2010

resolutions

It’s 20 days into the New Year and my resolution was to update my blog and at least keep it up to date once a week.  I’ll try to keep the last 6 months short and sweet.

the essences of lavender

 Our 2nd Lavender Festival was a huge success with over 400 lavender lovers visiting the farm. Everyone enjoyed being on the farm, taking in the view of Skaneateles Lake and learning how to grow and harvest lavender. Our guests were fortunate to visit with a few of our baby lambs.
This was our first year introducing our new Bath & Body, Candles & Room Sprays, and Culinary & Home products and received rave review and have had many repeat customers. Gary and I loved sharing the farm with everyone.

We would like to thank the Spafford Garden Club (SAGE) and Skaneateles Garden Club for inviting me to present a workshop on growing, harvesting and drying lavender. Everyone had the opportunity to harvest from our 15 varieties of lavender and learn how to make lavender wands. We enjoyed our experience to educate the public at the New York State Fair on the benefits of growing lavender.

wanted: four wooden wagon wheels

I had been searching for an antique wagon to use as part of our display during our Lavender Festival. After going to a couple of auctions and about ready to end my search at the last minute we decided to go to an auction in Freeville, New York. And there it was my 1948 Weber wagon. I jumped into the bidding at $35 and won my reward at a wonderful price of $55. Granted we had to take it apart to get it into our pickup truck and 2 trips to get it home. I love great finds.

what's happening on the farm

Harvesting soy beans, wheat, sunflowers and lavender went off without a hitch...fingers intact.  And after 2 weeks of painting, the barn is done...phew. No wonder I don’t have time to keep up with my blog.

When you visit our farm you might find a few sheep in the lavender field.  Like deer they don't eat lavender, but love eating the grass.

Ok girls, back to the barn!

family life

In December we lost a beloved family member and important part of our farm. Our Australian Cattle dog, Maia lived 15 loving, productive years. At the end of her life she could still herd the sheep with just a bark from the porch. It’s been a month and I still look for her when I come home from work.



So that’s the last 6 months in a nutshell. Writing this blog is a gift to myself. This resolution I will keep.