A visit with Farmer Roger

• Beautiful day. Clear blue sky. Temp just above 60. #
• At start of day; a car abandoned in our entrance and a hay ride wagon flat tire. Car gone, wagon working. Today's emergency quota exhausted? #
• Ukelele player is back today. #
• Morning weather starting out beautiful. Showers forecast likely tonight & tomorrow. #
• Stiff wind today. I'm having flashbacks to last year when 1/3 of our corn maze was flattened by the wind. #
• Just introduced to Greek Mountain Tea (Sideritis syriaca). Makes a pleasing cup of tea. Said to fight colds and other respiratory problems. #
• Vet Larry Pickering here to check up on the alpacas & goats. #
• Dark clouds, stiff wind. Outside this morning trying to get as much done as possible before the promised rain. #
• Just spilled coffee on my desk. A sign I drink too much? or too little? coffee. Or maybe a sign I should clean off my desk. #
• Stiff wind all day. Birds getting a workout. Veg crew mowing & prepping for winter cover crop. Juan & Luis throwing pumpkins around. #
• Pumpkin Patch opens tomorrow. Lots to do between now and 10 am. #
• GSN LIVE here at the farm to film two clues. Watch for our old Ford tractor and our corn maze scarecrow. #
• Fog lingering in the valley. Pale blue early morning sky showing through the clouds. Showers forecast. #
• Starting early today to prepare for the Pumpkin Patch opening. First day today. Opening celebration this weekend. #
• Veg crew picking tomatoes. Cool weather slows ripening. Still looking for green tomato recipes. #
• Beautiful fall day. Has moved from partly sunny to partly cloudy. #
• Blustery day, gray skies. No showers yet. #
• Rob is running the spading machine today. The soil is still on the dry side. The race begins to plant the cover crop before the rains start. #
• Plant Sale tomorrow! Lake Wa Tech College Environmental Horticulture Dept. Grown by students. http://tinyurl.com/ybgtla8 #
• Clouds clearing some this morning. 1/4 inch of rain last night. #
• Veg crew opening up more beds for picking – It is fall greens season. #
• Flashlight Night tonight! Fri & Sat in Oct.are Flashlight Nights in the corn maze. #
• The best pumpkin for pie, Winter Luxury Pie, is now at the farmstand. #
• Dreamed of beekeeping? Get started with this course! http://bit.ly/yYiB8 #
• Sky look to be clearing. Two websites say showers, two others say cloudy. I choose to believe no showers today. #
• First Sat in October: Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze season is here. #
• We borrowed a horse during Oct. part of Fall school tours. Juan & Luis are putting up a rain fly for her. #
• Harvesting coriander seed. Fresh & intense. Now to figure out best package size for sale. #
• Full moon rising. Sun setting. #

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• Live music at the farm. Just Us Squared is setting up. None of us has heard them yet. Waiting with anticipation/trepidation. #
• Juan & Luis harvesting the butternut and delicata squash today. #
• Today's cake contest winner was an applesauce cake with penuche icing. Judges: Chef Kris Evans, Spazzo Redmond & farm employee Rahim Murphy. #
• A few high thin clouds decorate the blue sky. Enjoyable cool breeze this morning. Temp. forecast for high 70's today. #
• Quiet day at the farm. Paula is here working on Weds. payroll. Ruth will be here later to tally up farmstand & farmers market sales. #
• The tomatoes are still ripening, but it's time to start thinking about green tomato season. How to use besides fried green tomatoes? #
• Harvesting basil for EO distillation. Honeybees buzzing around the basil. Imagine the spectacular honey if the bees had only basil flowers. #
• Clear blue sky. A bit of haze on the horizon. Can we make it all the way to 90 degrees today? #
• Veg crew here today doing some weeding and harvesting. #
• King County Harvest Celebration Farm Tour this Sat. http://tinyurl.com/mstglb Our farm is one stop. http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd #
• Farm lunch on the Eastside. Pop out to the local Brazilian coffee shop for a beef pastry & a flan. #
• Had to go out for more jars. Now ready to start setting up for a big basil oil distillation. #
• Temp peak today at the farm was 92.1 at about 5. It stayed above 90 for over 2 hours. #
