A visit with Farmer Roger

• Chilly, gray overcast sky. Nasty headcold started today. I'm thinking bacon pancakes & coffee will cheer me up. #
• Smashed a corner of the pump house with the tractor. Now sitting down. Should I be sipping Viognier/Marsanne, or should I open a Pinot Gris? #
• Moved the goats & alpacas to the winter paddock a bit earlier than I hoped. Too much rain – summer paddock turned to mud. #

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• Gray, cold, rain. Off to a slow start today. Out looking for pancakes. #
• Lots of ducks & some Canada geese back at the farm enjoying puddles from big rain overnight. Wonder where they've been. #
• Gray skies, but not so bad out today. 3/4 inches of rain last weekend refilled all the puddles, which are now draining until the next rain. #
• Deepen your understanding of livestock poo. Learn fecal exams. Other fun classes too. Country Living Expo http://bit.ly/8E8G22 Jan 20 #
• Misty morning. #
• Two new seed catalogs in the mail today. Still putting them on the shelf unopened. Saving them for later. #
• High dark clouds. Some blue off tho the west. We may see some sun today. #
• Clare due here in the office shortly to talk about transitional stuff. #
• I see shadows! #
• Gray skies & cool. Last night's 1.1 inch of rain is still draining off. A good day to stay inside and cook.. #
• The last winter rye grain cover crop planting is up and green. Sprouted several days ago. #
• We will be heading to my brother's wife's brother's house for T-Day. We've been going there since we moved into town in Nov. of 1993 #
• Cloudier than earlier today, but it looks like a decent day to get out and about. #
• T-Day at someone else's house with a big crowd is great. The one downside – no leftovers on Friday. #
• Beautiful day at the sculpture garden. #
• Last moment change of plans. Dinner @ Herbfarm. Many thanks @Herbguy!!! #
• Dined @ The Herbfarm. How to choose highlights? The salsify? chorizo-spiced salmon? black cod? lamb? clove W choc hazlenuts? thnx @herbguy ! #
• Skies back to gray today. Still happy from a beautiful day yesterday in Seattle with my brother, topped off with unplanned meal at Herbfarm. #

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• Grey, overcast, cool. a third inch of rain this morning. #
• Cleaning out email: Just deleted 2526 sent emails. Next, start on the 5000+ received emails. #
• Light rain this morning. Will spend the day in the office. Time to clear out old stuff. #
• The first seed catalog for next year arrived in today's mail. And so the cycle begins again. #
• Mostly overcast, looks like the blue skies off to the west are spreading. Thunderstorms forecast. 0.6 inches of rain yesterday, 0.4 this am. #
• The second seed catalog came in the mail today. #
• Was mostly blue skies earlier this am, now high clouds moving in. Still is a pleasant morning, if you can stay out of all the puddles & mud. #
• Minea Farm (a neighbor) is the place to go. http://bit.ly/bMsLO @SeattleMaven Any ideas on where to get the BEST, freshest cider in Seattle? #
• Light rain. .2 inch of rain last night, another .2 in so far today. Five inches so far this month. 5 in in Oct. In 2008 2 inch same months.. #
• Seed Savers Exchange catalog in today's mail. http://www.seedsavers.org #
• Overcast & high clouds moving fast. Half inch of rain yesterday, another quarter inch so far today. In long-range, possible dry after T-day. #
• Drying the last of the chamomile buds I had frozen away. We sold a lot of chamomile for tea this year. #
• Water pooling in places never seen before at the farm. I expect we'll lose most of the dahlias, probably more. #
• Today is "Thank Your Farmers and Ranchers Day" as proclaimed by Gov. Gregoire. #
• Intense winds have ripped away at the cloud cover. A bright very thin crescent moon and a few stars shine bright. #
• Gray skies this am, but no rain last night, for a change. #
• Cheese making, beef or pork production, spinning & weaving, poultry, fruit trees, veggies: Country Living Expo http://bit.ly/8E8G22 Jan 20 #
• Rally Sunday to support WSU King County Extension. West stairs of Key Arena at the Seattle Center. Nov. 22nd, 1pm – 3pm http://king.wsu.edu/ #
• Just noticed the hundreds of Canada geese are gone from the farm. Ducks also. Still plenty of crows,starlings, pidgeons, but no waterfowl. #

