An awesome day

I get the chance to wear a lot of hats in my job but the one I most enjoy is that of a teacher. Yesterday Sarah, Julie and I went to Williams Elementary in Chicago to do an outreach program for all of the school's Kindergarten and 1st Graders. Williams is a real standout school in CPS as it was one of the first of the Renaissance Schools of Mayor Daley and then CPS Director and now US Sectary of Education Arnie Duncan.
When we pulled up to the school there were a bunch of boys in the schoolyard playing basketball. As soon as we stopped the cows started to moo and the reaction of the boys was just hilarious. They totally stopped playing and the basketball just kind of rolled off the court as they were staring at the truck and trailer. As we unloaded our critters we got a small crowd of interested on lookers from the construction crews across the street to the residents at the Dearborn Homes. The kids, for having never seen farm animals were fearless and totally engaged and very excited. I remember thinking a couple of times that this is why I love being a teacher. By the end of the day we were all a little sunburned and pretty tired but it was all worth it when the kids came out to give us hugs as we left. It kind of felt like we were leading a parade as we pulled out of Williams Elementary.

The pictures I am posting aren't the greatest since I had to take them with my cell phone. The one that was really amazing is the shot of the cow and Julie that has the Sears Tower (I know that isn't the name now but it is going to stay the Sear Tower with me) in the background.

Happy Birthday Todd!

If your actions inspire others
to learn more,
dream more,
become more,
then you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams

Many Happy Returns of the Day
to a Wonderful Director and Leader.

Enjoy the song of the day.

Love and Best Wishes
From The Staff at Wagner Farm

Eagle Project #2

This past weekend JJ Lee and his fellow scouts of troop 57 did some wonderful work as a part of JJ's Eagle Scout Project. The goal was to design and install about 150 feet of flower beds in front of the Heritage Center. The plants were to be either natives or historical to Illinois farms. After a lot of hard work the project turned out very nice. Thanks JJ.

Tree Planting

Over the past couple days we have been on a tree planting binge. So far this week I think we have gotten almost 50 in the ground. With Dutch Elm Disease and Emerald Ash we have lost quite a few of the old guard. We have also lost some trees to the horses. Bob seems to like the bark and that is really hard for a tree to recover from. So we are thinking of tomorrow and planting trees today!

Buttercup milking

Buttercup is doing and feeling much better now. Even though she lost her calf her body is still making milk and she has taken her place in the milking line. For the last week her production numbers have slowly been increasing everyday. Today was the first time that she broke the 50 mark. That means in the two milkings she gave a total of 50 pounds of milk. That is roughly 6 gallons. Buttercup also got her first summer hair cut. Actually, Cassidy did too. It was a busy day.

Morning view

This morning I came in early to lend a hand with milking duty. It was one of those mornings that you might think Steven King has in mind when he is setting up one of his novels. On the way in I could only see about 3 car lengths ahead. As I was walking down to the barn from the heritage center I could not see the barn until I was almost there. Besides a lack of visibility the other thing the fog did was muffle all the surrounding sounds. As the day worn on and the fog lifted a little it pulled the veil back on the farm. With most of the noise gone and the fog hiding the surrounding houses the farm looked like it might have 100 years ago. The effect was largely lost by the time I went for the camera but I still thought it was pretty neat. I guess this was one of those times those "smell the roses" moments.

A view from above

One of our former commissioners, Chris Warren was nice enough last week to snap a couple pictures of the farm as he flew by. We have had a good time trying to figure out exactly when he took the pictures. Actually we think we have found Andy out behind the barn leaning on a shovel.
What striking from the picture is just how surrounded the farm is. Just think, 100 years ago Glenview was nothing but a bunch of farms and dirt roads.