• Very small yield of basil essential oil from today's distillation. It is very intense. I'll have to find a creative use of small quantities. #
• Thin haze of cloud cover. Basically pleasant day, not quite so hot as yesterday #
• Wed is first day of the week for the farmstand. Always an extra busy morning with lots of details, changes for the week. #
• I just finished signing a big pile of paychecks and bill payments. Happy to see a good turnout for the farmstand and Farm Tots this morning. #
• Farm Tots have choice of picking gourds or greens. Most are picking greens (kale, collards, Vita Greens). #
• WSU Cougar Gold Cheese giving out samples this Sat. at King Co. Harvest Celebration. http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd #
• Solid gray overcast sky. Still cool this morning. Feels more like fall today. #
• Fall school tours start soon. Juan & Luis building a maze with wire hog panels – the piggy maze. #
• Veg crew is still harvesting this am. Then will go back to preparing finished areas for winter cover crop. #
• Check it out! I'm a local authority, says Seattle Magazine. http://tinyurl.com/ydtg2md #
• Clear blue sky. Expect afternoon temp of about 70. Another beautiful day. #
• Juan & Luis harvesting fancy pumpkins. Gorgeous red Cinderella pumpkins this year. Warty salmon Galeux D'Eysines. Plus, the Red Warty Thing. #
• Stop by @ReadersToEaters mobile bookstore at the farm tomorrow. http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd The food literacy publisher and bookseller. #
• Chef in the Field Brain Scheehser of Trellis gives an on-farm chef's demo tomorrow at noon. http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd #
• Just about ready for tomorrow's King County Harvest Celebration and Farm Tour. http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd Think I'll distill catnip tomorrow. #
• Heading to Kirkland Taste of the Town at Columbia Winery to benefit Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation http://tinyurl.com/ye44qey #
• Beautiful day. Blue sky, lots of puffy clouds. Mild breeze. #
• Harvest celebration at the farm. Our usual plus book sales, Cougar Gold cheese, storytelling, chef's demo. #

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• Another summer-like day today. A little cloudier, not quite so hot as yesterday. #
• Farmstand is humming: Corn Relish demo at 11, veggie art at 12, hayrides, corn maze, tomatoes, winter squash, dig your own potatoes, basil.. #
• Reading about grain CSA's. Any local interest? #
• Our famous rainbow of winter squash. http://twitpic.com/hn15k Blue Banana through Sweet Dumpling. #
• Overcast morning, clearing some. Quiet day at the farm. Everone else is off. My day: critter care, office catch up, lavender distillations. #
• Our cat Pumpkin is at the vet with apparent kidney infection. I clearly won't be firing up the big 6-ft essential oil still today. #
• A number of conversations. A bunch of decisions made. A small pile of E-mails; some replies. Stuff ordered. My desk somewhat more organized. #
• Overcast sky is partially clearing. Forecast is cloudy, high 70's. #
• Veg crew is here today harvesting. Paula am & Ruth pm both here in the office. I'm doing reports & stuff. Still planning some distillations. #
• Once again more time in the office than out on the farm. Doing a bit of tomorrow's work, as well as last week's. (Mon & Tues. my "days off." #
• Andrew is bottling up the last 50 lb of on-farm honey Brandon supplied in the first round. Hope Brandon can squeeze out some more. #
• Blue sky, thin scattered clouds. Showers forecast. #
• Wed. starts a new week at the farmstand. A beehive of activity getting set up for opening in 10 min. #
• Bottling lavender (Royal Velvet) essential oil. Powerfully aromatic, wonderful stuff. I'm thinking I could charge folks to bottle it for us. #
• Farm Tots are picking bok choi today. #
• Weather change. Dark, threatening clouds, wind picking up. Storm coming?? #
• Fog earlier left a heavy dew. Now have big white puffy clouds sailing by in the blue sky. Rain forecast for Sat, so enjoy today. #
• Peggy & I rearranged the farmstand this morning. Rob is tussling with a second faulty rebuilt alternator for the flatbed truck. #