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• Missed my morning weather entry. Busy all day. Overcast & cool. #
• Just back from our farm & family potluck. Lots of great food. We brought kohlrabi carrot slaw and pumpkin apple pecan bread. #
• Looks like this morning's shower will continue for a while. #
• Juan & Luis have finished moving the straw bale pyramids to the compost pile. They will start pruning raspberries tomorrow. #
• Dark clouds blocking off the last bits of sun and blue sky. Light shower starting up. #
• Off to Woodinville for chicken feed & goat & alpaca feed. #
• A beautiful morning. Sunny & cool. The 2/3 inch of rain from the last two days is still draining off. #
• Juan & Luis are patching shed roofs this morning. I'm still buried in reports – trying to pin down where all the money went this year. #
• A briglht sunny morning, if chilly. Fog lingers over the river. #
• Spent too much time at the desk today. Sun will be gone tomorrow. Expect the crew to finish up raspberry pruning & other odds & ends Friday, #
• Heavy rain for a couple of hrs (0.15 in). Stopped for now. Forecast is for some sun & some rain. Maybe a thunderstorm. Doesn't mention snow. #
• Hey, the sun is shining! Heading out for a farm walkabout. #
• 2nd to last rye grain cover crop planting is up today. #
• Field crew last day. Goodby for the winter to Rob, Evert, Juan, Luis, & Rosalio. Stewart & Keith finished last week. #
• Headed home. Frost on the windshield. #
• Gray overcast day. Frosty earlier. #
• Had meeting earlier with the farm management committee / main investors. Discuss changes for next year. #
• Thanks @ReadersToEaters for leading an interesting & stimulating discussion on food literacy / policy / & kids / & schools / and more. #

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• Morning fog is gone. A beautiful sunny day for the melancholy task of closing up the farm for winter. #
• Juan is now mowing down the corn maze. He & Luis pulled all the signs out of the maze this morning. #
• Lots of ideas for next year floating around. Now is the time to capture them. In the next few weeks we'll be laying out plans for next year. #
• Evert is taking down signs & putting up "closed for the season" signs. #
• Bit of a scare when one goat choked on pelleted hay. Very dramatic. She's ok now and eating again. #
• High sheets of clouds, lots of blue sky, slight breeze. Good working day. #
• Juan just finished mowing down the corn maze. Now attaching the spading machine to the tractor. #
• Luis is dismantling the school-tour hog-panel "piggy maze." Juan is now spading the corn maze. Evert is roaming the farm taking down signs. #
• Peggy is in the farmstand organizing for next year & storing stuff away. Rob is on the Ford 8N, disking fields to be seeded with cover crop. #
• Add one more to a string of beautiful days. #
• The crew is spreading winter rye seed as cover crop today: Finished the annual flower & herb gardens and large & small pumpkin fields. #
• Veg crew is prepping the hoophouses today. Stewart is still working on organizing signs. #
• Thin overcast. Still warming up today. Pushing to get outside work done before tomorrow's predicted showers. #
• All the cover crop winter rye grain is spread now & will be tilled in by the end of the day. After lunch we'll take down the farmstand tent. #
• The farmstand tent is down now, draped in the big hoophouse to dry out before folding up for the winter. #
• Trying to put stuff away for the winter in a way that will make sense next spring. #
• Policy wonks & planners, King County is asking for feedback on its strategic plan: http://bit.ly/stratego #
• Overcast & breeze. Forecast says rain is coming. #
• Veg crew preparing starts greenhouses for next year. Juan & Luis taking down the stawbale pyramids & haluling them to compost. #
• Still not used to early dark. Fed the critters & picked poo by twilight. #
• A bit of blue in the sky right now, but more thunderstorms forecast. 0.84 inches of rain yesterday and so far this morning. #
• Field crew is still working on preparing for winter and staging for next spring. #
• Just dropped off a half ton of winter squash & pie pumpkins at Trellis for Chef Brain Scheehser. #
• The tilled–in corn maze field is blanketed with hundreds of Canada geese. Plus a smattering of Mallards and assorted crows & blackbirds. #
• It's a cold rain. #
• Over an inch of rain yesterday, 0.2 inch already today. Even more Canada geese around the farm today. #
• Too much time spent in the office working on reports today. QuickBooks is not talking with Excel, or maybe Excel is not listening. #

