The Poems of Rhubarb

A huge thank you to people who used their imagination to write amazing Odes to our leafy friend Rhubarb.

We have received over 80 poems and you can read and listen to them here on this page, as read by members of The Merry Dairy team!

And now, after counting the comments and in-depth evaluation of the judges, The Merry Dairy is pleased to announce the winners of the rhubarb poetry contest who won some Rhubcoin!!!

 

Sonnet: Poem #5 by Stevo
Freeform: Poem #4 by Kathleen
Haiku: Poem #9 by Ryan and Poem #32 by David (yes, we had a tie!)

These poems were submitted as part of the Be A Rhubarb Bard Poetry Contest and the Rhubarb Stalk Exchange (both now closed)! Read or listen to them all!


Poem #1: Haiku

Stalk phrases

broad leaves red and green,
sour stocks in springtime sky,
I scream for rhubarb!

Audio


Poem #2: Freeform

Rhubarb, your such an odd weed
Your taste is unique, very cool
No one thinks of you as feed
Until the first chew, its like falling backwards into a pool

Audio


Poem #3: Freeform

Taking Stalk
Shelley Posen

If your rhubarb plant could only speak
This is what it would say—
“Use this harvesting technique
So I increase from day to day:
Don’t cut with knife that’s sharp or dull
(This is known in ancient lore)
Grab stalk by stalk at the base and pull
And soon I’ll grow some more.

Audio


Poem #4: Freeform

Dearest rhubarb
You are a gift from Aunt Rosemary
when we moved to Hintonburg
almost twenty years ago.
From her garden in Cornwall,
to ours.
You’ve grown, faithfully,
as the neighbourhood’s changed,
as neighbours moved in
and moved away.
Each year you remind us strawberries
are in season. It’s time to pull you
gently up for the first harvest
Time to make our famous
Strawberry Rhubarb Stew.
Though we tend to neglect you –
busy with bike rides up to Gatineau
training for Ottawa Race Weekend
birthdays and graduations,
and all the other things
that turn days into years,
moments into memories.
You grow and stretch each spring.

Someday, when the children move away,
when they have their own small gardens,
I’ll dig up a few of your roots
and you’ll keep growing
wherever they end up.

Audio


Poem #5: Sonnet

Ode to Rhubarb

When winter wanes and springtime knocks,
Out come tender, fleshy stalks
That taste most tart, but when they’re stewed
Create a most celestial food.

In crisps and crumbles, tarts and pies,
They tempt the palate with surprise
But best of all in the extreme
Is savoury-sweet rhubarb ice cream.

Those with verdant garden patches
May consign their tangy batches,
Whence our Merry Dairy may
Transform the stalks to crème glacée.

In cone or cup or crimson garb
There’s none can match the fair rhubarb.

Audio


Poem #6: Sonnet

My vibrant rhubarb, you inspire me to write.
How I love the way you grow, thrive and stand,
Invading my mind day and through the night,
Always dreaming about where you are in the land.

Let me compare you to a sunny Tuesday?
You are more dreamy, pleasant and fine.
Skilled breeze flaps the pleasant dancers of May,
And the springtime has the ideal punchline.

How do I love you? Let me count the ways.
I love your freshness, texture and taste.
Thinking of your scent fills my days.
My love for you is the red aftertaste.

Now I must away with a bursting heart,
Such as you burst through the soil metres apart.

Audio


Poem #7: Haiku

Mischief of youth
Purloined fruit snatched in haste
Alas, rhubarb

Audio


Poem #8: Freeform

I am Rhubarb

No love
Ignored
A weed?
No
Sweet and tangy
To be adored
Please love me

Audio


Poem #9: Haiku

Rhubarb

I don’t like sour stuff
It is a new food for me
New ice cream for me!

By Ryan (age 9)

Audio


Poem #10: Freeform

Rhubarb. I put my shoes on back to front to step into the past, sent my watch by express mail to make the time go fast Rhubarb. My husband bought a little treat, A favorite thing I love to eat Rhubarb Pie. Oh for a taste of rhubarb pie! And Get one than Thats a New Day!!

Audio


Poem #11: Haiku

Rhubarb

Rhubarb can be sweet
Just add the sugar and BOOM!
It is VERY sweet

Jeremy (age 8)

Audio


Poem #12: Haiku

Rhubarb

Pink, sour rhubarb
A little sugar sweetens
Leaves are poisonous

Ty (age 7)

Audio


Poem #13: Haiku

Rhubarb is so good
Like ice cream and gummy worm
I adore rhubarb!

Audio


Poem #14: Haiku

rhubarb as a child
spring sticks dip in sugar cloud
sweet crunch tart again

Audio


Poem #15: Haiku

Sweet stalks your garden
How does that rub your rhubarb?
Spring’s promise is tart

Audio


Poem #16: Freeform

Tart and tangy and a little bit ‘zangy’. Mixed in with cream, makes a frozen dream.