• Juan & Luis brought in Turban squash. Keith & Stewart are on a big carrot harvest. Rosalio is picking pole beans. Need to harvest coriander. #
• Good news / bad news: Turns out tha alternator is ok. Somewhere there is a short in the wiring harness. Maybe easy to find. Most likely not. #
• Chef Brian Scheehser on PBS show Chefs A' Field! Click through to Episode 8 for trailer & links. http://www.chefsafield.com #
• RT @foodalliance Breaking: @foodalliance founder Miles McEvoy to head USDA's National Organic Prog. http://bit.ly/rwvtf (via @FairFoodFight) #
• Today starts out looking promising. High thin scattered clouds. Forecast rain tonight & Sat. Temps back up to 80's next week. Enjoy the day #
• Juan & Luis picked the first gourds. Now work on farm road repair. Veg crew opened up more greens for U-Pick. Now harvesting & weeding. #
• Philip Lee @ReadersToEaters is stopping by the farm shortly. #
• Rain started at about 4 am. Already 1/3 inch at 7 am. Forecasts imply heavy rain will taper off soon, but high chance of showers all day. #
• Stewart, Keiith, & Rosalio start at 6 am. They wear headlamps to harvest until the sky brightens up. #
• Once harvesting is done, the Veg crew plans to work under cover in the hoop houses. Basil needs trimming. Time to clear out the cuke houses. #
• Folks in the corn maze with rain gear & boots. Actually the path is not bad. It's your choice to walk around or through the puddles. #
• A woman came to the farm just for our Black Cherry tomatoes. She had them at @Andaluca with scallops. Thanks for the menu mention @chefwaj ! #
• Chef Ron Askew from Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart prepared a killer chilled tomato soup for today's chef demo at the farm. #
• Today's cookie contest winner was Scandinavian Almond Bars. Tops in taste, presentation, and story. Bring your cake for tomorrow's contest. #
• Finally got to the last lavender oil distillation. This time the variety was Super. Tomorrow I hope to distill basil in the 6 ft still. #

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• O.2 inches of rain early this am. Big clouds & sun breaks. Doesn't look like we'll see more rain soon. Quarter inch total yesterday. #
• Corn maze is ready for aerial photo. Juan and Luis grooming the maze. Evert off to LFP farmers' mkt. Farmstand will open soon.(sweet corn!). #
• It's clear I was optimistic this am about the weather. Another .5 inch of rain today. Seems most when I was in the midddle of the corn maze. #
• It's fun to watch the true-Seattle U-Pickers decked out in rain gear & headed out to U-Pick veggies in the rain. #
• Gray damp morning. Quiet day at the farm. Alpacas, goats, chickens, & ducks happy to see Carol & me – morning feeding time. #
• Big fast-moving dark clouds. Occasional patch of blue sky & brilliant sun. Stiff wind – the swallows & crows are working hard to stay aloft. #
• Morning overcast skies are clearing. Looks like a pleasant day. Will spend much in the office & prepping for the corn maze opening tomorrow. #
• Airplane circling the farm at 1:15 to take aerial photo of the corn maze. #
• Early start today. Corn Maze opens at 10. #
• Good to see you, thanks for stopping in. RT @chefwaj At the farm, Wow! Brandywine, green zebras and old german, what a pick of hierlooms. #
• My first tweet of day is usually weather. Started out too dark, then too busy. Was beautiful for a while, now clouding over. Clearing later. #
• Juan & Luis starting winter squash harvest. Stewart, Keith, & Rosalio weeding fall greens. #
• Seriously nice day today. Blue sky with puffy white clouds. 65 degrees. #
• Punctured tractor tire postpones winter squash harvest. Juan & Luis excavating. Veg crew weeding. Evert working on upgrading signage. #
• Opening up the apple orchard again for U-Pick. Liberty apples are ready. Honeycrisp and Spartan by next week. #
• The South 47 Farm Corn Maze "Farming: Dawn to Dusk" aerial photo is on our website: http://www.south47farm.com #
• Blue sky, a bit of haze still. Forecast to hit the 89's today. #
• Hot air balloon drifting over the corn maze. Clear blue sky. Bright yellow sunflowers. Click of camera shutters. #
• Juan & Luis building straw bale pyramids for climbing. Setwart, Keith, & Rosalio finished harves, now weeding. Evert working on signage. #
• New Chinook Books are now here in the farmstand! @EcoMetroSea Chinook Book brings lots of folks to the farm. #
