October Pumpkins

Are we really coming to the end of October?  Guess so--the calendar says November 1st is just a few short days away!     We're still enjoying this pumpkin-time of year, especially because we can enjoy them across several months--all the way from early-fall days of September, across Halloween, and on through to Thanksgiving. 

 The shop is  ready to celebrate this later fall season too.  Local honey, beautiful fall wreaths, candles, lighted branches, some really great table-top trees that will be perfect across fall and into Christmas. . . Come out to see us soon!

Introducing The Loft

We're so excited about The Loft, our new bed & breakfast!  Want to peek inside?

 Eric (yes, that Eric of Adamski Construction and Gail's husband) built the barn and The Loft with his own two hands!  We love the  hardwood floors and all the custom woodwork. 

The bathroom features a beautifully tiled walk-in shower--Eric's handywork again :)

 Gail splurged on the bedding--comfy mattresses, soft sheets, and fluffy pillows on two queen beds and a pair of twin beds. 

You'll find all the conveniences of the day--like television, air conditioning, a fireplace--as well as the peaceful, rustic atmosphere that we all love at The Farm.

 The deck overlooks the pastures & woods of The Farm. 

Check out our website for more info about The Loft.  And give us a call when you're looking for a little place to get away and relax with family and friends! 217-632-2888

October Sunday

Open House Scenes

Thanks so much to everybody for coming out to see us during our Open House last weekend.  We had a HuGe turnout!  So nice to see everybody.  The weather was gorgeous!

The Shannonberry jelly flew out the door, almost as fast as the decorated pie pumpkins :)

And the surprise feature of the weekend--a tour of The Loft, the newly opened bed-and-breakfast right here at The Farm! Yes, you can spend the night with us now :) 

 We love sharing this beautiful fall time of year with you.  Come out to see us again soon! 

 Here's Spot, keeping an eye out for all the fall happenings at The Farm.  This weekend, there's even a wedding!  Can't wait to see those pictures. 

During the spring and summer, it's natural to assume the bittersweet is just another green vine providing shade for the chickens.  But then the berries explode in shades of orange, red, & yellow,  and we all HaVe to have some to drape over our pumpkins :)   And speaking of pumpkins:

We're busy getting ready for Open House this coming weekend, Saturday October 1st 10 - 5, and Sunday the 2nd from 1 to 4 pm.   The garden is still beautiful and we have lots of pumpkins and new things for fall.    There will be treats too :)

And some other dates for your calendar:
Petersburg Holiday Market Place, Saturday November 12th, 10 to 5

The Farm's Christmas Open House Saturday December 3rd, 10 to 5 and Sunday the 4th 1 to 4.
The Farm's Closing House, last day for year-end clearance Saturday December 17th, 10 to 5.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

The pumpkins are here!

Welcome, Fall!

By the calendar, we have another ten days til fall officially arrives.  But as we're waking up this morning, it's forty degrees!   So we're thinking soup, sweater weather and, of course, PuMpKiNs :)

October 1st is Open House, so put us on your calendar!

More Pie Please

"Perfect Peach Pie" or "Perfect Strawberry Pie"

Crust:

1 1/2 C flour

2 1/2 T sugar   

1/2 t salt

2 T milk

1/2 C oil

Mix minimally & press into pie plate with large spoon (fingers work too).  Bake @ 325 til golden.   Easy!

Filling:

1 C sugar

1 C water

3 1/2 T corn starch

dash salt

Cook & stir til clear (3-5 min).  Add 3 T dry peach jello.  Cool a bit.

Layer sliced peaches (4-6) & filling.  Cool in fridge.

Serve w/whipped topping.

Also great as chocolate or banana cream, etc.

This crust is so good, you might decide you never ever  have to roll out a pie crust or buy a pie crust from the grocery again!  

Art Jewelry by Megan

Aren't these pieces--and the photography--gorgeous?!?  Handmade   jewelry by the artist Megan Adamski.

 Love these feather earrings.  

Watch for Megan's art jewelry at The Farm.  We hear she can be persuaded to make custom pieces too!

Preserving Hydrangea Blooms

We love hydrangeas at The Farm and we're always looking for ways to preserve them so that we can enjoy them year-round.  Many of our customers consider them their favorites too, so you'll find them tucked into our wreaths and arrangements throughout the shop.     Last weekend we traveled to Ohio Street Originals in Quincy, where our friend Deb Damhorst is our go-to expert on preserving flowers with glycerine.   

This is Deb's workbench where she preserves hundreds and hundreds of hydrangea blooms every season.  The blooms are bundled and placed in the glycerine solution where the stems will pull the solution up through the flower.  Eventually the water in the flower is replaced by the glycerine, leaving the bloom  soft, supple, and preserved.    And she sent  that bucket of beautiful blooms back to The Farm with us!  Here are a few more shots taken at OSO.

Beautiful bundles hanging for air-drying.  Deb grows and harvests all of her flowers from her own gardens.   Her husband Mark makes awesome willow furniture too.   The majority of their products are sold wholesale to vendors  and they also have a small retail shop that is open by appointment or chance.

A big big Thank You to Deb!  She was so friendly and so generous to share her experience and knowledge.  It was a great visit!   We can't wait to see how our own preserving experiments   turn out :)