Audio


Poem #17: Freeform

Spring is here at long last,
Oh to break my rhubarb fast!
Stalks of succulent green and red
Used to grace my garden bed ,
Gone now to fate unknown
All the rhubarb I have grown!!

Audio


Poem #18: Freeform

I rue the day
rhubarb came my way

when people ask “what is the reason?”
I simply state: “too short a season”

Audio


Poem #19: Freeform

Rhubarb Pie

My bitter leaf; large and broad
stalk so red and sweet
Children to their mother’s arms wide
running, laughing to enjoy a treat
Cooling on the window I’m
baked in a pie the children greet
Dad is home from the hunt
his skill provides the family’s meat

Audio


Poem #20: Freeform

Early bird songs wake the day
and lilac on the air
the broad rough leaves are creeping
beyond my neighbours yards

This first plant I could allot
warms me with vibrant reds
And it’s hearty strength bares on
when all else in the plot has withered

I can’t help being heartened
that such a tart anything
could be so dearly cherished

Audio


Poem #21: Haiku

Spring’s first offering
Stocky, leafy, red and green
Tart, delicious treat!

Audio


Poem #22: Haiku

A rhubarb haiku
Has seventeen syllables:
Five, seven and five

Audio


Poem #23: Haiku

Rhubarb rhubarb rhu-
barb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb.
Am I being clear?

Audio


Poem #24: Freeform

Early Riser

Rhubarb, the first to rise this droughtful spring,
struggles up through drowsing ground weeks
before annuals even learn their names.

Driven out of formal gardens, its red periscopes
live rough in lanes, spread to vacant lots,
occupy sketchy alleys.

Rhubarb’s a thriver, her scalloped skirts flap
wider than a road, surpass neighbour weeds.
Desperate to be noticed, she pays her way
in leafage.

The odd gardener relents, chews and spits
a stalk or two, chops and cubes, sugars sauce.
There are never any takers.

Rhubarb the Artefact, housed in Gem jars, waits
in cellars, labels pasted on in a ghost aunt’s hand,
the day, the month, the year of preservation.

Audio


Poem #25: Freeform

Rhubarb triggers up from a root
Into a stalk and a poison leaf
By the shade of cement a cavern grows
just in the spot beneath
where rhubarb rises against cement
and pushes it up unimpeded
In a wrong of land littered and sand
A germination lifts for its life undefeated

Audio


Poem #26: Haiku

Rhubarb is awesome. Rhubarb can be sour. Rhubarb is a vegetable.

Audio


Poem #27: Freeform

Rhubarb is the king
It can be used in anything
Rhubarb is pink and green
It is better then a bean
You can eat it with frozen custard
That’s way better than with mustard
You can get rhubarb ice cream at the Merry Dairy
Like ice cream with crumbled berry
Now that is the end of my poem
Now go have some for yourself everyone.

Audio


Poem #28: Haiku

See rhubarb ice cream
Sweet and tasty as I eat
Love rhubarb ice cream

Audio


Poem #29: Freeform

Pink, fleshy, edible stalks fill my heart of dreams, as the perennial dances in the spring.

When raw it’s very sour, but with some sugar on the cooker, it’s lovely sweet and sour.

Crisps and crumbles, pies or tarts it tastes supreme especially in merry dairy ice cream!

-Cedar C

9 years old

Audio


Poem #30: Sonnet

Distinguished Queen of Summer Crumbles
Tart and sweet, you are a heavenly delight
Canes dipped in dazzling sugar, maple or honey
Whatever the choice, I won’t grumble

Beneath your leafy canopy, hidden gems stretch upward
Refusing to be dwarfed by others
Harvesting doesn’t wilt your spirit or smother
You come back every year with profuse bounty for this Bard.

Who knew you’d be in such demand
Worthy enough to be precious currency in 2021
No savings plan, simply to share and nourish everyone
That’s what The Merry Dairy commands

Don’t fret, I’ll be the guard-on-watch
Ensuring Ori doesn’t mulch your glorious patch!

Audio


Poem #31: Freeform

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb
Anticipatory ruby stalks.
Roses you are not.
Peaches you are not.

But every May, near Mother’s Day
your feisty fronds out front present.
3 more days, 2 more days,
You pump and pump and pump.
Mmm, mouth watering feature
long awaited Spring Feast.
Rhubarb cordial, rhubarb tea
and a single tall tart branch
to crunch and crunch and pucker-up

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb
Your ruby stalks are here!
We wait a little longer
Sweet Pie dreams of your so soon coming out.