• Need to design labels for lavender essential oils & hydrosols. Hoping to get them into the farmstand this weekend. #
• Another summer day, like yesterday. Yesterday's high temp at the farm – 89 degrees! #
• Corn Maze Opening Weekend. Veggie art activity at noon. Today, animals. Sunday, tractors. http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd #
• Winter squash now in the farmstand (6 of 11): Blue Ballet, Carnival, Blue Banana, Honey Bear, Hubba Hubba, Hunter. #
• Winter squash now in the farmstand (5 of 11): Pink Banana, Small Wonder, Speckled Hound, Sunshine, Sweet Dumpling #

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• Low gray clouds this morning. Forecast clear by afternoon. #
• Headed out to pick some baby corn – see if we can get anyone excited today. #
• Headed to cut corn maze. Farmstand is open. Evert setting up at the LFP farmers market. Juan & Luis tilling path in corn maze. Rob plumbing. #
• Lunch break from corn maze. Thought was just tired, but I'm not bouncing back — hope not the flu. Better put off tackling the rooster tail. #
• Hawk circling low over the pumpkin patch. Harrassed away by several crows. #
• Blue skies this am. Still a bit of haze. #
• Slow getting started today. All field crew off today. #
• In the corn maze cutting the rooster's tail. My view: blue sky, puffy white clouds, 8 ft green corn. #
• Times article featuring farmer Claire Thomas. Neighbor, mentor, and inspiration to us at The South 47 Farm. http://tinyurl.com/m5vlok #
• Corn maze now almost 2/3 cut. Finished the rooster tail & 1/2 a wing. Getting punchy – not a good thing with a mower & no way to fix errors. #
• Gray overcast day. Suits today's tasks – pay bills, try to stretch cash on hand to cover everything. #
• Misty. Hard to say if we'll accumulate any measurable moisture. #
• Sky mostly cleared earlier today, no clouding up again. #
• Just finished photo & video shoot in the corn maze with Redmond Reporter photog. Watch for links. #
• Back in the corn maze today. Down the rooster's leg and starting on the baby chicks.Still feeling lousy, but Opening Day is looming. #
• Reminds me of the "need" vs. "want" lecture in Econ 101. RT @cooklocal Does anyone need half a pint of homemade chocolate espresso frosting? #
• Corn Maze article in the Redmond Reporter. Dr. Maze in action. http://tinyurl.com/mow4gp #
• Part cloudy. Fast moving clouds. Woke up last night to thunderstorm. 2/3 inch of rain around 4 am. Barely dampened the soil surface. #
• Now at peak tomato production. Heirlooms, red slicers, cherries all producing strong. Japanese Black (Russian tomato) has really kicked in. #
• Closing in on the end of mowing the corn maze path. Finished the rooster and one more chick today. Almost 7/8 finished! #
• Sunny, a few clouds. Veg crew out there somewhere, Juan & Luis grooming the corn maze path. I'm headed out to join them. #
• This am KOMO TV took video of me cutting the corn maze & explaining how we create it. Watch news at 4, 5 or 6 – he couldn't predict exactly. #
• Steady shower this morning – started about 3 am. 0.2 inches so far. #
• Out to work in the corn maze. Hope to finish mowing today. We have a managment meeting at 10. Will seem a fair trade to get out of the rain. #
• The corn maze path is complete! Finished mowing the last pumpki this afternoon. Feel free to fly over the farm and take a look. #

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• Morming clouds thinning. Expect a beautiful day like yesterday. #
• Cutting the path in the corn maze. Finished the 1st pumpkin. Only 96% left to cut! #
• Cut another pumpkina and a corn stalk in the corn maze path. Then MC'd the Tomato Salad Cookoff, and distilled more lacvender oil as a demo. #
• Chef Kris Evans of Spazzo was shopping the farmstand (loves our Black Cherry tomatoes). I enlisted him to help judge our Tomato Cookoff. #
• Juan & Luis harvested the remaining lavender. Did 2 demo distillations. I had to inform several folks that owning a liquor still is illegal. #
• I remember, glad U came. Realized later I was in lecture mode & didn't ask your name. RT @FreshPickedSEA Really enjoyed U-pick at South 47. #
• Blue skies, a bit of haze. Temp heading up, but should be another pleasant day. #
