Wordless Wednesday: Farewell, October!

Happily Ever After - Dani & Kirk

On October 14th, we hosted our last wedding of the year for Dani and Kirk. This is the latest in the fall  we have held a wedding at Squash Blossom Farm, but there was still plenty of autumn beauty to enhance this lovely wedding.

It turned ou t too be a rather drizzly day, so the ceremony was moved into the greenhouse. One hundred chairs just fit.

Dani's grandfather officiated.

 The Kiss.

Reception in the festival tent.

 Cutting the cake.

 The guys.

 The gals.

Congratulations, Dani and Kirk! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together!

Thanks to Photographer, Tad Denson, for permission to share these wonderful photographs.

 Tad Denson - MyShotz.com

photos.airwind.com/dk2017

Spring Sprang and Now Summer is Simmering

Despite my most sincere New Year's resolution, I can't seem to find time to post on this blog  regularly. But I want to keep trying, so here is a quick catch-up post.

First, we found a beast to help fill the gigantic hole left by LaFonda. Actually, I found a Scottish Highlander heifer, but then the  owner decided to keep her, so when Eeyore, this mini-donkey appeared on Craigslist it seemed like he was meant to be Jitterbug's companion. He is 15 (mini donkeys live to be 30-40, so that is only middle-aged) and so, so mellow and sweet. He looks melancholy, but I think that is just due to his shaggy, saggy eyebrows--I believe he is happy here.

A couple days later,  I found another Scottish Highlander heifer, this one even cuter than the first, and at a nearby farm. It took me a couple days to convince Rog we needed her--how can we have a Cow Puja without cows?!  She is nine months old, and about the same size as Eeyore now, but will grow to be about the size of Jitterbug, the Dexter heifer. Jitter is polled (meaning she has no horns) but Scottish Highlanders grow very long horns. Right now she has little nubs. Highlanders are a very docile breed, but this calf had not  been handled much and was very shy. I kept her in the loafing shed for a week and spent a lot of time every day getting to know her. Now she loves to be brushed and petted and get peppermint treats. I think she will be a great Cow Puja star. We named her "Courgette," which means "Zucchini," because the name sounds appropriately  glamorous for a cow with long, strawberry-blonde bangs in her eyes and of course because we are Squash Blossom Farm.

Jitter, Eeyore and Courgette, make a darling herd. Surprisingly, Jitter has become a much less moody and grouchy animal now that she is the boss cow.

We have also been  focusing on farm-improvement projects this  spring.  Rog did all the prep work and we hired Marvins Gardens to lay the brick and rock for a lovely path to the greenhouse.

It will now be so much more civilized for fancy dinners in the greenhouse and wedding parties!  You can also see in this photo the wonderful deck Rog built along the south side of the barn from two humongous redwood greenhouse tables. He is planning a pergola to offer shade to the deck and the inside of the barn.

When they aren't gardening, our assistants and WWOOFers have been painting siding and trim boards for

the re-siding of the Loafing Shed. Eric Eggler and his son Ethan are tackling this project; they did a fabulous job re-roofing and re-siding our chicken coop last fall.  All the buildings on our farm are over 100 years old and in pretty good shape--our intent is to restore them to make them survive for the next 100 years.

Another thing that kept us busy last month was TedX Zumbro River in Rochester.  We were honored to host the speaker dinner in the greenhouse the night before the event. We also  made 500 "Handpies of the World"  (savory turnovers in combinations such as  Samosa, Reuben, Beef Stroganoff, Greek Lamb, Carnitas & Sweet Corn) and we coordinated all the food for the big event.

The Willow and Twig Furniture class taught by Bob McNeely was held three weekends at the farm. Everyone built truly beautiful chairs and benches. One weekend I managed to join in and I built a butterfly bench for  the Pollinator Garden. (Just happened to have been saving the perfect butterfly-body newell post for the past 10 years!)

We got a new (used) car! A Honda Element--which has an amazing  amount of space for a hauling all our Farmers Market stuff!  I ma so relived to be rid of that vicious, ugly old pickup which tried to kill me on so many occasions.

The garden is finally nearly planted!  We had a long delay because our heavy clay soil was too, too wet, and then we were occupied with the TedX event. I am so grateful to my incredible gardener Denise, her dauhgter Willow and our WWOOFer Ari for working so hard to get this garden in and whip the flower beds into shape, More about  that in a future post.

On a related note, the CSA program has also begun. Our members have gotten lots of asparagus,  rhubarb and mint so far, with pansies, scallions, and even nettles to help fill out the box until the greens, radishes and other early crops are ready.  Hopefully next week!

Summer Sundays at Squash Blossom started last weekend, with wood-fred pizza and live music The first band was Cook With Honey. We  sold out!  We are off to a good start to the season.

The Rochester Downtown Farmers Market  summer season has begun! Find us and our wood-fired breads and fancy pastries in the northwest corner of the Saturday Market!

Disco, Inferno

Disco Ball delivery

"The Winter of Our Disco Tent"

A cold mid-January night - the perfect time to hold a disco party in the greenhouse!
First, we had to find a disco ball. I ended up ordering one on line (complete with motor for spinning and lights.) It arrived a couple days later and when opened the box, it threw sparkles everywhere!

We created dozens of ice luminaries in balloons (balloominaries!) to line the driveway and path to the greenhouse.

Our farm assistant, Ruth, found us some color-changing stage lighting that enhanced the discotheque experience. Our friends, Laurel, Darin and Pat co-hosted the party, so they took over the food and music. Darin created an awesome dance track! We also had an open stage set, including a parody "Stayin Alive in Minnesota" song and Darin's  soliloquy from Shakespeare's Richard III reading, "Now is the winter of our discontent". 

We invited guests to contribute their spent trees for a Burning of the Christmas Trees.

What a beautiful night--and so much fun! 

My camera was not working that night, so a huge thanks to Ruth for supplying most of these photos and the video clips.

Stayin' Alive in Minnesota (lyrics by R. Nelson)

Well you can tell by the way I blow this snow

It's a great big drift and it's got to go.

Hands are cold, and my woman's warm. We get to together

In a big snowstorm.

And if our pipes start to freeze

We will burn our Christmas trees.

We will try to understand

The windchill factor's effect on man

 

Maybe you’re a skater and you have a radiator

You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

When the ice is breakin' and everybody shakin'

And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive.

 

Well now the temp is low and the moon is high

If I wear my parka I might get by.

Cleats of steel on my sorrel boots

I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose.

You know it's all right. It's OK.

But I'd rather be in San Jose.

We will try to understand

The windchill factor's effect on man

 

Maybe you’re a skater and you have a radiator

You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

When the ice is breakin' and everybody shakin'

And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive.

 

I built this snowman. Somebody help me

Somebody help me with the head

I built this snowman, somebody help me with the head

Stayin' alive.

 

Well you can tell by the way I blow this snow

It's a great big drift and it's got to go.

Hands are cold, and my woman's warm. We get to together

In a big snowstorm.

And if our pipes start to freeze

We will burn our Christmas trees.

We will try to understand

The windchill factor's effect on man