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• Morning fog just about gone. Mostly solid overcast, but rain now predicted to hold off until late. #
• Still dealing with lots of mud at the farm. #
• Mobile bookstore @ReadersToEaters braved the weather & set on at the farm today. They are now packing up – mist is moving in. #
• Steady sprinkle for the last hr+. Folks still stopping in for pumpkins & corn maza. #
• Meant corn maze. Not sure what corn maza might be. I blame the tiny phone keyboard. #
• Closing down the farmstand. The last open Sunday of the year. Our season ends on Sat., Oct 31. #
• Raining heavily. Our farm rain gauge plugged up, so I have no idea how much rain we received, except it is massive. #
• The farm is awash. Parking lots are oceans. One pop-up tent collapsed from the rain. Scheduled school tours are arriving. #
• The sun is shining, the freshly washed pumpkins are glowing. #
• The sun is in & out of the clouds this morning. Rain predicted back on Thurs. #
• I'm in the farmstand while the farmstand staff goes off to Tully's for a staff mtg / reflection of the year. #
• Veg crew doing some tilling today, getting ready to spread winter rye for cover crop. #
• Herbfarm is harvesting their quince today. Has been a big temptation, I confess. #
• The rain is back – much more than a shower. Lots of school tour kids here. Two people in the corn maze. #
• Rain stopped for now. Patches of blue sky. #
• Overcast & cool, but basically an ok day for the end of October. #
• Lots of decisions & little emergencies keeping me hopping this morning. Time to find some lunch. #
• Farm Tots this week are picking Baby Bear sugar pie pumpkins. Paint then now, make pie later. #
• Crew today at the farm: plant more winter rye for cover crop, weed mints, rosemary, sage & other herb plantings, clean out greenhouses. #
• Showers this morning. Accumulated 0.15 inch of rain, starting last evening. #
• Showers have tapered off. School kids pouring in. One school group in the corn maze. #
• Pumpkin Risotto! @chefwaj is on his way to the farm to pick up some Winter Luxury Pie pumpkins for @andaluca . #
• Showers back, off & on. Veg crew working on retiring fields for the winter. Juan & Luis mowing blueberries. Will add sulfur to push pH down. #
• Peggy organized little celebratory baby shower today for Stewart. I had to tell him yes, he definitely had to attend the "meeting." #
• Peggy's gluten-free chololate torte and pumpkin chiffon pie ( http://bit.ly/4iB1Co ) were both excellent. #
• Salmon Safe on YouTube http://bit.ly/2ZzCVP The South 47 Farm is proud to be Salmon Safe. http://bit.ly/3WTB96 #
• High clouds, gusty wind. Drying off a little. #
• Only two days left this farm season! Last Farm Tots & school tours today. Two more Flashlight Nights in the corn maze & pumpkin patch. #
• Working through prioitizing the winterizing projects. Lots of rain forecast starting late next week. #
• Shade covers off the hoophouses. May be the last time for weeks that they are dry. #
• Chef Ron put in a sizable order for tomorrow. Chef Brian bought most of our remaining beets, will clean out our winter squash & pie pumpkins #
• @edwinlie You'll do fine in the maze. Parking lot may be worse. @FarmerRoger Is the maze still in shape tonight after 3 days of rains? : ) in reply to edwinlie #
• We finished the last school tour of the year about an hour ago. The last birthday party and the last Farm Tots are in progress. #
• Halloween Flashlight Night Corn Maze – A low-key adventure. Get away from the candy-crazed ankle-biters and gore-seeking Jr. High screamers. #
• A beautiful sunny October morning for our last farmstand day of the year. #
• @PhilipLeeR2E and his family stopped by this morning to say hi and to pick up some of Chef Brian's mini donuts. #
• Still a beautiful sunny day. Clouds are coming from the west (Seattle), an unusual direction. Usually from the south or north. #
• Farm visitors are still finding nice pumpkins to choose from. Mostly larger one remaining. #
• Counting down the last hours of the farmstand year. Mellow group for Flashlight Night tonight. #
• The farm closed for the year 20 min. ago. Maybe 2 dozen people still in the corn maze. #
• The last farm visitors have left. Evert & I are ready to lock the gate. Back tomorrow morning to put stuff away. #

