(see photo gallery below)
There is something in that old adage about being able to take the boy off the farm but not being able to take the farm out of the boy that seems to ring especially true for one retired Kamsack district farmer.
At 84, Nick Bayoff has long since been retired to North Battleford, but for the past 14 years he has been spending each summer 鈥渃amping鈥� on his property on the scenic hills above the Assiniboine River valley southeast of Kamsack.
鈥淚 had never planned to settle down here,鈥� Bayoff said recently during a late afternoon interview at his campsite. 鈥淚n the 1990s I could have bought a house, but then I lived in a trailer. I never thought I鈥檇 keep coming back.
鈥淚鈥檓 sorry I didn鈥檛 keep that trailer,鈥� he said, while seated on a chair in the building that serves as a bedroom and kitchen and is equipped with his bed, a kerosene stove, kitchen supplies, a propane heater, a coal-oil lamp, a couple chairs and a tiny table.
鈥淚f I had known I would be staying here for so long, I would have kept the trailer.鈥�
Instead, he鈥檚 been living in three tiny buildings, the largest being a 12-foot by eight-foot former granary that he converted to become the 鈥渟pare building;鈥� the 10-foot by eight-foot bedroom-kitchen building that he insulated and equipped with shelving, and a third, smaller building he refers to as his tool shed.
Bayoff's been living with his daughter Charlotte in North Battleford since the mid1990s, but each year for the past 14 years he has lived on the farm he has owned most of his life.
As he packs up and leaves the farm each fall, he never knows how his health would be the next summer, so he never knows for sure if he would be able to return the next year. But he has returned each year.
Last year, he had knee surgery so he spent three months in hospital and was cooped up in the house most of the rest of the winter.
鈥淢y daughter almost didn鈥檛 let me go this year,鈥� he said.
鈥淲hat do you do in North Battleford?鈥� he is asked.
鈥淚 look forward all winter to coming back here,鈥� he says.
鈥淲hat do you do here?鈥�
鈥淣othing,鈥� he replies, with a broad smile that seems to reveal a genuine state of contentment. But there is a lot in that 鈥榥othing.鈥�
Living on the Saskatchewan prairie, with no electricity and no running water, means there is much he must do to compensate, like making frequent trips into town for the groceries that cannot be kept without refrigeration and hauling water for drinking and washing. He has an ice box and 鈥淐N pail鈥� for keeping things cold, and a bit of a pit out back to serve as a toilet.
He keeps the grass mowed on a patch of ground much larger than the lawns of most urban dwellers, he tends a small garden, and on occasion takes short day trips to friends鈥� houses or to neighbouring communities.
Nick was born in Runnymede, the eldest of Nick and Mary Bayoff鈥檚 three children. His brother John, who had one daughter, died last year, and John鈥檚 twin, Katie, who has two children, lives in LaRonge..
In 1964 Nick was married in Lynn Lake, but he and Mary Jane divorced about eight years later. His daughter gave him four grandchildren, ranging in age from one year to 14 years.
Nick was raised on the farm where he worked until 1954 when he got a job with the CNR. Three years later he moved to Lynn Lake, Man, where he had a surface job at the nickel and copper mines. After the mines were closed in 1989, he stayed on, working on security for a few years. He had also worked as a shift boss for a mine for three or four years at Fox Lake and then returned to Lynn Lake to work at a gold mine until it closed in the 1990s. He retired to North Battleford in 1994.
Since 2001, Bayoff has been returning to his land near Kamsack. He comes in May, anytime between the eighth and 21st, depending on the weather, and usually stays until the end of October.
鈥淭he longest I stayed was to November 7; that was in 2011.鈥�
Asked how he spends his time doing 鈥渘othing,鈥� Bayoff said he usually wakes up between 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
鈥淚 dress up, let the cat out and then have breakfast, either cereal or eggs and bacon.鈥�
He explains that although he once had four cats with him, only one remains and he is careful to see that it is safely shut into the 鈥渟pare building鈥� at night, and is released in the morning. He says his cat seems to be happier living on the farm than it is living at North Battleford.
鈥淭he cat seems to prefer rain water to drink.
鈥淚 listen to the radio, either CBC or Yorkton. I cut the grass once a week.
鈥淔or lunch, I usually have fruit.
鈥淚 walk around the yard: six times twice a day.
鈥淚 used to read but now my sight is not the best. I have glasses somewhere.鈥�
He said that every day he writes. For a long, long while, he has kept a journal, in which he records the day鈥檚 weather and what he did that day.
鈥淪ome days I may drive to Runnymede or Togo. On Sunday, I drove to Grandview with my neighbour.
鈥淎nd then when it gets dark, I lock up the cat and go to sleep.鈥�
Asked what wildlife might visit him, Bayoff is immediately reminded of a racoon.
鈥淚t came right up to the step,鈥� he said of the racoon. 鈥淚 figure it was either tame or sick. It sat there for a long time looking at me. I fed it cat food.鈥�
On a walk around his property, Bayoff remarks on the height of the canola crop now growing on ground that once had contained his family鈥檚 farmyard. He explained how one of the buildings he now occupies had once been a granary located some distance away. Under the trees near a gully, Bayoff points to an area where he has had to bury his cats and the few animals that he had discovered dead on the side of the nearby road.
Surprisingly, his response was rather nonchalant when he was prompted to mention something about the spectacular view from his open front door, and he spent no time expressing any special appreciation for being able to be so close to the changing weather or for being able to appreciate the brilliance of the night sky. But he did say that he enjoys keeping a watch on the progress of the crops.
He commented on how slow crops were to grow this year because of the dryness of the early part of the season and then after the rains came he was surprised that he saw that some of the nearby crops were harvested before he even realized that they had been ready.
鈥淚t seemed like everything grew overnight.鈥�
Obviously a man who enjoys his own company, Bayoff is asked if he has always been 鈥渁 loner.鈥�
鈥淵es,鈥� he said, adding that even while living in Lynn Lake he would not often go out for coffee with the others. He said he was a bit more social when he used to drink beer, but he quit drinking in 1980 and now only rarely might have a sip of alcohol.
Will he be back next year?
鈥淚f I feel as good as I feel now, then I will come back next summer,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t also depends on what the doctor says.鈥� 听
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