Bonfire part II

I related the fun had by all at the Wagner Farm Bonfire event on Saturday the 26th. I also got to tell about how Jeff and I tried to build the Grand Daddy of fires to compensate for the smallness of prior years. Well, I must say we now have a new standard to shoot for. The only trouble is getting the proper permit from the Glenview Fire Department.

On Sunday I took Sue and Bob the horses up to Elewa Farm in Lake Forest for their bonfire event called Bagpipes and Bonfire. This was the forth year to go up and help out our colleges to the north and I must say they do it better every year. Elewa Farm is all that is left from the old Armour family estate that was there in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The farm was at the time a showplace in modern agriculture. Today it has been preserved and is equally as stunning as it must have looked in it's prime. Brick barns with slate roofs, perfectly manicured gardens and a view like no other.

The Bagpipes and Bonfire event is a fundraiser for the site. The program is a little different in that it has everything from a petting zoo to actual Highland games and of course the 100 or so bagpipers. The highlight of the evening was the lighting of the fire. They auction off the rights to touch off the fire to the highest bidder. Their bonfire is the accumulation of almost a years worth of branches and other clippings from the village of Lake Forest. Their pile alone was over Glenview's 50 foot rule. At dusk the pile was lit and I have to say it really is impressive to see that much fire. It must be the cavemen in us that draws almost 2,000 folks to a party centered around watching Big Fire. Jeff and I have our work cut out if we want to keep up with the neighbors!

Bonfire part I

This past weekend was the 3rd annual Wagner Farm Bonfire. It has always been a staff and visitor favorite (We had 1,480 s'more roasters in attendance). This year we were somewhat apprehensive because the weather report had the whole day as rainy. While the morning was overcast as evening came the clouds cleared and we even ended up with a perfect starry night.

Last year one of the local reports joked with us that we really should not have called it a bonfire since the size of the fire was closer to that of a campfire. Poor Joanne took it pretty hard so Jeff and I decided to make a real "bonfire"! We stacked and stacked and ended up with a pretty big pile. The permit we pulled from the Glenview Fire Department stated we are "not to exceed 50 feet" After all our work we were still a long ways from the dreamed of 50 feet. At 6:00 Jeff lit the fire and the crowd got to enjoy the dancing of the mighty flames. Another great bonfire at Wagner Farm

Dad's flower bed

One of my friends, Paul Spanier donated and installed a little flower bed outside my window at work in memory of my Dad. There are two species, Weigela roses and Endless Summer hydrangea. I very much appreciated, and will enjoy this planting. Thanks

Wagon update

We keep moving on with the outreach trailer. This week Jim got the sides done, most of the paint on and the benches almost in.
Through the work of Sarah and Kristen it looks like we might have our first school booked for the program!

TV Crew from WLS's 190 North

This week we got to shoot a TV segment for the local show, 190 North. Host Doug Banks came to the farm to try his hand at a little manual labor. His favorite thing to try, milking a cow. No matter how old you are people really get a kick out of it. We don't yet know when our piece will air but I will post it when it runs.

My new assistant

After two years dog-less my daughter Cassidy won out and we made a new addition to the family. Carly is a 3 1/2 month old German Shorthair. Last night I had to work late so I brought her in with me. Before long she found a place to sit and I just had to take the picture.

Like cider & s'mores?

Then come to the farm this Saturday for our Harvest Bonfire!

Wagon update

Jim has started to add the floor and painting the outreach wagon.

Fall crops

The pumpkins and corn stalks have arrived. Remember to tell your friends to buy their fall decorations at the farm since all the $$ stays here to buy feed for our livestock. Please help us out, thanks.

Equine badge

We do all kinds of programs at the farm but one of the fast growing segments is the after school scout programs. Today a Girl Scout troop came to work on getting their Equine badge. When I was taking pictures I went around to the front to see if I could get a different shot. At that point I saw a funny sight, both Sue and Bob were dead asleep. Maybe it was the great fall sun on their backs or the sheer boredom of another program but they were both totally zoned out.

New machine in the shop

Our newest addition to the shop is a sandblaster. I know it doesn't sound exciting to blog about a new tool but this is different. If you aren't familiar with what a sandblaster does it is used to remove rust and other surface debris from wood and metal. So you can put in the ugliest piece of junk and when you take it out it looks brand new. Inside the cabinet there is a gun that shoots tiny pieces of sand that removes whatever it is you aim it at.

In the picture Dick is working on the pressure wheel from our old cider press. Another piece that will be going out with the outreach trailer.

Wagon work

Jim and Andy continue to press on with the construction of the wagon that will be used in the outreach program. The piece that Jim is working on is the base that the wheels will attach to and the floor and side will be built on. For wheels we are using original John Deere rims that we have refurbished to new condition.

Barn Dance

The 8th annual Barn Dance was this past weekend at Wagner. You could not have asked for a better fall evening. Pretty much the opposite from what it was like one year ago when we were stuck in the middle of a terrible down pour and most of the town was flooded. Our attendance was also up from last year's 54 people to this year's 678.

Speaking of past Barn Dances I think about the first one we did. Like most of the events that year we were inventing the program as we went. Instead of a band we had a guy with a record player. For the dance floor we used the gravel driveway. That didn't work so well. Still, it was great to see the kids out having fun and that part hasn't changed a bit.