Audio


Poem #32: Haiku

Field mice scurrying
Red stalks, green umbrella leaves
Sheltering from rain

Audio


Poem #33: Haiku

Paper cups of sugar
Ragged red stalks, sweet and tart
Laughter of children

Audio


Poem #34: Freeform

Rhubarb for you
Rhubarb for me
It tastes so good
It makes me go weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Audio


Poem #35: Freeform

Somebody was talking about Guy Fawkes
Underneath the bridge beside the old locks
Standing in the weeds and the rhubarb stalks
They needed redemption
A sugar intervention

Everybody ready to draw their last breath
Vowing they would follow the cursed Macbeth
Underneath that bridge they would all meet Death
By rhubarb pie
The only way to die

Audio


Poem #36: Haiku

Barb was gone this morn
Rue your leafy broken stem
Summer love squandered

Audio


Poem #37: Haiku

spelling mistakes are forever
like Rubaiyat, for
Omar Khayyam’s Rhubaiyat

Audio


Poem #38: Freeform

Mary Dairy you are so mary you make my day so nice with your ice cream is the best I love your merch and I love your ice cream and I also really like rhubarb.I hope I win.😍😍😍

Audio


Poem #39: Freeform

i love rhubarb its good for us and you and you make good ice cream

Audio


Poem #40: Freeform

Rhubarb, how we do love thee. its stem is green,pink crimson red and has a delicious taste! used in ice cream yes it is, has a tart taste but is perfect for cake! mix it with berries and scream! how delicious, how delicious it is!

Audio


Poem #41: Haiku

Rhubard is healthy
Vitamin C and Fibre
A good ice cream treat

Audio


Poem #42: Haiku

Magical rhubarb
Just right tartness, marries sweet
Creates perfection

Audio


Poem #43: Freeform

rhubarb, i am
what some would call
a wink-wink tart
a taste of
spring youthful
for a tired winter heart
tread lightly dear
too much of me, and
you will ride the sirens
all doubled up
needing a jump start

Audio


Poem #44: Haiku

great fruit flavour
sweet and sour at the same time
hurray for rhubarb

elise, age 9

Audio


Poem #45: Freeform

Raiders

In October we steal tires to burn for Fawkes
Easy pickings round town—most front yards
Just dig sites of dinosaur trucks
Parts and bones rusting in rain and fog.

In May we raid rhubarb from Mrs Parsons,
The Coombs, old lady McCarthy.
Jumping fences at midnight, skulking like cats
cutting stalks we shove down our shirts and pants.

The jolt as lights flick on
The bark of the dog; the salt gun, potato gun
I’ve called the cops on ye yelled at our running shadows.

Panting, clapping each other’s jean-jacket backs
We pile our theft at Fern Street woods
Grab a stalk and bite into the sour cords
none of us like but fishhook our mouths
with lures of youth, of dares, to be worth
A story.

Audio


Poem #46: Freeform

Rhubarb, we do love thee. its stem is green,pink,crimson red and tastes delicious! has a tart taste but is perfect for cake! mix it with berries and scream! how delicious, how delicious it is!

Audio


Poem #47: Freeform

Mary Dairy you make my day mary.you have delicious ice cream and I love your ice cream and so so good.I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream.😍😍😍

Audio


Poem #48: Haiku

Rhubarb Haiku

The rhubarb is tart

Stalks are green, pink, crimson red

Perfect for ice cream

Audio


Poem #49: Freeform

Rhubarb, how we love thee.its stem is green,pink,crimson red and taste delicious! it has a tart taste but is perfect for cake! mix it with berries and scream! how delicious how delicious it is!

Audio


Poem #50: Sonnet

sweet or sour bitter or weird pink green crimson red every color Makes Me glad I’m glad you chose someone who wins and I hope they get to have Mary Dairy ice cream You Make Me Mary Mary Dairy ice cream you make me scream and I make you scream and we all scream for ice cream from the Mary Dairy

Sofia 9 years old #grade 3 student

Audio


Poem #51: Haiku

OCSB grade 3 virtual class

The rhubarb is tart
Stalks are green, pink, crimson red
Perfect for ice cream!

Audio


Poem #52: Freeform

I put my shoes on back to front to step into the past, sent my watch by express mail to make the time go fast.

Audio


Poem #53: Freeform

Oh rhubarb oh rhubarb how delicious you are oh rhubarb oh rhubarb you stand out from far. you are the king you make my heart ring I just want to scream because you make great ice cream but yes you have some fruity competition but being the best is your mission I might just have a few but I enjoy every chew how many hungry people do you feed? I never think of you as a weed. oh rhubarb I love you but what do I do I want more of you in my patch but my gardening techniques just don’t match. All the red and pinky green, it’s so extreme if I grow you in my garden I know I will win!! Oh yum yum yum I know you’re the tasty one. All the yumminess of rhubarb ice cream, now you know what I mean I love rhubarb ice cream and in my mind you make the best kind.