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• Blue sky with some clouds. A good day to get outside. #
• Mobile bookstore @ReadersToEaters is at the farm today. How many places can you shop outside for food-related books and then do a corn maze? #
• At lot of time spent this morning re-routing the parking and the hayride. I hope not to have to pull out any stuck cars. #
• Puddles on the farm act like strong magnets to little kids. What's one more load of laundry compared to that much free fun? #
• Does the job offer a 401K? @Herbguy Help. …."Wanted: Phone Person to screen dishwasher applicant calls…" #
• Bright blue sky reflected in calm puddles. Sun glistens off the mud. #
• Overcast day. Feels like fall. Puddles from Sat's rain are still draining. #
• Farmstand is open today – first visitors wandering around. Plus a full day of school tours. #
• Are Pumpkin Patches the new hot place for proposals? Email reply today: "I hope to surprise her this weekend." #
• Seeing lots of worm castings today. Good to know the worms are thriving in spite of the massive rainfall last Sat. #
• Morning fog is still lingering. The farm is slowly drying out from Saturday's deluge. Puddles & mud still linger. #
• Lots of kids on the pumpkin tour: Learn how pumpkins grow from seeds, hunt for worms in the worm bin, do the piggy maze, meet animals, more. #
• Rosalio started tearing out the bamboo poles for the pole beans today. Another sign that we are past mid-October. #
• Misty morning. Showers forecast. #
• Big day for school tours. Light showers. Cars everywhere, plus a bus. Hoping we won't have to pull out any stuck cars. #
• Farm Tots are headed out to pick kohlrabi – the "alien vegetable." #
• High overcast, but sun is getting through. Time to get outside before the next rain comes. #
• Huge truckload of gravel looks like not all that much when spread on the parking lot. Now need to sell 250 bunches of kale to pay for it.. #
• Looks like the rain has died down for now. We had 0.42 inches of rain, starting after midnight. #
• One of those mornings: the rented forklift stopped dead in the middle of our main road (single lane), still catching up long after opening, #
• I'm happy @CECalhoonEA found some new wool socks for me. My shoes are soaked through, but my feet don't mind, warm in their new socks. #
• Weather change here at the farm: Sun, lots of blue sky, brisk wind, clouds moving fast. My phone says it is raining in Seattle. #
• Fairly typical to find the weather is nicer here at the farm (Redmond/Woodinville) than over in Seattle. Except for when it's worse. #
• Rain pouring down – Flashlight & Boots Night at the Corn Maze. #
• Tempted: I'm less than 10 min down the road. @Herbguy Come in person by 6:35pm. …..I'll give you a magnum of 2000 Northstar Merlot. #
• Morning fog lifting, revealing a beautiful sky. Last eve a full 1.0 inch of rain in 3 hrs. #
• Rerouting parking once more. Bi #
• Started that last entry over 3 hrs ago. It got away from me when I opened it back up. #
• Finally put up a sign a the farm entrance. "MUD!" For those people who are surprised to find mud at the farm after #
• "MUD!" Finally put up a sign at the farm entrance to remind foks that farms are not paved.. #
• Sun is about to set. Moon is high. Will be a beautiful evening. #
• Evening fog is rising, down by the Samammish R. Will make Flashlight Night wild,if it creeps all the way to the farm. #

