Getting ready for the LINK program at the market

This year we are going to be offering a new service at the Farmers Market. For the first time we are going to be able to accept LINK cards. LINK is a program through the State of Illinois that allows food stamp recipients to receive their benefits electronically through the use of a special credit card. To be able to accept the cards we have had to add special electrical and communication lines. This week our Information Tech department and Park Services crews pitched in to help with the installation. Thanks so much guys.

Mark your calendars, the Glenview Farmers Market starts on Saturday, June 25th. We are also looking for volunteers who would like to help with the Market. There are many jobs just waiting for folks who want to lend a hand with this community effort. If you are interested call the Farm at 847-657-1506 and leave a message for Roxanne.

The new foundation

Despite all the rain we have a new foundation for our farm shed. Next step will be to add drain tiles and start back filling. Then on to the stonework exterior.

Out of official uniform

At the risk of being killed by the W. F. Glenbrook High School Seniors I thought I would post a great picture of them at prom this past weekend. I catch myself thinking "I knew you when you were just a kid." I know that makes me sound like an old fogey but it just seems strange to have kids you have known for so long grow up and get ready to leave. Good luck to all our Seniors. We are looking forward to a great summer at the Farm. Thank you for being great kids. (I know you aren't kids)

Red, White and Blue

With some help from the Parks Department we hung the new flag on the front of our barn. For us, a flag will last about 6 months before it fades to a point where it must be replaced. I love the the way it looks the first day we hang it.

I have told many the story of why we always have the flag on the barn but it is worth retelling. Back when Glenview was home to the GNAS (Glenview Naval Air Station) there was a lot of military traffic overhead. During WW II almost all Marine and Naval aviators flew out of Glenview while they were in training classes. Lake Michigan had two make shift aircraft carriers for the pilots to practice take-offs and landings on. So the legend goes that one day a pilot noticed that if he lined up over the top of Wagner barn he was in line with a runway at GNAS. Trouble was, at the time, Glenview was a farming town with hundreds of barns. To clearly mark the Wagner barn the pilot gave Mr. Wagner an American flag to hang on the barn. It is a great story even if we can't prove it.

First event of the year

This Saturday was our Springtime on the Farm event. Just like this spring, it was a rainy day. Still we had about 300 visitors come and participate in the activities. We consider this program one of the low-key offerings we have. There was nail driving (as strange as it sounds this is a huge hit with the kids), horse demonstrations, wagon rides, paper flower making and even a station where you could make your own mud pie. All in all it was a great start to the 2011 event season. A special thanks to Betsy for coming down to volunteer and taking our poultry class.

Finally

Some people might say they mark the arrival of spring with the coming of the robins or the "May flowers". Not me. I believe that we aren't officially in spring until the Wagner Farm swing comes out from it's winter hiding place. Like moths to the light, kids are just drawn to that old swing. We first put it up in 2002 and it was an instant hit. Welcome back spring!

High schoolers at work

You read the headline correctly. This week we actually got a group of students from Deerfield High School to come and work at Wagner Farm. It was a real change of pace for Sarah and I to develop a program of this age group. During the session they got to try their hand at plowing, grinding wheat and make pretzels. We ended the day with an interesting discussion on the issues facing our food supply both from a farmers and consumers view point.

Daffodils at Wagner

Just outside my office door there is a little garden that was planted in honor of my Dad. In it there are some really nice daffodils that begged me to take their picture. It brought to mind a poem by William Wordsworth who happens to be from my family's hometown (a couple generations ago) in Ambleside, England.

"Daffodils" (1804)
I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.
By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

Spring plowing

A big thank you to Paul for finishing our spring plowing this week. Like a lot of farm work, plowing needs the right weather conditions. This year the fields worked up great. Now we need to disc and harrow then we'll be ready to plant.

Cherry blossoms

When I was walking in this morning for work one of the cherry trees caught my eye. With the recent warmer weather I think a lot of the cherry and crab apple trees have bloomed.