Audio


Poem #54: Freeform

Some say the world will in fire,
Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Audio


Poem #55: Haiku

Haiku

rosy beauty glows
tart and sweet waiting to wed
suddenly comes spring

Audio


Poem #56: Haiku

Broad green leaves fan out
sheltering their shoots below
tart pink stalks, the gift of Spring

Audio


Poem #57: Haiku

Grandmother rhubarb
Spreads ruby arms to hug clouds
While the worms cuddle dirt.

Audio


Poem #58: Haiku

Unexpectedly
in my favourite cold treat
rhubarb is so sweet

Audio


Poem #59: Haiku

Long red and green stalks;
The leaf is not what you eat.
First veggie of spring.

Audio


Poem #60: Freeform

Although your ice cream contains plants,
You may need to get bigger pants,
Because adding rhubarb
Doesn’t take out the carbs;
Instead you must get up and dance.

Audio


Poem #61: Freeform

Conversation
By Heather Blackmore

I’ll start some by seed
It will be a long time, could be years, ‘til harvest sure
Grandma had some, so did Mom
Check your front porch, I had to divide mine
I put it in yesterday, in the luxury of the middle of the day
Glad to share
The rhubarb is over by the fence
Grass never grows there anyway
They don’t want to be crowded
How long will it take, do you think?
Some grow it by candlelight to make it sweeter
We saw a bird that we’ve never seen before
Black, with tiger-tail wings
Watch Murphy around the leaves. Cats too
Orange peel in the garden, dogs don’t like citrus
Pull, don’t cut, leave a third
Sour pink celery
Joy says, Let it stand with sugar and wait.

Audio


Poem #62: Sonnet

Ode to a rhubarb

Oh sleekly sour stalks
of green-red-white,
Whose poisonous leaf
Hides bittersweet delight,
I wait with anxious yearning every year
For spring’s unfurled unfurling crisp reveal
I rue the day I felt your barb — and how —
But would not ever live without you now
😂😂😂😍😂😍😍😍😂

Audio


Poem #63: Freeform

He watered her rows as Rhubarista of Pleasure
He trafficked amounts of her body by moonlight as treasure
In defiance of rebar and the razors of law
He moved bundles unnoticed by mechanical claw
On the spine of horizons he followed the stars
The rhubarb was seasoned by shimmers of Saturn and Mars.

Audio


Poem #64: Haiku

Pink, unctuous, gleaming,
Sweet and tart, garden sweetheart,
Spring dream of ice cream.

Audio


Poem #65: Haiku

Caroline’s garden
Filled with rhubarb everywhere
Sour, sassy, red and green

Audio


Poem #66: Haiku

My brother’s new fence:
Rhubarb patch takes root, split from
My overgrown garden

Audio


Poem #67: Freeform

A lady of celery so sour and sweet
Her expanding sprouts spreading cracks in concrete
He named her Barbosa the goddess of pie
And her stalks in his garden soaked sun from the sky
In admiration of her he offered this speech
“No place is better than the place where I’m sipping
The sweet of Barbosa where my waist line is dipping.
Molten with strawberries in the crust of a pie
to the lobes of my brain and I crumble to cry.”
His melo-drama for pie was an opera at least
when the open containments were troubled by yeast.
He reached for a sentence through an insulin coma,
“If I’m blinded to blackness I’ll seek the aroma.”

Audio


Poem #68: Sonnet “Ode to rhubarb”

Oh sleekly sour stalks
of green-red-white,
Whose poisonous leaf
Hides bittersweet delight,
I wait with anxious yearning every year
For spring’s unfurled unfurling crisp reveal
I rue the day I felt your barb — and how —
But would not ever live without you now
😂😂😂😍😂😍😍😍😂

Audio


Poem #69: Haiku

rhubarb bitter sweet, delicious with strawberries, tastes great in crumble.

Audio


Poem #70: Haiku

Rhubarb ice cream yum
Merry Dairy has it now
Eat it all summer

By Evan Liew (8 1/2 yrs)

Audio


Poem #71: Freeform

Rhubarb, rhubard,
How I hate thee!
Rhubard, rhubard,
I much prefer ice cream you see..
Rhubard, rhubard,
Stalk, by stalk, you are to be uprooted…
Pull rhubard, tug rhubard,
Like the Klondike, you are ripe to be looted.
Oh rhubard, little rhubard,
Shush, be quiet, you’ll be fine, do trust me!

You’re on your way to Merry Dairy;
And that means more salted caramel for me!

