SOLD OUT!!!!!
We have done it again, we have sold out of pumpkins.... ours and the neighboring farmer's, too!
GONE!!!!!
This is what our pretty sales yard looked like Monday morning....
And this is what it looks like now:
I ran a half-price sale today (that I posted to Facebook) to find good homes for the stragglers, and the pallets are lying empty.... ready to be stacked and put away in some innocuous spot on the farm until we drag them out next summer!
BEST YEAR EVER!!!!
The pumpkins grew bigger, stronger, more diverse and robust and yielded more than ever before.
So that's a wonderful feeling! And the work of many hands brings it all to the forefront of the farm, the hands building fairy houses, creating memorable moments, cleaning donkey shed and pens, planting, weeding, hoeing, spraying, spraying, spraying.... and fitting in home repair and family things (Covid cancelled several of those!) and bringing friends aboard whose jobs fell apart and they needed something to tide them over.
There's love on this farm. It's a palpable feeling from the playground to the repurposed chicken coops to the donkey fundraiser buckets. This year we raised money for the Golisano Children's Hospital that we've talked about before. We did it in memory of two family babies who went home to heaven too soon, Alan and Lacey.... and in honor of two wonderful kids who fought Kawasaki disease and Acute Myeloid Leukemia and who are hale and hearty and healthy now....
The Lord giveth. And the Lord taketh away. Blessed be His name.
The fairies are a huge hit, but it looks so funny to see EMPTINESS outside my kitchen window when for 2.5 months gorgeous displays of pumpkins and gourds and fall stuff filled my line of vision in every direction.
We are so blessed.
And yesterday, two naughty rabbits with a death wish began scampering around our back yard, then darted under the shed..... While dozens of birds flitted back and forth above, like a Disney scene, only real!
Cardinals and nuthatches and blue jays, and I have no idea if they were passing through (all three stay here throughout winter) or if I happened to have a tasty treat in the back yard, but it was alive with critters! And that's always fun to see before the quiet stillness of winter takes hold.
But those rabbits are going to meet with our very own version of Elmer Fudd!!!!!
Dave and the guys have been putting displays out back. We'll pull them back out next summer and see what needs work, what needs painting, what needs TLC.... and we'll begin again. But for now, having two writing sessions every morning is so much fun!!!!! Even on the days with my fifth graders here, I can squeeze in two writing sessions...
Oh, happy day!
On another farm note, there was a persistent scratching inside a wall.... Very Persistent Scratching. And we couldn't make him stop or get him out of the wall without going all Caddyshack on him...
Yesterday the wall fell silent.
Today there is evidence (smelly evidence!!!) that the creature will never scratch again.
#lifeinthecountry
#countrymouse
We are carving pumpkins on Friday... we have some set aside for the Jamison crew.
And we'll go trick-or-treating to all of our usual houses on Saturday and we'll wear masks...
And hey, I'm used to that!
Inspirational author Ruth Logan Herne is finishing up a busy pumpkin season by writing more books! She's so excited!!!! Email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com friend her on Facebook and visit her website ruthloganherne.com. She'd love to chat with you!
Ruthy, congratulations on a job well done. You made so many people smile and we need more smiles right now. How blessed you are to have the privilege of doing that. Yeah, I imagine the scene outside your window isn't quite as festive. But soon there will be snow, Santa's sleigh and a nativity. And more Ruthy books in the works! That's always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteMindy, that's so true! The guys cleared the pallets from the front where Santa and the reindeer go, and I'll rig them in another week or so. Not because I'm pushing Christmas, but up here it's better to do it before blizzard winds hit and lake effect snow dumps 10 or 12 or 14 inches.... A lot easier to stake the deer and the sleigh before the snow takes over!
DeleteAnd I'm so excited to be working on stories!!!!! They keep me calm. :)
Well.
Calm enough. :)
The turning of the seasons!
ReplyDeleteAfter a week of winter weather, we're back to fall again here in the Black Hills. The snow is almost gone, the sun is out, and I'm itching to get up into the Hills! But, alas, we're in the middle of a major painting project (more about that on Monday,) so both writing time and wandering in the Hills are on the back burners today.
Congratulations on another successful season of bringing joy to families' autumn celebrations! I do so love Blodgett Family Farm!
It was such a beautiful season.... and so much fun for so many people. And of course our young helpers and not-so-young volunteers make the whole weekend thing happen... and Beth came almost every day to run the sales yard while I was teaching my two fifth graders.... I think I was able to give her two days off the entire season, and she never complains.
DeleteThank you so much, Jan!!!!
Hooray Ruthy on another great year! The Blodgett Family Farm is one of the prettiest ones I've seen pictures of with all your displays, fairy gardens, etc. To bad it's not closer to visit.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing those fabulous stories. I loved reading Finding Her Christmas Family. Something dear to my heart, foster children and foster parents after working with them for a few years as a therapist.
Blessings.
Marilyn! Thank you so much for your kind words. We get such a kick out of the set-up (it takes a couple of weeks) and our adventures (bringing home one of the big old wagons behind the pick-up truck and having it FISH TAIL back and forth across the road. EEK!!!!
DeleteAnd I'm so glad you loved Finding Her Christmas Family. I never got influencer copies out with Lisa's death in August and I feel terrible about that, but there was just no time... As the end neared, she came first, last and everything in between and then it was pumpkin season so that one major task didn't get done.
Thank you for getting it and reading it, dear Marilyn!!!!
Yay!! So glad it was a huge success! A field of pumpkins is so pretty, so I know you'll miss the wonderful view. But now you can also rest a bit.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the pumpkin carving!
Whoa!!!! That's amazing! Congratulations on another successful harvest and for providing families with a glimpse at the simple joys of country living.
ReplyDelete