The Beef is Finally Here

Monday, June 29, 2020
Hello friends,
              The beef is finally here!  Our two small chest freezers are full of 2- pound packages of ground beef, soupbones, and a few other organ meats.  I thought for sure it would be ready last week, but I underestimated the incredible amount of business the small meat processors are getting.  They even asked if we knew anyone looking for a job.   Bill literally just got home with the beef about an hour ago.  So, here we go!  $6.20/lb. in 2# packages, limit 5 packages per week.  I can bring it to the farmer’s market on Saturday or you can pick it up here.
              That leads me into July 4th.  Bill will be here at the farm for you to pick up your delicious ingredients for the holiday get togethers.  Hamburgers, cheese, and ice cream for dessert sounds like a plan.  I will be at the Overland Park Farmer’s market on Saturday the 4th, but instead of being at the convention center, we will be in the parking lot of the Matt Ross Community Center which is about a block south of the market pavilion.  You can park in the pavilion parking lots, so that’s nice.  Rain or shine, we’ll be there.  Hopefully shine, well maybe cloudy would be nice.  Still 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and you can pre-order if you want to make sure I don’t run out of something…..
             

Big Round Hay Bales Ready to be Moved for Storage

….The hay is baled and dotting the pastures.  Now we could use some rain so the grass can regrow.  It doesn’t take long for hot weather to dry up the pasture.  Lots of the grass has gone dormant already, but a good rain would bring it right back.  Now Bill’s job will be to go around and pick them up with the stinger of his tractor and put them in an area end to end.  Right after he finishes cutting up the tree in the front yard.  He has made tremendous progress and the pile of firewood behind the garage is impressive…..

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

Monday, June 15, 2020
Hello friends,
              This is hay making season!  All across the county the sound of tractors mowing, raking, and baling hay.  We’ve had a fair amount of rain this spring and the grass is still lush.   It will be drying out fast with no rain in the last week, and none in the forecast.  Perfect for drying and baling hay.  At one time we had our own mower, rake, and square baler, but of course they were second hand and somewhat fragile.  You can hear this coming… yes, the baler broke down and we had to have a neighbor finish putting up the hay.  Now we just pay someone to do it and they have fancy equipment that they need to keep busy to pay for.  They pulled up to mow at about 6:30 this evening and finished at about 9.  Tomorrow they will rake and bale, and off to the next hayfield.
              Every evening we are having to water either the garden or the flower beds.  Now I’m really glad I have been laying down old hay for mulch.  Not only does it keep the weeds down, but now it keeps the moisture in the soil.  The lettuce is mostly picked, the snap peas are in full swing, and I see a couple of little zucchinis forming.  I also had to kill a few squash bugs!  Those pesky insects spoil all the fun.  Of course, I’m not going to put insecticide on my organic garden, so I have to  pick them off and kill them as I find them….

Dead Ash Tree

Monday, June 8, 2020

Hello friends,
              Surviving the heat?  It has been very warm and muggy.  The cows don’t like it, I don’t like it either.  It’s all part of the package though.  Seasons change and we can look back on the winter and long for it, and it will surely return.  There are benefits for the summer, like not having to suit up before going outside.  Lots of sunshine means lots of free vitamin D,  and the fresh fruits and vegetables are growing in abundance.  The days are longer so more time outside in the evening after chores are done. 
              If you come to the farm right now you will see the big mess in the middle of the yard.  Yep, we had the dead ash tree topped out last week and now the job of cutting up the firewood and removing the millions of twigs and branches that came crashing down.  This one tree will provide several months of warmth this winter.  Any time you have to take down a tree, there will be the initial shock of how different the yard looks.  But there are other trees to spread out…

Vivian on Her Pregnancy Vacation

…The cows’ milk production is leveling out now with the grass going to seed and the warmer weather.  Also, Vivian is now on her pregnancy vacation, so we are milking 11.  This is a saner volume of milk to deal with.  Our creamery is not set up for huge volumes of milk processing because our cheese vat will only hold 75 gallons at a time and the pasteurizer 15 gallons.  Soon Makenzie will take her pregnancy vacation and so it will go all summer and fall.  Some off-line, some calving and coming back on line.  We have to keep good records to stay organized.