Audio


Poem #72: Freeform
Barb I love you
but for the sake of your life
don’t tell my wife
as there won’t be anything we can do
This is not a Rhu
because she’ll take a knife
and to my strife
cut you into a stew
Though I love pie
And tarts too
I don’t want you to die
I will try
And so should you
to keep our secret nigh

Poem #73: Freeform

The Quest

Bernie and Marlee went off on a frolic
In search of some ruby red stalks
They flittered and wandered
And helplessly floundered
Until they espied a hawk

They implored the hawk graciously
To please let them know
Where in this fine city
The ruby red grows

With his keen observation
He could see their vexation
At being mere mortals with limited vision
In this unusual pursuit of vegetation

His kindness prevailed
As he heard of their tale
of the need for rhubarb for the team
in the wink of an eye, he spotted a supply
so they could make their glorious ice cream

Audio


Poem #74: Freeform

Ode to Rhubarb (a limerick)


There once was a ‘Barb on my farm
Her stalks felt so nice in my arms
She turned a bright red
Was picked from her bed
And ended up in my mouth, sweet and warm.

Audio

 


Poem #75: Sonnet

The grass is still wet with dew
as I open the latch
to the garden patch
anticipating my breakfast stew

Your tartness is appreciated by few
but when I pick my morning batch
for me there is no match
reviving my fondness anew

If eaten raw
I blink my eyes
as my face frowns

But there is no flaw
to some’s surprise
when sugar helps it go down

Audio


Poem #76: Haiku

Oh, ruby stalks!
Under-appreciated; tart.
Rhubarb: heart of spring.

Audio


Poem #77: Sonnet

The Merry Dairy Rhubarb Fairy

Sonnet By Genova

I rued that barb, its capacious, mean leaves,
Its fleshy, tart trunks for pie or preserve.
My fears stemmed from stalks, albeit absurd;
At rhubarb’s raw forms, my taste buds would seize.
Though a base for wines or aperatifs,
Thoughts of the “pie plant” panicked my nerves.
For Rheum rhabarbarum I had no words;
Its beastly bite, my gustatory grief.
Then one day I, gladly rhubarb bereft,
Heard of rhubarb with ginger! Oh, that spice!
The Merry Dairy on air walked—so deft—
Cream couture clothed, sweet silk blended on ice!
Dairy dreams—and jams—that carry real heft!
Rhubarb Ginger Float Pie is the one I will slice!

Audio


Poem #78: Freeform

There was a man named Eddy
What wanted Rhubarb aplenty
So he put on his boots
And planted some roots
And said: Hurry up! Grow already!

There was a girl named Marlene
Who had a wonderful dream
Let’s open a shoppe
And trade in red stalks
And make some rhubarb ice cream

Audio​


Poem #79: Freeform

Rhubarb
The colour of a ruby
The same colour as the feet of a red-footed boobie
With leaves of emerald green that do not like a scream!
Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb.

Audio


Poem #80: Haiku

Rhubarb is deep red
Ruby red good with sugar
Calm and attractive

Audio


Poem #81: Haiku

Shocking pink, stretching
Sullenly towards the sun
Unyielding giants

Audio


Poem #82: Haiku

What is this rhubarb
It has to do with Springtime
Maybe I’ll try it

Audio


Poem #83: Freeform

Oh Rhubarb,
I have a question.
Please don’t take it the wrong way.
Why don’t people like you?
I know some do but why not everyone?
You really have a lot going for you.
And you’re versatile too.
Maybe you’re just misunderstood.
You’re sour.
Like really sour.
And your poisonous greens,
That’s a tough one.
But did you hear?
Gardening is cool now.
Canning too.
That is good for you.
But Rhuby,
You need new recipes.
I’m sorry but stewed rhubarb isn’t ‘Gram worthy.
You gotta be a bit flashy.
And throw in a couple of zingers like “plant-based” and “gluten-free.”
And you gotta make friends with the foodies.
They’ve got smartphones and recipe blogs.
And they’re so done with quinoa and kale.
If that doesn’t work,
Have you thought of a re-brand?
A new name maybe?
How about Pink Celery?
Kinda catchy, I think.
RhuBarbie?
Maybe a bit much?
We’re just brainstorming here.
Oh Rhuby,
I have full confidence in you.
You’ll figure it out.

Audio


Poem #84: Haiku

Rhubarb Haiku

Red as a ruby
Slightly tart and slightly sweet
You will love rhubarb!

-Myles Jeffers
(9 years old)

Audio


Poem #85: Freeform

There once was a vegetable so sour,
that it made my brother-in-law dour.
If sweet rhubarb could be,
content would be he,
and all would live happily every after.

