'We're just going to keep moving': The Fieldstone Barn looks to bounce back after storm damange

Fieldstone Barn's sunflower field destroyed From CTV Kitchener's Jessica Smith: The Fieldstone Barn in Elora is bouncing back after recent storms leveled one of their fields.

Elora — The Fieldstone Barn in Elora is known for its sunflower fields, filled with more than 20 varieties of the flowering plant.

But after a potent storm Tuesday night they were left picking up the pieces.

“We woke up in the middle of the night and saw the storm. We didn't know the impact but we knew sunflowers are semi-fragile with their stems. We came out and we were devastated,” said Tim Croft, co-owner of The Fieldstone Barn.

One of their two fields, totalling roughly three acres, was ravaged by severe wind damage snapping stems and uprooting the majority of the main field.

With their season starting just a week ago, the loss is heartbreaking.

“For this season what you see up in certain patches that will be here hopefully for the next couple weeks. Anything that's down is done,” said Sasha Jeffries who works in property management at The Fieldstone Barn.

Their secondary field only sustained minor damage and will remain operational.

According to Croft has his wife, Melinda, although it is a setback losing one of the fields, they have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community and people willing to lend a hand.

People like Rami Kridli and his wife, who saw a post on Facebook yesterday asking for volunteers to help with the clean-up.

“It's so nice to see everybody out here helping out,” said Kridli. “It shows how people lend a hand when somebody needs help.”

“Honestly I think the way we look at it is you've just got to make the best of the situation. So whether it was COVID-19 or whether it's this, we're just going to keep moving,” said Melinda Croft, Tim’s wife and co-owner.

As a way to pay it forward, any sunflowers that can be saved will be donated to local hospitals, care homes and restaurants.

For Paula Wellman, one of the volunteers, lending a hand cleaning up and delivering sunflowers was particularly meaningful.

“We live near a hospice that has recently opened, and having lost a family member to cancer I thought it would be a neat way to give back to kind of give back to the community," she said.

The plan is to reopen this weekend, with favourites like the corn maze, a food truck and a visit from some alpacas set to make everyone smile.