Cow Tipping

I'm going to tell you a story that I was hoping that I wouldn't have to divulge. With it hitting all the major newspapers in the area I might as well. I guess sometime Sunday night a handful of Glenview boys decided while in a self induced stupor that jumping the fence at the farm and trying their hand at "cow tipping" would be a good time. I don't have all the details yet but from the story I'm hearing some farm neighbors spotted the kids in the field and called the police. The kids ran and that was when the GPD called for heavy duty back-up, the State Police. When all the fun was over the cows were still standing and the kids were under arrest (trespassing). The only damage being "something" done to one of the police cars. Still investigating what that something was.

Put yourself in my shoes, a call comes in from the Chicago Tribune wanting your thoughts on cow tipping. For those of you who don't know I'm from Iowa and while not all Iowans are from farms most of us do know cows are hefty. Heck, they come out at birth over 100 pounds. The calves we take to the county fair weigh up to 1,400 pounds. I can't tell you how many times I had one of these beasts stand on my foot and me push as hard as I could to try to move them. So I thought long and hard and said, "If the boys want to go snipe hunting I would be willing to take them."

Here's the newspaper story from WGN TV. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/05/4-accused-in-attempted-cow-tipping.html

A few more photos from Saturday...

For some moments in life there are no words.

Career Day

Sarah and I just got back from doing presentations at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences for their Career Day. There were 40 different occupations that had some tie to agriculture represented. Our presentation was about how Sarah and I found the museum field and the way we bring education, history and farming together at a historic site. We also did a butter making demonstrations and let them try the butter that they made on crackers. From buzz we heard in the hall our session was a favorite!

Springtime on the Farm

Today was our annual Springtime on the Farm event that kicks off the special event season at the Farm. While most of us were a little tired and still sad the day went off very well. We had almost 400 visitors come to make mud pies, build a flower arrangement, watch lamb shearing, see the animals, take a wagon ride and watch wool be spun into yarn.

Absolute Heartbreak

At about 8:10 this evening Cassidy's Buttercup delivered a still calf. It looked to be a perfectly healthy little guy. Every effort was made but to no avail. On a farm, as in life there are a thousand lessons and some of them are pretty hard. Cassidy is with Buttercup right now who did everything a good mom could do. I wish our news tonight could have been better.

Update

Two hooves have appeared.

Update

Buttercup's water just broke so the process is well on its way!

Buttercup update!

It looks like we are getting close to the time that Buttercup will be a mom. Today she has really been displaying the initial signs that delivery is not far off. Now, this could mean in couple hours or in a couple days. With her being a heifer the process will likely take longer than if she had already had a calf. Jeff and I just moved her into the birthing pen so everything is set on our end. Now it is just up to Buttercup. I will keep the blog updated as we have any progress.

A great Gift

Last night I had the honor of attending the Glenview Women of Today's meeting and receiving a very nice donation for our efforts with the Glenview Farmers Market. The GWT actually was the group that started the market back in the 1980's. When we took the farmers market over in 2007 they were terrific in their support and help in making the transition easy. Besides helping financially sponsoring some of our markets mission they also volunteer as crossing guards to help families get safely across Wagner Road. As an organization they are very active in the community. Last nights meeting is actually called the disbursal meeting because they give away the funds that they have raised in the past year through a community grant program. Along with Wagner Farm about 15 other non-profit groups were awarded grants. The dollar value of all the grants was over $25,000 so this is by no means "small potatoes" to use a farm word. On behalf of the Glenview community, Thank you Glenview Women of Today.

The Baler -an instrument of torture

Thanks to the generosity of one the farm's really good friends, Paul Spanier we now have a new piece of equipment. For those who might not know, this is a small square baler. If you haven't ever worked behind one then let me tell you what a treat it is. I will do my best to paint a vivid picture. Imagine it is a very hot summer day. See you can only bale when the hay is perfectly dry so that means when the sun is at max power. As the baler works its way through the field it spits out roughly 80 pounds bales every 20 feet or so. Each of these bales has to be picked up and then stacked on a flat bed that will take them back to the barn for storage. The lifting and pitching of the bales doesn't get hard until you get to the 3rd row up on the rack. Now you're tossing them over 6' in the air. Each row will add two more feet to the total distance in the air that you will need to toss these bales. Arguably the best part, now that you are tossing them in the air, all the chaff from the bale dumps on you and because you're gasping for air and covered in sweat you inhale and wear a thick coating of itchy, dusty chaff. And all this is just for the first load! So who would like to come and volunteer this summer?