Audio


Poem #86: Haiku

Rhubarb, a haiku

Springtime unfurls leaves
Growing stringy stalks so tart
Smiling lips pucker

(Read in English & Estonian)

Audio


Poem #87: Haiku

Hot evening walk cold chocolate
strawberry rhubarb
merry dairy time again

Audio


 

L💌ve Letters*

  • The Merry Dairy Lonely Hearts Club 2021 edition is a love letter pandemic pick-me-up
  • A few sandwiches a day at-no-charge between now & Feb 14th will be available at the takeaway window for anyone looking for a sweet pick-me-up
  • And lots of Valentine Sandwiches are available at the window and at shop.themerrydairy.com
  • We’re also looking for your favourite Merry Dairy moment to include in The Merry Dairy Ice Cream Recipe Book that will be published in the spring of 2022! See below for details!

L💌ve Letters …

(*Note – This letter is best read while listening to the Lonely & Hungry Hearts Playlist)

They get written. They get kept. They get treasured. Sometimes, they even get burned. 

When they get kept, it’s because they’re special. Because they’re real … even if they sounded sappy them, and even sappier now.

A love letter is about we feel about ourselves, about someone else.

This year, especially this year, with all of us locked in, at home, it really feels like that song that is one of the world’s great earworms.

And for this year’s edition of The Merry Dairy Lonely Hearts Club, as we approach the un-celebrate-able anniversary of this pandemic, this Valentinian week is about sharing some love.

Love is many splendored things of course, but we’re going to simplify it this week and say that love is a cookie (but yes, of course, it’s more like a rose, but it can also be anything, right?).

Specifically, an ice cream cookie sandwich. 

How so?

We love ice cream cookie sandwiches. And all this week, we’re making them. Lots of them (including plant-based!). Mostly because we love them, but partly because we aren’t scooping yet, and won’t start until we are post lockdown. Sandwiches make takeout easy and peasy. And they’re perfect for deliveries too!

But back to love. Remember those grade school Valentine cards? Some got a lot; some only got a few. Charlie Brown famously got none.

This pandemic is hard and for many, it’s harder than it’s ever been. So we’re asking for your help to bring a small pick-me-up in these isolating virtualized times.

So here goes. We need lovely thoughts. An original, anonymous note, no more than 75 words, (the shorter the better) that we can put on a sandwich, that someone, anyone, can pop by and pick up from our takeaway window. 

Send us your valentine words, to info@themerrydairy.com or via social media and we’ll put them on our sandwiches this week, And those sandwiches will be available all week long for anyone looking for a pick-me-up, anyone who may be feeling a bit blue, or whatever other lonely heart reason. They’ll also be for sale too and we also do gift deliveries for a custom label order 🙂

But what about the news?

Well … that’s about love letters too, but of a different sort! 🙂

When we opened our doors three years ago, on that clear moonlit night, we were smitten. Smitten with the idea of making ice cream for all – and from the day the first Merry Dairy truck made its first visits, to 102 Fairmont and a place, we have loved every moment 

Three years in and 80 ice cream flavours later, there will be a Merry Dairy cookbook that will be released in the spring of 2022 (hopefully, when we can all roam free again!).

While that book is under development now, it wouldn’t be complete without the stories of the people and their moments at 102 Fairmont, or at a truck event, or at home with a pint or two 🙂

Maybe it was a first visit by a special someone in your life, a birthday, or a day when feeling down turned around, or a favourite flavor, sundae, a name of the day, cone combo, or some other serendipity. 

We’d love to include as many stories as we can into this book – and every story selected will receive a complimentary copy of the book! And every story submitted will also receive a coupon for a free cone of their choice!

How to send this story in?

Just send an email to info@themerrrydairy.com with the story, including any photo, or social media links and we’ll get back to you with next steps.

Love is love 🙂

Ice Cream for Breakfast (@Home) in three easy steps!

Home. It’s a great word. Especially if you’re in the home stretch, or the one who keeps the home fires burning, a member of the home team, or ok boomer, you have kept a home computer.

As we enter the home stretch of winter, in this 2nd year A.C. (anno corono), you can bring home the bacon, er ice cream, as National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day at The Merry Dairy, becomes National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day *with* The Merry Dairy. That means – it’s a distanced, at-home Ice Cream for Breafkast Day – all across Ottawa!

And whether, as the songs go, you live in a Brick House, or in Apartment #9, Our House, whether it’s full of Madness, Young at heart, or Magnetic, My House, on a Country Road, or if it’s simply Almost Home, Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, which marks the technical half-way point of winter, is at Home this year.

And this year, with a click of the mouse, help families from a local chapter of the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa join in on the fun by adding a breakfast of homemade waffles, toppings and a host of breakfast inspired ice cream flavours!

All in three easy steps

Step 1: Peruse The Merry Dairy Ice Cream for Breakfast shop and check out all the breakfast flavours, choose a topping and then choose your waffles! And yes, gluten-free & plant-based options available! And if you can, choose a little bit extra to help others enjoy this moment at home.

