Kaw Valley Farm Tour Day Two

Despite temps in the fifties, after chores, I struck out for Baldwin City, where a young 

woman runs an herb farm. 

I think God did not want me to go there. 

After gassing up the car, 

I could not run my debit card through two of the bank ATMs in Tongie, they seemed to both have changed to a type of ATM that does not take my card.  My own bank is miles away, either in Bonner Springs, or Lawrence.  

I took it as a sign. 

I went, instead, to a farm of commercial gardeners I had last visited 4 years ago, here in Leavenworth County.

That day, I did not learn much, and I am so glad I went back! 

See?  The Lord does work in mysterious ways. 

Crum's Heirlooms is located at Redbud Hill Farm. 

This cute little building is the tomato shed.  Tomatoes should not be kept cold... and this shed holds the ripe, just picked tomatoes. 

Crum's does a CSA, as well as sells to retail, stores and restaurants. 

This beautiful old barn is used for processing and storage.  An apple cider making demonstration was going on in front of it.  I bought a cup of cider and it was wonderful! 

You notice everyone is in sweats and jeans, it was in the upper fifties and blowing. 

Here were their herb beds.  I asked what they did with the herbs, and the CSA members get a plant in one of their first boxes. 

Cucumbers, and yes, there were still some ripe ones, going into the CSA boxes this week. 

These are cattle panels, used as trellises.  Growing on these were red noodle beans, very interesting.  If you biggify this, you will see how long and beautiful they are.  

They are harvested when much smaller, of course. 

This garden is planted on a hillside... and they have added twho rows of apples, and will harvest their first apples next year.  I noticed that they had electric tape surrounding the whole planting area now, because of deer. 

This is a cherry tomato called "Black Rose"... it is the most unusual glossy black color.  When preseed, however, Mrs. Crum said that they did not have a very special taste and she was disappointed in that.  She will grow it again just for curiosity. 

(and variety in the CSAs) 

She told us that she put out nearly 1000 plants every year, but this year they had grown only 650. 

Now.... I was gratified to see that they grew their plants very close together, as had the other grower the day before.  

And they don't prune.  She said it is just too much .

Her husband retired this year, and with the help of one son, two part time employees, and one volunteer who comes on Fridays to get the CSA orders ready, they do all the work themselves. 

I can imagine. 

They now have a large processing area under cover just next to the barn and their storage facility, also run by a cool bot! 

I was very glad to have gone there, because Mr. Crum told me about a source for covering for our hoop house for the spring, Hummerts in Topeka, close enough that we can go pick up the covering.  I looked it up, and it's a GREAT source for me.  He also took the time to show me a roll of what had come off the tunnel they had that had blown down.  What nice people!

Then, I went about five miles away across the county to an Alpaca Farm, 

Manna Meadows. 

I basically strolled through and took some pictures.  I have had my camelid adventure. 

However, I will say that I have yet to see alpaca owners that do not have the means to have a nice place to keep them. 

This was a gorgeous barn, with orderly runs that opened into bigger pastures. 

There are 49 alpacas there. 

There was also a yellow tent set up with a display of alpaca products, raw fleeces, and honey, which is also sold here.  I did not get a picture of it.  

I saw this on the way out... I am not sure if it was a little shade house to sit in, or an aviary. I think it would be a great aviary.  The Blessed Mother was guarding it. 

A lovely place, but, as I said... I have had my camelid experience with the llamas. 

On the way home, I realized I still need to go to the grocery, so turned on a gravel road near our house. 

Look who was on the road! 

This was the area where we found Bessie Mae, the little shiz tzu was abandoned and lived here on the road for almost six months.  See those driveways on the right and left?  Those people HAD to have seen her.  She was often on the road when I went by, and I assumed she lived there.  Maybe they did, too, but the poor little matted, starving girl. 

My ex-daughter in law with her good heart didn't assume, picked her up, and brought her to me. 

After vetting her and cleaning her up, she went to live with our next door neighbors, Troy and Kathy. Almost blind now, she still lives there happily and is much loved. 

Uh huh.  On the hunt again. 

I did not let the henspa crowd out until 5:30.  Here Ferdy is taking them to the flower beds.  If you biggify or look closely, you will see little Bluie, one of my two pure silky girls, who is second in line on the right. 

I did not make sure everyone was in last night, and must have left her in the flower bed.  I counted 31 birds, and assumed one was sleeping in a nesting box. 

Lilly got her.  

I am so sorry, little Bluie... My fault entirely. 

As Keith said, Lilly was just being Lilly. 

Look closely.  There are three little goats who were napping in the horse trough. 

It's actually keeping them warm in the blustery fall!

Keith has just reminded me this morning (though I thought about it yesterday) that yesterday, the 6th, is the anniversary of both his son Joel, who has been gone 12 years now, and my own dear mother, Mary Catherine, who has now been gone 5 years. 

I can't believe that that soft October morning, when my sister and I held our mother as she went to heaven, was so long ago already. 

My own sister Kathleen has gone ahead of me now, and Keith's second son, Brandon, to join his brother. 

I have a lot of praying to do today, to our own family angels as they look down on us at Calamity Acres. 

