So it has been a few weeks once again since our last post. In that time, we had a graduation, planted a garden, started making hay, started making jam, and always making soaps, lotions, and other goodies. But summer is all about being busy and loving life!
Graduation was a beautiful day – not too hot, not too cold. Lots of family, friends, and food. Oh and yes, our graduate who celebrated in style by driving his tractor to and from the ceremony (returning in his full cap and gown swaying in the breeze). Could I say no to a kid who is proud of his farm upbringing? To us, it showed us that we are indeed raising our kids right when they want to show off that they were raised on a farm. Both boys will never deny how very different they are from one another but both are proud of their little farm in Rusk County Wisconsin.
Now that the partying is done, we need to get back to work and that meant getting our garden in. The greenhouse got things started but now Mother Nature needs to take over. Our gardens are mostly all raised beds. We have grown this way for probably 20 plus years. For us, it is easier to weed, allows us to amend the soil in certain gardens, and it looks beautiful . . . who doesn’t love a beautiful garden? We have planted beans, beets, carrots, lettuce, onions, celery, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, kohlrabi, kale, radishes, cucumbers, and the list goes on. Most of our seeds are heirloom variety. Our preference is to utilize non-GMO seeds and make sure we are doing our part in sustainable agriculture.
As I do every week, we continued to make sheep milk soaps, lotions, and made a few new varieities of items. We added a patchouli orange sheep milk soap which is curing as we speak. This will go with the patchouli orange sheep milk lotion that has been a hit. We added a coconut and a mango variety to our natural lip balms. We added a lemon basil sheep milk lotion which will be a nice summer addition. And will be adding lemon basil to the foaming sheep milk hand soap. Often times our products are developed due to customer request and I love the challenge of figuring out how to make it work. So never hesitate to ask us to make something. If I can figure out how to make it naturally, it will usually end up on our list of Maple Hill Farm products – From Our Ewes to You!
Now making hay . . . we are currently blessed with a forecast that looks like multiple dry days in a row. This is the farmer’s dream. One day we cut, next day we dry, and the third day we rake into rows and start baling. If you can get all that done in three days without rain, it is heaven. So keep your fingers crossed that our first cutting of hay goes as planned. As Brian says, in the summer, a farmer is cutting hay, raking hay, baling hay, or thinking about hay!
Until next time, Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.