have the proper care and control of their livestock.

For the most part we tried very hard to be understanding in the beginnings, but after years of horses, ponies, goats and cows getting loose and damaging our hay fields, getting into our barn and eating feed and tearing up our groomed and maintained lawns and gardens, this became tiresome, annoying and expensive for us to maintain and repair. Unfortunately, no amount of discussion with these farmers seemed to resolve the issue and some eventually became belligerent and ignorant about doing anything about the problem at hand. Ultimately, this problem resulted in Do Not Trespass orders being issued , with subsequent fines due to ignoring the orders and animal at large fines issued by the bylaw authority. All of which was recommended and suggested by our local township office and the Ontario Provincial Police.

And so it begins.

One would have hoped that it was apparent that there was a small group of vindictive people who had emerged at the behest of these irresponsible farmers that took it upon themselves and made it well-known that they were going to get us shut down. Through ignorance, gossip and moral outrage about nudity, the community became more and more aggressive towards us as people. This all happened without anyone ever taking the time to get to know anything about us, who we are, what we are all about , what we ourselves have had to endure from the harassing behaviour of a few undesirables that live locally to our ranch, or what we have done for the community in supporting economic growth and charitable donations and support. In all reality there was a big fat zero when it came to effort by anyone and “oh my we cannot have that” became crystal clear to us.

So this is where we begin this story why Country Communities Are Not All Peaches & Cream.

 

 

BEING MORE ACCEPTING OF NATURISTS BY NUDISTS AND NUDISTS BY NATURISTS

This hot topic needs to stop within the community of all naked people.

Why do I believe this? The reasoning is a simple one, being at one with yourself naked, and or within a social community setting, is firstly an experience that a person chooses at varying times, both in their lives and for a multitude of reasons.

The one common denominator is the fact that we all get naked because it makes us all feel good. Does it really matter why or how a person chooses to be naked and to feel good about it? In my opinion no!

For years I have listened to and read stories upon stories about what is right, what is wrong, what it should be and what shouldn’t be, what it is and what it isn’t.

The fact of the matter is as long as people choose to judge others, then this will be an ongoing subject of dissention for years to come.

Some of us get naked at home only because that is our comfort level, but at the end of the day they are happy with who they are and what they do. Then there are those of us whom prefer hiking naked through the forest, along a trail, having a swim in the lake, rivers, oceans and streams. Again these people are at peace with themselves and are enjoying what they love to do. Others choose to share their happiness more outwardly and in public, hence participating in a naked bike ride, an organized painting event or rallies. These too are at peace within themselves, as they are getting what they need and desire out of their love to shed their clothing.

Moving along we then have some of us that choose the resorts, the gated communities, which are all different in and of themselves. These clubs and organizations might offer more services to families, while others focus more on the couple environment. Some allow singles, some don’t, again for their own reasoning. However, people will find what best meets their needs and what community of people they wish to enjoy their naked time with and how to go about being happy and stress free.

Just today I read a response to a question posed to a group in social media. The question “What is a True Nudist”? Once again I am reading a division through perception that, and I quote “a naturist is one who prefers to be nude or close to it, they aren’t thinking or acting in a sexual way, basically the same way as a clothed person is but only nude. They also talk to you and your face, not your body”. Now most would agree that this statement was pretty fair and a very positive perception to the question. However, the quote furthers in explanation as follows “A nudist is more vague because stingers like to be nude also, but are more interested in sex and checking out what others look like then just relaxing. Exhibitionists are also nudist, but for their own reason. True nudist is nothing really, just a term to me”. Well as you can see the division is made clear by the perception of this one individual and I believe there are many more whom might see things the same way as this person did.

I suppose I could choose be offended by the latter half of the statement, as I very often for a lack of a better word promote freely to the world that I am a proud nudist. I suppose I could also take exception to the fact that because of one word that I am perceived possibly as a lower standard within the world wide stage of the naked community. Fortunately, I do realize that a message of non- sexual nudity is a preferred way to communicate to the world that we welcome others to participate. That being said I also know that many naked people claim and promote to others that you will never feel more comfortable in this NON-JUGEMENTAL community atmosphere.

Does that Non Judgement attitude stop at body acceptance only? Or should we be looking beyond that and start looking at what is making everyone happy and for whatever their reasoning is. Are we missing the point of why we choose to be free from clothing in the first place?

It makes us happy!