1,400 miles, 6 states and the Smithsonian experience

We have returned from our trip to Washington, D.C. and are happy to report that it went fantastically. We loaded the trailer up on Wednesday night with two tractors, the transplanter, a cider press, wheat mill, 16 bushels of apples, 2 bushels of wheat and all of our signage. By the time we were done loading, we had filled the entire 30 feet of the trailer. At 5 am the next morning, we were off. The trip out was pretty easy with the only stressful part being the crossing the Appalachian Mountains, in construction. We arrived in DC at about 7 pm and drove straight to the National Museum of Natural History where we were to park our "big rig". The next day, we were up early to get the Wagner Farm display set up. The GardenFest event was in the Enid Haupt Garden area by the Smithsonian Castle on the south side of the National Mall. As soon as we unloaded the truck, we had to return it to the special parking spot by the Natural History Museum. We set up our display in basically three parts. The first part was cider pressing, the second was wheat grinding and the third being the tractors and transplanter. Our goal was to help the visitors better understand what truck farming was and how certain crops are processed and used. All three stations were a hit. In the two days of GardenFest, we likely talked with 4,000-5,000 visitors. With weather sunny and in the low 70's it was nearly perfect for working outside.

The Wagner Farm team was joined in Washington by a real friend of the farm, David Sniader of Winnetka. David flew in to lend a hand with the program and to see his Fordson tractor on display. Over the past 10 years David has lent Wagner Farm everything from a Waterloo Boy (John Deere's very first tractor) to a threshing machine and hay press. One of the highlights for David and the whole team was when the Secretary of the Smithsonain, Dr. Wayne Clough stopped by see the display. (That is who David is speaking with in the picture above.)

The program was very much like some of the offerings we have done at Wagner Farm or on our educational outreach programs. Still, there was just something dramatic to be presenting at the Smithsonian. I so enjoyed meeting people from all over the country and around the world. I found it a bit amusing that in those two days I only talked with one couple who was actually from the DC area. His father had been a truck farm in the Pacific Northwest so our presentation was of great interest to him. I also have to mention that it was neat when Glenview resident, Susan Mann and her family stopped by. Susan was a member of COWS (Citizens Organized to save Wagner's) and helped save the Farm all those years ago. We were a little disappointed however that the two times Marine One flew over with the President of the United States on board, he didn't stop by to say "hi" to his fellow Illinoisans.

On Sunday morning, again at 5 am, we climbed back into the Wagner-mobile and headed west. This was an experience of a lifetime and I really want to thank the Glenview Park District, the Friends of Wagner Farm and our community for supporting the Farm.

Smithsonian Pictures

Smithsonian pictures

Smithsonian pictures

The big trip

This morning Sarah, Jeff and I are leaving for Washington,DC. We are going out to do an outreach program for the Smithsonian Institution. We have been asked to do a demonstration on truck farming in the Midwest. To help us we are taking two tractors and the transplanter that Paul, Dick, Andy and Jeff restored. We are also taking the cider press and our wheat mill. Look for a whole lot of pictures early next week.

Work starts on the farmyard shed

This week construction crews started working on the foundation for the new historic shed. Step one, dig the trench and then form up the footings. In the old days it was common to just put the building wall on the ground and not prepare frost footings in the ground. Of course, this meant the build was likely to move with the seasonal freezing and thawing. This problem was taken care of by constructing solid footings that were at below the frost line. In our area, this is about four feet down. As soon as we get the footings in the crew will begin to form up the walls.

This project will be done using farm staff, volunteers and visitors through out the summer. So if you would like to lend a hand we could use the help.

Bob the farmer

I wanted to include this shot to prove that Bob actually came and lent a hand during our Cook County Ag Day. Bob is the divisional superintendent for Glenview Park District. For this program he played the part of a farmer hoeing corn.

Cook County Agriculture Day

For the last two years Wagner Farm has partnered with Cook County Farm Bureau to offer a special field trip opportunity to local schools. In a 90 minute program, students get to learn about ag topics from corn and beans to pigs and planting. In the two days of the program we saw over 650 kids. A special thank you to CCFB and all the volunteers who lent a hand with the program. T0 the WF staff, another great job.