BGF ABC's

This past week, we were harvesting in the high tunnel when Kelsey, our steadfast farm crew member, started passing the time by identifying crops that we grow on the farm for each letter of the alphabet. Well, the challenge was on and as we worked our way down the spinach bed we simultaneously worked through the alphabet. You'd be amazed how challenging we found some of the letters. After some supplemental discussions with other associated BGF parties here is the alphabet ala Blue Gate Farm...

A Arugula B Beets C Chard D Dill E Edamame F Fennel G Garlic H Honey I Italian Parsley J Jewelweed K Kale L Leeks M Mache N Nasturtiams O Okra P Potatoes Q Quercus (Oak Trees) I know, it’s a stretch! R Radishes S Spinach T Tomatoes U Urtica dioica (Stinging Nettle) Hey, we even sell it! V Violas W Weeds X Xanthium (cocklebur) We don't sell it, but it does take up a lot of our time! Y Yarn (not a crop, I know…but we do make and sell it) Z Zucchini

How I Spent My Afternoon...

The last of the 10 Jacob fleeces finally all skirted!

Now back to that little bit about washing...

On-Farm Research

Details to follow...

Frosted Colors

Probably not your normal blog post about fall colors, but we've never been ones to fit the "normal" mold.

Yesterday Mom & I spent the afternoon playing "mad scientist" up to our elbows in acid dyes, wet wool and plastic wrap. The newly dyed wool hadn't dried by the time the sun went down so I just left it hanging on the line. Luckily, Blue and Luci have never shown any interest in the wool as long as I keep it out of easy reach.
This morning when I went out to check it, the fiber was mostly dry, but gilded with a frosty gleam. Wish I could keep that look when it was spun, it was a pretty "cool" sight! Now to get it all spun into a more useful (and salable) form.

Crawled!

Farm Crawl 2010 has come and gone...and what a day it was!
The weather was perfect and more than 1300 crawlers fanned out over the 45 37 mile circumference of the event. Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed a beautiful fall day in the country. A very special thanks to our fabulous BGF crew; Mom, Dad, Terri, Maggie, John, Kelsey, Adam, Kristi and the Maly's! We couldn't do this event without you.

For those of you who were unable to "Crawl" here is a quick tour of the event by journalist Michael Libbey:

As the Parade Passes By

Last night driving home through the fading fall light of rural Iowa, I passed a bit of a parade. Now this wouldn't have qualified as a full-blown city parade complete with floats, marching bands and thrown candy. But here in the country, we take note of the more subtle forms of pageantry. As I drove past a narrow country lane, I was met by the following:
Two women leading a colt
Followed by two Boer goats
Then a girl leading a pony
Followed by a miniature donkey
And bringing up the "tail" was a mule
It was all very dignified, as a parade should be. There was no trotting or tussling, just a quiet progressing down a gravel track.

I would have liked to stop and watch their progress, but while they made a cameo appearance in my world as they moved slowly southward, I didn't want to intrude in theirs.
As I continued down the road I did stop, to let a buck and two does cross the road in front of me. This was a parade of a whole different nature, fast and wild and gone in a heart beat.

It was another beautiful and unexpected evening in the country.

Technicolor Bumps

Normally a headline like this would be followed by a photo of a really spectacular bruise somewhere on the body of a particularly graceful farmer. This time it just indicates that I finally got enough accomplished in the garden that I had time to dye some fiber (bumps) this past weekend. Fall is the time that the hand-spun yarn sales tend to take off and we were running woefully low. So now that it is getting dark earlier in the evening, I am ready to do some serious spinning.


Oh and FYI for those of you who might find this interesting, there is such a thing as "too windy to dry wool".
I had hung all the newly dyed fiber on the clothesline to dry and when I looked out the kitchen window later it was as though the house was being surrounded by a crazy, windblown palette of cartoon squids. There was brightly colored wool strung everywhere, all through the garden borders along the house, it was pretty exciting! And when I went out to reclaim it and wind it into the bumps you see in the photo above, the tendrils wound around me too. It made me laugh out loud, though maybe a little nervously!