Let me ask you this:

If a couple chooses a beach where they are allowed to get naked and love one another and or someone one else. Who am I to have an opinion on what they are doing? Are they in a safe place which is designed to accommodate their needs and their happiness? Are they breaking any laws? Are they hurting anyone? For the last two if the answers no, then I suppose they are happy being naked the way they want to be. I then suggest we stop judging them and allow them their happiness without judgement.

Finally, I am going to take this judging of others one step further.

Social Media is packed with all kinds of information, people, types and list goes on and on. So here, we all are creating groups within social media, trying desperately to promote our products and ourselves. Here we find cases of those whom are happy sharing the naked news to the world, but lo and behold, because it is just that nakedness, we find ourselves attracting all kinds and types of people. These people then in their happiness decide they wish to share their products with you. So now you start having to deal with possibly porn coming across your site. I get the frustration that many experience. One more selfie of an erect penis. Boring, and you just hope and wish they move on and for the most part they do. Well where it becomes wrong, and this is my humble opinion of course. Is when these people decide to check out you sites, maybe they have more than one interest that makes them happy and being naked and happy is one of them? Where I start to take issue is creeping there sites and judging these individuals by what they follow. I believe that as long as they are not infringing on your site with your followers, then they are doing nothing wrong, but you may be out of line judging them. Just some food for thought.

So in closing I wish everyone a wonderful, Happy Naked Day

LIVE AND LET LIVE.

Yvonne

What have you done for me lately!

It has been a while since I have had the time to set aside some time to write, and in all honesty at his busy time of year it is not that easy to come by that extra minute or two. That being said here I am and only because I have been outraged at the happenings within a social media group Canadian Naturists on Facebook.

Well I came across what seemed to be an innocent enough post regarding some issues and concerns about the Federation of Canadian Naturists membership cards and magazines and how some people were not getting theirs. Well I decided to make a small note that we here at Freedom Fields Naturist Ranch had decided to drop them as an organization at the beginning of 2014.

Now at that time I thought nothing of it just a quick note as to where we stand here and felt it was not really necessary to elaborate any further as to our many reason as to why we or more appropriately , why I decided that they were not worth supporting any longer.

However, someone did inquire further and I did try to say that the many reasons we had stopped were between Freedom Fields and the Federation of Canadian Naturists and wanted to keep it that way, however I did touch briefly on where the FCN head office was located (within Bare Oaks) and that I felt and in my opinion for the most part that the articles within Going Natural were mostly written and focused on this club. I also said it was understandable considering that a majority of the FCN board members and volunteers came from within that location as well. So the bottom line for me was that why bother supporting a club that’s primary focus was on this one particular club. I did not mention that there were a great deal of other issues with them and that in fact the FCN is very sore spot for me on so many levels.

Well I suppose that statement hit a nerve of a few and the next thing I know is that a moderator of this group starting attacking Freedom Fields Naturist Ranch on our core values and how we as a club should never have been recognized as an acceptable club. Let me also add that this individual has never even graced our doors and has no knowledge of who or what we are as a club and or people.

The first and foremost that was on this individuals mind was to cast a negativity over Freedom Fields Naturist Ranch based on the fact that we have now become an “Adult Only Ranch”. That decision was non impacting on our existing customers because as to date only one youth has ever been present at Freedom Fields and we enjoyed his company immensely during his visit with his parents. Now if this said individual had taken the time he would have found our reasoning behind making our facility “Adult Only” in the first place, this decision was based on the safety and well-being of nudist children and the unpredictable nature of horses. Instead he threw out that it was only obvious what adult only meant and continued on to attack our core values. I will also add here that this person took down all his nasty comments so that people could not follow the thread properly anymore.

Now let me touch on some core values for you. I / we do not stand behind any pretense that nudists are not sexual creatures by nature as are all other living and breathing species of this earth. To say that one organization and there set of values over rides and supersedes another’s club, group or organization is probably more in line with a cult and how they bully other clubs and organizations to cow tow to their beliefs.

News flash people swingers (or whatever preferred label you wish to place on people) and people who enjoy a lifestyle along with other types of lifestyles such as nudism are people. They are no different than let’s say if you are of one faith over the other, race, colour, creed and or whatever your sexual orientation is everyone deserves to be treated in a respectful manner and leave your judgmental attitudes at the door along with your laundry. For those nudists who sit back and say we are non-judgmental and then go along their merry way to only bad mouth and put down others for an individual’s choices in life should be ashamed of themselves and stop living the lie that you are that non-judgmental person because you are in fact living that lie.