Really it isn't that bad. Growing up on the farm making hay as we called it was a time when neighbors still got together to help each other out. On our farm it was also when Dad would hire town kids to come out and help so that meant there would be a little more excitement to the job than if it were just us. Baling also formed a bit of a rite of passage you might say. As a kid your job was simple, maybe just bring water to the workers. As you grew you might get to drive the tractor or toss down the bales from the rack once it was back at the barn. To really be considered a worker you had to buck bales. It was a job that quickly weeded out the pretend tough. I still look back and find it fascinating how some big muscle bound guys would only last a rack or two before throwing in the towel and you'd have a farm girl or young kid gut it out and make it the whole day.

Wagner Farm's baler comes to us from Gangloff Farm in Chester, Il. Julie and Tim were good enough to deliver the baler. They found a little humor in the fact that the baler went from the rural lands of southern Illinois to the crowded confines of Chicago. If all goes according to plans, (which never really happens) we should be making hay in less than a month. Be watching for that post. Again, if you want to lend a hand let me know. We are always in need of "the willing". Thanks again, Paul.

Springtime on the Farm!

Join us this Saturday from 12-3 pm for our
opening event of the season!

See all our new animals! Take a tractor hayride!
And be sure stop by the farm's
old fashioned soda fountain "Sweets & Treats" now open weekends.

Training day

There are a thousand steps to get a 4-H project ready for the fair, as anyone who was a 4-Her or in FFA knows. For the lamb project one of the high days has to be when you first take your lamb out of the pen and start practicing for the show. This year we recruited some teaching help in Sarah Ander who is not only an expert lamb showman but also the assistant barn superintendent for the Lake County Fair. The lessons started with how to halter (as you can see we had some trouble in that area) and worked up to "setting up" techniques. The goal is for the showman to stand the animal in a way that best exhibits the animals qualities. For lambs we are showing length of rack, loin and rump and width of their rear. For the judge to get the best view of the lamb the 4-Hers practice spacing and keeping themselves out of the sight line between the animal and the judge. While it sounds simple we will be spending the next 2 months working to be ready for the fair.

Isn't that a sight, 16 lambs!

A perch like no other

Tonight Cassidy and I went over to the farm to check the very pregnant Buttercup who is due any day now. As we were leaving the farm we heard this loud honking coming from above. Much to our surprise there was the mammoth goose just sitting there yelling at us. With the backdrop of the sunset it was an unusually site to say the least. We'll keep you posted on Buttercups progress.

Spring outreach

Back in the fall the farm did a program called History Hits the Road. The idea of the program is to load up one of our trailers and take a part of the farm on the road to schools who can't make the trip to see us. In the fall version of the program we did apple pressing, wheat grinding and talked about power on the farm by using a John Deere H to give a wagon ride around the school. The spring offering centers more on the livestock side with us taking cattle, sheep and chickens out to help tell the story of animal husbandry and how it fits into agriculture. Speaking from the staff side, this is such a fun program to do. The kids just come alive when they step out of their school and the playground is now full of animals.

Ag Day at Wagner Farm makes the newspaper

Here are a couple more pictures from Ag Day. Check out the highlighted text for the story that ran in the Glenview Announcements.

Restoration on the garage

After a nearly 10 year process the last of the original Wagner family buildings is getting it's chance for restoration. Built at roughly the same time as the main house the garage has held up well for a 90 year old building. A couple years ago staff replaced the roof and supporting sub-structure. This year we have plans to replace the floor, doors, windows and rebuild a replica of the bi-fold doors that originally hung at the entrance to the garage. In the historic picture Martin Wagner is seen standing just south and west of the building.