The Very Long Sunday Post

Friends, it's been a full weekend here at Calamity Acres. 

I took the time yesterday to go to a couple of the Kaw Valley Farm Tour stops, planning to do more today. 

First off, was the Henry's Plant Farm, in Lecompton, Kansas, on the west side of Lawrence. 

It was a blustery fall day for the tour. 

This beautiful little fairy garden was in a horse trough.  I loved it... what a delightful thing! 

This is a large commercial plant nursery, but they have a beautiful farm and so many things going on that it's always worth the trip. 

I love this small deck, with it's rocker bench, and the plantings.  The plant on the left is a tomato, and I have to say, I have NEVER seen so many late-season tomatoes.  See the beautiful flowers above on the pergola? 

You can also get an idea of the lovely mums they had for sale.  I was originally planning to buy a couple more mum plants, but instead, I bought two very healthy autumn clematis plants, which I am planting tomorrow. 

As always, their display gardens were wonderful.  That is zinnia "Profusion" in the foreground, and it is on my list for next season. 

And the tall millet, too... love how this looks in beds or in planters. 

(the spiky things) 

After I left Lecompton and the Henry's, I went to a new stop on the tour this year. 

Juniper Hill Farm is run by a senior at K State, Scott Thellman.  My gosh. 

If every young person was as enterprising as he and his employees, we would be AWESOME. 

I was stunned by the amount of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, etc. he was still growing this late. 

Inside his high tunnels (look at the size of the tomatoes!) 

And outside. 

They practice a procedure called "French Weave" for these plants, and if you look closely, they also plant IN black mulch.  The plants are grown closely together.  

I really learned a lot from this, because I felt I planted my plants way too closely this year. 

I don't feel so badly now. 

The barn and the beautiful house sat up on a big hill, and the hay pastures and cultivated land were on the slopes and bottoms.  There was an array of machinery behind the house, all neat and clean and on devices to hold it steady.  This horse barn, a six stall, had been converted into the food handling area. 

Young Mr. Thellman runs this business with the help of the young man at right... and a girl back by the table where vegetables were being sold.  She is the full time day employee. 

The stall in the middle on the right is the processing room, where the vegetables are cleaned and sorted and washed.  This farm is certified organic, not an easy thing to do.  The young man is standing in front of the cooler room... it WAS a stall.  It is now a cement vegetable cooler, run by a "cool bot"... it is a device that tunes a normal window air conditioner to keep an even temp of 38 to 40 degrees, to keep the vegetables in optimum condition.  This farm does not do CSA's.  They sell to about six groceries in Lawrence (KS) and to restaurants.  They do not retail to customers at the farm, except for the tour days. 

Remember, it's OCTOBER! 

At this point, I went home to get ready for church.  I had a few stops I wanted to make today, and we were going to a concert after church. 

The concert tickets came from a donation to KCPT, our local public television station. 

The concert, "The Fab Four" ... was a Beatles tribute band that has appeared here before.  

I scored tickets in the center of the orchestra, sixth row.  Directly in front of the middle of the stage, yee ha! 

It was held at the Midland Theater, which, when built, was part of the Loew's chain.  I worked in this building (evenings and weekends) as an usher and ticket taker for probably twenty years... and ran the elevator for another 4 years, a classic with a folding accordian door... and then presented the volunteer ushers for the symphony, opera and ballet there for another three or four years. 

In the last ten years, the Midland has been sold several times, and re-done inside.  The orchestra floor was dismantled, and then re-done, with steps down to the stage, instead of sloping aisles... and rows of chairs, not inset seats.  There is now an ornate bar at the back of the auditorium on that level, and drinks are now allowed in the seating area. 

A side detail.  This gives you some idea. 

This is looking back, I stood up.  The bar is at the back of the first floor, the orchestra level. 

Above is the box and loges level. 

Above that, the balcony. 

The lights, as you see, are awesome. 

I loved working in this building, and saw so many great musicals and plays.  My sons worked the stage door here for several years each, seeing lots of ballet and stage shows. 

The whole idea of this concert is cool... the The Fab Four come out as the 1964 moptops, doing "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and another songs... then proceed to the "Nehru jacket" era... then on to "Sgt. Pepper" and the psychadelic era, and then onto their last songs recorded as the Beatles.  My gosh, the crowd was mixed ages, and they had numerous sing alongs... you should have heard it. 

The four musician/actors in this band were not just great musicians, but got themselves inside each Beatle they were portraying.  Mannerisms were down pat, and you could close your eyes and think you were there at a real concert with the Beatles. 

I was lucky enough to see them in Kansas City, in 1964.  I saw Paul McCartney and Wings, and Ringo's band while working at the big outside venue here.  I was there when Ringo rehearsed, and he did requests for the group of us workers who were there listening to the sound check.  

What lovely memories. 

On the other hand, Keith and I were up until midnight... we did not actually get home until 11:40! 

We are rarely out that late!  

I noticed that there were many people in the audience taking pictures with their cell phones, so yours truly did the same.  

It was so much fun to look back. 

We go to see The Little River Band in two weeks in Ottawa, a small town forty miles from us.  Can't wait! 

Day Two of the Kaw Valley Farm Tour tomorrow.