We called Freedom Fields by that name for a reason. It is a place to come and enjoy and be yourself, what adult people do behind closed doors is none of my business, nor should it be any of yours. Now if the first point didn’t hit home I will suggest that you will find many of these wonderful people within all the clubs across North America and they all fit in rather nicely with all us other open minded and adventurous naked people. Now does that say that open sex is happening openly in any of these clubs, No it’s not, why because these wonderful people respect others and enjoy the company of the other individuals who are of like mind in the privacy of their own spaces. OK enough said on that point.

So now back to the rants on Canadian Naturist Facebook Page. Well it wasn’t enough for this individual to have a go at us here at Freedom Fields, but one board member from the Federation of Canadian Naturists chimes in that he will address the concerns of the post once he had a spare moment or two. At that moment I feel a sense of relief that these people will get some answers to their concerns surrounding the membership cards and magazine’s and that this person would address my statements, which I thought would have been in a private message considering I had spared my response to the reasons of cutting ties with the FCN in the first place. But no instead the board member decided I needed to be addressed first and more importantly chooses to also attack my integrity surrounding issues of whether I have sat on any boards and or volunteered for their organization and that perhaps I should be more like another club owner and be more proactive as this individual is for his club.

OK so let’s see what proactive gets you with the FCN as another club owner.

In 2012, we were visited by two delightful members of Bare Oaks and whom also sat on the board of directors and or volunteered for the FCN organization. This couple stayed in our B&B prior to the FCN Festival that was being held at Le Pommerie in Quebec that year. At their request, invite and suggestion we decided that we would join them at the FCN Festival and make introductions of ourselves and inform them of our plans and dreams for Freedom Fields Naturist Ranch. It was a lovely place for a visit and for the most part we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Well as it would happen we had the opportunity to meet the then editor of the magazine Going Natural and during our conversation I asked if it would be possible to have an article done on Freedom Fields Naturist Ranch to let the rest of Canada and North America know that we were open for enjoyment and that I felt it would be a positive thing given that yet another club the Four Seasons was no longer a nudist location available to the community. She would have be more than happy she said if one of our members were to submit an article for the publication. Small problem here we just opened the doors and had our grand opening mid July so as I explained we did not have any members yet. She informed me that she would not be able to run any articles if I wrote it as that could been seen as free advertisement for Freedom Fields and I fully understood that position. So I felt that I would just have to wait and when I got a member that would feel comfortable writing an article I would then be able to submit one at a later date. You can only imagine my thoughts and feelings given that in the winter issue 2011-12 on page 16 when I saw the article of The Metamorphism of Crocus Grove into Naturist Legacy Park. Obviously the hard work of 69 people was worth publishing, but the hard work and dedication of two was not.

So in keeping patient we waited to see what we could get together that might be worthy of catching the eyes of our National Organization and Publication. The following have been things that we have done and sent in but again to our dismay have continually not been worthy of so much as a mention in their magazine.

We have held four Naked Canadian Gardening Days since we have opened our doors, on two of those occasions we were ask to submit articles and photos, which we did and have never made any edition. We have been on Radio twice promoting nudism as a way of life, in fact one board member was here with the FCN tent set up and heard it broadcasting live that morning. Again I would venture that it was not worthy of the organization. To add insult to injury here the FCN that was here that day took many photos of people having fun in the sun while participating in our nude Olympics, again not worthwhile mentioning anywhere.

Furthermore to all this, we have been in the newspapers The Kingston Whig, The Brantford Explorer and the Frontenac News. When we submitted them to the FCN they did not even find them important enough to put up on the FCN website under Current News instead we just got a couple of small replies about nice article. End of.

Now let me touch on the Breast Cancer Calendar that I started in 2013 for the following year 2014, I invested a great deal of time, money and energy on that, promoted to the local businesses in the surrounding areas and was pleasantly surprised with the support I was able to get from the community. Now that being said, the FCN did contribute $600.00 towards ads in the calendar on the six months between spring and fall at a discounted rate. What would have been nice is if they could have run some sort of article on what we were trying to do or at the very least put it up on the website. At least that way we could have had the word out more that we were looking for participants. But that being said we manage to get support from those that came out that year and with 3 photographers and a couple of handfuls of willing ladies we pulled it off and had fun doing so.

I understand that people get busy and volunteers are short everywhere but being two people here and doing what we do a think that some small back scratching can be made room for. Back in 2013 the FCN Festival was being held at Bare Oaks and I had asked a board member that I knew was going to The Nude Stock at the Ponderosa where we had paid to have our banner hung for the event. I asked if it would be possible to pick up our banner at the end of the weekend there and take it to the festival and hang it with the FCN tent. I was assured that would not be a problem but apparently it was forgotten about and that too never transpired.