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• A beautiful October Sunday morning. The frost on the ground is melting away. Temp hovered around freezing from about 2 to sunrise. #
• Have been giving hayride tours. Happy, mellow crowd at the farm today. Always good to see people enjoy your work. #
• We were getting some sun earlier this morning. Now we have a solid gray overcast. Probably feels cooler than it really is. #
• School pumpkin tours are already finished for the day – Columbus day. Lots of office work to catch up on after a busy farmstand week. #
• Clouds turning to overcast. Please, rain, come early and leave the weekend skies clear. #
• The farm is full of flocks of school kids and birds. #
• Wind at 15-25 mph. Lights flickering, sunflowers & cornstalks swaying. Birds are grounded. #
• Blue sky & sun peek through the clouds, mocking the weather forecasters. #
• Flora, the Ford 8N tractor refused to work this am. I drove the JD for Farm Tots hayrides. Rain held off, now dumping. #
• I hope someone left it food & water. @Herbguy Isn't every day that I wander into the kitchen and there is a WHOLE LAMB lying there. #
• Have been putting off a trip to the feed store for hay & chicken feed. Looks like the rain won't let up any time soon. It's time get moving. #
• October Seattle Magazine is finally out. I'm a local authority! (Corn Maze Designer) http://bit.ly/f5dhP Image is way cooler in print. #
• King County budget http://bit.ly/4Dj1yo proposes to drop Puget Sound Fresh http://bit.ly/x1ufl, County Extension http://king.wsu.edu, & more #
• Sun is burning through high overcast. Rain forecast – don't see it soon. #
• Farm Tots picking big shelly beans & herbs to take home & make bean soup. #
• Rye grain cover crop planted about 2 weeks ago is finally up strong. First sprout came on Tuesday. #
• Lots of ideas & discussions about changing how we use the hoophouses next year. Seedling starting, plant sales, Farm Tots, tomatoes & basil. #
• In case you haven't noticed, it's been raining off & on all morning. Still a fair number of people at the farm, keeping us busy. #
• Most of today's field crew day was prepping fields for winter: mow down plants, remove dripline – ready to till in and plant the cover crop. #
• Whoa, a half inch of rain in the last hour. 0.85 inches yesterday. The farm is awash. No floating pumpkins yet. #
• Trying to come up with under-cover task for the field crew. Sort out stuff in storage. Put stuff away for the winter. #
• Water is pouring over the Pumpkin Patch. Runoff from the ridge to the E is all funnelled down onto our farm. Even so, have pumpkin pickers. #
• Rain has tapered off for now. 0.81 inches so far today. Most between 8:30 and 10 am. #
• I just wittnessed a kneeling suitor presenting the ring – in the pumpkin patch. Yes, she accepted. #
• A phrase you don't hear often: "Remember, no splashing in the Pumpkin Patch, please!" #
• The sun is out now, but the wind is picking up. Another rain forecast. #

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• Temp down to 37.6 early this am. Now the bright sun is warming us up. Expect a day like yesterday, but nicer – a bit warmer & sunnier. #
• Ripening sunflowers bow their heads to hide their faces from the starlings & crows. Birds dangle down and take their share of the harvest. #
• Come to the farm to satisfy your hunger for books on food. Mobile bookseller @ReadersToEaters is at The South 47 Farm Sundays in Oct. #
• Beautiful day. Clear blue sky. Quiet day at the farm. Paying bills, catching up on office stuff, critter care. #
• The red winged blackbirds are back in large numbers. Each fall they frequent the corn maze. Canada geese are also starting to gather. #
• Another beautiful sunny fall day. The low on the farm weather station last night was 34.6. Stewart reports frost on some of the greens. #
• Bottled up a catnip spritzer to take home and test on our cat. Also reputed to be a good bug repellant. #
• The unprotected basil has turned brown from the cold last night. We did have some protected, but looks like basil season is nearly over. #
• Another agreeable fall day. More clouds than yesterday. #
• Bus loads of school kids at the farm for the farm tour. Our education crew will be busy for the rest of the month. #
• Morning fog still lifting down on the farm. We're in the river valley. Sun is shining on the hills. #
• Veg crew mowing the raspberry aisles in prep for pruning. Also mowing around the lavender & other big herb plantings. #
• Thanks for showing off our pumpkin patch! RT @Herbguy It was a great year to grow pumpkins in the Sammamish Valley http://twitpic.com/kuihg #
• Part clouds today, but we're looking at yet another beautiful fall day. #
• Two school districts off today. Looks like most of the kids came to the farm today. #
• Overcast sky, but otherwise a nice enough fall day. We're expecting lots of folks at the Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze this weekend. #
• Fall greens are just really excellent now.Beautiful, vibrant plants. #
• Music at The South 47 Farm: earlier – Hawaiian ukele. Now Jubilee Singers singing spirituals. #
• Big night for Flashlight Night in the corn maze. #

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