• Seed saving workshops with the Organic Seed Alliance. http://tinyurl.com/ny2qkb Sept 12 and 26 in Port Townsend, WA #
• You need two goats! One would be lonely without a buddy. @tea_austen Looking at cheese making equipment was very tempting; I so need a goat. #
• Better get a teeny goat and a toy-dog shoulder-bag. @tea_austen @FarmerRoger My goat wouldn't be lonely—he/she would have ME for company #
• Sprinkle of rain at about 6:30. Now overcast & cool. Cloudy forecast. Herbfarm's rooster is crowing nonstop this am. #
• We've got honey! Brandon Clayton, beekeeper at the farm, brought in our first honey of 2009. Production is low this year, so get yours soon. #
• Stewart has been talking with his mushroom buddies. Lobsters & Chantrelles are looking excellent. Will try to bring some to the farmstand. #
• Kohlrabi is back! Our E. European customers cook kohlrabi with cream or sour cream, dill or parsley, in soup or sauce. We like it raw. #
• Enough office stuff, planning, emailing, & whatnot. Past time to go chop down some corn in the corn maze. #
• Watching a dragonfly hunting in the corn maze while taking a break. Now 1/12th cut! #
• Madly preparing signs for farmstand. U-Dig potatoes, honey, kohlrabi (returned), pole beans. Catch up with emails & head into the corn maze. #
• Blue skies, a few thin clouds. Beautiful out now. Temps headed towards 80. #
• Peggy's birthday – Marilyn brought gluten-free cupcakes from Sweet Cakes in Kirkland. Excellent. I didn't miss the gluten. #
• OK: done the planning meeting, ate the birthday cupcake(s), fueled up with Brazilian beef pocket & coffee. Now head back into the corn maze. #
• Finished the rising sun, most of the barn, 1/2 the fence & 1/3 of the punpkins & corn. Start lettering tomorrow. Almost 1/4 done! #
• Skies clear & blue. Will be a bit warmer today. Peggy off today, I'll need to devote more time to the farmstand. #
• Devoted most of the day to moving years colllection of stuff out of the rented barn up the road. Don't yet know where it will all go. #
• Temp at 90 degrees! Finally got other stuff done and I'm ready to go cut the corn maze. Common sense or fear of deadline, which will decide? #
• A few clouds, don't expect it to be as hot as yesterday. Muggy, but overall a good day to be outside. #
• RT @HeathmanHotel Congrts Trellis Chef Brian Scheehser: named Best Chef 425 Mag Reader Poll http://tinyurl.com/ku4y6e #
• Moving lots of stuff from the rented barn. Harvesting most of the remaining onions. Farmstand day. Gotta get out and cut more corn maze path #
• Corn Maze update: Finished cutting the barn and the silo. Cut out the letters "The outh". About 30% done. #
• Overcast gray morning. Showers come & gone. A dampening up on the ridge, but nothing down on the farm. #
• Veg crew harvesting the rest of the onions. Lucas is here to fill in for Stewart today. Juan & Luis tilling the corn maze path this morning. #
• Heirloom tomatoes are producing bountifully. Beautiful tomatoes. Now is the time to indulge. A fresh ripe luscious tomato every day. #
• Just out of the corn maze — half done! More corn stalks & pumpkins, " 47 FARM", finished the fence, shorcuts. Next I'll tackle the rooster. #
• Fresh baby corn! Corn maze corn is at perfect baby corn stage. Evert will pick some for the LFP farmers market. Or come to the farm & ask. #

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• Beautiful sunny morning. Evert headed to LFP Market. Michelle & Jennifer opening the farmstand. I'm headed to give a birthday party hayride. #
• Sunny again today. Temp pleasant, but heading up. Field crew all off today. One school tour today. #
• In the office today working on cashflow. (2 truck tires @ $482!). Corn maze design is coming right along. Hope I can get the chicks to work. #
• Just finished a photo shoot for a magazine article due out in Oct. Now off to pick up chicken feed. Then back to corn maze design. #
• Will spread the news when published. Sometimes editors change minds.@bareftbeachbaby @FarmerRoger Good news about the article. Details..? #
• Room for more contestants in our Salsa and Tomato Salad Cook-Offs this weekend at The South 47 Farm. http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd #
• Morning haze clearing off, blue skeis, some high thin clouds. Temp heading up rapidly. #