Ok so now talking about the FCN Festival, back at the Le Pommerie in 2012 we were approached and asked if we would be ready to host the event for 2014. We said if we know it is going to happen then we would make sure we were ready, but in all reality I can only assume that the Ponderosa became a better choice in the end. We would never know what the reasoning behind this was because no one ever called and notified us either way. I assure you, you can ask anyone of our members and non-members for that matter and time and time again we get the same remarks that people are amazed at the changes here year after year and that makes it all worthwhile, the appreciation that we do get from those that know the dedication and efforts that go into this venture.

Now another comment was made by the same arrogant moderator about us being a for-profit organization and apparently that would equate to what? That our efforts are not worthy of any recognition. That it is appropriate for you to throw stones and bad mouth two very dedicated people, who have put nothing but hard work, effort, back bone and a huge financial commitment to supply a venue to other free spirited nudists. I say, get off your high horse and know your information before being a bully and as for the board member suggesting anything other than I step up to meet their need’s well Mr. Director I say life is a two way street and you need some serious thought put into your remarks before venturing out so hastily.

I have seen and heard firsthand how you cherry pick your volunteers and was very appalled at what I witnessed and heard at the 2012 FCN Festival about a couple of volunteers, one who was stepping down and another potential volunteer. And having a President whom cannot even take the time of day for a new owner who met at Bare Oaks on a visit and only insisted that I watch a the video and was stunned to hear them say “I might learn something about nudism” Wow I was certainly not impressed that weekend.

In closing I know that there is a lot of hurt in this message and some will not appreciate the truth and honesty here but this is why we no longer support the FCN. Since our decision was made to stop our support of them we have heard more for them since that decision and it has not been that much either, but I say it is a little too late.

Naturally and FREE

Yvonne Gibson

FFNR

The Nudist The Next Generation

Originally Written on

Sun, 10th March, 2013

I sit here late at night perplexed, I am very concerned at the apparent lack of understanding and support from the various naturist establishments for the valiant efforts that are being made by the youth of today to expand the horizons of awareness regarding nudity and naturism.

Lets face hard cold facts, It was the admirable determination and perseverance of nudist in the past that got us where we are today. With their determination, they were able to establish naturist facilities and organizations which are the building foundations that future generations should build from. No one wants to re invent the wheel here, I do however see many insightful youths reaching out to promote and build upon this solid foundation, only to be thwarted in their efforts.

The Naturist from days gone by are aging and retiring, sorry but true and hence just here in Canada we have seen nudist clubs and the property being sold and many closures have been the result. The good news is we still have a few well established resorts that continue to thrive and hopefully they will be here for many years to come.

I myself am no longer a spring chicken but what I do see and know that the future of Naturism lies on the shoulders of the youth of today and every effort should be made to help, support and nurture them as our own.

Young Naturists America (aka) YNA just recently posted a blog expressing obvious frustration with various organizations, clubs, establishments ect. and listed the following as just a few of the core issues that they are facing and encountering from nudist leaders and business owners:

That we

-Don’t understand how the internet works

-Don’t believe in spending any money to attract new business

-Are afraid of the “outsiders”

-Are closed minded when it comes to innovation

-Don’t take constructive criticism well

-Can’t communicate effectively and don’t respond promptly

-Are not open-minded enough for the current way people think

-Are uncooperative and extremely secretive

-Lack the skills and willingness to learn how to reach more people

-Are not willing to actively support other businesses and collaborate

I couldn’t agree more with their concerns, we as naturist are suppose to hold certain values and one of them is that we are very non judgemental people. Does this value of ours stop at body acceptance or in my opinion does it also extend itself to innovative and creative ideas. I certainly take offence to the fact that this group refers to themselves as being seen as the black sheep of our family.

I have seen these unhealthy issues rear their ugly head time and time again, Organizations scrambling at the last minutes before board meetings to find individuals to fill seats on their perspective boards and not finding any willing participants. This is because these intellectual people can see that it’s just an “old boys club”| which will not be open to any new and innovative ideas. These group have a tendency to shun the very people whom have brilliant ideas and suggestion and in all reality it will be any groups undoing when these cliché are formed with no room for the so called outsider.

The challenge here is we need to encourage and be supportive of groups such as the YNA to help us promote and continue to encourage naturism for what it is and can be to EVERYONE.

More of these groups are needed or we will be become an extinct ideal. Lets bring back that youthful outlook we all once had and start supporting these brilliant youths.

Naturally and Respectfully
Freedom Fields Naturist Ranch