Camp kids

The kids from Camp Palawopec came to the farm today. One young man showed up without his shoes much to the consternation of the camp counselors. Walking around  the farm in bare feet was out of the question so I had to make do.

"What size shoes do you wear?" I asked. "Twelves."

Well, I wasn't going to be able to lend him any of my boots. Luckily Anders had left a pair of very adjustable sandals in the breezeway. After everyone had foot gear we set off for the grand tour. They bravely trekked around the farm in the heat and humidity to meet the animals. It was a lot of fun showing them. Education is definitely the key to preserving our family farms. We talked about what it means to conserve endangered livestock breeds, why we rotate pasture, what makes a Red Wattle a Red Wattle. . .
Petunia was the perfect spokes pig. She stood still and let everybody pet her and feel her wattles, ears and nose.

A group of campers will come out to the farm each week for the rest of the summer. I'm really looking forward to it!

The Tour

WOW! An unbelievable number of folks braved the rain on Saturday to join us for a walk around the farm during the "Secret Garden Tour". They showed up with their umbrellas and raincoats ready.
It was a really soggy day with showers off and on. I think I went through 5 pairs of socks and 3 pairs of jeans in the course of the day. Rain or no rain all but the last tour of the day went as planned. Just as we were going to set out, it started to rain, then it started to thunder then the lightning showed up. I didn't think it would be a good idea to walk around toting portable lightning rods (umbrellas) in the fields, so I invited folks to come back in the morning and take the tour.
During the night the storm clouds blew away and took the humidity and most of the heat with them. Sunday dawned clean and crisp with blue skies. Lots of folks came out and met the animals and learned about our CSA and why we do what we do.
It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Now we are making plans for next year. We will be installing a "spring", waterfall and garden pool soon. And we're hoping to have Bonnie and Clyde working well pulling the wagon so that we can tour the farm via horsedrawn wagon. That will save my shoes!



In the mean time, if you would like to tour the farm, give us a call at 812-521-1063 to arrange a time or drop us an email at kissmygrassfarm@hotmail.com.



See you at the farm!



Dot

Of Farm Tours and Ladies' Luncheon

This week we hosted the garden club at the farm. Eighten ladies came out to the farm to enjoy a tour and lunch.
While my daughter, Lydia, and my mom prepped the food, I took the ladies for a hike around the farm.
We started with the little chicks in the brooder that Brian and Kacie were loading up in the tractor bucket to haul out to pasture. Then we walked out through the tall grass to the 6 week old chicks and then stopped by to see the ten week old chickens that are ready to process this week. It was a nice way to show how the birds grow and change.
We hiked down through the woods, stepped over the little run in the bottom and headed up The hill with sheep scattering every which way. At the Egg Mobile I introduced the hens and the new puppy. Of course everyone fell in love with Peaches our little pyrennees puppy.
One of the ladies had her granddaughter with her. She wanted to touch a chicken. So I opened up the nestbox door and let her pet one of the hens. The hen wasn't too sure she liked the experience but she didn't want to get off of her eggs either. We also found 3 eggs out in the pasture. I had the little girl put them in her pocket. When we got up to the pig pens I let her feed the eggs to our Red Wattle hogs.
Then we had a little visit with the cows and their calves. Everyone laughed when they saw the "skunk" calf. We left the cows and headed back down the driveway. It was a little to wet to walk in the gardens but we talked about the wide beds we use, all the different varieties we are growing and our plans for the future.
After all the hiking, lunch sounded pretty good. Lydia served: Bloody Mary's, cucumber sandwiches, a lovey salad of our garden lettuces, goat cheese and pears with her homemade creamy dijon dressing. She followed the salad with gouda stuffed turkey burgers garnished with a roasted apple ring and arugula on a home made bun with a side of baked seasoned sweet potato chips.
For dessert there was a layered banana cream pie made with real made-from-scratch pudding and fresh whipped cream. Yummy!!
It made for a really busy day, but I think the ladies all had a good time and noone went away hungry.
Now we are gearing up for the Secret Garden tour in mid-July. This is a fundraiser for the garden club which allows folks to see gardens that normally are closed to the public. We will be giving tours of the farm on the hour. I'm really looking forward to it.