Family Farm Fun

Two weeks ago it was a full moon and the official start of our Haunted Maze! 2012  One of my favorite parts of Halloween is dressing up in different costumes. Normally, I don't wear much (if any) makeup, so I like to go all out for Halloween. Each year, I experiment trying different strategies without spending too much money on supplies. During our Haunted Maze at Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm, my role is usually to collect admissions. This makes it difficult to wear a complex costume, but I still like to have one. My "go to" is some type of zombie or walking dead girl. It has to be something I can throw together quickly since we are usually busy with customers all throughout the day. I also like something not TOO scary since some nights our kiddos stay out there with us. 2013 Two years ago, I read online about using unflavored gelatin powder as a liquid latex substitute. I used it to create this look: 2014 Last year on Halloween night, our friend

As long as I can remember, I have loved carving pumpkins. Carving pumpkins 1986 Well, truth be known, I just enjoyed digging my hands in the cool, squishy pumpkin goop. I was never one of those kids grossed out by or scared of the orange slime; I loved it! Even now as an adult, my favorite part of pumpkin carving is digging out the "guts." Luckily, all three of the kids also enjoy scooping out the insides. Sadly though, none of us are patient enough to carve the really beautiful, intricate pumpkins that I know some of you are capable of! We are more the jack o'lantern or simple animal style carvers. Each year, I get a spot set on the kitchen floor. I cut the tops off of the pumpkins, put them in the center of the floor with a bowl of water for the seeds, some spoons for digging, and some wet rags; then, I let the kids get to work. Halfway through they got hungry. Luckily, I had a put Chicken and Dumplings in the crock pot, and it was ready

Sugar beet harvest is a crazy time on our farm with early mornings and late nights. I am at school or at home with the kids for the majority of harvest, so Boots and our truckers were my official photographers.  Tractor with Digger & Loaded Trailer Sugar beets are a root crop, so they grow underground. The harvesting process begins with the defoliating tractor which rips the leaves off of the root.  Field of beets 1/2 defoliated and 1/2 not yet defoliated Tractor and defoliator Defoliated beet Next, the beet digger uses a two part system to pull the beets up and run them through scrub rollers. These rollers then push the beets back to the elevator chain belt and into the tank. There are also Ferris wheel style diggers that circulate the beets into the tank. Front view of Digger Back view of Digger Ferris wheel style digger When the digger is full, it unloads into a trailer pulled by a semi. We use cage trailers which tip to unload,  but ther

This week, we decided to add a little science into our after school activities. I have read before that pumpkins float (on a sign at Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm, in fact). With that thought in mind, I developed a mini sink or float activity for the kids to complete. We used pumpkins and gourds that we already had around the house: a carving pumpkin, a white mini pumpkin, and a turban gourd. I filled the bathtub with water and had the girls develop a hypothesis chart. They wanted to hand-draw it but the basic premise was like this:  Pumpkin Science Chart . We talked about why they predicted that certain ones would sink and certain ones would float. Bah had already done a similar activity in Kindergarten after her pumpkin patch field trip, so she caught on a little quicker. Our test subjects and chart Testing the pumpkin Excited she was right - it floated! First, we tested the big pumpkin. We used three trials to increase our accuracy. Then, we tested the

So how exactly does one pick the perfect pumpkin? I think most of it is based on personal preference in terms of shape, texture, and color. However, there are some tried and true strategies to picking a good pumpkin.  At Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm, we encourage customers to go out in the field to search for their perfect pumpkin. Part one of this strategy requires wearing jeans and sturdy shoes. If you have never been into a pumpkin patch before, then you may not realize that the ground is uneven and the vines are prickly. Wearing gloves and bringing clippers are a bonus strategy. Once prepared, head out in search of a pumpkin that you find visually appealing. Personally, I am a fan of a big, spherical Lumina pumpkin or a tall, oblong orange pumpkin. Bah loves the perfectly round pie pumpkins, Boo likes the pink pumpkins, and Bubs appreciates all "puh-kins." No matter what your preference is, you want to look for a pumpkin free from bugs, with an intact vine, n

I don't want to go all pumpkin spice crazy on everyone, but I definitely enjoy myself some pumpkin spice. After seeing a picture of these gooey cookies on Facebook, I figured they would be a perfect fall-themed treat. Yumminess! I snagged the recipe from Once a Month Meals, so you can get the original here . My favorite part about no bake cookies (besides being pumpkin spice flavored) is that the girls can help make them! First, we gathered our ingredients & supplies: 1 1/2 cups white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup butter 2/3 cup milk 3 1/3 ounces of instant Pumpkin Spice Pudding Mix 1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract 3 1/2 cups Quick Cook Rolled Oats waxed paper medium sauce pan silicone mixing spatula teaspoon wet and dry mixing cups clean silverware teaspoon for scooping Next, we began cooking: 1. In a saucepan, combine sugars, butter, and milk. 2. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for two minutes. 3. Remove from heat and add p