We're Having So Much FUN! And We Just Got Started! :)

We don't officially open for our Fall season until tomorrow afternoon, but we had so much fun with the Pitt State International students yesterday evening!  Very few of them had any farm background nor had they ever even been in a barn before!  It was such a joy to see them enjoying all the activities of the Farm!  It's an awesome adventure having the world come right to our door!

What a thrill to see our barnyard fill up with people!

Many of the students fell in love with our animals.  For some it brought back memories of pets back home.

A few tried their hand at driving a tractor.  8 were able to conquer our corn maze, finding all 5 markers!

Most enjoyed a scenic hayride through the timber.  What fun to hear their "la la la la la" and singing as they left the road and headed toward the creek!  One explained to me that in their homeland, that's what they do when they're excited.  :)

By the time they took in all the activities, they were ready for the weiner roast!

 

All ages love a good hot dog cooked over an open fire!

I wonder how many of these students had ever experienced a good ol' American campfire before!

And what do I do when your giant marshmallow's on fire?!

As always, the kids loved the corn tub in Pumpkin Playground!  

We learned our chickens have a ways to go yet before they're ready to race in public and our pigs were a little shy of their first cheering audience as they raced toward the finish line.  But all in all, everybody had a great time!  Give us a call to schedule your own group outing this Fall!  :)

BUSY! BUSY! BUSY!

EVER WONDER WHAT'S GOING ON AT A PUMPKIN FARM LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY FROM OUR FALL OPENING?  

Well, wonder no more!!!

We're baling hay so you'll have a place to sit in our haywagons when you take that scenic ride through the timber.  Over 1,400 school kids will need a place to sit in our cool classroom in the barn when they come for their field trips!  And...

we're cleaning out the barn so you can see what an old barn looks like!

And...

We're picking some pumpkins for our display.  But we'll leave some in the field so you can pick your perfect pumpkin right off the vine if you want to!  Can't get any fresher than that!  And...

we've got our ducks, chickens and pigs on a training schedule.  They love racing around our track in the best ever critter races!  And...

Photo by Kathy Wright

we're doing some fun Fall decorating.  And...

Photo by Kathy Wright

a whole myriad of other things!  We want everything to be perfect when YOU come to visit us this Fall!  We'll be open every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 1:00 - 6:00 beginning Saturday, September 28th thru October.  And...

Max could care less about any of it!  He's just anxious to see YOU!  :)

THE PUMPKINS ARE COMING!!!

I've heard more than one farmer say recently that it's been a very weird year.  "I've never seen weather like this!"  We started out with floods this spring, then a HOT DRY spell, then floods - again!  Now it's hot and dry...  I've been a little afraid to walk out my back door into our 6-acre pumpkin patch, fearing there might not be any pumpkins at all!  Was I ever pleasantly surprised to see LOTS out there this morning -- in various stages of development!!!  Thought you might like to see that too!  So here's Pumpkin Development 101...

First... the blooms!

Did you notice that little fella in the middle of the bloom?  He's busy as a bee!  :)  He's got to take the pollen from the center of this male bloom to the center of the female bloom.

Notice how different the center of this female bloom is.

Once the bee transfers that pollen into the center of the female bloom, a baby pumpkin starts to grow.  See it?

The baby grows...  It's very soft at this stage.

And it grows!!!  Yep it's green!  And it's getting harder!

And it grows!  What's that?  Do I see orange???

Yep!  And orange means it's ripe and ready for YOU to pick!

So plan to come out and see us to find your perfect pumpkin grown right here on the farm!  We open a month from today!!!! (Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 1:00 - 6:00 p.m. September 28th thru the month of October.)  See you then!  :)

GETTING READY FOR YOU!!!

Now that school's back in full swing and summer's on the downward slide, we're in full swing here on the Farm getting ready to see YOU this Fall!  Jerry and Jon had a great time flying the friendly skies a few weeks ago to give you a bird's eye view of this year's 6-acre corn maze!

A bit too far away?  We'll zoom in a bit for you!

Still too far?  Try this one!

Yep!  When you're in the middle of it, it can get awfully confusing!  Hope you're making plans to conquer our corn maze this Fall!  We'll be open every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 1:00 - 6:00 p.m. beginning September 28th thru October.  Ya'all come!  :)

Thanks for the Memories!



I overheard the goose talking with the calf about the GREAT time we had around here at Hickory Creek Farms this Fall.



The hen agreed most heartily!

We saw lots and Lots of smiles!



Lots of kids picked their perfect pumpkin to take home.



But first they got to venture into our neat ol' barn...



...where they learned that pumpkins are green before they're orange!

The kids loved the Hickory Creek Express!

And they dove right in the corn tub!

Everyone loved the hay ride!

Some folks experienced their first weiner roast!

Even though some got totally lost in the corn maze, no one called 911.  :)

A few tried their hand at checkers.

And we got the trebuchet going!  Man can it sling those pumkins!

New friends were made...

And old friends united!

Some mounted ponies and galloped around the track.



ALL had to chuckle as our piggies raced for the finish line!



Some experienced their first trip ever to the pumpkin farm.



But when Fall 2011 came to an end, all had to agree... 
"Wow!  This was great!  Thanks for the memories!"

Ever wonder how to make a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin?  It's really quite easy!   Try it!

First, wash a pumpkin and place it on a cookie sheet inside a 250 degree oven.  Bake it slowly until you can stick a fork into it easily.  Remove from oven and cool.  Peel the pumpkin with a knife (which will be easy now).  Separate the "meat" right underneath the peeling from the seeds and "gunky" stuff.  Place the "meat" in a blender and add a small amount of water to make blending easy.  Once blended, freeze in 2 cup portions in freezer bags.  Then you can quickly thaw and make a pie anytime!

PUMPKIN PIE


2 C. fresh pumpkin
1/3 C. sugar
1/3 C. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 eggs
12 oz. evaporated milk

Pour into unbaked pie crust and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes.  Knife inserted into center should come out clean when done.


PIE CRUST


2 C. flour
1/8 tsp. salt

Add to flour mixture and stir with fork just until mixed:
1/2 C. oil
1/4 C. milk
1 T. oil
1 T. milk

Roll out between two pieces of waxed paper.