• Veg crew here today. Weeding potatoes, herbs, flowers, beans. Planting more late greens. #
• First picking soon of our yellow Romano pole beans. The other pole beans are later: Blue Lake, Purple Podded, Rattlesnake, Romano, Kentucky. #
• Learning about spiders, digging carrots: This week's Farm Tots at The South 47 Farm. #
• Bright sunny day. Temp headed straight up. Plants are growing, veggies ripening. #
• Summer at the farmstand: Basil, heirloom & cherry tomatoes, cukes, carrots, beets, summer squash, lettuce, chard, blackberries, apples, more #
• Another sunny day. Yesterday's high temp at the farm was 92. Forecast today is only 80. #
• Still working on the corn maze design – almost done. Itching to start cutting the path – corn is arealy 8-ft tall. #
• Give a kid a carrot and he'll slip it under his plate. Teach him to dig his own and he'll eat them the rest of his life. #
• Stiff breeze growing stonger all day today, lifting the pale undersides of the leaves into view. #
• Overcast morning. Possible showers forecast. The weekend is looking better. #
• Late season kohlrabi is coming! Stewart is predicting kohlrabi harvest in about twoo weeks. #
• My favorite tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Striped German, Black Cherry. Don't force me to choose just one, it's hard enough to choose 3. #
• Cloudy this morning, starting to clear. Looks like will be an excellent day for our Tomato Celebration. http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd #
• Fruit a popular addtion in our tomato salsa contest. Winner added pineapple. Others peaches or watermelon. One added roasted ripe tomatillo. #
• Some of the winter squash is coloring up nicely. Hard to wait, but keeping my hands off for now. Say no to unripe winter squash. #

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• Overcast this am. Forecast a lot like yesterday. Another farmstand day. Evert will be loading for the LFP Farmers Mkt soon. #
• How many of you swept & mopped your office floor this morning? Another day at the farm. I think I'll go find a few Sunsugar cherry tomatoes. #
• Stop by the farm at 1:30 to see the 6-ft hand-made Portuguese copper essential oil still in action. Distilling lavender today. #
• Now have quarts of fragrant Royal Velvet hydrosol for misting or splashing. Think of substituting lavender water for rose water. #
• Another cool overcast day. Maybe rain this afternoon, tonight. Rain would be good for the crops, we'll see if it amounts to much. #
• Crew day off. Paula & Ruth in the office today. My day: feed critters, water greenhouse, office stuff, maybe scout the corn maze. #
• 50+ pigeons feasting in a 40×120 ft plot we sowed last Sat. with rye for cover crop. About 1/sq yd. Saw leg bands on one. #
• Scouting the corn maze corn. Much already 5 to 6 ft. Mapping the weaker areas – will try to incorporate into the maze design. #
• Slight mist off & on. I'm wet from walking through the corn field, but the soil is still powder dry. Bring on the rain! #
• Not in my repertory. U R welcome to come by & U-Pick. RT @Podchef Squab 4 dinner? RT @FarmerRoger: 50+ pigeons feasting in a 40×120 ft plot. #
• Overcast & cool. Half an inch of rain last night & this morning. Chance of showers predicted the next few days. #
• Veg crew is planting out greens. Great weather for transplanting – less stress to the plants. If the rain holds off, is not so bad for crew. #
• Tomato Cook-Off at The South 47 Farm! Aug 22&23 Sat: Salsa. Sunday: Tomato Salad. Details: http://tinyurl.com/n6lesd #
• Trace of rain this morning. Still overcast & cool. #
• Veg crew still picking for the farmstand, to open at 10. Juan & Luis starting to pull the dripline from the 5.5 acre corn maze field. #
• Fair amount of sun & blue sky through the clouds. Feels muggy. Looks like the next rain will hold off for a while. #
• Starting the big onion harvest. Walla Wallas and red Mars. Both sweet & mild. Great for slices, salads, gazpacho, stirfrys, omlettes …… #
• Big staff meeting this afternoon. Veg – Claire, Evert, & Stewart. Farmstand: Peggy. Education: Cindi. Plus me. Continual refinements. #
• Playing phone tag with two folks racing up from Renton to pick berries. Will they get here in time? #
• Sun peeking through heavy dark clouds. Talk about mixed messages.