Step 2: Then choose Friday night or early Saturday morning contact-less pickup or delivery at checkout!  And yes, it’s free delivery anywhere in the City of Ottawa! 

Step 3: Suggest your favourite TV theme song or favourite song about house or home for the National Ice Cream for Breakfast Saturday morning cartoons at home playlist in the comments below, or by tagging The Merry Dairy on your favourite social media site! One suggestion will be selected at random for a free breakfast ice cream bonanza! Then stream that playlist all morning long until you can’t bear it no more.

All that’s left is to enjoy Breakfast!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s the end of the year as we know it …

… and it’s time for us to say a huge thank you to the incredible gang that came in to work at 102 Fairmont day in and day out over the past nine months. From that initial shock of what the implications of the pandemic would mean to daily life at The Merry Dairy, to the adaption and resilience of a team of people who donned those masks and worked together to serve customers, solve problems as they arose, and to make, package, and deliver ice cream treats, a simple thank you.

So today is about them. It’s about pints and them. 97% of all pint proceeds sold today, Saturday, December 19, at our takeaway window or for pickup from our online shop will be shared among the members of this lovely team in recognition of the work they did.  (The other 3%? That goes to Orkidstra all month long!)

So, if you’re thinking of buying holiday pints and you want to make someone’s day, today is a good day to do that!

And whether or not you buy pints for pickup today, today we also say thank you to our customers near and far who have supported us over this year called 2020. Thanks to you we can say thank you to our team.

As we prepare for our final day of business for the year known as 2020, we will be closed on December 24 and will reopen on February 6th for National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. Stay tuned for the distanced details on that!

Marlene and The Merry Dairy team 🙂

Halloween @ Home & @ One-Oh-Boo Scare-mont!

Due to so many scary addresses, the sign up for Halloween @ Home has been perilously paused in order to eerily ensure that distanced deliveries can be cravenly completed on Halloween night during the ambitiously allotted time period!

 

the Scary dairy halloween planner!

 

DOWNLOAD THIS POSTER AND PUT IT IN YOUR WINDOW!!

An apple for teacher?

A pick-me-up for the many educators and support staff – 25% off a gift card from The Merry Dairy!

Getting closer: A distanced update

This piece of art by local artist Stanley Wany (instagram.com/stanwany/) from @WallSpaceOttawa will soon be displayed proudly at 102 Fairmont. We couldn’t think of a more perfect image to represent for us the idea of life in this pandemic time.
 
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We don’t know what the artist was seeking to convey, but for us, this is all about how we relate to each other and how much we are now doing it via laptops, tablets and phones. When local photographer @justinvl took this photo in 2017, who could have predicted what was to come…
 
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But it arrived. And thanks to amazing partners like @Shopify and local designer & digital specialist @ALL_CAPS, The Merry Dairy became a pickup and delivery shop, delivering all over Ottawa and picking up at 102 Fairmont with cars on the left and bikes and feet on the right!

What is re-opening when a wave 2 is a possibility? Like many, it’s gradual. We keep going with masking, constant hand-washing & sanitization, distancing. and a takeout window. Local artist Devin from our Colour Your Cone contest shows us how.

 

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Starting Sunday, June 14th at 2pm, there will be a change to how we operate to balance re-opening with continued distancing. The first is that The Merry Dairy pickup window will be opening that day serving the same takeaway menu as what’s online at shop.themerrydairy.com!

(no scoops yet!)

 

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That means that the standing outside of the shop will be a little different and to help, soon there will be distancing circles on the ground (like @twister only without the twisting). Blue is for picking up pre-orders. And red is for takeaway on the spot.
 
 
 
The tables will need to remain unused. Local artist Mary Richardson shows us how (mostly)!
 
 
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But what about the scoops?? Not yet! 🙂 We’ll need to get used to the window, and the flow of people around the shop. For now, it’s the online menu of pints, sandwiches, Merry Pops, & cakes, with the difference being that we can better serve walkups!
 
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The painting above was a work by local artist Lauren (instagram.com/oeuvresparlaur…). As summer rolls on, our trucks will also be brought back into service – one in our lot serving soft serve, one doing deliveries and one always at a remote, yet soon-to-be-disclosed, location …
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And here’s to #613Day, held annually on June 13th (6/13!)
 

To mark the day, welcome Sailor Dude, (instagram.com/trp613/) whose favourite flavour vegan chocolate & salted toffee is available Sat for pre-order beginning at 2pm with an extra free Sailor Dude sticker included with each order!

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Pickup and Delivery – How it works!

Online orders at shop.themerrydairy.com  with pickup and delivery options! 

Same-day Pickups & Next-day Deliveries

  • Same-day pickup during regular business hours (Hours are seasonal!)
  • Next-day delivery Wed-Sat between 3-7pm anywhere in Ottawa. (Yes – anywhere in Ottawa! 🙂
  • Order before 2pm for next-day delivery
  • Minimum $50 order for free delivery. 

