LESSONS'S LEARNED!!!

As the premier day of strawberry picking came to a close, we breathed a sigh of  relief that visitors came to the farm and picked all of the strawberries that were ripe and ready on the plants. There is always that niggling thought that what if we sent out an invite and no one chose to come. I have visions of picking by the light of the moon all night long, making sure none go to waste.  It was wise we chose to require reservations,  not so wise to accept last minute requests for " there are just a couple of us that want to pick, you won't even know we are there". That couple turned out to be 16.  We are grateful for all of those who ventured to the farm for a liesurly day of berry picking. For those who were not able to make it, we will be picking again this coming weekend, and will be accepting reservations again for Thurs. Friday and Saturday afternoons. For any that would like to come throughout the week after Tues, which should be time enough for the plants to recover and put forth the next wave of ripe fruit, call, and we will make room for you in our schedule to come and pick. A brief recap of the reason we have guidelines for guests at the farm. Due to some slight misunderstandings, we had a group ( small wonder, there were 16 in the group) that were asked to leave out of respect for the other visitors and because of the less than ZERO tolerance the Farmer has for persons that feel that it is their right to come to our home, having little regard for our guidelines for safety. He is not a stranger to farm mishaps. Just ask him about his bee attack, who thought a head could swell that big..... or our ornery rooster and the metal baseball bat. Can't begin to count the times he was whopped, only to come back ready for more. His timely end was a stew pot. The Farmers son  can tell you first hand how fast a calf can kick with its hind legs. He might even show you the knot on his knee. We were very specific about children, electric fences, boundaries, beehives, hay bales, equipment. Just to make it perfectly clear, we are at this time, a u pick strawberry farm. Next month we will be a u pick blackberry farm. Hopefully in the fall, we will be a u pick pumpkin farm. At that time we will host a fall festival for all of those that would like to come and see the nitty gritty of farm life, complete with tours and demonstrations of the workings of a dairy and farmstead.  For those that would like to wander around a farm to tour all of the crops and fields unattended, might I suggest a trip to Kansas where the cornfields are spacious and never-ending, wander to your hearts delight! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!