  Keep eyes out for lightning storm. #
• Basil is coming on strong. Summer squash & tomatoes slowed down, but picking up again. Smaller winter squash and first apples getting close. #
• First sign today of sprouting winter rye grain planted as a cover crop in several fields. Pigeons didn't get it all. #
• Showers starting up, but it looks like we skipped the lightning. I had one major goal today, but got overtaken by a host of other details. #
• Sun breaking through dark heavy clouds. 0.2 inches of rain last eve. and early morning. I hear of farm flooding south of here near Puyallup. #
• Today's quote: "If I can be of any help — then you're in worse trouble than I thought." Rufus La Lone, Weather Cafe. #
• Most likely will change the flavor profile. RT @Herbguy Using improvised aquarium air to speed up conversion of local wine 2 vinegar #
• Late blight scourge in East US tomatoes spread by transplants from big-box stores. Your backyard food is only as local as your plant starts. #
• Still overcast this morning. Looking forward to some sun today. #
• Apple picking time! Our first apple variety is now ready for U-Pick. Williams Pride is an excellent dessert-quality early apple. A favorite. #

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• Sunny, some haze. Today's weather looks to be a lot like yesterday's. #
• Evert is packed up and heading to the LFP Farmers Mkt. Peggy & Danielle setting up the farmstand for the day. Birds are singing. #
• Juan and Luis and weeding pumpkins. Rob is hauling chips for parking and turning compost piles. I've got a long list, better get back to it. #
• Evert just called to brag on the great appearance of our stand at the Lake Forest Park Farmers Market. Great layout of veggies & herbs. #
• Farmstand day winding down. Discovered some sunburned blackberries & raspberries. So sad. #
• Ouch, just noticed we hit 90.5 degrees today – hotter than the last two days. What happened to the cooling trend? #
• Sunny, still some haze, & a few thin clouds. Forecast for 80 instead of 90. Time for my am farm walkabout, water greenhouses, feed critters. #
• Trying to tweak the cooler into working, tracking cashflow, staging to move the farmstand to S end of farm, found some nice gourds forming. #
• Overcast all morning. Cool breeze. Feels like rain coming. Forecast part clouds, hot. I'll take rain. #
• Moving the big farmstand tent to the 124th St entrance. Someday we'll have a building. #
• Steaming in the hot sun, can barely remember this morning's fantasy of impending rain. #
• New controller coming for the cooler. Sometimes you have to start over. #
• Overcast & cool again this moning. Forecast to mostly clear and heat up. Lots of veg picking right now while it is still cool. #
• Almost done moving to the summer/fall farmstand spot. Still working on signs, pots, parking. Need to move the critters to the new paddock. #
• Farmstand hopping today – cooler weather. Big Farm Tot turnout. Lots of berry pickers. #
• Got lots done today, but somehow my to-do list is longer now than in the morning. A bunch are actually do-able though, so will see progress. #
• Still overcast and mid-60's temp at 11:30. Much more comfortable for working and for visiting the farm. #
• Putting up lots of signs & doing the final touches on the farmstand relocation to the 124th St. entrance. Crew picking, planting, & weeding. #
• Moment of truth: The new coldroom controller arrived. Off to install the thing. Will it work this time? #
• RT Brian grows at The S47. @dinetrellis Trellis cuisine recognized for "farm to table" freshness by Travel&Leisure http://tinyurl.com/mdnml8 #
• Cooler is finally working. Farmstand closing for the day. Off to celebrate 32nd wedding anniversary. #
• Overcast & cool this morning Forecast partial sun, low 70's today and for the next few days to come. #
• More picking, planting, & weeding today.Preparing for this weekend's basil bash. May try distilling basil essential oil. #
• We thought we had Flora, our 1953 Ford 8N tractor working well. Stopped dead this am pulling a wagon full of Farm Tots. Now using the Deere. #
