Glenview Park District Employee Picnic

Teaching the teachers

If you want to get better at your job you have to keep working at your craft. Last week the farm staff met with the Grove staff to learn about educational trends and methods of interpretation. Tina Nolan, a professor from National-Louis University and Mike Follin the Coordinator of Interpretive Services for Ohio Historical Society lead our day long workshop.

Farmers Market Dinner at Wildfire

Something that has gotten really popular over the last few year is a concept called "local feast". The basic idea is you match a creative chef with all local food and see what kind of culinary magic will ensue. For the Glenview Farmers Market our partnership has been with chef Moreno Espinoza and Wildfire restaurant. If you ever get a chance to attend one of these dinners I strongly suggest you take part. Moreno took items from our market and made a meal that was just spectacular. He divided meal into five courses and then paired each selection with a wine that complimented the offering. For the appetizer there was whole wheat pizza with roasted vegetables and goat cheese won tons. Next was a pairing of honey-lemon grilled chicken and ratatouille along with coffee glazed lamb chops and peach chutney. The next course was a really good cheese plate from Prairie Pure Cheeses (which is partially owned by our farm veterinarian Brian Gerloff). The final course was berries trifle with pastry cream sauce. Did reading this make you hungry?
Between courses Moreno, Matt the wine expert and Roxanne and I gave a little background about the meal and where it came from. Next year I will do a better job of getting the word out about the dinner so all who are interested can sign up. It was such a unique evening. A special thanks to all the staff at Wildfire.

Summer is over

As sad as it is, some things just can't last. With school starting this week we are running through the last of the summer programs. Yesterday was the final story time and today Stephanie (who leaves tomorrow for college)did the last dollar drop in. Another sign of the end of the season is the soda fountain is only open on the weekends. Now there is something to mourn.

Last Week of Dollar Drop In Activities!

DAILY ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 23


Monday August 23 Meet a cow


Tuesday August 24 Meet a chicken


Wednesday August 25 Ice Cream Making Demonstration

The joys of farm food

The experience of growing up on a farm is one of those things that is hard to describe. It is kind of like when people ponder "How would you explain colors to a blind man?" There were times of getting up at ridiculous hours to do work that seemed never ending. One day it was walking beans (yes, I mean walking beans- google it) another it was raking hay or driving cattle. But still everyday you were able to be with family, on land that was family. So I'm still stuck on one of the topics that I touched on last week, the farmers market. I guess I just miss home a bit and things like seeing a bushel of ripe peaches, wiping the soil from a fresh bunch of onions or talking with farmers reminds me of some of the good things about being country. I hope you will enjoy a couple shots from last week's market.

Faces of the Market

Textures of the Market

Colors of the Market

Drop In Activities for the week of August 16

DAILY ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 16


Monday August 16 Meet a cow


Tuesday August 17 Meet a horse


Wednesday August 18 Apple pressing demonstration


Thursday August 19 Drive a tractor


Friday August 20 Meet a cow


Saturday August 21 Make a cornhusk doll

A hot job on a hot day

Every year we call one of our farmer friends and place an order for a truckload of straw bales. A truckload is about 550 if you were wondering. And without fail we seem to always get our shipment on one of the hottest days of the year. 2010 was to be no different with a heat index over a 102 and a real temp of 96. Still with the help of some 4-Hers our crew go the job done.
When I'm faced with a tough job sometimes I try to distract myself to make the task go quicker. Today I got to thinking about how much weight we moved. Since we did the job in the "bucket brigade" fashion each of us darn near touched each bale. The average weight of a straw bale is 65 pounds. So, if a person really did touch each bale that would be a cumulative lifting of 35,750 pounds. This lends itself to one of the reasons I like farming. At the end of the job you can look back and see exactly what you got accomplished.

Peeking

I just noticed something that caught my eye. From the parking lot, if you look towards the farmstead between the barn and the house the windmill is peeking through.

Puddle Jumpers

Early this week we got a pretty heavy rain first thing in the morning. When I was coming back from milking I heard a lot of commotion in the water next to me and looked over to see the horses playing in the water. They were having such a good time. Bob was, as always the instigator just like a little brother.

National Farmers Market Week

At the farmers market this week we had the opportunity to take a minute out of the busy day to recognize our farmers and all the hard work they put towards our everyday existence. It was really interesting when each of the farmers told a little bit about what they bring to the market and how working the land has affected their families. These days the job of farming has never been more difficult. The margins are tighter, the equipment more expensive and good help hard to find. Still the farmers do what their families have done for generations, they put good food on our table without so much as a thank you from a public that thinks the cornucopia of the supermarket is where it all begins. This is one of the reasons that having farmers markets is so important. Besides the top quality goods (right now the peaches are heavenly)it gives us a chance to put a face to our food. Come out this week and go to a nearby market and meet a hero.

Lake County Fair Homecoming

This post will wrap up this year's Lake County Fair entries. One of the favorite activities that we do as a club at the end of the fair is to bring all the kids and their parents back to the farm and have a little ceremony and some ice cream to put a cap on the year. The very last thing that they get to do is sign the wall. After all the work they have put in this mean a lot.

Battle of the barns

After all of the showing is wrapped up the kids get together for an annual activity called the Battle of the Barns. They divide up into four teams and compete through an obstacle course and then do a tug of war at the end. While this gets them plenty dirty the real treat is at the end with the all out mud fight that follows.

Daily Drop In Activities for the week of August 9

DAILY ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 9


Monday August 9 Cornstarch clay play


Tuesday August 10 Animal face painting


Wednesday August 11 Meet a cow


Thursday August 12 Meet a horse


Friday August 13 Make a pig cookie


Saturday August 14 Design a cow and chicken

Lamb show at the Lake County Fair

This year our club took the largest display of lambs to the fair in the club's history with 17 animals. This was also the first time we have ever captured the elusive achievement of Grand Champion Market Lamb which was owned by Marina Madsen. In the final drive of the championship the club had 4 of the 6 lambs in the ring. The kids also brought home the Champion Sr and Jr Showmanship trophies by Tim Campbell and Maggie Blunk respectively. This was by far our most successful year in the sheep barn.

Swine show at the Lake County Fair

Year in, year out the swine barn at the Lake County Fair is one of the most exciting and competitive shows of the week. This year the club had multiple class champions and reserve champions. For the finale, all of the class champions are in one ring for what is called the final drive. We had Jack Upperman and Hans Stilp represent the club well. Jack was also recognized as one of the best Jr. showman in the barn.