              This is my week to do farmer’s market on Saturday.  It should be pretty warm so come prepared with a cooler in your car.  We’ll have lots of cheese and yogurt available.  The Pure Silk strained plain yogurt has been selling out fast, so to help me plan how much to make, feel free to give me a pre-order.  I have time to make enough if I know by Thursday.  Watch your OP Market Facebook posts or our repost for our location at the walk-up market.  Remember, we’ll be in the parking lot at the Convention Center through the end of June….

Overland Park Walk Up Farmers’ Market

Monday, May 25, 2020

Hello Friends,

…. The farmer’s market seemed to work well on Saturday.  It’s hard for me to gauge how many people were there since the people were all spread out.  Plenty of parking nearby.  I miss the music and special events, but we are bringing our products, and the people are coming to pick them out.  The walk-up market will continue through the end of June and then the plan is to move back to the pavilion.  This Saturday the 30th is our skip week, so we’ll be back on June 6…..

April Showers Bring May Flowers….

Monday, May 18, 2020
Hello friends,
              The flowers are blooming, the flowers are blooming!  My oh my!  My mother has endowed us with a beautiful assortment of amazing peonies, and they continue to impress me and all the visitors to our farm.  One of my all-time favorites is this huge yellow one called Bartzella, and it is now in its glory.  Then the deep red favorite of Bill’s is also presenting a show.  Thank you, thank you, Mom for all the hard work bringing these peonies over the years, and maintaining them when you visit!  Flowers are fleeting, but they bring such joy.
              After our inclusion in the Shop Kansas Farms Facebook group, we have had a lot of new people come and check us out.  Even people who live nearby but didn’t really know what we were about, suddenly knew and had to come see for themselves.  If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out.   It was a timely week for me to be home on a Saturday instead of going to the farmer’s market.  We spent most of the week restocking the reach in refrigerator with mozzarella, fromage blanc, and Jersey Silk, as well as Smoked Gouda and other aged cheeses.  By Saturday, I had sold most of it already, so I’m back to making more this week.  We are learning to make bigger batches so that I can save time and have more cheese to show for my efforts.  Gotta work smart you know.
              Since I was not at the market, I cannot be the reporter, but I have seen good reports for the latest system of walk up with social distancing.  Still no sampling so we will have to rely on descriptions.  I can still take pre- orders, but not drive through pick up.  One customer in front of us at a time.  We’ll pick out your cheese from the coolers, but I think there will be more time for answering questions without a line of cars making you feel rushed.  Remember, we are on an every-other week schedule now, so plan ahead!…

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Back to the Woodstove Tonight…

Monday, May 11, 2020
Hello friends,
              …..Back to the woodstove tonight.  That cold, bone chilling rain was just too much.  You would think that by the middle of May, we could put the extra firewood back on the pile and prepare for air conditioning.  I worked hard to get my tomato plants out into the garden, only to have to go out there and cover them up several nights.  I’m glad I didn’t have time to get my annual flowers planted out yet.  One time that procrastination paid off!
              We have noticed an uptick in people visiting the farm store.  After a nice day at the farmer’s market and visitors here on Saturday, we are out of a lot of fresh cheeses.  Today we began the process of replenishing our stock.  Yogurt is incubating in the coolers, fromage blanc is ripening in the pots in the sink, and the Asiago we made in the big vat is floating in the brine tank.  Tomorrow I will be putting some more Jersey Silk together and making mozzarella.  Lots and lots of cheese!
              As you may know, Saturday was the last day for the drive through market.  This Saturday will begin the walk up market with social distancing in the same parking lot, the Overland Park Convention Center.  We are on an every-other week schedule for the market now, and this week we will skip, but there will be plenty of farm fresh products to choose from.  We will be returning on May 23rd which also happens to be Memorial Day weekend.  Our on farm store is open Monday through Friday 10 to 6 and Saturday 10 to 4 if you want to visit us here.  Remember, this is the only place where we can sell the raw milk.  Per Kansas law, we cannot take raw milk to the farmer’s market.  You have to come here to get it or get it from a carpool group, either by joining one, or paying a delivery fee to one of the members.