• Chef Brian Scheehser of Trellis will give a chef's demo with basil at our Basil Bash tomorrow at 11:30. Basil & vine-ripe heirloom tomatoes! #
• Overcast & cool. Forecast some clearing, but still cool – barely 70 degrees. #
• Getting set up for our Basil Bash today. The crew picked enough basil for me to try a basil distillation – to start at 1:30. #
• Did my first basil oil distillation today. Yield was small, but the aroma is exceptionally appealing. Tomorrow – lavender in the 6-ft still. #

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• Blue sky, a few puffy clouds.Tiny bit of rain (0.02 inches) last night. Today forecast like yesterday. Mid-90's start tomorrow. #
• Farmstand just opened for the day, Evert off to the LFP Farmers Mkt. Juan & Luis weeding in the essential oil & herbal tea garden. #
• Working on 2nd quarter taxes. Then hope to do a big lavender essential oil steam distillation. #
• @Herbguy Weater station at the farm says 88. Been there since about 2:30. in reply to Herbguy #
• Discovered that the alpacas enjoy being sprinkled with the water hose. Sabino stayed under until soaked. Will have to scrounge a sprinkler. #
• Don't understand why the big emergencies pop up after everyone else has gone home for the weekend. #
• Just past 10 am, temp is already 81. Standing in the sun on days with no wind adds another 10+ degrees to the apparent temp. #
• Temp now up to 91 at 1:00. Weather station says apparent temp standing outside in the sun is 105. The alpacas enjoyed being sprinkled. #
• Recovering from two emergencies this am. One involving a busload of daycare kids. One invovling a sewage tank. Happily, the two not related. #
• Class on hard cider making and orcharding: http://tinyurl.com/kjlhny If you take the class, don't forget to send me a bottle. #
• Dropped melons and watermelons after last year's cool summer. Man, I wish I'd kept planting this year. Corn is growing noticeably each day. #
• Temp headed down! Now "only" 90. Peak here at the farm was 94.7 at around 5 pm. Hotter tomorrow? #
• Sunny, bit of a haze. Hit 80 shortly after 9 am. Headed out to feed and sprinkle the alpacas. #
• Pruning Tomatoes: Are you growing tomatoes or foliage?http://tinyurl.com/n5b95x #
• Farm Blossom Series: Set #8 Cut Flowers, Phlox, Rudbeckia, Yarrow http://tinyurl.com/lglxm5 #
• Farm Blossoms Set #9: Herbs, Anise Hyssop & Thyme http://tinyurl.com/lpprf4 #
• Just started our very first large scale lavender oil distillation – 30+ plants in 6 ft copper still. Gawkers welcome, bring cold drinks. #
• 81 at 9 am. Haze and a few clouds. Full field crew here today – will work half day. Still discussing shutting down the farmstand early. #
• The field crew flagged the corn maze today to guide cutting the maze. A flag every 10 ft. More than 2700 flags. The corn is growing rapidly. #
• Hit 100 here at the farm at 1:15. #
• Temp at 103 at 4pm. Closing the farmstand early. Stop by tomorrow for cool meal fixings: cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, squash, basil, tomato. #
• 105 at the farm at 5pm, peak temp is usually between 5 and 6. #
• At 5:30, temp has dropped to 104 at the farm. #SeaScorcher #
• Sunny, hazy, & hot. 84 at 10:30. Yesterday at 10:30 was 92 at the farm. Field crew leaving at 12 today. Plan to close the farmstand by 1:00. #
• Watch for South 47 Farm plants in upcoming film "The Details". Two guys dug up plants for an important scene set in a veg garden. #
• Temp at the farm has been at 98 – 99 for a while. Looks like we won't quite hit the 100 mark today. #
• Partially cloudy, still pleasant outside. Mid 80's forecast. Picking, weeding, mowing today. #
• Ate our first green beans from the farm last eve. Also BLT's with our first Cherokee Purple tomatoes. Forget the temp.; food defines summer. #
• U-Pickers are now coming back with lots of our big delicious thornless blackberries. So good. #
• Blue skies & sunny. Plenty hot again today. Lots going on. Picking, weeding, Ford 8N tractor back in service. Moving more stuff to the farm. #

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