Pickups

Pick up at our shop at 102 Fairmont Ave beginning at noon during regular business hours

DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

  • We deliver Wednesday to Saturday between 3-7 pm. Order by 2 pm for next-day delivery!
  • If you are inside an apartment or condo please leave a buzz code or other contact instructions, ie mobile #. 
  • If you are not available to accept delivery of your order, it will be returned to our shop for pickup and you will be notified.
  • If you require delivery by a certain time, please indicate in the notes of your order. While we cannot guarantee a specific delivery time, we will do our very best to meet it!

 

Let’s Get Physical … (Distancing)

 

Hello Ottawa!

 

We’re back. From a distance. Beginning Wednesday, April 1, we’re getting with the curve and beginning physical distancing with pint and sandwich parking lot back-door pick up and same-day home delivery! Please note that our scoop shop remains closed until further notice.

 

That means you can order from TheMerryDairy.com and either set up a time to come on foot, by bike or by car for back door pick-up or if you have a minimum $35 order, we will bring your order to any address in the City of Ottawa!

 

While there will not be scooped ice cream for the foreseeable future, contactless pickup and delivery is our new reality. We appreciate your patience in advance for any kinks or delays and we will work to stay in touch with you every step of the way!

 

How will pick up work?

 

Our front entrance will remain closed. All of our pickups will happen from our back entrance, where we will place an order in the truck of your car, or leave outside for you to pick up?

 

When you order online, you will see a choice for pick up or home delivery. If you choose to pick up, you will receive an email when your placed and then a second email when your order is fulfilled! Once you receive the second email, you can pick up your order anytime on foot during our reduced business hours (Tues-Sun noon-9pm or by car drive-thru from noon-2pm) by coming to 102 Fairmont and observing the physical distancing signs for cars, bike or on foot pickup. Simply text us at 613-912-2979 when you arrive and give us your last name and car make/model is applicable, and we’ll pop out with your order!

 

How will you make sure my ice cream doesn’t melt?!

 

By texting us once you arrive, we can make sure that your order goes from our freezer to you as quickly as possible. Then it’s up to you to get that ice cream home as quickly as possible!

 

How will delivery work?

 

Pick the delivery option at our online checkout! We deliver between 3 and 7pm from Wednesday to Sunday! Please make sure you enter your mobile number when your order so that when we arrive at your door we can text you to come out to our truck to pick up your order (this counts for houses and apartment buildings!) Your order will be handed out to you from the truck!

 

What if I’m not home?

 

We get it. We have a three-hour window, and even though we’re all staying home these days, you might just be out when you arrive. After we text, we will wait for about five minutes. If you’re not there, we will keep your order frozen and bring it back to our shop at 102 Fairmont, where you can pick it up (see above for pick up details!)

 

What flavours do you have? 

 

Our pint and ice cream sandwich choices are constantly updated, but supplies are always limited. If you don’t see your favourite flavour, that means it’s sold out! We will be making small batches every day and will always update our choices online!

 

How are you practicing social distancing at your workplace?

 

Our team is everything to us, which means that working at 1o2 Fairmont is also physically distant. When possible, we will only have one employee working in production and in order fulfilment. When we have more than one person, we have the two-metre rule. And we clean, clean, clean, clean, clean all the time!

 

The Great St. Paddy’s Day Poetry Tag …

This is a picture of a St. Paddy's Day cake that can be won if you enter The Merry Dairy's poetry tag contest!

What is the rhyme of our time?

What makes us immerse in verse?

 

Why it’s The Merry Dairy’s first-ever … Poetry Tag!

 

Because St. Paddy’s Day is about all things Irish and one great Irish thing is poetry!

 

And one great thing about poetry is that we’re all a poet and probably don’t even know it!

 

So here’s a way to have a chance to win a Merry Dairy Shamrock Cake made up of layers of The Merry Dairy’s three St. Patrick Day flavours

 

☘️Happy-Go-Lucky (Charms)☘️
☘️Finnegans Wake (made with Irish Whiskey)☘️
☘️Irish Breakfast (Brown Bread & Orange Marmalade)☘️

 

How does it work?

 

Write a line, a verse or a stanza that would be part of the following poem … An Ode to Ottawa – Why do (or how can) I love thee?

 

The line, verse or stanza can be in any form – a rhyme, a limerick, iambic pentameter, haiku, a lowercase ee cummings sort of thing, or an ALLCAPS RANT! Happy, Sad, Funny, Beauty, or any other emotion!

 

Along with your poetry bit, tag a friend.

 

For every poem + tag, it’s one entry! Enter as often as you would like – each tag must be accompanied by an original poetry fragment.!