Blessing my pet

Every year our neighbors at the Greek Church across the street have a Blessing of the Pets ceremony that we get invited to. This year I took them up on their offer and drug our cow Jenny over to the church. I got a real kick out of the looks on the dogs and cats when the big bovine got in line for the holy blessing.

Exhibit update

I have actually been stopped by folks who follow the blog and asked, "so how's the wagon coming?" So for those you out there I am happy to relate that progress is coming along steadily. Our wonderfully talented Carlin has nearly finished the painting of the wagon. The goal was to make the wagon look like it was aged and she really did a great job "faux" painting it. The next step was to fit a harness on the horse from pieces that we have laying about the farm. While this sounds easy it ended up posing a bit of a challenge. Carlin and our horse expert Joyce took on and conquered the task. Next up, painting the horse

New wagon

One of the program ideas that Sarah, Pete Noll, Jon Kuester and I came up with back 2004 was taking our history programs on the road. With school trips being cut because of shrinking budgets and greater demands on teachers an outreach option seemed to make sense. While both Pete and Jon moved on to other jobs Sarah and I kept the ball rolling on developing an outreach trailer and the programming that would accompany it. With help from some local businesses and foundations and the Friends of Wagner Farm we were finally able to purchase the trailer this past July. Now we are putting the finishing touches on the "stuff" that will go inside.

The Fall program will have a lot to do with truck crops (fruits and vegetables) and getting them to market. To help us make the point we will be employing a 1940's era John Deere "H" and a JD wagon to go along. Because of the special needs that the program has the wagon needed to be very versatile so we had our resident engineer Jim design something from scratch that would be able to do all the roles that we have envisioned. Talk about frame up construction! I will keep you posted as we progress

A dollar short

On Thursday Jeff, Andy, Jim and I poured another slab of concrete. This time it was for the water tank that sits just south of the farmhouse. In the muddy season the cows end up belly deep in mud just to get a drink. Over the summer Jeff constructed a really nice retaining wall using recycled pavers and we put the pad down to give a good base. If you will notice the last picture you will see that a couple of cliches could rightfully be employed here.

*We found ourselves a day late and a dollar short

*If it could go wrong, it will go wrong
*One brick short of a load (wait I think that means something else)

*Here's one for the Cub fans - better luck next time.

Fall color

Life on a farm is all about seasons. At Wagner one of the markers that fall is here is the appearance of chrysanthemums. For years we have been selling mums, pumpkins and Christmas trees to help raise money for livestock feed. A fall day with the leaves of brown falling about the vibrantly colored mums is quite a sight.

Horses at Dawn

Join us Saturday Sept. 12th!

Pack a picnic supper & come to the farm this Saturday for a good old-fashioned ice cream social & barn dance!

My favorite apple

I know this will get a couple challenges but nothing beats a Honeycrisp! Looking forward to harvest time

Sweeping it up

Ever wondered where brooms come from? OK, so you haven't but if you would like to see the first step come out to the farm. This year we are trying out hand at growing broom corn. This plant looks a lot like regular field corn but instead of building a ear with the seed enclosed the broom corn puts the seed at the end of the long strands that come out of the top. To get the bristles for brooms we will cut the top of the corn plant off and dry it. I will keep you posted as we move to step two.

Hot Dogs

Every year the Wagner Farm volunteers have a hot dog challenge with the winner being served at the annual Harvest event in October. It maybe silly but it is a lot of fun. This year we had 4 challengers and the returning champion from Maplewood meats in Green Bay, Wi. The dog from Maplewood dethroned the two time winner Miesfeld from Sheboygan in the surprise upset last year.

Now there is no real science applied here just our well trained taste buds. If you would like to try the winner please come to the October 17th Corn Harvest Festival.

Uptown washing machine

This might be the artifact find of the year. A mint condition 1920's era Easy washing machine made in Syracuse, New York. This was found by the Glenview Park District's own Mike Moorman while vacationing in northern Michigan. Mike and his wife were checking out a antique mall and he noticed this washer. Because Mike knew I have been looking for an old washer for the farmhouse he called me to see if I was still interested. The poor Moorman's had to lug this very heavy washer in their van for the rest of their vacation. (Mike wins the Above and Beyond Award!)

In doing a little history on the machine it seems that the company won the highest award in the kitchen exhibit during the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Powered by a 1/6 horse power motor it could agitate, spin and rise clothes. Because of it's efficient design the company grew rapidly and by 1923 was called the best of the home laundry manufacturers in the world. By 1936 the company celebrated selling $100,000,000 worth of washing machines. The pinnacle of the Easy company was in 1948 when 474,831 machines were sold. The company was sold to Union Chemical and by 1963 they cease to exist.

We are currently doing some minor clean up and hope to have the machine out on the exhibit floor soon. Amazingly, we plugged it in and it still works!

Thanks Mike

Red

This post is dedicated to Tamara.

The Sunflower in the picture was almost "weeded out" of the garden but Tamara stepped in and saved it. In the spring when the garden is new it is very important to keep up on the weeding. Weeds compete with the other plants for both water and sun. Along the garden fence was this little lonely sprout that most of us thought needed pulling. Tamara kept telling us it was no weed and we needed to spare it. Soon we discovered that it was a Sunflower and then to our amazement that it was a special red Sunflower. Definitely a surprise worth admiring. Thanks Tamara